Tag: Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Rams spoiled Raiders’ home opener; Raiders made some roster moves

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

On the Raiders podcast with Tony:

1. A strong defensive first half wasn’t enough for the Raiders, who lost to the LA Rams 33-13 during ESPN’s Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 1.

2. Jared Cook’s 180 receiving yards in Raiders vs. Rams were the most by a tight end in franchise history.

3. The Raiders signed wide receiver Johnny Holton to their practice squad. In a corresponding move, they terminated the contract of defensive back Terrell Sinkfield.

4. Raiders coach Jon Gruden provided an update on the injury of long snapper Andrew DePaola. This isn’t the way the Raiders wanted to start the season, but tight end Lee Smith stepped in as the emergency long snapper.

5. The Raiders signed free agent wide receiver Martavis Bryant and long snapper Trent Sieg. In corresponding moves, they placed long snapper Andrew DePaola on the Reserve/Injured List and have waived wide receiver Keon Hatcher.

Tony does the Raiders podcasts each Thursday for SportsRadioService.com

Raiders travel to Denver looking to bounce back after home loss

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — After a very poor showing at home against the Los Angeles Rams, the Raiders travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in an AFC West matchup Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT. The two teams will meet each other later this year on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Christmas Eve in Oakland.

Last season, the two teams split their two-game series winning on their home turf.

The Raiders (0-1) fell flat on their faces to the Rams 33-13 in front of a sold out Raider Nation crowd of 53,857 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on ESPN’s Monday Night Football to closeout Week 1. Oakland held a 13-10 lead at halftime in head coach Jon Gruden’s return to the sidelines after a nine-year hiatus, before the wheels fell off for the Silver and Black in the second half as the Rams scored 23 unanswered points to claim the victory.

In the battle of franchise quarterbacks, Rams signal-caller Jared Goff clearly outplayed Derek Carr in front of a nationally televised audience. Both quarterbacks played a handful of snaps in the preseason and there was bound to be some rust in the first game.

For Goff, he completed 18 of 33 passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions picking up right where he left off engineering the NFL’s top scoring offense from a season ago. The Rams averaged 29.9 points per game last year.

Oakland’s defense couldn’t generate a consistent pass rush against Goff, only sacking him once in the game by Bruce Irvin.

Neither could they stop last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley. The Rams running back looked in midseason form, carrying the ball 20 times for 108 yards. Gurley also hauled in three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

After a hot start to the game where he completed 20 of 24 passes for 199 yards, Carr played pedestrian finishing 29 of 40 for 303 yards and three interceptions. Carr did have good chemistry with tight end Jared Cook, who caught a game-high nine balls or a league-high 180 yards.

Seven of Cook’s catches went for first downs, which tied for the most in Week 1.

Cook’s 45-yard catch-and-run down the middle of the field in the first quarter on the Raiders’ opening drive did set up Oakland’s first touchdown of the season, a 10-yard powerful run by running back Marshawn Lynch that gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead, but those were the only real highlights for the Raiders offensively as Oakland settled for two Mike Nugent field goals.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper, who Gruden said would be a “focal point” to the offense this season, was missing in action as he caught just one pass for nine yards.

Cooper looked out of place on opening night, matched up with cornerback and Oakland native Marcus Peters for most of the night. If you go back and look at the game film, Cooper appeared open down the field on occasions but for some strange reason, Carr couldn’t get him the ball.

Peters would take Carr’s third interception 50 yards for a touchdown that punctuated a night to forget for Carr.

Oakland could find it difficult to get back on track against Denver (1-0), who prevailed over the visiting Seattle Seahawks 27-24 last Sunday at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.

Broncos starting quarterback Case Keenum completed 25 of 39 passes for 329 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions in his first game with the team.

Keenum enjoyed a career-year last season in Minnesota, throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns to just seven interceptions while leading the Vikings to a 13-3 regular season record, an NFC North title, and appearance in the NFC Championship Game before signing a two-year, $36 million (with $25 million guaranteed) with Denver in the offseason.

