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R.I.P. AL DAVIS
2010 REGULAR SEASON
Raider Redemption
Oakland 31 KC 10
Photo Ed Zurga / AP QB Jason Campbell
The game started out like a prize fight.
Oakland took several knock down blows and saw S Michael Huff dinged on the opening kick off, QB Jason Campbell out with a knee ding, Zach Miller looked like he ripped his ACL after he got rolled up on while blocking but all of them returned and returned with a vengeance.
The Raiders landed body blows of their own beating up on Kansas City's play off bound O line, stopping its vaunted running game for all but one big 47 yd run and harrassing QB Matt Cassel into poor throws and a pick by the aforementioned Huff.
Huff took the ball to the 10 yd line and set up another Raider score making it 24-10 in the 4th quarter.
A pick 6 by Stanford Routt made it 31-10 and saw the Chiefs fans bailing for the exits.
Cassell was harrassed and sacked 6 times by the Raiders D.
Without Richard Seymour.
Oakland simply dominated KC at the line of scrimmage and put serious heat on KC Quarterbacks all day.
Campbell managed the game well enough on the other side of the ball and didn't commit game changing errors, allowing Oakland to walk away from KC 8-8 on the year, 6-0 in the Division and with a good feeling heading into 2011.
Raiders Demolish
Denver Pt. 212-19-10 7:07 pm pac
Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez RB Darren McFaddenThe Raiders first half was as sloppy as the field conditions at Oakland Alameda.
Rookie KR/WR Jacoby Ford’s 71 TD run off the reverse on Oaklands 1st play from scrimmage ignited a see saw series of explosions and implosions.
On the Raiders second possession QB Jason Campbell took a 3 step drop and tried to fire a shallow cross to TE Zach Miller but Bronco D lineman Kevin Vickerson stabbed it out of the air at the LOS.
The turn over led to an embarrassing 40 yd TD scramble by rookie QB Tim Tebow that set the announcers on a non-stop Tebow love fest for the remainder of the game.
RB Darren McFadden botched a pitch on an end around to Ford and the fumble was recovered by Denver which led directly to a freakish 33 yd TD pass in the right corner of the end zone.
Safety Michael Huff and closed as CB Stanford Routt watched the ball sail right through his hands and land on WR Brandon Lloyd’s chest as he fell on the turf.
With 7:38 left in the 1st quarter Denver was up 14-7 and the Raiders were in danger of anointing the second coming of John Elway.
Undaunted, on the very next possession McFadden stabilized the ship, showing off a Superman spin move to pick up big yards on the next Raider drive, his vast improvement in pass protection , and a 36 yd weaving scamper through the Bronco D to the Denver 2, setting up a 1 yd TD run by fellow RB Michael Bush.
14 all with 3:20 left.
Injuries began to take their toll in this hard hitting game and the Broncos, who wanted an emphasis on the run game due to Tebow’s debut and muddy conditions, suffered a devastating loss when leading running back Knowshon Moreno was knocked out of the game.
A false start on 3rd and 3 led to a Tebow scramble and another crushing hit by rookie MLB Rolando McClain bringing up 4th down.
Despite the poor footing, K Steve Hauschka booted a 46 yd field goal to give the Broncos a 17-14 lead as the 2nd quarter started.
Hauschka and Janikowski slipped on kickoffs, but were 3 for 3 in field goal today.
On the next drive Jason Campbell showed that Tebow wasn’t the only QB who could gain yards with his feet picking up 24 yds on a nifty scramble to his right.
He would finish with five scrambles for 41 yds.
Campbell has used his feet to create more time in the pocket as well buying time for his inexperienced receivers and questionable pass blockers.
He scrambled in the pocket with 10:00 left in the 2nd quarter and found TE Zach Miller for a 30 yd TD but the play was negated by an illegal formation penalty that on review proved to unwarranted and costly.
Instead of kicking for an extra point Campbell faced a 2nd and 19 and was intercepted on the next play by CB Reynaldo Hill.
The penalty hurt even more because Right Tackle Langston Walker suffered an apparent concussion on the 36 yd return.
Walker was escorted off the field by two handlers and directly into the locker room.
Instead of negating the myriad tackle eligible jumbo packages the Raiders use with Lineman Khalif Barnes the Raiders instead plugged in demoted Left Tackle Mario Henderson.
This is the first time Henderson has played the position.
The Raider run game suffered some when running right later in the game but Henderson’s play was surprisingly uneventful.
That bodes well for the on the bubble Henderson and the Raiders, who despite Walker’s decent play should still be looking for a Right Tackle in 2011.
LB Robert Ayers was lost for the game on the Raiders next drive, a blow to Denver’s already depleted Linebackers corps.
Tebow tried to get his Broncos back into the game with a nice completion to Lloyd and a scramble out of the Wild Bronco formation.
A brawl broke out on this Denver drive featuring Oakland DT Richard Seymour but he finished the day with 2 tackles leaving the game with later with a pulled hamstring.
After a Raider 3 and out K Sebastian Janikowski came in and punted for Pro Bowler Shane Lechler who was apparently dinged earlier.
J. Kow’s knuckle baller caught their Broncos by surprise and Denver fumbled the ball away to Oakland Safety Hiram Eugene.
Campbell took off on another long scramble that put the Raiders in Bronco territory at the 2 minute warning.
Thanks in part to Ford’s 71 yd reverse on the first offensive play, the Raiders were now had 201 yds on the ground, the most rushing yards in the first half by any team this season.
Oaklands drive stalled and fans saw Lechler return to the field, not as a punter but as a holder for Janikowski’s game tying 49 yd field goal.
Despite 3 turn overs, Oakland headed into half time tied with Denver 17-17.
On the Raiders first possession of the second half TE Zach Miller atoned for earlier mistakes with a 27 yd catch and run on 2nd and 10 taking Oakland into Denver territory but immediately drew another flag for holding on the next play.
Miller caught another for 15 yds but Khalif Barnes drew a holding penalty making 2nd down and 29 on the 35.
A Bronco penalty didn’t help enough and Shane Lechler booted a 44 yd punt.
Another Bronco penalty on the kick set them back against their own end zone setting up Quentin Groves who speared his way into the backfield to dump the Broncos for a loss.
A 15 yd face mask penalty on the ensuing 22 yd punt return by Nick Miller put the Raiders in field goal range on the Denver 24 yd line.
McFadden’s 6 yd run and punishing style injured Bronco LB Mario Haggans depleting their reserves even further.
Campbell was knocked loopy by D lineman Jason Hunter who speared him in the back. The refs flagged it roughing the passer, but then threw another flag claiming intentional grounding even though the hit caused his release.
Kyle Boller came in for one play and the Raiders settled for a 35 Janikowski field goal with 7:27 in the 3rd.
Raiders 20, Broncos 17.
On Denver’s next drive CB Stanford Routt gave up 46 quick yards on a P.I. and completion from Tebow to Lloyd but reserve running back Lance Ball, in for Moreno, dropped a gimme touchdown throw from Tebow .
Denver settled for a 35 yd field goal and the tie with 5:06 in the 3rd.
On 2nd and 7 Campbell caught a streaking Ford over the middle in stride picking up 26 but Ford was dinged up on the play.
Bush ran for 7 as McFadden worked out a shoulder stinger on the sideline but Oakland had to settle for another long J.Kow field goal, good from 47 yds out.
The Raider defense played on the opposite side of the ball throughout the game despite Tebow’s ability to scramble applying heat against the run game but relying on coverage and a 4 man rush against the pass.
Oakland sacked him twice and dared him to beat them with his arm.
After Marcel Reece’s 73 yd catch and run for a touchdown on 1st down with 14:44 second into the 4th quarter, Tebow and the Broncos were beginning to not have a choice.
Bronco attrition at Linebacker came back to haunt them as Campbell found Reece out of the backfield completely uncovered. A judicious block by WR Louis Murphy escorted him into the end zone.
Veteran WR Jabar Gaffney snagged a deep cross over Safety Michael Huff on the play action pass for a 32 yd gain.
