Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

[TCrouch]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Vince Young plays so well that he's pulled in the 4th quarter of a 41-6 romp over the 49ers. Young completed 16 of 30 passes for 253 yards and 1 touchdown, compiling a 92.8 rating, before being rested. LaMont Jordan rushed 16 times for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns (my coaching staff practically forced me to start him over Addai...they mentioned it 3 times before I'd listen).

Young has discovered the Moss effect to the tune of 5 catches for 123 yards.. Porter also had 5, but Vince spread the ball around well: 3 for Johnson, 2 each for Gabriel and Anderson. When he gets Klopfenstein back from injury, we'll be that much more potent.

Donte Whitner had a second stellar game, notching 7 tackles (1 for loss). Charles Woodson showed the rook how it's done, picking off old teammate Kerry Collins 3 times in the contest. In a different attempt to bring pressure from the edges, Renaldo Hill notched 2 sacks of KC as well.

My coaching staff better not b*tch this week or I'll fire them all on the spot.

[Blaxican8504]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Raiders! Raiders! Raiders!

[SPTO]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Holy Crap TC made some good moves!

Looks like the Raiders are going to go with a 1-read offense now eh? If it were real owners i'd see Al Davis bitching over that.

[TCrouch]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Raiders 30, Lions 3

Oakland notched another meaningless win over the hapless Lions, despite Vince Young's regression. Young finished with 6 completions on 19 attempts and 117 yards (with 2 interceptions) in his 3rd game. Vince's legs moved the chains time and time again, rushing 12 times for 92 yards, but fumbling three times. It was an overall disappointing day for Young and the passing game.

Joey Harrington didn't fare any better, going 9 for 30 with 85 yards and 2 interceptions. The Lions passing game was never in sync, forcing them into third and long (and punts) more often than not.

The rushing attacks on both sides, however, were dominant. LaMont Jordan for Oakland rushed 19 times for 79 yards and a TD to add to Young's 92 tough yards, and rookie Joseph Addai had 5 carries for 25 yards with a score. Kevin Jones notched 13 rushes for 84 yards, and Bryson added 37 yards on 7 carries.

Defenses against the rush were obviously lacking, but passing defense was stellar. Dexter Jackson of Oakland made 6 tackles and 2 interceptions, running one back to the house to open the scoring in the first period. Kirk Morrison had 6 tackles and a sack, and in a third solid outing, rookie Donte Whitner had 5 tackles and 2 passes defensed.

Lions rookie Kamerion Wimbley led the Lions with 8 tackles, and co-draft pick Michael Huff nabbed 6.

Oakland plays its last preseason game next weekend, in an attempt to finish out the preseason undefeated.

[Easton]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

From your post of your second game, I was starting to doubt my decision of passing on Young in favor of D'Brickashaw, but now, after the Lions game, I'm starting to think that maybe I made the right decision. Cutler is creeping up to becoming the starter over Bledsoe. Bledsoe whines everyday at practice.

[TCrouch]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Raiders 27, Seahawks 14

Vince Young and the starters only played a half, but they made the most of it, jumping out to a 17-7 lead. Young completed 9 of 17 passes for 110 yards in the half, with a beautiful play action TD pass to Jerry Porter, who ran a deep post behind the secondary and high-stepped his way into the end zone. It would be the last action for both players in the game. Young also rushed the ball 6 times for 42 yards and a TD, evolving further into the dual-purpose threat that the Oakland coaching staff envisioned when they drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft.

Rushing would prove to be the team's strength again against the NFC Champs, as they rushed for 163 yards on 39 attempts as a team. LaMont Jordan started the contest, and carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards in the first half. Rookie Joseph Addai came in at the start of the 3rd quarter, and picked up right where Jordan had left off, toting the rock 18 times for 63 yards and a score. The touchdown was dramatic, with the Raiders leading by 3 late in the game. Addai punched it in from the 1 on 4th and goal, breaking Seattle's back.

