A night that began with great promise nearly turned into a code-red disaster for the Raiders.
With just under nine minutes remaining in the first half of Saturday night’s 28-24 loss to the 49ers, the Raiders’ season passed before their eyes when quarterback Jason Campbell was sacked by San Francisco linebacker Travis LaBoy and knocked out of the game with what was later diagnosed as a stinger. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Bruce Gradkowski, Chaz Schilens, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jason Campbell, Louis Murphy, Mario Henderson, Michael Bush
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For the second straight year, Chaz Schilens could find himself on the sidelines when the Raiders kick off their season.
Oakland’s projected No. 1 wide receiver/injury magnet underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, leaving his availability for its regular-season opener on Sept. 12 against the Tennessee Titans in serious doubt.
Because the procedure was deemed minimally invasive, Raiders head coach Tom Cable remains hopeful that the former seventh-round pick out of San Diego State, who missed eight games last season after undergoing surgery on his left foot, won’t be out long.
“We hope so,” said Cable. “That’s what I’m waiting for, for him to get back so we know more. We just don’t have any of those answers for you right now.”
Not all the news coming out of Napa Tuesday was bad.
Running back Darren McFadden, likely to be the Raiders’ starter, returned to practice for the first time in more than two weeks because of a sore hamstring. McFadden, the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft, worked with the first-team offense and looked good, catching a deep pass from Jason Campbell during a 7-on-7 drill and peeling off two long runs during a team scrimmage.
“I felt good, I felt like I was able to do everything that I’m supposed to,” said McFadden. “I haven’t talked about (playing time) with the coaches … but for me, I feel like I’m full go, so I’ll hit it full go.”
The Raiders also welcomed back wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey, who missed practice last week, as well as Oakland’s preseason win over the Bears on Saturday, with fatigue.
The Raiders need a healthy and productive Heyward-Bey, especially given Schilens’ uncertain status. The second-year receiver has a lot to prove after a disastrous rookie season in which he dropped more passes than he caught and was public enemy No. 2 in Raider Nation behind the departed JaMarcus Russell.
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Tags: Chaz Schilens, Darren McFadden, Darrius Heyward-Bey
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Chaz Schilens can’t catch a break.
Actually, breaks, rather than passes, seem to be the only thing he’s catching these days.
 The Raiders’ oft-injured third-year wide receiver paid a visit to a knee specialist on Monday in order to determine if surgery was needed on his aching knee, according to Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Oakland head coach Tom Cable said the injury might have stemmed from Schilens’ “overcompensating” for his injured left foot, which has undergone two surgeries since the former seventh-round pick out of San Diego state broke the fifth metatarsal bone in a practice with the 49ers last summer and has given him problems this summer as well.
If surgery is necessary, Cable is optimistic that the Raiders’ projected No. 1 wideout will be ready when the regular season kicks off Sept. 12 at Tennessee against the Titans.
“I’m very concerned,” Cable said during a conference call on Monday. “It’s been a tough road for him. We get through this foot thing, and now something else has kind of reared up on us. We’ll take care of it and get him back as soon as we can.”
Schilens missed the first eight games of the 2009 season because of his foot and never fully got up to speed, finishing with 29 receptions for 365 yards and two touchdowns.
If the Raiders are forced to go forward without Schilens, second-year wideouts Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey will be counted on to fill the void. They have had issues of their own this summer, with Murphy missing time earlier in camp with a concussion and foot injury and Heyward-Bey missing most of practice last week with fatigue.
Murphy, a second-round pick out of Florida, was Oakland’s most productive wide receiver a season ago as a rookie, hauling in 34 catches for 521 yards and four TDs. Heyward-Bey endured a disastrous first season in the NFL, one filled with drops and questions as to why the team used a No. 1 pick (seventh overall) on a player whose hands were a major question mark coming out of Maryland.
Rookie Jacoby Ford, the team’s fourth-round pick out of Clemson, could also take on a larger role in Schilens’ absence. Ford caught two passes for 23 yards in Saturday’s win over the Bears in his preseason debut.
“It was nice to see Jacoby Ford being able to contribute (against Chicago) … I’m encouraged by that group,” Cable said of a young receiving corps that also includes Johnnie Lee Higgins, Yamon Figurs and Todd Watkins. “Hopefully, we don’t lose Chaz for any time. But if it does happen, I do think we’re developing that group.”
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VN:F [1.4.6_730] Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast) Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Chaz Schilens, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, Louis Murphy, Tom Cable
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For the second week in a row, the new-look Raiders defense put a lickin’ on an opponent, and this time Oakland’s offense got in on the fun, too.
Linebacker Kamerion Wimbley had four of the Raiders’ six sacks, and Jason Campbell passed for 170 yards and rushed for a touchdown in Oakland’s 32-17 victory over the Bears Saturday night at Chicago’s Solider Field.
