Oakland Raiders NFL News - Raiders Football Blog

The Oakland Raiders sign QB Matt Leinart

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:43:27 +0000

The Raiders have signed 29-year old lefty throwing QB Matt Leinart. Leinart played in 2 games (1 start) for the Texans last year and he completed 10 of 13 passes (76.9%) for 57 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (110.1 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard last year. Leinart has played in 31 games (18 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 350 of 608 passes (57.6%) for 3,950 yards with 15 TD passes and 20 INTs (71.6 QB Rating). He also has carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career so far. Leinart is 8-10 (44.4%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career. Leinart will be the Raiders’ #2 QB behind Carson Palmer in 2012.

The Oakland Raiders sign G/T Ed Wang

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:39:51 +0000

The Raiders have signed 25-year old G/T Ed Wang. Wang is 6’5″, 321 pounds and he’s versatile enough to play inside or outside. He didn’t get on the field for Buffalo last year. He played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Bills in 2010 as a rookie. The Raiders are grasping at straws here, but they have nothing to lose in giving Wang a shot to show what he can do in training camp.

The Oakland Raiders picked LB Nathan Stupar in the 7th round

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:37:02 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected ILB/OLB Nathan Stupar out of Penn State with the 230th overall pick (7th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Stupar is 6’1″, 240 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40. Stupar is a good coverage LB as he can run with TEs and he plays hard all of the time. But, he is not a violent player. Stupar played in 13 games (9 starts) at Penn State last year and he had 80 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, broke up 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions. He played in 52 games (16 starts) in his four years at Penn State and he had 206 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 8 passes broken up, 24 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Stupar will likely begin his career on special teams for the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders picked DT Christo Bilukidi in the 6th round

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:24:35 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected DT Christo Bilukidi out of Georgia State with the 189th overall pick (6th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Bilukidi is a big guy at 6’4″, 311 pounds. He is a very good athlete for his size, but he’s very raw. He couldn’t dominate at tiny Georgia State, so he looks like a developmental project. Bilukidi played in 11 games (10 starts) at Georgia State last year and he had 38 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 1 batted ball and 1 forced fumble. He played in 22 games (21 starts) in his two years at Georgia State and he had 89 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 batted ball. This was a reach for the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders picked WR Juron Criner in the 5th round

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:15:55 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected WR Juron Criner out of Arizona with the 168th overall pick (5th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Criner is a big guy at 6’4″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40. Criner is more than just a possession receiver as he has a nose for the goal line. He uses his size to his advantage and he has a nice set of hands. Criner played in 11 games (all starts) for Arizona last year and he caught 79 passes for 956 yards (12.1 avg) with 11 TD grabs. In his four years at Arizona, Criner played in 50 games (31 starts) in which he caught 213 passes for 2,859 yards (13.4 avg) with 32 TD grabs. This was a solid pick for the Raiders as Criner should fit in well with the speed burners they have at WR.

The Oakland Raiders picked DE Jack Crawford in the 5th round

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:05:56 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected DE Jack Crawford out of Penn State with the 158th overall pick (5th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Crawford is 6’4″, 268 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40. Crawford is better at defensing the run than the pass at this point in his development. He has not played football that long, so he’s pretty raw and still learning. That being said, he does possess a nice upside. Crawford played in 13 games (all starts) for Penn State last year and he had 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 6 batted balls and 1 fumble recovery. He played in 48 games (34 starts) in his four years with the Nittany Lions and he had 89 tackles, 26.5 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, 6 batted down balls, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries. Crawford is going to be a developmental prospect for the Raiders but he has a nice upside.

The Oakland Raiders picked OLB Miles Burris in the 4th round

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:54:43 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected OLB Miles Burris out of San Diego State with the 129th overall pick (4th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Burris is 6’2″, 241 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40. Burris is a very aggressive player as he flies to the football. He sometimes whiffs on a tackle due to his sometimes out of control play, but he also makes more than his fair share of big hits. He is a good pass rusher too, but he can’t cover anyone as his game is going towards the line of scrimmage. Burris played in 13 games (all starts) at San Diego State last year and he had 72 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks and he broke up 1 pass. In his four years at San Diego State, Burris played in 50 games (38 starts) and he had 229 tackles, 46.5 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks and 1 pass broken up. This was a good pick for the Raiders as Burris is going to look good wreaking havoc in the silver and black.

The Oakland Raiders picked OG Tony Bergstrom in the 3rd round

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:21:44 +0000

The Oakland Raiders selected OG Tony Bergstrom out of Utah with the 95th overall pick (3rd round). Bergstrom is 6’5″, 315 pounds. He needs to get stronger as power players walk him back into the backfield. But, he does play hard and he’s a tough guy. I think he can be coached up to the point where he could start in the near future for the Raiders. Bergstrom played in 12 games (all starts) at Utah last year. He played in 48 games (39 starts) in his four years with Utah. This was a solid pick for the Raiders who have a need at guard.

Jim Plunkett was a winner for the Oakland Raiders

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:25:57 +0000

QB Jim Plunkett was the #1 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He struggled in his first seven years with the Patriots & 49ers as he compiled a 34-53 (39.1%) record as a starting QB. Raiders’ owner Al Davis decided to snap up Plunkett and give him what was likely his final chance in the NFL. Plunkett went on to played in 70 games (57 starts) in his 8 years with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and he completed 960 of 1,707 passes (56.2%) for 12,665 yards with 80 TD passes and 81 INTs (75.7 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 117 times for 354 yards (3.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs for the Raiders. The Raiders were 38-19 (66.7%) during the regular season with Plunkett under center to start the game. He is #4 in Raiders’ history in passing yards (12,665) and #5 in Raiders’ history in TD passes with 80.

Plunkett always seemed to play his best football when the stage got bigger. He played in 10 games (all starts) for the Raiders in the post-season and he led them to an 8-2 (80%) record there. He completed 162 of 272 passes (59.6%) for 2,293 yards with 11 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.9 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 28 times for 97 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run for the Raiders. Plunkett was simply awesome on 1/25/1981, when the Raiders pasted the Eagles 27-10 in the Super Bowl. He completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 261 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs (145.0 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc) in that Super Bowl. Plunkett followed up that Super Bowl win with another one on 1/22/1984 against the Redskins, which the Raiders won 38-9! Plunkett completed 16 of 25 passes (64%) for 172 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (97.4 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 1 time for -2 yards in that Super Bowl.

Plunkett was a darn good QB for a guy who often had trouble throwing perfect spirals.

The Oakland Raiders re-sign safety Matt Giordano

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:05:08 +0000

The Raiders have re-signed 29-year old safety Matt Giordano. He played in 15 games for the Raiders last year and he had 70 tackles, 5 interceptions (130 return yards), 5 passes defensed, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. Giordano has now played in 84 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has 155 tackles, 8 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 13 passes defensed, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. This was a good move for the Raiders.