Tag: NFL

49ers report: In the grand scheme of things Niners glad not to be playing in Seattle Sunday

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Ken Gimblin

SANTA CLARA–The 49ers had a lot of trouble whenever they had to play the Seahawks in Century Link and they lost their last two contests when they had to play there including the second game of this season where they just got demolished. It was a little closer than it appeared because the Niners were only trailing 12-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Niners weren’t really in that game running back Vernon Davis got injured, Ian Williams got knocked out and the team just could not move the ball at all on offense. A large part of that was obviously the Seahawks fantastic defense and it was the insane crowd in Seattle that is just so loud that the offensive players can’t hear anything.

The Niners couldn’t hear the snap count, they couldn’t hear their teammates, it made it really hard to get off the ball in a timely manner. It gave a huge advantage to the Seahawks who take advantage of that communication along the lines and getting an extra push out of it. There’s a reason that the Seahawks haven’t lost at home in a couple of seasons is because of that crowd gives them a huge homefield advantage.

The Seahawks are not the same team on the road as they get ready to come to Candlestick this Sunday against the 49ers that advantage they have at home completely vanishes and they become a slightly more beatable team. This year they only lost once and that was to the Colts in Indianopoilis. The Colts are one of the few teams to have beat the Niners and the Seahawks.

Just because the Hawks lost the one game on the road doesn’t mean their not going to lose any games on the road they still have the best record in the NFL and the 49ers certainly will have their hands full when they play them this weekend. The home field is the biggest thing and the Niners and the Seahawks match up very well we’ve seen the last couple times they played at Candlestick which is a good home field for the 49ers but it doesn’t offer any distinct advantage.

It’s not a dome stadium, it’s not artificial turfed that makes it a little faster for the Niners, there’s no advantagous noise factor going in there. When the Niners play anybody there yeah they have the homefield advantage but it’s not the same as a stadium like Seattle. I wouldn’t call Candlestick a neutral ground but it’s a much more balanced location for anybody to play.

For the Niners and the Seahawks, yes the 49ers won the last few games at the Stick against Seattle all of those games have been close  tough defensive battles, their not high scoring affairs it’s where you see how evenly matched these teams really are and that’s what the Niners have to look forward to.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Raiders Report: Raiders good enough to hang but can’t finish

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

Cowboys Raiders Football

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Raiders had a good start and were actually leading at the half 21-14 but the Cowboys kicked into gear and the Raiders weren’t able to stop them on the other side of the ball and the Raiders offense couldn’t get anything going in the second half. It was a tale of two halves in this one the Raiders looked pretty solid in the first half in fact one of the drives in the second quarter.

One of the Raiders scoring drives they basically held the ball for 12 minutes out of 15 minutes the entire second quarter. They didn’t even let Dallas get the ball but Dallas marched down the field really quickly at the end of the half to score a touchdown with ten seconds left from that point on Dallas seemed to get their second wind and the Cowboys dominated the rest of the way.

The Raiders has some great plays on special teams to start this one out with the return as the Raiders recovered a fumble on the opening kick off and returned it for a touchdown and that set the tone early on it kind of stunned the Cowboys more than anything and for the next quarter and a half the Raiders were really playing really well. When the Cowboys scored at the end of the first half it just kind of rolled into the second half. The Raiders defense wasn’t able to stop them and the Raiders know that the Cowboys have a pretty solid offense.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for 220 yards, the Cowboys rushed for 140 yards and it was one of those situations where the Raiders defense wasn’t able to stop anybody and while Raider quarterback Matt McGloin looked pretty solid in the first half completing some really solid passes and making some plays here and there he just couldn’t do anything in the second half and McGloin just didn’t seem to be able to do anything in the second half.

So you look at McGloin’s stats and he was 18-30 for 255 yards with one interception and no touchdowns and it’s really tough to gage how he played in this one he really looked good in the first half and made some tough throws and in the second half he just wasn’t hitting any of those and it wasn’t just the receivers who were dropping passes though that did happen on occasion and he wasn’t as accurate in that second half and part of that were the adjustments on the part of Dallas.

Dallas is still a better team and the Raiders defense is okay this year but teams are starting to catch up and injuries are up and down with this team on offense and defense and their starting to take their toll and it was great that the Raiders were able to hand in this one especially on a short week on Thanksgiving day on the road but that’s a tough game to play. You kind of feel for the Raiders because that’s just a tough situation to be in and it’s unfortunate that they had to be the team that had to be the sacrificial lamb on Thanksgiving.

