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Archive for October, 2012
Coming off their most impressive victory of the year, the Oakland Raiders approach a fork in the road as the halfway point of the schedule nears. At 3-4, they would move to .500 for the first time in 2012 with a win over the 3-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They would officially thrust themselves into the AFC West chase with their third straight win.By contrast, a home loss would push them to 3-5. With games at the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, and versus the New Orleans Saints (all three playoff teams in 2011), the schedule only intensifies.So in many ways, ...
Having accomplished so much during the regular season as a team, the Oakland A's received an individual accolade today as Josh Reddick was named a 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove award winner. Reddick's award capped a great season where the unheralded right fielder emerged as a legitimate power hitter and two-way player for the AL West champion A's.Reddick's win represents the first for an Oakland outfielder since Dwayne Murphy won for his defensive play in 1985. The last Oakland defender to be recognized at any position was former third baseman Eric Chavez after the 2006 season. In 2012, Reddick compiled 15 assists, the ...
Darren McFadden was one of the most feared running backs in the NFL under former head coach Hue Jackson from 2010 to 2011. Jackson rescued McFadden’s career from the zone-blocking scheme, only for Greg Knapp to bring it back in 2012. If the team is winning it wouldn’t matter, but the Raiders haven’t won enough games to make anyone forget. The struggles of the zone-blocking scheme have been fairly obvious even to the casual observer. After six games trying to force a square peg into a round hole, the Raiders finally yanked back on the reins. The Raiders used the ...
Since the Oakland Raiders' bye week in Week 5, the team has put together an impressive run.  In three games, the Raiders have won two games while dropping one.In the first game back, the Raiders gave Atlanta everything they had, but came up short against the undefeated Falcons.In the next, the Raiders fought through a very sloppy game and won the game with an overtime field goal. The third game proved to be much different, as they dominated in every phase of the game.  Instead of having the game go down to the wire like the other two games, the Raiders ...
With the midway point of the season set to pass, the Oakland Raiders are 3-4 and are sitting nicely in the disappointing AFC West.They had a convincing win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and got a full team effort along the way. With that being said, it was only Kansas City.The Raiders still have their needs on both sides of the ball. As mediocre as the AFC is this season, all it takes is one move for Oakland to be a serious threat in the playoff picture.Let's take a look at five moves the Raiders could make at ...
The Oakland A's made a common-sense move today with reports coming out that Grant Balfour's 2013 contract option will be picked up by the A's.The option on the closer who some refer to as "The Mad-Aussie" will cost the A's only $4.5 million, and it will allow them to keep their best relief pitcher from 2012.  He finished the season with only 24 saves though he shared time as closer with Ryan Cook, the only All-Star for the A's last year.Balfour was removed from the closer role after two blown saves in a row, but once he got the job ...
At the beginning of the 2012 campaign, a 3-4 record eight weeks into the season probably would have seemed acceptable to many in Raider Nation.Sure, a loss to Miami would have hurt, but with the Dolphins surging, the loss becomes much more tolerable.With that said, as the Raiders lurk just one game out of the divisional lead and one game out of the wild card, their nine remaining games will determine how the 2012 season is remembered.With that as a backdrop, we break down all of Oakland's remaining games.Begin Slideshow
 Every week, it seems like this Oakland Raiders team has a new tune about them, and after their second consecutive win over the Chiefs, the question of who this team really is remains unanswered.A look back at their completed schedule, however, paints an interesting picture.Two weeks ago, the Raiders were coming off their second consecutive loss, a heartbreaker to the Falcons, and were sitting at 1-4 on the season. To analysts around the league, the perception was simple: Oakland is back to being Oakland.Fourteen days later, however, and the Raiders are now 3-4 and just one game behind the Broncos ...
The Oakland Raiders went into Kansas City and dominated the hapless Chiefs to earn a 26-16 victory. Most of the domination came on the defensive side of the ball as the Raiders allowed just nine points until the Chiefs got a touchdown late in the game with the Raiders leading by 17. Oakland’s offense sputtered and settled for four field goals, punted six times, went 2-of-12 on third down and scored a touchdown on just one of six trips into the red zone. If it wasn’t for Kansas City’s four turnovers and a couple big plays by the passing game, ...
The Oakland Raiders took the show to the road and handily beat the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 26-16. This score doesn't demonstrate just how dominating a victory it was for the Raiders, as the Chiefs managed a touchdown at the end of the game when the outcome was already well in hand. Brady Quinn didn't last long, as he only attempted four passes before leaving the game with a "head injury," according to the AP. He was taken out after getting hit hard on two separate occasions, one of which resulted in an interception. In his stead, Matt Cassell ...