Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Caulder and Defense Shine
Schumacher Struggles but Defense
Stifles Chiefs, Raiders Win 16-6

"This is how we play, man. You don't have win it every time. Just take care of the football and give us a chance, " McClain was heard telling Schumacher.

For the most part, Schumacher heeded that advice. He threw on interception on a pass that Ford didn't do much to fight for, but other than that, it was just a regular "off" day, not a terrible all-around bad day.

And, like McClain said, sometimes that is enough. Today was one of those times. The Chiefs and Raiders played their usual hard-hitting running-game dueling injury fest, and the Raiders had enough spunk to pull out the win.

McClain continues his strong start, picking up a sack in this one to go with 10 more tackles. He, Olsen, and Wright seem to be a fine trio as they worked well together to keep the ever-dangerous Chiefs running attack contained. One thing McClain hasn't done any of thus far is forcing fumbles, but his partners had that covered.

Wright's 3rd forced fumble in two games put Jamaal Charles out of the game. Charles was on his way to being his usual dangerous self, but the injury ended his day. This time, the back up did NOT have a field day.

Tim Maggitt, the opposing QB and occasional subject of trade rumors last season, had a decent day, considering that it was a day for the defenses to play. He avoided the turnover, but couldn't put the ball in the end zone either.

Schumacher didn't get any touchdowns either and struggled with his accuracy in the game today. Overall, though, he did manage the game well.

Julio Caulder had his best day in terms of yards per carry, breaking the 5-yards per mark as well as 100 yards rushing. He also scored the game's only touchdown on a 2-yard run off a draw play.

The rest of the scoring game off the foot of Janikowski, including a late drive where Schumacher got the team inside field goal range and took a sack instead of trying to force the pass, perhaps hearing McClain's voice in his head.

Some are wondering if the streakiness of Schumacher is more related to the play calling. Either the rookie or the offensive coaches - or perhaps both parties - are too enamored with the arm strength and are trying to go too vertical. The yards/attempt are up significantly, hanging around 7.0, but some think the team needs to pull back and almost run the same offense Colt McCoy had going.

Regardless, the defense did the job and the offense didn't put them in a bind in the process.

Brandon Lloyd lead the receivers with a more normal 6 receptions for 85 yards. Most of that came when he broke free after catching a slant. That was the big play that got the team in field goal range in the final minutes. Steven Grant got in the act with the passing game, making three catches for 46 yards. With Alfred Morris struggling today - Grant will likely get the chance at #2 HB as well.

Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (2-1)	0	10	0	6	16
Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)	0	3	3	0	6

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	KAN
Total Offense	350	291
Rushing Yards	145	115
Passing Yards	205	176
First Downs	17	15
Punt Return Yards	27	22
Kick Return Yards	60	74
Total Yards	437	387
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	5-13 (38%)	6-14 (42%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/1 (100%)	0/0 (0%)
Penalties
Posession Time	24:36	35:24

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 15/29 (51%) 213 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 22 114 5.2 1 Alfred Morris 9 22 2.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brandon Lloyd 6 86 14.3 0 Steven Grant 3 46 15.3 0 Marcel Reece 3 32 10.7 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Rolando McClain 10 1 0 0 Jake Olsen (1 FF) 7 1 0 0 K.J. Wright (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 Keiwone Walters 4 0 0 0 Tevin Ash 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 3/3 51 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 5 202 40.4 3

Kansas City Chiefs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tim Maggitt 10/18 (55%) 202 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD B.J. Graves 29 74 2.6 0 Jamaal Charles 8 41 5.1 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeremy Shockey 4 53 13.3 0 David Gettis 3 49 16.3 0 Dwayne Bowe 2 92 46.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendrick Lewis 10 0 0 0 Justin Houston 10 0 1 0 Moise Fokou 7 0 0 0 Eric Berry 5 0 0 0 Brandon Flowers 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ryan Succop 2/2 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brett Karn 6 265 44.2 0

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 6 - Midweek News

NCAA Football:

Arizona RE Richard Wayne collected seven sacks in a breakout game.

NFL News:

Reggie Bush will be back in action for the Dolphins this week.

Rams' Kendall Langford will be staying put after signing a 5-year extension.

Chargers signed QB Philip Rivers to a 3-year deal.

CB Jonathan Joseph rejected the Texans' latest offer.

WR Vincent Jackson was the go to receiver in a Bucs' victory this week.

