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Archive for November, 2013
When Jared Veldheer gets added to the Oakland Raiders’ 53-man roster this week, it likely won’t register more than a ripple on the national scale. Inside the team’s headquarters, however, it’s cause for a minor celebration. Veldheer has been on the injured reserve/designated to return list since suffering a torn triceps in training camp. Although he had made significant strides in his rehab over the past month, the Raiders held off activating the former third-round draft pick in order to increase his stamina. Just how much he’ll play against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day remains to be seen. Last week, coach ...
Now through 11 games with a mediocre 4-7 record, and plenty of teams ahead of them in the standings, the Oakland Raiders are likely out of the AFC playoff race. This has been a season filled with impressive wins and extremely disappointing losses, flashing both the somewhat surprising potential this team has heading into the future, as well as highlighting the work still to be done. In the NFL, you are only as good as your record says you are, and for the most part, that is especially the case for the league's 32 head coaches. In Dennis Allen, however, no matter what ...
The Oakland Raiders are still smarting from their last-second loss to the Tennessee Titans. The good news? Dennis Allen’s team doesn’t have much time to wallow in pity, not with a Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas coming up. With five games left, the Raiders (4-7) can still make a run at the playoffs despite having dropped three of their last four. It won’t be easy, either, as Oakland has only two home games left and must still face division-leading Denver and Kansas City. To end their decade-long playoff drought, the Raiders will likely have to run the table over the final month. ...
Want to know how bad quarterback play is in the NFL? There are serious discussions going on at this moment in your fantasy league about Matt McGloin. Yes, that Matt McGloin. The one who wasn't drafted. The dude who didn't complete 55 percent of his passes in college until his senior season. The guy who made one blond-haired writer give up on humanity multiple times during his time as a faithful Penn State student. More damningly, yes, I mean the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. McGloin has started each of the past two weeks for Oakland for the injured Terrelle Pryor and ...
The Oakland Raiders missed a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season. Dennis Allen’s team also squandered an opportunity to move into the lead for the second wild-card spot in the AFC. It was a game of missed opportunities all the way around. Oakland’s defense couldn’t get off the field on third downs, and the offense couldn’t stay on it. Two missed field goals from kicker Sebastian Janikowski and an interception by rookie quarterback Matt McGloin didn’t help. On the other hand, Rashad Jennings continues to be the workhorse in Oakland’s backfield and has the running game moving along ...
Matt McGloin couldn’t capture lightning in a bottle two weeks in a row. Yet Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen feels no need to make a change with his young quarterback and has already penciled in the undrafted rookie to start in Week 13, per Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times: A week after getting the fanbase overly excited when he threw for three touchdowns without an interception in his first NFL start, McGloin looked much more like the inexperienced quarterback he is during a 23-19 loss to the Tennessee Titans. McGloin passed for a season-high 260 yards and lofted a 27-yard ...
The Oakland Raiders knew exactly what to expect from Tennessee Titans' offense, yet they could do little to stop it. Even on the deciding play of the game, coach Dennis Allen’s team simply froze up and broke down, resulting in a costly 23-19 loss. The defense also had problems getting off the field on third down and tracking down surprisingly elusive Tennessee quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals, raising his season’s total to seven already. That’s equal to the number of misses the Polish Cannon had for all of 2011 and 2012. Quarterback Matt McGloin came back to earth a ...
Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor is now a backup quarterback—at least that’s the case this week. But if new starter Matt McGloin performs well again on Sunday, it could be indefinite. Pryor is at a crossroads in his young career and is in danger of slipping into obscurity. If McGloin has another solid outing against the Titans, Pryor’s time as a starter in the NFL could be gone for good. Just six weeks ago, Pryor looked like he could be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Raiders, but his future is now murkier than the waters of the San Leandro Bay. After ...
With Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden having been placed on injured reserve Wednesday, his rookie NFL campaign has come to an early end. With the NFL being a "what have you done for me lately" league, there will certainly be a wealth of premature conclusions being drawn about both Hayden as a player and the Raiders' decision to select him as early as they did in the draft. After Hayden had experienced some struggles this season, many of the evaluations of Hayden's play are certain to focus on his negatives in criticizing what was an extremely important first-round pick for the Raiders organization. Simply put, it is ...
Andre Holmes spent the first four games on the NFL’s suspended list after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance. Now he could be the wild card for the Oakland Raiders’ receiving corps in their Week 12 game against the Tennessee Titans. With wide receiver Denarius Moore missing a second straight day of practice with a shoulder injury, putting his status in doubt, Holmes will likely see increased playing time when the Raiders attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Holmes has just one catch in four games this season. The 25-year-old wasn’t even added to Oakland’s 53-man ...