Author: jhawkes51

Image of New Raiders Headcoach

Sporano takes over sinking Raiders ship

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

ALAMEDA — There’s no sugar-coating needed. The Oakland Raiders are a sinking ship with no relief in sight.

The 2014 season was touted as a step in the right direction for the Silver and Black. With an influx of  established veterans that have playoff and championship experience, Oakland was expected to compete for the playoffs.

Now, the team is closer to competing for the No. 1 draft pick in next year’s NFL daft rather than a team trying to get into the “tournament.”

After Sunday’s 38-14 drubbing at the hands of the Miami Dolphins that left Oakland rudderless at 0-4, Oakland made the change that everyone saw coming when the organization fired embattled head coach, Dennis Allen late Monday night via telephone by Raiders general manager, Reggie McKenzie.

Allen’s firing was first reported by Fox Sports’ NFL Insider, Jay Glazer.

In 36 games as the head coach (Oakland’s 18th overall, seventh in their last 12 seasons), Allen sported an 8-28 record.

Sure there have been questions of the lack of talent the team had, but it was Allen’s lack of progress in the win column that eventually led to his downfall. Bottom line in the NFL, you have to win games any way you can and Allen never was able to win more games than he lost.

Per NFL sources, Allen’s was already on the hot seat after Oakland’s embarrassing 30-14 home loss to the Houston Texans in Week 2. Allen was certainly set to be fired should Oakland lost to Miami in London.

“After thorough evaluation, we have determined to move in another direction,” said McKenzie during Tuesday’s press conference. “We appreciate Dennis Allen’s dedication to the organization and wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.”

Offensive line coach Tony Sporano will take over the team as the interim head coach.

“Tony Sparano has a strong presence in this organization,” McKenzie said in a statement. “His experience and leadership qualities will serve the team well in helping reach the goal of everyone here, which is to win football games.”

As head coach, Sporano, 52, was 29-32 from 2008-11.

In his first year in Miami, the Dolphins went 11-5 and won the AFC East title, but never had more than seven victories in any season thereafter.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Sporano lamented how much he respects Allen, but Oakland will have a different philosophy under his watch.

“Again, I respect Dennis Allen tremendously, but I’m not Dennis, Dennis is not me,” Sporano said. “Things can change with philosophies and that will be the case. We will have a different philosophy.”

Sporano will have his work cut out for him on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, Oakland ranks last in points per game (12.8), total yards per game (270), and rushing yards (61.5).

Defensively, the Raiders need to find a way to stop the opposing team’s running game. Oakland is surrendering 158.2 yards per game on the ground, which is 31st in the League. The signings of LaMarr Houston, Justin Tuck, and Antonio Smith have shown nothing to believe that Oakland can stop teams from hammering the ball down their throats.

With the bye week coming at the right time for Oakland this week, it will give the the players (who along with McKenzie should accept equal blame in the team’s poor performance) time before the schedule gets really crazy for the Raiders.

After the bye, Oakland will host San Diego and Arizona, before hitting the road against Cleveland and Seattle. San Diego, Arizona, and Seattle are a combined 8-2 on the season, while the Browns are 1-2, but have played tough despite their record.

Even with the changing of the guard at head coach, things could get worse in Oakland before they get better for the Silver and Black

 

Raiders and Dolphins get ready for London

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — At 0-3 in the United States, the Oakland Raiders look to foreign soil to gain their first win of the season when they will “host” the 1-2 Miami Dolphins Sunday at Wembley Stadium in the NFL’s International Series in London, England.

Even after the Raiders 15th consecutive loss in the Eastern time zone, a 16-9 loss to the New England Patriots at Foxborough, Oakland gave New England everything it could handle, according to head coach Dennis Allen following the loss.

“Tough loss. Tough pill to swallow,” Allen said.