QB Terrelle Pryor led the way for the Eagles in defeating the Cowboys 37-31.

HB Matt Forte fumbled 3 times as the Bears were routed by the Giants 58-21.

The Chiefs will be without Jamaal Charles for a few weeks due to injury.

Panthers HB Willis McGahee will miss a few weeks after suffering an injury.

Awards:
AFC DPoW: LB/DE Dwight Freeney (Colts)
NFC DPoW: LB Brian Rolle (Packers)
AFC OPoW: QB Joe Flacco (Ravens)
NFC OPoW: HB Michael Turner (Falcons)


Raiders News

Transactions:
Raiders released TE Tim Bebout and signed TE Lee Smith. Smith will get the start at TE and likely be called upon mostly as a blocker. Reece will move back to fullback.

LB Miles Burris and DT Vince Wilfork rejected the latest offers made to them by the team.

Injury Report:

WR Denarius Moore is back in action after being cleared by team doctors. He will be #1 WR and Lloyd slides across the field to #2.

Notable Progression:

LB Rolando McClain
STR: 81 to 82

FB Marcel Reece
AWR: 88 to 89

RG Cale Welch
IBL: 87 to 88

LB Jack Olsen
ZCV: 84 to 85

CB Paris Cooper
AWR: 84 to 85

HB Julio Caulder
AWR: 80 to 81


Scouting:

DE Richard Wayne is probably drawing a lot of attention after his seven sack game. However, from what the team has seen in general, they are not rating the kid highly just yet - and the overall consensus seems cautious as well, marking him as a third rounder.

The Raiders seem to like their linemen big. DT Brandon Young from Austin Peay is BIG. Gilbert Brown big. He grades out about the same - high Strength, will wrap you up if he gets to you, but seems to just occupy space, but not be a dynamic force.

Intrigued by maybe finding a draftable OLB that doesn't stink, the Raiders looked more at Davarius Bullock. His explosiveness off the line seems consistent and unquestioned, and his injury record has little more than a few minor scrapes on it. He also flat out destroys ball carriers when he can square up on them. Only concern might conditioning, and his overall physical strength. Could he be able to get away from blockers at the NFL?

MLB Dan Dugan got a look over, and the team thinks he's the real deal. Only disappointing thing might be his lack of cover skills. While most LBs aren't great at coverage, he seems completely lost. Conditioning is a concern as well. Otherwise, he looks like a well-rounded linebacker.

WR C.J. Glass doesn't look like a solid WR at the NFL level, but he might be a good candidate for return specialist. He's projected in the middle rounds, so hard to tell if he's a worthwhile target or not at this point. Glass is blazing fast with the acceleration to go with it and is a natural in the return game.

TE Karl Kruger got more of a look, and he looks to be a very athletic tight end. He has a quick first step and is fast in and out of cuts. He's 6' 7" and has an excellent leaping ability. This could make him a nice red zone target. The problem? He's a terrible blocker, according to scouts. However, at a 7th round projection, the team would certainly spend a lower round pick on him - perhaps even a mid-round pick, given the team's struggles with finding a good TE.

Scouts got around to looking at tape on HB Mark Wood. They specifically wanted to see this so-called ability to run over ball carriers. They were not disappointed. "This guy reminds me of Alstott at his prime, the way he just put his head down and charged ahead and dared anyone to stop him, " one scout spoke. They have a 95 grade on his trucking ability at this point. He does seem to have a slow ramp up time to get to his top speed. This could be a problem with the speed of the NFL and how fast defenses are.



Roster Moves:

C Sergey Wainwright will get the start over Stefen Wisniewski, who's been on a bit of a slow start.

HB Steven Grant will get the call at #2 HB as he tries to regain his usual place in the depth chart.

DT Jordan McCown will get the start alongside Vince Wilfork. The team is going with the beef on the defensive line as Walters, McCown, and Wilfork are all rated with at least 90 Strength according to league scouts...and Houston is no lightweight at 88 Strength.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Moore Stars in Shootout With 'Skins
Griffin Dominant, but Not Enough to
Overcome Moore, Running Game. Raiders Win 41-24

It's almost enough to wish Moore would get hurt more often. He had one of those extraordinary days that carries the team with him.

Schumacher was on one of his good days as he connected with Moore for 3 touchdown receptions, all of them involving hitting the talented receiver on shorter routes and Moore finding room to do the rest on long runs after the catch.

