A New Era Of Excellence - Oakland Raiders (M12) Franchise

[PFellah]

2011 PRE-SEASON
(home team in caps)

Before we get into game coverage, the Raiders made one more roster move before the start of pre-season play:

Raiders sign CB Bruce Johnson, cut CB Joe Porter: Said Baxter, "in today's NFL, you have to have three cornerbacks you're confident in, and that's a lot to put on a rookie right away. I'm sure Chimdi and Demarcus will contribute to our team sooner rather than later and they'll get chances in dime and quarter packages, but having another veteran available in the nickel makes us stronger today."

Ed: And, with Bruce and Chris in the same defensive backfield, opens up the new marketing slogan "Come see our Johnsons".

WEEK 1 - Arizona Cardinals 35, OAKLAND RAIDERS 14
A little closer than the final score indicates as Oakland threw two pick-sixes (including one in the Arizona red zone), but the offense was still pretty lethargic. Positives: SS Tyvon Branch was all over the field early, with an interception and several good stops in run support. Michael Bush ran well in relief of McFadden. And Terrelle Porter hooked up with Noel Devine on an 86-yard screen pass for a touchdown where Devine tightroped the sideline after an Arizona defender attempted to bump him out of bounds. Negatives: most everything else, including several drops by Limas Sweed. "Limas Scissorhands" indeed.

CUTS: LE Jon Condo, MLB Travis Goethel, K Dustin Scott (UDFA). (Ed: in real life, Condo is the long snapper, but monitoring everyone's long snappers is a level of realism I'm just not prepared to pursue. The other teams won't care if they cut their LS, so I'm not going to sweat it either. I'm also a little embarrassed I didn't realize Goethel was on IR when I cut him. )


WEEK 2 - Oakland Raiders 33, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 28
The offense still struggled, but landed some big plays to pull out a close win. Positives: Chas Schilens caught a couple long touchdowns, Tony Pike was 5-for-5 in the 4th quarter, including a play-action touchdown and a game-sealing 3rd-down completion to Limas Sweed. Negatives: Offense was inconsistent, other than big plays. Not a lot of running room for McFadden. (Ed: Not sure if it's play-calling, or I'm running him wrong, or my sliders are off, but McFadden tends to be LESS effective than the slower Michael Bush.)

CUTS: FB Zach Baylis (UDFA), CB Darius Franklin (UDFA), TE Brandon Myers, LG Cody Stephens (UDFA). (Ed: Franklin = CB with 69 SPD = )

WEEK 3 - New Orleans Saints 33, OAKLAND RAIDERS 28
Dreadful day for Jason Campbell (4-for-22) and the offensive line (8 sacks). The defense did well, and got a couple opportune picks to keep things close. End got a little weird with a tipped-ball touchdown for the Raiders and a pair of long TD runs by Pierre Thomas. Positives: A pick-six and pick-5.9 (stopped at the 1-yard line) for Chimdi Chekwa. Terrelle Pryor ran at least one nice drive in the two-minute drill. McFadden had a few good runs, though two of them were draws on obvious passing downs, and he still got stuffed more than a back of his caliber should. Negatives: Pass protection and penalties. Part of the reason Campbell was 4-for-22 was that sacks and holding penalties put him in ridiculous passing situations for most of the first half. Defense let up a few long runs late, but part of that was playing over-aggressive trying to get the ball back.

CUTS: SS Jerome Boyd, DT Jeff Cobbs (UDFA), QB Joe Garibaldi (UDFA), CB Jabari Gordon (UDFA), TE Richard Gordon, P Shane Mallouki (UDFA), WR Nick Miller, FB Manase Tonga. (Ed: accidentally hit ADVANCE and let the CPU make my cuts for me, but most of these would've been on the list anyway. I actually might have kept Miller and Richard Gordon around one more week, but oh well. Mallouki seemed to have good leg strength, but Shane Lechler isn't going anywhere.)

WEEK 4 - SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 34, Oakland Raiders 16
Don't get too alarmed: it was only the backups, and the game was closer than the score indicates. Seattle got out to an early lead with 17 first quarter points, but the Raiders clawed their way back into it. With about 4:30, Seattle led 24-16 and was punting back to Oakland; that's when the wheels fell off. Taiwan Jones fumbled the punt, leading to a field goal, and when Oakland got the ball back, Tony Pike promptly threw a pick leading to another Seattle touchdown and the final margin of victory. Positives: defense rebounded well after a tough start. Negatives: too many three-and-outs on offense, one big special teams mistake late.

