SB Nation - Johnnie Lee Higgins

Oakland Raiders Postgame Recap: Redskins 34, Raiders 13

Rated-R Superstar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:32:23 -0000

Bruce Gradkowski tried to get his third win as a starter in the silver and black. [via cdn2.sbnation.com]

Fresh off of a win on the road as 15-point underdogs, the Oakland Raiders (4-8) took on the Washington Redskins (3-9) as underdogs once again. Trying to stay hot behind quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, the Raiders entered today's game 2-1 when he starts with wins over the Bengals and Steelers. Unfortunately, the game was blacked out locally. Banged up, Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis were among the many Redskins out for today's game. Dive in to see how the Raiders fared with the Redskins on a gloomy day at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A bit of rain was in the air for this one.

Darren McFadden had a nice first quarter catching the ball. [via cdn1.sbnation.com]

First Quarter: A pathetic return by Gary Russell of 11 huge yards gave us the ball first. He did, however, make the only key play of the series before a sack by LaRon Landry forced the Raiders to punt the ball to the Redskins. Darren McFadden carried it twice on the opening series and basically went nowhere. Anyway, a 68-yard boot by Shane Lechler set up Washington at their own 20 for their opening drive. A five-yard run by Quinton Ganther was the only real positive play on the series. A sack by Trevor Scott, who has been on fire, and an incomplete pass by Jason Campbell forced a Hunter Smith punt. Johnnie Lee Higgins, who had some room on the return, managed to return it to his own 39 yard line. After Bruce Gradkowski hit Higgins for a nine-yard pass, Justin Fargas fumbled; however, Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot had one foot out of bounds on the recovery. It remained Oakland ball. Gradkowski then hit Zach Miller on a big play, but an offensive pass interference on Chaz Schilens brought it back almost to the original line of scrimmage of the drive. A timeout followed it up. The Raiders couldn't really amount anything after that. Another sack doomed a second consecutive drive and it was Lechler time again. A fair catch was called by Antwaan Randle El and the Redskins had it at their own 22. The defense made some nice plays, specifically Kirk Morrison and Chris Johnson, and a three-and-out forced the Redskins to punt. A big play opened up the next drive for the Raiders, as Gradkowski hit Darren McFadden on a slant for 43 huge yards. Unable to muster anything after that, a field goal by Sebastian Janikowski gave the Raiders a 3-0 lead with just over four minutes still to play in the opening quarter. Faced with a third down, Jason Campbell swung it out to Quinton Ganther on the left side. Busting through, Ganther picked up huge yardage to put Washington into not only Oakland territory, but also field goal range. Once again, the Redskins converted on third down. On the very next play, Fred Davis was hit for a touchdown. After whistled for a 15-yard penalty, the Redskins had to kick from their own 15. A 41-yard return by Gary Russell gave Oakland the ball at midfield. An acrobatic grab by McFadden at the 24 yard line capped a seemingly long first quarter.

Fred Davis found the end zone twice and celebrates with a teammate. [via cdn3.sbnation.com]

Second Quarter: Starting the second quarter, a stupid play call (a give to Gary Russell) cost the Raiders a yard. Zach Miller and Chaz Schilens each made grabs and the Raiders had a goal-to-go from the nine. After a miscue on the give to Justin Fargas, the Raiders hit Zach Miller on third down. He was short, however, but Tom Cable remained aggressive from last week. A fourth down carry and dive by Fargas gave the Raiders a touchdown as they had regained a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. The rain got progressively worse at this point in the game, as noted by commentator Dick Stockton. Fred Davis, open in the secondary, caught a pass and it was for a good gain into Oakland territory. Back-to-back plays by the Raider defense stuffed Quinton Ganther in the backfield. Richard Seymour and Trevor Scott stopped the run and Kirk Morrison and Tommy Kelly blew the next play up on a screen in the backfield. Needing 12 yards on third down, an offsides penalty by Greg Ellis gave the Redskins five free yards. So, another offsides penalty hurt; however, it didn't hurt as much. Hiram Eugene made a great tackle on Randle El and Washington had to settle for a field goal. Graham Gano, just signed out of the UFL, connected on a 46-yard field goal. We were tied, 10-10, in a pretty evenly matched game with 7:27 left to go in the first half. After a three-and-out, a great 58-yard punt from Lechler set the Redskins up at their own 21. The Redskins didn't get far at all, and some good pressure by defensive linemen Matt Shaughnessy and Gerard Warren forced a punt. Jason Campbell was shaken up after the hit. A couple of stupid calls -- runs up the middle by McFadden and Russell -- brought up a long third down. Nearly intercepted by Reed Doughty on a pass intended for Oakland's Zach Miller, Doughy was flagged for illegal contact. It give the Raiders an automatic first down. On the very next play, an open Miller flat out dropped the ball. It was a good pass by Gradkowski, too, but Miller just let it slip through his hands. Welcome to the show Louis Murphy, as he pulled the Raiders to within two yards of the first down marker at the two-minute warning; however, on the next play, a catch of his was correctly called back on the booth review. The Raiders were forced to punt from midfield. A stupid penalty on the punt called against Hiram Eugene -- not stupid on Eugene's part but rather the referee's -- as Eugene was called for interference when he didn't even interfere. The bench was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty and so the Redskins had it at their own 40. Santana Moss made a 14-yard catch and the Redskins were threatening before the half. Next, a big play to Devin Thomas had Washington really in business. Two plays later, Fred Davis scored his second touchdown of the game to give Washington a 17-10 lead. (Damn, he's on my bench in a fantasy football league.) A holding penalty on the kickoff return set the Raiders up in bad position, and there was just seconds to go before halftime. A couple of runs by Gradkowski picked up some yards, but Oakland needed more with just 16 seconds to go without any timeouts remaining. Almost getting sack, Gradkowski flipped it out to Fargas in the flat and he ran out of bounds with less than 10 seconds to go. An incomplete pass on the next play basically made it impossible for a field goal try; however, Tom Cable decided to go for a field goal without running another play. A 66-yard field goal fell short, and Redskins safety Reed Doughty grabbed it and took off from his own end zone. Mario Henderson grabbed him and slammed Doughty to the ground to end the half. The Redskins had a 17-10 lead. For those of you keeping track, a total of 16 penalty flags were thrown. Yes, this was an ugly game.