Of Moore's 232 yards on the day, 146 came after the catch. Meanwhile, RG3 was doing his thing, mostly through the air. He hit four of his receivers for at least 5 catches each with Mike Williams having the big day for the Redskins, picking up 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. Roddy White picked up 100 yards and a touchdown. But, even combined, that just matched Moore.

Both quarterbacks were firing bullets in the game. Each dueled the other to 128 quarterback ratings, 3 TDs and both threw 1 INT. Schumacher's came on a bomb to Moore that may have been just slightly underthrown as Moore looked like he had a step. The rookie QB did show off his cannon, though, considering the ball went 65 yards through the air.

Griffin's pick came via Brandon Madison cutting off a pass on one of the few times the pass rush got to the quarterback. Of the two, Griffin had the dominating completion percentage, completing 15 in a row at one point, and won the yardage battle with 360 yards passing.

It might seem strange to say something like that considering the team was credited with 6 sacks (four by Wilfork) but all but one of those came on failed scramble attempts.

In general, though, the defense looked slow in this game. Even McClain just seemed "off" all game long. Perhaps it was having to worry about RG3 running or maybe it was the constant passing making the Raiders have to run all over the field.

Fortunately for the Raiders, the running game was not slow. Caulder continued his hot start with another strong day, picking up 155 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Steven Grant was effective in this one, picking up 59 yards on 12 carries. Ultimately, this helped make the difference, giving the Raiders chances on field goals - and the Redskins offense on the bench.

While the defense will need to lick its wounds and wonder if it's another repeat of the bad pass coverage, especially with the loss of Carillon, the Raiders as a whole are 4-1 to begin the year, with the offense doing a lot to help the cause.

"He's going to have a few stinkers - last year he did and still had 150 tackles, " one analyst spoke about McClain, "I don't think anyone has anything to worry about. Besides, Wright and Olsen can and should pick up some slack, too."

Box score:

Oakland Raiders at Washington Redskins
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (3-1)	14	9	8	10	41
Washington Redskins (2-2)	3	14	0	7	24

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	WAS
Total Offense	511	468
Rushing Yards	214	131
Passing Yards	297	337
First Downs	20	22
Punt Return Yards	28	0
Kick Return Yards	78	124
Total Yards	617	592
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Converstion	9-13 (69%)	5-12 (41%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/0	2/1
Penalties
Posession Time	30:48	29:12

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 15/24 (62%) 299 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 28 155 5.5 1 Steven Grant 12 59 4.9 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 7 232 33.1 3 Brandon Lloyd 4 60 15.0 0 Julio Caudler 2 5 2.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD K.J. Wright 8 0 0 0 Vince Wilfork 7 4 0 0 Paris Cooper 6 0 0 0 Rolando McClain 5 0 0 0 Brandon Madison 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 4/5 46 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 0 0 0.0 0

Washington Redskins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Robert Griffin III 28/35 (80%) 369 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stevan Ridley 15 58 4.8 0 Robert Griffin III 7 52 7.4 0 Isaac Redmond 8 20 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Roddy White 6 107 17.8 1 Pierre Garcon 6 51 8.5 0 Mike Williams 5 123 24.6 2 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Brian Orakpo (1 FF) 9 0 0 0 Glover Quinn Jr 8 0 0 0 Ryan Kerrigan 5 0 0 0 Josh Wilson 5 0 0 0 Taylor Mays 4 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Blair Walsh 1/1 28 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Daniel Sepulveda 4 185 46.3 0

[Cre8]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Wow! Defense = Optional... lol

[Balrog]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Looks like you are on a roll! Keep up the good work. I smell playoffs.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 7 - Midweek News

NCAA Football News:

Kentucky QB Ronald Dundson struggled badly this week, throwing three interceptions.


NFL News:

Awards:
NFC DPoW: LB Brian Rolle (Packers)
AFC DPoW: DT Vince Wilfork (Raiders)
NFC OPoW: QB Robert Griffin III (Redskins)
AFC OPoW: WR Denarius Moore (Raiders)

DeMarco Murray ran hard for the Packers en route to a 57-6 drubbing of the Lions.

Denarius Moore appreciated being the go to guy in his team's win over the Redskins.

Lions will get Ben Tate back on the field this week.

QB Eli Manning reaches 9th place on the all-time Touchdowns list.

HB Maurice Jones-Drew continues moving up the all-time rushing TD charts.

Chiefs fell to the Bengals in a bad home loss, 45-20.