Wide receiver Emmauel Sanders led the Broncos with 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown (fellow wide out Demaryius Thomas chipped in with six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown), while Denver’s ground game anchored by rookie running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay (15 carries for 71 each), found holes to run through in Seattle’s defense. Lindsay also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Keenum.

Denver’s defense had a huge day against Seattle forcing three turnovers and sacking Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson six times, three by linebacker Von Miller, who finished with six tackles (one assisted).

Miller also forced two fumbles, one of which where he ripped the ball away from running back Chris Carson for a Broncos takeaway.

Linebacker Todd Davis led Denver with eight tackles.

Following Sunday’s game, both teams head east as the Broncos travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens, while Oakland invades Miami for a matchup with the Dolphins.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Raiders might quit Oakland due to city’s lawsuit; 49ers just ran up against very good team in loss; Chair umpires call for boycott of Serena matches

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: usatoday.com

On the Headline Sports with London:

#1 The City of Oakland plan to sue the Oakland Raiders for financial impact loss to the city. The Raiders have said if the city continues with the suit, the team will pull up stakes and find a temporary site to play until their new stadium is ready.

#2 There was a lot of expectation on the Raiders on Monday night and a lot of hype on the return of head coach Jon Gruden and the trade of star Khalil Mack going into the regular season, but Oakland took a convincing 33-13 loss to the LA Rams on Monday night.

#3 How badly was the loss to the Minnesota Vikings for the San Francisco 49ers 24-16? Did Jimmy Garoppolo show promise despite the loss?

#4 Tennis chair umpires are calling for a boycott for future matches with Serena Williams. Tennis officials are upset due to the lack of support for chair umpire Carlos Ramos that umpires said Williams labeled Ramos a sexist, a thief, and owing Williams an apology for violation calls. But tennis chair umpires point to her unsportsmanship-like conduct in her U.S. Open match.

#5 Wild card races have the Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees most likely heading to a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season. The A’s have won five straight, but looking ahead-how do you see this one-game match up possibly in New York between the A’s and Yankees?

London Marq does the Sports Headlines each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rams down Raiders 33-13 in season opener

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — With a chance to show the whole nation that they were much improved, the Oakland Raiders took a big step back in their season opener.

Jared Goff found Cooper Kupp for an eight-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the third quarter, as the Los Angeles Rams came from a 13-10 halftime deficit to defeat the Raiders 33-13 before a crowd of 53,857 at the Coliseum on Monday night.

Things looked for the Raiders on their initial drive of the game, as Marshawn Lynch barraged his way into the end zone from 10-yards out to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead.

Todd Gurley tied up the game with under 5:00 remaining in the quarter, as he took a Goff pass and scored from 19 yards out.

Newcomer Mike Nugent gave the Raiders a 10-7 lead, as he kicked a 24-yard field goal on the Raiders first series of the second quarter.

Greg Zuerlein tied up the game with a 20-yard field goal just one series after he missed a 46-yard field goal from where Jed Lowrie usually patrols second base for the Oakland A’s.

Nugent sent the Raiders into the locker room with a hard fought 13-10 lead, as he nailed a 48-yard field goal with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half.

Goff took the Rams down the field, but the Raiders’ defense was able to hold the Rams to a field goal, as Zuerlein kicked a 28-yard field goal on the first series of the third quarter for the Rams.

That third quarter was atrocious for the Raiders, as they gained just 17 yards in the quarter, while the Rams gained 147 yards.

It was the Goff touchdown pass to Kupp in the final seconds of the quarter that gave the Rams the lead for good.

Zuerlein got the Rams their next six points, as he kicked a 55-yard field goal and then a 20-yard field goal that pushed the lead up to 13 with just 3:15 remaining in the game.