Tebow worked on the ground with is used his legs on consecutive plays to bring up 3rd and 2 with 12:01 remaining after a time out RB Lance Ball picked up the first down.
Denver FB Spencer Larsen was injured on the drive further hurting their ground attack.
On 3rd and 8 Tebow broke left on the QB draw and looked like he’d pick up a 1st down but Pro Bowl CB Nnamdi Asomugha beat a block by RB Corell Buckhalter and expertly planted his shoulder on the scrambling Tebow’s hip dumping him hard to the turf.
Nnamdi said pre game he takes 3 shots before during and after the game to treat his injured ankle.
With the Broncos defense battered and dinged McFadden began to take his toll picking up 25 yds on 2 plays but 2 Campbell incompletions forced a punt with 8:30 left in the 4th.
Photo Ben Margot / AP QB Jason Campbell
30-23 Oakland.
A great special teams play by Safeties Hiram Eugene and Stevie Brown pinned Denver deep at their won 6 yd line.
Oakland smelled blood.
Lamarr Houston, Tommy Kelly and Rolando McClain blitzkrieged into the back field dropping RB Lance Ball for a 5 yd loss.
Quentin Groves knifed in through the A gap and dropped Corell Buckhalter for a Raider safety.
32-23 Oakland with 7:37 left.
After the “punt” from their 20 Denver was flagged for a late hit on Nick Miller out of bounds putting Oakland on the Broncos 47.
A pass to Zach Miller came up short bringing up a 4th and 2 with 4:36 remaining. K Sebastian Janikowski came onto the field but Oakland called a timeout.
After the time out Oakland decided to go for it and drive a dagger through the Broncos heart.
A five yd completion to Zach Miller picked up a first down.
After a false start penalty on Khalif Barnes Jason Campbell booted out to the right then threw back to McFadden who took the ball down to the 1 yd line.
McFadden had 4 catches for 39 yds on the day.
RB Michael Bush took it in on the next play.
Bush would finish with 24 yds on 12 carries and 2 TDs.
Raider pursuit led by rookie DE Lamarr Houston and finished by DE Matt Shaughnessy sacked Tebow on 3rd and 5 with 2:41 left.
On 3rd and 3 McFadden gained 8 around left end.
With no time outs left Oakland knelt on the ball and ran out the clock to keep their thin playoff hopes alive and secure a hard won victory against a hated Divisional opponent.
Raiders 39, Broncos 23.
Despite DMC Raiders
fall to Jacksonville
12-13-10 9:18 am pac
Photo Stephen Morton /AP RB Darren McFadden
In this match up Oaklands roles were reversed and instead of the D carrying the day, the offense became the tip of the spear, tasked with defeating a Jaguar team bent on keeping its play off hopes alive.
Two key special teams failures put Oakland behind the eight ball but half time adjustments by the Jaguars and too many 2nd and 3rd stringers on the field at one time was also responsible for crucial break downs.
WR/KR Jacoby Ford has been excellent in recent weeks, emerging as a Raider weapon on offense and special teams but a costly kick return fumble cost Oakland points and swung the momentum in Jacksonvilles favor.
In the second half the Jaguars were able to apply pressure on QB Jason Campbell to the point he was knocked out of the game.
On the play Campbell actually fumbled in the grip of two Jaguar defenders. The fumble was scooped up and returned for an apparent touchdown but a flag for a blow to the helmet prior to the turn over negated the play.
Announcer Solomon "Wonderful" Wilcots was livid about the penalty but failed to see the initial blow to Campbell's face mask that came before the sack and fumble.
QB Kyle Boller came in for Campbell on several series and did what he has always done, turned the ball over.
The Raiders defense didn't let Jacksonville capitalize on Boller's interception, instead forcing a 3 and out by the Jags with 5:33 left in the 4th.
RB Darren McFadden capped a scoring drive with a burst up the middle of the field for a 36 yd TD that tied the game with 3:40 left.
But, on the ensuing kick off rookie RB Deji Karim ran the ball back 65 yds to the Oakland 30 yd line.
Against a confused Raider D with only one time out left the Jags ran on the very next play with Maurice Jones Drew up the gut practically untouched for the go ahead TD with 1:42 left on the clock.
Despite the loss McFadden was magnificent on the day and though he touched the ball less than 20 times accounted for 123 yds on 16 carries for a 7.7 yd average and 2 TDs on the ground and another through the air on a 1st quarter 67 yd screen play that started the scoring.
The pass was one of 3 McFadden caught contributing 86 yds altogehter.
His production was not enough to push Oakland over the top and keep their play off hopes burning.
The Raiders played well on defense halting the Jaguars top ranked ground attack for most of the game but their old nemesis the big play came back to haunt them as they gave up a 48 TD strike over Safety Michael Huff who was dropped into the slot and playing at the Nickel position.
Huff's role had expended in recent weeks which pleased him as he heads into contract negotiations at seasons end but he was clearly in position to make a play against a 3rd string receiver and did not.
Safety Hiram Eugene revealed Oakland was in an all Safety alignment meaning there were no Corner Backs on the field.
It showed.
The alignment makes sense on paper perhaps but not in reality since the Raiders coverage at the Safety position has not been good.
This was one play though and one of many that plagued the Raiders D.
Another was a lack of veterand play makers on the field or rather a fielding of too many 2nd or 3rd string players, sometimes at the same time.
On RB Rashard Jennings 74 yd sideline TD and several other big plays Oaklands defense was augmented by 2nd and 3rd stringers incapable of making crucial stops.
Recently added DE Jarvis Moss has a broken hand, Safety Stevie Brown is a 7th stringer and MLB Ricky Brown saw his first start of the year for rookie 1st round pick Rolando McClain and all were in on Jenning's TD run.
Rookie LB Travis Goethel and back up DT Desmond Bryant in combination with the others were all in on other devastating plays as well.
Though their presence hurt, the real culprits on Oaklands defense weren't the back ups but the starters at Safety.
He may be a team leading tackler, but Safety Tyvon Branch has been lousy in coverage.
Tyvon against any WR or TE is a mismatch. He is close enough to make the tackle but rarely, rarely makes a play out in pattern and it costs Oakland dearly.
The Jags did their home work and picked on Oaklands struggling third line of defense.
Safety play isn't entirely responsible for the Raiders 31 point giveaway in the 2nd half but it contributed to the loss.
Power and Deception
12-05-10 5;00 pm pac
Photo Denis Poroy / AP WR/KR Jacoby Ford
The Raiders stopped a red hot Charger team riding an 18 game win streak in December.
The Raiders hadn't beaten them since a Rich Gannon led Raiders defeated the Bolts 27-7 in 2002 on their way to the Super Bowl.
No one is confusing Oaklands current QB with Rich Gannon (maybe Jim Plunkett...) but QB Jason Campbell certainly got it done today.
Campbell deftly scrambled for first downs and a gorgeously executed QB bootleg into the endzone to help Oakland jump out to a 21-3 halftime lead.
3 Charger defenders were dinged in the first half as Oaklands bigger, stronger lines dominated the Chargers.
Everyone contributed to the success Oakland enjoyed in the first half including FB Marcel Reece who hurdled Safety Eric Weedle on a perfectly executed screen play that gained big yards.
WR Darrius Heyward Bey ran a great looking 12 yd reverse that set San Diego's D on its heels.
Rookie WR Jacoby Ford caught a fade in the back of the end zone thanks to a well executed pic by Bey.
Oakland dominated the first half and eventually the game on both sides of the ball.
A stunning surprise to not only the Chargers but the NFL.
Oaklands O linemen got second level and blasted open holes for 251 yds against the top rated defense in the League.
The Raiders D linemen got consistent pressure on Rivers with a 4 man front.
Rivers was sacked 4 times and pressured into horrible throws all day.
Rookie DE Lamarr Houston warned all to "hide their women and children" before the game because "the beast" was coming out today.
Houston had a game changing stop on 4th down where he completely blew up the play behind the line of scrimmage and looked like a world beater lined up inside at DT subbing for fellow lineman Richard Seymour who was dinged up and out for a few plays.
