Oakland Raiders Offensive Update: The Receiving Core
by saint on Nov 6, 2009 7:20 AM PST
10 comments
With the Bye Week upon us, I think we should take this time to reflect on the first half.Of course, with a 2-6 record there will be much to look at on the disappointing side, but, there will be a few things that we can look at on the positive side. Unfortunately NONE of those will be on the offensive side of the ball.
Regardless of what the players on the scoring side of the ball say, (Darrius Heyward-Bey from the CC Times, "I've been very solid") they have stunk, and they have stunk regularly.
As I pointed out last week, and many local columnists have also since, they are at a "Bed and Breakfast level" of scoring.
Coming into last week, they reached the Red Zone the least amount of any team in football, 9 times, 9 MEASLY times. That is two games worth for most, decent offenses, so that should put their futility into some perspective. They aren't even giving themselves a chance to score, thus, they only lead the hapless St. Louis Rams (9.6) in scoring and are tied with Cleveland at 9.8 points per game.
So, how have they arrived here? Let's start with the most glaring weakness, the receivers.
First off, they are starting two rookies that THINK they are World Beaters. I mean, just reference the DHB line above and then listen to Murphy talk about how, "They are a GREAT team", and you'll soon get the picture. In all fairness to the squad, the three receivers with the best hands have not found their ways onto the field yet this year.
Chaz and Miller should be back soon and the only reasonable explanation for Javon Walker not playing is the Marcus Allen treatment he MAY be receiving from AL Davis due to him having off-season surgery and doing it on his own without telling anyone.
The ONE bright spot in the entire receiving core is Zach Miller, without him, I shiver to think how poorly this team would play.
Zach has hauled in 28 passes for 421 yards. Murphy and Bey have combined for 21 catches for 306 yards. In fact, the entire wide receiving core has 28 catches for 373 yards. That is just downright terrible. Especially when you see that Johnnie Lee Higgins, last year's top wide-out has only 2 catches for 8 yards.
This really is disgusting and, I believe, is much worse than the time spent under Shell and Walsh, this team actually has talent on the offensive side of the ball and they are terrible. There is no excuse for NOT getting the ball to Johnnie Lee more and for sitting Javon Walker on the bench so that DHB can watch another perfectly thrown TD bounce off of his facemask.
What do you think of the Receiving core's perfromance, so far, Raider Nation?
This post was sponsored by Comcast Red Zone
10 comments | 0 recs |
Talkin' With Tyvon - #10
by TheRaiderWay on Nov 4, 2009 3:22 AM PST
11 comments
Greetings Raider Nation and the Silver and Black Pride community! I am pleased to bring to all of you the 10th installment in the series, Talkin' With Tyvon, from Raiders starting strong safety Tyvon Branch.
With the Raiders having entered their bye-week, Tyvon was good enough to answer some questions and provide some insight into the Chargers game before he takes a well deserved short break. Tyvon and the Raiders will be back in action on November 18th when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at the Coliseum.
The Community is invited to pose some questions for Tyvon in the comments section and he will do his best to get as many of them answered as quickly as possible:
Hello Raider Fans!! Thanks for all the support over the weeks. We tried to get the intensity back where it needs to be this week. We needed to make a few more plays and stop them from their long passing game. Going into the bye this week we can evaluate and hopefully get healthy. Getting some of our dinged up guys back on the field will hopefully get us going on the right track. We have eight games left to turn this around.
TB
SABP: I know players only like to count victories as the result from the scoreboard and not moral ones, but you and the defense had to at least be satisfied that the Raiders played a hard fought and competitive game. Did the way the defense played against the Chargers give you all hope going into the bye you will regroup and come out strong for the 2nd half of the season?
TB: Moral victories do not get us into the playoffs, and counting them just means you didn't win. Having two wins at this point of the season is not where we want to be. We need to build off the things we do well and remove the things that are slowing our progress. Hopefully this bye week will allow us to recoup and get some things going for the second half of the season.