“I thought our guys fought their tails off, gave ourselves an opportunity to win. I thought we tied the football game or at least got within an extra point of being able to tie the football game there at the end of the game. Disappointed about that. Still we have to be able to…at the moment of truth, there’s time where we have to be able to make some plays and we didn’t do that enough today and came up on the short end of the stick. But I thought it was a better effort by our team and we get on a long flight and head to London and get ready for the next one.”

Oakland appeared to have tied the game on Darren McFadden’s touchdown run, but the play was nullified by a questionable holding call on rookie guard Gabe Jackson. On the next play, Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr’s pass bounced off the hands of wide receiver Denarius Moore, falling into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Vince Wilfork for the game-ending interception.

“I did not [think that was a holding call on Jackson]” Allen would later say.

Carr completed 21-of-34 passing for 174 yards, with that lone interception. Oakland

“I thought Derek was solid. I thought he was solid. I didn’t think we did anything offensively spectacular, but I thought, especially early in the game, I thought we were able to control the clock a little bit,” said Allen.

Carr will be without one of his favorite targets for the foreseeable as wide receiver Rod Streater was lost for next five-to-six weeks after fracturing his foot Sunday.

With a depleted wide receiver group, Carr is going to have to rely on James Jones, the recently signed Vincent Brown, Andre Holmes, and Moore to improve a Raiders passing game that ranks 31st in passing yards (190 ypg), and dead-last in points per game (12.3 ppg).

Defensively, Oakland played strong, holding quarterback Tom Brady to 234 passing yards and one touchdown on 24-of-37 passing. Strong safety Tyvon Branch led the Raiders with seven tackles (four solo) but just like Streater, Branch fractured his foot as well. Branch was placed on injured reserved, ending his season early again. Branch missed the final 14 games in 2013 with a lis franc injury.

Wednesday, Oakland claimed former Dolphins safety, Brandian Ross off waivers. Ross is expected to see plenty of action Sunday.

Ross played in 30 games for the Raiders from 2012-13, making 14 starts. He started 13 games at safety last year for Oakland, totaling 101 tackles (59 solo) and two sacks. His career totals include 31 games played with 14 starts, 115 tackles (72 solo), two sacks, six passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Miami, is coming off a tough loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-15 Sunday. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith threw three touchdowns, but the Dolphins defense sacked Smith five times; linebacker Jelani Jenkins and defensive tackle Randy Starks each recorded 1.5 sacks.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has thrown five touchdowns and two interceptions, but his 5.0 yards per pass attempt ranks near the bottom in the league among the 32 starting quarterbacks. In two of the Dolphins three games this year, Tannehill has been sacked four times. Oakland needs to apply pressure to a Dolphins offensive line that has trouble protecting their third-year quarterback.

The Raiders secondary must have their eyes on Dolphins speedster, wide receiver Mike Wallace the entire game. Wallace is one of the more dangerous wide receivers in the League, and can go off in a hurry.

Wallace leads all Dolphins wide receivers in catches (17), yards (211), and touchdowns (2).

Players to Watch:

Oakland – The running backs. Whether its Maurice Jones-Drew or Darren McFadden, Oakland’s ground game has got to wake up sometime. Opponents have out-rushed the Silver and Black 476 to 193. With MJD sitting out Sunday’s game with a broken hand, McFadden rushed for 59 yards on 18 carries upping his team-leading 111 yards rushing for the season. Carr, not MJD, is the team’s second leading rusher with 57 yards.

Miami – Mike Wallace, wide receiver. As I mentioned before, Wallace is a game changer and Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver better have a great game plan to stop him. Wallace and Tannehill have had their issues connecting on deep passes, but if Tannehill gets the ball in Wallace’s hands, look out. Cornerbacks Terrell Brown and Carlos Rogers could be in for a long day.

 

Oakland looks to avoid 0-3 start travelling to Foxborough

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — At 0-2, the Oakland Raiders finds themselves quickly swimming upstream this year.

OK, you can say that it’s early in the NFL season and half the League is 1-1 or 0-2 but for the Raiders, it feels like they’re 0-4.