The simple fact is that you got to win those games and Dallas isn’t such a good team that the Raiders weren’t able to beat them and the Raiders certainly can hang with them the bottom line is they come away with a loss that just puts them further behind heading into next week’s game against the New York Jets and we’ll see how the Raiders can do in that one.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Raiders report: Cowboys offense good but not balanced

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment
by David Zizmor
ALAMEDA–It’s going to be additionally challenging for Oakland on Thursday it’s Thanksgiving day it’s a whole host of issues here with this game if you look at the history of NFL football on Thanksgiving the home team has won on Thanksgiving and those games are held traditionally in Dallas and Detroit. Detroit has a nine game losing streak on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys for the time being have been pretty good at home. The Raiders have a tall order for them, what they do have going for them is the fact that Dallas is the mediocre team.
If you look at the standings Dallas is in the running in the NFC East their a shade behind the Philadelphia Eagles in that race and the Cowboys are certainly in the playoff run but if you pay attention to the NFC East you know that even though Dallas and Philadelphia are tied at 6-5 and Dallas is not a very good team their good their just an up and down squad. Dallas has a good offense but a really bad defense and to be honest their offense while it’s good and has some excellent players, Tony Romo is an excellent quarterback for Dallas and Dez Bryant has been a great wide receiver.
The simple fact remains that this is not a balanced offense the running game is mediocre and they are a very inconsistent team. Part of that is because Romo tends to will them under pressure late in the games we’ve seen that in his playoff performances and we’ve seen that in various games just this season where he’s had trouble in the fourth quarter. The other thing is they don’t have too many big time performers beyond Romo and Bryant. Their looking for supporting players and their just not that good.
The only reason their 6-5 is because their in one of the weakest divisions in all of football and they’ve been able to feast on other teams in their division that are not very good in their own right. The Raiders go into this one as underdogs but Dallas is not very good so the Raiders at least have a chance. This isn’t going to be a super lopsided affair where Dallas just blows them out. The Raiders can make some noise in this one. This Thanksgiving your going to be watching football one way or another so definitely watch this one this will be an interesting one.
The Raiders can do a little damage and hopefully come out and make you enjoy turkey day and not depress you.
David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

McGloin, Raiders head to Big D for Thanksgiving Day Showdown

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment
image
By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
OAKLAND — Following a heart-breaking 23-19 loss to the Tennessee Titans Sunday at O.co Coliseum, the 4-7 Raiders travels to Dallas on a short week for a Thanksgiving Day game against the 6-5 Cowboys Thursday. Oakland watched the Titans come from behind twice and score the go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds left to go in the game.
After starting the game a little shaky (one interception and four batted balls), quarterback Matt McGloin finished the game 19 of 32 for 260 yards passing and one touchdown.
McGloin was on fire in the second half, completing 11 of 15 passes for 155 yards, and went 4 of 4 for 74 yards culminating into a 27-yard touchdown pass to Pro Bowl fullback Marcel Reece that gave Oakland the lead 19-16 late in the fourth quarter.
Running back Rashad Jennings has been a big boost to the Raiders ground attack since taking over for the oft-injured Darren McFadden.
Jennings surpassed his career high for total yards in a season in the second quarter, finishing with 16 carries for 73 yards and four catches for 49 yards for the game to give him 790 total yards for the season.
Another bright spot from the crushing loss to the Titans was the play of linebacker Nick Roach.
Roach finished the game with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Roach, a free agent signee from the Chicago Bears in the off season, surpassed the 100 tackle mark for the first time in his career, and set a career high with 102 tackles this season.
Oakland may have their hands with a Cowboys team that are coming off a big 24-21 NFC East divisional win in New York against the Giants Sunday.
Dallas (6-5), are lead by quarterback Tony Romo.
Romo engineered a 14-play game-winning drive by converting two critical third down passes in the fourth quarter.  The Cowboys’ quarterback leads the NFL’s fifth ranked offense, placing fourth in touchdown passes (23) and eighth in passing yards (2,915) and will pose a challenge for the Raiders’ 25th ranked passing defense.
For the season, Oakland’s defense has only surrendered four touchdowns in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Dez Bryant is unquestionably Dallas’ biggest deep threat and trusted big-playmaker. Bryant has 61 catches for 835 yards (13.7 yards per catch), and eight touchdowns. Expect Raiders’ cornerback Tracy Porter to follow Bryant for most of the afternoon.
Dallas sports the NFL’s worst defense, ranked 32nd overall, giving up 432 total yards per game this season.

