2014 Oakland Raiders Regular Season Thread (1 Viewer)

[massraider]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

 

[massraider]

I wonder if Trestman would get a look at HC. Love to see Bowles as well, but I definitely see the concerns with going to a 3-4. I also don't know if Bowles is only a 3-4 guy.

 

[ICON211]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

 

[joey]

4th overall pick. Ok, CollegeWatchingGuys...go!

 

[massraider]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

 

[ICON211]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

 

[massraider]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

Penn had a better year than Veldheer, according to the PFF guys. Houston was overpaid. 8 mill for a 4 sack DE.

It goes beyond those two. Phillip Wheeler, Rashad Jennings. Upset people that we let them go. Did we miss them?

Who has killed it since they left here? Veldheer? Which young player is killing it elsewhere that Raider fans are missing?

 

[ICON211]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

Penn had a better year than Veldheer, according to the PFF guys. Houston was overpaid. 8 mill for a 4 sack DE.

It goes beyond those two. Phillip Wheeler, Rashad Jennings. Upset people that we let them go. Did we miss them?

Who has killed it since they left here? Veldheer? Which young player is killing it elsewhere that Raider fans are missing?

No one has absolutely killed it since they left I get that. Given the age I'd still rather have Veldheer than Penn though. They did miss Jennings this year, the run game was historically bad until Murray finally got a shot. This is about building something and I think Wiz can be part of that. I just really don't want to hear "hey he didn't want to be here and we could have kept him, but we just let him walk." You don't just let good players go when you don't have to and are in the situation this team is in. He really at least needs to get the transition tag.

 

[Chaka]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

Penn had a better year than Veldheer, according to the PFF guys. Houston was overpaid. 8 mill for a 4 sack DE.

It goes beyond those two. Phillip Wheeler, Rashad Jennings. Upset people that we let them go. Did we miss them?

Who has killed it since they left here? Veldheer? Which young player is killing it elsewhere that Raider fans are missing?

No one has absolutely killed it since they left I get that. Given the age I'd still rather have Veldheer than Penn though. They did miss Jennings this year, the run game was historically bad until Murray finally got a shot. This is about building something and I think Wiz can be part of that. I just really don't want to hear "hey he didn't want to be here and we could have kept him, but we just let him walk." You don't just let good players go when you don't have to and are in the situation this team is in. He really at least needs to get the transition tag.

But you also shouldn't overpay for good players either. Al Davis did that for years (hell he paid marginal players like they were marquee talent) and that is what got the franchise to the state it was in before McKenzie was brought in to fix it.

 

[Steve Tasker]

So what's the official take on Khalil Mack for you guys? Every time I watched the Raiders play - which admittedly wasn't often - it looked like he was making plays all over the place. Looking at his numbers, they're not stellar but pretty good for a rookie. 75 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 FF. Not sure about his TFL numbers but I'm sure he had a few. Was he a standout player on a bad Raiders defense?

Disappointed to see he didn't get any Pro Bowl consideration, but it seems he's a top candidate for DROY, along with Aaron Donald, who will probably win it.

Still happy with the pick at #5 overall?

 

[Chaka]

So what's the official take on Khalil Mack for you guys? Every time I watched the Raiders play - which admittedly wasn't often - it looked like he was making plays all over the place. Looking at his numbers, they're not stellar but pretty good for a rookie. 75 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 FF. Not sure about his TFL numbers but I'm sure he had a few. Was he a standout player on a bad Raiders defense?

Disappointed to see he didn't get any Pro Bowl consideration, but it seems he's a top candidate for DROY, along with Aaron Donald, who will probably win it.

Still happy with the pick at #5 overall?

I can't imagine many would be disappointed with him. He's all over the place and while his sack numbers were kind of low I have to imagine his QB pressure numbers were very high. Seems like every time I saw him he was being disruptive in the backfield.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

4th overall pick. Ok, CollegeWatchingGuys...go!

Leonard Williams, DT/DE - USC

Amari Cooper, WR - Alabama

Randy Gregory, DE - Nebraska

Andrus Peat, OT - Stanford

 

[massraider]

4th overall pick. Ok, CollegeWatchingGuys...go!

Leonard Williams, DT/DE - USC

Amari Cooper, WR - Alabama

These are my early favorites.

Gregory looks skinny, really skinny to me.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Gregory looks skinny, really skinny to me.