David Carr has played steady in his first two career starts, but has shown at times to be wild with the passes. Carr has thrown for 414 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, one of which came while getting hit on the throw.

The running game has been non-existent in two games, averaging a pedestrian 63 yards rushing per game, 31st in the League ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars (44.5 rushing yards per game).

Running backs Maurice Jones-Drew (9 carries, 11 rushing yards,1.2 yards per carry, 0 TDs) and Darren McFadden (16 carries, 52 carries, 3.3 yards per carry, 1 TD) need to get it going and take some of the pressure off of Carr. MJD underwent a procedure on his broken right hand last week and didn’t suit up Sunday.

Monday the team added former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown to an already questionable receiving corps, that includes James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore, and Andre Holmes.

Brown caught 41 passes for 472 yards and a touchdown for San Diego last season, after missing 2012 with a broken ankle. 

Jones leads the team with 12 catches, for 146 yards receiving, and two touchdowns, but 112 of those yards came in the team’s home opener, a 30-14 loss to the Houston Texans.

Defensively, the team is not good, ranking 32nd in most categories most notably, against the run. Oakland has given up 100 yards on the ground in back-to-back weeks, and have gotten manhandled upfront.

The expected strength of the team with key veteran additions such as defensive end Justin Tuck, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, cornerbacks  Terrell Brown and Carlos Rogers, it looks like Father Time has finally caught up with them.

“We suck…I’m embarrased,” veteran safety Charles Woodson said after Sunday’s 30-14 loss to the visiting Houston Texans.

Oakland’s play needs to improve, according to Raiders head coach, Dennis Allen, whose job is clearly on the hot seat as he sports an 8-26 record.

“Well, we need to go out and prove it on the field,” Allen said Wednesday during his weekly press conference.

“Like I said the other day, the talk is cheap. We’ve got to go out and play well. I think we’ve got more talent on this football team and we need to go out there and play like it on Sunday.”

The team will have another opportunity to get their first win of the season Sunday, when Oakland travels to Foxborough to take on the 1-1 New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady and mastermind head coach, Bill Belichick.

Belichick (per CSNCalifornia.com Raiders Insider, Scott Bair)  expects to see a different Raiders team than the one he saw tape on against Houston.

“Based on the comments that I’ve seen out of there and the leadership that they have on that team, the veterans that they have on that team, I’m sure that we’ll come in here and we won’t see the team we saw against Houston last week,”  Belichick said.

“That’s what we’re getting ready for – we’re getting ready for their best game. I don’t think the Houston game was probably it.”

New England is coming off a comfortable victory Sunday, 30-7, in Minnesota. The Patriots defense abused former Brady understudy, Matt Cassell, intercepting the Vikings quarterback four times and sacking him six times, that prompted the home crowd to chant “Teddy!” “Teddy!” in hopes to see rookie backup quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

Linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive end Chandler Jones each recorded two sacks.

Oakland, who currently sport the longest losing streak in the League (eight consecutive games dating back to November of last year),  is going to have its work cut out for them Sunday against a Patriots team that were 9-0 at home last season, including the playoffs.

New England has won the past three straight games against the Silver and Black, who have dropped 12 of 13 on the road.

Catch the game on CBS at 10 a.m.

Players to Watch:

Oakland: Quarterback Derek Carr. Carr will need to make smart decisions with the football, especially with former All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis lurking in the secondary. Carr completed 27 of 42 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, but with two interceptions in Sunday’s loss to Houston.

New England: Running back Stevan Ridley. Ridley ran through the Vikings defense, carrying the ball 25 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Ridley only had 21 yards rushing on eight carries in the Patriots 33-20 loss in Miami in Week 1.

 

Fitzpatrick, Foster spoil Raiders Home Opener

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 139 yards on 14-of-19 passes and two touchdowns, while running back Arian Foster galloped for 138 yards rushing on 28 carries and a touchdown as the Houston Texans forced four turnovers and spoiled the Oakland Raiders home opener, 30-14 in front of 54,063 fans.

