Return of the Raiders: Madden 25 Dynasty

[Noestar]

Raiders slip in the fourth, Vikings sneak away with 10-7 win


(Kyle Rudolph converts a crucial fourth down)

The Oakland Raiders let a close game slip through their fingers as they were defeated in the closing minute of the game against the Minnesota Vikings. The game was an defensive battle as both teams refused to let the other score, the Vikings just happened to score a touchdown when it mattered most. For the second time this year the Raiders have lost to a rookie quarterback, first Bridgewater then Boyd.

The first score of the game went to Denarius Moore who took and crossing route 28 yards into the endzone. Moore has really found his niche in the slot as he is projected to have career highs in both receptions and receiving yards. He had another solid day with 6 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. Moore is said to be close to extending his contract which could be done as soon as after the next game against the Bills.

McGloin was playing a decent game, but he had the chance to win the game and instead he choked. The Raiders got the ball back with a little under a minute left, and McGloin couldn't get his accuracy under control which cost the Raiders the game. He had a wide open Rod Streater which would have put the Raiders into field goal position to send the game into overtime but he under threw the ball, and when you throw an off target ball around a safety like Harrison Smith he's going to pick it off.

The play that won the game for the Vikings was so bad you wanted to rip your hair out. It was fourth and 2 in the redzone and Tahj Boyd had just been hit pretty hard by Tyvon Branch so he was a little shaken up. Boyd played through it like a champ, he hikes it, looks at Patterson, covered, looks at Jennings, covered, looks into the flat, sees a wide open Kyle Rudolph but Tyvon Branch was closing in fast. He tosses it to Rudolph and instead of wrapping up Branch goes for the kill and Rudolph jumps right over him and walks in for the game winning score. It was devastating.

The running game was shut down today, as both Sproles and Andrews gained a combined 62 yards, which wasn't enough to make them a threat. The good news is, both Bishop Sankey and Rashad Jennings come back this week, which means that Sproles will be related to receiving back, and Andrews to the bench.

Key stats:

Matt McGloin QB: 22-35, 187 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions

Darren Sproles HB: 14 rushes, 60 yards

Rod Streater WR: 8 receptions, 58 yards

Denarius Moore WR: 6 receptions, 86 yards, 1 touchdown

D.J. Hayden: 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss,

Kony Ealy DE (R): 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss

Sam Montgomery: 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks

Will Sutton DT (R): 2 tackles

[Noestar]

Manuel for MVP? Bills beat Raiders 22-9


(E.J. Manuel, the Bills' savior)

In his third season in the league E.J. Manuel is being talked about as a possible MVP candidate, and he showed why in his game against the Oakland Raiders. Manuel wasn't asked to do much as the tenacious Buffalo defense was terrorizing Oakland all game. But he still had an incredibly efficient game, throwing 20-25 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders were only able to put up 232 yards of total defense, and when you're playing a team as hot as the 8-2 Bills, you're not going to have any chance.

On the flip side, Matt McGloin had another bad game, McGloin has times where he looks like he can be a decent starting quarterback, but there's times where you really have to question his decision making. He is often not on the same page as his receivers, during the game Streater had an option route which because of the coverage became an out route, McGloin misread the coverage and threw a deep ball, giving Jarius Byrd the easiest interception he's had all year. McGloin other pick was to Kiko Alonso, who is quickly making a name for himself in this league.

The bright spot of this game had to have been the return of Raiders runningback Bishop Sankey. While the Raiders were forced to abandon the run in the second half in order to play catch up, Sankey still produced when he was called on. He was the games leading rusher as he cranked out 84 yards on 16 carries, and broke off a couple big runs when he had the chance, it doesn't look like his ribs are bothering him anymore.

In the midst of a two game losing streak, the Raiders are looking to bounce back next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are having another down year which makes this the perfect opportunity for the Raiders to have a bounce back game. If the defensive line can generate pressure Big Ben is going to have a long day.