CUTS: LT Chris Ballard (UDFA), C Jerome Cureton (UDFA), LOLB Ja'Mario Durham (UDFA), LE Tommy Langford (UDFA).

[PFellah]

2011 PRE-SEASON - AROUND THE LEAGUE

Locker, Ponder done for year; Locker injury may be career-threatening

ESPN reports that Minnesota's Christian Ponder (torn ACL) and Tennessee's Jake Locker (fractured vertebrae) were both carted off the field in their respective training camp debuts; coincidentally, in the same game, as the two teams were facing each other. Locker's injury was particularly scary as he was immobilized on the field -- full details have not been released, but medical experts familiar with these types of injuries are worried that Locker's injury may mean his NFL career is over before it started.

"All we can do is keep him in our prayers and wait to hear what the doctors have to say," said coach Mike Munchak. "Obviously we hope for the best, but when you're dealing with these types of injuries, you can't take chances. It's easy to get locked into our jobs, but something like this reminds you there's more to life than football."

Hines Ward's assault on 1000-catch club sidetracked

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward entered the 2011 season at 955 career receptions and 11,702 yards -- 1000 catches and 12,000 yards seemed within easy reach. However, thanks to a herniated disk, the chase will be on hold for almost the first half of the season. Coach Tomlin is currently hoping for his return at the end of October.

"Forget about all that stuff about legacy and records and all that," said Ward. "That sort of talk is for when you're retired. Right now my goal is to get healthy, get back in the lineup, and hopefully help get the Steelers back to the Super Bowl."

Manning ready for start of season

Despite offseason rumors swirling, Indianapolis Colts' QB Peyton Manning says he will be ready for the season opener against the Houston Texans. "Obviously it was hard to judge my readiness when the lockout was going on and workouts were limited," said Manning, "and you had all these crazy rumors floating around... one guy even said I was going to miss the entire season and we'd go 0-16 without me, and talking about whether we'd draft Andrew Luck with the #1 pick. But I'm here to tell you I feel good and I'm ready to go." (Ed: the rosters I'm using don't list him as injured, so I guess in this alternate universe, he's good to go.)

Hey, hey, hey... Haynesworth done for year

When the New England Patriots acquired the rights to troubled DT Albert Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins, all the speculation was on whether Bill Belichick would be able to deal with the off-field distractions involved with another high-maintenance player, as he did with Randy Moss and Corey Dillon. Now it appears off-field distractions are the only kind Haynesworth will be providing in 2011, as the Patriots placed him on IR with a broken tailbone. Haynesworth will sit (or maybe not, given the nature of his injury) out all of 2011 and try to make another comeback in 2012.

Hester, Holmes to miss significant time

The Chicago Bears and New York Jets will both be deprived of their most explosive weapons for the first half of the season after injuries in pre-season finales. Chicago's Devin Hester suffered a broken collarbone, and the Jets' Santonio Holmes broke his left hand. Both players are expected to miss 7-8 weeks.

"We'll definitely feel better about punting to them [the Bears]," said one NFC coach. "He's such a game-changing weapon back there. You don't wish an injury on anyone, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't breathing a little easier."

Giants feel the pain of league's longest injury list

Talk about a dubious distinction. No less than six members of the New York Giants will start the year on injured reserve: DT Marvin Austin (torn pectoral), MLB Jonathan Goff (complete ACL tear), C Bryan Reed (broken ankle), QB Sage Rosenfels (torn rotator cuff), ROLB Cliff Sintim (complete ACL tear), CB Terrell Thomas (complete ACL tear). Additionally, center David Baas is expected to miss 10 weeks with a torn quadricep.

Winners and Losers

(Ed: maybe next year. I hit ADVANCE before collecting data on which teams did well and poorly in preseason. Oops.)

[PFellah]

FINAL ROSTER MOVES / POSITION BATTLE REVIEWS

The Raiders made a few moves to add veteran depth to the roster before breaking camp for good.