“Overall, I thought we played well, but we need to play better,” Raiders head coach Dennis Allen said after the game. We got to protect the ball better.”

Houston (2-0) took their first two drives 80 and 70 yards, the first one culminating in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to an tight end-eligible defensive end, J.J. Watt; the second on a 6-yard touchdown run by Foster to put Houston up, 14-0 in the first quarter. The Texans controlled the ball for 13:30 in the first quarter, compared to 1:30 for Oakland.

Overall, Houston won the time of possession battle, keeping the ball for 38:36, while Oakland only mustering 21:24.

Veteran Raider safety Charles Woodson summed up the loss the best.

“We suck,” Woodson said. “That’s as blunt as I can put it. For whatever reason, defensively we just won’t stop people, especially early in games. Every drive, every first drive, teams are able to go and get points. Today, it happened all day. Offensively, we put the ball on the ground. We had opportunities and didn’t capitalize on it. Collectively, we look bad.”

After cornerback Kareem Jackson returned an interception off quarterback Derek Carr 56 yards, Houston added a Randy Bullock 33-yard field goal to push the lead to 17-0 at halftime.

Andre Johnson led all Texans receivers with six catches and 74 yards, while DeAndre Hopkins had three catches, including a 12-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter to run Houston’s lead, 24-0.

Cornerback Johnathan Joseph recovered a Mychal Rivera fumble and returned it 49 yards to setup a Bullock 39-yard field to push the Texans lead to 27-0.

Derek Carr didn’t have one of his better days as a pro for Oakland.

Carr completed 27-of-42 for 263 yards passing and a late nine-yard touchdown to wide receiver James Jones, but threw two interceptions, the final one coming after Watt hit him as he threw and linebacker Brooks Reed making the play.

Jones was Carr’s favorite  target, as the quarterback targeted Jones 14 times, with Jones finishing with 112 receiving yards.

But it was Jone’s double fumble that really did the Raiders in on this day.

Jones caught a pass from Carr and lost the ball away twice on the same play, gained 14 yards, but he lost the ball on a hit by Joseph, picked it back up and raced for more yardage until Joseph recovered, forced another fumble and safety D.J. Swearinger recovered at the 3-yard line.

Oakland, showed again the inability to run the ball. Carr led all rushers with 58 yards on four carries, but 41 yards came off on one rush.

Running back Darren McFadden (starting for the injured Maurice Jones-Drew), gained only 37 yards on the ground on 12 carries, but did record his first rushing touchdown of the season with a six-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, Oakland had some bright spots, but didn’t have the same competitiveness today as it showed in last week’s 19-14 loss to the Jets in New York.

Sure safety Tyvon Branch led the team with 12 tackles (10 solo), and Woodson chipped in with eight tackles (7 solo), but the team couldn’t rush the quarterback. Oakland only recorded one quarterback hit on the day.

In two games, the Silver and Black only have two sacks. Branch has one of them.

Now staring down the gun barrel of an 0-2 start, Oakland is hitting the road for 11 days with games in New England and “home” against the Miami Dolphins in London, may be in danger of falling to 0-4 before the bye week in Week 5 if they don’t get their acts together.

“It’s disappointing,” Woodson  later added.

“I don’t know what else to say about it. Coming into the season we felt a lot better about where we were at that point. For whatever reason we haven’t put it together on the field.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland welcomes Houston for Home Opener

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo courtesy of footballsfuture.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — After falling to the Jets, 19-14 in New York in Week 1, the Raiders look to rebound Sunday when they host the Houston Texans at O.co Coliseum in Oakland’s home opener at 1:25 p.m.

Making his first career start in the NFL, rookie quarterback Derek Carr played pretty well, but not well enough to help the Raiders start the 2014 season on a winning note.

