BlogsWeekly Raider Issue #4
by KA1Z3R
on Jun 30, 2009 1:41 PM PDT
37 comments
Author's note- Sorry for the late post. Had a long week and was going to have a draft of this beforehand but just couldn't get to it.
Welcome one and all to the fourth issue of the Weekly Raider. There's a lot of things in-store for you in this issue. Michael Bush, my thoughts on 50 years of glorious Raider football, the featured fan, and some announcements below. Enjoy, and go Raiders!!!
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Silver and Black Pride's Sunday Community Poll: The Hot Seat
by TheRaiderWay
on Jun 28, 2009 3:32 AM PDT
9 comments
Thirty-two days and counting until the start of training camp for our Oakland Raiders and it can't get here quick enough. I don't know about all of you, but enough of this offseason lull and boredom, let's get ready for some football!
In this lull period before the draft choice signings and before camp starts, it is pretty difficult to find Raider related things to write about. However, I was thinking that when camp does start, that besides the multiple areas where there will be competition, there are a select few players that either have something to prove or will be on the Hot Seat a soon as camp commences. The Hot Seat means that the player is in danger of either being released, demoted or a downgrade in expectations.
Players worth mentioning because of the their "reach" status where they were drafted, but will not be included in this poll, are Heyward-Bey and Mike Mitchell because they like all of the 2009 rookies get at least a one year grace period before they get to the "Hot Seat".
The players that are on the Hot Seat coming into the 2009 camp are:
From the offense:
- JaMarcus Russell - At 23 years old, being drafted as a junior and really with only one full season under his belt, if Russell was drafted with the 25th pick in the first round, he would not be on the Hot Seat. But when you are the first player taken in the draft, you are on the Hot Seat from the moment you sign the contract. With Russell being pushed by Cable and Garcia, having experienced position coaches tutoring him and now having a supporting cast to work with, 2009 is the year that Russell must validate his status as being selected No.1 and prove he is the face of the franchise at least on offense.
- Arman Shields - Drafted in the 4th round last year, Shields never saw the field in 2008 due to injuries. With the Raiders bringing in an influx of new blood at the wide receiver position to go along with Schilens and JLH, Shields will have to be a camp stand-out in order to make the cut this year, as the Raiders will likely only keep five WR's on their roster.
- Javon Walker - The time is now for the former Pro-Bowler, even though Walker restructured his contract this year and "appears" to be healthy and ready for camp, the patience of the Raider organization this year with Walker will be thin. Walker is the only true veteran with experience at the WR position and if he can contribute like he should be capable of, then he will be a real asset to the team not just for production, but for the mentoring of the youngsters.
From the defense:
- John Bowie - Drafted in 2007, Bowie is infamously known as the player that the Raiders got for Randy Moss. Due to injuries, Bowie has not seen much of the field either for the Raiders and he will come into camp with long odds to make the cut if he doesn't show that he is worthy of making the final 53. He first must prove that he can stay healthy and then that he can suitably play his position, something so far from the OTA's, he has not excelled at.
- Michael Huff - Drafted in 2006 with the 7th pick, Huff has yet to show any of the abilities that he displayed in Texas. In fact, Huff has been a liability to the defense with his poor angles and apparent fear of tackling, which led ultimately to his benching last season. Granted, Huff has been moved around between strong and free safety, quite possibly been misused and not taught the proper techniques by the Rob Ryan regime, but Huff so far has not shown the Raiders anything yet to expunge the "bust" label that he has acquired. With Tyvon Branch and Mitchell in the house as well as the Raiders other offseason acquisitions, Huff will have to come into camp showing that he has progressed and acquired new good habits to replace his poor habits.
- Terdell Sands - For a man that is 6-7, 335 pounds, Sands sure does disappear a lot on the field. Sands got the big contract and was supposed to be the big plug in the middle, tying up lineman, closing gaps and allowing the linebackers to make plays. Instead we get a guy who is out of shape, easily gassed and is usually one step late to the play. Maybe there is a Rob Ryan factor here as well, maybe now that Greg Ellis is here along with the new coaching staff, Sands will "get it", if not, what he will get are his walking papers.
So Raider Nation, training camp is thankfully soon upon us, which player do you think has the most to prove to get off the Hot Seat?