Raiders add CB Corey Graham, C Jake Grove, and LG Ikechuku Ndukwe; cut RG LOLB Darryl Blackstock, RG Jonathan Branch, and C P.J. McQuillan. Grove and Ndukwe were both moves to add a little veteran depth on the offensive line; a lot of the Raiders' backups were rookies or first-year players. Graham adds an extra body in the secondary in case of injuries, but not someone who would take snaps away from the rookies, Van Dvke or Chekwa.

(Ed: After other teams made their cuts, I also added LOLB Ikaika Alama-Francis and dropped LOLB Bruce Davis. Alama-Francis is nice as a depth 'tweener -- with his size, he can play either DE or LB pretty well. For the moment, Groves is still the starter, but IAF might see some snaps if Groves struggles.)

POSITION BATTLES

Tony Pike over Terrelle Pryor (backup QB): Pryor remains the higher-ceiling player, and we'll probably find some ways to get him snaps (goal-line QB, maybe). But for a replacement for a few series, Pike is a bit more of a steady hand, and played that way in camp, while Pryor had ups and downs.

Taiwan Jones over Noel Devine (3rd-down back): Devine had the one big play -- an 86-yard touchdown off a screen pass -- but Jones was generally more reliable as a receiver out of the backfield.

Jacoby Ford, Darius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, Denarius Moore (all four WR spots): Ford and Schilens were the top two performers statistically, but Schilens comes at a discount because he mostly played with (and against) reserves. DHB didn't have a memorable camp, but neither did Murphy, so we'll start the guy with more potential. Moore had a few nice flashes, but not enough to take a job away from someone else as a rookie.

Joe Barksdale vs. Khalif Barnes (RT): Barksdale has the raw tools to be successful, but it's not his time yet.

Trevor Scott vs. Matt Shaughnessy (RE): With little in the way to separate them in camp performance, Shaughnessy backs into the starter job by virtue of the fact that Scott makes an effective backup at three or four positions.

Quentin Groves vs. Ja'Mario Durham vs. Fabian Carnes (LOLB): No one really stood out, so Groves wins by default. But honestly we'll be keeping an eye on the free agent list. Durham turned out to be a dud, but Carnes at least earned a backup role, taking Darryl Blackstock's spot on the roster. Carnes is also a bit of a physical freak for a linebacker, at 6'7" 270.

A bunch of guys (nickel, dime, quarter): The signing of Bruce Johnson short-circuited the most important piece of this debate -- it'll be Routt, Chris Johnson, and Bruce Johnson as the top three backs. Both UDFAs fizzled, so Van Dvke and Chekwa will play dime and quarter -- Chekwa had one huge game with two picks, but Van Dvke was more consistent and made more plays overall. Corey Graham was signed for pure depth, but won't enter the conversation unless an injury happens.

[PFellah]

