Four time Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia is unemployed… again. Today he was cut by the Oakland Raiders, which would make them the second team to cut him this year. Earlier in the year, Tampa Bay cut ties with the quarterback that helped lead them to the playoffs in 2007. Now that he is without a job, what is his next move?

Apparently, it won’t be as a backup. Some are speculating that part of the reason that Garcia was cut is because he was unwilling to be a backup in Oakland. As a weak armed, limited offensive system, 39 year old quarterback, Garcia may not have many options as a potential starter. However there are plenty of teams that could use a solid backup with a resume as distinguished as Garcia’s.

Baltimore, Seattle, Denver, and New England are just a few teams that wouldn’t mind an upgrade at backup quarterback, and there are probably more. Garcia should have his pick of the litter – as long as he’s willing to hold the clipboard until his number is called.

The Raiders had another poor all-around effort in this game.  JaMarcus Russell completed his only pass attempt for 4 yards.  Jeff Garcia followed Russell in the game and he completed 3 of 6 passes for 12 yards.  Bruce Gradkowski had a night to forget as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 75 yards but he lost two fumbles.  Charlie Frye was also so-so at the end of the game completing 5 of 10 passes for 58 yards.  Louis Rankin led the Raiders in rushing last night with 60 yards on 6 carries (10.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Gary Russell was also busy with 12 carries for 59 yards (4.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  The Raiders finished up with 277 total yards in this game (144 rushing, 133 passing). 

Safety Jerome Boyd led the way for the Raiders’ D with 8 tackles.  The Seahawks finished up with 345 total yards on offense (134 rushing, 211 passing) in this game.  The Raiders finished the pre-season with a 1-3 record. 

The Raiders ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday Night as the Saints kicked their butts hard!  JaMarcus Russell didn’t put any points on the board as he completed 12 of 18 passes for 153 yards.  Jeff Garcia finished up this game for the Raiders by completing 9 of 15 passes for 111 yards with 1 TD pass.  Gary Russell looked good in this game carrying the ball 3 times for 42 yards (14.0 ypc).  WR Louis Murphy led the way in the passing game for the Raiders with 84 yards on 3 catches (28.0 avg).  TE Zach Miller was also very busy catching 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  WR Jonathan Holland only caught 1 pass in this game but it was a doosy going for 43 yards and a TD from Jeff Garcia.  The Raiders only had the ball for 20:33 in this football game but they still got 289 total yards (52 rushing, 237 passing).

Linebacker Ricky Brown was busy for the Raiders in this game with 10 tackles.  The Saints totally dominated the Raiders’ defense as they rolled up 536 total yards on offense (232 rushing, 304 passing).  The Raiders better get their act together soon.

The Raiders were looking good in this game heading into the 4th quarter in which the Niners scored 18 points to win the game.  JaMarcus Russell was very solid in this game completing 7 of 11 passes for 76 yards with 1 TD pass.  Jeff Garcia saw his first pre-season action in this game and it was not good as he completed 3 of 6 passes for 18 yards with 1 interception.  Bruce Gradkowski followed Garcia in this game by completing 3 of 5 passes for 44 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the football 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) against the Niners.  Charlie Frye finished up this game by completing 3 of 5 passes for 47 yards with 1 interception.  The silver lining for Frye in this game is that he was the Raiders’ leading rusher with 16 yards on two carries (8.0 ypc) with a TD.  TE Brandon Myers was outstanding in this game catching 4 passes for 75 yards (18.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Louis Murphy was also solid in catching 2 passes for 34 yards (17.0 avg) with a TD catch.  The Raiders only had possession of the football for 21:16 of this game and that killed them in the end.  They finished up with only 245 total yards on offense (69 rushing, 176 passing) in this game and that’s just not good enough to win football games.

LB Ricky Brown had a huge game for the Raiders on defense with 7 tackles and a interception that he returned 46 yards.  The Niners only passed for 114 yards in this game but that’s because they didn’t have to throw the ball.  They rushed for a stunning 275 yards on 47 carries (5.9 ypc) against the Raiders and that was pathetic.

The Raiders absolutely dominated the Cowboys in this game!  The Raiders rolled up a stunning 456 yards on offense in this game (176 rushing, 280 passing).  JaMarcus Russell was o.k. in this game completing 6 of 9 passes for 50 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 18 yards.  Bruce Gradkowski followed Russell in this game and he completed 9 of 16 passes for 161 yards with a TD pass.  Charlie Frye finished up the game and he was also impressive completing 7 of 12 passes for 80 yards with a TD pass.  Darren McFadden was electric in this game rushing for 63 yards on 4 carries (15.8 ypc) and catching 1 pass for 9 yards.  Gary Russell was very busy getting 11 carries for 44 yards (4.0 ypc) and a TD.  Louis Rankin was also sharp rushing for 31 yards on 6 carries (5.2 ypc) with a TD and he also caught a 19 yard pass.  WR Chaz Schilens led the way in the passing game for the Raiders with 5 catches for 52 yards (10.4 avg). 

The defense had some issues against the running game allowing 127 yards to the Cowboys on 29 carries (4.4 ypc).  But, overall the Raiders only allowed 274 yards against the Cowboys.   Safety Jerome Boyd led the way for the Raiders in this game with 7 tackles.

