Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[KBLover]

Haha, that would be cool if he can get the record

Injuries are mounting. Hopefully, we can stay relatively healthy.

[KBLover]

Fail.
Sloppy, Poorly Executed Game Snaps Streak.
Raiders Shutdown 21-9

The road woes continue. The Raiders just looked completely overmatched. The offense, aside from Pryor and Moore, looked terrible and the offensive line reached a new low with the penalties, racking up 121 yards in fouls and the running game managed just 47 yards.

"I don't know what that **** was out there today. I didn't coach this team to play like ****. It's one thing to lose, it's other to roll over like ******* and play like ****, " Coach Lyle ranted.

The Raiders missed a chance to give themselves a leg up in the playoff race. The final game of the season could be, literally, do or die.

The offensive line was the big problem. Little protection for Pryor and even less in the way of running lanes for Ivory. As usual, the only constant was Denarius Moore, who tried to pump up the team by making a tremendous one-handed grab on a deep pass.

Unfortunately his "partner" Darius Heyward-Bey continues to play terribly. More drops, more bad routes, it doesn't look like he'll be high on the depth chart next year...if he's on the roster at all. The team doesn't want to count on Michael Jenkins, as he's a free agent, but the team might not have a choice just like they are relying on Ivory.

Pryor had a poor day, but it just proves the team needs more balance, both in the way of a more consistent run game as well as more consistent pass targets besides the running backs. Reese and Ivory have shown themselves to be solid backfield targets, but there's only so much they can do when they have duties in the run game, and that's what wide outs are for.

"Why do I even need the rest of you?" Coach Lyle barked at the WR, sans Moore, "17 is the only doing anything, he's the only number Terrelle can call. What's with you all? Don't you want the postseason?"

The only positive on the day was Moore picking up another 100-yard receiving day. One the season, his stat line stands out like a gorilla among puppies. 110 catches, 1,743 yards, 11 TD. He needs 106 yards next week to get the single-season receiving yards record. Not a certainty with how this team plays on the road.

Terrelle Pryor passed 3,000 yards on the season. He has 17 TD to go with 14 INTs.

Defensively, it was the first failure of the 3-4, perhaps because of injuries, or perhaps because it will struggle against strong run teams, given the team's current personnel, or perhaps because it has diminished the impact of McClain. Of course, Wheeler did more than his share from the outside position. The defense seems to be seeking an identity still after this week's reality check, and will likely return to the 4-3 as the team lacks a proper Jack linebacker that can really help plug the inside. Tommy Kelly also struggled to open up defensive gaps.

The loss puts the Raiders at 8-7. The Chargers and many of the other 7-7 teams won, putting the Raiders back into muck of the AFC races. The Raiders will be playing for their playoff lives on the road against a division rival. Not the greatest of situations.

If the Raiders lose, they will have to hope many of the 8-7 teams do as well...and probably some of the 7-8 teams. If everyone ends up 8-8...who knows what will happen. Raiders can avoid it all by winning and claiming the division.

Current Wild Card Standings (^ = current 5th and 6th seeds)

NFL Standings - Updated: Jan 1,
AFC WILD CARD RACE	W	L	T
Raiders^	8	7	0
Browns^	8	7	0
Bills	8	7	0
Ravens	8	7	0
Jets	8	7	0
Jaguars	7	8	0
Broncos	7	8	0
Bengals	7	8	0

Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Carolina Panthers
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (8-6)	0	3	3	3	9
Carolina Panthers (9-5)	7	0	7	7	21

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	CAR
Total Offense	301	252
Rushing Yards	47	141
Passing Yards	254	111
First Downs	13	8
Punt Return Yards	45	18
Kick Return Yards	45	22
Total Yards	391	292
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Converstion	6-18 (33%)	5-14 (35%)
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/1 (50%)	2/0 (100%)
Penalties	13-121	7-65
Posession Time	26:20	33:40

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Terrelle Pryor 21/41 (47%) 267 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Chris Ivory 21 42 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 8 104 13.0 0 Darius Heyward-Bey 4 59 14.8 0 Chris Ivory 4 40 10.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Philip Wheeler 9 0 0 0 Rolando McClain 6 1 0 0 Michael Huff 6 0 0 0 Mike Mitchell 6 0 0 0 Vic So'oto 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 3/3 60 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 5 216 43.2 0

Carolina Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Cam Newton 14/21 (67%) 121 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ryan Grant 26 120 4.6 2 Cam Newton 6 21 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Mike Tolbert 7 56 8.0 0 Greg Olson 2 27 13.5 0 Steve Smith 2 4 2.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Thomas Davis 8 0 0 0 Jordan Senn 6 0 0 0 Charles Godfrey 6 0 0 0 Thomas Keiser 6 1 0 0 Luke Kuechly 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Nate Kaeding 0/1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Daniel Sepulveda 6 240 40.0 1

Notes:
Demorrio Williams returns to action this week...TE Tony Gonzalez passes Cris Carter for career receiving yards...he has 13,901 yards...DT Desmond Bryant will get the start alongside Tommy Kelly on the DL. Seymour will remain at the RE spot and Houston at LE.

[KBLover]

Heyward-Bey Fires Back

All the talk about how Moore is the only one working has caused Darrius Heyward-Bey to come out to say "I'm working, too."

More or less.