SABP: The bye week I'm sure will be used to get everyone healthy, but will you use the extra time to work through some of the problems that have plagued the team for the first part of season?
TB: Definitely. We have a lot to work on. We just need to stay focused and get better.
SABP: Once again, great job Tyvon, you really showed up big AGAIN last week. You led the team in tackles and you played the receivers and Gates as well as anybody. I an wondering though, what happened on CJ's interception return? Did you give him a little grief for just tossing you to the ground?TB: Oh man...did he ever. He ran me over. I was slowing up trying to set and get back for him and he comes and runs me over. I felt as if I rolled 10 yards. After watching that on film I will know to stay out of his way from now on.
SABP: Your size and speed are starting to get noticed around the league. Are starting to feel more comfortable with the speed of the game and the league in general that you are able to maximize your skills and play on pure instinct?TB: Definitely. Last year I was starting to feel more comfortable then I got hurt. Now I am starting to recognize things quicker and make better football plays. Experience and comfort level are important to really play a pure instinct.
Thanks Tyvon, have a good bye week and look forward to you coming back and cracking the Chiefs.
11 comments | 0 recs |
Oakland Raiders Postgame Recap: Raiders 16, Chargers 24
by Rated-R Superstar on Nov 2, 2009 3:06 AM PST
76 comments
Originally Posted: Sunday, November 1: 6:05 p.m.
Are they yelling or shaking hands? You be the judge. [via www.pe.com]
Coming in as 17-point underdogs, many people expected the Oakland Raiders to get blown out at the hands of the San Diego Chargers. While Oakland never led at any point in the ball game, they battled back from down 21-7 to make it a little too close for comfort for San Diego in a 24-16 defeat.
76 comments | 1 recs |
Game Thread: Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers
by saint on Nov 1, 2009 12:30 PM PST
664 comments
Everyone knows how this game is supposed to end up, BUT, if the games always followed suit, there would be no need to play them.
So, now is the time for the Raiders to Answer the Bell, much as , according to Charlie Frye, JaMarcus Russell did at 6:30AM this past Wednesday. Heck, the 60 million dollar man probably woke up earlier than me that day!! (Cue Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, Surprise!!!".)
It would not "Surprise" me at all to think that this is Tom Cable's last hurrah, if he doesn't get a win this week. 2-6 going into the break, with a last place scoring offense that you call the plays for and an owner with a quick fuse, well, you get the picture. If this team loves Cable as much as they say they do, they'd better leave it ALL on the field.
Here is to hoping that, once again, this team does the unthinkable and beats a team that nobody picked them too.
So, raise a glass of whatever you are drinking, and, toast with me:
"Here is to the Good Times And Bad,
The happy times and sad,
And here is to Every Sunday,
Where the GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK!!!"
RRAAAIIDDEERRSS!!!!!!
664 comments | 0 recs
Oakland Raiders Football:Pre-Game Thread Week 8
by TheRaiderWay on Nov 1, 2009 1:16 AM PDT
7 comments
Oakland at 
San Diego Regular Season Week 6
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
When: 1:05 p.m. PDT
2009 Records: Raiders (2-5), Chargers (3-3)
History: Oakland leads the series 54-43-2
Television: CBS
Line: Chargers by 17 points
SB Nation Raiders vs Chargers Preview here
The Raiders had four "3-and-out" drives against the Jets and now have 31 total on the season -- the most for any team in the league. During the "Bed & Breakfast" 2006 team, with Aaron Brooks at QB, it wasn't thought possible that an offense or QB could play worse. Well, last week, Russell 6-11 for 61 yards and 2 Interceptions, pretty much brings the this Raiders offense right on par with the 2006 team.
Now the Raiders tumble into San Diego to face the team that has now defeated them 12 straight times. The Raiders have been playing sort of a Jekyll & Hyde, with their strange ability to follow a promising win with a demoralizing, blowout loss. So, now after the 38-0 drubbing by the Jets last week, what are we to expect from the Raiders against the Chargers?