After filling in for Bruce Gradkowski, JaMarcus Russell spent a ton of time on the ground. [via cdn1.sbnation.com]

Third Quarter: The Redskins started out with the ball at their own 30, and more importantly the lead. A pass interference committed by Tyvon Branch gave the Redskins a fresh set of downs. Michael Huff, who suffered a stinger in the first half, is still out with that injury and being replaced by Hiram Eugene. A couple of incomplete passes had Washington in a third and long situation. A rare blitz by the defense had Campbell sacked back at his own 26 by rookie safety Mike Mitchell. A punt followed that big play. The return by Higgins set the Raiders up in good field position, at their own 44. After going down with a knee injury just before the first half concluded, Gradkowski was out and unable to return. Yes, that means JaMarcus Russell was in -- and playing quarterback, too. Raiders fans everywhere are holding their respective breaths. Needing three years on third down, Russell called a timeout as Oakland was nearing field goal range. Still, they needed a first down if they even wanted to think about a pretty good try being at Washington's 38. A big play conversion to Higgins was followed up by a 10-yard loss on the sack. Ugh, Russell didn't get rid of the ball. Rookie Brian Orakpo brought him down. More stupid play-calling from Tom Cable, the reverse went nowhere. You've already called that play once, Tom. You can't fool the defense like that. An incomplete pass to Darren McFadden set up a 53-yard field goal try for Janikowski. Missing earlier from 66 yards out, this one was much more manageable and Sebastian knocked it through for his second of the day. The Washington lead was trimmed to 17-13 with just under nine minutes to play in the third quarter. The Raiders brought the heat some more on Campbell on the Redskins' next drive, as Stanford Routt nearly got to Campbell. By the way, Routt replaced by the injured Nnamdi Asomugha. Then, on second down, Matt Shaughnessy brought down Campbell for Oakland's third sack of the game. With the third down play coming up short, a good return by Higgins set up Russell and company in good field position just shy of midfield. A second down play resulting in a first down to Zach Miller had the Raiders in Washington territory; however, on the next play, McFadden slips on a run. He still managed to pick up six yards. A pitch that went backwards forced the Raiders to make a play on third down in order to keep the drive alive. Russell found Murphy and the Raiders moved the chains. It's a step forward and then a step backwards for Russell, apparently, as Andre Carter brings him down for a loss. A false start, which didn't occur under Gradkowski, moved the Raiders back five more yards. Another penalty and then another sack totally demolished the drive for the Raiders, and it became third down with 35 yards to go. Is anyone ready for Charlie Frye yet? The punt by Lechler hopped into the end zone, and Washington began their drive at their own 20 with the third quarter almost over with. Almost off of the field, Rock Cartwright made a play on third down for the Redskins and Washington's drive continued. A couple of runs by Quinton Ganther ended the third quarter. The Redskins had a 17-13 lead over three quarters.

Santana Moss and the Redskins ran away in the fourth quarter. [via cdn0.sbnation.com]

Fourth Quarter: Kicking off the fourth quarter was Washington in Oakland territory looking to add onto their four-point lead. Not surprisingly, the quarter begins with two penalties on the Raiders. Routt was called for pass interference -- which was a bad call as Santana Moss had slipped -- and then Howard was flagged for holding. A couple of plays later, the Oakland defense tried to get off the field with Washington tryign to convert a third down needing three yards. Of course, the Redskins picked up the first down with ease on a pass from Campbell to Malcolm Kelly. A touchdown basically kills any chance the Raiders have of winning this game, especially with Gradkowski shelved. An effective screen to Moss set up a touchdown run by Ganther, a Richmond native scoring the first time in his career, and Washington had taken a 24-13 lead with over 11 minutes to play in regulation. It was clearly a great drive by the Redskins. Chewing six minutes up and going 80 yards on 13 plays, you couldn't have asked for more if you were Jim Zorn. The Raiders had the ball back needing two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. In a shocking turn of events, Russell threw a pass that was picked off by LaRon Landry. Why am I still watching the game at this point? I don't know. Campbell to Moss goes for 30 yards, and the Redskins are a touchdown away from blowout city. Some plays later, Ganther's second touchdown of the day put Washington ahead by 31-13 score. Oh, yes, it was all over by then. Russell marched back out there and was sacked. We were all so very surprised. Luckily for us, Carter totally missed the fumble and Henderson pounced on it to keep possession. Blah, blah, blah, the Raiders had to punt without a first down gained; however, Randle El screwed up the punt return and dropped it. Tony Stewart fell on it and Oakland had the ball at midfield. On the very next play, Russell was sacked yet again and this time it was Lorenzo Alexander. That was the seventh sack of the game with five of them coming against Russell compared to only two when Gradkowski was in the game. God, this game couldn't end any sooner. I'll save the dramatics: Russell was sacked on fourth down. Getting Marcus Mason involved some in the fourth quarter, Washington marched down and kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 34-13. Terribly bad went to even worse as Zach Miller went down with an injury. After another useless drive that went nowhere led by the great JaMarcus Russell, the Redskins got the ball back and ran out the clock. Improving to 4-9 are the Redskins and falling to that same record are the Raiders by a 34-13 score.