Houston's been at DE pretty much exclusively but after todays performance in limited action, defensive coordinator John Marshall may want to consider rotating him inside more.
When Seymour was in New England he was flopped all over the D line but in Oakland he's been predominantly used at DT.
Houston was one of several Oakland defenders who stepped up big time today.
FS Michael Huff had a key sack early that set the tone and fielded an errant Rivers pass for a pick.
MLB Rolando McClain was injured earlier in the week and missed practices with what was reported then as "arthritis" but it was revealed today he has the much more plausible "tendonitis" in his right foot.
The former 1st round pick had a very good game, leading Oaklands D with 7 tackles and an explosive, concussive tackle on RB Darren Sproles that knocked the RB/KR out of the game and will no doubt show up on highlight reels.
Photo Gregory Bull / AP Campbell strolls in
On the offensive side of the ball QB Jason Campbell picked up big and often critical yards to keep scoring drives alive.
Although he only completed 3 passes to WRs, he mixed it up and dumped it off, keeping San Diego's defense on its heels through out.
A Campbell scramble on 3rd and 7 from the Raider 15 set up the 4th and one fake hand off / boot leg for Oaklands first score.
It was executed so perfectly Campbell was able to stroll into the end zone.
Then with 9:05 left in the 4th quarter Campbell threw a 37 yd strike to Louis Murphy on 3rd and 1 keeping a drive alive that culminated in a pitch to McFadden who used superior speed to make the edge and brutal power at the point of impact to punch the ball in for a 7 yd TD and a Raider answer to a 4 yd TD catch by TE Antonio Gates on the Chargers previous drive.
Campbell's fake hand off to RB Mike Bush was so convincing camera operators completely missed the play and San Diego defenders who stopped Bush at the LOS were busy celebrating the stop as Campbell loaded up to throw the ball way down field to Murphy.
Campbell's execution was aided today by a Raider ground game that gouged the Chargers top rated D with gallops by RB Darren McFadden for 97 yds and a TD on 19 carries and 95 yds and a TD on 23 carries by RB Michael Bush.
Bush's power running finished the game off for Oakland as they pulled off a great victory in the most unlikely fashion.
The Raiders simply dominated the Chargers with smash mouth football mixed with well executed finesse and decepetion, damaging San Diego's play off chances tying them at 6-6 with the Raiders and making Oakland the only team in the AFC West undefeated in the Division at 4-0.
A great team win by the Raiders over a hated rival.
Oaklands still alive in December for the first time in a long while.
Its a good day to be in Silver and Black...
Same ole Raiders fall to
the Phins11-29-10 11:37 am pac
Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP QB Bruce Gradkowski
Raider QB Bruce Gradkowski will under go an MRI. He's been battling a shoulder problem since week 3 against Arizona.
After Sudays humiliating loss Gradkowski left the field carrying his arm awkwardly after being hit on the Raiders final offensive play.
Frankly it seemed like Gradkowski's arm was bothering him before the hit.
You have to admire the guys guts and desire to play but not when it comes at the expense of your teams viability.
Any QB controversy should be laid to rest but given Campbell's foibles at the position, who knows?
Kyle Boller will no doubt be elevated to 2nd string. If Jason Campbell continues to play poorly, Boller could actually see sometime and Oakland could be shopping for yet another QB in 2011 strike or no.
Wouldn't blame Campbell for wanting to bail, wouldn't blame Oakland for letting the under performing QB go.
Both are at fault.
Before the week 3 Arizona game Campbell let slip he was still struggling with offensive coordinator Hue Jacksons terminology and Campbell can't be happy with the hodge podge of inexperienced and under performing WR's he's forced to throw at.
That is, when the O line gives him time.
The entire "who'll be QB" fiasco began before the Steelers game. Coach Tom Cable stated earlier in the season "Gradkowski would be QB when healthy" but even Campbell questioned what was going on because he said:
“My thing was in the Pittsburgh game, well, he (Gradkowski) was healthy,”
Almost sounded like Campbell wished Gradkowski had started against Pitt.
Given the way the O line is blocking and the ineptness of Oaklands receivers, its hard to blame him.
Oakland fell at home yesterday to the Dolphins 33-17 and looked like the same old Raiders doing it.
Their O line sucked and their D couldn't get itself off the field.
Part of that was the fact the offense simply couldn't get anything going and went 3 and out far too often placing the worn down D right back into the line of fire.
Oakland was 2 of 9 on 3rd down and rarely saw the field thanks to long and sustained Dolphin drives.
This is basically the same old same old as far as the Raiders are concerned.
They've regressed.
The O is anemic.
The D is exposed.
Whats frightening is Oaklands D. aside from a give away 45 TD by Dolphin RB Ricky Williams, stifled Miami's run game fairly effectively.
It was secondary that got torched.
For whatever reason Oakland decide to get rookie Walter McFadden his first meaningful action yesterday.
Made sense on paper I guess.
Oakland sat injured and struggling CB Chris Johnson, Miami was without Brandon Marshall and fielding supposedly sub par wide outs.
Seems like they felt "If ever we're going to get him reps..."
No word on why Jeremy Ware wasn't called upon like they've done before this year.
He did blow a coverage or two against Pittsburgh that cost us a TD, but so did FS playing CB yesterday Michael Huff.
Oaklands once mighty secondary, its strength mind you, was brutalized by a one legged Miami QB so dinged up they ran the Wild Cat alot to limit his exposure.
After Oakland called off the dogs in the 2nd half, it didn't matter and they kept Chad Henne in despite wearing abrace on his injured knee.
Henne scorched Raider defenders time and again with accurate passes totalling 307 yds and 2 TDs on 17 completions.
He also threw an interception but clearly, it didn't hurt Miami.
What hurt the Raiders was Walter McFadden's clueless play.
He'd suffered a hamstring injury against Seattle in the pre season that nagged him through out the season. When asked why he hadn't played yet coaches responded with "He's fallen behind because of the injury."
What made them think he was ready yesterday is anyones guess.
Walter was beaten like a rug time and time again.
Not that he was the only one.
Pro Bowl CB Nnamdi Asomugha was back from an ankle injury but not all the way.
He too was victimized by Henne and the Dolphins several times yeserday.
Looking like a mere mortal yesterday Henne disected him several times before figuring out Walter was a guaranteed completion every time.
Aso was clearly in pain as his meds wore off in the 4th quarter.
With Johnson out and 7th rounder Ware in the dog house, it looks like Aso came back too soon after missing 2 games prior.
Even when Oakland does something right it does something wrong lately.
WR Jacoby Ford has been a lone bright spot for the Raiders, hauling in circus catches and making the Raiders other wides look like rank amatuers.
Thats bad news if you are 2nd yr man and former 7th overall pick Darrius Heyward Bey.
Photo Tony Avelar / AP WR Jacoby Ford
Ford hauled in 4 grabs for 108 yds and a TD including a spectacular 54 yd grab that should've ignited the Raiders offense.
It didn't.
What will ignite Bey's performance is anyones guess.
Bey's single contribution yesterday was a 2yd gain on a reverse.
Speaking of 1st round drafts flirting with bust status...
After running like the 4th over all pick he was in Oaklands 3 back to back wins Darren McFadden is looking like the McFadden of old.
He had 8 carries for 2 yds yesterday.
Granted, Oakland totaled TWELVE rushing attempts total against the Dolphins and it takes a while to get a ground game going but ugly whispers around the meeting tables suggest McFadden's not running like he was during that win streak.
We think its that and partly the O lines fault.
Samson Satele had a brief shining moment where he was actually playing well.
Wether he's dinged up or what is another matter but he is a liability in the center of the O line and thats a very very bad thing.
The most disturbing thing about yesterdays loss, and there were alot of them, was he perception that Oakland just kind of quit.
They weren't talking to each other, no one was rallying the troops clearly no one is leading the charge.
Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano was demonstrable and fiery on the Phins sideline and it showed in his beat up teams performance.
Most teams look forward to the bye and it looked like it came at a perfect time for Oakland but, they've now lost 8 in row when coming off the bye and this year, they looked like a completely different team after their return than the one they did before they departed.