Carr threw for 151 yards on 20-of-32 passing, with two touchdowns with a passer rating of 94.7. Carr looked poised for much of the game, throwing the ball with no hesitation while making sound decisions.

Oakland may have a rising star in wide receiver Rod Streater.

Even though Streater had 46 yards receiving, I thought the  team-leading five catches and his12-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter was most important. Carr seems to trust Streater, which will be important for both Carr’s and Streater’s continued growth.

What Carr didn’t get was help from the running game and against a team that has a stud defensive end like Houston has in J.J. Watt, you are going to need help from your running backs. The running game which was looked upon as a possible strength of the team’s, has got to be a factor on Sunday.

Oakland only mustered 26 rushing yards from the tandem of Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew led the team with nine carries, but injured his hand Sunday and didn’t finish the game. A source told Comcast SportsNet’s Fallon Smith that Jones-Drew underwent a procedure to repair the injury.

According to the Bay Area News Group’s Jerry McDonald, Jones-Drew didn’t practice Wednesday and his status for Sunday’s home opener remains in question.

Defensively, I thought that Oakland played admirably. Outside of Chris Ivory’s back-breaking 71-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to ice the game, Oakland’s defense played tough on Jets quarterback Geno Smith.

Free safety Charles Woodson recorded an interception that led to an early touchdown, while linebacker Sio Moore was all over the field with a team-leading 15 solo tackles, and one of Oakland’s two sacks. Strong safety Tyvon Branch had the other sack.

But Houston is coming to the Black Hole looking to spoil the home opener, while trying to avenge their  28-23 loss to Oakland last season at Reliant Stadium.

Houston (1-0) won their home opener last week ,14-6 over Washington behind their defense, particularly Watt. The Texans sacked quarterback Robert Griffin three times, and recovered two fumbles. Watt recorded one of each to go along with three tackles.

Cornerback Johnathan Joseph finished with a team-leading 11 solo tackles, while strong safety D.J. Swearinger  (1 sack) and cornerback Kareem Jackson finished tied with six tackles. Linebacker Brooks Reed had five tackles, while recording a sack.

Offensively, Houston has weapons and Raiders defensive guru Jason Tarver is going to have his work cut out for him in slowing down the Texans.

Fitzpatrick threw for 206 yards on 14-of-22 passes (109.3 passer rating), including a 76-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins in the second quarter. Hopkins finished with  four catches and 89 yards receiving, while the ageless wonder Andre Johnson led Houston with six catches and 93 yards receiving (15.5 yards per catch).

Oakland’s cornerbacks Terrell Brown and Carlos Rogers are battle tested, but will need to play smart and aggressive if they are going to slow down Houston’s duo.

Running back Arian Foster appears to be healthy again, after missing the majority of last season with a back injury. Foster rushed for 103 yards on 27 carries against Washington.

Next week, Oakland will pack their bags for 11 days, heading to New England to take on the Patriots, before flying over to London (a home game sadly), to take on the Miami Dolphins the following week.

Houston faces the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 3.

Players to Watch:

Houston: It’s a no brainer that you want to watch Watt. At 6’5″ and 289 lbs, Watt is just a freak of nature that has an active motor on every down.  With 37.5 career sacks, their is no question that Watt gets to the quarterback. Carr must make sure that he knows where No. 99 is at at all times.

Oakland: Streater is the man that Oakland has to get involved early. In last year’s meeting against Houston, Streater had six catches for 84 yards receiving, including an 18-yard touchdown catch.

 

Oakland visit New York for Season Opener

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Finally the preseason is over and now the wins and loses will count for each team on their quest to be one of the final two teams to play in Super Bowl XLVIX  in February out in Glendale, AZ  for the Lombardi Trophy.

The Oakland Raiders hope to be one of those two teams, but will need to break an 11-year playoff drought first in order to make that happen which begins Sunday in New York against the Jets in Week 1.