Raiders News

NFL Standings - Updated: Week 7
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Raiders	4	1	0	160	97
Chargers	3	3	0	128	142
Broncos	2	4	0	157	166
Chiefs	1	4	0	117	145

Next Game: Texans (3-3) @ Raiders (4-1)

Transactions:

The Raiders and DT Vince Wilfork continue to be at odds in their contract negotiations. Wilfork reportedly turned down $6.25 M per year for 5 years. Some wonder if the team will make any more efforts after $31.25 M wasn't considered enough.


Roster News:

Whether it was coincidence that Caulder had his best rushing day of the year (5.5 y/a) last when on C Sergey Wainwright's first start or not will be seen as the rookie center will start again this week.

Steven Grant remains the #2 HB.

The poor play by cornerback Patrick Peterson has been a concern. He hasn't made a difference in the secondary so far. This is leading to questions about the array of young corners in general, given that Peterson is the elder statesman of the unit...at 25 years old...


Notable Progression:

DE Keiwone Walters
High Motor: No to Yes

DT Vince Wilfork
POW: 78 to 80

LT Jared Veldheer
PBK: 83 to 84

LG Aaryn DePriest
AWR: 85 to 86

DE Lamarr Houston
FMV: 72 to 74

HB Julio Caulder
CAR: 84 to 85

RT Jeff Otah
STA: 77 to 79

QB Wade Schumacher
AWR: 77 to 78

C Sergey Wainwright
PBK: 80 to 81

CB Patrick Peterson
PRC: 74 to 75

[Cre8]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Forget Wilfork! That guy is turning down a monster deal considering his age. Go after Conner Murphy or something. Does he match your scheme?

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Yeah, he's a NT type and I run a hybrid defense and use a NT type defensive tackle for DT #1 in either case.

That said, I'm not adverse to letting him go. I traded for Jordan McCown and have Keon Howard as young prospects at DT (McCown has the STR to be a NT type, just needs AWR and/or BSH) and can keep scouting for DTs as well.

Connor Murphy is nearly a top 10 projection (13th overall) right now - not sure I want to trade up unless he's like Suh part 2. I haven't scouted him yet as I wasn't intending on DL in the first round.

I'll probably scout the 2nd and 3rd round DT kids next week.

[RogueHominid]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Changing O playbook to Vermeil. Never used this book. I'll be learning along with my rook QB

Great move for a classic Raiders offense. No Gun, but most plays feature a first-look deep concept, followed by intermediate and short progressions. I loved that book when I used it.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

McClain Takes Control
Rolando McClain Creates Two Turnovers Which
Lead to 14 Points in Tough, Defensive 17-10 Win.

If you liked offense, you turned the TV from this game. Or, if you had NFL Redzone, you wouldn't see this one in the quad box very often. There wasn't much in the way of red zones or offense in general.

But there were points. At first, just 3 - a Janikowski field goal. After that, Rolando McClain snatched a short pass that was heading to Andre Johnson. Skelton was hurried by Walters and had to throw it before he saw Johnson clear McClain's zone. McClain picked it off and headed to the open sideline for a 66-yard interception return. For a while, it would be the only touchdown in the game.

But then the Texans' defense struck. They forced a Caulder fumble on a hit by Brian Cushing. Brooks Reed scampered for the football and beat the Raiders to it. In the process, he also beat any would be pursuit and ran it in for a defensive TD for the Texans.

That Janikowski field goal remained the only difference. The Texans found themselves driving in the 4th quarter. Skelton found a little rhythm and moved the ball deep into Oakland territory. One of the few red zone opportunities in the game.

That is when McClain made his second big play of the game. He smacked the fullback Erik Lorig on an attempted quick-hitter fullback dive play. The ball got jarred loose, and Keiwone Walters jumped on the fumble. No one was getting his bulk off the ball. Raiders' recovery.

McClain lands Texas-sized hit on fullback Erik Lorig, causing
a key fumble to thwart the Texans' drive.

Then Schumacher got his rhythm going. Caulder, contained most of the day and mad as fire about fumbling twice in the game (he had a previous fumble at the hands of J.J. Watt). The scoreboard said what everyone in the stadium was thinking. IIIIIIIIIIIT'S CAULDER TIIIIIIIME!!

Caulder, psyching both himself and the fans up, raised his arms up to get the crowd going as he ran onto the field.