Former McClymonds High School star Marcus Peters put the final touches on the game, as he returned a Derek Carr pass 50 yards to the end zone to give the Rams their final margin of victory.

Carr ended up going 29-for-40 for 303 yards passing and three interceptions, including the pick six to Peters that put the game away for the Rams.

Following the Lynch touchdown that got the Raiders on the board, he carried the ball just 10 more times for 31 yards to lead the Raiders rushing game.

With the Rams secondary of Peters and Aqib Talib held the Raiders wide receivers in check, as Amari Cooper caught just one pass for nine yards and Jordy Nelson caught three passes for 23 yards. With the duo of Cooper and Nelson being locked down by the Rams secondary, Carr was able to get the ball to Jared Cook, who caught nine passes for 180 yards, including a 45-yard pass from Carr on the Raiders third play of the game.

Bay Area native Goff, who played his college ball at CAL, went 18-for-33 for 233 yards and two touchdowns.

Gurley showed the entire country why he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, as he carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards, and he also caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders other achilles heel was penalties, as they committed 11 penalties for 155 yards, all but one of the penalties took place in the first half, where the Raiders were penalized 10 times for 145 yards.

NOTES: With the loss, all of the NFL’s new head coaches went a combined 0-7 in the first weekend of the season.

Two of the 10 Raiders penalties in the first half went for a combined 87 yards, as Rashaan Melvin was called for a 37-yard pass interference penalty and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was flagged for a 50-yard pass interference penalty. That was more penalty yard in any game during Jon Gruden’s four years with the Raiders from 1998-2001 and the most in the first half since at least Gruden’s third season of 2000, when the Raiders made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 16-3.

Andrew DePaola was forced to leave the game in the first quarter, as he injured his knee and did not return to the game. Tight End Lee Smith came on to become the long snapper, and the Raiders kicked two field goals.

UP NEXT: The Raiders head out on the road for a two-game road trip that begins on Sunday against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, and then the Raiders head to Miami to face the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on September 23. Their next home game will be on September 30 against the Cleveland Browns.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders on primetime show on Monday Night, but will it be all about Mack?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 Regular season kicks off on primetime TV in Oakland. The Los Angeles Rams pay a visit to the Oakland Raiders the prelude to this game. Is the anticipation of the deal to send Khalil Mack to Chicago and much discussion expected on national TV?

#2 You try and watch the opener on Monday Night Football, but not only Mack dominates the telecast, but also the discussion. How it might turn on how the Raiders made a mistake on dealing Mack and how the Raiders very well might not make postseason without their superstar player?

#3 Mack amassed 40.5 sacks, but the Raiders still finished 24th in the league in defense. Will the Raiders sink further now without Mack?

#4 What about the fans? Raider Nation isn’t taking this well at all. Has the Raiders’ front office been hit with emails, comments and messages since the deal went down?

#5 Can this team focus and can they get their best player out of their head on Monday Night Football?

Joe Hawkes Beamon writes a weekly preview on Raiders football each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders to host Rams in regular season opener on Monday Night Football

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Yes, the NFL regular season is finally here. No more of watching unwatchable preseason football and hoping that both teams put on solid efforts.

The Oakland Raiders will begin their 2018 regular season on Monday night when they will welcome the Los Angeles Rams to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game between the two clubs will be the second game of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader, which kicks off at 7:20 p.m. PT.

The New York Jets travel to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions in Game 1. Kickoff for that game is at 4:10 p.m. PT.

The Raiders met the Rams in Week 2 of the preseason in Los Angeles. The Rams won a snore of a game, 19-15, with both teams opting to hold out their starters.

This time around, things will be different as this is the regular season and the games count more than they do in the preseason.

The big story surrounding the Raiders has been the trade of defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears on Sept. 2. Oakland was unable to come to terms on a new longterm contract for the star defender.