What is clear now, is that this team looses confidence quickly and realizes that when they are way down, that there is little hope of coming back. Starting with the very first play of the game against the Jets, Russell's fumble took the wind right out of the Raiders defense. Now the thing to see is how he will respond to his benching and sudden, apparent realization that "some" of the Raiders' problems are actually his fault. So if the Raiders are going to have any chance today, it's going to start with ALL the players executing the game plan, protecting the ball and not loosing confidence. In order for the team not to quit on themselves, they will be looking to Russell to really see if he is going to be the one who can lead them.
For the Chargers, it still may be to late to catch the Broncos, but they are playing better after their typical slow start and have now really become a passing team. Despite their struggles on the ground, San Diego has had little trouble scoring this season, averaging 26.8 points. The Chargers' defense, however, had given up an average of 27.2 points before holding the Chiefs to 203 yards. San Diego is also starting to get healthy, which still cannot be said for the Raiders, probably until after the bye. The Raiders will once again be without the services of Chaz Schilens and probably not Gallery. They will also once again, adventurously, start Khalif Barnes at right tackle, with his career one game of experience on the right side.
Beyond the obvious key that the Raiders offense needs to do SOMETHING, the Raiders defense needs to play that same aggressive, hard-hitting defense they played for the first 58 minutes of the opener. With the Chargers going more to the pass now,one great match up watch will be the one between Antonio Gates and Tyvon Branch.
So Raider Nation, what are your thoughts, your keys to this game and how do you think the Raiders will respond coming off of the shut out loss at home to the Jets last week?
7 comments | 0 recs |
Oakland Raider Scoring Offense and Red Zone-Less Performance:
by saint on Oct 31, 2009 4:59 PM PDT
8 comments
By now you know that Comcast Red Zone sponsors this article every week:
What you may not know is that the 2nd to last place in scoring team, Tampa Bay, is scoring 30% more points than the last place Oakland Raiders!
Here is another alarming stat: The San Diego Chargers, our Week 8 Opponent, have scored 56 Touchdowns while JaMarcus and his Merry Men have scored 12. This is over 4.5 times as many Touchdowns!!!
That is despicable and Tom Cable needs to hold himself culpable for this. He calls the plays that DON'T Score, so he wears the blame.
As far as the Red Zone scoring goes, the Raiders had their Red Zone trips last week, ahem, I mean TRIP, stopped as First Round Disappointment let a ball go threw his hands for a sure TD. Did I mention that this came with the game over and the Jets already booking their post flight dates!
Once again, this is inexcusable! Tom Cable abandons the run MUCH too soon and panics. He should know that this is a running team and he needs to run it like that. That is unless being Offensive Line Coach, Offensive Play Caller and Head Coach is too much for him!
The bottom line in this League is results, and Tom has shown Bed and Breakfast like results!
Quick Note to Tom Cable:
Sorry Tommy, I had to go there. The job you've done warrants it.
Now, get Javon Walker in the game and run the ball 2-1 this week. That is, twice as many times as you throw it. Do not abandon this and see what your defense can do, and allow JaMarcus to take his shots deep the few times a game that the defense sags and he reads it.
This entire Community thought that this was a running team for the past two years, and we hope that you begin to see this Too!
8 comments | 0 recs |
Talkin' With Tyvon - #9
by TheRaiderWay on Oct 28, 2009 12:39 PM PDT
22 comments
Greetings Silver and Black Pride community! I am pleased to bring to all of you the 9th installment in the series, Talkin' With Tyvon, from Raiders starting strong safety Tyvon Branch.
Just when we thought that the Giants game was the worst possible game, we had last week's game with the Jets. Thankfully, Tyvon is man enough to come back here following the ugliness of that game to answer your questions.
The Community is invited to pose some questions for Tyvon in the comments section and he will do his best to get as many of them answered as quickly as possible:
Hey Raider fans....it was a tough week. First off sorry about not getting in to answer the questions. I will be sure to answer the questions for this week. It was a tough game Sunday. After the big win with Philly we should have played better. Hopefully we will be able to rev up the intensity this week and play well against San Diego.