Little Billy has some explaining to do. [via cdn2.sbnation.com]

The Report Card: I'll give grades to the pass offense, rush offense, pass defense, rush defense and special teams. Of course, you're welcome to give your own grades in the comments.

Pass Offense: D -- Obviously, things were going a lot smoother with Bruce Gradkowski back there instead of the totally inept and awful JaMarcus Russell. Still, we have to grade them both. Gradkowski was a little below average and Russell was awful, so I tried to find the middle ground.
Rush Offense: F -- The rushing offense was absolutely dreadful. On 24 carries, a 2.7 average just isn't going to cut it. Justin Fargas led the way with 21 yards and a touchdown, but that stuff is something that should be achieved in just one quarter and not one whole game.
Pass Defense: D+ -- Jason Campbell had almost a field day going 16-for-28 with 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. They brought some heat, so that was a good thing but just about the only good thing.
Rush Defense: C -- It was a very average performance by the rush defense with the Redskins averaging around four yards per carry with a couple of rushing touchdowns.
Special Teams: B- -- Janikowski's only miss came from 66 yards. Shane Lechler averaged almost 52 yards per punt. Johnnie Lee Higgins was okay returning punts while Gary Russell was nothing special returning kicks. Overall, it was pretty decent and I guess I couldn't complain about the way special teams played. The coverage wasn't all that bad itself.

My Thoughts and Tidbits: It's quite simple, really. Once JaMarcus Russell came in for the injured Bruce Gradkowski, it all went to hell. Trailing 17-10 at the half, this game was clearly within reach all the way. Charlie Frye should start next week should Gradkowski be unable to go. Next up, we have the Denver Broncos who are 8-5 and leading the Wild Card race in the AFC. This was really rough in the second half. Enjoy your Sunday evening, guys, and try to put this one behind us.

Poll

Weekly Recap Poll: Who was the Oakland Raiders player of the game?

Previewing the Enemy: Washington Redskins

Rated-R Superstar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:39:28 -0000

It's a Super Bowl XVIII rematch! [via prod.static.raiders.clubs.nfl.com]

Alright, it's not quite a rematch from Super Bowl XVIII when the Raiders smashed the Redskins en route to their third Super Bowl title in franchise history. Nonetheless, this Sunday, the Oakland Raiders (4-8) will look to put together a winning streak as the Washington Redskins (3-9) will be coming to town. Don't let that 3-9 record fool you. This Washington team is better than their record and it clearly showed after taking Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans to the wire. They don't lay down and will play hard. With the team 2-1 with Bruce Gradkowski starting, the Raiders look to come away with another hard-earned victory as they did last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as 15-point underdogs.

Let's take a look at their schedule and see how they've fared so far.

Week 1: @ New York Giants -- L, 17-23
Week 2: St. Louis Rams -- W, 9-7
Week 3: @ Detroit Lions -- L, 14-19
Week 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- W, 16-13
Week 5: @ Carolina Panthers -- L, 17-20
Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs -- L, 6-14
Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 17-27
Week 8: Bye Week
Week 9: @ Atlanta Falcons -- L, 17-31
Week 10: Denver Broncos -- W, 27-17
Week 11: @ Dallas Cowboys -- L, 6-7
Week 12: @ Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 24-27
Week 13: New Orleans Saints -- L, 30-33 (F/OT)

Well, this team is certainly interesting. Sitting at 3-9, this team could easily be 6-6 or even better. We will have to bring our "A" game, of course, if we want to secure a victory on our home field this Sunday.

Let's check out the Redskin offense first.

Pass Offense Rank: 220.2 yards/game; 18th in NFL
Rush Offense Rank: 101.0 yards/game; 22nd in NFL
Total Offense Rank: 321.2 yards/game; 21st in NFL
Scoring Offense Rank: 16.7 points/game; 26th in NFL

With stars Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis out, others must step up for the Redskins. [via cache.daylife.com]

If you recall, the Redskins offense was the subject of some controversy or what not concerning head coach Jim Zorn. Well, he gave up his play-calling duties to assistant Sherman Lewis. Since then, the offense has performed better. Who is the leader of this Redskins offense? I really don't know to be honest with you. Let's look a little bit into their personnel.

Jason Campbell, QB: Many people questioned Campbell's status as the quarterback this season. He was even benched in favor of veteran Todd Collins earlier. To me, Campbell is actually a pretty solid quarterback. He isn't going to set the world on fire or anything, but he can still hurt you. Campbell is completing 66 percent of his passes this season even if they are "dinks and dunks" most of the time. With 15 turnovers and 15 touchdown passes, Campbell's ratio isn't all that great. He has been sacked three or more times in five games. Obviously, getting some pressure on him would be nice.

