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Archive for August, 2012
With the NFL cut down to 53 players due for all 32 teams by 9 p.m. EST, it is a wild day for speculation and roster turnover for every team. For the Oakland Raiders, roster predictions are already running rampant by insiders. That said, cuts will be made all the way up to the deadline. The preseason showed that the Raiders have a lot of talent on the top end of the roster, but lack depth at many key positions. Some players that have been let go could be perfect in silver and black.Here are my top five roster cuts that ...
With the NFL’s preseason winding down and teams making difficult final roster decisions, teams turn their attention to assembling gameplans and preparing to begin playing the games the count. It should come as no surprise that a team coming off consecutive 8-8 campaigns stands on the razor’s edge between success and failure.  A few plays a game will make the difference between 10-6 or 6-10, and attention to detail will play a big part. With that in mind, we’ve identified five key factors in defining success for the Raiders this year. It goes without saying that keeping their critical players ...
The Oakland Raiders have several pressing question marks entering the 2012 season, many of which deal with injuries to their receiving corps.The Raiders are dealing with injuries to wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, as well as Sebastian Janikowski. Aside from their 1-2 record, this isn't how you want to start off a season.Preseason is drawing to a close, and the news you hear now could have a major impact on the regular season.Let's take a look at the latest news coming out of Raiders camp. Jacoby Ford's StatusSan Francisco Chronicle reporter Vic Tafur supplied this quote from Oakland coach ...
It's tough to say there's a lot of positives to be gained from this game, but losing 21-3 to one of the worst teams in the league isn't easy to swallow — even in the preseason.While the Raiders were able to avoid turning the ball over (except for a special teams fumble), punting the ball every time doesn't make you feel much better. Defensively, the Raiders had series in which they played well, but when the offense doesn't score anything, they needed to be perfect (and they weren't).Begin Slideshow
The Oakland Raiders need a healing revival in the locker room; otherwise, this snake-bitten team could potentially be doomed from the start of the 2012 NFL season.The Raiders have had key starters on both sides of the ball sitting practices and games out this preseason, and given the fact that both units are operating under new coaches and therefore new playbooks, this presents a problem.  The Walking WoundedRichard Seymour—the solid rock upon which this defense needs to be founded—is suffering what head coach Dennis Allen calls "an arthritic knee," according to the Oakland Tribune's Jerry McDonald, who writes that it's "a ...
The Oakland Athletics have fought tooth and nail into the top American League wild-card spot with a month remaining in regular season play, sitting 14 games above .500 for the first time since 2006. Bob Melvin and the A’s got back on track from an early season derailment after a nine-game losing skid that left the Athletics clubhouse in post-game silence all too often. The Cinderella story that is the 2012 Athletics’ season has left its mark in the storybooks. The A’s lead the league with 13 walk-off victories, are amongst the MLB’s lowest team ERA’s, and are doing so at a fraction ...
"The coach wants to see you and bring your playbook."The dreaded words that no player wants to hear. The low-level equipment guy who's given that task of retrieving the players from the locker room and escorting them—with their playbook—to the grim reaper's office. On Friday, this will happen 22 times at Oakland Raiders headquarters in Alameda, California. Eight of those players will be told that the team wants to bring them back on the practice squad. Although we will find out soon enough which players will stick around for the new era of Raiders football, it never hurts to take a stab ...
The Oakland Raiders enter the 2012 NFL season with the intention of contending in what appears to be a very winnable AFC West, and a great deal of their hopes for their upcoming campaign rest on how quarterback Carson Palmer fares in his second year with the team.However, Palmer and the Raiders first-team offense have struggled in the preseason, calling into question not only the 32-year-old's ability to lead Oakland into the playoffs, but the wisdom of the deal that brought him to Oakland in the first place.First, let's just get this out of the way. In sending a first-round ...
The new era of the Oakland Raiders got off to a slow start this preseason. The Raiders dropped their first two preseason games and looked like a team in the midst of a major transition. That all changed in the third preseason game—often considered a regular season tune-up. The Raiders offense and defense looked competent with explosive possibilities in a 31-20 win over the visiting Detroit Lions. Particularly important was the play of Oakland's defense because it was the defense that cost the team games last year. You can point to games against Buffalo, Detroit and San Diego last year and easily ...
Terrelle Pryor had his best showing as a Raiders quarterback against the Lions in Oakland's third preseason game of the year. He was 3 for 5 for 137 yards and had two touchdowns. He also rushed for 90 yards on five carries and got another touchdown on the ground.Pryor has the potential to be a star in this league, but like head coach Dennis Allen likes to say about most every player, "There is still a lot of work to do." Pryor and the Raider Nation should be excited about his performance against the Lions because this is why he ...