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Pre-game Festivities or Rituals
by Wern
on Jun 23, 2009 3:42 PM PDT
26 comments
Hey all,
I've been a season ticket holder since I was a little kid (now 23 years old) and am a die-hard Raider fan. I follow every acquisition or move the team makes and been a lifelong fan. Anyways enough about myself... As many of us know, going to a Raider game is probably one of the more fun events you can attend, especially when they play well.
I thought it would be a great idea for the community to talk about some of their pre-game festivities/rituals/where they sit and what they do to prepare for the game.
I have had seats all over the stadium... most recently (past 3 years) my tickets have been section 119 row 6 and have been a real blast. It is a college-like atmosphere down there where everyone stands up and goes wild for 4 quarters. I happened to move my seats back a little bit this year over to section 114 row 30 so I would be able to sit down and enjoy the game from a different perspective. (rest assured I will still be sneaking my game time flask)
As it goes for pre-game tailgating I like to get to the stadium around 10:30am (latest) for a 1:05pm start. I have been going with some family friends that throw a huge tailgate right up front of the North Lot with 5-10 other families. Of course we throw back some cold ones, this year should get interesting as I have invested in a Chuggler (www.chuggler.com) which should liven up the party a bit. Every week there is a different theme or entree for the food that everyone brings so it keeps thing interesting...
I would love to hear about what others like to do before game time (whether its at home or the Coliseum) and maybe what they rep to the games (last year I most frequently wore my authentic black McFadden jersey)... Maybe we could throw a silver and black pride tailgate for one of the games for all of the loyal bloggers out there.
So.... What do you do for pre-game festivities???
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Weekly Raider Issue #3
by KA1Z3R
on Jun 23, 2009 8:02 AM PDT
21 comments
Alright all, thank you for continuing your subscription of Raider goodness with The Weekly Raider. You know the drill our Weekly Raider, my thoughts, and of course the Featured Fan. Also, make sure you read on past the Featured Fan for some announcements on what's going to be changing with the Weekly Raider as time goes on. Hope you enjoy.
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Silver and Black Pride's Sunday Community Poll: The Raiders Offense
by TheRaiderWay
on Jun 21, 2009 1:10 AM PDT
13 comments
The 2008 Oakland Raiders finished the season ranked 29th in total offense and 29th in scoring with an incredibly low 263 points of which 35 of them were by way of special teams touchdowns. Even worse, the passing offense ranked 32nd with a paltry 2,369 passing yards, that's dead last folks. The rushing offense was the brighter spot ranking 10th.
Fortunately in the NFL, turnarounds have become more of the norm rather than the exception now and there is good reason to believe the Raiders offense is positioned for a steady rise in the rankings for 2009.
First let's examine what went wrong with the 2008 Raiders offense. To begin with, the 2008 offseason was one of the most distracting, adverse offseasons in memory. The constant Davis/Kiffin bickering followed a Raiders spending spree which bought players that could never live up to their contracts. Then we had the head coach in Kiffin who flat out did not want to be there and was doing everything in his power to get fired. This kind of dysfunction alone would be enough to bring down any team and it certainly effected the Raiders as a whole and in particular, the young Raider offense.
Next, was the coaching staff, that had Kiffin and his inexperienced college ways to go along with John DeFilippi, the quarterbacks coach, attempting to guide and tutor the 22 year old franchise QB, JaMarcus Russell the ways of the NFL. The offseason's escapades and the coaching staff at the beginning of the season were a definitive component of an inconsistent and underwhelming offense. Couple that with the fact that Russell had no veteran QB presence as a backup to tutor him on the ins and outs of the NFL.
The next component of the failures of the 2008 offense was the offensive line and in particular, Kwame Harris. It wasn't just Harris' inferior blocking abilities that hurt, it was his total lack of discipline resulting in a ridiculous amount of either holding or false start penalties. In 2008, when Harris was in, you could almost count on him to be a drive killer.
When your leading receiver is your tight end and your leading wide receiver has 22 receptions for 366 yards, you know you've got problems. Javon Walker was one of those FA acquisitions that could not live up to the size of his contract, was supposed to be the veteran presence to help guide the youngsters. Problem was, Walker could never stay on the field and the lack of veteran leadership at that position severely hurt the Raiders talented but inexperienced wide receivers.