49ers report: A Crabtree return can really spark this offense

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment
by David Zizmor
SANTA CLARA–The 49ers had tough back to back games and they had that terrible loss when they played the Saints in New Orleans and as we all know the Superdome is not an easy place to play. Sometimes the lights go out sometimes you have to face a good team and you really never know what your going to face. The 49ers really faced a really good New Orleans team that’s one of the best in the NFC if not the entire NFL.
The Niners lost by a field goal and it’s really rough, there were a couple of key plays in this game the most obvious one of them all Amad Brooks with the sack and the forced fumble of the New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees late in the fourth quarter that could have clinched the game. The referees called a roughing the passer personal foul for a 15 yard penalty that wiped out a sack and fumble that the 49ers recovered.
It was a questionable call taking a look at the replay Brooks really walloped Brees it looked like a legal hit. It was kind of closeline it was high on Brees chest but that’s a legal hit if you hit him in the chest. The official thought it was more in the neck area which wouldn’t be legal but watching the replay it sure look to me like it hit Brees in the chest and maybe after the hit his arm slid up higher towards his neck.
That was a play that turned the entire game around if the 49ers get that fumble recovery that’s probably the gamer which it makes incredibly difficult for the Saints to win. It definitely gives the Niners a better opportunity to win. There are several problems that the 49ers are trying to solve right now. One the receiving core is just not coming through Anquan Boldin had a nice grab and so did Vernon Davis.
The 49ers passing game was really non existent their really working things through and maybe in addition to Mario Manningham it’s helping but the 49ers have not really been active in the passing since Michael Crabtree outside of that first game of the season against Green Bay Crabtree really seemed to make this offense go last year. Once Kaeppernick became the quarterback Crabtree really blossomed and really opened things up for the receiving core and everything else.
So the 49ers could get Crabtree in a couple of weeks I don’t think it’s going to be this week against Washington on Monday night you never know but there was no report to indicate that Crabtree is going to be back. That Saints game was tough and the 49ers really have to move past that game because their going into Washington on a Monday night it’s another road game with a national audience and playoff seeding is not aligned in this one the 49ers have more or less lost the NFC west unless Seattle suffers a big collapse.
The 49ers have to focus on the wild card, they have to focus on seeding and just making the wild card, because technically speaking they’re tied with four other teams for that wild card position. Washington has been playing very poorly this season their coming off another loss this time to Philadelphia. Washington has not looked good their not the team they were last year when they made the playoffs behind Robert Griffin III.
Daivd Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Raiders don’t have a lot of margin for error

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

Photo Courtesy Raiders.com

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Raiders have not won in the eastern time zone in something like seven or eight games they’ve had a rough go of it. That cross country trip for the west coast teams is always a difficult one and with the Raiders not being very good that makes it even more difficult. This is a game that the Raiders probably should have won.

They had their chances there certainly was no lack of opportunity in this one they could have won on a lack of occasions but you just can’t turn the ball over in these kinds of games. If your going to win on the road you have to protect the football and the Raiders didn’t. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor fumbled the ball he had an interception and Pryor wasn’t able to make a whole lot of plays in the passing game.

If your going to return an interception for a touchdown and make a couple plays on defense your offense has to support you and Pryor in the last couple of games has not done that. Against the Giants he was 11-26 for only 122 yards with no touchdown passes and really on the ground he wasn’t anymore effective he was only five rushes for 19 yards.

So when Pryor had been effective when he’s been running the ball and that’s opened up things for the pass and that’s made the Raiders successful as a whole. The last two games none of that has happened it might be the team that’s catching up to them. They’ve seen enough tape they know some of their tendencies, they know they’re going to protect against the run.

The Giants forced Pryor to run, they feel like if he’s going to pass the ball he’s not going to win he’s just not accurate anymore. It also didn’t help at the Meadowlands which is a tough place to throw the football because the winds are pretty crazy out there. I don’t think that was any help out there, with the Raiders they have to be successful.

On the ground with Pryor and through the air with Pryor they weren’t either of those and Raiders running back Rashad Jennings had a decent enough game with 20 rushes for 88 yards. That’s not a dynamic offense for the Raiders. They’re looking for playmakers they don’t have a lot of them in fact their biggest playmaker is Pryor if he doesn’t make any plays the offense is really in a tough spot.

