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The Injury Factor

Injuries could play a key role in Sunday’s home match up with the Texans. Who'll play, how much and who's out all loom large

Its game 4 of the regular season and already team injuries are piling up. The Raiders are no exception. Some of these injuries are bad, some of them may be more subterfuge than legit but there’s no denying they can affect the team on Sunday.

The biggest names on the injury list for the Texans and the Raiders are its wide receivers. The Texans All Pro WR Andre Johnson has been dealing with an ankle sprain and Oakland’s two starting wides are dinged with Louis Murphy suffering a clavicle injury and Darius Heyward Bey a groin strain.

Coach Tom Cable says they're both likely to play but frankly, you never know. Strategy comes into play when injuries are involved and telling an opponent on Monday your best players are not going to play the coming Sunday is an obvious advantage when your enemy begins to prepare for the game. The diminished role of Bey and Murphy (with Murphy being more likely to miss time) could play a factor since the Texans are dead last against the pass on defense but the return of Michael Bush to the ground game could help offset.

Bush is listed as "probable" this Sunday with his broken thumb and he did see limited time last week in the Raiders loss to Arizona. If he can come in and provide some ground work it could free fellow RB Darren McFadden to take up some slack at WR. With Oakland’s corps of young, inexperienced wide outs, it’s not that big of a stretch to say the former Arkansas Razorback has the best hands on the team. He's been underutilized in this department but that’s partially because he's been toting the rock while Bush heals.

Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will have his hands full against the Texans Defense with their speedy and ferocious Linebacking corps but should crack the play book a little more and get McFadden and others involved in the creativity.

Oakland’s defense will face one of the most successful zone blocking schemes in the game and the league’s leading rusher in Arian Foster. They may do it with or without the help of two of its DTs, Richard Seymour and John Henderson. Both are dinged with Henderson suffering a foot injury and Seymour battling a hammy that he says limits his burst and explosion. He's still pretty darn good. Oakland could use both of them on Sunday. A rotation could help them but the Raiders have been notorious the last few years about rotating in subpar players at crucial junctures in the game especially on goal line. Let’s hope they rectify that situation this Sunday at home against the Texans. If Oakland can play disciplined defense, mind their gaps and stay home, they can shut down or limit the run game.

If Gradkowski and the Raiders offense can manage the clock, sustain drives and put up points for the D to defend they can win against Houston

 
Tackling the Texans

What does Oakland have to do to come away with a win on Sunday?

We don't even know who's going to be playing on game day or how much.

Chess game. Chess game on the offensive roster. Chess game on the defensive roster.

No one knows how much DTs Richard Seymour and John Henderson will or will not play. Oakland hopes at least one of them can play the majority of snaps if the other can't but look for them to rotate the big men as much as they can. Tommy Kelly will need to have his best game of the season. This is something Oakland hasn't done very well by the way. Their player selection in critical situations is highly dubious.

Most people know about the Raiders DT situation but one of the more key battles hasn't been mentioned much and could be affected by injury as well.

CB Chris Johnson hasn't been healthy since mid way through camp. A litany of dings from hamstring issues to ankle injuries have slowed him this year but whether or how much he plays could factor on Sunday too. Rookie nickelback Walter McFadden re-injured his hammy last week and won't be back anytime soon. That means Johnson's the man at nickel against the Texans.

There are conflicting reports from reputable sources about whether Pro Bowl CB Nnamdi Asomugha will shadow Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson. Johnson may or may not play with a high ankle sprain but if he does play, Nnamdi should shadow him because of the injuries and lack of depth in the secondary.

Oakland cannot afford to leave Johnson covered by LB/DE Kameron Wimbley or simply let him run free like they did with Pro Bowl MVP WR Larry Fitzgerald. Texan QB Matt Shaub is not Derek Anderson. Shaub will find him and exploit those mismatches where Anderson could not.

That is if he's upright. The Cowboys kept constant pressure on Shaub last week sacking him 4 times and forcing 2 interceptions. The Raiders need to score quickly and force the Texans into their hands by running the ball and eating the clock so Houston can't ride on its League leading rusher to sit on its own lead.

Have no illusion though, if Andre Johnson doesn't play or is limited, they have other receivers. Schaub's good, but he may be without Pro Bowl alternate TE Owen Daniel’s services too on Sunday. He'll be another game time decision.

So, the game plan should be pretty simple. Limit their offenses time on the field by maintaining drives and scoring. Stop they're 5th ranked rushing offense and its league leading running back with two of your best run stuffing DTs injured and or out. Take advantage of their 32nd ranked pass defense with both starting WRs injured and or out.

Simple enough.

All things aside Oakland can win this game. When they show up to play they can beat anyone in the NFL. It’s just a question of consistency.

 
Heyward-Bey thrives with Gradkowski at QB

Vittorio Tafur, Chronicle Staff Writer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He would never say this, because the other quarterback is still around - actually sits facing him in the locker room; nice guy, too - but second-year Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey probably has a photo of Bruce Gradkowski in his wallet.

Ever since Gradkowski replaced Jason Campbell at halftime in Week 2, he has been looking Heyward-Bey's way. Gradkowski has thrown him the ball 20 times in six quarters, as compared to six from Campbell in the first six quarters of the season.

Heyward-Bey has eight catches for 123 yards from Gradkowski, after hauling in just 2 for 17 yards from Campbell. The 10 catches - nine for first downs - already surpass the nine the No. 7 pick had all of his rookie season.

While he has a ways to go - you noticed the 16 times he didn't catch the ball, didn't you? - Heyward-Bey worked hard in the offseason and it's paying off.

"I'm proud of Darrius," Gradkowski said. "He's a fighter, he's a warrior, he keeps getting after it, and I have all the confidence in the world to throw to him. You saw on that goal line (against Arizona), I went after him a couple of times in a row. I know he's going to make a play."

After going to Heyward-Bey unsuccessfully those two times in the fourth quarter, Gradkowski later went to him on 4th-and-10 for 12 yards, then again on the next play for a 39-yard pass-interference call that set up Sebastian Janikowski for a potential game-winning kick.

"It's good putting us in a situation to win, but we lost," Heyward-Bey said. "It erases all that when you don't win the game. You could look at all the good, (but) that's not the smart way to look at it."

It doesn't take a genius to see that Gradkowski is flinging the football and Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy are running under it.

Gradkowski was supposed to be the plucky leader who didn't have Campbell's arm strength, but here he is leading the league in yards thrown through the air per passing attempt, with 10.6. Murphy, with 15 catches for 238 yards and a touchdown, is one of 13 receivers in the league with at least 20 targets who have no drops.

Heyward-Bey and Murphy have "really grown up since last year, and they're just getting better every week," said Gradkowski, who is 28-for-56 for 417 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "It's the little things. Precision on the routes, finishing the plays."

Gradkowski said Heyward-Bey "would have his head down" after a bad play last year.

"Now he knows that ... I am going to miss throws, receivers are going to drop balls; that's the name of the game," Gradkowski said. "That stuff is going to happen, but it's what you do after that."

Heyward-Bey started working out for this season last Super Bowl weekend, getting stronger, faster and better at catching the ball with his hands and not his chest.

"The only stride I feel like I've made was just being confident in myself, just going out there and playing football," Heyward-Bey said. "Playing the game I've been playing since high school. Simple as that."

The way Heyward-Bey and Murphy are coming on, who would guess the Raiders lost No. 1 receiver Chaz Schilens to knee surgery in training camp? Not the Texans.

"They have speed," Houston safety Bernard Pollard said. "They're really good receivers (and) their quarterback's going to get the ball up. He's going to let you go up and ... fight for the ball. Their guys are fast, they're hungry; they're a different Raiders team. They really are."

Coach Tom Cable said this Oakland team has focused on getting "chunk plays - and that means throwing the ball down the field."

The Texans are last in the league against the pass at an average of 368.7 yards per game. Houston has particularly struggled covering tight ends, giving up eight catches and 96 yards per game.

That's where Zach Miller comes in - or goes into the end zone, the Raiders hope. Once the subject of double-teams, Miller was wide open twice last week.

"The receivers are getting more attention now that they are catching more balls," Miller said. "They're doing a good job of pulling coverage off of me."

Raiders today

1:05 p.m. No TV; 1550, 105.3.

Spotlight on: Mario Henderson and Jared Veldheer. The Raiders are still rotating left tackles, and they'll have their hands full with Mario Williams, who has size (6-foot-6, 290 pounds), speed and every pass-rushing move in the book. Henderson shut down Williams in '08 but hasn't been able to re-create that performance.

Injury notes: Raiders - Guard Robert Gallery is out (hamstring). Defensive tackles John Henderson (foot) and Richard Seymour (hamstring) are probable, as are receivers Louis Murphy (clavicle) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (groin). Houston - Receiver Andre Johnson (ankle) and tight end Owen Daniels (hamstring) are game-time decisions.

Keys to a Raider victory

1. Slow Houston's running game: Arian Foster leads the NFL in rushing and sets up the play-action game.

2. Cut back on penalties: Will laps lead to discipline? Oakland has an NFL-high 33 penalties for 290 yards.

3. Use running back Darren McFadden more: He can help solve problems scoring in the red zone. Especially when he's receiving a pass.

Stat leaders

-- Houston

QB Matt Schaub: 845 yards, 69.3%, 5 TDs, 4 INTs

RB Arian Foster: 406 yards, 5.9 yards/carry, 3 TDs

WR Andre Johnson: 19 catches for 255 yards, 1 TD

-- Raiders

QB Bruce Gradkowski: 417 yards, 50%, 2 TDs, 2 INTs

RB Darren McFadden: 345 yards, 4.7 yards/carry, 2 TDs

WR Louis Murphy: 15 catches for 238 yards, 1 TD

- Vittorio Tafur

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...r#ixzz11IQxWX00

 
Miller shines, Defense doesn't

Oakland failed to capitalize on an excellent kick return by Jacoby Ford and struggled with field position throughout the 1st half.

Oakland’s defense gave up a big TD run and was burned badly by an 11 yd "pop" pass to Texan TE Joel Dreessen for a TD that exposed a weakness Houston found in the film room.

League leading RB Arian Foster didn’t see the field until the six minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Houston didn’t need him. Aside from the touchdown Oakland was gouged several times by the Texans reserves but unlike previous games seemed to get stronger as the game went on.

Oakland needs to find a punt returner. JLH has proven he’s not the man for that job.

Houston missed WR Andre Johnson’s Pro Bowl presence. The fact Matt Shaub was mostly unmolested still didn’t matter with excellent coverage by Oakland’s secondary.

RB Darren McFadden is looking like a 4th overall draft pick. Makes your heart jump a little bit. He’s that good.

RB Michael Bush came into the game and carried the ball twice on the goal line eventually scoring a TD but ended up putting the ball on the ground both times evoking a Texans challenge flag that was denied. (Bush’s knee was down before the ball came out.) The fact Bush disappeared afterward may mean his broken thumb isn’t healed quite yet.

DMC carried the Raiders on his back through the first half and opened the passing game where QB Bruce Gradkowski found stud TE Zach Miller several times for big yards.

Despite the Texans 32nd ranked secondary, Oakland’s receivers were blanketed. Could be Bey and Murphy’s injuries slowed them. After a great catch by Zach Miller put them in field goal range, Gradkowski couldn’t find anyone open and held the ball too long with :39 seconds left in the half and got stripped by the Texans who recovered the ball and marched it to the Raiders 29 but crusty kicker Neil Rackers missed the 46 yd attempt as time expired.

Tied up 14-14 at the half.

RB Arian Foster comes out in the 2nd half and breaks a 74 yarder that absolutely thrilled the hell out of one of CBS's announcer who were sure is completely unbiased. (Mm hmm) Texans 21 Raiders 14 with :33 seconds gone in the 3rd quarter.

Oakland moved the ball well on the next drive but Gradkowski scrambled on a 3rd and 14 and was nearly beheaded by former Kansas City Chiefs Safety Marcus Pollard for the 2nd time in the game.

Gradkowski walked off the field under his own power but was clearly shaken. The man doesn’t know how to slide apparently. Have to admire his grit but there’s a difference between tough and senseless.

Houston took over and marched down field on a 13 play drive until an illegal formation call on the Texans put them at a 3rd and 14 which they couldn’t covert thanks to a nice open field tackle by S Michael Huff. Little atonement for Huff’s whiff on Foster’s 74 yd TD run. Neil Rackers came in and nailed a 35 yd field goal to take the lead 24-14.

Bruce Gradkowski came out and put the defense immediately back on the field, over throwing a pass that was picked off by Texan S Troy Nolan. Houston began marching down field again with Houston taking full advantage of Oakland weaknesses on defense.

D coordinator John Marshall’s got a lot of work and explaining to do. A play action pass on 2nd and 8 from the 10 yd line caught Oakland flat footed and resulted in an easy TD catch by RB Arian Foster. At this point Foster had 102 yards on 9 carries and the Texans had 205 yards on the ground so the Raiders bit hard on the play fake.

31-14 Texans.

On the Raiders next drive Darren McFadden ripped off a 23 yd run and then injured his right hamstring. RB Michael Bush came in and saved the drive with a 3rd and 9 catch that he bulled for a 1st down. TE Zach Miller made another catch for 9 yards making his total at this point 7 catches for 87 yards as Bruce Gradkowski started letting go of the ball quicker. Miller caught another for 6 on the drive and then capped it with a 14 yd TD grab From Gradkowski to lessen the lead 31-21 with 11:03 left in the game. Houston couldn’t convert on 3rd and 5 from the Raiders 25 giving Oakland the ball back with 9:57 left in the game.

WR/PR Johnnie Lee Higgins needs to be replaced as a return man.

On the kick TE Brandon Myers was flagged for holding. Oakland’s first penalty of the day that backed them up 10 yards after they had good field position. Myers has consistently been suspect on special teams this year since the Raiders let veteran TE special teamer Tony Stewart who was in all honesty awful this off season too.

Higgins snagged a laser from Grads to give Oakland a 1st down. Zach Miller continued to make grabs as well padding his gaudy numbers. Gradkowski came back from the dead and began marching Oakland down field with deft passing to JHL, Miller and Louis Murphy who caught his first pass of the game for a 1st down but the Raiders needed to operate with more urgency.

The drive stalled when Higgins showed why he’ll never be a lead WR running the embarrassingly wrong route on 3rd down. K Sebastian Janikowski came in and nailed a 39 yd field goal to pull Oakland to within 3 with a little over 6 minutes left in the game.

31-24 Texans.

Oakland’s D looked confused again as the Texans picked up a 1st down on an 8 yd Arian Foster run S Tyvon Branch should’ve stopped but he over ran it. Branch has struggled all year long. On 3rd and 6 at the 34 with 3:33 left the Texans handed it to Foster who was gained 4 as Oakland spent one of its 3 time outs. P Matt Turk punted for the 6th time to Higgins who returned it to the 25 where Gradkowski took over.

RB Mike Bush ran a screen for 7 yards to set up a 3rd and 3 with Oakland still lacking urgency. Texan CB Brice McCain held WR Darrius Heyward Bey to give Oakland a first down with 2:22 left. RB Michael Bush took a draw play for 7setting up 2nd and 3 as the clock struck the 2 minute warning. An extremely late intentional ground penalty on Gradkowski set up 3rd and 16 but Bey was late to turn and missed Gradkowski’s pass setting up 4th down and the game.

Gradkowski’s rocket to Louis Murphy over the middle hit him right in the numbers. Poor technique allowed the ball into his pads and the pass ricocheted to the Texan S Troy Nolan. Houston got the ball, gained a 1st down with Foster and ran out the clock to seal the win.

Gradkowski finished 24 of 39 for 278 yards, 2 TDs and 2 picks, but the interceptions were off bobbles by his wides. He needs to learn to hook slide or he'll get killed. It’s a miracle he came back and played the whole game.

TE Zach Miller was unstoppable with 11 grabs for 122 yards and a TD but Oakland’s dinged up WR corps didn't show up today against the worst pass defense in the League.

Part of it was the pass rush generated by the formerly feeble Texans D but we'll discuss that later. Oakland shows grit, but loses for the 3rd time this year.

 
Raiders weren’t surprised, just whipped

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 at 7:19 pm in Oakland Raiders.

Unless you’re one of those people who considers a 31-24 loss no better than getting blasted 38-0, it could have been worse.

The Raiders gave the smallest non-strike home crowd (32,218) since 1967 a reason to stay interested until the game’s final moments.

When the Houston Texans run up yardage figures like they did Sunday at the Coliseum, it wouldn’t have been unusual to see the Raiders go into one of their patented tortoise shells and simply absorb the beating.

The biggest problem the Raiders had with the way they lost to the Texans isn’t that they’d seen it all before in past years, it was that they’d seen it all before during the week of practice.

They watched the Texans run their zone blocking, stretch-and-cut running game time after time, with quarterback Matt Schaub then operating with bootlegs to either side and play-action passing.

Then the Raiders went out and played as if they’d never seen it before.

“I thought they came in and did exactly what they’ve tried to do all year and that’s establish their run game and they did a good job of it,’’ Raiders coach Tom Cable said. “We never seemed to get a handle on it, or slow it down. I thought offensively (the problem was) our inability to have some consistent pass protection.

“We got whipped on both sides of the line of scrimmage. That’s the bottom line.’’

That whole offseason of making personnel moves and creating a sense of urgency to stop the run?

The Texans benched the NFL’s leading rusher, Arian Foster, for the first quarter for disciplinary reasons and he still rushed for 131 yards on 16 carries, including a 74-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Houston had 249 yards on 36 carries. If Gary Kubiak had wanted to really punish Foster for his tardiness to meetings and practice, he should have let backup Derrick Ward (80 yards, 12 carries) stay in the game and go for 175.

The play of the Raiders offensive line had Bruce Gradkowski playing under duress for most of the game. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 278 yards but fumbled twice, losing one, and also had a pair of interceptions.

The last one came when a protection breakdown on a blitz forced an intentional grounding call, which eventually brought up fourth-and-16. Gradkowski got off what should have been a first-down pass to Louis Murphy, only to have it bounce off his body and into the hands of Troy Nolan for a diving interception with less than two minutes to play.

News, notes and quotes as the 1-3 Raiders pick themselves off the deck and look down the barrel of a 13-game losing streak to the San Diego Chargers next Sunday at the Coliseum:

– At least the Raiders kept the crowd entertained. They deserved it for bothering to come out at all. The 32,218 count was the smallest in a non-strike year since Dec. 24, 1967, when the Raiders beat the Buffalo Bills 28-21 in the regular-season finale.

No paid attendance figure was ever lower in Los Angeles.

Keep in mind it’s a tickets sold figure. No way there was 30,000 people at the stadium. It looked like a preseason game.

– There were some blunt assessments of the whipping they got from the Texans.

“We didn’t stop the run,’’ defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. “I’m not a big stat guy, but the stats tell the story. It’s demoralizing when a team can run the ball at will. We didn’t stop the run and there is no excuse for that.’’

Said defensive tackle Tommy Kelly: “It’s a (bleeping) shock to me. I thought we would handle it better. As a defense, we’ve got to play better, I’ve got to play better. Can’t nobody go out there and say nothing after they run for 200 yards in your house without their best player, basically.’’

Kelly says he’s as comfortable as a nose tackle as he is in the three-technique spot, but when John Henderson is out, he’s almost always on the nose.

The plan all week was for the Raiders defensive line to disrupt the Texans offensive line, break up their zone schemes, or break the momentum of the rope, as Cable put it. Instead of break up the rope, the Raiders were hung by it.

“We knew what we were getting ready to go against,’’ cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said. “ It was stressed the whole week, about the zone blocking scheme, a great running scheme. And they have the boot off of that. And they came in and did exactly what it was. It was just a matter of us being able to stop in more consistently.

“We didn’t do that. We played well in spurts today. The rest of the time, they had their way with us.’’

– Middle linebacker Rolando McClain is fond of downplaying anything he’s seen in the NFL as having already seen it at Alabama in the SEC. He was saying anything Sunday, brushing off the only reporter who approached him with a brusque no comment and heading for the door.

No reason to explain why he was walled off tight end Joel Dreesen on Ward’s game-opening 33-yard scoring run, or how Foster beat him for an 11-yard touchdown pass to make the score 31-21.

That stuff did happen all the time in the SEC. Except it happened to Vanderbilt.

– We’ll have a better idea Wednesday when Darren McFadden does or does not practice, but it appears run of good health ended on a 23-yard run when he pulled up and reached for his right hamstring, left the game, and did not return.

McFadden said his training camp injury was to his left hamstring, not the one he hurt Sunday.

“I was just trying to go for another gear and I just pulled up,’’ McFadden said. “I’m going to go to the trainers and see what they have me doing. I’ll take it day to day.’’

McFadden had 12 rushes for 47 yards and caught six passes for 82 more, a nice bit of strategy considering the hard-charging Houston front seven.

– McFadden will likely hand the baton this week to Michael Bush, who looks up to the task with seven rushes for 40 yards, a 2-yard touchdown run and two receptions for 16 yards.

– It looked for a moment as if Jason Campbell would get back in the lineup when Gradkowski took a second wallop from Bernard Pollard in the right shoulder area on a third down play. The Raiders punted, and Gradkowski went to the locker room for a minute.

Gradkowski insisted he was fine, threw a few balls on the sideline and returned.

– The Raiders had 20 or more first downs (24) in four straight games since 2002, when they had a seven-game streak and a five-game streak.

– Langston Walker and Asomugha, both of whom have seen Raiders seasons go south in a hurry after a poor start, insist opening 1-3 will not factor in to practice and preparation.

“This is the 2010 version of the Raiders,’’ Walker said. “We’re not worried about what we would have done last year, two years ago or whatever. We’re playing for right now and those types of things, for me personally, don’t enter into my head.

“I can vouch for the 53 other guys on this team that we’re not thinking about that. We’re thinking about going out there and winning and whipping somebody’s ###.”

Walker found himself with the unenviable task of blocking end Mario Williams, who the Texans flopped to the left side with good results.

“I’m confident because we’re in games more than we were in the past,’’ Asomugha said. “Plus, there are so many new players that they don’t know what `Here we go again’ means. I think we’ll be fine.’’

– Louis Murphy (clavicle) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (groin) weren’t deemed ready to play until pregame warm-ups, with the team poised to activate Shaun Bodiford from the practice squad if necessary.

By game’s end, Murphy had one catch (he was targeted seven times) and Heyward Bey one (he was targeted five times). That’s 2-for-12 for seven yards to the two starting wide outs.

Murphy conceded he didn’t know if he’d be able to play with his clavicle injury and was limited all week. It’s clear he wasn’t himself, although he declined to blame his game-ending bobble and interception from Gradkowski on the injury.

Moments before Heyward-Bey and was late to look and adjust to another Gradkowski pass and the ball hit off one hand and fell incomplete. He had another very difficult chance near the end zone on a leap bounce free.

Neither were easy plays or even plays he should be expected to make. Both were at least a possibility for an upper tier receiver.

– Some nice offensive adjustments by the Raiders in getting Miller involved in the outside game (often in conjunction with a Heyward-Bey deeper route on the same side). He caught a career-high 11 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in 13 targets.

That gives Gradkowski a 131.4 passer rating going to Miller and 16.6 to his starting wide receivers.

– The Raiders were 3-for-3 scoring touchdowns in the red zone after being 3-for-13 coming in. Hue Jackson made the best call of his tenure as offensive coordinator on a 13-yard touchown pass from Gradkowski to Marcel Reece on third and goal from the 2. Virtually the entire Houston defense bit on the McFadden run, with Reece drifting uncovered into the end zone.

– Remember coach Cable’s 24-point plan? The Raiders would be in good shape if they scored 24 points per game. Since then, they scored 23 against Arizona and lost by a point. Then they scored 24 and still lost.

As for penalties, the Raiders didn’t have their first one until deep into the second half (an illegal block on a return by Brandon Myers) and later added an intentional grounding call on Gradkowski which preceded the final interception.

– Other players who didn’t finish the game were linebacker Thomas Howard (knee strain) and running back Michael Bennett (hamstring, of course).

 
It was a very tough pill to swallow, watching the Raiders fall again. The positives I can say briefly is that the Raiders are competing against good teams, and it is going to take awhile for the game to slow down for them. This is a season of baby steps.

Problems the Raiders have right now:

Offensive line is terrible. Cooper Carlisle shouldn’t be a starter. Mario Henderson is not a starting caliber NFL LT. Samson Satele is just a backup at best. Langston Walker is living out his final games in the NFL. He no longer can be a force at RT with all his injuries. Robert Gallery is also breaking down, and is becoming injury prone.

Special Teams are horrible. Coach John Fassel is the worst special teams coach in the league. They are poorly coached, undisciplined, with no playmakers, and no coordination. Guys are not staying in their lanes, thereby allowing returns much greater than they should be. Janikowski is not consistent enough. Johnnie Lee Higgins is terrible as a punt returner and should no longer be a punt returner. JLH once was a ST star back in ’08, but he is now a shadow of his former self.

Defense is…is…can’t come up with a fitting description.

We need a fulltime NT. Notice that the only time we stopped the run consistently was the Rams game when we had big John Henderson in there. TK and Seymour can’t stop the run, even when on the field at the same time. I’ve said this since before game #1, but I will say it again. Trevor Scott should not be starting DE, Shaughnessy should be. TK is on the sidelines for too many plays. Our safeties are not getting it done. Our LB corps, led by rookie Rolando McClain isn’t getting it done either. Either lined up wrong, or reacting poorly. Our defense looks very predictable with little imagination.

Coaching is abysmal. Tom Cable is not head coaching material. WR coach Sanjay Lal is a terrible coach. Hue Jackson’s game plan is too pass heavy. The running lanes are there, and too often we are passing in running situations.

Offense needs an identity. It has been high powered, and compared to last year when the Raiders didn’t have the aptitude to score 20 points on offense, this group is a threat to score consistently with Bruce Gradkowski. But our WR group is injured and depth is paper thin. Louis Murphy dropped a pass on the last drive that would have made the game very interesting at the end. An inexcusable drop by Murphy. DHB looked like the groin slowed him, and it was clear he wasn’t getting the separation he had in previous games.

Needs: An NFL head coach, a big blocking FB, NFL caliber offensive linemen, an NT - preferably a younger, equally talented clone of big John Henderson.

 
I've heard Warren Sapp say that Al Davis would change the defensive schemes the day before games after practicing a certain scheme all week. Is this still the case? There seems like a lot of talent on D and they looked tough in preseason, especially the line.

 
Our LB corps, led by rookie Rolando McClain isn’t getting it done either. Either lined up wrong, or reacting poorly.
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That was the most frustrating thing to watch yesterday. You can see if a D is prepared or not by how they secondary acts pre-snap and all day yesterday there was confusion, poor reactions and lack of effort. Whatever the reason our D was simply not ready for the game.
 
Is Michael Bush now the RB to own moving forward for the rest of the year, presuming that both he and McFadden stay healthy (once they are both healthy)???

 
Great new thread name...

I normally concentrate more on rooting for the players I want to back as opposed to openly rooting against players that bother me. But it's time for a change. Sure Huff is a nice guy for giving tickets away to his twitter followers, but maybe instead of spending so much time tied to his phone and twitter account he can spend some time LEARNING HOW TO TACKLE!

Wow, what an absolutely pathetic performance.

Sure it's not great that the rest of the D is allowing a RB to get to the safety. Sure there are problems with the line and LBs right now. But every time Huff was around anybody all he did was slap the guys shoulder pads. Seriously. The guy wouldn't even be parked down in a flag football game. Horrible. Bench him, cut him, I don't care. Just get him off the damn field already.

 
kaso said:
Great new thread name...

I normally concentrate more on rooting for the players I want to back as opposed to openly rooting against players that bother me. But it's time for a change. Sure Huff is a nice guy for giving tickets away to his twitter followers, but maybe instead of spending so much time tied to his phone and twitter account he can spend some time LEARNING HOW TO TACKLE!

Wow, what an absolutely pathetic performance.

Sure it's not great that the rest of the D is allowing a RB to get to the safety. Sure there are problems with the line and LBs right now. But every time Huff was around anybody all he did was slap the guys shoulder pads. Seriously. The guy wouldn't even be parked down in a flag football game. Horrible. Bench him, cut him, I don't care. Just get him off the damn field already.
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I agree. On the long Foster TD run, it appeared he did a whiff, for show air tackle, then got up and watched him take into the end zone. Prerequisite for playing safety is being able to tackle, imo.
 
Chadstroma said:
Our LB corps, led by rookie Rolando McClain isn’t getting it done either. Either lined up wrong, or reacting poorly.
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That was the most frustrating thing to watch yesterday. You can see if a D is prepared or not by how they secondary acts pre-snap and all day yesterday there was confusion, poor reactions and lack of effort. Whatever the reason our D was simply not ready for the game.
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What was frustrating was that the D turned in this awful performance against the Texans B squad. They threw out their backup TE who looked like A. Gates, backup RB for more than a quarter, and he tore us up. They did this without the impact of their star WR. They beat us with one hand tied behind their back.
 
Bush at the ready if McFadden is hamstrung

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Monday, October 4th, 2010 at 1:02 pm in Oakland Raiders.

Running back Darren McFadden, moving rather stiffly, made his way through the locker room Monday only long enough to say, “I’m feeling all right’’ before making an exit, stage right.

Judging not from any solid information other than speculation based what has transpired so far this season with Team Hamstring, we won’t see McFadden this week against the San Diego Chargers, and possibly longer.

McFadden is the NFL’s third leading rusher with 392 yards and he’s also caught 16 passes for 162 yards. He surpassed his entire 2009 12-game yardage total (357 yards) against Houston before pulling up on a 23-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

No one seems quite sure why the Raiders have been so susceptible to hamstring pulls, although one player quipped, “We’re just too fast, I guess.’’

Since running back Michael Bennett also didn’t finish Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Houston Texans with a hamstring injury, it could be a lot of Bush with a dash of Rock Cartwright as the Raiders look to snap a 13-game losing streak against their AFC West rival.

Bush, coming off a 7-carry, 40-yard game which included a 2-yard touchdown run, said he’s up to the task. It was his second game back after undergoing surgery for a fractured thumb.

He said it’s no different than than the three-week period in training camp when McFadden was out of action because _ you guessed it _ a hamstring pull.

“I’m ready, just like at the beginning of the year or the preseason when he was out I had to step in and do the same thing, then the tables were turned when I was out and he had to do the same thing,’’ Bush said. “Like I said, it’s always a good problem to have when you have more than one back.’’

Bush plans on discarding the wrap on his left thumb this week and carrying the ball with his natural (left) hand after adjusting using his right hand against Arizona and Houston.

“Today is five weeks since I had the injury so this week I’m going to practice without the whole thing so I can get back to my natural ways and not have to worry about anything,’’ McFadden said. “I mean, I caught the ball good, didn’t feel any pain when I was using it, so I think I’m good to go.’’

If you’re keeping score at home, Bennett becomes the 11th different player to be identified with a hamstring injury since the beginning of training camp. Darren McFadden injured his left hamstring in training camp and his right one Sunday.

Update: Make that 12. Quentin Groves has a hamstring injury coming out of the Houston game, Cable said.

The others are cornerback Walter McFadden, linebacker Ricky Brown, left guard Robert Gallery, defensive tackle Richard Seymour, cornerback Chris Johnson, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, wide receiver Paul Hubbard (since released) and wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins.

That doesn’t include an absence of a few days during training camp by Darrius Heyward-Bey, who was “fatigued” and appeared to have one of his legs wrapped above the knee while watching practice one day.

Coach Tom Cable said earlier this year it’s a problem the Raiders would look hard at to try and rectify and hinted that overtraining in the offseason could be an issue.

More to come after Cable’s press briefing at 2 p.m. . .

 
Cable still irked by line of scrimmage issues

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Monday, October 4th, 2010 at 3:32 pm in Oakland Raiders.

Upon further review, the ruling still stands.

The Raiders got their butts kicked at the line of scrimmage.

That was coach Tom Cable’s day-after assessment Monday of a 31-24 loss to the Houston Texans at the Coliseum.

For a veteran line coach, the way the Raiders lost far overshadowed any grit or progress the they may have shown in other areas. Football is for tough people, and the Raiders were far from it.

“It’s just playing, throwing the fight at them, and we didn’t do that,’’ Cable said at his weekly press briefing. “What matters is what you do on game day, and to know what’s coming at you and not handle it better than we did is disappointing, but we can’t sit around and dwell on it all week.’’

The players talked about it some on Monday, conceding the Texans had pushed them around and pointing out the season wasn’t over at 1-3 with the first division game approaching against the San Diego Chargers.

“They just came out and played better to tell you the truth,’’ safety Tyvon Branch said. “It took us too long to start stopping the run, and once we started stopping it it was too late.’’

Branch is apparently talking about the final 10 carries, when the Texans gained just 37 yards while milking the clock, carries which included five plays designed to do nothing but avoid fumbles following the Raiders’ final interception.

Cable said the coaching staff would continue to look for answers while putting together a game plan to begin introducing Tuesday against the Chargers.

“For us to be the kind of team we think we can be, we can’t have days like yesterday,’’ Cable said. “That’s just unacceptable. We all know that. I think it’s very clear in everyone’s mind that it’s unacceptable.

“So yeah, it’s exciting to be playing San Diego this week, it’s a division game and all that comes with that. It’s a great week for us and a good time to come, but we need to clear some things up.’’

— The early injury report update finds running backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bennett and starting weak side linebacker Quentin Groves with hamstring injuries, linebacker Thomas Howard with a knee strain and quarterback Bruce Gradkowski with a sore A-C joint in his throwing shoulder.

Gradkowski seemed to be the least serious of the four, Cable said, with more known about McFadden, Bennett and Howard by Wednesday.

“Normal Monday,’’ said Gradkowski with a smile, “except my feelings are hurt.’’

– Sat in the press box Sunday next to veteran reporter Frank Cooney, the Raiders presenter for the Hall of Fame and a guy who has been around long enough to have helped George Blanda carry his belongings to his car after he was waived.

In talking bout the rash of hamstring injuries for the Raiders, Cooney noted it was a cool summer and that perhaps it wasn’t hot enough at training camp. An old school theory to be sure, but what the heck, I asked Cable about it if that could have any effect on muscle pulls.

“I don’t know,’’ Cable said. “You would have to really dig into some fitness or exercise physiologist or something like that.’’

Cable said the Raiders are continuing to look into it the problem, and again invoked the possibility of overtraining. He finds it strange that it’s still happening in early October.

“Now that we’re in to the season, you’re kind of in your routine, so we’ll look at how much we’re doing and that sort of thing in terms of the skills players, how much they’re running during the week and see if something there,’’ Cable said.

Cable said McFadden and Bennett both reported feeling better Monday, and that McFadden told him his new injury isn’t nearly as bad as the one that cost him there weeks in training camp.

– Defensive tackle John Henderson is undergoing more tests on his injured foot “to see if we can really figure out what’s going on with this. He was getting better every day and then Saturday and Sunday it got really sore doing nothing,’’ Cable said.

Regarding the other long-term absences _ wide receiver Chaz Schilens (knee), left guard Robert Gallery (hamstring) and linebacker Travis Goethel (lower back), Cable said, “This week, you have the potential for one or two of those guys, but we’re looking more like next week or the week after.’’

– The Raiders committed only two penalties, perhaps because the players have been taking it upon themselves with a little peer pressure to try and eliminate them.

“The players have started a deal. If the defense jumps offside’s they’re running and same with the offense now. They’ve kind of taken that on their own shoulders, which is good. I like that. Yesterday when you look at the film it was just really a clean football game all over the place by both teams.’’

– Middle linebacker Rolando McClain has probably never been part of a team which gave ground as easily as the Raiders did Sunday. He was right in the middle of it, as responsible as anyone else for the poor play, but unavailable for comment Sunday or Monday.

“He sent me a text this morning with some of his thoughts, and it is important to him and he’s embarrassed about it like everybody,’’ Cable said.

– Wide receiver Louis Murphy offered no alibis for the fourth-and-16 drop which ended up a diving interception by Houston’s Troy Nolan, saying it was a catch he should have made.

Murphy talked after the game about the soreness in his bruised clavicle and conceded he didn’t know until just before game time if he’d be good to go. It was still sore on Monday, he said, but improving.

Asked directly if Murphy should have been playing, Cable said, “Oh, yeah. He was fine. He’s fine this morning.’’

 
On Hamstrings…

Hamstring injuries are common among athletes who play sports that require powerful accelerations, decelerations or lots of running. Like most sprains and strains hamstring injuries are usually caused by excessive stretching. Less commonly, a hamstring injury is the result of a direct blow to the muscle. Some of the factors which may contribute to a hamstring injury includes:

* Doing too much, too soon or pushing beyond your limits.

* Poor flexibility.

* Poor muscle strength.

* Muscle imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups.

* Muscle fatigue that leads to over exertion.

* Leg Length Differences. A shorter leg may have tighter hamstrings which are more likely to pull.

* Improper or no warm-up.

* History of hamstring injury.

Preventative measures:

* Warm up thoroughly. This is probably the most important muscle to warm-up and stretch before a workout.

* Stretching after the workout may be helpful.

* Try adding a couple sessions per week of retro-running or backward running which has been should decrease knee pain and hamstring injuries.

* Follow the “Ten Percent Rule” and limit training increases in volume or distance to no more than ten percent per week.

* Other ways to prevent injury are to avoid doing too much, too soon, avoid drastic increases in intensity or duration, and take it easy if you are fatigued.

Ie…the thing that stands out the most in all that and from what I read from Cable during camp etc…the players are running too excessively. Muscles getting fatigued.

Meanwhile, us not doing enough tackling, blocking and hitting, probably has an effect during live games, as players then over-extend themselves. As well as the fact that not practicing this enough means we don’t become as good as it as teams who do hit/tackle/block in camp.

 
3 Keys to Raider Woes

1)The offensive line,2) the injuries,3) the coaching. Three things that are hampering Oakland."

The Raiders managed to put up 24 points yesterday but came up short as the Texans posted 31. Oakland always seems to find a way to lose and what seems like a positive one week is a negative the next.

The offensive line:

LG Daniel Loper was limited in practice this week with a sore knee but that’s no excuse for getting smoked too often on Sunday. Loper’s been good filling in for the injured Robert Gallery but yesterday was his worst outing in that capacity. Several times he was simply beaten off the snap and cost the offense with negative plays. Loper wasn’t the only one getting shoved around by the Texans D line. Guard Cooper Carlisle can’t seem to anchor and looks like he’s on skates too often as the defenders simply bulls him into the pocket.

Perpetually dinged RT Langston Walker was torched by Pro Bowl caliber DE Mario Williams but that’s to be expected. What wasn’t expected is that Texas didn’t flip flop Williams more to exploit him. Samson Satele seems to be playing better at center after nearly losing his job to rookie Jared Veldheer. But it’s clear he is just a backup quality center. Veldheer saw a lot of action yesterday rotating in for Mario Williams at left tackle and played decently enough. He still struggling in protection but Oakland isn’t using him in that capacity as much. Khalif Barnes was all over the field filling in and one wonders if the Raiders over rotation might have something to do with their erratic O line play.

Subpar players and over the hill vets mixed with in with green as can be rookies rotated into a hybrid straight line/zone blocking system sounds like a mess and sometimes it is. It may look that way on some plays but they are finally producing yardage and points.

The Walking Wounded:

Add in inexperienced and injured WRs to a 2nd string camp QB and you can begin to see where and why the Raiders just can’t seem to get the job done.

Now with RB Darren McFadden sidelined with a hammy (No official word from the Raiders on how long he’ll be out, but we’re guessing at least 2 games if not more) the Raiders will need to lean on RB Michael Bush to tote the rock.

Bush may not be as productive as McFadden because frankly McFadden made a lot of those yards on his own. Some guys, like QB Jason Campbell make the O line look bad. DMAC made them look good with his incredible quickness and elusiveness. Mike Bush is a solid RB but he doesn’t have McFadden’s moves. Moves Darren waited until this year to display. Now he’s on the sidelines again and it’s looking like critics are right. He can’t stay healthy at this level.

If only Oakland could field both Bush and DMC at the same time.

We’ll have to see how Oakland’s long and ever expanding dinged and injured list looks this Wednesday but it ain’t good folks. 4 games in and it’s looking like a M.A.S.H. unit.

Oakland has suffered various dings and bruises throughout but the main injury stat that leaps out is the amount of hamstring pulls they’ve had since off season camp. 11 players have been hobbled so far including DMAC, Richard Seymour, Robert Gallery, Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Johnson and Johnnie Lee Higgins.

It’s called warm ups and stretching people. The training staff should be held accountable.

The Coaching:

Several times yesterday the Texans scorched the Raiders and it was obvious they’d done their homework. Oakland’s zone defense inside the red zone was easily exploited for a TD when backup TE Joel Dreessen caught a quick pass off the line and waltzed in uncovered into the end zone.

This was just one example of the Raiders coaching staff getting burned and it seems like they’re making questionable rotations of players on crucial plays and calling bad plays on offense too. Of course the old adage "It’s not the play calling, it’s the execution" can be chucked out there but Raider fans are hardly seeing the razzle dazzle they expected from new Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson. Some people felt Jackson was simply waiting in the wings until Coach Tom Cable got the axe. And he may be but hasn’t shown why he would be any better.

Oakland’s vast and ever expanding injury list, questionable coaching, coupled with over the hill vets and inexperienced players has meant under performance and loses so far. Are they better than last year?

Yes.

Are they ready to break .500?

It doesn’t look like it from here.

 
Jay Alford cut. Sometimes another team's trash is still just trash. Glad he's gone. Our LB's are banged up, and it is looking like Groves and Howard are going to be out on Sunday vs the Chargers.

Raiders add Davis, cut Alford

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 3:32 pm in Oakland Raiders.

Concerned about their depth at linebacker, the Raiders signed Bruce Davis and released defensive lineman Jay Alford, beat writer Steve Corkran has confirmed.

The Raiders also waived cornerback Joey Thomas from injured reserve.

While it remains to be seen if Davis can be brought up to speed by Sunday when the Raiders face the Chargers, they came out of a 31-24 loss to Houston with two weak side linebackers, Quentin Groves and Thomas Howard, who weren’t able to finish the game. Groves had a hamstring pull, Howard a knee injury.

Ricky Brown, primarily a strong side and middle linebacker, was inactive because of a hamstring pull. Another linebacker, rookie Travis Goethel, has been out since the start of the season with a lower back injury.

If Davis is not an option against the Chargers and Groves and Howard are both out, the Raiders can either move Trevor Scott back to weak side linebacker, where he finished the 2009 season and played through training camp, or play alignments which utilize safety Mike Mitchell as a hybrid safety/linebacker. Mitchell subbed for Howard in the Raiders’ dime package Sunday.

Davis (6-foot-3, 252 pounds) was signed off the practice squad of the 49ers. He was a third-round draft pick, No. 88 overall, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. He played five games for the Steelers, was released at the end of the 2009 training camp, and spent October of 2009 through the remainder of the season on the practice squad of the New England Patriots.

Signed following the season and later waived, Davis was claimed by Denver but waived.

Davis is the son of former Raiders tackle Bruce Davis, who also attended UCLA and played with the Raiders from 1979-87.

Alford was signed by the Raiders Sept. 8.
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Raiders suddenly short at Linebacker, sign Davis

With injuries to LB/DE Quentin Groves and LB Thomas Howard, the Raiders suddenly found themselves short in the LB department. Groves and Howard suffered injuries in last Sunday’s loss to the Texans. Groves has been added to the baffling long list of Raiders who've suffer hamstring issues and Howard has a knee injury.

To compensate the Raiders signed 6-3, 253 lb Bruce Davis off the 49ers practice squad and hope the LB can be ready for Oakland’s first divisional match up this year when they face the Chargers on Sunday. If he's not ready they may move Trevor Scott from DE back to WLB where he played a lot during the back half of last season and utilize S Mike Mitchell as a S/LB hybrid, something they've done in a "Big Nickel" package this year.

Oakland’s LB corps has been hit hard by injures including LB Ricky Brown (hamstring) and rookie Travis Goethel who's never really played because of a back injury this off season. Goethel seems to be the latest in a long line of Al Davis scholarship players that have included WR Alvis Whitted, LB Sam Williams and last year’s pine rider WR/KR Nick Miller.

To add Bruce Davis the Raiders released DT Jay Alford who saw time in several Raider games and was pushed all over the field. To play him so much even before injuries to Seymour and Henderson cost the Raiders and really makes one question the decision making and talent evaluation by Raider staff. Alford cost Oakland on several big plays. If he was good enough to not only make the roster in the 11th hour but see field time, why is he now being dumped when Henderson and Seymour are hobbled?

Henderson's mystery foot injury seems like it won't be better any time soon and Seymour's hammy could give him trouble all year, if it doesn't give out entirely. Oakland has big Kellen Heard in reserve but other than being a big body, he lacks technique.

Bruce Davis was a 3rd round pick (88th overall) by the Steelers in the 2008 NFL draft but was dropped after 5 games and bounced to the Patriots and Broncos where he was waived. Given the beating Oakland’s D took against the Texans ground game, the Raiders better hope Davis can cut it this time out because it’s likely he'll see some game time.

 
RoMac M.I.A at Practice Today, Big John Henderson out 4-6 weeks with stress fracture

Raider MLB Rolando McClain wasn't on the field today as the Raiders practiced. No word on where the 8th overall draft pick was or what kept him from work today.

McClain should be ready when the Raiders face hated division rival San Diego but if he's not that leaves Oakland with a serious lack of defensive fire power against a Charger team coming off a 41-7 romp over the hapless Cardinals. McClain wasn't part of the Raiders ever expanding injury list that includes many of his fellow defenders. Back up MLB Ricky Brown was taking reps today after missing time with a hamstring injury.

Oakland added LB Bruce Davis to the line up yesterday but are still thin at the position thanks to injuries to Quentin Groves and Thomas Howard in last Sundays loss to the Texans. Needless to say Oakland can use all the help it can get against San Diego's high powered offense.

The Raiders have dropped 13 straight to the Chargers and are looking to end that streak this week end. With rookie RB Ryan Mathews expected back from an ankle injury, Oakland will need McClain and whoever’s left standing to stop the run and end the streak.

Head Coach Tom Cable should have some info on McClain's absence at today’s post practice presser and we don't know anything yet but the young MLB missed time at camp this off season with a family illness.

UPATE:

Head Coach Tom Cable explained that MLB Rolando McClain's absence from practice was because of a "loss in the family". McClain's been castigated by some media types for being aloof but the former Crimson Tide LB missed time earlier at camp because of this and has likely been dealing with his new job, hangers on who want some of his new millions and a family tragedy.

McClain never really had a stable household an upbringing so this year has likely been very difficult for him without a proper support group. The young MLB should be back for tomorrows session. Due to the injuries to LB Quentin Groves (hamstring) and Thomas Howard (knee) Trevor Scott will be moved back to Weak Side Linebacker. Matt Shaughnessy will see more reps at Defensive End. Shaughnessy's been good.

In other Raider news DT Big John Henderson has a stress fracture in his foot and could miss 4-6 weeks according to Cable. Whether they will shop, stand pat or move DT Kellen Heard up from the practice squad is anyone guess. DT Richard Seymour played well against the Texans despite the gawdy rushing numbers they put up but he's dealing with a sore hammy.

Speaking of...

RB Darren McFadden likely won't be available for this Sundays divisional match up with San Diego. Coach Cable concedes McFadden's right hamstring pull doesn't seem as bad as the left hamstring pull he had this off season that kept him out for 3 weeks. Michael Bush and Rock Cartwright figure to see the lions share of duty since RB Michael Bennett is inured with you, you guessed it, a sore hamstring.

On that long list of hamstrung Raiders is LG Robert Gallery who may or may not be ready for the Chargers. That’s the word from Cable but it would be a minor miracle if Gallery was ready to play. He didn't practice today.

Without WR Vincent Jackson the Chargers think Raider CB Nnamdi Asomugha may shadow TE Antonio Gates more in this match up. Makes sense on paper and Nnamdi's certainly covered him many times throughout the years but it’s really not a great idea. Nnamdi doesn't fare well against top notch TE's and was burned badly by former KC Chief Tony Gonzales before he was traded to Atlanta.

The Bottom line is Oakland’s offense needs to show up and control the ball if they want to win on Sunday and snap a 13 game win streak by San Diego. The Chargers put up 41 points last week against the hapless Cards and look to get their 1st round RB Ryan Mathews back from an ankle injury.

 
Henderson has stress fracture

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 at 3:15 pm in Oakland Raiders.

Defensive tackle John Henderson has a stress fracture and will be out an undetermined period of time.

Coach Tom Cable gave a three- to six-week time from for Henderson’s absence, although he noted that the healing period could be prolonged because of Henderson’s size.

In other news, linebacker Rolando McClain was absent because of an illness in the family and is expected to be back at practice Thursday.

More to come . . .

 
Don’t expect McFadden vs. Chargers

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 at 4:31 pm in Oakland Raiders.

News, notes and quotes from Wednesday’s practice session, open locker session, conference calls with Chargers coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers, and press briefing with coach Tom Cable:

– Cable is vague enough on the status of running back Darren McFadden that it seems likely the NFL’s No. 2 back in terms of yards and scrimmage (554) and first downs (26) won’t be available to face San Diego.

McFadden didn’t practice, and was seen working with the heavy ropes at one point during warm-ups and drills.

Cable repeated the right hamstring pull wasn’t as bad as McFadden’s left hamstring issue which cost him three weeks, but it’s doubtful the Raiders would risk making the injury worse playing their most productive player only seven days after the original injury.

“We expect the turnaround to be much shorter, so we’ll see,’’ Cable said.

With Michael Bennett also missing practice with a hamstring injury, expect a heavy dose of Michael Bush and Rock Cartwright against the Chargers. Regarding bringing in another running back, Cable said, “We’ll see.’’

– Linebacker Rolando McClain’s absence was explained as “a loss in his family’’ by Cable.

“He should be back by some time tomorrow,’’ Cable said.

—Left guard Robert Gallery was moving well with the training staff and Cable said he was “close’’ to getting on the field and wouldn’t rule him out against San Diego.

After having missed three games and having no contact during that time, be very surprised if Gallery plays. More likely, he’ll get in some serious practice time and hopefully face San Francisco.

– When cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha says San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers is “fearless’’ he says it knowing Rivers is one of the few quarterbacks to challenge him in past years.

In the past three games, Rivers completed a 46-yard pass to Vincent Jackson (with Asomugha drawing a flag) to the 7-yard line to set up a touchdown, hit Jackson with a 15-yard scoring pass in last year’s season opener, and converted a third-and-long opportunity to Chris Chambers into the sun in 2008.

“There’s a great deal of respect there,’’ Rivers told Bay Area reporters by conference call. “At the same time you have to let plays develop and go through your reads. As a quarterback you can’t completely count out that option.’’

With Jackson sitting out the season because of a contract dispute, Asomugha could find himself with a lot of responsibility on Chargers tight end, who has 24 receptions for 386 yards (16.1 average) and six touchdowns in four games.

Rivers said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Asomugha on Gates.

Said Asomugha: “In the past three or four years, there have been games where I’ve been on him a good amount of time.’’

— Cable said linebacker Trevor Scott has been moved back to weak side linebacker because of the injuries to Quentin Groves (hamstring) and Thomas Howard (knee).

Matt Shaughnessy will become the starter at right end and take a lot more snaps.

— Chargers coach Norv Turner was 0-4 against San Diego and 1-11 against the AFC West as the Raiders head coach. In San Diego, he’s 6-0 against the Raiders and 15-4 in the division.

But good luck getting him to crow about it.

“It’s hard to beat a team in your division twice a year, so, yeah, it does feel good, but this Raiders team is doing good things, they’ve got a good rhythm offensively,’’ Turner said. “We were up there last year and had to win on the last play of the game. We know it’s going to be a heck of a challenge.’’

– Linebacker Bruce Davis fits into the current Raider mold of linebacker _ players who have the pass rush skills and physicality of defensive ends who are playing off the line of scrimmage.

“Kamerion’s (Wimbley) a backer then a rusher. Trevor’s a backer then a rusher,’’ Cable said. “So you kind of have the same thing here. Quentin Groves, same thing. He’s a backer then he’s a rusher. I think that hybrid type guy just adds another one to that group.”

The question still to be answered is whether the hybrids can play in space in terms of making one-on-one tackles and covering receivers.

— Davis said he was surprised to learn some of the long-standing employees of the Raiders remember him from the days when his father Bruce played for the Raiders from 1979 to 1987.

“I was really young. I left here when I was 2 years old,’’ Davis said. “I don’t have much memory of that but I’ve run into some people here and they seem to remember me when I was a little kid. It’s a little strange for them to see me without a diaper on.’’

Having been drafted by Pittsburgh (and cut) and gone through indoctrinations with New England, Denver and San Francisco without sticking, Davis said he’s a quick study with a playbook.

Cable was offensive coordinator at UCLA when Davis was a dominant defensive end. He thinks Davis can contribute on special teams immediately.

– Right tackle Langston Walker believes the offense has responded to quarterback Bruce Gradkowski’s high-energy style.

“He’s definitely a fiery guy and I think most quarterbacks, you want them to be the strong, silent type,’’ Walker said. “But Bruce will go out there and mix it up. He doesn’t always slide, which isn’t the greatest thing, but it just shows you something. Shows you about his character.”

– Gradkowski said his right shoulder was fine and he met the media as the starting quarterback. He was listed as being “limited’’ along with tight end Zach Miller (hip), and linebacker Ricky Brown (hamstring).

Those who did not practice were Gallery (hamstring), John Henderson (stress fracture), linebacker Travis Goethel (lower back), Groves (hamstring), Howard (knee), cornerback Walter McFadden (hamstring) and cornerback Jeremy Ware (ankle).

Henderson’s stress fracture was apparently diagnosed Monday, and according to Cable, is a “three to six week’’ deal from the time of the diagnosis.

“It’s not a bad deal, but because he’s a big man, it tends to sometimes take longer, so we’ll see.’’

 
How the heck do the Raiders keep having one of the worst run defenses every single year?

It's ridiculous.

 
Chaka said:
How the heck do the Raiders keep having one of the worst run defenses every single year?It's ridiculous.
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Two words: Al DavisI said this repeatedly in every offseason defense thread pimping the Raiders... It doesn't matter how many good players they accumulate as long as Al is dictating the schemes.
 
This thread title and subtitle is among the best I've ever seen. And it sums up things perfectly regarding the lack and seemingly future lack of defense in Oak.

 
Chaka said:
How the heck do the Raiders keep having one of the worst run defenses every single year?It's ridiculous.
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The defense, particularly the run defense is the main culprit of the Raiders demise.We seem to be an open book, as the Texans sent on their JV squad, armed with a backup RB that was a training camp cut out of Tampa, a backup journeyman TE in Dreesen, and a hobbled Andre Johnson. Houston coach, Gary Kubiak could have put in the third string in the first half, and still would have taken the Raiders behind the woodshed. Déjà vu, as the Houston’s offense reminded me of Jon Gruden’s playcalling in Super Bowl XXXVII. They prepared well for the Raiders and it showed. They knew all our tendencies, and generally their routes were wide open and cutback lanes were textbook diagrams. Their coaching staff took our coaching staff to school. Oakland DC John Marshall played a soft zone, and it helped take away some passing lanes, but generated no pocket pressure and ultimately Schaub had enough time to do his damage. We needed to zone blitz more, but zone blitzing is only going to work when you force the other team into 3rd and 6 or more. We were getting gashed up front on running plays consistently. Here’s my take on why the Raider’s run defense sucks: Coaching and Talent1) CoachingThe current coaching staff has a formula that goes back to Al Davis’s heyday and it involves using the 4-3 single safety. We have the personnel to switch to a 3-4 defense, (all we need is an NT). We are playing all kinds of people out of their normal position. It’s like trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. Here’s some of what I see could improve the team if they were only open to acquiring a NT and adopting a hybrid 34 defense.Kameron Wimbley should be used as 43 DE or 34 OLB, and not as a 43 SLB. He is gifted at getting off the edge and into the QB’s face.Trevor Scott should be used as 34 OLB or maybe 43 OLB, not a 43 DE. He lacks the girth to hold the edge and invites sweep/tosses his way.Tommy Kelly needs to be replaced and cannot control his gap. One on one, gets beat every time. A liability at UT. Why the coaches keep him play after blown play is beyond me.Matt Shaunessy needs to be an everydown 43 DE, and not taking a backseat to undersized Scott, except for obvious passing downs.Lamarr Houston should be used as a 34 DE or 43 UT, but not a as a 43 DE. He lacks the technique to make an impact there.Newly acquired Thomas should be used as a 34 WLB, but I doubt they use him there.Rolando McClain is better suited as a 34 MLB, not 43 MLB2) TalentThe Raiders have for years neglected the run defense when they go to their April draftboard. This year, finally, they went strong at the defense picking Rolando McClain and Lamarr Houston. But the costly acquisition of Richard Seymour (next year a top 10 pick to New England), as well as the still effective Big John Henderson, who is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his foot, have left the run defense especially vulnerable.The much ballyhooed upgraded linebacking corps is reeling from the lack of punch up front as we have a bunch of 3 technique DT’s who can’t hold their own blocks. Only Seymour is doing his job well, but Tommy Kelly has been awful and is constantly being pushed 4 and 5 yards backward. It’s tough for the linebackers to shine when the DT’s can’t hold the LOS. The talent is either not there or not right for what is needed.Again, the fix to all this, since I really don’t think the talent is that bad is coaching, but that won’t change since Al will always run the show his way, even to spite himself.
 
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Still no McClain as practice opens

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 1:08 pm in Oakland Raiders.

There was no change in the cast of characters Thursday as the Raiders completed warmups and drills before practice.

Middle linebacker Rolando McClain, absent the previous day tending to a death in the family, according to coach Tom Cable was not present. Ricky Brown was lining up with the first team defense.

Also not practicing were running back Darren McFadden (hamstring), left guard Robert Gallery (hamstring), weak side linebacker Quentin Groves (hamstring), linebacker Thomas Howard (knee), linebacker Travis Goethel (lower back), cornerback Walter McFadden, defensive tackle John Henderson (stress fracutre) and wide receiver Chaz Schilens (knee).

Say this for the Raiders _ they may have tight hamstrings, but they’re pretty loose in terms of practice demeanor.

There was no shortage of laughing and joking as they went through the paces at something less than half speed.

We’ll assume the intensity picks up once the prying eyes are sent from the field.

More to come . . .

 
Jackson to Gradkowski: `Get down!’

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 4:08 pm in Oakland Raiders.

News, notes and quotes from Thursday’s practice window, post-practice briefing from coach Tom Cable, sessions with the offensive and defensive coordinators a pretty barren open locker room session:

– Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson likes the way the Raiders move the ball with Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback, but has two areas of concern. First, he wants Gradkowski to quit taking on defenders.

“I’ve told this young man, ‘What are you doing? Get yourself on the ground,’ ‘’He’s not a running back, he plays quarterback. He has to understand that he’s the quarterback of our football team, and we don’t want him taking those unnecessary chances of trying to demonstrate how tough you are. We know you’re tough.

“I want him to get down and make sure he’s able to live for the next play.’’

Jackson also thinks Gradkowski is partially responsible for the four sacks the Texans had.

“I know on the offensive line, they would tell you that there’s some things they wish they could have done better,’’ Jackson said. “But I also know, and our quarterback understands, that we have to get this ball out of his hands. We had three sacks that he was directly involved in. That ball needs to come out, We’ve got to make great decisions with the ball.”

Gradkowski was listed as limited with a sore A-C joint during one of his ill-advised running forays against Houston, but Cable said there is no question he’ll start against the Chargers.

– Second-year wideouts Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy will need to step up and be ready to adjust on quick-hitting routes designed to beat a vaunted San Diego front seven which had nine sacks against Arizona.

“They’ve got to play big, and they’re definitely going to get that opportunity,’’ Cable said.

– Middle linebacker Rolando McClain missed practice for the second consecutive day with a personal issue relating to a death in the family.

“He will be back here in about three hours,’’ Cable said. Cable said McClain will start.

— No sign of Darren McFadden or Michael Bennett (both with hamstring pulls), meaning the NFL’s second most productive back in yards from scrimmage (554) and first downs (26) will give way to Michael Bush, with Rock Cartwright in reserve.

“I do think Bush is 100 percent but those stats are very strong,’’ Cable said. (McFadden) has been productive and we’ve got to find a way to get that same production, but I think Michael’s ready to take that load.’’

The Chargers are giving up just 80.3 yards per game rushing and have allowed one touchdown on the ground.

– Others who did not practice included LG Robert Gallery (hamstring), WR Chaz Schilens (knee), CB Walter McFadden (hamstring), LB Travis Goethel (lower back), LB Quentin Groves (hamstring), LB Thomas Howard (knee) and DT John Henderson (stress fracture).

Cable floated the idea that Gallery, should he be able to practice today and look good, could conceivably play against San Diego.

—As expected, the game failed to sell out, giving the Raiders their 10th consecutive blackout. The last televised home game was against the Chargers in last year’s season opener on Monday night.

– Judging from defensive coordinator John Marshall’s session with the media, those expecting a bevy of blitzes against quarterback Philip Rivers will be disappointed.

“You do it with pressure, but you’ve got to be careful about how you do that because you’ve got one-on-one with (Antonio) Gates, and No. 80 (Malcom Floyd) and No. 11 (Legedu Naanee), and that’s not good either if you don’t get him.

“So you’ve either got to get quick pressure on him, or the four-man front has to be able to generate that kind of stuff.’’

—The prevailing opinion among defensive players following the Houston game was they had been adequately prepared by Marshall and the defensive staff, only to fail miserably at executing their plan.

So what now?

“Just stay with what we know is a winning formula,’’ Marshall said. “I mean, you come out, you practice the way you should practice You work on your technique, you work on your gap control, you work on your tackling, and those are all those things.’’

Marshall said the Texans managed to get the Raiders on their heels, with the Raiders being dictated to instead of doing the dictating.

It hasn’t helped that the Raiders have just five takeaways. The Chargers, for example, already have 11.

“The best thing we can do is turn the ball over and put in the end zone ourself,’’ Marshall said. “We owe this football team seven points on defense. You try and get their mentality focsed back on the game, and instead of saying, `Aw, shucks, what’s the matter now?” Is this going to happen again?’ ‘’

Marshall conceded he is “shocked’’ by the lack of takeaways but said is confident they’ll arrive soon.

“I think they come in bunches and clusters,’’ Marshall said.

— The Chargers look just as formidable without LaDainian Tomlinson than they did with him, but the Raiders still ought to have some sense of relief that he’s gone.

In the 13-game win streak over Oakland, Tomlinson rushed for 1,506 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also caught two touchdowns and even threw two touchdown passes _ accounting for 22 touchdowns in all.

The scary part? As Nnamdi Asomugha put it, “It’s not like L.T. was the only one hurting us.’’

Over the same span, the entire Raiders offense scored 16 touchdowns. Oakland has nine touchdown passes (four by Kerry Collins, three by JaMarcus Russell and one each from Daunte Culpepper and Aaron Brooks) and seven rushing scores (two by LaMont Jordan and one each from Tyrone Wheatley, Derrick Rhodes, Reshard Lee, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas).

The Raiders had four scores on returns during the streak, a punt return by Phillip Buchanon, kickoff returns by Doug Gabriel and Justin Miller, and an interception return by Howard.

 
McClain returns, no surprises

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Friday, October 8th, 2010 at 10:54 am in Oakland Raiders.

Middle linebacker Rolando McClain was back on the field Friday after missing two days of practice because of a personal issue involving a death in the family.

As the Raiders finished warmups, drills and some special teams work, things were status quo with regard to availability to face the Chargers.

Running back Darren McFadden (hamstring), cornerback Walter McFadden, linebacker Travis Goethel (lower back) and running back Michael Bennett (hamstring) worked on a separate field with a member of the athletic training staff and are expected to be inactive Sunday.

Those who were not present and also won’t play included left guard Robert Gallery (hamstring), defensive tackle John Henderson (stress fracture), linebacker Thomas Howard (knee) and wide receiver Chaz Schilens (knee).

Starting weak side linebacker Quentin Groves (hamstring) went through some early drills at a leisurely pace then became a spectator with his helmet off.

Early indications are that new acquisition Bruce Davis will be active and utilized on special teams.

More to come . . .

 
OAK vs SD preview

Oakland’s lost 13 times in a row to San Diego and if they want to ever rise above their lowly standings the silver and black is going to have to end this streak on Sunday. Their arch nemesis, RB LaDanian Tomlinson is gone and running well for the Jets but San Diego has a new RB named Ryan Mathews they may or may not have overdrafted.

Have no illusions, Mathews is a quality back coming off an ankle injury. The knock on him is he can't stay healthy. Speaking of, Raider RB Darren McFadden isn't likely to play Sunday with a pulled right hamstring.

That’s bad news for the offense and the D. Oakland’s best chance of defeating the red hot Charger offense is to keep them off the field. Oakland’s maligned O line needs QB Bruce Gradkowski to get rid of the ball quick and make proper adjustments to D reads. Something he hasn't done with consistency this year.

Gradkowski's inability to read and audible against obvious shifts and blitzes has made his O line look worse than they are. Still Gradkowski motivates his teammates to play better. He moves the ball, and most importantly scores points. Grads and the O will need to sustain drives, eat the clock and score touchdowns to give its defense a chance.

The D is going to have to find a way to stop the top rated offense in the League. That’s going to be a tall order considering Oakland’s situation at linebacker. MLB Rolando McClain missed 2 practices this week after his grandfather passed away from a lingering illness. He should be ready but is coming off his worst performance as a pro. Last week McClain was slow to read and bad in coverage, something he has been pretty solid up till then.

LB Quentin Groves has a bad hammy and could miss time but that’s actually a blessing in disguise. Groves has been terrible and worse lazy. Reviewing last week’s game, Groves gave up on plays like Texan RB Derrick Ward's 33 yard TD run where he flat out quit on the play. Safety Tyvon Branch actually pushed him out of the way to try and make the tackle before the goal line. Groves dramatically lunged at players instead of squaring up in the hole to make tackles and tentatively dances around the O line when he's supposed to blitz. Not that one guy is responsible for Oakland’s loss but it hurts believe that. With Groves hopefully out and LB Thomas Howard suffering a knee injury the Raiders find themselves thin at LB and this week’s hire, LB Bruce Davis will probably see time on special teams at least.

With so many missing and under performing at LB Oakland will need to rely on 8th overall pick Rolando McClain, family loss or no. The Raiders will need him to be on point against SD's #1 ranked offense, a ranking last week’s blow out of Arizona helped cement. The Chargers put up 41 points against the hapless Cards. The same team Oakland found a way to somehow lose to.

The Raiders need to stop making teams look good.

Oakland’s game plan should be a heavy dose of the run game but again, McFadden most likely won't be there and SD's defense is ranked 2nd in the NFL. RB Michael Bush is recovering from a broken thumb but will probably play without padding on his hand for the first time since the break. RB Rock Cartwright could figure prominently too. The Raiders will miss McFadden not only for his offensive contributions but as a pass protector too, something he's been very good at. Bush has made leaps and bounds in that area too but we'll have to see how his thumb holds up throughout the game.

Ideally the Raiders could dink and dunk the ball down field with its passing game and score but San Diego's D is coming off a game where they sacked Arizona 9 times and forced 2 picks. The Chargers numbers may be inflated because of the Cardinals poor play, but they're still a good team and always like to put a beatdown on Oakland.

The Raiders are fully capable of playing solid, good football and winning games. They just don't always play like it. They'll need to bring their “A” game, focus and concentrate for 60 minutes if they want to end one of the most embarrassing losing streaks in pro football.

 
Cable: Raiders are accountable

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Friday, October 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm in Oakland Raiders.

News, notes and quotes from Friday’s practice, group interviews with running back Bush and linebacker Trevor Scott, and post-practice press briefing from coach Tom Cable:

— Cable believes the Raiders players are past the point of deflecting blame and can finally look themselves in the mirror after a mistake.

`I think the accountability has gotten where it needs to be now,’’ Cable said. “It’s not a matter of how we did this or what we called, or whatever this or that is. It’s on all of us and we recognize that, and I think we take responsibility for it now.

“That’s really, really huge for us, for this football team, because it’s the first time in the four years I’ve been here where guys man up and say, hey, that’s on me. So that’s a good thing. The next step is you can’t let it happen.’’

— Officially listed as out for the Chargers game Sunday are WR Chaz Schilens (knee), LG Robert Gallery (hamstring), RB Michael Bennett (hamstring), LB Travis Goethel (lower back) and DT John Henderson (stress fracture).

Listed as questionable are LB Ricky Brown (hamstring), LB Quentin Groves (hamstring), CB Walter McFadden (hamstring) and CB Jeremy Ware (ankle). All were listed as having limited participation in practice.

Listed as probable are QB Bruce Gradkowski (A-C joint), TE Zach Miller (hip), S Hiram Eugene (hamstring) and CB Chris Johnson (ankle).

LB Rolando McClain returned to practice after two days off because of a personal issue and will start at middle linebacker.

— The Raiders pass rush was negated by a Houston rushing attack that kept the front seven on its heels. Trevor Scott, moved from end to outside linebacker this week with injuries to Groves and Howard, was asked what it would take to get the pass rush going and said, “I’m going to do it this week. I’ve got it.’’

Might that mean a lot of blitzing, given that Scott will play linebacker (Cable said Scott would start even if Groves recovers enough to be active)?

“I’m going to be all over the place,’’ Scott said. “That’s all I know.’’

—The seemingly endless wait for the debut of wide receiver/return specialist Nick Miller will come against the Chargers, Cable said.

Miller made the Raiders last season on the basis of a strong training camp, only to discover that what was originally diagnosed as shin splints was actually a broken shin bone.

For reasons never fully explained, Miller stayed on the 53-man roster for 15 games before going on injured reserve for the final game, and was listed every week as “not active.’’

Miller had another solid camp and made the team again this season, only to find himself inactive in Week 1. He wore the Raiders uniform in a regular-season game for the first time in Week 2 against the Rams, but was the only player suited up who didn’t get into the game.

He was active but didn’t step on the field in Weeks 2 or 3, either.

Against San Diego, Cable said Miller would play as a punt return specialist _ he was fielding punts along with Johnnie Lee Higgins _ and on special teams.

If the Raiders wanted to get creative, Miller had his own package of plays during each of the last two training camps which have never been used in regular-season game.

“Because of our injury situation, he’s going to have to help us in some teams and things like that. He’s a very energetic guy, naturally, so he’ll bring some energy to the game, that’s for sure,’’ Cable said. “He wants to get out there and go.’’

– Defensive coordinator John Marshall isn’t the only one surprised at the inability of the Raiders defense to force turnovers. Oakland has only five takeaways, and two of those were gift punt muffs by Arizona.

The other three were a sack fumble of Vince Young in the opener and interceptions by Groves and Stanford Routt.

“We seem to be late. If a ball’s tipped we’ve gotten a couple of those,’’ Cable said. “It’s just go get the football with an aggressive style. I don’t quite think we’re there yet.’’

— While McFadden’s speed and versatility will be missed in the backfield, the fact is that in terms of breakaway ability, his track record doesn’t match that of Michael Bush as a Raider.

In his last 26 games, dating back to a 50-yard run in Week 2 against Kansas City, McFadden’s longest run is 33 yards. During that span, Bush has runs of 67, 60 and 40 yards.

“Some guys to me have that innate ability, that when they get through they can make the safety miss and go, and he’s shown that,’’ Cable said.

Through three four games, McFadden was averaging just over 25 touches per game with 85 runs from scrimmage and 16 receptions, a workload Bush hopes to duplicate.

“I’ll be doing the same thing he was doing when I was out,’’ Bush said. “If he got the ball a lot, I expect to do the same thing if that’s the way the coaches are going to go. Whatever’s thrown my way, I’m ready.’’

— Cable, an unabashed New York Yankees fan who hasn’t been above gloating to a press corps member who is a Twins fan, conceded that Tim Lincecum would be good enough to pitch for his team.

“If George (Steinbrenner) was alive, he’d buy him tomorrow,’’ Cable said.

 
Long-awaited debut

After a season and four games of not getting his uniform dirty, receiver/kick returner Nick Miller will see his first action against San Diego.

Cable said the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Miller will play as a punt return specialist and on special teams.

"He's a very energetic guy, naturally, so he'll bring some energy to the game, that's for sure," Cable said. "He wants to get out there and go."

Miller, signed out of Southern Utah in May 2009, was on the 53-man roster for 15 games last season despite having a broken shin bone. This year, he was active the last three games but never got in the games.

Injury-wise, there were no surprises today. Darren McFadden (hamstring) is out, as is Michael Bennett (hamstring), so Michael Bush will be your workhorse with Rock Cartwright getting 5-10 carries. Guard Robert Gallery is still a week away from returning from a hamstring injury, so Daniel Loper gets to deal with San Diego's pass rush. OLB Quentin Groves (hamstring) is all but out and backup LB Thomas Howard (knee) is out.

Posted By: Vittorio Tafur (Email, Twitter) |

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/raider...r#ixzz11p0emNMg

 
Wow that was awesome. Finally a call goes our way there at the end. I thought for sure they'd rule it an incomplete pass. Ugly win, but it was so exciting there at the end. I think this could jump start this team with a win like that. But now do we have a full blown quarterback controversy?...

 
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plus i won 300 on a 25 ML parlay titans and raiders

 
Been a while since I enjoyed a win as much. That was nice. As m uch as I needed pts from Gates I was screaming at the end. Good feeling tonight. We keep getting 100 yd rushers & it'll make things alot easier.

Oh, and you can put the D back in Raiders (at least as far as fantasy D is concerned).

 
I honestly cannot remember the last time I had such a range of emotions during a Raiders game.

Two blocked punts in the 1st Q, I was :shrug: ...

When the Chargers went up 27-15, I went through my weekly ritual of throwing objects at the TV and swearing I would/could never watch another Raiders game EVER, followed by vowing to get another favorite team.

[settle down, fellas... I say that every week, but the Raiders are like the hot oral-loving mistress you can't let go]

It's so frustrating sitting there KNOWING you are helpless to stop a passing game. I have no freakin' idea how we pulled this game out. Our head coach is a certifiable moron. I don't know how many of you watched every play, but we're driving at the end of the first half. We get a 1st down at San Diego's 20 with 1:30 left. Cable calls time out. WHY????!!!!!! The Chargers were perfectly willing to let the clock run down. So of course, we get a field goal with 1:00 left, leaving them JUST ENOUGH TIME to get a FG of their own with 0:01 left.

:) :wall: :wall:

This man's clock management is abysmal. And the penalties. Migod. The friggin penalties! Bill Callahan was right... this is the dumbest team in America. Roughing the kicker. Illegal contact. Neutral zone infraction. Pass interference. Illegal formation. Holding. Penalty after penalty after penalty. Good football teams do not commit 12 penalties (12 for the second time this year, BTW.) That is a coaching issue, period.

Anyway, enough negativity. A win is a win, and this one was sweet. Something to build upon.

But the defense has to show some improvement before this season is a total loss. This division is still up for grabs.

 
Raiders End Charger Streak 31-27

In a pre season interview Tyvon Branch was asked about his favorite thing about playing safety.

His answer?

"Blitzing. Because you can change the game."

That’s exactly what changed not only the game but the momentum the San Diego Chargers have had over the Silver and Black for the last 7 years. Often castigated for over the years (and rightly so) for playing prevent defense and not applying pressure the Oakland Raiders pulled out all the stops on San Diego's final drive sending blitz after blitz against #1 rated QB Philip Rivers. The Raiders bet the farm against Rivers and the Bolts even though Rivers had shredded their secondary completing 27 of 42 passes for 431 yards and 2 TDs.

Oakland learned its lesson the hard way in last season’s opener when in a similar situation against SD they chose to play prevent defense and allowed the Chargers to march down field and steal the win. This time Defensive Coordinator John Marshall let slip the Dogs of War and it paid off big time.

Safety Michael Huff sprinted in left side, fought off a block and grabbed Rivers throwing arm forcing the ball out before he could throw. Blitzing Safety Tyvon Branch alertly scooped up the ball and rocketed 64 yards into the end zone for the go ahead touchdown with 1:10 left in the game.

QB Jason Campbell came off the bench and struggled at first but settled in to lead the Raiders on a 93 yd TD drive. Their longest scoring drive since 1997.

The key for Oakland to win if they controlled the clock and the ball while putting up points. That’s exactly what they did dominating the clock in the back half of the game on gutsy 4th and short calls and by making clutch plays. Campbell led the Raiders back onto the field to kneel on the ball for the win.

Oakland special teams led the charge out of the gate blocking 2 punts for points as Rock Cartwright launched inside to block the first one that rolled out of the end zone for a safety and reserve TE Brandon Myers laid out for the second block that was recovered and waltzed in by S Hiram Eugene for the TD. RB Michael Bush ran for 104 yards on 26 carries and scored a TD himself.

Oakland shattered the streak and finally got big plays to go their way when they needed them the most. Jason Campbell came back from the bench and showed he can get it done. It’s too early to anoint him Jim Plunkett status yet, but it’s a good starting point.

 
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