Rock Cartwright, HB: Rock is solid, just like a rock. (Ha, get it?) If you want him to be the running back, he can. If you want him to be the fullback, he can. He'll even run back kicks and run down there on punt returns. He is a threat out of the backfield to catch passes. A somewhat physical runner, Cartwright doesn't really stand out in terms of either his speed or his strength. Cartwright has stepped up for the injured Clinton Portis (concussion), who just put on injured reserve. Also on injured reserve is Portis' backup Ladell Betts, so the Redskins are thin at running back.

Quinton Ganther, HB: Ganther, just in his second year out of Utah, is someone I just don't know too much about. Essentially moving up from fourth on the depth chart to splitting time with Cartwright, Ganther was mildly successful against the Saints last Sunday with 46 yards on just 8 carries. The week before that against the Eagles, Ganther had 32 yards on just 5 carries. We may see more of him against the Raiders with him averaging 5.8 yards per carry over the past few weeks.

Santana Moss, WR: The pint-sized and speedy Moss is Washington's leader in receptions (49), yards (642) and touchdowns (3). He is what you would call the team's go-to-guy, but really the Redskins have a lot of guys they go to. Still, Moss provides that veteran presence and can't be overlooked. Maybe this would be one of the few times where I wouldn't mind Nnamdi Asomugha moving around from receiver to receiver, which he will at least a little bit.

Wide receiver Devin Thomas had two touchdowns last week against the Saints. [via a.espncdn.com]

Devin Thomas, WR: The second-year receiver out of Michigan State, Thomas is a young man seemingly improving with each game of late. He has even been prominent in the kick return game of the past two weeks. Still, he has shined brightly in the passing game over the course of those two same weeks. After a decent game against the Eagles, he broke out for 7 receptions, 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against the Saints.

Antwaan Randle El, WR: The ex-Steeler is still in Washington. Randle El, who is very durable having missed only one game in his eight-year career, he is a dependable target for Campbell despite only averaging 3.3 receptions per game. I believe this is more in part to the number of targets the Redskins like to use. The team isn't confined to both Moss and Rande El as you will see here in a minute in this preview.

Fred Davis, TE: After Campbell's favorite target Chris Cooley went down for the year, someone had to step up. Unknown at the time to Washington, it'd be his replacement. Fred Davis. Since October 26, Davis is averaging 7.5 catches and 45.7 yards with finding the end zone three times, including two times in his last three games. As most tight ends are, he is a threat in the red zone and Campbell has no problem looking his way.

Let's shift gears to the Redskin defense now.

Pass Defense Rank: 190.2 yards/game; 5th in NFL
Rush Defense Rank: 121.8 yards/game; 24th in NFL
Total Defense Rank: 312.0 yards/game; 9th in NFL
Scoring Defense Rank: 19.8 points/game; 14th in NFL

Linebacker London Fletcher leads Washington's better-than-you-think defense. [via cdn.bleacherreport.com]

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache and his Washington Redskins actually have a pretty solid group defensively operating out of the 4-3. You may not think so because of their 3-9 record, but I'm sure people don't think highly of our defense since we're just 4-8. Anyway, the Redskins are particularly strong against the pass. Safety Reed Doughty has quietly had a good year and young LaRon Landry is solid at his spot as well. A pretty solid group of cornerbacks are headed by veteran Fred Smoot, who is in his ninth year out of Mississippi State. The leader of the defense is the man in the middle, London Fletcher, who leads the team with 109 tackles. Brian Orakpo, the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft, plays on the outside along with veteran Rocky McIntosh. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has been in and out of the lineup with injuries this season. He signed a monster contract in the offseason, but the Redskins' defense is only ranked 24th against the rush. His presence is desperately needed for Washington. Haynesworth is listed as questionable as of right now. At right defensive end, Andre Carter has nine sacks and deserves some Pro Bowl recognition for his great play. Again, this is a very solid defense and will do everything it can to keep their offense in this game late on the road.

Conclusion: The thing that sticks out defensively about the Redskins is their 24th-ranked rush defense. With Haynesworth questionable, he probably won't be playing on every down. Justin Fargas, Michael Bush and Darren McFadden should have success as long as head coach Tom Cable keeps giving them the rock. I believe of the first 28 plays against the Steelers, 18 of them were rushes. That is a similar ratio that I hope to see this week considering how strong Washington's pass defense is. Speaking of the pass, the breakout of Louis Murphy was something else, especially with Darrius Heyward-Bey out. It's nice to see someone step up at the receiver spot. Chaz Schilens even found the end zone for the first time in 2009 and Todd Watkins caught a key pass in the final drive. Johnnie Lee Higgins came through for us as well. Wide receivers against Pittsburgh caught 12 balls for 248 yards, both of which I'm sure were season-highs for our club. We're definitely going to need that against the Redskins' formidable pass defense against the previously mentioned Smoot and also Carlos Rogers and ex-Raider DeAngelo Hall. This may be a good test for Bruce Gradkowski as well, even though he did perform well against two really good defenses already in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I think we're ready for this.

Feel free to leave your predictions or even your own thoughts and ideas about the Pittsburgh Steelers and how we can earn a win our fourth win of the season on Sunday.

*-All stats are through Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

Poll

Do you feel more confident in a win, less confident in a win or about the same in a win after reading this preview?

Half Time Thread: 10-6 Steelers: The Raiders Brought Their A-Game in the First Half:

saint — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:38:14 -0000

Wow, Raider fans, we do have an offense...It just isn't named Darren McFadden...Or JaMarcus Russell...Or Javon Walker...Or Darius Heyward-Bey...Nope, it is named Johnie-Lee-Fargas-Miller-Gradkowski!