"If they want to get rid of me, fine, I'll just show how hard I can work for someone else. If Moore can do it all, let him, but I am out there doing my part, too. I can't catch what's not throw at me, " DHB commented.

The problem is that DHB isn't catching what is thrown to him, which is why he's not getting 'enough' opportunities. What part of this is hard to understand?

Bey has 39 catches on the season - and about as many drops. The drops usually come after it looks like he's secured the catch, but he can't hold on in contact. What's "funny" is that scouts rate both similar in catch-in-traffic, yet Moore has far fewer drops. So what is it about Bey that makes him so much worse?

Whatever it is, the Raiders are tiring of it. Rumors are that he might get sent out, or at least put on the trade block come the offseason and stay there until either he has a catching epiphany or someone takes him off the team's hands, whichever comes first.

There is some "under the breath" resentment about Moore being Pryor's "special target" and how Moore is looked to constantly and almost exclusively. However, there's a reason: he produces. You don't get 1,700 yards by accident. Or by dropping passes.

"I better not hear of it, either directly, overhearing conversations on the practice field or the locker room, or from another player, and damn sure not the media. I'll cut all their ***** if it does. I don't care who it is, " Lyle spoke, "I'm about winning, not high-school backbiting ****. Man up and let's air it out and get it out of the way."

[JaymeeAwesome]

Don't you mean "Moore" or less?

[KBLover]

Hahahaha

[Cre8]

Calling it now... his a** is GONE after this season. Randy Moss style.

[KBLover]

No Help for Pryor, Moore
Moore Sets Record, Pryor Tries to Rally
But Drops Galore Help Raiders Lose 20-3

Perhaps a fitting ending to the season comes in a game where Pryor and Moore try to do it all, and find out they can't do it every week. Pryor did his best, but several drops, including 2 by TE Brandon Myers, both would have kept drives alive, and on a 4th and Goal, may have scored to keep the team in it, underminded anything the team would try to get going.

Even Michael Jenkins dropped passes - and he was signed BECAUSE of his hands. He completely lost track of a deep pass which might have scored a TD and dropped passes where he was open or had a defender near him, but could have still made a catch.

"It's definitely a bad ending, " a dejected Moore spoke in the locker room, "I don't care about the record, I just wanted to make the playoffs for the first time."

Unfortunately for Moore and the Raiders, pretty much all of the 8-7 teams won, ending any hopes for any sideways reach arounds to get into the playoffs.

"Ultimately, we didn't deserve it. We just didn't have enough in the end, and there's a lot of things that need fixing, both in the locker room and with us as the coaches. We need to find the right guys and the right strategy to let them thrive, " Coach Lyle spoke.

Defensively, it wasn't for lack of effort on Mike Mitchell's part. The strong safety played like his hair was on fire, racking up a whopping 16 tackles and a sack.

"Is he telling us we need to explore a 46 defense?" Coach Lyle spoke, "I mean, that's pretty much the role he's embraced all year since starting."

While the Raiders ended up out of the playoffs again, ownership has mentioned that they were very pleased with how Lyle handled the team and he will be back. Fans also seem to like where the team is going.

And there's the single-season record. Denarius Moore got it and it was well-deserved. He finishes the season with 1,859 receiving yards on 118 receptions.

Rolando McClain sort of slowed down in the final weeks, but still picked up 150 tackles to lead the league. He edged out E.J Henderson, MLB for the Titans by 3 tackles.

Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (8-7)	3	0	0	0	3
San Diego Chargers (8-7)	7	7	0	6	20

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	SDG
Total Offense	317	404
Rushing Yards	95	171
Passing Yards	222	233
First Downs	17	17
Punt Return Yards	28	24
Kick Return Yards	59	0
Total Yards	404	428
Turnovers	2	0
3rd Down Converstion	6-18 (33%)	7-18 (38%)
4th Down Conversion	0-3	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/0 (0%)	1/2 (100%)
Penalties	1-5	2-20
Posession Time	28:16	31:44

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Terrelle Pryor 21/48 (53%) 239 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Chris Ivory 21 74 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 8 116 14.5 0 Chris Ivory 4 17 4.3 0 Michael Jenkins 3 42 14.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Mike Mitchell 16 1 0 0 Rolando McClain 8 0 0 0 Michael Huff 6 0 0 0 Tommy Kelly 5 1 0 0 Lamarr Houston 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 1/1 52 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 7 234 33.4 2

San Diego Chargers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Philip Rivers 15/30 (50%) 250 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ryan Mathews 31 134 4.3 1 Ronnie Brown 10 36 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Malcom Floyd 4 61 15.3 0 Antonio Gates 3 62 20.7 0 Ryan Mathews 2 50 25.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Donald Butler 7 0 0 0 Melvin Bullitt 6 0 0 0 Shaun Philips 6 0 0 0 Takeo Spikes 6 1 0 0 Eric Weddle 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Dan Carpenter 2/5 55 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Mike Scifres 5 221 44.2 1

Coaching Moves:
Saints fired Dusty McDonald...Bengals fired Marvin Lewis...Mike McCarthy of Green Bay won Coach of the Year...

Awards:
Rolando McClain came in 3rd for AFC Defensive Player of the Year...Denarius Moore won Best WR...

Raiders Pro-Bowlers:
FB Marcel Reese
WR Denarius Moore
C Stefen Wisniewski
MLB Rolando McClain
FS Michael Huff

[trustandfall]

Great work so far man, keep it up. Fun to read!