Oakland finished the preseason 2-2, and had glimpses of a quarterback controversy with backups Matt McGloin and Derek Carr playing well at times in place of projected starter, Matt Schaub. Carr will the first rookie quarterback in team history to make his first start in Week 1.

Well there is no quarterback controversy as FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported Monday that Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen named Carr the starter ahead of Schaub for Sunday’s tilt in the Big Apple.

“Not an indictment on Matt Schaub, Derek Carr is mature beyond his years,” coach Dennis Allen said after Monday’s practice. “We feel very comfortable with him helping us win football games. … Derek is the starting quarterback.”

Schaub, who was battling parts of training camp with elbow tendinitis in his throwing elbow, didn’t play like a starting quarterback in his three starts, throwing for 218 yards, no touchdowns and one interception on 24-of-47 passes. The former Houston Texans quarterback is trying to resurrect his career in Oakland, after a disastrous 2013 season for the 2-14 Texans.

“Matt is disappointed but he has handled it like a pro,” Allen said. “Derek has grown [by] leaps and bounds…He is ready to accept the challenge.”

In three preseason games (missed one due to a rib/concussion injury), Carr finished 30-of-45 for 326 yards passing, four touchdowns and one interception, with a 108.2 QB rating. In his start  against Seattle in the preseason finale at home, Carr looked like a seasoned veteran, taking command of the Raider’s first-team offense on two touchdown drives against the vaunted Sehawks first-team defense.

With the help of what should be a promising running attack with the tandem of Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden, Carr should not feel pressured into trying to win the game on his own. Both MJD and McFadden played sparingly during preseason, and look healthy to shoulder the load on the ground.

Defensively, Oakland made several key free agent acquisitions, most notably with an influx of veteran leadership with the signings of defensive end Justin Tuck, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, and cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Terrell Brown. Oakland is counting on those guys to help improve an Oakland defense that finished 22nd  in total defense in the league last season.

The Jets, who finished the preseason 2-2, are led by second-year quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith, who started all 16 games last season as a rookie, threw 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions (fourth-most in the league), but did finish with 3,046 yards passing.

New York is banking on the five-year $36.25 million contract they gave former Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker to help the former West Virginia Mountaineer improve on those numbers, and end a three-year playoff absence for New York.

Second-year defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson is the force behind a vastly improved Jets 3-4 defense that ranked 11th in total defense in 2013.

Richardson is the key to the Jets defense, enabling defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson to get after the quarterback.

Wilkerson finished with a career-high 10.5 sacks last year and could make Carr’s first career regular season start a tough one as Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan loves to blitz and give multiple defensive looks to opposing quarterbacks.

If Carr continues to grow and show the confidence that he’s exhibited during the preseason and play mistake-free football, Oakland has a great chance of leaving New York with a win.

 

 

 

 

 

Raiders host Seahawks in preseason finale

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — As the NFL preseason draws to a close, the Raiders will host Oakland native Marshawn Lynch and the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at O.co Coliseum Thursday night as both teams look to finish off strong before the games start to really count.

Oakland is coming off their third preseason game, losing to the Packers, 31-21, in Green Bay last week. The Raiders first-team defense played strong early, forcing the Packers into back-to-back three-and-out drives and three straight punts in the first  quarter. Rookie linebacker Khalil Mack was active all over the field, collecting five tackles and an interception.

Linebackers Miles Burris and Nick Roach each finished with six tackles, while defensive end LaMarr Woodley recorded his first sack as a Raider.

Offensively, Oakland’s first-team showed progress, after running back Maurice Jones-Drew stormed for a 40-yard touchdown run on the Raiders’ first possession to tie the game at 7-7, after Eddie Lacy’s 1-yard run on Green Bay’s first possession.

Quarterback Matt McGloin, who has made a strong case to be the Raiders’ No. 2 quarterback, finished 10-of-17 for 162 yards passing, and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver, Bryce Butler. Butler added three catches for 60 yards receiving.