Bruce is having a fantastic game under Center. He is 7/9 for 86 yards and a very nice 106.5 passer rating.

Against the 3rd best run defense Justin Fargas has rushed for 42 yards on 9 carries while Darren McFadden has only 19 yards on 8 carries. McFadden is having trouble reading blocks and is definitely my 3rd option in the 2nd half. We need to use him on wheel routes, kick returns and in the slot until he learns how to read blocks.

I like the 18 rush to 10 pass ratio, this is how it needs to be.

Johnnie Lee Higgins looks like he can be the first Raider receiver to reach 100 yards this season.

Go Raiders

Saturday Morning Thought: Is The Oakland Raider Offense Aw-fence-ive or Uh-fence-ive?

saint — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:57:45 -0000

I was starting to write the second piece of the Aw-fence-ive First Half Break Down, when my mind began to be amused by the duality of the word that is spelled "O-F-F-E-N-S-I-V-E", so I turned to Dictionary.com for a closer look as the break down of the word.

Here is what I found:

The root of the word, "Offensive", begins with the Latin Word for "Us", Offens, then goes into the Latin word for "To Strike Against or Displease" and then wraps up with the common "ive", or showing characteristics of being.

As it relates to our football team, I would have to say that, the word, aw-fensive, would be either, a team striking against another with the ball in our hands as a unit and showing those characteristics by consistently executing a game plan with success.

I don't think that the 2009 Raiders, on the surface, with zero regard to actual stats, are anywhere near resembling that definition.

Mentally, the leader of the unit, JaMarcus Russell has said that it is not his fault. He has failed to take his lumps with his squad and also failed to realize that without the "us" in the word, there is no "offens", only an "ive". Therefor they have no chance of being Aw-fensive.

No, the form of the word that this squad has resembled is the Us-Displease-Ive.

Consistently, this team has been booed by the displeased patrons at the Coliseum. From the play calling to the execution the entire way through the play, the uh-fensive side of the ball has been unpleasant and disagreeable to the senses (Another definition of the word).

Taking the O-Line out of it, let's see which of our Aw-fensive skill positions players stack up:

Aw-Fensive

Zach Miller, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush, Louis Murphy (Maybe, because he drops too many balls)

Uh-Fensive

Darren McFadden (Always being hurt is unpleasant to my senses), Darrius Heyward-Bey, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Todd Wadtkins, JaMarcus Russell

As a unit, this crew is so Uh-fensive that, they rank at or near the bottom in every Aw-fensive Category. So, Raider fans there is nowhere to go but UP and I really feel that by just trying to STRIKE AGAINST others, as a team, would be a HUGE step in the right direction, because, even if the numbers still lag, we couls at least call them Aw-fensive and be grammatically correct, which is one heckuva step in the right direction.

Oakland Raiders Offensive Update: The Receiving Core

saint — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:20:27 -0000

With the Bye Week upon us, I think we should take this time to reflect on the first half.Of course, with a 2-6 record there will be much to look at on the disappointing side, but, there will be a few things that we can look at on the positive side. Unfortunately NONE of those will be on the offensive side of the ball.

Regardless of what the players on the scoring side of the ball say, (Darrius Heyward-Bey from the CC Times, "I've been very solid") they have stunk, and they have stunk regularly.

As I pointed out last week, and many local columnists have also since, they are at a "Bed and Breakfast level" of scoring.

Coming into last week, they reached the Red Zone the least amount of any team in football, 9 times, 9 MEASLY times. That is two games worth for most, decent offenses, so that should put their futility into some perspective. They aren't even giving themselves a chance to score, thus, they only lead the hapless St. Louis Rams (9.6) in scoring and are tied with Cleveland at 9.8 points per game.

So, how have they arrived here? Let's start with the most glaring weakness, the receivers.

First off, they are starting two rookies that THINK they are World Beaters. I mean, just reference the DHB line above and then listen to Murphy talk about how, "They are a GREAT team", and you'll soon get the picture. In all fairness to the squad, the three receivers with the best hands have not found their ways onto the field yet this year.

Chaz and Miller should be back soon and the only reasonable explanation for Javon Walker not playing is the Marcus Allen treatment he MAY be receiving from AL Davis due to him having off-season surgery and doing it on his own without telling anyone.

The ONE bright spot in the entire receiving core is Zach Miller, without him, I shiver to think how poorly this team would play.

Zach has hauled in 28 passes for 421 yards. Murphy and Bey have combined for 21 catches for 306 yards. In fact, the entire wide receiving core has 28 catches for 373 yards. That is just downright terrible. Especially when you see that Johnnie Lee Higgins, last year's top wide-out has only 2 catches for 8 yards.

This really is disgusting and, I believe, is much worse than the time spent under Shell and Walsh, this team actually has talent on the offensive side of the ball and they are terrible. There is no excuse for NOT getting the ball to Johnnie Lee more and for sitting Javon Walker on the bench so that DHB can watch another perfectly thrown TD bounce off of his facemask.

What do you think of the Receiving core's perfromance, so far, Raider Nation?

This post was sponsored by Comcast Red Zone

Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders Friday Injury Report

Tim Lynch — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:35:29 -0000

Come on Knowshon! We need you man!