Scratch that, they looked exactly like they have for 7 years...
We're BAAAAACK!!!
11-07-10 5:34 pm pac
K Sebastian Janikowski wins it in OT
Both teams went old school back yard football with fake punts and all manner of trickery.
Some of it worked, some of it didn’t.
Oaklands Wild Cat led by Darren McFadden shows that they can move the ball and that Raider coaches do listen to us.
Ok, maybe not but our questioning if they even knew what our key players excelled at in College came at the same time they began running plays and formations our key players excelled at in College.
THIS was old school, nail biting, infuriating, euphoric AFC West football.
30 flags were thrown in this game and it will be reviewed over and over for the baffling and frankly bullshit calls and time delays by the refs.
Their bungling gave the Chiefs a much needed breather with only minutes lefet and had the Raiders finally red hot offense cooling its heels while they stood around trying to figure out gawd knows what.
Even the booth review got into the act holding up the game while they tried to over turn a spectacular Jacoby Ford catch with time waning.
The Raiders and Chiefs did not play immaculate football by any means but 30 flags is flat out ridiculous.
Let the men play.
The refs were horrible.
Oddly enough, 4 of them have worked Super Bowls.
Probably Seattle - Pittsburgh we’re thinking.
Despite the refs best efforts to quash a Raider come back the Raiders simply would not be denied.
Rookie WR Jacoby Ford exploded onto the scene and looked like a tiny Cliff Branch on a 47 yd rainbow in OT laying out for and securing the Campbell bomb and yeah, thats old school Raider football baby.
Campbell’s pass and Ford catch set up Sebastian Janikowski’s 33 yarder to seal the greatest Raider victory in 7 years.
Photo / AP Rookie WR/KR Jacoby Ford takes on 94yds for a TDFord's 94 yd TD return of the opening kick off of the second half set the tone for this Raiders team and its defense was undeniably awe inspiring.
What made it even more amazing was the fact we did it without All Pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha, All Pro TE Zach Miller. leading WR Louis Murphy and rookie MLB and Defensive Captain Rolando McClain who suffered a hip injury.
Status unknown.
Jason Campbell was 19 of 33 for 229 yds and had 1 TD and 1 pick.
McFadden ran like the rare and gifted athlete he is but was held to under 100 yds for the first time in 2 weeks.
He finished with 17 carries for 89 yds but was magnificent.
The real story is rookie Jacoby Ford exploding onto the scene and taking over the 4th quarter of the game with one spectacular catch after another.
Without Ford’s 6 catches for 148 yards the Oakland Raiders would not currently be only ½ a game out of the lead in the AFC West.
Yeah baby, the Oakland Raiders are for real.
Oakland Wins Big but
Loses Nnamdi10-31-10 2:34 pm pac
Photo Paul Sakuma
Oaklands defense dominated the Seahawks in the first half. Seattle went 3 and out 7 times.
They finally got the ball moving with a little over a minute left to play but from 51 yds K Olindo Mare missed for the first time in the season.
On offense the Raiders struggled with the run game temporarily faltering and Campbell failing to consistently pull the trigger.
The Raiders struggled to combat the Seahawks "Bandit" defense a Nickel or Dime package featuring as many as 7 DBs but eventually cracked the code.
The Raiders suffered poor field position most of the day but moved the ball well and ate the clock.
They came away with field goals too often, letting the Hawks hang in.
Seahawk special teams coach and former Lane Kiffin Raider Brian Schneider tried his best to ruin the Raiders party with kick and punt return teams and Leo Washington did break a 45 yarder, but the Raiders managed to stem the tide.
Campbell found FB Marcel Reece at the slot position on 4th and 1 on a quick slant.
Campbell’s pass split the converging double team and Reece took it to the end zone.
Janikowski added more points in the 4th quarter after missing one earlier.
Darren McFadden topped 100 yds on just 13 carries and after battering the Hawks D, finally broke it on several solid runs including a 49 yd scamper.
DMC is showing that he has become a well rounded and dangerous professional.
WR Darrius Heyward Bey showed signs of life having his best game with 5 grabs for 105 yds and a 69 yd TD.
By the 9:30 mark of the 4th quarter Oaklands D had sacked Matt Hassellbeck 5 times and hurried him 11.
Even after a great Matt Shaughnessy sack, the Seahawks managed a field goal to make the game 23-3 with 9 minutes left.
All Pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha landed awkwardly and went down in a heap. He stayed on the turf clutching his ankle and had to be assisted off the field by two trainers. The Raider faithful chanted "Nnamdi, Nnamdi, Nnamdi!!!" as he left the field.
It looks bad.
Photo Tony Avelar / APCB Nnamdi AsomughaIn Nnamdi's place S Michael Huff stepped in at CB on a play or two as did rookie Jeremy Ware.
We’ll need to see how rookie Walter McFadden can do when he heals up from a hammy issue.
Later, Janikowski answered Mare’s kick with a field goal of his own making it 26-3.
On defense S Tyvon Branch struggled in coverage but Raider pressure meant few deep balls and Branch had his best game, recording 5 tackles and sack and a pick.
King Richard Seymour added another sack with 6:26 left in the game to bring up 4th and 14.
A 29 yd punt gave Oakland the ball on its own 32.
LG Robert Gallery drew his second flag of the day and the Raiders on both sides of the ball racked up penalties. Just like they’ve always done.
It just doesn’t hurt as much when your scoring.
Michael Bush broke a 29 yarder with a little under 4 minutes left to play that extended a drive.
FB Marcel Reece rumbled to the 4 on the next play.
Reece had 2 carries for 32 yds and 3 catches for 90 yds including a TD and a 51 yard screen.
Old school Raiders will be reminded of Hewritt Dixon.
RB Michael Bush scored with 1:56 on the clock making it 32-03. The Seahawks were charged with their 2nd time out after an injury.
Oakland put a whoopin’ on the Seahawks posting 548 yds offense. Aside from Nnamdi’s unfortunate loss this was all Raiders all day.
It looks like they’ve finally broken the curse.
Raiders win 33-3.
RAIDERS DEVASTATE
DENVER10-24-10 3:49 pm pac
Photo Jack Dempsey / AP
McFadden shreds the Broncos
Oakland came out throwing with and without success.
QB Jason Campbell kept the opening drive alive with a nifty 15 yd scramble.
Fears about Campbell’s viability and mobility were answered in the 1st half.
The scrutinized QB nailed Zach Miller for a 43 yd TD in the first 5 minutes. He hit screens and used his legs to pick up yards and extend pass plays.
Campbell was off target to Miller and then held the ball waaay too long and was sacked to end Oaklands next drive.
Oaklands defense mauled the hapless Broncos forcing 3 fumbles and a pick which CB Chris Johnson took 30 yds to the house with 10:44 left in the 1st quarter.
On the very next possession by Denver they ran a double reverse that ended with rookie WR Demaryius Thomas getting stripped by S Michael Huff.
Rookie DE Lamarr Houston recovered the ball and ran it in for an apparent TD, but the refs had blown it dead.
3 plays later RB Darren McFadden strolled in off left tackle for a Raider TD.
With 6 minutes of the first quarter gone, Oakland was up by 21 points.
K Sebastian Janikowski added a 31 yd field goal after a hold on 3rd and 8 by rookie WR Jacoby Ford negated a sweet scramble by Campbell for what would've been a TD.
McFadden had a 9 yd TD negated on the first play of the 2nd quarter after a BS holding call on TE Zach Miller.
DMC got his revenge on this series taking a 3rd and 19 Campbell screen pass and fighting his way into the end zone.
With 15 minutes and 16 seconds of game played Oakland led 31 to nothing.
Jason Campbell started to get gun shy suddenly as the 2nd quarter began, held the ball too long and took some sacks but a fumble off a scramble by Denver QB Kyle Orton was recovered by S Tyvon Branch and Darren McFadden cashed it in 3 plays later for another Raider TD.
Campbell gave up one of those sacks that we mentioned and the Broncos went back on the offensive with Orton finishing the drive at the 2 minute warning with a 7 yd bubble screen to RB Knowshon Moreno.