Yes, it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a speed rusher, Gregory fits that bill.

 

[RaiderBones]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

Penn had a better year than Veldheer, according to the PFF guys. Houston was overpaid. 8 mill for a 4 sack DE.

It goes beyond those two. Phillip Wheeler, Rashad Jennings. Upset people that we let them go. Did we miss them?

Who has killed it since they left here? Veldheer? Which young player is killing it elsewhere that Raider fans are missing?

No one has absolutely killed it since they left I get that. Given the age I'd still rather have Veldheer than Penn though. They did miss Jennings this year, the run game was historically bad until Murray finally got a shot. This is about building something and I think Wiz can be part of that. I just really don't want to hear "hey he didn't want to be here and we could have kept him, but we just let him walk." You don't just let good players go when you don't have to and are in the situation this team is in. He really at least needs to get the transition tag.

But you also shouldn't overpay for good players either. Al Davis did that for years (hell he paid marginal players like they were marquee talent) and that is what got the franchise to the state it was in before McKenzie was brought in to fix it.

This.

 

[Raider Nation]

4th overall pick. Ok, CollegeWatchingGuys...go!

Leonard Williams, DT/DE - USC

Amari Cooper, WR - Alabama

These are my early favorites.

Gregory looks skinny, really skinny to me.

Williams concerns me. He may be.... dumb. See the Holiday Bowl the other night? On consecutive plays, he got 15 yards for roughing the passer a half-hour late, and then a ridiculous celebration after a sack. If there is a coach who can reign him in, he's a monster for sure.

 

[Raider Nation]

Bowles is an intriguing HC candidate, no doubt. He can bring enthusiasm and give the Raiders immediate street cred. I think the idea that Sparano would take a step back and remain with the Raiders is a stretch. Just last week he stated that he wants to be a head coach in the NFL again. It would be a nice scenario for the Raiders if it did happen.

Teams must be tripping over themselves to offer Sparano a HC contract.

 

[Hankmoody]

So what's the official take on Khalil Mack for you guys? Every time I watched the Raiders play - which admittedly wasn't often - it looked like he was making plays all over the place. Looking at his numbers, they're not stellar but pretty good for a rookie. 75 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 FF. Not sure about his TFL numbers but I'm sure he had a few. Was he a standout player on a bad Raiders defense?

Disappointed to see he didn't get any Pro Bowl consideration, but it seems he's a top candidate for DROY, along with Aaron Donald, who will probably win it.

Still happy with the pick at #5 overall?

His game doesn't necessarily translate to numbers. He's a disruptor, frequently blowing something up for someone else to come in and clean up. That's ok with me, it makes the team better, as long as they continue to put people around him that can actually do the cleanup, and not Miles Burris who does it 9 yards downfield.

 

[massraider]

4th overall pick. Ok, CollegeWatchingGuys...go!

Leonard Williams, DT/DE - USC

Amari Cooper, WR - Alabama

These are my early favorites.

Gregory looks skinny, really skinny to me.

Williams concerns me. He may be.... dumb. See the Holiday Bowl the other night? On consecutive plays, he got 15 yards for roughing the passer a half-hour late, and then a ridiculous celebration after a sack. If there is a coach who can reign him in, he's a monster for sure.

I think you'll see talk about him as the #1 overall over the next few months, as the QB nit-picking begins.

The draft stuff is too soon. The best draftniks haven't gotten their inside info from NFL scouts yet, so the rankings are just based on their own evaluations, which they will adjust all of a sudden, once an NFL scout tells them player X actually sucks.

New HC and free agency, first things first.

 

[Chadstroma]

With Veldheer, it sounds like to me the entire contract talks were mishandled and it was a big reason why he left and not because he was asking for an outrageous amount of pay.

I think Cooper could really make a huge difference for the offense. I think the one thing that we glaringly lacking was a real #1 WR. I think the rest of the WR corps can be really good as pieces around a real #1 but without one they all lack because they are all asked to do things that they just dont have the ability to.

 

[cstu]

I think Cooper could really make a huge difference for the offense. I think the one thing that we glaringly lacking was a real #1 WR. I think the rest of the WR corps can be really good as pieces around a real #1 but without one they all lack because they are all asked to do things that they just dont have the ability to.