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
FB/LB Spencer Larsen	Shoulder	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	OUT
WR Brandon Marshall	Illness	Did Not Participate	Full Participation	Not Listed	Not Listed
WR Brandon Stokley	Thigh	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Did Not Participate	Questionable
DL Le Kevin Smith	Knee	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Questionable
S Josh Barrett	Shoulder	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
ILB Mario Haggan	Knee	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
G Ben Hamilton	Hamstring	Full Participation	Did Not Participate	Full Participation	Probable
WR Jabar Gaffney	Finger	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
QB Kyle Orton	Finger	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
G Chris Kuper	Ankle	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
RB Knowshon Moreno	Groin	Not Listed	Not Listed	Did Not Participate	Questionable
OAKLAND RAIDERS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
G Robert Gallery	Fibula	OUT	OUT	OUT	OUT
WR Nick Miller	Shin	OUT	OUT	OUT	OUT
S Hiram Eugene	Calf	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
WR Chaz Schilens	Foot	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	OUT
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Full Participation	Probable
CB Nnamdi Asomugha	Wrist	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
LB Kirk Morrison	Elbow	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
DE Richard Seymour	Legs	Not Listed	Not Listed	Did Not Participate	Probable

STATUS DEFINITIONS:

Did Not Participate
Limited Participation - less than 100% of normal repetitions
Full Participation - 100% of normal reptitions
OUT - player definiately will not play

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders Thursday Injury Report

Tim Lynch — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:37:37 -0000

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
FB/LB Spencer Larsen	Shoulder	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
WR Brandon Marshall	Illness	Did Not Participate	Full Participation
WR Brandon Stokley	Thigh	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation
DL Le Kevin Smith	Knee	Limited Participation	Limited Participation
S Josh Barrett	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Limited Participation
ILB Mario Haggan	Knee	Full Participation	Full Participation
G Ben Hamilton	Hamstring	Full Participation	Did Not Participate
WR Jabar Gaffney	Finger	Full Participation	Full Participation
QB Kyle Orton	Finger	Full Participation	Full Participation
G Chris Kuper	Ankle	Full Participation	Full Participation
OAKLAND RAIDERS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
G Robert Gallery	Fibula	OUT	OUT
WR Nick Miller	Shin	OUT	OUT
S Hiram Eugene	Calf	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
WR Chaz Schilens	Foot	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Limited Participation
CB Nnamdi Asomugha	Wrist	Full Participation	Full Participation
LB Kirk Morrison	Elbow	Full Participation	Full Participation

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders Wednesday Injury Report

Tim Lynch — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:38:33 -0000

Are the Denver Broncos getting....healthy!?

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
WR Brandon Marshall	Illness	Did Not Participate
WR Brandon Stokely	Thigh	Did Not Participate
DL Le Kevin Smith	Knee	Limited Participation
S Josh Barrett	Shoulder	Limited Participation
ILB Mario Haggan	Knee	Full Participation
G Ben Hamilton	Hamstring	Full Participation
WR Jabar Gaffney	Finger	Full Participation
QB Kyle Orton	Finger	Full Participation
G Chris Kuper	Ankle	Full Participation
OAKLAND RAIDERS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
G Robert Gallery	Fibula	OUT
WR Nick Miller	Shin	OUT
S Hiram Eugene	Calf	Did Not Participate
WR Chaz Schilens	Foot	Did Not Participate
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins	Shoulder	Limited Participation
CB Nnamdi Asomugha	Wrist	Full Participation
LB Kirk Morrison	Elbow	Full Participation

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders Game Preview

John (obviousman) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:30:31 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

3 months ago: In this Nov. 16, 2008, photo, San Diego Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson (21) takes a handoff from quarterback Philip Rivers against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. Tomlinson, the star running back, almost got the heave-ho in the offseason due to salary cap and injury concerns. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Football is back! WOOHOOO! It's like Chrismas in the Fall. Tonight, the Titans travel to Pittsburgh to take on the defending champions in a matchup of bruising defenses. I'll be watching, with a cold beer in my hand, and be happy that football means something again. However, in the back of my mind I'll be thinking about Monday's San Diego Chargers game against the Oakland Raiders.

After the jump, an in-depth preview on Monday's game.

When the Raiders Have the Ball

Week 1 games are difficult to analyze because mostly what you have to go on is the players and what happened in 2008. I'll try my best though. In 2008, the Raiders ranked 29th in total offense, 32nd in passing offense and 10th in rushing offense. You're not going to get very far with the worst passing attack in the NFL. Their leading pass catchers were Zach Miller, Darren McFadden and Johnnie Lee Higgins. McFadden had only 29 catches, Higgins only 56. I can't stress enough how horrible this passing offense was in 2008.

In his first full season as an NFL starter, JaMarcus Russell completed less than 54% of his passes. By comparison, Philip Rivers completed more than 65% of his passes. There's no doubt about it, the Raiders are a running offense. You could argue that with an improved offensive line (meaning Kwame Harris is gone) and a healthy Darren McFadden, the rushing attack will be even more potent. Also, with a legitimate deep-threat receiver in Darris Heyward-Bey, the Raiders may be facing more seven man fronts in 2009.

However, one of the reasons the Chargers were able to dominate the Raiders in 2008 (combined score 62-25) is because on defense San Diego's weaknesses were with the passing game. Although they were 25th in total defense, and 31st is passing defense, the Chargers were still able to finish 11th in rushing defense. With hope for Oakland's offense comes hope for San Diego's defense. Kevin Burnett and Shawne Merriman, along with a healthy Jamal Williams, should make the run defense even stronger. With Ron Rivera creating an aggressive scheme to get after the quarterback, Russell may have a difficult time throwing against the Bolts.