The Broncos used a pick on the play but it wasn’t flagged because Tyvon Branch ran into his own guy cancelling them both out and allowing an easy TD.
The Raiders ran the ball well to close the half and went into the locker room up 38-7.
Somewhere in the 2nd quarter C Samson Satele suffered a concusion and was replaced by rookie Jared Veldheer who had been dominating in the run game at left tackle, though he had 3 false starts in the 1st half alone.
That meant LT Mario Henderson had to come back in to replace the rookie Veldheer who had taken his job while Veldheer filled for Satele at Center.
Oaklands insistence that its linemen learn more than one position finally paid off big.
They didn't miss a beat.
Then in the beginning of the 3rd quarter a 24 yd pass interference penalty against CB Chris Johnson set up a Knowshon Moreno 27 yd screen that scored on the Broncos opening drive.
The Silver and Black shuffled uneasily.
38-14.
On the 2nd play of Oaklands opening second half drive RT Langston Walker exacerbated a prior elbow injury and was replaced with Khalif Barnes 2nd and 10 at the Raiders 20.
Campbell panicked and scrambled to his right.
Somebody screwed up their route because both Louis Muprhy and FB Marcel Reece were in the same area. Campbell lobbed it on the run and Reece climbed the ladder for a great catch.
Murphy running full speed thought the ball was for him and collided with Reece who was making the catch.
Murphy splatted on his back on the side line and stayed down.
The Broncos lost rookie S Perish Cox on the same play.
With an injured backfield missing vet Brian Dawkins and Darcel Bath the rookie Cox suffered a horrible horrible day before he got hurt.
Oaklands WR Louis Murphy went to the locker room.
McFadden broke a big run for a 1st down to continue the drive but Langston Walker returned in time to be flagged for a hold.
With Murphy out WR Nick Miller entered the line up and snagged a deep 39 yd pass from Campbell, dragging his feet in bounds.
DMC did his best to keep the drive going with a 15 yd draw.
2 Bronco defenders whiffed as he surpassed 100 yds on the day.
Photo Joe Mahoney / AP RB Darren McFadden
After an embarrassing time out the Raiders went for it on 4th down and bashed their way up the gut with FB Marcel Reece for a TD, stifling the Broncos come back hopes.
No mercy.
With 7:37 left in the 3rd Oakland was up 45-14.
Murphy made his way back to the sideline just in time for the Broncos LT Ryan Clady to draw a flag for facemasking blitzing LB Kam Wimbley.
Wimbley had a beautiful take down of Orton earlier in the game.
After the penalty DT Tommy Kelly destroyed G Chris Cooper and sacked Orton for a loss again, bringing up a Bronco 3rd and 28 on their own 1.
Orton to Gaffney bought them 10 yds to punt with.
On the next drive DMC took the 1st down hand off 53 yds on a masterful, winding TD run.
At this point, DMC averaged 10 yds on 16 carries for 165 yds 3 rushing TDs and 1 receiving.
Raiders 52-14 with 5:39 left in the 3rd quarter.
On their next drive, Denver went 3 and out.
Zach Miller made a catch and run for 17 yds and a 1st down to keep the Raiders next drive going after RB Mike Bush bashed away for good yards against a stunned Bronco D.
Driving the knife in deeper rookie Denver CB Casius Vaughn prevented a TD strike to WR Johnnie Lee Higgins by grabbing his arm and drew a flag for the blatant P.I..
From there Mike Bush dove it in from the one yard line.
With :27 seconds left in the 3rd Oakland was up 58 to 14.
On the point after try K Sebastian Janikowski set a Raider record with his 8th extra point.
59 to 14.
The most points ever scored by any Raider team.
On the Broncos next possession DT Richard Seymour gave Oakland its 4th sack of the day.
A penalty helped pin Denver deep forcing a punt from its own end zone.
WR/PR Nick Miller may have been worth the wait after all. He wasn't great but he's better than anyone we've fielded in 2 yrs.
And he can catch.
As we predicted back up QB Kyle Boller did see action. He started the 4th quarter as Campbell rested.
Campbell finished 12 of 20 for 204 yds and 2 TDs. With zero interceptions.
The Raiders Pro Bowl Punter Shane Lechler showed he's the best in the game with a 50 yd average and a kick that bounced and pinned the Broncos on their own 1 yd line.
Richard Seymour and S Mike Mitchell forced Denver to punt by slamming RB Knowshon Moreno into the turf for a loss on 3rd down.
With 3:22 left in the game rookie MLB Rolando McClain tipped a Kyle Orton pass at the 1 yd line on 4th and goal to help finish the Broncos off.
McClain had a great day showing off his rare speed and power. He even recorded a sack blitzing off the edge.
Today, he finally pulled the trigger.
Boller and veteran RB Rock Cartwright spelled the starters on offense and ended the game.
All the potential. All the talent. All the things we felt this team could do and be were on display today.
Complete and utter Raider devastation of the Denver Broncos.
This one made history and will be talked about for decades.
Truly one for the ages...
Raiders Beat the Bolts
10-11-10 12:37 pm pac
Photo Tony Avelar /AP
Myers blocks a punt
As the dust settles on an extremely exciting back and forth victory over the Chargers the Raiders will need to polish up some key pieces in order to ride the wave of a great win.
Oakland special teams began firing on all cyliders as Raider Rb and special teamer Rock Cartwright blocked a punt that skittered out of the end zone for a safety.
Reserve TE Brandon Myers got in the act and did the same only his block was recovered by S Hiram Eugene who walked it into the end zone and then dove into the stands to celebrate.
In the return game WR/KR Jacoby Ford stumbled fielding 5 kick offs for 28 yds and fumbling twice.
Ford was Johnny on the Spot later in the game though when he recovered a Zach Miller fumble to save a drive.
As a testament to the potency of their offense SD punted only once but it gave WR/PR Nick Miller a chance to shine as he ripped off an exciting 46 yd return and gave Raider fans something to look forward to.
With :12 seconds left in the 1st quarter Bruce Gradkowski was knocked out of the game when rookie lineman Jared Veldheer playing LT couldn't block blitzing SD linebacker Shaun Phillips.
Photo Ben Margot / AP
QB Bruce Gradkowski
Gradkowski was 1 of 7 to that point and frankly probably shouldn't have been playing anyway. He's got guts, not one can deny that, but the shoulder injury he suffered the week before against Houston was clearly bothering him.
Jason Campbell didn't look that great either right off the bat but launched the longest scoring drive Oaklands been on in 13 years with a 93 yard march that culminated in a 1 yd TD pass to TE Zach Miller.
The drive ate up a huge chunk of the 3rd quarter and kept San Diego's potent offense off the field.
It also showed that Campbell can lead this team.
Campbell was 13 of 18 for 159 yds and a TD, however, Campbell is afraid to cut loose on the deep ball.
Several times it was clear receivers were open down field and Campbell demured to the dump off.
It served them this week but its something Oakland will need to work on.
Theres is no doubt Campbell is going to be the starter. Gradkowski, as great as his energy is, doesn't have the skill set to read D's or the consistency to win on a regular basis.
Gradkowski's having an MRI on his shoulder as we speak.
Photo Tony Avelar / APQB Jason CampbellNo one in Raider Land is saying it officially, but Campbell is the starter till further notice.*
10-11-10 5:25pm pac
*In Coach Tom Cable's press conference today Cable answered a question from the press about Gradkowski's playing status for this weeks match up:
Q: "If Bruce is healthy is he the starter?"
C: "Yes. Bruce would start if healthy."
This is Cable's political way of saying "I chose to start him over Jason and I'm not backing down now." Cable's hedging his bets about Gradkowski's AC sprian in his right shoulder.
Grads had an MRI today but the results probably won't be avaibile to the public till Wednesday.
Gradkowski has the heart of a competitor and if there is any way humanly possible he'll want to play, but based on the injury and how he looked before and after the big hit, he shouldn't.
Sometimes you have to read between the lines and weigh the evidence.
Its our opinion, despite the political and tactical manuevering, Jason Campbell will play against San Fran this week end.