Even with McGloin’s impressive play, rookie quarterback Derek Carr is slated to start Thursday. Carr sat out the Green Bay game to rest his bruised ribs he suffered in Oakland’s second preseason game.

Seattle showed why many experts believe that they can repeat as Super Bowl champions with another dominating performance, dropping the Chicago Bears, 34-6 at home.

Quarterback Russell Wilson looked in midseason form, scoring three touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) while passing for 202 yards on 15-of-20 passes. Wilson also had a robust 140.o quarterback rating.

Lynch, who held out the early part of training camp after being unhappy with his contract, had three carries for 16 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown run on the Seahawks’ opening drive of the game. Lynch would watch the remainder on the game from the sidelines, tossing the cleats for some basketball shoes.

Even the Seahawks’ punishing defense appears to be ready for another run at the Lombardi trophy, having surrender only 20 points in three preseason games.

Oakland will also see a familiar face Thursday, with Terrelle Pryor returning to the Black Hole. It will be a good test for the Raiders’ defense who haven’t faced a quarterback with the frame and elusiveness quite like Pryor.

Both teams will see each other during the regular season, when the Silver and Black travel to CenturyLink Field for a Week 9 match-up.

With all 32 teams having to reduce their rosters down to 53 players by Saturday, August 30, it will be a busy week in Oakland. The Raiders have 10 open positions on the practice squad to fill as well.

After Thursday night’s game, the Seahawks will open up their title defense on Sept. 4 when they will host the Green Bay Packers, while Oakland will begin the season on the road when they will travel 3,000 miles to New York and face the Jets on Sept. 7.

You can watch the game on KTVU/FOX 2, or listen on 98.5 KFOX.

The Silver and Black Readies for Green Bay

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — After splitting the first two preseason games against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, the Oakland Raiders will play their third and final NFC North opponent when they head to Green Bay to take on the Packers Friday night. Friday night’s encounter with the Packers will be a nationally televised game, airing on CBS with JimNantz and Phil Simms in the booth.

The Silver and Black are coming off a dramatic, 27-26, victory at home against the Lions last Friday night.

Matt McGloin engineered a 13-play, 68-yard drive that was punctuated by a 19-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Brice Butler with just 0:06 remaining. McGloin finished 7-of-15 for 114 yards passing after replacing Derek Carr midway through the fourth quarter, after Carr left the game with what was later diagnosed as a concussion and bruised ribs. Carr did play well before leaving the game, finishing 9-of-16 for 109 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown to tight end Jake Murphy in the third quarter.

Carr passed the standard concussion test as per protocol by the NFL, but won’t play in Friday’s game due to the linger pain in his ribs.

Oakland’s defense got off to a rough start early, finding themselves down 13-0 in the first quarter, but settled down as the game wore on.

One of the team’s key free agent acquisitions in the offseason, cornerback Terrell Brown was burned for a 28-yard touchdown by Detroit’s wide receiver Golden Tate (Detroit’s biggest offseason acquisition).

Linebackers Nick Roach and Khalil Mack each recorded a sack. Mack also finished with two tackles, and appeared more active on the field as he transitions to the speed of the NFL.

Green Bay went into St. Louis and imposed their will on the Rams, leaving the Edward James Dome with a commanding 21-7 victory Saturday night.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked nearly flawless win short work, running the no huddle offense to perfection. Rodgers went 11-of-13 for 128 yards passing, including a 3-yard score to wide receiver Randall Cobb.

Packers linebacker Brad Jones had four tackles, and rookie safety Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix finished with two tackles, and a sack.

The game can be seen locally on KPIX Channel 5, and heard on 98.5 KFOX with the voice of the Raiders, Greg Papa and two-time Super Bowl winning coach, Tom Flores with the call.

Both teams finish up the preseason next Thursday, when the Raiders host the Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks, and the Packers will face the Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau Field.

NFC North again? Oakland welcomes Detroit in preseason home opener.