Advantage: Tie. The Raiders will try to run the ball and get control of the time of possession to keep Philip Rivers and the Chargers' potent offense off of the field. That might move the chains, but JaMarcus Russell will have to make a few plays for them to actually score touchdowns.

When the Chargers Have the Ball

Let us return to those 2008 team stats again. Last season the Raiders ranked 27th in total defense, 10th in passing defense and 31st in run defense. The Chargers ranked 11th in total offense, 7th in passing offense and 20th in rushing offense. In the offseason the Raiders replaced the very capable Gibril Wilson with fourth round draft pick Tyvon Branch (an SB Nation contributor), and have replaced DEs Kalimba Edwards and Derrick Burgess with Greg Ellis and Trevor Scott. Is that an improvement? It could be, but when you add Pro Bowl DT/DE Richard Seymour to the mix it's a definite improvement. Luckily for the Chargers, he won't be involved in this week 1 matchup.

A healthy LaDainian Tomlinson means bad news for the Raiders. Look at how consistently he's beaten them up:

10/16/05 - 31 carries, 140 yards, 1 rush TD. 2 catches, 39 yards, 1 rec TD.
12/04/05 - 25 carries, 86 yards. 5 catches, 24 yards.
9/11/06 - 31 carries, 131 yards, 1 rush TD. 3 catches, 18 yards.
11/26/06 - 19 carries, 109 yards, 2 rush TD. 1 catch, 5 yards. 1 pass, 19 yards, 1 pass TD.
10/14/07 - 24 carries, 198 yards, 4 rush TD. 3 catches, 16 yards.
12/30/07 - 16 carries, 56 yards. 1 catch, 7 yards, 1 rec TD. (*Week 17 with division clinched)
9/28/08 - 20 carries, 106 yards, 2 rush TDs. 2 catches, 9 yards.
12/04/08 - 25 carries, 91 yards, 1 rush TD.

Facing them in week 1, before he even gets a chance to get injured, means that LT should have a big game against Oakland's lack of a run defense. If they start sending their LBs on blitzes to help, Darren Sproles could create problems with the screen pass. The Raiders secondary did a good job of keeping Rivers in check in 2008, but he still managed to throw 4 TDs against only 2 interceptions against them. He won't look like a superstar against Oakland because their secondary is quite good, but should be able to find enough holes to get the job done and could probably burn the rookie SS once or twice as well.

Advantage: Chargers. There's no doubt about it. The Chargers offense is one of the best in the league and the Raiders, while respectable, will not be able to shut them out. I think the Raiders will have a hard time getting a pass-rush on Philip, which will lead to a lot of 7 yard passes over the middle to Antonio Gates. I also think the running game will be good enough to get first downs and keep the defense rested.

Don't forget to send in your Mailbag Questions to be answered on Saturday. Your questions do not necessarily have to be related to the Chargers.

Previewing the Kansas City Chiefs 2009 Schedule: Week 2

Chris Thorman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:49:32 -0000

OAKLAND, CA - NOVEMBER 30: Larry Johnson #27 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second half against the Oakland Raiders during an NFL game on November 30, 2008 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

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On September 20th, the Oakland Raiders (5-11) will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs (2-14). This will be the Chiefs first AFC West opponent of the year, while Oakland will be in the middle of three straight divisional games to start off the season. They play San Diego in Week 1 and Denver in Week 3.

Last season, when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Oakland Raiders in Week 2, the fans got their first indication that something was seriously wrong with our football team. On 47 rushing attempts that day, the Raiders ran for 300 yards and 14 first downs. QB Jamarcus Russell only completed six passes on seventeen attempts. The Chiefs didn't even score until there was four minutes left in the game. And we gave up a Raider touchdown after that, making the final score 23 to 8.

Needless to say, it was a rough day to be a Chiefs fan.

But as a consolation, the Oakland Raiders 2009 off season has made it tough to be an Oakland Raider fan. It hasn't been the comedy of errors that we've seen play on in Denver but we're talking about Al Davis here. We're talking about the league's second worst run defense and an owner who has done virtually nothing to address the problem.

After the jump, we take a look at what the Raiders have done this off season to improve their team and then we'll examine how this Week 2 match up in Kansas City may go down.

2008 Season Snapshot

The 2008 Oakland Raiders finished the season ranked 29th in both points and yards gained per game, 32nd in passing yards and 10th in rushing yards per game. Their defense didn't fare much better over the long haul. Oakland finished 2008 24th in points allowed; 27th in yards allowed; 10th in passing yards allowed; and finally 31st in rushing yards allowed.

Where the Raiders excelled was rushing the football. They rushed for more than 150 yards in five contests and went over 100 yards rushing in nine games total last year. The rushing combo of Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas was a potent one, as the team split carries mainly between those three players and amassed nearly 2,000 yards rushing for the season.

With Jamarcus Russell throwing the football last year, the Raiders were absolutely terrible in the passing game. Russell passed for over 200 yards only three times and passed under 150 yards a game nine times.

Much like the Chiefs did, the Raiders got killed in the running game last year on defense. The Raiders gave up over 2,500 yards rushing on the ground and had a middle of the season stretch where nearly every team destroyed Oakland on the ground.