OAKLAND RAIDERS 2011 ROSTER

OAKLAND RAIDERS 2011 ROSTER
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
86	Ausberry, David (R)	TE	23	6'3"	233	USC
72	Barksdale, Joe (R)	RT	22	6'4"	325	LSU
69	Barnes, Khalif	RT	28	6'5"	325	Washington
87	Boss, Kevin	TE	27	6'6"	253	Western Oregon
88	Brock, Kevin	TE	25	6'5"	260	Rutgers
29	Bush, Michael	HB	27	6'1"	245	Louisville
8	Campbell, Jason	QB	29	6'5"	230	Auburn
74	Campbell, Bruce	LG	23	6'6"	314	Maryland
66	Carlisle, Cooper	RG	34	6'5"	295	Florida
25	Devine, Noel (R-UDFA)	HB	23	5'8"	179	West Virginia
12	Ford, Jacoby	WR	24	5'9"	186	Clemson
54	Grove, Jake	C	30	6'4"	300	Virginia Tech
75	Heyer, Stefon	LT	27	6'6"	330	Maryland
85	Heyward-Bey, Darius	WR	23	6'2"	210	Maryland
22	Jones, Taiwan (R)	HB	23	5'11"	194	Eastern Washington
60	Mahan, Brice (R-UDFA)	LG	23	6'4"	301	LSU
20	McFadden, Darren	HB	24	6'2"	210	Arkansas
17	Moore, Denarius (R)	WR	22	5'11"	194	Tennessee
18	Murphy, Louis	WR	24	6'2"	200	Florida
62	Ndukwe, Ikechuku	LG	29	6'4"	325	Northwestern
15	Pike, Tony	QB	25	6'6"	222	Cincinnati
2	Pryor, Terrelle (R-supp.)	QB	22	6'6"	233	Ohio State
45	Reece, Marcel	FB	26	6'3"	240	Washington
64	Satele, Samson	C	26	6'3"	300	Hawai'i
81	Schilens, Chaz	WR	25	6'4"	225	San Diego State
14	Sweed, Limas	WR	26	6'4"	220	Texas
68	Veldheer, Jared	LT	24	6'8"	312	Hillsdale
61	Wisniewski, Stefen (R)	LG	22	6'3"	313	Penn State
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
59	Alama-Francis, Ikaika	LOLB	27	6'5"	290	Hawai'i
33	Branch, Tyvon	SS	24	6'0"	205	Connecticut
57	Brown, Ricky	MLB	27	6'2"	235	Boston College
90	Bryant, Desmond	DT	25	6'5"	290	Harvard
56	Carnes, Fabian (R-UDFA)	ROLB	23	6'7"	270	Alabama
35	Chekwa, Chimdi (R)	CB	22	5'11"	191	Ohio State
31	Eugene, Hiram	FS	30	6'2"	200	LA Tech
27	Giordano, Matt	FS	27	5'11"	200	California
30	Graham, Corey	CB	26	6'0"	198	New Hampshire
52	Groves, Quentin	LOLB	27	6'3"	264	Auburn
79	Henderson, John	DT	32	6'7"	335	Tennessee
99	Houston, Lamarr	LE	24	6'3"	305	Texas
24	Huff, Michael	FS	28	6'1"	205	Texas
39	Johnson, Bruce	CB	24	5'11"	182	Miami
37	Johnson, Chris	CB	31	6'1"	200	Louisville
93	Kelly, Tommy	DT	30	6'6"	300	Mississippi State
53	Leman, Jeremy	MLB	26	6'2"	240	Illinois
55	McClain, Rolando	MLB	22	6'3"	253	Alabama
34	Mitchell, Michael	SS	25	6'1"	220	Ohio
94	Moss, Jarvis	RE	27	6'7"	257	Florida
26	Routt, Stanford	CB	28	6'1"	195	Houston
91	Scott, Trevor	RE	27	6'5"	255	Buffalo
92	Seymour, RIchard	DT	31	6'6"	310	Georgia
77	Shaughnessy, Matt	RE	24	6'5"	270	Wisconsin
23	Van Dvke, Demarcus	CB	22	6'0"	176	Miami
96	Wimbley, Kamerion	ROLB	27	6'3"	255	Florida State
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
11	Janikowski, Sebastian	K	33	6'2"	250	Florida State
9	Lechler, Shane	P	35	6'2"	225	Texas A&M

Captains: FS Michael Huff, P Shane Lechler, DT Richard Seymour
Roles: Deep Threat (Ford, Heyward-Bey), Future Star (Houston), Offensive Playmaker (Devine, McFadden), Trench Warrior (Wisniewski), Underachiever (Moss)

[PFellah]

OAKLAND RAIDERS 2011 DEPTH CHART

OAKLAND RAIDERS Depth Chart - 2011
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Jacoby Ford 74	Louis Murphy 75	Denarius Moore 64
TE	Kevin Boss 77	David Ausberry 66	Kevin Brock 61
LT	Jared Veldheer 81	Stephon Heyer 69	Bruce Campbell 65 (LG)
LG	Stefen Wisniewski 77	Ikechuku Ndukwe 73	Bruce Campbell 71
C	Samson Satele 72	Jake Grove 77	Stephon Heyer 65 (LT)
RG	Cooper Carlisle 76	Bruce Campbell 70 (LG)	Stephon Heyer 69 (LT)
RT	Khalif Barnes 74	Stephon Heyer 73 (LT)	Joe Barksdale 65
WR	Darius Heyward-Bey 72	Chaz Schilens 72	Limas Sweed 63
QB	Jason Campbell 81	Tony Pike 64	Terrelle Pryor 65
FB	Marcel Reece 83	Kevin Brock 53 (TE)	David Ausberry 51 (TE)
HB	Darren McFadden 87	Michael Bush 77	Taiwan Jones 67	Noel Devine 65
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Lamarr Houston 82	Trevor Scott 81 (RE)	Jarvis Moss 67 (RE)
LDT	Richard Seymour 93	John Henderson 79	Trevor Scott 76 (RE)
RDT	Tommy Kelly 85	Desmond Bryant 70
RDE	Matt Shaughnessy 80	Trevor Scott 79	Jarvis Moss 66
LOLB	Quentin Groves 72	Ikaika Alama-Francis 73	Trevor Scott 69 (RE)
MLB	Rolando McClain 82	Ricky Brown 70	Jeremy Leman 60	Fabian Carnes 62 (ROLB)
ROLB	Kamerion Wimbley 87	Fabian Carnes 66	Trevor Scott 70 (RE)
CB	Stanford Routt 85	Bruce Johnson 75	Chimdi Chekwa 65
SS	Tyvon Branch 87	Michael Mitchell 75	Matt Giordano 67 (FS)
FS	Michael Huff 84	Hiram Eugene 73 (IR)	Michael Mitchell 71 (SS)	Matt Giordano 69
CB	Chris Johnson 76	Demarcus Van Dvke 66	Corey Graham 66

