Archive for March, 2009

For season ticket holders, the preseason is just another excuse for the NFL to squeeze every last cent out of your wallet. For casual fans, it is just another excuse to throw the first BBQ of the football season and invite friends over. For Raider fans, the 2009 preseason is all business. Now that the NFL is slowly rolling out the slate of games for ’09, we have some food for thought after yesterday’s announcement of the preseason schedule. Here are five things for Raider fans to keep an eye on in the preseason. 1) The Defense – Thus far, [...]

It’s déjà vu all over again for the Oakland Raiders. March Madness is not isolated to the dreams of adolescent basketball players on hardwood courts across the United States this time of year. There is also a Madness that causes nightmares for countless owners, general managers and coaches in the profession of football. The 2009 NFL draft is a stress filled conundrum that, with each passing day, poses more questions than answers. Consider the fact that the Detroit Lions franchise, fresh off a 0-16 campaign, is in the market for dealing their number one pick. That is not exactly what one [...]

And so it came to pass that the final week of March, in 2009, was spent lampooning Raider quarterback JaMarcus Russell. With each passing day, another website would publish a diatribe against the former number one overall selection in the 2007 draft. One site explained why Matt Cassel was better than Russell and yet another one twisted the words of his head coach into an assault on Russell’s absence from the first week of voluntary workouts. Let it be known that a retraction, of sorts, was issued as word came out that Russell was excused from the first week to [...]

March Madness has begun! Never mind the NCAA tourney, we’re talking football in March. Thanks to all of you who voted for the worst bust in Raider history. The majority went with Todd Marinovich, that was a given as he grabbed over 70% of the vote. In a distant second was a man still on the Raider roster, Michael Huff. Now that you picked the two worst busts to ever wear Silver and Black, it’s time to pick the worst busts to ever play in the NFL. Does Marinovich have what it takes to go all the way? You decide! [...]

Now that Samson Satele is searching for a home in the East Bay, it is time to take a look at what has been gained and lost in the trade that brought the Hawaiian center from South Beach to the Yay Area. To begin, let’s examine the details of the trade. The Raiders traded a sixth round pick and swapped picks in the fourth round with the Miami Dolphins for Satele. The Draft Value Chart reveals that the Raiders took a significant hit in swapping picks in the fourth round with Miami. The Raiders were to select 8th in round 4 [...]

The line separating factual sports journalism from fan opinion/analysis has been forever blurred thanks to the good folks at Disney. It has now become impossible to watch – what is supposed to be a newscast – without being bombarded with more opinion than facts. Last night I decided to watch a few highlights before going to bed. I tuned into SportsCenter just in time to catch their segment on the NFL’s announcement of the 2009 primetime schedule. There, sitting behind a glowing desk not even Gene Roddenberry could envision, were two “news” anchors, shimmering in a Massengill inspired glaze, beneath an array [...]

For the first time since 1970, the Oakland Raiders will be playing on Thanksgiving Day. The NFL has announced the latest edition of the heated Raiders and Cowboys rivalry will be played on Thanksgiving in Dallas. It has been four years since the Raiders and Cowboys have met in the regular season. The last installment was a thrilling 19-13 Raider victory that ended with a dramatic, fourth and goal, stop by the Warren Sapp led defense. It was common place for the Cowboys to train in Oxnard, California, and to scrimmage the Raiders in the preseason. Even though little was on [...]

That gaping hole in the middle of the Oakland offensive line has just been filled. Various media outlets are reporting that the Oakland Raiders have traded an “undisclosed draft pick” to the Miami Dolphins for third year center Samson Satele. Satele was selected in the second round of the draft by the Dolphins in 2007 and has started every game in his two years of professional football. The former Hawaii Warrior was a two time All-WAC first team selection and was a member of Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie team in 2007. On first glance, this would appear to be a perfect [...]

Since 1995, no less than 30 men have suited up in the Silver and Black as the last line of defense. The revolving door of Raider safeties is so large that it stretches from the Coliseum in Los Angeles to the Coliseum in Oakland. The 2008 season saw the unraveling yarn of the lineage of Raider safeties finally come to its core. Gibril Wilson was brought in from the world champion New York Giants and was expected to be a fixture at safety for the next six years. He lasted but one year having been released this off-season. Wilson’s inabilities [...]

After a month of contentious negotiations, the Raiders finally played hardball with Khalif Barnes. In a move straight out of the Ned Colletti handbook, the Raider front office seemingly pulled out of the Khalif Barnes sweepstakes, daring the San Diego native to find a better offer. Needless to say, there were no other offers out there. Barnes has signed a one-year deal and is #70 in your game day programs, Raider Nation. Well played, Al Davis. Now that the front office has put that baby to bed, it’s time to wake the sleeping giant known as the NFL Draft. The [...]