2009 Off Season Roster Moves

Veteran Signings: QB Jeff Garcia, RB Gary Russell, FB Lorenzo Neal, OT Khalif Barnes, OT Erik Pears, G Marcus Johnson, C Samson Satele, DE Greg Ellis, DT Ryan Boschetti, S Keith Davis.

Draft Picks: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, SS Michael Mitchell, DE Matt Shaughnessy, WR Louis Murphy, OLB Slade Norris, DE Stryker Sulak, TE Brandon Myers.

Offseason Losses: FB Justin Griffith, WR Ronald Curry, WR Drew Carter, WR Ashley Lelie, OT Kwame Harris, C Jake Grove, DE Kalimba Edwards, OLB Robert Thomas, SS Gibril Wilson, S Rashad Baker.

While Al Davis continues this off season to sign guys with serious knee problems, let's go straight to the source of Raiders fandom over at Silver and Black Pride to get their thoughts on the team's first round pick, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey:

40 YARD DASH TIMES ARE NOT EVERYTHING

This is why we will never win until al davis goes away. if you want fast guys there’s plenty of skiny sprinters in the olympics. WE ARE THE WORST RUN ORG IN THE NFL.

Even if he turns out to be descent picking him at 7 is terrible imo. We could have grabbed a 4th rounder and traded down a dozen spots to snag him. Bah being a Raiders fan on draft day is rough.

So, without going into too much more detail, Raiders fans are quite upset with Al Davis not properly addressing the team's needs through the draft. Through the draft, Oakland did bolster what is quickly becoming one of the best secondaries in the NFL. Despite being a reach, second round pick S Michael Mitchell is highly talented. Top corner Nnamdi Asomugha makes #2 CB Chris Johnson's job that much easier as well.

The team did address part of their offensive line needs through free agency by adding OT Khalif Barnes. As you can see though, the Raiders did pretty much nothing to address that terrible defensive line. Al Davis, at it again.

Darren McFadden #20 of the Oakland Raiders carries the ball as Derrick Johnson #56 of the Kansas City Chiefs defends during the first half of the game on September 14, 2008 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Why the Chiefs Will Win

It was clear last season that teams knew what to do against the Raiders - run the football. And with Al Davis doing virtually nothing to fix that problem this off season, the Chiefs' best chance to beat the Raiders in Week 2 is to pound, pound the football. Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles are going to have to combine for at least thirty rushing attempts this game to ensure a Chiefs win. It would make no sense not to attack the Raiders biggest weak point.

Couple that terrible run defense with what will hopefully be an improved and more efficient passing game with Matt Cassel leading the way and the Chiefs should definitley have the Raiders' number on defense. If the team can't produce yards and points against this Raider defense in Week 2, it's going to feel a lot like last season's Week 2 loss in Oakland - demoralizing, depressing and a sad indication of things to come in KC.

The lack of a decent Oakland passing attack will also help the Chiefs win this game. Jamarcus Russell still hasn't impressed really anyone and the addition of WR Darrius Heyward-Bey hasn't exactly put the Raiders over the top in the receiving talent category. If you take a look at the Raiders roster, tell me who exactly besides Heyward-Bey is Russell going to throw to? Javon Walker? TE Zach Miller should see an increase in his production this year. He may end up being Oakland's most reliable target.

Why the Raiders Will Win

By far the biggest reason the Oakland Raiders were able to win one of their two games against the Chiefs last year was their ability to run the football. The Raiders may have been 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed but the Chiefs were 30th (and not far behind Oakland's average). The Raiders will be looking to do what the Chiefs will be looking to do against them - run the football all day long.

Quarterback Tyler Thigpen #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs is sacked by Derrick Burgess #56 of the Oakland Raiders during the first half of the game on Saptember 14, 2008 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

I'll admit it. A new defensive scheme with hopeful but unproven younger guys makes me scared against Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas. Those three destroyed the Chiefs last year in Week 2 and there really isn't a whole lot, besides the addition of Tyson Jackson, that makes me think the Chiefs will have solved their rushing problems by Week 2.

Also, I know I'm not in the minority when I emphasize how much different this offense is going to look without Tony Gonzalez. I really have no idea what to expect without TG lining up for the Chiefs. I suspect that the loss of TG is going to hurt much more than any of us really want to admit right now. We'll be finding out very early in the season, and especially during Week 2, just how well the Chiefs are going to function without the Hall of Fame tight end.

Finally, the Raiders have a big edge on special teams. Sebastian Janikowski will continue to be a top notch kicker, even if the last few seasons haven't reflected that. Shane Lechler is the NFL's best punter. Plus, Oakland has two great return men in Justin Miller and Johnnie Lee Higgins. Miller returned two kickoffs for TDs last year and Higgins took three punt returns all the way back for scores. One big return by either one of those guys, resulting in a field goal or a touchdown, could be the difference in what I predict is going to be a close game.

My Prediction

I hate admitting this but the Chiefs and Raiders are pretty close in talent level right now. Things could easily change if say our rush defense gels quickly in 2009 but for right now, these two teams are pretty even.

I don't believe that either one of these team's defenses are going to be markedly improved by Week 2. With that said, I'm not predicting a shootout either. Both secondaries could be considered team strengths, which will limit both team's relatively weak passing games. I predict a sloppy game that is decided by one or two defensive breakdowns that result in points for the opposing offense. Looking at last year's Chiefs/Raiders point totals, I predict a 20 to 17 Chiefs win. The Arrowhead Advantage pulls the Chiefs through in a close divisional game.

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Previewing Week 1: Baltimore Ravens