Key Stats:

Matt McGloin QB: 15-38, 159 yards, 2 interceptions

Bishop Sankey HB (R): 16 rushes, 84 yards, 4 receptions, 24 yards

Denarius Moore WR: 5 receptions, 59 yards

Jared Veldheer LT: 2 pancakes

D.J. Hayden CB: 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss

Tyvon Branch SS: 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss

Kony Ealy DE (R): 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss

[JakeFromStateFarm]

Quote: Originally Posted by Noestar

It means you haven't posted enough to send private messages. But I'll upload it under my gamertag, "TheBillionz" I can upload it on NCAA 14. Edit: I uploaded it to my locker just so everyone knows. it's under my gamertag and is under 14.

Says you don't have a valid ea locker


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Noestar]

Too much Pryor Power, Raiders comeback against Steelers, win 24-17

After throwing two picks, Matt McGloin was benched by Coach Estrella as the Raiders were down 17-0 at the half. Terrelle Pryor, who had previously fallen out of favor with the Raiders' coaching staff due to mental breakdowns and a tendency to run first was inserted into the game at halftime. Pryor, who hasn't played since the first quarter of the season led the Raiders to 24 straight second half points in order to steal the game from the Steelers. Pryor passed for 74 yards and one touchdown, but that touchdown was in the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Raiders.

This wouldn't have been possible without Bishop Sankey being the Raiders' workhouse on the ground. I his first game back he rushed for 84 yards, while hauling in 4 passes for 24 yards, but he topped it in this game.
Sankey churned out 130 yards on 22 carries and two rushing touchdowns. While McGloin struggled the Raiders fed Sankey the ball, letting the rookie put his team on his back.

The real hero of this game was the defense though, as they limited the Steelers to zero second half points after being trashed by the Bills in the previous game. Led by Nick Roach who is competing with Raiders' strong safety Tyvon Branch as the teams leading tackler, the Raider shut down Leveon Bell and the Steelers running game. Roach finished the day with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and a sack as he terrorized the Steelers' defense all day. Another player who deserves mention is Sam Montgomery, who has been playing so well that Kony Ealy can't take the starting spot away from him. Montgomery was in Big Ben's face all day as he recorded a career high two sacks, and would have had more if Ben wasn't so elusive.

The Raiders move to 5-6 after this game, and go on to face the New England Patriots explosive offense, this will be the perfect test to see how good the Raiders' defense actually is.

Key Stats:

Matt McGloin QB: 134 passing yards, 2 interceptions

Terrelle Pryor QB: 74 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 7 rushes for 42 yards

Bishop Sankey HB (R): 22 rushes for 130 yards, 2 touchdowns

Will Sutton DT (R): 4 tackles, 1 sack

Nick Roach MLB: 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack

Sam Montgomery: 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss

[Noestar]

End if an Era, Raiders beat Patriots 41-31

Tom Brady was taken in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He got his first start when Drew Bledsoe when down after a hit by Jets' linebacker Mo Lewis which caused internal bleeding. That year, he led the Patriots to the playoffs and he met the Oakland Raiders in his first playoff game.

In Brady's first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, he threw for 312 yards and led the Patriots back from a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. A controversial play in that game came when, trailing by three in the fourth quarter, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by fellow Wolverine Charles Woodson. Oakland initially recovered the ball, but, citing the "tuck rule," which states that any forward throwing motion by a quarterback begins a pass even if the quarterback loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body, referee Walt Coleman overturned the call on instant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.

Brady went on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, and the Rams in Superbowl XXXVI. From there Brady went on the appear in five Superbowls, winning three of them.

Why am I telling you this? Because today in the 41-31 loss to the Raiders, Brady's career ended. A game that should have come down to the last minute ended early when Kony Ealy hit Tom Brady and knocked him out of the game. Brady left the game in what appeared to be a fractured arm, and with the rumors going around that this was his last season, he might retire. It's sad to see a legend's career end like that.

Kony Ealy feasted on Patriots right tackle Sebastian Vollmer who was replacing Marcus Cannon, the starter this season. Ealy finished with 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks, the best performance of his young career.

