Heyer joins a small faction of former Raiders that have found work wearing green in NYC. The Jets boast of former Raiders receivers coach Sanjay Lal who will continue to coach up Chaz Schilens and now are joined by reserve lineman Heyer.

Heyer saw time at tackle and guard last season including making two starts both of which came against the San Diego Chargers. His value was found in providing depth for the O-line during his one season in Oakland.

Until yesterday Heyer was listed on the Raiders roster under the Unrestricted Free Agent heading. His name is now gone leaving the likes of Kyle Boller, Darryl Blackstock and T.J. Houshmanzadeh among others that are still Raiders in theory only.

As of yesterday a staggering 11 men sat out practice. It is to the point where you can’t even keep track of who is healthy and who is injured. Just this past Sunday I found myself scanning every number on a black jersey on every play just to see who is playing and who is not. Imagine my shock when I couldn’t find Darrius Heyward-Bey and Kevin Boss…but that is another story.

The story for this shortened week is how many men will be missing in action for Thursday’s clash with San Diego.

What is not surprising is how thin the Raiders are in the secondary no thanks to injury. That was a problem JBB saw coming from a mile away. What is surprising is that it has taken this long for injuries to affect the offensive line.

Usually you’d expect the big guys up front to be banged up after week one. That the Raiders have gone halfway through the season with the same starters on the O-line is amazing. But like all good things, that looks likely to come to and end tomorrow.
(more…)

It had been 9 years (not a typo) since the Raiders won a season opener, ditto for the last time they won on Monday Night. Well, those ominous streaks are now a thing of the past.

Maybe the Gatorade bath was bit much but at least it shows how much the players both respect and admire their head coach. So far Al’s controversial decision is looking like the right move.

More proof of how little the preseason means, Hue’s bully was picked on in the preseason yet was abusive of the Broncos in the regular season opener.

The O-line pushed the Donkeys around while the D-line dominated. Kyle Orton surpassed the 300-yard mark but did so while running for his life. Darren McFadden ran for 150 bruising yards behind the physical play of the line as he continued his ownership of Denver. Going back to last season that makes three straight 100-yard efforts by Run DMC against the Mile High rivals.

While the final score might appear as if this one was close there really wasn’t much drama at all.

To be sure Sebastian Janikowski’s record tying 63-yard field goal proved vital as the final score will reflect. Still, it wasn’t until late in the 4^th quarter that Denver’s offense actually produced a score. Before that the only other TD came on a 90-yard punt return by Eric Decker. That would be one of the areas the Raiders must improve in which makes this team very much a work in progress.
(more…)