[PFellah]

OAKLAND RAIDERS 2011 SCHEDULE
(home games in all caps)

Week 1 - 9/12 - at Denver Broncos (Mon.), L 14-36
Week 2 - 9/18 - at Buffalo Bills
Week 3 - 9/25 - NEW YORK JETS
Week 4 - 10/2 - NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Week 5 - 10/9 - at Houston Texans
Week 6 - 10/16 - CLEVELAND BROWNS
Week 7 - 10/23 - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Week 8 - 10/30 - (BYE)
Week 9 - 11/6 - DENVER BRONCOS
Week 10 - 11/10 - at San Diego Chargers (Thu.)
Week 11 - 11/20 - at Minnesota Vikings
Week 12 - 11/27 - CHICAGO BEARS
Week 13 - 12/4 - at Miami Dolphins
Week 14 - 12/11 - at Green Bay Packers
Week 15 - 12/18 - DETROIT LIONS
Week 16 - 12/24 - at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 17 - 1/1 - SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

[PFellah]

CHICAGO BEARS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LOLB	Nick Roach	Broken collarbone - 5 weeks
WR/KR	Devin Hester	Broken collarbone - 8 weeks
LOLB	J.T. Thomas	Complete ACL tear - IR

CINCINNATI BENGALS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
WR	Brandon Tate	Torn shoulder labrum - 1 week
LOLB	Manny Lawson	Broken thumb - 3 weeks
MLB	Roddrick Muckelroy	Complete Achilles tear - IR
TE	Bo Scaife	Torn rotator cuff - IR

BUFFALO BILLS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
RT	Erik Pears	Dislocated ankle - 1 week
RG	Chad Rinehart	Torn quadricep - 2 weeks
WR	Donald Jones	Dislocated hip - 5 weeks
C	Eric Wood	Broken collarbone - 5 weeks
RE	Spencer Johnson	Torn pectoral - IR
MLB	Reggie Torbor	Torn rotator cuff - IR

DENVER BRONCOS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
WR	Eddie Royal	Upper arm fracture - 1 week
LT	Ryan Clady	Abdominal tear - 1 week
RG	Russ Hochstein	Broken tibia - IR
CB	Syd'quan Thompson	Complete Achilles tear - IR

CLEVELAND BROWNS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
DT	Ahtyba Rubin	Broken jaw - 2 weeks
HB	Brandon Jackson	Complete Achilles tear - IR
P	Reggie Hodges	Complete Achilles tear - IR
LG	Eric Steinbach	Torn rotator cuff - IR

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
WR	Sammie Stroughter	Broken forearm - 5 weeks
LE	Da'Quan Bowers	Broken collarbone - 7 weeks
TE	Kellen Winslow	Dislocated hip - 9 weeks

ARIZONA CARDINALS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
WR	Early Doucet	Broken collarbone - 4 weeks
CB	Gregory Toler	Complete ACL tear - IR
LG	Floyd Womack	Torn rotator cuff - IR

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
MLB	Takeo Spikes	Torn shoulder labrum - 1 week
RG	Louis Vasquez	Dislocated elbow - 1 week
FS	Nick Polk	Complete Achilles tear - IR