The Raiders were hoping that Mack would return to the team and play under the franchise tag of $13.8 million but when it appeared that Mack wasn’t going to show up for any of Oakland’s training camp, head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Reggie McKenzie shipped the 27-year-old former NFL Defensive Player of the Year to the Bears for a boatload of draft picks: first- and sixth-round picks in 2019, and first- and third-round picks in 2020.

Along with Mack, the Bears received second- and fifth-round picks in 2020 as part of the deal.

Oakland will miss Mack no doubt. Mack amassed 40.5 sacks over the past four seasons for the Raiders and the name of the game on defense is to hit the quarterback and Oakland just let their best pass rusher walk out the door.

Last season, the Raiders finished 24th in defense last year despite Mack’s 10.5 sacks. This season, the Raiders will need to improve that ranking if they are to return to the playoffs after a dismal 6-10 season last year following a 12-4 campaign in 2016. That means rookies on the defensive line such as P.J. Hall, Maurice Hurst and Arden Key will be tasked to pick up the slack for Mack.

Quarterback Derek Carr is looking for a bounce back season of his own in 2018.

Last season, Carr’s numbers dipped a bit: throwing for 3,496 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 86.4 passer rating after throwing for 3,937 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions to go along with a career-high 96.7 passer rating in 2016.

With Gruden back in town (after taking over for the fired Jack Del Rio), Carr’s play is expected to take off. Gruden is credited as being an offensive genius when designing plays and Carr’s performance will be critical for the Raiders’ offense that finished  23rd in production in 2017.

The Rams defense finished in 12th in scoring defense (20.6 points per game) and are loaded.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Rams into Oakland looking to build off of the team’s first postseason birth since 2004. Los Angeles won the NFC West title after finishing 11-5 last season and are one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2019.

Los Angeles added defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to play next to Donald in the offseason, along with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters via trades to shore up their secondary.

The Rams have one of the best offenses in the league, led by third-year quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley.

After a subpar rookie season in 2016 in which he threw for just 1,089 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions under former head coach Jeff Fisher, Goff exploded in 2017 under first-year head coach Sean McVay throwing for career-highs in yards (3,804), touchdowns (28) and passer rating (100.5).

Goff threw just seven interceptions during the 2017 campaign.

Gurley had a bounce back season too under McVay after a disappointing 2016 season where Gurley rushed for a career-low 885 yards and six touchdowns. The fourth-year running back rushed for career-highs in yards (1,305) and touchdowns (13). Gurley finished second in the NFL in total rushing, falling just 22 yards short of league-leader in rookie Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Raiders could have their hands full with a Rams offense that finished first in scoring last season, averaging 29.9 points per game.

After Monday night’s game, both teams will begin their divisional schedule Sunday, September 16, with the Raiders traveling to Denver to take on the Broncos, while the Rams will host the Arizona Cardinals at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Games will be scheduled for 1:25 pm and 1:05 pm, respectively.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Gruden satisfied with backup quarterback Manuel; How Mack deal impacts Raiders for MNF

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @zennie62

On the Raiders podcast with Tony R:

#1 One thing the Raiders got out of camp if anything is their backup quarterback EJ Manuel, who had himself a game last Thursday in the final exhibition game, going 18-22 for 255 yards in Seattle.

#2 Manuel likes his favorite receiver for that game Ken Hatcher, who caught two touchdowns. Hatcher got good footing and moved everywhere last Thursday.

#3 Talk about quaterbacks coach Brian Callahan. He took over for head coach Jon Gruden and was able to balance the run and pass ratio. How big of a help was he for Manuel?

#4 With linebacker Khalil Mack gone, will the Raiders’ linebackers Emmanuel LaMur, Kyle Wiber, Tahir Whitehead, and Nicholas Morrow, be able to fill some big shoes?

#5 The Raiders open up the season on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams. How much discussion on network TV and even at the Oakland Coliseum will there be about how big a mistake it was for the Raiders not signing and keeping Mack?

