Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders likely lose WR Javon Walker for the season

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:26:37 +0000

The Raiders will likely play the rest of the 2008 season without WR Javon Walker who needs ankle surgery. Walker played in 8 games for the Raiders this season and he caught 15 passes for 196 yards (13.1 avg) with 1 TD grab. Losing Walker shouldn’t hurt the Raiders too bad as they can’t throw the football anyway.

The Oakland Raiders claim CB Justin Miller on waivers from the Jets

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:24:08 +0000

The Raiders have claimed CB/KR Justin Miller off waivers from the Jets. The 24-year old Miller only had 1 tackle and returned 1 kickoff for 22 yards for the Jets this season before his release. But, Miller is has a lot of potential especially as a return man. Miller has played in 35 games in his NFL career and he has made 98 tackles and has forced 1 fumble. Miller has also returned 6 punts for 9 yards (1.5 avg). But, his big calling in the NFL is returning kickoffs as he has returned 109 of them for 2,951 yards (27.1 avg) with 3 TDs. This was a nice low risk/high reward addition for the Raiders as Miller is a talented football player.

The Oakland Raiders sign LB Marquis Cooper

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:52:47 +0000

The Raiders have signed linebacker Marquis Cooper. The 26-year old Cooper has played in 34 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 32 tackles. Cooper will provide depth on defense and help out on special teams but don’t expect a whole lot out of him.

The Oakland Raiders lose two defenders for the season

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:51:03 +0000

The Raiders have placed safety Tyvon Branch and linebacker Robert Thomas on the Injured Reserve List ending there seasons. Branch has a injured shoulder which has put him out of action. He played in 8 games for the Raiders this season and he made 10 tackles, intercepted 1 pass and defensed 1 pass. Thomas injured a hamstring and that’s what ended his season. Thomas played in 2 games for the Raiders this season and he made 2 whole tackles. The Raiders won’t miss either of these guys as they weren’t very productive.

The Oakland Raiders waive CB DeAngelo Hall

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:48:06 +0000

The Raiders have waived CB DeAngelo Hall just 8 games after signing him to a huge free agent deal in the off season. Hall played in 8 games for the Raiders this season and he made 49 tackles, had 1/2 a sack, had 3 interceptions and he defensed 13 passes. The Raiders appear to have lost their minds in the front office as they are making Hall a scapegoat for awful all around play by the defense. He was quickly snapped up by the Washington Redskins.

The Oakland Raiders lose FB Justin Griffith for the season

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:45:39 +0000

The Raiders have lost starting fullback Justin Griffith for the season due to a torn ACL. Griffith played in 7 games for the Raiders this season and he carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards (1.0 ypc). He also caught 9 passes for 85 yards (9.4 avg) with a TD grab. This will hurt the Raiders running game a bit as Griffith is a solid blocker.

Oakland Raiders vs. Atlanta Falcons

admin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:10:50 +0000

The Falcons are a surprising 4-3 on the season while the Raiders are 1-1 under new head coach Tom Cable. The Falcons will likely attack the Raiders on the ground first with Michael Turner (655 yards rushing, 4.5 ypc, 6 TDs) and Jerious Norwood (285 yards rushing, 6.3 ypc) as the Raiders allow 144.1 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc. As soon as the Raiders cheat up to stop the Falcons running game look for rookie QB Matt Ryan to throw deep on play action getting the ball to Roddy White. White has been unstoppable this season and the Raiders allow 218.4 yards passing per game.

The Raiders will also come out running the football as they average 129.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry. The Falcons’ defense doesn’t really do anything well allowing 128.6 yards rushing per game and 232.9 yards passing per game so this could be the game that JaMarcus Russell plays well. Coach Cable has wanted to take the training wheels off of Russell and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

PREDICTION: ATLANTA FALCONS 24, OAKLAND RAIDERS 20

Oakland Raiders vs. New Orleans Saints

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:41:33 +0000

This is probably not a good matchup for new head coach Tom Cable in his Raiders’ debut. The Raiders will come out running the football against a Saints’ defense that stuffed Adrian Peterson and the Vikings last week. Still, the Raiders will likely rotate Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush to keep all of them fresh. The Raiders are averaging 155.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 ypc so they should have some success as the Saints allow 107.0 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc. QB JaMarcus Russell definately has the arm to get the ball deep and the Saints will be without rookie CB Tracy Porter who is out for the season due to surgery to repair a dislocated wrist. TE Zach Miller is Russell’s favorite target in the passing game but Javon Walker or Ronald Curry could have a good game here to jumpstart their season.

The Saints will try to throw the ball downfield to get the lead early to take the Raiders out of there running game. Devery Henderson (31.7 avg) and Robert Meachem (33.6 avg) have been getting down the field and the Saints will no doubt be attempting to stretch a Raiders’ defense that is allowing 212.8 yards passing per game. WR Lance Moore and TE Billy Miller will handle the tough stuff over the middle of the field for Drew Brees (97.7 QB Rating) who is having a outstanding season. The Raiders’ defense better be ready to deal with Reggie Bush who has 533 combined yards rushing and receiving already this season.

PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 30, OAKLAND RAIDERS 20

The Oakland Raiders fire Lane Kiffin

admin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:46:06 +0000

The Raiders have fired head coach Lane Kiffin. The Raiders were 1-3 this season as they have scored 78 points this season and they have allowed 101. Kiffin finishes his career with the Raiders sporting a 5-15 record (25%) in a 1 1/4 as the boss. The Raiders have promoted offensive line coach Tom Cable to be the new head coach. Cable has head coaching experience in college but it didn’t go too well. He was the head coach at Idaho from 2000-03 and he compiled a 11-35 record (23.9%). Don’t expect Cable to be the head coach of the Raiders when the 2009 season begins.

San Diego Chargers 28, Oakland Raiders 18

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:53:08 +0000

The Raiders had a good gameplan against the Chargers leading them 15-3 after the first three quarters but then the roof fell in. JaMarcus Russell looked good when he wasn’t getting sacked (six times) last Sunday as he completed 22 of 37 passes for 277 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Michael Bush led the way for the Raiders on both the ground and in the air as he carried the ball 14 times for 48 yards (3.4 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 80 yards (11.4 avg). TE Zach Miller also had a big game catching 5 passes for 95 yards with a TD (63 yarder). The Raiders finished up with 72 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 37 passes for 251 yards.

The Raiders didn’t play that bad on defense in this game at least against the pass they didn’t. Safety Gibril Wilson led the way for the Raiders with 11 tackles. LB Kirk Morrison (8 tackles) and DT Terdell Sands (5 tackles, 2 sacks) both also had solid games for the Raiders. The Chargers finished up with 141 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 25 passes for 154 yards. The Raiders fell to 1-3 on the season with this loss.