New Leadership In Oakland (Madden 10)

[billyboy316]

WEEK 2 PREVIEW
OAKLAND(1-0) VS ST. LOUIS(1-0)

Oakland looks to build off their 38-35 win over San Diego in week 1 as they take on the St. Louis Rams. The Rams come in to today's game with a 1-0 record also as they beat the Seattle Seahawks 23-16. In that game, the Rams started Rookie Quarterback, Jordan Taylor. He had a sub par day going 13-25 with 134 yards. Bulger came in late went 2-2 for 20 yards and threw the game winning touchdown with 40 seconds to go.

Steven Jackson had a great day. He rushed for over 170 yards on just 12 carries. His big play came on an 81 yard run but was caught from behind. Defensively, The Rams recorded 3 sacks on Hasselbeck and picked him off once.

INJURY REPORT

RAMS- MLB- James Laurinaitis- Fractured Toe
DT- Dorrel Scott- Herniated Disk

3 KEYS TO THE GAME

ATTACK TAYLOR- Oakland needs to bring the heat on this Rookie Quarterback. He will make some bad throws if they can get pressure on him. They need to watch out though because he did rush 7 times for over 60 yards last week.

RUN TO SET UP PASS- Last week, The Rams held Pierre Thomas to a 2.8 average on the ground. Oakland will need to commit to the run early but then hit them with the playaction pass. Hasselbeck went 22-27 and 252 yards last week so this could be a good opportunity for Russell.

GET TO THE SECOND LEVEL- Oakland's offensive line will need to get downfield and put a block on St. Louis's talented linebacking group. They are playmakers and will disrupt plays if they are unblocked.

William- Well I don't expect anything less than a victory from my team after beating San Diego last week. Look for Russell to have another monster performance against their weak secondary. We have the number 1 offense and look to remain number 1.

GOING TO PLAY AND SHOULD HAVE THE RESULTS UP HERE LATER TODAY

[SuperChargers]

good job man. I will be following. I'm a little mad you beat my chargers though, lol. what sliders/or difficulty are you playing on? I don't want you to go undefeated or win too many games. Love the setup. Look forward to more posts.

[billyboy316]

Quote: Originally Posted by SuperChargers

good job man. I will be following. I'm a little mad you beat my chargers though, lol. what sliders/or difficulty are you playing on? I don't want you to go undefeated or win too many games. Love the setup. Look forward to more posts.

Thanks for reading. Somebody made a set of sliders on here and I had been using them. After the Chargers game though I bumped up the difficulty a bit and I saw a huge difference against the Rams. I don't want to win too many games either so I will keep adjusting the sliders until I get an more accurate result.

[billyboy316]

LACKLUSTER FIRST HALF ALMOST DOOMS OAKLAND
RUSSELL HOOKS UP WITH HEYWARD-BEY TWICE IN SECOND HALF

Oakland came into the game coming off a huge upset win over the San Diego Chargers and looked to repeat their success against a much weaker St. Louis Rams team. However St. Louis took it to them right from the start with Steven Jackson rumbling 66 yards to put St. Louis up early in the first. Things didn't get much better for Oakland as Russell threw an interception to Strong Safety, James Butler. That interception set up a 26 yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Foster. Oakland would finally get on the board when Justin Fargas ran it in from 4 yards out with 1:30 left to go in the 1st quarter. Oakland would answer again as Darren McFadden plunges into the endzone for his 3rd touchdown of the season. With 3 minutes to go in the half, Garrett Hartley would put Oakland up by 3 with a 35 yard field goal. However less than a minute later, Steven Jackson break two tackles on his way to a 51 yard touchdown reception from Taylor. At halftime the score was 21-17 Rams.

"I would be lying if I told you I am happy about only being down 4 at halftime. We are a better team than that. We are making some poor decisions with the football and we need to protect the football. Jackson is running all over us and it is making me sick to my stomach. Our defensive better step up in the second half or serious changes will be made."- Mike Martz

And that is just what happened as Oakland's defense held St. Louis's offense to just 6 points in the second half. The offense still looked a little shakey but in the end things worked out for Oakland. St. Louis did go up by 7 with 3 minutes to go but Oakland responded when Heyward-Bey made a lovely over-the-shoulder catch for the touchdown. St. Louis would go up by 3 on Brown's 33 yard field goal with 7 minutes to go. After a few changes of possessions, Russell would hook up with Heyward-Bey again for a 30 yard touchdown.

"I saw that he had position so I chucked it up to the corner of the endzone and he was able to make the catch over his shoulder."-JaMarcus Russell

Oakland's defense would hold on for the win despite St. Louis completing two 20+ yard passes on their final drive.