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
MLB	Brandon Siler	Complete Achilles tear - IR
ROLB	Gabe Miller	Complete Achilles tear - IR
TE	Tony Moeaki	Complete Achilles tear - IR
RT	Ryan O'Callaghan	Complete Achilles tear - IR

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LG	Mike Pollak	Broken thumb - 1 week
WR	Anthony Gonzalez	Torn quadricep - 7 weeks

DALLAS COWBOYS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
HB	Felix Jones	Broken thumb - 2 weeks
MLB	Keith Brooking	Torn bicep - 3 weeks

MIAMI DOLPHINS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
QB	Chad Henne	Broken jaw - 1 week
LT	Allen Barbre	Complete Achilles tear - IR
LT	Lydon Murtha	Complete ACL tear - IR

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Pos	Player	Injury Note
C	Jamaal Jackson	Upper arm fracture - 1 week
RT	Winston Justice	Broken thumb - 2 weeks
LT	King Dunlap	Partial MCL tear - 4 weeks
MLB	Casey Matthews	Fractured foot - 7 weeks
LE	Victor Abiamiri	Complete Achilles tear - IR

ATLANTA FALCONS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
CB	Dunta Robinson	Dislocated ankle - 2 weeks
LT	Sam Baker	Dislocated hip - 9 weeks

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
TE	Nate Byham	Complete ACL tear - IR

NEW YORK GIANTS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
C	Dave Baas	Torn quadricep - 10 weeks
CB	Terrell Thomas	Complete ACL tear - IR
ROLB	Clint Sintim	Complete ACL tear - IR
MLB	Jonathan Goff	Complete ACL tear - IR
C	Bryan Reed	Broken ankle - IR
DT	Marvin Austin	Torn pectoral - IR
QB	Sage Rosenfels	Torn rotator cuff - IR

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
RG	Uche Nwaneri	Dislocated hip - 2 weeks
LE	Matt Roth	Herniated disk - 4 weeks
FS	Terrell Whitehead	Complete Achilles tear - IR
DT	D'Anthony Smith	Complete Achilles tear - IR
RE	Aaron Morgan	Complete Achilles tear - IR
CB	David Jones	Complete ACL tear - IR
RG	Kevin Haslam	Complete MCL tear - IR

NEW YORK JETS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
FS	Eric Smith	Broken collarbone - 5 weeks
WR	Santonio Holmes	Broken hand - 7 weeks
TE	Dustin Keller	Fractured kneecap - IR
QB	Greg McElroy	Torn pectoral - IR

DETROIT LIONS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
HB	Jahvid Best	Herniated disk - 2 weeks
TE	Brandon Pettigrew	Meniscus tear - 3 weeks
TE	Tony Scheffler	Torn bicep - 6 weeks
CB	Eric Wright	Fractured toe - 8 weeks
HB	Mikel Leshoure	Complete Achilles tear - IR
RG	Stephen Peterman	Compound fracture - IR
RT	Johnny Culbreath	Complete Achilles tear - IR

GREEN BAY PACKERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
MLB	Desmond Bishop	Broken jaw - 2 weeks
ROLB	Erik Walden	Broken collarbone - 3 weeks
LG	T.J. Lang	Broken forearm - 8 weeks
LE	Lawrence Guy	Complete Achilles tear - IR

CAROLINA PANTHERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
RG	Mackenzy Bernadeau	Partial ACL tear - 1 week
LT	Garry Williams	Complete Achilles tear - IR
RG	Geoff Schwartz	Fractured hip - IR
TE	Gary Barnidge	Complete Achilles tear - IR
C	Zack WIlliams	Complete ACL tear - IR
DT	Ron Edwards	Torn pectoral - IR

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
ROLB	Rob Ninkovich	Fractured foot - 1 week
QB	Ryan Mallett	Partial groin tear - 2 weeks
RG	Brian Waters	Herniated disk - 4 weeks
RG	Rich Ohrnberger	Complete ACL tear - IR
DT	Albert Haynesworth	Broken tailbone - IR

OAKLAND RAIDERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
SS	Tyvon Branch	Dislocated elbow - 1 week
FS	Hiram Eugene	Fractured hip - IR

ST. LOUIS RAMS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
CB	Jerome Murphy	Broken ankle - IR
DT	Jermelle Cudjo	Torn pectoral - IR