We only hope he can keep the job.
Michael Bush was back and helped bull the Raiders into the win column with 26 rushes for 104 yds and a TD.
Several of Bush's touches came on crucial plays like a 4th and 1 conversion for 9 yds at the 2 minute warning that led to a J.Kow 30 yd field goal.
Oakland missed Darren McFadden's speed on the edges but Bush was more than able to tote the rock against San Diego's D.
He also caught 3 catches for 31 yds.
Oakland relied on Bush to save the day since the passing game to its wides had clearly stalled.
WR Louis Murphy had one great catch and run of 58 yds but finished with 2 catches for 61 yds.
No other Raider wide made a catch on Sunday.
TE Zach Miller took up the slack making 6 catches for 61 yds and a leaping TD grab in the back of the end zone off a Jason Campbell scramble.
Photo Tony Avelar / APTE Zach MillerMiller won praise from announcers who claim "He's the best TE you've never heard of."
We've heard of him and so have our rivals...
On defense S Michael Huff led the team with 11 tackles and of course had the sack / forced fumble that led to Tyvon Branch's 64 yd game sealing TD with a little over a minute left in the game.
Huff whiffed on a couple of plays but is showing he's a force playing one of the hardest positions in all of football, single high safety.
Tyvon made the spectacular play but frankly needed to atone for his consistently horrible play this year against the run and especially in coverage.
He was responsible in large part for much of Rivers 431 yds passing yesterday.
S Mike Mitchell "The Angriest Man on Earth" is starting to step up and make plays. He effectively killed a 79 yd drive by SD with 2:48 left in the half by recovering a Rob Lytle like fumble on 3rd and one at the Raiders goal line and returned it 12 yds to the Oakland 14.
Recievers, TE's and backs are starting to look over their shoulder when hard hitting Mitchell is on the field.
He may be a head hunter, but he is starting to become a head finder.
Some ill informed fans claimed CB Nnamdi Asomugha was "exposed" yesterday by San Diego passing game but the fact of the matter is over zealous refs flagged the hell out of Oaklands secondary with ticky tac pass interference and illegal contact calls.
For the most part blown coverages on the back end belonged to the safety corps.
Still, one has to admit, the Raiders may be missing the veteran leadership and coaching of retired Hall of Fame CB Willie Brown.
The simple fact of the matter is Philip Rivers is a good QB with WRs who will track down his passes and fight for the ball.
Oakland should be so lucky.
It can be said the Chargers didn't need to run the ball during their visit yesterday to the Black Hole becuae their passing game was so prolific, but the fact is they had trouble moving the ball on the ground.
The Chargers netted 91 yds in the run game thanks to stout play by the Raiders dinged up LB corps and Oaklands suddenly stout right side D which included King Richard Seymour and DE Matt Shaughnessy.
Seymour is a joy to watch, destroying double teams and stonewalling blockers at the LOS.
He is really, really good bad hammy or no.
Oakland moved LB/DE Trevor Scott back to WLB because of inuries to LB's Quentin Groves and Thomas Howard. Scott should stay there based on yesterdays play.
Scott was solid against the run and applied pressure in the passing game.
Letting DE Matt Shaughnessy see more reps was a good thing as he showed he can stack, shed and set the edge against the ground game and has developed an impressive arsenal of pass rushing moves as well.
Photo Tony Avelar / AP
DE Matt Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy's new found pass rush forced a Rivers fumble at the Oakland 14 yd line that was recovered by fellow DE Lamarr Houston to kill a SD scoring opportunity with :27 seconds left in the 1st quarter.
This was clearly a team win by the Raiders who bent but didn't break. They gave up huge swathes of yards through the air but when it counted and in red zone situations the Raiders came through on offense and on defense to seal an incredible win and break a long standing 13 game losing streak to a hated division rival.
Its a good week to be a Raider fan.
Raiders End Charger
Streak 31-2710-10-10 5:01 pm pac
Photo Ben Margot /AP
S Tyvon Branch goes hizzy for the winIn a pre season interview Raider Nation Station asked Tyvon Branch his favorite thing about playing safety.
His answer?
"Blitzing. Because you can change the game."
Thats exactly what changed not only the game but the momentum the San Diego Chargers have had over the Silver and Black for the last 7 years.
Often castigated for over the years (and rightly so) for playing prevent defense and not applying pressure the Oakland Raiders pulled out all the stops on San Diego's final drive sending blitz after blitz against #1 rated QB Philip Rivers.
The Raiders bet the farm against Rivers and the Bolts even though Rivers had shredded their secondary completeing 27 of 42 passes for 431 yds and 2 TDs.
Oakland learned its lesson the hard way in last seasons opener when in a similar situation against SD they chose to play prevent defense and allowed the Chargers to march down field and steal the win.
This time Defensive Coordinator John Marshall let slip the Dogs of War and it paid off big time.
Safety Michael Huff sprinted in left side, fought off a block and grabbed Rivers throwing arm forcing the ball out before he could throw. Bltizing Safety Tyvon Branch alertly scooped up the ball and rocketed 64 yds into the end zone for the go ahead touch down with 1:10 left in the game.
QB Jason Campbell came off the bench as we foretold pre game and struggled at first but settled in to lead the Raiders on a 93 yd TD drive.
Their longest scoring drive since 1997.
Photo Ben Margot /AP
QB Jason Campbell
Again as we mentioned on Facebook before hand Oakland could win if they controlled the clock and the ball while putting up points.
Thats exactly whqat they did dominating the clock in the back half of the game on gutsy 4th and short calls and by making clucth plays.
Campbell led the Raiders back onto the field to kneel on the ball for the win.
Oakland special teams led the charge out of the gate blocking 2 punts for points as Rock Cartwright launched inside to block the first one that rolled out of the end zone for a safety and reserve TE Brandon Myers laid out for the second block that was recovered and waltzed in by S Hiram Eugene for the TD.
RB Michael Bush ran for 104 yds on 26 carries and scored a TD himself.
Oakland shattered the streak and finally got big plays to go there way when they needed them the most.
Jason Campbell came back from the bench and showed he can get it done.
Its too early to annoint him Jim Plunkett staus yet, but its a good starting point.
Miller shines, D doesn't
10-03-10 4:22 pm pac
Photo Ben Margot / AP
DMC
Oakland failed to capitalize on an excellent kick return by Jacoby Ford and struggled with field position through out the 1st half.
Oaklands defense gave up a big TD run and was burned badly by an 11 yd "pop" pass to Texan TE Joel Dreessen for a TD that exposed a weakness Houston found in the film room.
League leading RB Arian Foster didn’t see the field until the six minute mark of the 2nd quarter.
Houston didn’t need him.
Aside from the touchdown Oakland was gouged several times by the Texans reserves but unlike previous games seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
Oakland needs to find a punt returner.
JLH has proven he’s not the man for that job.
Houston missed WR Andre Johnson’s Pro Bowl presence.
The fact Matt Shaub was mostly unmolested still didn’t matter with excellent coverage by Oaklands secondary.
RB Darren McFadden is looking like a 4th overall draft pick.
Makes your heart jump a little bit.
He’s that good.
RB Michael Bush came into the game and carried the ball twice on the goal line eventually scoring a TD but ended up putting the ball on the ground both times evoking a Texans challenge flag that was denied. (Bush’s knee was down before the ball came out.)
The fact Bush disappeared after ward may mean his broken thumb isn’t healed quite yet.
DMC carried the Raiders on his back through the first half and opened the passing game where QB Bruce Gradkowski found stud TE Zach Miller several times for big yards.
Despite the Texans 32nd ranked secondary, Oaklands receivers where blanketed.
Could be Bey and Murphy’s injuries slowed them.
After a great catch by Zach Miller put them in field goal range, Gradkowski couldn’t find anyone open and held the ball too long with :39 seconds left in the half and got stripped by the Texans who recovered the ball and marched it to the Raiders 29 but crusty kicker Neil Rackers missed the 46 yd attempt as time expired.
Tied up 14-14 at the half.