Cooper with Streater/Holmes/Butler would be a good receiving corps.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I think Cooper could really make a huge difference for the offense. I think the one thing that we glaringly lacking was a real #1 WR. I think the rest of the WR corps can be really good as pieces around a real #1 but without one they all lack because they are all asked to do things that they just dont have the ability to.

Cooper with Streater/Holmes/Butler would be a good receiving corps.

This is like saying Josh Gordon with Travis Benjamin/Miles Austin/Anrdew Hawkins is a good receiving corps.

 

[Raider Nation]

Mike Garafolo ‏@MikeGarafolo

49ers assistant Eric Mangini slated to interview with the Raiders for their head-coaching job, source says.

 

[RaiderBones]

Mike Garafolo ‏@MikeGarafolo

49ers assistant Eric Mangini slated to interview with the Raiders for their head-coaching job, source says.

Purchase those Super Bowl Tickets. That right there is hitting the jackpot!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Ooooooof

Hope not

 

[Raider Nation]

The Raiders are reportedly set to interview a former NFL head coach for their top coaching position.

Former Browns and Jets coach Eric Mangini will meet with Oakland, Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reported Monday night.

The 43-year-old Mangini was 23-26 in three seasons in New York (2006-2008) and 10-22 in two seasons with Cleveland (2009-2010). He is currently the 49ers’ tight ends coach.

 

[Raider Nation]

So depressing. Seriously, just keep Sparano if Mangini is the dream-hire.

 

[Sarlakticacid]

I hope we put a little effort into plan B and not blown it all on must get Harbaugh

 

[Sarlakticacid]

If we are looking at SF staff why not Vic fangio

 

[Sarlakticacid]

According to bleacher report and Tim Kawakami Reggie will stay on board

 

[Faust]

Tony Sparano: 'This is my team'

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12094950/tony-sparano-makes-case-remain-oakland-raiders-coach

 

[Faust]

According to bleacher report and Tim Kawakami Reggie will stay on board

Rotoworld take:

Raiders owner Mark Davis has no plans to fire GM Reggie McKenzie.

"He's always been my guy," Davis said of McKenzie, who has overseen an 11-37 team in his three years on the job. Davis did prop the door open for a change, but hinted it was extremely unlikely. "Every day is a new day," Davis said. "But I've never had a problem with Reggie." McKenzie inherited a mess from former owner/GM Al Davis, but has somehow managed to make it worse, bungling both the draft and free agency. McKenzie finally had a good draft class in 2014, but botched free agency as bad as any decision-maker in recent memory. There was his inexplicable decision to let LT Jared Veldheer walk, and disastrous failed signing of G/T Rodger Saffold. McKenzie is out of his depth. If he's not fired this year, it will likely be next.

Source: Tim Kawakami on Twitter

Dec 29 - 3:38 PM

 

[RCon]

Yeah, might as well just keep Sparano if the alternative in Mangini. Ugh.

 

[massraider]

Pat Shurmur going to interview, Del Rio supposedly as well.

I don't want Mangini either, but I think I like Shurmur. I also think I like Del Rio, but to me it's what offense the new coach envisions for Carr.

 

[massraider]

Request has been made for Bowles, along with every other team that has an opening.

Probably rank them:

1. Bowles (also worked with Sparano, maybe Sparano stays?)

2. Shurmer--was a hot commodity, went to Cleveland, can we really hold that failure against him? I would probably prefer an offensive guy to groom Carr.

3. Del Rio--Had some success in JAX, I would be OK with this deal.

4. Holmgren

5. Raider Nation

6. LawFitz

7. Ghost of Adolf Hitler

8. Eric Mangini

 

[massraider]

If you are looking for positive vibes for Bowles, he has history with Sparano and McKenzie (worked in GB front office in 95-96).

 

[Raider Nation]

Bowles would work. I fear that the Raiders HC job is "the job you take when all 31 others are filled."

 

[RaiderBones]

Early thoughts on Raiders' coaching search
By Bill Williamson | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/oakland-raiders/post/_/id/8711/early-thoughts-on-raiders-coaching-search

 

[Sarlakticacid]

Another list including Adam Gase

http://cover32.com/raiders/2014/12/30/three-of-the-best-options-at-head-coach-for-the-oakland-raiders/

 

[LawFitz]

It's a complete pipe dream, but I wish Reggie would correct the single biggest mistake of his tenure... Firing Hue Jackson.