The win improved Oakland to 2-0 this preseason and further demonstrated the Raiders’ across-the-board improvement in all phases. Campbell finished 10 of 20 passing for 170 yards, and though he was intercepted once, Oakland’s new quarterback looked considerably more comfortable than he did a week ago against Dallas.
“The last game I had a couple jitters before the game started, the first time with a new team, but this time I was just out there playing football,” Campbell told reporters after the game.
Campbell capped an impressive opening drive with a 2-yard scoring run on third-and-goal that put the Raiders’ first-team offense on the board for the first time this preseason.
The second-team offense, led by quarterback Kyle Boller, wasn’t too shabby, either. Boller, rapidly moving up Oakland’s quarterbacking food chain thanks to injuries to Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye, who is out for the season with an injured right wrist, completed 7 of 9 pass attempts for 55 yards and scored on a 2-yard keeper late in the third quarter.
Backup running back Michael Bennett strengthened his case to make the team by rushing for 64 yards in 15 attempts while also reeling in a screen pass for 14 yards. Louis Murphy led Oakland receivers with three catches for 53 yards, while tight end Zach Miller had three receptions for 32 yards.
Wimbley, one of several key defensive acquisitions during the offseason, was a fixture in Chicago’s backfield early and often, recording all four of his sacks against Bears starter Jay Cutler.
“He had an exceptional game from the get-go,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said of the veteran linebacker the team acquired in a March trade with Cleveland. “Until he came out of the game, I thought he was a factor on third down on every series.”
Slade Norris, a backup linebacker, was the man of the hour on special teams for the Raiders, recovering a muffed punt in the end zone for a touchdown early in the third quarter, then minutes later blocking a Brad Maynard punt through the end zone for a safety.
Said Cable: “We have a good group of second- and third-team guys who are really trying to force the issue and get on this football team and it shows.”
The only real negatives for Oakland were the sight of center Samson Satele limping toward the sidelines late in the second quarter with what was later diagnosed as a sprained ankle and safety Michael Huff taking a bad angle and getting burned by Matt Forte on an 89-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
Still, the good continues to far outweigh the bad this summer for Oakland, which is a very good sign for anyone with an emotional stake in the Raiders that the times are a-changin’ in the East Bay.
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Tags: Jason Campbell, Kamerion Wimbley, Kyle Boller, Louis Murphy, Matt Forte, Tom Cable, Zach Miller
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The Raiders are turning Nnamdi Asomugha loose, and it’s about time.
For years, the game’s best cover cornerback has been neutralized by teams simply refusing to look his way.
Last season, quarterbacks threw all of 28 passes in Asomugha’s direction. By comparison, the Jets’ Darrelle Revis, widely recognized as the NFL’s best cornerback not named Nnamdi Asomugha, had 111 balls thrown in his neighborhood.
Now, Asomugha will be afforded the opportunity to roam in the secondary while shadowing the opposition’s top receiver rather than watching things unfold from across the way.
Asomugha has rarely strayed from the right side of the defensive backfield, as Raiders owner Al Davis has always championed man-to-man coverage. But the arrival of middle linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive end Lamarr Houston has helped substantially tighten the middle of the defense (one we think will surprisea lot of folks in 2010) and allowed coordinator John Marshall to be more creative with the ways he can and plans to use Asomugha.
Asomugha, who intercepted a career-high eight passes in 2006 but has just three picks since, can’t wait to start mixing things up and dictating rather than reacting.
“Every year there are times when it happens, but this year I think it will happen more because we’re doing it (in practice) more and they’re allowing it to happen more,” the Pro Bowl corner told reporters earlier this week. “Me being able to play in the slot on third down … I’ve wanted that for a while.”
He’s not the only one.
Only good things can happen by putting your best defender in position to make plays and force the action instead of waiting for somebody to challenge him.
Asomugha is free, and if you thought he had the power to change the complexion of games simply by his presence alone, wait until he starts attacking from all angles and leaves offenses guessing and distressing.
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Here’s a little off-the-top-of-the-dome rundown of the top 20 fantasy football players, from our perspective, for the upcoming season:
1. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans: Johnson’s first two seasons have produced 3,234 yards — 2,006 of which came last season — and 23 touchdowns on the ground, and another 763 yards (on 93 receptions) and 3 scores through the air. We’re sold.
2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings: Sure, there were fumble issues in 2009, but there were also 1,383 yards and 18 TD rushing, plus another 435 yards receiving. If Brett Favre is truly done, AP becomes the centerpiece of Minnesota’s offense again.
3. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars: Jones-Drew topped the 1,000-yard mark (finishing with 1,391 and 15 TDs) for the first time in 2009 while also contributing 53 receptions for 374 yards and a score. Enough with the “he’s too small” talk already. He’s just good.
4. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons: Injuries limited Turner, who rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 TDs in 2008, to just 11 games last season, but he was golden when well enough to take the field (871 yards, 10 TDs, 4.9 yards per carry). The Burner is healthy and hungry, so look out.
5. Drew Brees, QB, Saints: Brees continued to lead a charmed life on the Bayou in 2009, as the Super Bowl MVP matched his career high in touchdown passes (34) while throwing for 4,388 yards, the fourth straight time he’s topped the 4,000 mark. We expect more of the same in 2010.
6. Frank Gore, RB, 49ers: Frank The Tank has rushed for 1,000 yards or more in each of the past four seasons, despite contently battling nagging injuries that have cost him a game or two every year along the way. If Alex Smith is on, Gore could do more than ever.
7. Ray Rice, RB, Ravens: Rice became a star in 2009, rushing for 1,359 yards and 7 TDs with another 702 yards and a TD coming on 78 receptions. Rice often lost goal-line touches to veteran Willis McGahee (who led the Ravens with 12 rushing TDs) during his breakout season, but we don’t see that happening again in 2010.
8. Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers: The former Fresno State star has big shoes to fill — LaDainian Tomlinson’s, to be exact – as a rookie, but we see Mathews pulling it off and in a big way for the Bolts. How big? Try 1,300 yards and 15 TDs big.
9. DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers: Williams’ 2009 stats (1,117 yards, 7 TDs, 5.2 YPC) paled in comparison to those of his breakout 2008 performance (1,515 yards, 18 TDs, 5.5 YPG). We see him delivering numbers somewhere in the middle in 2010, which would make any fantasy owner happy.
10. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans: With apologies to Randy Moss, Johnson has become the premier receiver in the NFL after back-to-back 100-catch, 1,500-yard seasons. And it’s possible that we haven’t seen his best, which is a scary thought.
11. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: In just two short years, Rodgers has become a star in his own right, stepping out from under Favre’s rather large shadow thanks to back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons and a combined 58 TD passes. He’s definitely on the short list of preseason MVP candidates and atop ours.
12. Shonn Greene, RB, Jets: The top back for the NFL’s top-ranked ground game a year ago won’t have to share carries with the departed Thomas Jones. Running behind that line 300 times could produce 1,400 yards and 10 to 15 TDs.
13. Tony Romo, QB, Cowboys: Too high you say? We say get your 4,500 yards and 30-plus TDs now while they’re hot. He’s surrounded by an embarrassment of offensive riches — Pro Bowl pass-catch partners in Jason Witten and Miles Austin, a good line, stud backs in Marion Barber and Felix Jones and a supremely talented rookie wideout in Dez Bryant — and put in a position to succeed like few other QBs.
14. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers: With Ben Roethlisberger out to open the season and Santonio Holmes out the door completely, Pittsburgh will run the ball with a vengeance behind Mendenhall, who is the Steelers’ featured back with Willie Parker having moved on to Washington.
15. Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: Yes, the guy is good, would be great on a halfway decent team and probably should rank higher. But the Rams are still light years away from even mediocrity, and with a rookie quarterback likely to start, Jackson is a marked man who will see plenty of 8- and 9-man fronts, which will make it hard to 1) get from Point A to Point B and 2) avoid getting his bell rung on a regular basis.
16. Randy Moss, WR, Patriots: At 33 and 12 seasons into a career that will one day land him in the Hall of Fame, Moss remains the master of his craft and a lock to haul in 80 to 90 passes, with 10 to 15 of those coming in the opposition’s end zone.
17. Reggie Wayne, WR, Colts. Peyton Manning’s go-to guy has recorded six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and we’re willing to bet the ranch that he’ll make it seven straight in 2010. Speaking of …
18. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts: In 12 NFL seasons, Manning has never thrown for fewer than 3,700 yards and 26 TDs. Translation: Go ahead and write in 4,200 yards, 30 TDs for 2010. Enjoy.
19. Cedric Benson, RB, Bengals: Benson’s career was going nowhere fast before he latched on with Cincinnati late in 2008. The former Texas star then went out and had the season of his life in 2009 (1,251 yards, 6 TDs), and we see even bigger things for him in 2010.
20. Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: Grant has rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of the past two seasons, and saw his TD total climb from 4 in 2008 to a career-high 11 last year. We see the upward trend continuing this season.
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The Raiders’ preseason-opening 17-9 victory over the Cowboys on Thursday night was a success in more ways than on the scoreboard. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Jason Campbell, Jerome Boyd, Kyle Boller, Lamarr Houston, Matt Shaughnessy, Michael Bennett, Nick Miller, Rolando McClain, Tom Cable
The NFL exhibition season has never been my cup of team, yet I find myself strangely excited about tonight’s preseason opener against the Cowboys. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Chaz Schilens, Darren McFadden, Jason Campbell, Rolando McClain
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