"Even though I am happy we won the game, I still am in limbo with a few players. The defensive line needs some work and I am trying to figure out the best thing to do to fix it. I am happy with Darren McFadden's production and we hope he continues to improve for us."-William

[billyboy316]

WEEK 2 STATS

St. Louis

PASSING

J.Taylor- 67.4 Rating, 186 Yards, 2 Tds, 2 Ints

RUSHING

S.Jackson- 20 Carries, 184 Yards, 1 Td

RECEIVING

S.Jackson- 3 Catches, 77 Yards, 1 Td
L.Robinson- 3 Catches, 32 Yards
B.Foster- 3 Catches, 46 Yards, 1 Td
D.Avery- 2 Catches, 23 Yards

DEFENSIVE NOTEWORTHY

W.Witherspoon- 7 Tackles, 2 TFL
J.Phillips- 6 Tackles, 1 Int
A.Carriker- 4 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
J.Butler- 4 Tackles, 1 Int
L.Little- 3 Tackles, 1 Int
C.Long- 3 Tackles, 1 Sack

OAKLAND

PASSING

J****ssell- 50.4 Rating, 224 Yards, 2 Tds, 3 Ints

RUSHING

D.McFadden- 21 Carries, 135 Yards, 1 Td
J.Fargas- 1 Carry, 4 Yards, 1 Td

RECEIVING

Z.Miller- 7 Catches, 76 Yards
D.Heyward-Bey- 3 Catches, 74 Yards, 2 Tds
L.Murphy- 2 Catches, 32 Yards
C.Bell- 2 Catches, 27 Yards
O.O'Neal- 2 Catches, 17 Yards

DEFENSIVE NOTEWORTHY

K.Morrison- 6 Tackles
T.Kelly- 4 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
A.Swope- 2 Tackles, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
T.Howard- 2 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Int
M.Mitchell- 2 Tackles, 1 Int

DIVISION SCORES AND STANDINGS
Broncos AT Titans- W 21-7
Chargers AT Cardinals- W 27-24
Chiefs VS Colts- L 30-38

RAIDERS 2-0
Broncos 1-1
Chargers 1-1
Chiefs 1-1

WEEK 2 AWARDS

NFL OFFENSIVE PLAYER- Peyton Manning(IND)- 400 yards, 5 tds
NFL DEFENSIVE PLAYER- Chris Harris(CAR)- 8 tackles, 2 ints, 1 fumble recovery

[billyboy316]

WEEK 3 PREVIEW
OAKLAND(2-0) AT DENVER(1-1)

Coming off yet another thrilling win, The Oakland Raiders are soaring high. This week they travel to take on one of their bitter rivals, The Denver Broncos. Denver is coming off a huge 21-7 upset win over the Tennessee Titans. Starting quarterback, Kyle Orton, was lights out going 21-30 for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns. He looks to have the same success against the leagues 11th best passing defense. Denver's starting running back, Moreno, struggled to get anything going against Tennessee as he only managed 28 yards on 19 carries. Look for him to have a huge game though as Oakland's run defense has given up over 170 yards to both Darren Sproles and Steven Jackson. Oakland's defense will need to step up big time if they look to contain the second year running back.

"Obviously our biggest weakness is our run defense. If they don't step up and stop Denver's run then look for some major changes being made to this line."- William

This should be an intense matchup between these two rivals as Oakland comes in with the leagues number 1 offense while Denver comes in with the leagues 3rd best defense. Oakland is averaging 35 points per game while Denver has only given up 25 points this season. Something has to give and we can't wait to see which side does.

3 KEYS FOR VICTORY

STOP THE RUN- We know this sounds elementary but Oakland's defense needs to step up and stop the run and force Kyle Orton to take over the game.

KEEP RUSSELL CLEAN- They need to find a way to keep Denver off of Russell. Denver comes in averaging 3 sacks a game and Rookie LE, Jamison Miller, has 3 sacks in 2 games. Russell performed much better in the game against San Diego (sacked twice = 91.2 rating) than he did against St. Louis (sacked 3 times = 50.4 Rating).

PROTECT THE FOOTBALL- Oakland MUST protect the football against Denver. Denver will take advantage of any and all turnovers. They have been fortunate to be 2-0 with a -3 turnover ratio but that luck won't last all season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

DENVER- Knowshon Moreno RB- Look for this kid to have a huge game against Oakland's weak run defense. He should have zero problems getting into the second level all game long.

OAKLAND- Garrett Thompson RT- He needs to step up and contain fellow Rookie, Jamison Miller. Miller has 3 sacks in two games and would love to get to Russell a few times this game. Thompson has only given up 1 sack through 2 games this season.

[billyboy316]

Poor Defense, Turnovers Doom Oakland
Defense Gives Up 160 yards Rushing To Moreno

Oakland started the season off right by winning their first two games and were looking like the team to beat in the NFC West. However Denver brought them back down to reality as they beat Oakland 27-22. Oakland looked lost and poor with the only bright spot came in way of McFadden. Darren did everything he could to help his team win by carrying the ball 33 times for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also contributed with 1 catch for 11 yards. But his efforts alone weren't enough. The defense gave up 160 yards and 3 touchdowns to Knowshon Moreno. This marks the 3rd straight game where Oakland allowed a 150+ yard performance by a running back. Kicker Garrett Hartley also missed 2 of 5 field goals in the very sloppy game. JaMarcus Russell didn't do himself any favors as he went a dismal 8 for 29 with 113 yards and 2 interceptions. On Defense, Asomugha and Morrison did their best as they both picked off Orton. Overall the defensive line looked too overmatched and slow. Owner/GM William Haughton needs to look into getting some help because they can not continue to give up 150+ yards rushing a game.