More realistically, I'd like to see them go after Jim Mora, Jr. or David Shaw.

I'd be okay with Bowles or Shurmur, but the rest of the names on the list are uninspiring to flat out depressing.

 

[massraider]

To my mind, defensive coaches are always more conservative, and tend to get involved with the offense much moreso than the other way around. I always feel like the offensive guys are happy to nerd out with their offensive gameplans, and let the DC do his thing. For this reason, I lean towards offensive-minded coaches.

Just my own personal preference, I may be wrong.

 

[32 Counter Pass]

I can see letting Houston go but to me, letting Veldheer go is just close to inexcusable you can get. A young good LT is not something that you can just go to Walgreens and pick up on a whim.

Agree on Veldheer.

I would be fine with transitioning or franchising Wiz, even if we are overpaying him for a year. If he goes, I will wait and see what they do. Wiz is not Alex Mack. He's not irreplaceable.

I agree he is a good, but not great player. At some point we have to start keeping the good players we have. There is also something to be said for keeping Carr with the same center.

Consider the idea that these good players we keep losing, don't seem to perform that well once they leave.

Houston definitely had a terrible year. Veldheer was still a bad decision to let a good young LT walk. If Wiz leaves its just yet another hole to fill for a team that has a ton of them already. It's not a killer blow, but it just keeps the same cycle going it seems.

Penn had a better year than Veldheer, according to the PFF guys. Houston was overpaid. 8 mill for a 4 sack DE.

It goes beyond those two. Phillip Wheeler, Rashad Jennings. Upset people that we let them go. Did we miss them?

Who has killed it since they left here? Veldheer? Which young player is killing it elsewhere that Raider fans are missing?

No one has absolutely killed it since they left I get that. Given the age I'd still rather have Veldheer than Penn though. They did miss Jennings this year, the run game was historically bad until Murray finally got a shot. This is about building something and I think Wiz can be part of that. I just really don't want to hear "hey he didn't want to be here and we could have kept him, but we just let him walk." You don't just let good players go when you don't have to and are in the situation this team is in. He really at least needs to get the transition tag.

But you also shouldn't overpay for good players either. Al Davis did that for years (hell he paid marginal players like they were marquee talent) and that is what got the franchise to the state it was in before McKenzie was brought in to fix it.

This.

This

 

[Raider Nation]

It's a complete pipe dream, but I wish Reggie would correct the single biggest mistake of his tenure... Firing Hue Jackson.

I've never understood your infatuation with Hue. He's got a nice array of weapons in Cincy and their offense is firmly in the middle of the pack in the entire NFL. He's no genius -- he's just another offensive coordinator.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I don't have any problem with slapping the transition tag on Wiz. If nobody calls the bluff, we get Wiz back as our starting center at a slightly elevated price. If we go into free agency with our eye on another high dollar Saffold type lineman to replace Wiz, we always have a fallback plan to match any offer, in case the deal falls through. Had Reggie done that with Veldheer, we could have signed him to a fair market price. Penn was a surprise, but at his age, he's no building block that Veldheer would have been for us. We can't let Wiz go scott free with his skill, experience and versatility at guard/center. I only hope Reggie has learned from his mistakes.

 

[32 Counter Pass]

EXACTLY

 

[Sarlakticacid]

Pep Hamilton coming in for an interview

 

[Sarlakticacid]

Has been requested for interview

 

[Raiderfan32904]

No fan of Pep, but would satisfy the Rooney Rule, might take awhile to interview till the Colts get knocked out of the playoffs.

 

[ICON211]

Pretty uninspiring list of coaching candidates. I think I like Bowles the best, but he might have his pick of the open jobs that he gets interviewed for.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

No fan of Pep, but would satisfy the Rooney Rule, might take awhile to interview till the Colts get knocked out of the playoffs.

Raiders want to interview Colts OC Hamilton

ESPN's Josina Anderson reports the Raiders have requested to interview Colts OC Pep Hamilton for their head-coaching vacancy.
Hamilton has run the Colts' offense the past two seasons. After a mind-numbing stubbornness to run the ball in 2013, Hamilton cut loose this season and put the ball in his young, stud quarterback Andrew Luck's hands. Hamilton guided the Colts to a No. 3 overall offensive finish with the league's top passing attack. Hamilton worked under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford before coming to the NFL.