Tony does the Raiders podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Raiders open up regular season on MNF; The shock waves of the Khalil Mack trade; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @steverosenbloom

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Oakland Raiders open up their regular season this Monday night September 10th at the Oakland Coliseum. There are lots of expectations for the Raiders on the primetime show.

#2 The talk throughout the NFL is the Khalil Mack trade to the Chicago Bears and getting a record $114 million deal. London discusses how this will work out for the Bears.

#3 Trump says that Nike is sending a “terrible message” with the Colin Kaepernick ad. Trump still doesn’t see unequal treatment and police brutality going on in the African American and Latino/Hispanic communities.

#4 The San Jose Earthquakes, who took a tough 2-1 loss last Saturday in Vancouver, have another two months worth of soccer left with only three wins for the season. Can they make the best of it or will they just go through the motions and suffer through it?

#5 After former Sacramento Kings player DeMarcus Cousins left Sacramento, who will carry the Kings this season? Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, D’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, or another player to be named later?

London Marq does the Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders report: Raiders trade Mack to Bears

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from bearswire.com: Former Oakland Raider Khalil Mack (52) has been dealt to the Chicago Bears as of Saturday morning. Mack came to the Raiders out of the NFL draft in 2014.

By Jeremy Kahn

If you thought that LeBron James going to the Los Angeles Lakers, DeMarcus Cousins going to the Golden State Warriors, or Kwahi Leonard going to the Toronto Raptors was big for the NBA, what would the impact of Khalil Mack going to the Chicago Bears do for the NFL.

According to multiple reports, the Oakland Raiders will trade the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to the Bears.

Mack missed all of training camp, he also did not appear at the Raiders voluntary off season program and missed the mandatory three-day minicamp in June. Also, since he was hired as the Raiders head coach on January 8, Jon Gruden and Mack have yet to speak to one another.

During the summer of 2017, the Raiders exercised the fifth-year option on Mack’s contract that is $13.846 million. If Mack was to play for the Raiders in 2018, the Raiders could put the franchise tag on the linebacker out of the University of Buffalo, barring an impasse.

In 2015, Mack became the first player in NFL history to be named All-Pro as an Outside Linebacker and a Defensive End. Mack was named the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and last year, Mack finished with 10.5 sacks, his fewest since his rookie year.

Oh yeah, and the Bears come to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on December 23.

Raiders Answer Backup QB Question After 30-19 Win Over Seahawks

Published on by tonyrenteriaLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBCSRaiders

By Tony Renteria

The Oakland Raiders have spent much of the preseason looking for the backup to All-Pro quarterback Derek Carr and have found that answer in a great game by EJ Manuel.   Manuel, who spent time in Buffalo before coming to the Silver and Black last season, has looked spotty at best during the first three preseason games, but came out tonight looking like a quality starter as he went an outstanding 18-for-22 with 255 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders won 30-19 against the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on Thursday night.

Manuel found a security blanket in Keon Hatcher, who caught two of those touchdowns from Manuel, three overall and seemed to be everywhere on the field as he was the punt returner and on special team coverage. Hatcher did make a case for making the final 53-man roster, but might end up on the scout team.

Quarterback coach Brian Callahan took over the play calling duties tonight from head coach John Gruden and seemed to do a good job balancing the run/pass ratio. The Raiders, who did not dress 21 of the 22 starters, did a very good job with players who will be cut on by September 1.

The Raiders used this last game to ensure that Manuel had it in him to be the backup and with the team more than likely only keeping two quarterbacks this last meaningless preseason game carried some meaning for the Raiders’ coaching staff.

NFL preseason leading Rusher Chris Warren III had 41 yards on 12 rushing attempts, but looked much better in pass protection and route running and looks like he will be one of the five running backs to make the roster.

Manual, Hatcher and Waarren III all made a differance tonight, lets see if tonight turns in a roster spot for these three young men.

The Raiders host the Rams to open the season on Monday Night Football on Monday, September 10 at 7:20 pm PDT.