The turnovers and the lack of play on offense really hurt them and if the Raiders are going to win these games they don’t have a lot of margin for error and they had a lot of errors so they lost this one to the  Giants.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

49ers faced a tough defense in Carolina

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

Photo Courtesy 49ers.com

by David Zizmor

SANTA CLARA– It was a tough Carolina Panthers team that the 49ers had to face there at Candlestick last Sunday. Carolina is a surging team they’re on a long winning streak. Someone had to win, someone had to lose and you look at these two teams they both have excellent defenses and that’s what really dominated and dictated this game which is two great defenses.

The bottom line was that Carolina got the last score that’s what gave them the win 10-9 and the 49ers just couldn’t get anything going on offense but it’s not like the Panthers dominated either. There’s a lot of hand wringing going on in San Francisco about the Niners offensive game plan and there’s something to be said about that. The 49ers just ran into a defense that was really, really good and it’s tough to move the ball against a team like that.

Once you lose Vernon Davis and the passing game is still coming around it makes it tough to go up and down the field. It was not like the 49ers weren’t in this one it unfortunate because the 49ers played a great defensive game. They were just as strong as the Panthers were but the simple fact is the Niners offense couldn’t solve Carolina’s defense.

10-9 is not like anyone dominated but Carolina sent a message and said “We’re here you have to deal with us” the rest of the league had to be aware of this game and Carolina is a team that is aiming for the playoffs  and the 49ers really wanted that win but they got to brush it off and look ahead to next week’s game against New Orleans.

One of the strengths of the Carolina defense was the rush, they have a great front seven their linebackers and defensive lineman were all fantastic, you talk about a team that’s going to send multiple guys to the Pro Bowl they’re that good and the 49ers offensive line have been really solid as well. When quarterback Colin Kaepernick is under pressure he’s like any other quarterback it just becomes difficult to make a play.

Some teams Kaepernick’s been able to break out and get yards with his legs but Carolina has really quick linebackers just like the Niners do and it’s really tough too for a running quarterback to gain any yards. Kaepernick had that problem even when he was able to escape the pass rush there and there was really no field for him to rush.

Kaepernick couldn’t get any yards running and frankly when your being chased all over the place unless your receivers can come back and give you options it’s tough to make a play that way either. Kaepernick he has to work on a few things to be sure but also he’s not going to face a defense as good as that outside of Seattle the rest of the season.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Will the Raiders ground game help the offense against Giants?

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

Raiders Report

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA– I don’t think you could look at the Raiders and say they’re going to win any particular game I know that the Giants have had a tough season so far they’re only 2-6.The Raiders are just 2-5 this is a long road trip, it’s a cross country game at the Meadowlands for this Sunday it’ll be a tough one.

While New York is not having a good season the Raiders are not in a position to take anyone for granted the Giants might not be the best team in the league but they still have quarterback Eli Manning whose a two time Super Bowl winner. They still have some very good skilled position players most notably Victor Cruz. This is not a team the Raiders can take lightly no matter what their record is.

The Raiders are going to especially feel a little embarrassed by what happened last week by the Eagles at the Oakland Coliseum losing 49-20 you have to feel bad about it. You got to forget about it, you can’t let that carry over to the following week. The Raiders have to take this one as it comes and take their opponents that is in front of them and play those guys.

The Raiders go into this game and try to regroup, they’re perfectly capable of hanging with this Giants team and New York doesn’t have a great offensive line right now. The Raiders on defense have been pretty solid last week not withstanding. So the Raiders can take advantage of the Giants offensive line they could make some headway in this game this coming Sunday.

What got the Giants into trouble all year is Manning was forced into throwing bad passes and giving up interceptions. Last time I looked Manning had ten touchdown passes on the year but 15 interceptions which is just awful especially for a guy of his pedigree. So the Raiders can go into the Meadowlands and make some noise but a win is not guaranteed by any stretch.

The other problem the Raiders have is their offense is sputtering a bit Raider quarterback Terrelle Pryor had that great 93 yard run against the Steelers on October 27th at the Coliseum but the offense is struggling right now they have injuries up and down the offensive line. Running back Darren McFadden is injured, the receiving core has really not come together.