BALTIMORE RAVENS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LT	Bryant McKinnie	Torn quadricep - 6 weeks
SS	Marcus Paschal	Complete ACL tear - IR
LT	Ramon Harewood	Complete ACL tear - IR
HB	Matt Lawrence	Torn rotator cuff - IR

WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
RG	Eric Olsen	Torn hamstring - 4 weeks
RG	Chris Chester	Compound fracture - IR
LE	Jarvis Jenkins	Complete Achilles tear - IR
LT	Sean Locklear	Torn rotator cuff - IR

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
HB	Patrick Cobbs	Complete Achilles tear - IR
FS	Paul Oliver	Complete Achilles tear - IR
LT	Alex Barron	Complete ACL tear - IR
CB	Fabian Washington	Complete ACL tear - IR

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LOLB	Dyjuan Clayton	Upper arm fracture - 2 weeks
RG	John Moffitt	Herniated disk - 3 weeks
LT	Russell Okung	Torn quadricep - 3 weeks
LE	Chris Clemons	Herniated disk - 6 weeks
RE	Jimmy Wilkerson	Complete ACL tear - IR
WR	Isaiah Stanback	Complete Achilles tear - IR
TE	John Carlson	Torn rotator cuff - IR

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
TE	Heath Miller	Partial groin tear - 2 weeks
RG	Chris Kemoeatu	Torn hamstring - 3 weeks
LT	Marcus Gilbert	Partial groin tear - 3 weeks
WR	Hines Ward	Herniated disk - 7 weeks
HB	Baron Batch	Complete ACL tear - IR
QB	Byron Leftwich	Torn rotator cuff - IR

HOUSTON TEXANS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
C	Chris Myers	Upper arm fracture - 2 weeks
LE	Tim Jamison	Broken forearm - 5 weeks
RE	Antonio Smith	Herniated disk - 7 weeks
RG	Kasey Studdard	Complete Achilles tear - IR

TENNESSEE TITANS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
CB	Ryan Mouton	Complete Achilles tear - IR
WR	Kevin Curtis	Complete Achilles tear - IR
CB	Pete Ittersagen	Complete Achilles tear - IR
QB	Jake Locker	Fractured vertebrae - IR

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Pos	Player	Injury Note
MLB	E.J. Henderson	Meniscus tear - 2 weeks
C	Brandon Fusco	Broken forearm - 6 weeks
MLB	Jasper Brinkley	Complete ACL tear - IR
QB	Christian Ponder	Complete ACL tear - IR
LT	Scott Kooistra	Torn rotator cuff - IR

[PFellah]

Raider Report - Week 1

Welcome to Raider Report, the program that asks the questions you the fans want answered. We have a real treat for you this season, as Al Davis' right-hand man, Ian Baxter, has agreed to do a studio interview with us each week of the season.

RR: So, you just finished your first training camp in charge of an NFL team. How was that experience? What things pretty much expected and what things were different than what you expected.

IB: Oh boy. The easy answer is nothing was totally as expected, except the quality and professionalism of the guys in the locker room. I knew we had a team of great players and they were up to the challenge. But other than that, pretty much everything was different than you'd imagine. If there's something that was specifically unexpected or more difficult, it was getting a read on some of these kids. One week they show you something, and then next week, they give you a totally different opinion.

The other thing was dealing with the reaction to me being an unknown quantity. There were places where it got pretty out of proportion. I get that I kinda came out of nowhere and people had questions about that. But some of the mean-spirited stuff about how Al must have Alzheimer's or I must be his illegitimate son or something... sometimes your fellow man can be pretty disappointing. You know... it's just a game. Wait til I screw up and THEN run me out of town on rails.

RR: What did you see out of the team that you liked, and what do you still need to work on?

IB: Overall, I thought our defensive play was pretty solid. The scores might not reflect it, but in some cases we were pushing too hard to make things happen, and got out of our gameplan. The flip side is our offense had too many ups and downs. D-Mac would bust a nice run one play and then get stuffed for the next three or four. We'd go 3-and-out for most of the half and then hit a 70-yard touchdown in the final two minutes. I just think we need to smooth out those peaks and valleys so we're not always looking to big plays to bail us out. (Ed: Translation -- defensive sliders are right where I want them. Offensive sliders may need a little (5pt.) tweaking.)

RR: Now that pre-season is over, one of the early duties of a GM is to start scouting the 2012 draft class. Have you had a chance to look over that yet?

