Archive for August, 2011

Looking to fill the void left by the injury to Travis Goethel the Raiders claimed linebacker Jeremy Leman off waivers. In order to make room for Leman the team placed safety Zac Ethridge IR for the purpose of waiving him. Leman has yet to suit up in an NFL contest but has spent time on the practice squads of the Egales, Vikings and Chargers. The Illinois alum was most likely referred to the Raiders by Chuck Bresnahan. Like current Raider Darryl Blackstock, Leman spent time with Bresnahan in the UFL while they were all members of the Florida Tuskers. Leman [...]

Why the Wonderlic test is relevant remains a bigger mystery than why Norv Turner still has a job. Since when did it matter how quickly a football player can correctly answer non-football related questions? Maybe I’m missing the boat on this one but wouldn’t it make more sense to hand a prospective NFLer a playbook, ask the prospect to learn said book and then quiz him on it later? Anyhow… The point of this diatribe on the many reasons why the Wonderlic is pointless relates to the rumors floating around of Terrelle Pryor scoring a 7 on the infamous test. [...]

In case you didn’t already know it, Al Davis loves speed. The latest installment of the Madden series confirms Davis’ affinity for the stopwatch. No less than 19 Raiders are rated at a 90 or higher in the speed category on Madden 12. You can see the full list of the Raiders’ ratings here. Leading the way are Jacoby Ford and rookie DeMarcus Van Dyke who are both rated at 98. In case you’re wondering Louis Rankin is the slowest of the fast bunch with a rating of a mere 90. As you might expect the DBs are the group [...]

With just precious days remaining until the final cut down is made the Raiders met the first deadline for roster trimming. Seven men are no longer wearing Silver and Black as Oakland had to get down to 80 on the active roster by 1pm today. Among those released the most notable is, perhaps, safety Josh Bullocks who was brought in just last week.  He joins receivers Damola Adeniji and Steve Goulet who went the way of fullback Bryson Kelly, offensive linemen Ben Lamaak and Lou Eliades plus defensive tackle Derrick Hill. Also of note is that the Raiders officially ended [...]

Aside from being the highest ranking woman in the National Football League, Amy Trask carries a much bigger burden these days. She’s at the forefront of helping to reshape the public persona of the Oakland Raiders and their infamous fan base. Now those of us that have actually been to a Raiders game or 20 in our lifetime and have seen first hand the good and bad of Raider Nation. We know full and well how distorted the public view can be. Sure, there are misfit members of the Nation that use Sundays as an excuse to work out their [...]

We’re past the it’s too early phase of the preseason. What we’re seeing from the Oakland Raiders now is a good indication of what is in store for the 2011 season. By the looks of things Oakland’s offense is going to have to be even better than last year for any real hopes of making the playoffs to materialize. Despite being without its top three wide receivers and missing the services of both Zach Miller and his replacement Kevin Boss the Oakland offense has looked good enough to compete with the NFL elite. At least that should be the case [...]

We’re at that point in the preseason where you can begin to tell what the Raiders are going to be like this season. Don’t assume the Saints doubling Hue Jackson’s misery to the tune of 40-20 means all hope is lost. There is definitely cause for concern in some areas. There are also plenty of other bright spots that Coach Jackson needs to shine a more powerful bulb on. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of Oakland’s third loss of this 2011 preseason. The Good – Taiwan Jones. Don’t really need to say too much more than [...]

On Friday the Raiders made the inevitable a reality as Hiram Eugene was placed on injured-reserve. The part-time started and full-time special teams contributor was injured in the first preseason game against the Cardinals. As Steve Corkran points out the real irony is that Eugene dislocated his hip on a play that should have never occurred. One of the more talked about moments of the preseason was the opening coin toss against the Cardinals in which the Raiders were said to a have chosen to kick the start the game instead of indicating they wished to receive to start the [...]

This Sunday we’ll get our first taste of the Oakland Raiders in primetime as the New Orleans Saints make the trip to The Bay. Let’s not talk about how one-sided this series has been in recent years. Be it the preseason or regular season the Saints have shredded the Raiders. As far as preseason games go this will be the most important of all. The third preseason contest is generally when you get your first prolonged look at the starters. No doubt Hue Jackson will be anxious to see his offense closer to full strength as Darren McFadden makes his [...]

We all make mistakes in life. Some mistakes can cost us our jobs. Others many ruin a good marriage. For Al Davis, JaMistake cost him more than $30-million. Lesson learned…we hope. Today Terrelle Pryor took his first steps towards becoming an NFL quarterback as the former Buckeye participated in his first practice as a Raider. Davis already steered clear of one prior misgiving by taking the athletic QB in the third round of the supplemental draft. By doing so Davis was able to get his newest project at a much cheaper rate than what he paid for the Prince of [...]