TB
SABP: The loss to the Jets was the worst loss at home in franchise history. It's understandable that the defense would be discouraged by having to start the 2nd play of the game after a turnover backed up at your own 5 yard line. What are your thoughts as to what the game got out of hand so quickly and why the momentum of the Eagles game did not carry over to the Jets game?
TB: We had a great week of practice, and I thought we would come out of the gate firing. Things went south quick and it was hard to recover. When the Jets got that initial boost of confidence they put it to us.SABP: The Jets amassed 316 yard on the ground, an incredible figure, especially since they did what everyone thought they would do coming into this game, run. With the Raider defense in a one-gap set, it theoretically would be up to the individual player to maintain their assignments, execute and make tackles. From your perspective, knowing the Jets were going to run the way they did, what was the principle reasons for the failure to manage their run game?
TB: They blocked extremely well and through some schemes in there we had not seen before. We need to learn to recognize this quicker and adapt. No excuses in this league.
SABP: Once again you led the team in tackles. This is great from the perspective that the Raiders have a strong safety than actually can tackle, but not so good that you have to be making all of those tackles. Do you think at this point that there needs to be some adjustments in the scheme to better match the personnel the Raiders have and put the defense in a better position to succeed?
TB: The coaches continue to try new things every week. Whether you guys can notice them or not, there are some significant changes happening within the schemes. Right now we need to build on the positives and learn from the negatives.
SABP: You have Antonio Gates once again with your game down in San Diego just before the bye week. It would be great to go down there and get one back from them after the opener and go into the bye with a win and get healthier. How do you see the preparation for you and the defense for this game following the kind of loss you had to the Jets and knowing this is the 2nd game against the Chargers?TB: It is one of those things where we will watch film and learn. We know what worked to open the season and we will revisit some things and how they exploited certain situations. Going into the bye with a win would be huge for this team.
Thanks Tyvon and good luck down in San Diego.
22 comments | 0 recs |
2010 Offseason
by KA1Z3R on Oct 27, 2009 2:51 PM PDT
46 comments
I figure since the season has died, been gutted, flushed down the drain, then eaten by a sewer gator, i may as well get into speculation as to what the 2010 offseason should be for the Raiders.
Three plans come to mind for what Oakland should do and could realistically do:
- Start from the ground up again. Bring in a new rookie QB and trade away a lot of the talent for as many draft picks as possible. Sort of like how KC, Cincy, and Denver have rebuilt.
- Build the team to accommodate Russell's ineptitude to possibly salvage him. The most likely scenario though the least preferred by me. Receiver can't be drafted with so many young guys trying to develop, so look for the lines to be rebuilt. This is only a bad scenario because Russell still starts.
- A combination of one and two. Trade some guys for draft picks but not all of our talent. New QB and attempts at rebuilding the lines.
Ahead is what I think should be done with in realistic boundaries for Al Davis.
WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE "RUSSELL BASHING" THIS IS NOT THE POST FOR YOU
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San Diego
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Mon 09/14 | L 20 - 24 |
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@
Kansas City
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Sun 09/20 | W 13 - 10 |
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Denver
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Sun 09/27 | L 3 - 23 |
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Houston
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Philadelphia
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New York Jets
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Sun 10/25 | L 0 - 38 |
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San Diego
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Sun 11/01 | L 16 - 24 |
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Kansas City
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Sun 11/15 | 1:05 PM PST |
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Cincinnati
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Sun 11/22 | 1:15 PM PST |
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Dallas
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Thu 11/26 | 1:15 PM PST |
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Pittsburgh
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Sun 12/06 | 10:00 AM PST |
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Washington
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Sun 12/13 | 1:05 PM PST |
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Denver
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Sun 12/20 | 1:05 PM PST |
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Baltimore
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Sun 01/03 | 1:15 PM PST |
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