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — With two rough and tough practices with the Dallas Cowboys under their belts where tempers were hotter than the Oxnard sun that both teams practiced under this week, the Raiders will try to keep that same intensity when they host their first preseason game at O.co Coliseum Friday night against the visiting Detroit Lions.

It will be the second consecutive time Oakland will face a team from the NFC North as the Raiders fell to the Minnesota Vikings, 10-6, in Minneapolis last Friday.

The first-team offense was anemic early with anointed starter Matt Schaub at one point, finding themselves down 10-0. Schaub finished 3-of-7 for 21 yards, but was plagued by three dropped passes that could’ve turned into first downs.

Matt McGloin played well with the second-team offense, finishing with a team-high11-of-18 for 90 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that pulled Oakland within a score.

“I thought our guys came back and fought. I thought late in the game we were able to move the ball a little bit…I thought at times we could run the ball pretty well,” said Raiders head coach Dennis Allen after the game. “There are some positives there that we can take and continue to work with but obviously we have a long, long way to go as a football team to be the type of team that we want to be, but I’m sure our guys are going to continue to work.”

Derek Carr, the Raiders second round draft pick, finished 10-of-16 for 74 yards and an interception.

Darren McFadden finished with one carry on a nice 23 yard-burst in the first quarter, while Maurice Jones-Drew had 10 yards on two carries (he had a 7-yard run called back due to a penalty).

Overall, Oakland outgained the Vikings, 268-236 in total yards.

Defensively, Oakland looked sound, finishing with six sacks. Defensive tackle Pat Sims recorded a sack on the first drive of the game.

The Lions (1-0) are coming off a 13-12 home victory over the Cleveland Browns to kickoff their preseason schedule.

Detroit backup quarterback Kellen Moore threw for 121 yard on11-of-13 passing, including the game-winning touchdown from 21-yards out to wide receiver Corey Fuller with 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball for Detroit, safety Isa Abdul-Quddus and linebacker George Johnson had great showings, combining for six tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.

After Friday’s game, Oakland will continue their through the NFC North when they will travel to Green Bay for their third preseason game against the Packers.

Raiders open up the NFL preseason in Minnesota

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Let’s face it, the NFL preseason is nothing more than a tease, a dress rehearsal if you will.

It’s nothing more than a four-game appetizer that prepares you for the buffet that is the NFL regular season.

But the preseason is vital for all teams, particularly the opener. The first preseason game gives the coaching staff a chance to see if their team in live game action, instead of the seeing them in t-shirts and shorts during practice.

“We’ll put the first team out there for a few plays and see how things go. I really want to get the ones [starters] some work, but I really want to have the opportunity in this first preseason game to see  a lot of these young players go out of and play,” said Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen Wednesday after Oakland’s final practice in preparation for Friday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis.

One of the young players that Coach Allen will definitely have a close eye on will be the Raiders No. 1 draft pick (5th overall), linebacker Khalil Mack from Buffalo. The 6’3″, 252 lbs., Mack is expected to be the linchpin to Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver’s  revamped Oakland defense that finished 22nd in total defense in 2013.

Mack has been receiving rave reviews from players and coaches in during training camp, and could have his hands full with another fellow rookie in Vikings quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

“He’s a great player. I’m looking forward to playing against great competition,” said Mack Wednesday. “That’s what it’s about – being a competitor. He’s a great competitor. He’s mobile. He has great arms and what not. I look forward to going out against him and whoever else.

Oakland has won four of their last six preseason openers.

Kickoff  for Friday’s tilt at  TCF Bank Stadium is at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game can be heard locally live on KFOX 98.5/102.1 or tune into KTVU FOX 2.

Transactions prior to Wednesday’s practice:

The Raiders signed two players in BYU linebacker Spencer Hadley (rookie), and Nebraska safety Larry Asante (2nd year). In a corresponding move, Oakland waived/injured LB Marshall McFadden and S Shelton Johnson.