Jerry Porter was the team's strongest receiver in the final preseason contest, reeling in 5 balls for 72 yards and the touchdown. Danny Clark led the defense with 8 tackles and 2 sacks of Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck, and Charles Woodson contributed with 3 tackles and 3 interceptions. Whenever Hasselbeck looked Woodson's way, he made him pay.

Oakland closes out the preseason undefeated, and the opening day starter at tailback is still undetermined. An announcement will be made this week. Both LaMont Jordan and Joseph Addai made strong cases for themselves, running hard in preseason action.

Stay tuned!

[TCrouch]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

****************START OF THE REGULAR SEASON******************

LaMont Jordan named starter at the tailback position, Young is welcomed to the regular season.


The San Diego Chargers welcomed heralded rookie QB Vince Young to the NFL the only way that teams do; by punishing the kid without mercy. Young was sacked, hit, beaten, and generally abused by the San Diego Chargers from gun to gun on the opening weekend of the NFL regular season.

"I had no idea what to expect", Young said in postgame interviews. "But it wasn't anywhere close to what I got". Young had a decent preseason, but tonight's performance wasn't anything that he'll want to remember soon: 7 completions on 25 attempts for 111 yards. He was sacked 4 times, and hit countless others. He threw 4 interceptions in the game, 2 of which came in the game's closing drives with the contest in the balance.

Trailing 13-3 at halftime, Oakland Raiders Head Coach Terry Crouch went on a rampage, chastising every position one by one. Whether it was barking at the defensive line to penetrate more, or the quarterbacks to open their eyes, nobody was off limits.

The team responded well.

In the second half, the defense got after LaDanian Tomlinson (21 carries for 77 yards and 0 TD's rushing, 1 reception for 63 yards and a score just before halftime), and began applying pressure to first-year starter Phillip Rivers. When Fabian Washington stepped in front of a Rivers pass and ran it to the end zone, he did a front flip in sheer exhilaration...Oakland then led 20-13 late in the third quarter.

But it wasn't over yet.

Coach Crouch brought his prized QB to the sidelines and issued instruction: protect the ball, do not force it, run if you need to, work the center of the field, and burn that clock. How did Young respond?

Interception on the Oakland 25.

San Diego easily capitalized on their wonderful field position, tying the ball game 20-20 midway through the 4th quarter. Again, Young was tutored.

Again, he threw an interception.

San Diego kicked a go-ahead Field Goal to go up 23-20, and the pressure was squarely on Young's shoulders. Attempting to cut the QB loose, the Raider Head Coach told him to just go out and play, withdrawing any earlier attempts to steer him into a train of thought that made him uncomfortable. The results were almost predictable: scramble, fumble, turnover.

San Diego ran the clock down as far as they could, forcing Oakland to burn its time outs, kicking a field goal to go ahead 26-20 with :02 left on the clock. Oakland's sideline slumped, heads dropped. Vince Young could be seen just shaking his head, covered by a towel. Great debut. Players were meandering toward the locker room, the anguish plainly evident on their faces. All that practice, all that effort through training camp and preseason down the tubes.

Somebody forgot to tell that to Troy Edwards.

Edwards scooped up the squib kick, and by the time he gained possession of the ball, time was expired. He cutback, avoiding the first Charger special teamer. He then spun out of the tackle of the next San Diego player, and hurdled a third. He reversed field, running backwards, and then...turned up field. You could sense the excitement building as Edwards had one person left to beat. He raced step for step with the last man back, and blew by him for the winning score. The stadium erupted in cheers and applause as Sebastian Janikowski kicked the winning extra point.

Never count out the Raiders until the final gun has sounded...

Raiders win, Raiders win!!!!

Raiders 27, Chargers 26

Raiders (1-0), 1st place AFC West (tie)
Chargers (0-1), 4th place AFC West (tie)

[bkrich83]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

You beat the Bolts, on squib kick returned for a TD? Yup that does sound like something SD would do.

[Cyros]

Re: Oakland Raiders; Diary of a Puppet

Wooh! Go Black and Silver!