With the above stated, it was no wonder as to why the Raiders would consider themselves a running team. The preseason injury to Oren O'Neal certainly had an adverse effect on the running game, but the young and talented core kept the team competitive for the most part. The dreaded turf toe injury to Darren McFadden cut short what would have probably been a sensational season for the 4th overall pick of the 2008 draft.
Now the reasons for optimism for the Raiders offense in 2009:
- a stable and quiet offseason
- a stable and experienced coaching staff, with quarterback guru Paul Hackett guiding JaMarcus Russell.
- Jeff Garcia, an experienced, veteran QB, who will mentor and push JaMarcus and who can step in and win if called upon.
- the offensive Line. Just by subtracting Kwame Harris from the team will cause the O-line to be improved. The addition of Pears, Khalif Barnes and Satele, as well as the encouraging play of Mario Henderson (no sacks allowed and no penalties), will have this unit improving the offense.
- the wide receiver position was paid extensive attention in the draft and there will be a lot of competition in camp as a result. Javon Walker and his restructured contract, who will presumably be healthy for camp, will be added to the swiftly improving and talented Chaz Schillens and JLH to go along with the promising rookies.
- Zach Miller, the soon-to-be All Pro tight end.
- Lorenzo Neal. Great blocker, great leader, great teacher...Great signing.
- running backs. The 2009 Raiders will employ the best depth at that position in the NFL, McFadden, Bush Fargas, Rankin and Gary Russell. Last seasons injuries clearly showed the need for at least 3 running backs and with McFadden returning healthy, this group should dominate.
- the last 2 games of the 2008 season saw the Raiders put together consecutive impressive wins for the first time in 7 seasons in December. The play of JaMarcus Russell was a key part of those wins.
- last and certainly not least, the maturing JaMarcus Russell. All of the above should be the formula that allows JaMarcus to succeed and become the elite quarterback that he is expected to be.
All of these factors in addition to Russell having another year of experience should have the Raiders steadily climbing up in the ranks of NFL offense and hopefully winning many more games.
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Silver And Black Pride Announcement: Kaiser and LiveAdam Join the Front Page
by saint
on Jun 16, 2009 3:14 PM PDT
18 comments
Over three Oakland Raider Seasons, that were extremely tough to bear, I was the only front page writer for S&BP.
From Art Shell to "The Liar" I have been struggling to keep myself from breaking many things around the house, including my computer.
This off-seaon I decided that I needed more people to share some of the pain with me so I began by adding Raiderway and Marquez67 to the fold as SBN started to gain traction. As SBN's capicity and state of the art Blogging capabilities have grown so has this site.
Now, I would like to welcome LiveAdam and Kaiser to the front page. I am sure you will all agree that their passion for the Raiders is unrivaled and that they each bring a unique voice to Silver and Black Pride.
We have many things to look forward to this season and one of the best will be the combi-Nation of "Raider Nation" voiced on this site.
Cheers,
Saint
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Weekly Raider Issue #2
by KA1Z3R
on Jun 15, 2009 6:10 PM PDT
78 comments
Greetings, and welcome to the second issue of the Weekly Raider. This issue is jam-packed with plenty of good reading. With my take on the ever-explosive Darren McFadden, my opinion on who our backup TE should be, and of course the Featured Fan. Hope you enjoy!
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Oakland Raiders News! - Greg Ellis to Sign With RAIDERS
by TheRaiderWay
on Jun 15, 2009 11:13 AM PDT
38 comments
Breaking News as first reported by Raider76 in today's DLD, former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis is to sign with the Oakland Raiders today.
Ellis, a 10 year veteran will bring to Oakland 77 sacks in his career along with superb leadership qualities. The deal is expected to be 3 years and this was done without having to go through a trade.
Ellis had many teams to choose from, including the widely expected Patriots, but he chose the Raiders. That is a sign of things-a-changin' in Oakland!
Here is the link to the story first reported by Fanhouse. This will definitely have some effects on this seasons roster and will probably result in a Burgess trade.
via www.blogcdn.com
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Mon 09/14 | 7:15 PM PDT |
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