Though the defense gave up 31 points, they stepped up when they needed too. Deone Bucannon the Raiders sixth round pick out of Washington State made the biggest play of the evening. As the Raiders scored a touchdown to put the game at 31-31 he rocked Danny Amendola on a kickoff return, causing a fumble and letting the Raiders score an easy touchdown in the late fourth quarter. Unfortunately on that play Bucannon tore a muscle in his shoulder which may result in his placement onto IR. He's not the only one, as Tracy Porter broke his rib trying to tackle Rob Gronkowski and will also be put on IR.

Terrelle Pryor had a so so game in his first start over Matt McGloin since the beginning of the season, but he made plays when it counted. Pryor was forced to keep pace with Brady, and though he couldn't do it with just his arm, he used his legs too as he threw for two touchdowns and ran for one. His favorite target on the day was rookie tight end Eric Ebron out of North Carolina who had his first two touchdown reception game of his career, which brings his season total up to 4. Bishop Sankey was no slouch though as he racked up his second 100 yard rushing game of the season carrying the ball 26 times for 130 yards and a touchdown.

This bring the Raiders to 6-6 on the year and in first place in the AFC West. Next week the Raiders play the New York Jets, led by the number 2 overall pick Lache Seastrunk, who are also 6-6 and are vying for a wild card spot.

Key Stats:

Terrelle Pryor QB: 18-40, 188 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown

Bishop Sankey HB (R): 26 rushes for 126 yards, 1 touchdown

Eric Ebron TE (R): 5 receptions, 45 yards, 2 touchdowns

Kony Ealy DE (R): 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks

Nick Roach MLB: 5 tackles, 1 interception

Tyvon Branch: 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception

Deone Bucannon: 1 forced fumble

[Noestar]

Raiders beat Jets 33-25, playoff bound?



Darren McFadden fumbles the ball after being hit by Tyvon Branch

Remember Darren McFadden? The runningback out of Arkansas that was supposed to be explosive and add a whole new dimension to the Raiders' running game? Did you ever think you would see him in Jets' green? McFadden was let go after he failed to make an impact after five seasons. McFadden only played 57 out of 80 games, never playing a whole season. During his time with the Raiders he 769 attempts, 3334 yards, with a 4.3 average, and 18 touchdowns.

McFadden and Lache Seastrunk have the potential to be one of the most explosive backfield rotations in the NFL, but today Oakland would have none of it. Lache and McFadden combined for a total of 82 yards, but McFadden would make the biggest mistake of the day. On a a first of goal McFadden took a handoff for a sweep to the right, but Tyvon Branch was all too familiar with his old teammate. Like a heat seeking missile Branch shot into the backfield and hit McFadden so hard that he did a full flip, which caused him to lose the ball. Kaelin Burnett would pick the ball up and run 91 yards led by a convoy into the endzone.

The Raiders must have a curse, because every runningback they have gets hurt. It's been almost a decade since Oakland had a starting runningback that played an entire season. That trend wasn't going to be broken this season as Bishop Sankey was out 5 weeks with an abdominal tear, and his season ended today. Sankey broke his collarbone on a goal line run, and will be out for 7 weeks at the least, so the Raiders' won't see him back in action unless they make the Superbowl... yeah right.
Sankey ends the season as the Raiders' leading rusher with 152 rushes for 734 yards and led the team in rushing touchdowns with 9.

Terrelle Pryor played a magnificent and efficient game, which was enough for the Raiders to pull off the win. When Pryor isn't asked to do too much he can be a great quarterback. Against the Jets Pryor went 15-24 passing for 198 yards and a touchdown. His best ability is his mobility in the pocket which showed today when he turned a broken play into a rushing touchdown.

The Raiders face the Broncos next week which is important for playoff implications. The Raiders currently sit at 7-6, while the Broncos are 6-7. In their last meeting the Broncos took the game handily.

Key Stats:

Terrelle Pryor QB: 189 yards, 15-24, 1 passing touchdown, 8 rushes for 49 yards, 1 rushing TD

Bishop Sankey HB (R): 14 carries, 51 yards, Out with broken collarbone

Denarius Moore WR: 4 receptions, 86 yards

Rod Streater WR: 3 receptions, 22 yards, 1 touchdown

Tyvon Branch SS: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble

Nick Roach MLB: 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 interception

Will Sutton DT (R): 3 tackles

Kony Ealy DE (R): 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss

Kaelin Burnett ROLB: 3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown

[Noestar]

Broncos curb stomp Raiders, win 50-17

At the least the Broncos won one game they were supposed to today huh? The Denver Broncos blew out the Oakland Raiders in their second meeting of the season to complete their sweep. This puts both the Broncos and the Raiders at 7-7 and in a dead heat for the playoffs. With two games left it looks like the Raiders will control their own destiny.

The Raiders defense was helpless against Denver's potent offense, and they weren't catching any lucky breaks either. On one play Raiders free safety Usama Young forced a fumble on Broncos halfback Legarrette Blount, only to have Demaryius Thomas pick up the loose ball and take it 40 yards down the field for a touchdown.

Brock Osweiler had a career day passing for 5 touchdowns, and 454 yards. The surprising thing is, his leading receiver was Blount followed by Julius Thomas. The Raiders have had a lot of trouble covering tight ends and running backs which leads some to believe that they may be looking for linebackers and safeties in this draft.

What really doomed the Raiders was their turnovers, as Rod Streater, Rashad Jennings and Darren Sproles all lost fumbles which led to points scored. With Jennings only gaining 40 yards on 15 plays the defense knew that the pass was coming, especially when the Raiders were down by so much. It's obvious that if the Raiders don't have a consistent running game they aren't much of a threat. Their goal is to keep the other teams' offense off the field seeing as how inept their defense is.

Terrelle Pryor had an off day, but was able to limit his mistake. His big problem is his accuracy, if he sees a defender coming near him it's more than likely he'll miss the throw, or take off and run. Denarius Moore had this best game of his career with 8 catches for 167 yards, with a long touchdown of 80 yards as he was able to weave his way through would be tacklers.

The Raiders play another AFC West game, this time against the Kansas City Chiefs, who in their last game saw their starting quarterback go down. The Chiefs are 5-9, and their last goal is to play spoiler for the Raiders.

Key Stats:

Terrelle Pryor QB: 296 yards, 20-40, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 4 rushes, 32 yards, 1 touchdown

Rashard Jennings HB: 15 carries, 37 yards

Denarius Moore WR: 8 receptions, 167 yards, 1 touchdown

Usama Young FS: 10 tackles, 1 forced fumble

Kevin Burnett: 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack

[Noestar]

Von Miller, an Oakland Raider?

Miller was drafted by the Denver Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was the highest selected linebacker since LaVar Arrington went No. 2 to the Washington Redskins in 2000. He also become the Aggies' highest draft pick since Quentin Coryatt, who was selected second overall in 1992.

In 2011 Von Miller finished his season as the AP Defensive Rookie of the year 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He drew comparisons to former Tampa Bay linebacker and 2014 Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks for his explosiveness off the ball and the impact that he has all over the field. Miller was thought to be a cornerstone of a defense, and with his ability to rush the passer, play the run and cover the three down linebacker was seen as a perennial All-Pro.

Miller's biggest problem is not his talent, but his inability to abide by the league rules, and has had several run ins with the law. In July, 2013, ESPN reported that Von Miller had been suspended six games for violating league policy, pending appeal. Miller tweeted that he did "nothing wrong." In August 2013, he lost the appeal and was suspended for six games. The six game suspension arose after the NFL learned that he attempted to cheat a drug test. After he returned to the field Miller suffered a torn ACL and missed the final games of the season, as well as the Broncos Superbowl run.

Since healing Miller returned to Pro Bowl form, but has decided that he needs to part ways from the Broncos. The Broncos linebacker has since gone a full year of stayed out of the spotlight, and has decided that the only things that he wants public are his highlight plays.

The Raiders have 72 million dollars in cap space for the 2014 offseason, and have shown a lot of interest in Miller. Though the Raiders need to sign Wisnieski, Streater and a plethora of other free agents, it's widely known that they will still have a bundle of cap space left. The Raiders defense which is near the bottom of the league, could use Miller's playmaking abilities if they want to be contending any time soon, and they might have them sooner than later.