RB Arian Foster comes out in the 2nd half and breaks a 74 yarder that absolutely thrilled the hell out of one of CBS's announcer who were sure is completely unbiased. (Mm hmm)
Texans 21 Raiders 14 with :33 seconds gone in the 3rd quarter.
Oakland moved the ball well on the next drive but Gradkowski scrambled on a 3rd and 14 and was nearly beheaded by former Kansas City Chiefs Safety Marcus Pollard for the 2nd time in the game.
Gradkowski walked off the field under his own power but was clearly shaken.
The man doesn’t know how to slide apparently.
Have to admire his grit but theres a difference between tough and senseless.
Houston took over and marched down field on a 13 play drive until an illegal formation call on the Texans put them at a 3rd and 14 which they couldn’t covert thanks to a nice open field tackle by S Michael Huff.
Little atonement for Huff’s whiff on Foster’s 74 yd TD run.
Neil Rackers came in and nailed a 35 yd field goal to take the lead 24-14.
Bruce Gradkowski came out and put the defense immediately back on the field, over throwing a pass that was picked off by Texan S Troy Nolan.
Houston began marching down field again with Houston taking full advantage of Oakland weaknesses on defense.
D coordinator John Marshall’s got a lot of work and explaining to do.
A play action pass on 2nd and 8 from the 10 yd line caught Oakland flat footed and resulted in an easy TD catch by RB Arian Foster.
At this point Foster had 102 yds on 9 carries and the Texans had 205 yds on the ground so the Raiders bit hard on the play fake.
31-14 Texans.
On the Raiders next drive Darren McFadden ripped off a 23 yd run and then injured his right hamstring.
RB Michael Bush came in and saved the drive with a 3rd and 9 catch that he bulled for a 1st down.
TE Zach Miller made another catch for 9 yds making his total at this point 7 catches for 87 yds as Bruce Gradkowski started letting go of the ball quicker.
Miller caught another for 6 on the drive and then capped it with a 14 yd TD grab From Gradkowski to lessen the lead 31-21 with 11:03 left in the game.
Houston couldn’t convert on 3rd and 5 from the Raiders 25 giving Oakland the ball back with 9:57 left in the game.
WR/PR Johnnie Lee Higgins needs to be replaced as a return man.
On the kick TE Brandon Myers was flagged for holding. Oaklands first penalty of the day that backed them up 10 yds after they had good field position.
Myers has consistently been suspect on special teams this year since the Raiders let veteran TE special teamer Tony Stewart who was in all honesty awful this off season too.
Higgins snagged a laser from Grads to give Oakland a 1st down. Zach Miller continued to make grabs as well padding his gaudy numbers.
Gradkowski came back from the dead and began marching Oakland down field with deft passing to JHL, Miller and Louis Murphy who caught his first pass of the game for a 1st down but the Raiders needed to operate with more urgency.
The drive stalled when Higgins showed why he’ll never be a lead WR running the embarrassingly wrong route on 3rd down.
K Sebastian Janikowski came in and nailed a 39 yd field goal to pull Oakland to within 3 with a little over 6 minutes left in the game.
31-24 Texans.
Oaklands D looked confused again as the Texans picked up a 1st down on an 8 yd Arian Foster run S Tyvon Branch should’ve stopped but he over ran it.
Branch has struggled all year long.
On 3rd and 6 at the 34 with 3:33 left the Texans handed it to Foster who was gained 4 as Oakland spent one of its 3 time outs.
P Matt Turk punted for the 6th time to Higgins who returned it to the 25 where Gradkowski took over.
RB Mike Bush ran a screen for 7 yds to set up a 3rd and 3 with Oakland still lacking urgency.
Texan CB Brice McCain held WR Darrius Heyward Bey to give Oakland a first down with 2:22 left.
RB Michael Bush took a draw play for 7setting up 2nd and 3 as the clock struck the 2 minute warning.
An extremely late intentional ground penalty on Gradkowski set up 3rd and 16 but Bey was late to turn and missed Gradkowski’s pass setting up 4th down and the game.
Gradkowski’s rocket to Louis Murphy over the middle hit him right in the numbers. Poor technique allowed the ball into his pads and the pass ricocheted to the Texan S Troy Nolan.
Houston got the ball, gained a 1st down with Foster and ran out the clock to seal the win.
Gradkowski finished 24 of 39 for 278 yds, 2 TDs and 2 picks, but the interceptions were off bobbles by his wides.
He needs to learn to hook slide or he'll get killed. Its a miracle he came back and played the whole game.
TE Zach Miller was unstopable with 11 grabs for 122 yds and a TD but Oaklands dinged up WR corps didn't show up today against the worst pass defense in the League.
Part of it was the pass rush generated by the formerly feeble Texans D but we'll discuss that later.
Oakland shows grit, but loses for the 3rd time this year.
Raiders, Cards Special
Teams Pivotal09-26-10 4:45 pm pac
Photo Ross D Franklin
J.Kow. Perhaps if he'd worked out at camp...
Kicker Sebastian Janikowski sinks Bruce Gradkowski's late game heroics with his 3rd field goal miss of the day.
Oakland had miraculously moved the ball into the Cardinals red zone thanks in part to an awesome Gradkowski to Heyward Bey grab on 4th and 10 that helped set up Janikowski for a game winner with :04 seconds left.
Including the 17 yds to the goal post Janikowski was set to redeem himself for his earlier misses.
Until he shanked it left from 32 yds.
Much was made of how slack Janikowski and Lechler's lives are while everyone else suffered at camp this off season whith J.Kow missing huge chunks of time on "personal business".
Granted, theres only so much a kicker can do at camp, thats why the veteran is allowed lattitide but after todays nightmare, maybe they should rethink their policy.
Special teams including a 102 yd TD by the Cards on Janikowski's opening kick off, played a huge roll to day.
Both sides played horribly.
Aside from the opening TD Arizona muffed several returns that resulted in Raider points but it was Janikowski's unusually awful day that sunk Oakland in Arizona.
Full report from a great game we should have won, later...
Raiders lead 20-17 at
Half Time09-26-10 3:06 pm pac
Photo Ross D. Franklin / AP
TE Zach Miller
The Raiders gave up a 102 yd TD return on the opening kick off but like my Grand Pappy used to say, "First horse outa the gate doesn’t always win the race."
The Cards kick off after was a squibbler and 3rd string RB Rock Cartwright had a nice return near mid field.
Horrible ref Mike Carey negated a 44 yd pass to WR Louis Murphy claiming Bey was already blocking before the catch.
Oakland was forced to punt but Shane Lechler showed why he’s a weapon and expertly pinned the Cards at their own 2 yd line.
They punted giving Oakland great field position again which they took advantage of.
RB Darren McFadden had some nice runs that set up a TD strike from Gradkowski to TE Zach Miller.
Tied up 7-7.
The Cards pinned Oakland deep but muffed the punt return and it was recovered by Pro Bowl long snapper John Condo.
Gradkowski over threw Zach Miller in the end zone by a hair and Oakland settled for a 22 yd field goal from J.Kow.
10-7 Raiders.
Off the strength of a 24 yd Beanie Wells run (his first of the 2010 season) the Cardinals set themselves up for a Jay Feely field goal to tie the game.
10-10.
The announcers don’t know Oakland dropped FB Luke Lawton. Marcel Reece is the man at FB.
Oaklands drive stalls but J.Kow’s got the leg to hit from 54 yds out.
Raiders 13-10.
Oakklands special teams may be suspect, but they have the finest kickers in the League.
Early in the 2nd quarter the Cards mounted a drive that featured a successful 4th and 1 conversion.
They then threw a well designed pass to WR Steve Breaston for a TD on 3rd and goal.
When will Oakland learn that Safety Tyvon Branch is a liability?
He’s not the only one.
Oaklands defense looked out of sorts and reactionary again this week.
LB/DEs Trevor Scott and Quentin Groves are bad against the run.
Combine that with Tyvon’s mis reads and whiffs and were in trouble again.
Oakland tired to mount a drive but kept misfiring on offense.
WR Darrius Heyward Bey gave the drive new life with an excellent catch for a 1st down on 3rd and 17, but LT Mario Henderson whiffed on a LB twist and Gradkwoski was sacked to kill the drive.