PLAYER STATS

DENVER

PASSING

Orton- 30.6 Rating, 14-31 for 132 yards, 2 ints

RUSHING

Moreno- 19 carries, 161 yards, 3 tds

RECEIVING

Gaffney- 5 catches, 55 yards
Royal- 4 catches, 32 yards
Marshall- 3 catches, 34 yards

Moreno- 2 catches, 11 yards

DEFENSIVE

Ayers- 10 tackles, 4 TFL
Williams- 7 tackles, 2 TFL
Bailey- 4 tackles, 1 INT
McBath- 4 tackles, 1 INT
Keisel- 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT

OAKLAND

PASSING

Russell- 14.6 Rating, 8-29, 113 yards, 2 INTs

RUSHING

McFadden- 33 carries, 220 yards, 2 touchdowns.

RECEIVING

Miller- 2 catches, 24 yards
Cole- 1 catch, 20 yards
Bell- 1 catch, 20 yards
O'Neal- 1 catch, 10 yards
Heyward-Bey- 1 catch, 13 yards
Murphy- 1 catch 15 yards
McFadden- 1 catch, 11 yards
*NOTE- RECEIVERS DROPPED A COMBINED 6 PASSES*

DEFENSIVE

Manning- 7 tackles
Howard- 5 tackles, 1 TFL
Mitchell- 5 tackles, 2 PD
Morrison- 4 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PD
Asomugha- 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 PD

"This team looked like they couldn't beat a high school team the way they played today. 160 yards to Moreno.....COME ON!! The guy hadn't rushed for that much in his first two games combined let alone one game. I am forced to make changes much earlier than expected but it is for the better of the team. I will say I was very pleased with McFadden. He was like a man playing with boys.....wait that didn't come out right. He looked like he was playing against a high school defense out there. He is a really special player and I hope we can pull off some miracles so his talent isn't wasted. For now we will go back to the drawing boards and get prepared for the 49ers."- William

[billyboy316]

William- Ok we need to do something about this piss poor defensive line. As of right now we don't have much cap space to work with. However I have an idea that would not only get rid of dead weight but also free up some cap space.
Martz- Ok what did you have in mind?
William- Well for starters we have 12 million dollars wrapped up in 2 backup defensive tackles, Terdell Sands and Gerrard Warren. Now we will have to take a cap hit next year but that will be around 5 million total. What do you think about that Crennel?
Crennel- Well I think that would be a very wise move. Should we try and package them in a deal for another linemen?
William- Are you kidding me? Do you really think anyone would want these two pieces of crap? These are examples are why this team has struggled so much since The Super Bowl. Davis gave out gigantic contracts to crap players. Warren received a 6 year $36 Million contact that included a $12 Million dollar bonus. All that money and his best season was 7 sacks and 40 tackles. Heck Adam Carriker almost did that last season and his contract is a lot smaller. Then we have Sands....boy oh boy what a mess. 4 year $16 Million with a $4 Million bonus. That is a bunch of money for a 4th stringer and all for 30 tackles and 2 sacks. So we let them go and look into Free Agency because I really don't want to trade draft picks.
Crennel- Yea we have too much money invested into that lackluster line. Don't forget about Kelly we should look to unload him too.
William- Yea I looked into it but that would be a $15 Million hit and we would only save $5 Million this year. When the time is right he will be gone.
Martz- Alright so we release those two then what?
William- Well I was checking out some free agents the other day and noticed Grady Jackson is still unemployed.
Martz- Jackson?? Isn't he like 50 by now?
William- No he is up there in age but he would give us the run stopper up the middle. Plus he is very football savy and will notice things most guys won't. He will take a 2 year deal worth $7 Million. Then I was looking at a few defensive ends and I want your opinion on these guys Crennel. They are KGB, Jevon Kearse, and James Hall. I would like to sign 2 of these guys and get a decent rotation in there.
Crennel- Well they are all in their 30s but I would take Hall and Kearse. Hall isn't as fast as KGB but he is stronger and smarter. Kearse is stronger, faster, and smarter than KGB.
William- Good selections. So I will go and make some phone calls.

TRANSATIONS

RELEASES
Gerrard Warren- DT
Terdell Sands- DT

SIGNINGS
Grady Jackson- DT- 2 years, $7M with $2M bonus
James Hall-DE- 2 years, $3.5M with $1.4M bonus
Jevon Kearse- DE- 2 years, $3.5M with $1.4M bonus

Kearse will start at LE
Jackson will be the 2nd DT behind Kelly
Hall will start at RE