IB: Not in any great detail. It's tough. You need to allocate those resources because the scouts need time to work, but at the same time there are so many unknowns. You don't know what slot you'll be drafting in, so -- for example -- should we take time to look at an Andrew Luck or not? You have ideas what holes your team might have based on free agency and retirement, but you don't know for sure. You don't know which of your current younger players are going to take that leap forward and which ones will stagnate.

That said, since that's a bit of a non-answer, I'll try to draw some boundaries around it. It looks like defensive tackle is going to be a need area -- we've got three guys over 30 years old, and financially, a lot of money allocated to the position. So maybe that's a place to get younger. Cooper Carlisle is getting up there at guard, so we ought to start grooming a replacement for him. Chris Johnson and Stanford Routt are both free agents after the season, so we might want to look at corners, even with two rookies making the roster this year. And Jason Campbell is in the last year of his contract -- that doesn't automatically mean we're looking at QB, but we'd be foolish to ignore the position.

RR: Speaking of young players, what young player on the current Raiders' roster surprised you most during the preseason?

IB: I gotta admit I liked what I saw out of Chimdi Chekwa a lot. He had a two-pick game, both of which he almost returned for touchdowns, and he came across the field to make a touchdown-saving tackle in the Seattle game. He's got some things to work on, but he could be a good one. I also like seeing Fabian Carnes making the team as a UDFA -- you have to respect a guy who comes in with no promises and works his tail off and makes the team.

RR: In a couple of late moves, you brought in Jake Grove (center) and Ikaika Alama-Francis (linebacker). First, should Samson Satele and Quentin Groves be worried about their jobs, and second; if so, why not make the moves earlier in camp?

IB: For now, we're looking at Grove and Alama-Francis as depth signings. In both cases, we were going to be leaning heavily on pretty raw rookies, so we wanted to get some experience in there in case something happens. In Ikaika's case, he only hit the wire in the last round of cuts so he wasn't even available until we were breaking camp. I think in Grove's case he has the capacity to start for us, but Samson won the job and deserves a fair chance to keep it.

(Ed.: In an effort to not be omniscient about ratings, I figure it takes at least a 5-pt OVR difference for a guy to be noticeably better -- Grove would qualify; IAF would not. So in IAF's case (73, vs 72 for Groves), I don't think the coaching staff would say 'OMG he should be starting!'. Also, I like to have an informal "learn the playbook" grace period before I start a new guy -- I base it on AWR; a guy with high AWR can usually jump in with a few weeks' lead time while a guy with low AWR should sit a while.)

RR: Looking ahead, the Raiders open against the Denver Broncos. How do you feel opening against a division opponent in Week One?

IB: Well, the strategist in me would probably prefer to start with a non-division or non-conference game just to ease into the season a little bit. But you know... that cuts both ways. We're still hitting our stride, but so is everyone else. And the fan in me loves it. Division opponent under the lights? Monday Night Football? Bring it on!

RR: The story of the Broncos pre-season has been Tim Tebow, or more specifically, the outpouring of fans wanting to see Tebow starting over Kyle Orton. What are your thoughts on Tebow?

IB: My football answer is that Orton's starting, so it's a non-issue unless Orton gets hurt. My GM answer is I have sympathy for their plight, because they have a #1 pick invested in a guy who's not really ready to play from an X's and O's standpoint. Taking off both those hats for a second... it's fine to say he's a winner and has intangibles and you don't want to totally ignore those things. The kid clearly has a locker room presence, and as a leader, he's ready today. But there are NFL plays he needs to be able to make before you even CONSIDER putting him out there, and if he can't make those plays, you don't do it.

I'd also add that doing something just because the fans want it is a quick ticket out of town. Don't get me wrong. I love the fans, and when I'm off the clock, I AM a fan of the game. I had a thousand ideas how to make my hometown Steelers better before I came here. But with all respect, fans don't have all the information we do. They don't watch the film from countless practices. They don't get to hear the conversations with position coaches and teammates who are immersed in this every day, sunup to sunset. A fan sees three good plays in one game and says "why isn't that guy playing more?" but we see how the sausage gets made.

RR: Well, last question... any predictions for the upcoming season?

IB: Nah. Predictions have a way of coming back to bite you. I'll leave that to the journalists.