This was a good first step for the Raiders.  The hard part will be keeping up the good work when the games count.

The Raiders looked o.k. in this game but not quite good enough to win this game last Friday Night.  Andrew Walter was pretty effective in this game as he completed 16 of 24 passes for 162 yards and he also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc).  Marques Tuisosopo was highly effective in this game completing 3 of 4 passes for 32 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the football 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc) in this game.  Rookie RB Darren McFadden was the leading rusher in the Raiders in this game with 50 yards on 4 carries (12.5 ypc).  Michael Bush also was busy in this game with 12 carries for 42 yards (3.5 ypc).  Louis Rankin pitched in with 28 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.0 ypc) in this game.  Rookie WR Chaz Schilens led the Raiders in receiving with 49 yards on 3 catches (16.3 avg).  Fullback Luke Lawton pitched in with 4 catches for 31 yards (7.8 avg).  The Raiders finished up with 157 yards rushing on 28 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 28 passes for 181 yards.

The Raiders’ defense did not play well at all in this game.  Safety Marviel Underwood led the Raiders in tackles with 7 in this game.  The Seahawks finished up with 130 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 31 passes for 253 yards.  The Raiders finished up the preseason with a 1-3 record.

The Oakland Raiders took a step back last Saturday Night against the Cardinals.  JaMarcus Russell completed 14 of 28 passes for 140 yards with 1 interception.  Andrew Walter was also ineffective in this game completing 2 of 5 passes for 17 yards.  Darren McFadden was busy in this game as he rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 7 yards.  Javon Walker was the Raiders’ leading receiver in this football game with 4 catches for 60 yards (15.0 avg).  The Raiders finished up with only 54 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 33 passes for 111 yards. 

The Raiders defense did not look too good in this football game.  CB Stanford Routt, CB Rashad Baker and S Michael Huff each had 1 interception apiece in this football game.  But, the Raiders couldn’t stop the Cardinals from running the football as they had 215 yards rushing on 39 carries (5.5 ypc).  The Cardinals also completed 13 of 25 passes for 158 yards.

Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and Louis Rankin are a big part of the reason that the Raiders are averaging 236.0 yards rushing per game this preseason.  Darren McFadden was the Raiders’ first round pick this year and he has certainly looked the part during the preseason.  McFadden has rushed for 91 yards on only 18 carries (5.1 ypc) as he is looking more and more like he will battle Justin Fargas for carries very early this season.  Michael Bush missed all of last season due to a serious leg injury but you wouldn’t know that by watching him play this year.  Bush has carried the ball 22 times for 86 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for Bush to make an impact on the Raiders’ offense this season despite starting out kinda low on the depth chart.  Undrafted rookie Louis Rankin from the University of Washington has really opened some eyes in Raiders’ camp.  He has carried the football 14 times for 120 yards for a stunning average of 8.6 yards per carry.  Even if Rankin doesn’t make the Raiders’ roster he would likely get a job with another team based on his play this preseason.  The Raiders appear to be in great shape at running back for the 2008 season.

The Oakland Raiders’ young QBs are looking good so far this season.  Making things easier on the QBs is the fact that the Raiders are rushing for 236.0 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry.  With teams playing extra players to defend the running game the Raiders have been getting a lot of one on one matchups with the WRs and TEs and the QBs have been taking advantage of that.  JaMarcus Russell has been solid in the first two preseason games for the Raiders as he has completed 12 of 22 passes (54.5%) for 88 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (79.4 QB Rating).  Even Andrew Walter is looking good so far (I know it’s only the preseason) as he has completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9%) for 167 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (93.9 QB Rating).  The Raiders will likely stay conservative on offense at least early in the season, but, if JaMarcus Russell really picks the NFL game look for the Raiders to open up the offense in the second half of the season.

The Oakland Raiders didn’t look too bad last night as the Titans didn’t win until the last play of the game on a 33-yard field goal by John Vaughn.  JaMarcus Russell looked solid starting the game last night as he completed 10 of 17 passes for 75 yards with a 10-yard TD pass to tight end Zach Miller.  Andrew Walter finished up the game completing 7 of 11 passes for 85 yards.  Adimchinobe Echemandu led the Raiders in rushing last night with 77 yards on only 3 carries (25.7 ypc).  Michael Bush had another solid game with 59 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.2 ypc).  Darren McFadden showed glimpses again of how special he’s going to be as he carried the ball 6 times for 44 yards (7.3 ypc).  Louis Rankin pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 6 carries (4.8 ypc) last night.  TE Zach Miller led the Raiders last night with 4 receptions for 48 yards (12.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie WR Chaz Schilens also had a decent game with 3 catches for 45 yards (15.0 avg).  The Raiders rushed for 224 yards last night on 37 carries (6.1 ypc).  They also completed 17 of 28 passes for 156 yards last night as the offense was impressive despite the fact that they only put 16 points on the board.

CB Hiram Eugene, safety Jarrod Cooper and linebackers Ricky Brown and Isaiah Ekejiuba each had 5 tackles apiece to lead the Raiders’ defense last night.  The Titans rushed for 140 yards last night on 26 carries (5.4 ypc).  They also completed 14 of 39 passes for 228 yards last night against the Raiders.