So it’s really Pryor, Running back Rod Streater and occasionally Denarius Moore shows up, that’s about it there’s really been no kind of offense and Rashad Jennings had a decent game last week but that was mostly garbage time. So a running game without McFadden is a question mark as to if Pryor continues to go to the playbook.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Foles ties NFL record in blowout win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

600x421

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND – Terrelle Pryor set a record on the opening play from scrimmage in his last game, but Nick Foles ties a longstanding record at the end of the game.

Foles threw seven touchdowns, while 22-for-28 with 406 yards passing and seven touchdowns, as the Philadelphia Eagles simply destroyed the Oakland Raiders 49-20 before a crowd of 51,751 at the Coliseum.

“Really, listen, there’s not a whole lot you can tell them. At the end of the day, that was an old-fashioned butt-whopping. We have to move from it. We have to learn from it. We have to be better next week,” said Raiders head coach Dennis Allen.

The seven touchdowns thrown by Foles tied the record that was set by Sid Luckman, former Eagles quarterback Adrian Burk, who threw his seven touchdowns for the Eagles against the Washington Redskins in Washington on October 17, 1954, George Blanda, Joe Kapp, Y.A. Tittle and Peyton Manning, who turned the trick against the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens on September 5, 2013 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Foles found Riley Cooper three times on the afternoon, DeSean Jackson, former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz, LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek each caught one in the 29-point victory for the Eagles.

“He (Nick Foles) had an unreal game. I’m extremely proud of him. He’s a great friend of mine; a great teammate and I’m proud of him,” said Cooper.

Despite the loss, the Raiders gained a whopping 560 yards in offense, their most in a game since 1968, two years before joining the NFL and the third-most in a game since the Raiders were founded in 1960.

“It was big. It was big, and you get back on the winning side of things and everybody’s confidence is high right now. It’s a good feeling going into Green Bay next week,” said Eagles Strong Safety Nate Allen.

Pryor threw for 288 yards and gained 94 more on the ground, but they were unable to overcome the vaunted Eagles defense that was coming off a tough loss to the previously winless New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on October 27.

The third-year quarterback was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury.

“I really don’t know. We were going to go with (Matt) McGloin anyway there in the 4th quarter. I was really unaware that there was even an injury so I don’t know exactly the extent of it. Obviously we’ll take a look at it in more detail tomorrow,” said Allen.

Pryor was not the only Raiders player to be hit by injury in the game, as Darren McFadden left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury, linebacker Kaluka Maiava left the game with rib injuries and Rod Streater suffered a hip injury.

McFadden’s replacement Rashad Jennings carried the ball 15 times and gained 102 yards with a touchdown.

That’s Amaury: Regardless of who wins series both teams battled hard

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment
Ted Williams
That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary
Regardless of who wins the series with the next two games on Wednesday and Thursday games five and six should be sensational games. This has been a series that has been dominating by pitching and it has been terrific the Cardinals starter on Wednesday Michael Wacha the rookie who took to the mound in game six and he’s 4-0 22 year old and the Cards have seven rookies on that roster.
The Cards have Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal to name a few who are just rookies and their doing a great job and here’s another thing about the Cardinals of the 25 man roster 20 players are home grown there is no other team in baseball that I have found that has 20 players who are home grown. Let me explain homegrown to those who think I’m joking there are players they have signed through their own farm system and they made it to the big leagues.
Of those 20 seven are rookies, that’s incredible you have a team that basically that’s home grown except Carlos Beltran who came from other teams, Matt Holliday is the other non rookie, most of these players are Cardinal discoveries. That by itself show tremendous organization by the Cards.
Goodell wants NFL team in London:  It’s a lot of travel to go from the mainland to fly to London but it’s intriguing here’s Major League Baseball who as we know that opened their season there’s a difference they have opened the season in Mexico City, the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks are going to open the MLB season in Australia but that’s just opening a game there in the regular season.
To have a team in another country what is the flight time for the 49ers and the Raiders to travel all the way to London. This is serious, I don’t know if the NFL can accomplish this this year or next or the next 20 years but I’ll tell you what the NFL is rich monetarily economically and fiscally sound professional sports league in the world. So if anybody can do it it’s the NFL.
That will be a tremendous undertaking to have a team down in London, I can see them doing it in Canada, Mexico, but to leave the continent and to go across the Atlantic to the other side of the world and consider this we are here in California that would be quite a stress for the teams to get there. They would have to fly three or four days in advance and three or four changes of time zones. It’s going to be tough but they might be able to do it.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio