***The Official 2009 Oakland Raiders*** (1 Viewer)

[DA RAIDERS]

more from gannon:

“I give Tom Cable a lot of credit, not a little bit of credit, a lot of credit. He knows exactly what he has in terms of his personnel and he is not going to try to beat you throwing the ball 35 or 40 times. He understands the strength of that football team right now, and last year as well, without question is not the play of the quarterback, it’s the three running backs he has in Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.

“And that, combined with the fact that they have an offensive line that was really bad a year ago in terms of pass protection, and with a young quarterback and with inexperience at the wide receivers, he’d be crazy not to run the football. So I tip my hat to Tom Cable and what he’s been able to accomplish the first two weeks of the season. They are a better football team defensively, they can run the ball, and that has to be the M.O. as they head down the road the next six or eight weeks until JaMarcus can come along, until their young receivers can develop.

But I think guys like Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour, their ability to stop the run, something they didn’t do a very good job of a year ago, that has to be the strength of this football team. Tom Cable knows what he has and he’s done a good job the first two weeks in making sure that’s a point of emphasis.”

 

[DA RAIDERS]

last season, Russell was 27 of 37 (73%) for 332 yards with three touchdowns, no picks and a 127.3 passers' rating in two games against Denver.



may it continue.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

sad how quiet it is in here...

 

[Raider Nation]

I think I'd rather have 44 year-old Rich Gannon running our offense right now than Russell. Sadly, I'm being serious.

I would be very surprised and disappointed if we lost this week. Our defense should bottle up Orton and Denver's offense.

 

[The Gray Hood]

sad how quiet it is in here...

bandwagon must've emptied out a bit over the last 30 yrs.

 

[Raider Nation]

sad how quiet it is in here...

bandwagon must've emptied out a bit over the last 30 yrs.

Hit the bricks dooche. Nobody cares about your lame little drive-by zingers.

 

[j ViLLA x PE]

I think I'd rather have 44 year-old Rich Gannon running our offense right now than Russell. Sadly, I'm being serious.I would be very surprised and disappointed if we lost this week. Our defense should bottle up Orton and Denver's offense.

Imma have to co-sign on this. Despite Russell being able to lead the team to a score on MNF after he got injured....i was a little happy or felt a sigh of relief that Bradkowski was checked in and he was moving the ball well.

 

[Stompin' Tom Connors]

I think I'd rather have 44 year-old Rich Gannon running our offense right now than Russell. Sadly, I'm being serious.I would be very surprised and disappointed if we lost this week. Our defense should bottle up Orton and Denver's offense.

Agree on both counts. Rich Gannon was easily the best QB the Raiders had since Stabler. And the Raiders WCO at the time suited him, too -- was a pro bowler for 4 straight seasons starting with his first in '99. Two-time pro bowl MVP, and NFL MVP in the Superbowl year. Miss those years.Also agree that we should win this game. Playing Denver is always tough, but if we play error-free and put decent pressure on Orton, we should be able to keep the game within winnable reach.

 

[werdnoynek]

so i'm wondering what your take on michael bush is after the first two games and for the rest of the season homers. from what i've seen hes looking pretty good in game, keeping up with dmc stat/fantasy wise and they seem to spread the ball between them somewhat evenly. However, do you foresee him putting up any larger numbers while mcfadden is healthy? seems like a pretty tough schedule from here on out, whats the outlook?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

so i'm wondering what your take on michael bush is after the first two games and for the rest of the season homers. from what i've seen hes looking pretty good in game, keeping up with dmc stat/fantasy wise and they seem to spread the ball between them somewhat evenly. However, do you foresee him putting up any larger numbers while mcfadden is healthy? seems like a pretty tough schedule from here on out, whats the outlook?

more of the same

 

[ExtraPoint]

so i'm wondering what your take on michael bush is after the first two games and for the rest of the season homers. from what i've seen hes looking pretty good in game, keeping up with dmc stat/fantasy wise and they seem to spread the ball between them somewhat evenly. However, do you foresee him putting up any larger numbers while mcfadden is healthy? seems like a pretty tough schedule from here on out, whats the outlook?

Oakland has a good football team... except for one player. Until he can convert third downs, nobody on the team will live up to their fantasy potential. Unless your league scores points for punt yardage.

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

It was Gannon all along

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 6:36 pm in Oakland Raiders.

So we finally know what has been wrong with the Raiders all these years.

It was Rich Gannon, of course.

The same Gannon who led the Raiders to three consecutive AFC West titles and a conference championship.

As reported by David White of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raiders responded to Gannon’s brutal honesty regarding his former team by attempting to ban him from a Saturday production meeting with players and coaches.

And when we say the Raiders, we mean one Raider.

Senior executive John Herrera was the source quoted in the story, but this was an Al Davis move. Herrera doesn’t have the authority to make this kind of move on his own, and Davis, whose old school code of loyalty is everything, surely feels Gannon is a traitor. I talked to Herrera and he stood behind all the quotes in the Chronicle story added that Gannon had been critical as recently as two weeks ago on a local radio station.

“Everything he said was negative, even saying that he liked coming out here but it was hard to watch,” Herrera said. “He was a journeyman quarterback when he came here, we gave him an opportunity, then he retires and all he does is attack us.”

He said Gannon has talked of “blowing up the building” and starting over and considered them “incendiary” in a post-9/11 world.

Personally, I can’t recall Gannon saying anything like that, but Herrera assured me they exist and have been “documented.” Without even getting in to the paranoia that goes in to having someone keep a running file of all the mean things said about the organization, I’m speechless at the notion that if Gannon did say these things, that they were taken literally.

I asked Herrera if his comments were coming straight from Davis and his response was, “I think we’re done here.”

Production meetings are often on Friday, but there was no sign of Gannon at the facility today.

After Tom Cable wrapped up his press briefing today he asked me if I’d seen Gannon. I wonder if he even knew Gannon had been silver and blacklisted. May have even wanted to thank Gannon for saying what a great job he was doing as head coach.

That’s right. Included in Gannon’s most recent assessment on the including an endorsement of Cable.

Here was Gannon’s take his Sirius Satellite radio show on the job Cable is doing with the Raiders:

“I give Tom Cable a lot of credit, not a little bit of credit, a lot of credit. He knows exactly what he has in terms of his personnel and he is not going to try to beat you throwing the ball 35 or 40 times. He understands the strength of that football team right now, and last year as well, without question is not the play of the quarterback, it’s the three running backs he has in Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.

“And that, combined with the fact that they have an offensive line that was really bad a year ago in terms of pass protection, and with a young quarterback and with inexperience at the wide receivers, he’d be crazy not to run the football.

So I tip my hat to Tom Cable and what he’s been able to accomplish the first two weeks of the season. They are a better football team defensively, they can run the ball, and that has to be the M.O. as they head down the road the next six or eight weeks until JaMarcus can come along, until their young receivers can develop.

“But I think guys like Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour, their ability to stop the run, something they didn’t do a very good job of a year ago, that has to be the strength of this football team. Tom Cable knows what he has and he’s done a good job the first two weeks in making sure that’s a point of emphasis.”

Take a look at Gannon’s breakdown of Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, as well as the one by passing game coordinator Ted Tollner, and both men make a lot of the same points.

Herrera repeated the belief that Gannon was trying to deflect blame from his poor Super Bowl, when he threw five interceptions.

That would indicate the blame for the Super Bowl loss rests squarely with Gannon, coming during a week where the Raiders have maintained the failures of the Oakland passing game are a collective effort, and not simply the fault of Russell.

Years ago, Jon Gruden told a reporter a story about how Gannon, angered that he couldn’t get in the building early enough to get started on the day’s work, would throw pebbles at his window so he could get in the building early.

Looks like he’ll need more than a pebble this time around.

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...M.DTL&tsp=1

What an organization...

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

Mr. Lombardi,

I was wondering what your thoughts are on Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and if you think he will ever justify being the number 1 overall pick in the draft?

Julio

Lubbock, Texas

This one is hard for me because I’ve never seen Russell do the same thing mechanically twice when the ball is in his hands. He’s all over the place with his fundamentals, and I know the Raiders have two of the best quarterbacks coaches in the league in assistants Ted Tollner and Paul Hackett. I’ve known Hackett for over 20 years, and there is no finer quarterbacks coach on the planet. He is detailed, and he’s a fundamentalist, so watching Russell must drive him nuts. All the talent in the world won’t benefit Russell if he can’t make the fundamental throws.

I initially thought Russell wasn’t a West Coast scheme type of quarterback, and I still feel that way. But after watching him this season, I don’t know what offense best suits his skills. When accuracy is a major problem, it’s hard to design any offense.

The next month of the season is critical to determining if he will prove to be bust or find his niche.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Diner-...ailbag-day.html

 

[One]

Mr. Lombardi,

I was wondering what your thoughts are on Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and if you think he will ever justify being the number 1 overall pick in the draft?

Julio

Lubbock, Texas

This one is hard for me because I’ve never seen Russell do the same thing mechanically twice when the ball is in his hands. He’s all over the place with his fundamentals, and I know the Raiders have two of the best quarterbacks coaches in the league in assistants Ted Tollner and Paul Hackett. I’ve known Hackett for over 20 years, and there is no finer quarterbacks coach on the planet. He is detailed, and he’s a fundamentalist, so watching Russell must drive him nuts. All the talent in the world won’t benefit Russell if he can’t make the fundamental throws.

I initially thought Russell wasn’t a West Coast scheme type of quarterback, and I still feel that way. But after watching him this season, I don’t know what offense best suits his skills. When accuracy is a major problem, it’s hard to design any offense.

The next month of the season is critical to determining if he will prove to be bust or find his niche.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Diner-...ailbag-day.html

Sounds about right.

 

[Ed Wood]

Mr. Lombardi,

I was wondering what your thoughts are on Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and if you think he will ever justify being the number 1 overall pick in the draft?

Julio

Lubbock, Texas

...’ve never seen Russell do the same thing mechanically twice when the ball is in his hands. He’s all over the place with his fundamentals...niche.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Diner-...ailbag-day.html

Yep, this nails it from a little different perspective. Seems like Lombardi is comparing him to a scatter-armed pitcher who can't put the ball over the plate regularly because his mechanics are out of whack and he can't duplicate his delivery on a consistent basis...or even two times in a row.And if Hackett and Tollner can't help him with this, he's probably beyond help...

 

[UnknownCoach]

He'll never justify being picked over Calvin Johnson. Everybody knew that Calvin was a better pick, but Oakland was desperate for a franchise QB. Can Russell ever be a franchise QB? Certainly, he's only 24, but he has a long ways to go. Either he isnt putting in enough effort, or the coaching isnt good enough. Maybe a combination. There is no excuse not to have improved more than he has.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

you people still want to defend ole mohawk stud?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

12/21 for 61 yards & 2 ints.

AWESOME

 

[UnknownCoach]

I'm thinking Garcia will become available again once McNabb returns. Wondering how bad that bridge is burnt.

 

[The Gray Hood]

/thread

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

I'm thinking Garcia will become available again once McNabb returns. Wondering how bad that bridge is burnt.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

i still think garcia would have been a better choice......just sayin

 

[DA RAIDERS]

with higgins & miller out, whytf did we waive rankin? at least he does a decent job ay kr duties.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

with higgins & miller out, whytf did we waive rankin? at least he does a decent job ay kr duties.

& i'm not looking for the "so we could resign holland" bs answers.#### this team is pissing me off! we should be 2-1, not 1-2 & staring into the ####### abyss. if we lose this week, which i think we will, i don't think we have a chance at another win until kc. & i see us winning 3 games total

 

[Ed Wood]

I don't know about Cable Guy right ow. I think he's been going to places Ricky Williams once frequented:

“You guys write what you want, we’re on the brink of getting this thing going,” Cable said Monday.

And this:

“I have to have faith in the guy going out there playing quarterback for us and I do have that faith,” Cable said.

Russell’s current passer rating is 39.8, which over a full season would be the lowest since Ryan Leaf had a 39.0 rating in 1998.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/oaklandraiders/2009...is-thing-going/

The current state of the offense IMO is this: They won't be scoring more than 13 points anytime soon. That translates to an overworked defense and a lot of losses.

When I say 13 points, I do mean per game, not for the rest of the season.

 

[Sarlakticacid]

I have a gut feeling that the raiders will get it all right this week. Simply for the fact that they seem to be a team that no one can figure out what will happen next. Examples of this trend so far:

Dropped S Wilson

Had solid FA pickups

Eye popping jaw dropping draft

played surprisingly well Vs SD and lost

played surprisilngy bad and won Vs KC

Played even worse and lost Vs Den

Next Play killer and win or have the worst performance by a team ever in the NFL

 

[Cookiemonster]

#### this team is pissing me off! we should be 2-1, not 1-2 & staring into the ####### abyss. if we lose this week, which i think we will, i don't think we have a chance at another win until kc. & i see us winning 3 games total

Too early to start talking about who Al shouldn't but probably will pick with his next top 5 pick?

 

[wudaben]

What the heck happened to cause all this Raider talk today? Seismic shift on the west coast or something? Looking at the Shark Pool I see "The Official 2009 Oakland Raiders", "Zach Miller Owners - What are you doing?", "What To Do With M. Bush....", "JaMarcus Russell betrays Raider Nation" & "Worst Organization in the NFL" all right in a row!!

 

[Ed Wood]

I have a gut feeling that the raiders will get it all right this week. Simply for the fact that they seem to be a team that no one can figure out what will happen next. Examples of this trend so far:Eye popping jaw dropping draft

Uh, what? Derrius Hayward-Bust, Mike "Owie" Mitchell...OK, Murphy.

 

[Garrett]

I don't care how bad Oakland has played at times so far this season, this is still a very winnable game against Houston.

 

[Sarlakticacid]

I have a gut feeling that the raiders will get it all right this week. Simply for the fact that they seem to be a team that no one can figure out what will happen next. Examples of this trend so far:Eye popping jaw dropping draft

Uh, what? Derrius Hayward-Bust, Mike "Owie" Mitchell...OK, Murphy.

I meant it in a way that nobody saw it comingcoulda also used hair raising, bowel loosening, vomit in mouth producing

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I have a gut feeling that the raiders will get it all right this week. Simply for the fact that they seem to be a team that no one can figure out what will happen next. Examples of this trend so far:Eye popping jaw dropping draft

Uh, what? Derrius Hayward-Bust, Mike "Owie" Mitchell...OK, Murphy.

I meant it in a way that nobody saw it comingcoulda also used hair raising, bowel loosening, vomit in mouth producing

i got it. since my eyes nearly popped out of my head when we picked dhb & my jaw hit the floor when we took mitchell

 

[DA RAIDERS]

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/raide...g%20and%20Q%26A

garcia interview. makes sense from an outsiders point of view.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

raw interview with JaMohawk

eta: click raiders on the left, then pick the jmr interview.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

i saw some small flashes of what all you JaAwful backers are hoping for, but i also saw a lot of ####ty passes.

"It says a lot that Russell's 48.5 quarterback rating in Week 4 was his highest of the season," from rotowire. made me laugh.

play calling is an issue. why we weren't running the ball more, i don't get. & bush should be the starter.

i better start paying closer attention to college football, because we're going to have another top 5 pick.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

where'd everyone go? lame

 

[DA RAIDERS]

next up: giants, eagles, jets chargers.... 1-7? 2-6?

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

next up: giants, eagles, jets chargers.... 1-7? 2-6?

 

[Gr00vus]

i better start paying closer attention to college football, because we're going to have another top 5 pick.

It's looking that way. Maybe if you're lucky they'll trade it to the Pats for a ham sandwich and thus spare you the agony of watching them squander it again.

 

[Ed Wood]

I wonder if Aso and Lechler are right now...besides all the way to the bank I mean...

 

[Garrett]

This team has been an absolute joke since Bruce Allen left.

 

[massraider]

i better start paying closer attention to college football, because we're going to have another top 5 pick.

It's looking that way. Maybe if you're lucky they'll trade it to the Pats for a ham sandwich and thus spare you the agony of watching them squander it again.

You're all class brother.

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

NFP: Miller cut, L.Walker tries out

No response from the Raiders as yet, but the National Football Post reported the club had cut return specialist/cornerback Justin Miller and had former Raiders tackle Langston Walker in for a tryout.

Miller failed to get outside the 20-yard line on his first three returns against Houston. He replaced Louis Rankin, who was cut and signed to the practice squad of the Seattle Seahawks. Nick Miller, the undrafted free agent who won the job in training camp, is still recovering from a broken bone in his shin.

Walker was a former starting right tackle for the Raiders, but signed a five-year, $25 million deal with the Bills to be their left tackle. He was cut Sept. 8.

The Raiders lost starting right tackle Cornell Green from two to four weeks with a calf injury.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

with higgins & miller out, whytf did we waive rankin? at least he does a decent job ay kr duties.

i swear to god i need a job in the front office.

 

[Whiplash Inc.]

Raiders bring back Gary Russell.

Gary Russell, a running back/fullback who had a solid training camp and preseason, was brought back Wednesday to help compensate for the loss of Darren McFadden to a torn meniscus.

Justin Miller, who was brought back last week to return kickoffs but averaged 17.7 yards per return, was cut.

More to come later . . .

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Raiders bring back Gary Russell.

Gary Russell, a running back/fullback who had a solid training camp and preseason, was brought back Wednesday to help compensate for the loss of Darren McFadden to a torn meniscus.

Justin Miller, who was brought back last week to return kickoffs but averaged 17.7 yards per return, was cut.

More to come later . . .

never would have cut him either.seriously, someone call al & get me a job.

 

[Garrett]

Does anyone here have any realistic hope for this team as long as Al Davis is calling the shots? Seriously. I am not talking about just this season; I mean until he loses control of the team.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Does anyone here have any realistic hope for this team as long as Al Davis is calling the shots? Seriously. I am not talking about just this season; I mean until he loses control of the team.

not really. i think he's going to have to get lucky with a coaching staff. & as long as JaMinkcoat is flailing about, we're screwed.

 

[dcgangstas]

Does anyone here have any realistic hope for this team as long as Al Davis is calling the shots? Seriously. I am not talking about just this season; I mean until he loses control of the team.

Unfortunately, no I don't. I have no expectations whatsoever for the Beloved Silver and Black as long as Al Davis is President of the General Partner, or whatever his title states. He has completely lost his ability to evaluate talent, and has surrounded himself with a bunch of yes-men (or in Amy Trask's case, a yes-woman). I can't believe that no one had enough guts to tell Al in the draft room that Heyward-Bey had BUST written all over him. Al thought the guy was the 2nd coming of Cliff Branch; NOT>