Raiders hold the Cards deep inside their own 20 until a phantom hands to the face penalty on Tyvon Branch gave them new life.
The drive giving Oakland the ball at mid field but a roughing penalty on Arizona moved Oakland into Cardinal territory.
Gradkowski made a stupid throw that was batted and picked off with 4:13 left in the half.
Cardinals QB Derek Anderson repaid the favor with a stupid shovel pass into the line that was batted in the air and LB Quentin Groves finally made a play and intercepted giving Oakland the ball with 2:40 left.
After the 2 minute warning RB Darren McFadden ripped a beautiful 33 yd run and Oakland actually successfully ran a screen play for 19 that set up a go ahead TD run by McFadden.
Right Tackle Langston Walker was injured on the pay and has been battling a sore back since pre season.
LG Daniel Loper threw key blocks on the scoring drive and has been a very pleasant surprise for the Raiders questionable O line.
20-17 Raiders at half time.
DMC Shines, Bruce
Almighty Saves the Day09-19-10 4:21 pm pac
Photo Paul Sakuma
QB Bruce Gradkowski
Oaklands O line played one of the worst halves of football since 2006.
Bad substitutions didn’t help as center Samson Satele got the start over rookie Jared Veldheer.
Veldheer stepped in for struggling left tackle Mario Henderson, drew a stupid penalty, held and got replaced by Henderson.
QB Jason Campbell struggled all half long, couldn’t get rid of the ball and was himself replaced by back up QB Bruce Gradkowski to the cheers of the few Raider fans who bothered to show up.
Writer and Tim Kawakami suggested Tom Cable could be on the hot seat if todays game goes badly and since Cable’s a supposed O line guru he may have a point.
It simply doesn’t get much worse.
Still, after Oakland was gashed for huge chunks of yardage by the Rams excellent running back Stephen Jackson St. Louis only led by 4 points as we went to half time.
Oakland safety Tyvon Branch has proven himself a liability so far this year as well.
He led all DBs in tackle last year and in the off season seems to have forgotten how.
His coverage has been worse.
Oakland seems to insist on using 11th hour addition Jay Alford at DT and pay for it by giving up big runs nearly every time he’s in.
WR Darrius Heyward Bey was targeted a lot by Oakland QBs in this contest and stepped up big time despite being mugged constantly by the Rams London Fletcher.
Pleas to the refs fell on deaf ears.
Despite the blatant holds that negated Bey’s speed and ability to break on deep balls, he made an impact in the short game snagging passes and looking good doing it especially after Gradkowski stepped in.
Bruce Almighty has been a fan favorite but the nod had to go to "Jim Plunkett" Jason Campbell who Oakland picked up this off season from Washington for a 4th round pick.
Campbell struggled under the Raiders lack of protection and looked disoriented and lost.
At the half he was 8-15 for 87 yds and pick.
He was castigated in Washington as King of the check downs and was living up to the title.
Cable finally made the decision to start Gradkowski in the 2nd half and it paid off with a gritty drive that included several passes to Bey and by TE Zach Miller who sacrificed to make a great catch.
He stayed down for a minute after being crushed into the turf but continued the game as the Raider offense came alive.
Rams defenders mistakenly thought the Raider fans were booing but they were really yelling "BRUUUUCE!!!"
Gradkowski rewarded them with his gutty performance and after taking a massive hit on the play before, scrambled, created some space and found WR Louis Murphy in the end zone for an 11 yd TD that electrified the crowd.
On the next drive the Raiders were stuffing St. Louis until DT Tommy Kelly drew a stupid personal foul that gave the stalled Rams 15 yds and a 1st down.
The Raiders stepped up though on 3rd down and ran their psycho package, a 3-4 look with defenders flooded left and put a massive hit on rookie Rams QB Sam Bradford with DE/LB Kam Wimbley and Trevor Scott meeting at the QB and crushing him.
There was a palpable change in the Raiders O and defense in the 2nd half as Bruce Gradkowski let the ball fly decisively and with results which helped the porous O line.
With Gradkowski in and with the help of Rams miscues the Raiders were able to feed and impressive Darren McFadden who pounded the ball and broke off chunks of yardage even when there was little to no blocking.
Gradkowski brought rhythm to the offense and allowed the Raiders to use their game plan of keeping Rams RB Stephen Jackson useless on the sideline for much of the second half.
McFadden helped in that area too with great moves and punishing running between the hash marks.
Photo Marcio Jose Sanchez
RB Darren McFadden
After a questionable P.I. on Michael Huff as he legally broke on a curl route, CB Stanford Routt played perfect coverage on the other side and made a great interception of the rookie Bradford.
With 4 minutes left and a chance to salt the game away TE Zach Miller dropped a crossing route that would’ve given them a 1st down in Ram territory then rookie Jared Veldheer playing left tackle drew a false start setting up 3rd and 15.
Gradkowski’s tipped pass was intercepted on the next play giving the Rams a chance to drive with a little over 4 minutes left to play.
Rookie Rolando McClain suplexed Ram WR Danny Amedola and drew a personal foul that moved the Rams into Raider territory.
The fans loved it but it cost Oakland critical yards and set up a Ram touchdown pass over safety Tyvon Branch that was ruled out of bounds but a Ram challenged over turned it with 3:18 left and making the score 16-14 Raiders.
A roughing the passer penalty helped keep a drive alive with a little over 3 minutes left.
A clutch completion to WR Louis Murphy gave the Raiders a 1st down and a great run by McFadden gave the Raiders a 1st down that let them kneel on the ball for the win.
Gradkowski was 11 of 22 for 162 yds a TD and pick, but his influence on the game was immeasurable.
McFadden had his most impressive game pounding the ball 30 times for 145 yards.
Louis Murphy was clutch after another slow start. He had 6 grabs for 91 yds and a TD but it was his fellow wide Darrius Heyward Bey who found some redemption by making 6 catches for 80 yards and looked good doing it.
The Raiders eked out a win but after watching the nightmare 1st half, Bruce Almighty gives the Raiders season new life.
The Raiders managed a win but there are alot of questions that need to be answered this week.
Number one, who starts at QB next week?
We know who the fans will want.
"Last year the Raiders offensive out put suffered when injuries and inexperience took its toll. This year the new emphasis on player diversification could not only provide insurance, it could provide a tactical advantage."
All along the O Line09-10-10 2:32:pm pac
Photo Tony Gonzales
Oaklands been working hard this off season to implement a much more diverse package on both offense and defense.
On offense, partly out of neccessity, partly because its smart, the Raiders expanded emphasis on schooling multiple players at multiple positions could pay off in a number of ways.
Last year Oakland struggled on offense after its already shaky O saw poor play and injuries leave them with few options on the offensive line.
In 2009 the Raiders had to re install center Samson Satele after he was benched for poor performance.
G/C Chris Morris took over for Satele but had to bump over to fill for LG Robert Gallery when he was injured.
Several other injuries occured through out the year and kept the Raiders scrambling for replacements.
Some players Oakland had on the sidelines couldn't or wouldn't play other positions since they had little or no experience other than the one position they had been trained for.
Oakland finally had to go out side the organization mid season to bring in former Raider Langston Walker to finish the year and even he was forced to play guard at one point though he'd never done it before.
This limited the number and types of plays the Raides could run, hand cuffing their offense.
At this years camp Raiders coaches had many of their linemen running plays from multiple positions from guard to tackle to center. In fact, 3rd round pick Jared Veldheer was drafted as a tackle but after playing nearly all of the postions along the line in pre season seems to have stuck at center.
This year if (or more likely when) injuries occur they Raiders will be in a much better position to fill those gaps with out as much lag and without a huge drop off in play selection.
Oaklands diversified scheme could also provide a tactical advantage.
In theory the Raiders can run one look with their O line on one down and without rotating players in can line up the same players in different postions to take advantage of defensive players or sets.
With players capable of playing multiple positions like guard or tackle and on either left or right side, Oakland could not only help solve its depth problems but actually put defenses at a disadvantage.
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