Then he ran mad. Pushing aside tacklers and refusing to go down, he fought forward for hard yards. Steven Grant came in and worked the old inside power, outside speed combo this running game has down pat successfully. This, combined with Brandon Lloyd making some tough catches (Moore left with a concussion), got the ball into the red zone for the Raiders. Schumacher hit fellow rookie Darryl Beatty on a crossing route and Beatty found some space and powered into the end zone.

This put the Raiders up 17-7 in the 4th quarter. The Texans did not quit, however. Skelton moved the ball back down the field and ended up picking up a field goal.

At 17-10 and little over a minute to go in the game, the Texans tried an onside kick that came VERY close to succeeding. Beatty, who made that touchdown, nearly made a costly play, letting the onside kick bounce off his shin. He tried to get on the ball as two Texans were closing in. Ford was able to sneak in and secure the ball just in time.

Ford scrambles in to secure the loose ball just
before the Texans converge.

The Raiders, though, couldn't get that one more first down. The Texans were looking run and Lyle wasn't about to expose his rookie QB to what would likely be intense pressure, risking a mistake. The Texans used up their timeouts and had one last gasp when they got the ball back. However, nothing came of it and the Raiders claimed their 4th straight win.

"We just kept fighting. We wanted it. It was a physical game. You know they are going to pound Arian [Foster] as best they can, but we stopped that. You know they are going to pound you with their defense, and our guys held up. They gave it all they had, we had just a little bit more than they did today, " McClain spoke to the field reporter.

When asked about his big day defensively (11 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 TD), Rolando replied, "I just do what I'm told. Coach puts a lot on me as the leader of the defense, gives me a lot of responsibility out there, and I just did what a leader does. Anyone else on this team could have and would have done it if they were in my shoes. I'm just glad I could step up to the challenge and help protect the house."


Box score:

Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Houston Texans (3-3)	0	0	7	3	10
Oakland Raiders (4-1)	3	7	0	7	17

Team Stats Comparison
	HOU	OAK
Total Offense	204	282
Rushing Yards	31	133
Passing Yards	173	149
First Downs	12	17
Punt Return Yards	2	72
Kick Return Yards	67	28
Total Yards	273	382
Turnovers	2	3
3rd Down Converstion	3-15 (20%)	10-21 (47%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/0 (100%)	1/1 (100%)
Penalties
Posession Time	22:56	37:04

Houston Texans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT John Skelton 16/36 (44%) 195 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Arian Foster 22 30 1.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Owen Daniels 6 56 9.3 0 Jerome Simpson 4 71 17.8 0 Andre Johnson 2 25 12.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Nick Fairley 9 0 0 0 Rahim Moore 7 0 1 0 Brian Cushing (1 FF, 1 FR) 7 0 0 0 Daniel Manning 7 1 0 0 J.J. Watt (1 FF) 5 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Nick Folk 1/1 36 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Donnie Jones 10 501 50.1 1

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 18/32 (56%) 168 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 28 86 3.1 0 Steven Grant 10 48 4.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brandon Lloyd 6 68 11.3 0 Julio Caulder 3 5 1.7 0 Darryl Beatty 2 19 9.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Rolando McClain (1 FF) 11 0 1 1 Vince Wilfork 6 1 0 0 K.J. Wright 4 0 0 0 Fred Marshall 4 0 0 0 Lamarr Houston 3 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 1/2 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 7 282 40.3 0

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 8 - Midweek News

NCAA Football News:

QB Jack Kane (Iowa) is getting distracted? Perhaps, considering he's lost his second game in a row and is not playing as well as he should.


NFL News:

LB Von Miller is ready to return to action for the Broncos.

QB Eli Manning signed a 4-year $77.7 M extension with the Giants.

TE Antonio Gates signs a 6-year, $39.8 M extension with the Chargers.

Awards:

NFC DPoW: LB O'Brien Schoefield (Cardinals)
AFC DPoW: LB Rolando McClain (Raiders)
NFC OPoW: WR Randall Cobb (Lions) Grrrrrrr...............

AFC OPoW: QB Jake Locker (Bengals)

Raiders defense sacked John Skelton 4 times in a 17-10 win.


Raiders News:

NFL Standings - Updated: Week 8
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Raiders	5	1	0	177	107
Chargers	3	4	0	158	176
Broncos	2	4	0	157	166
Chiefs	2	4	0	151	175

The division does not look strong this year...what happened? This was the toughest division in football last season...

Next Game: Raiders (5-1) @ Eagles (4-3)
Raiders have won 4 straight and the defense could be psyched up after their last game...Eagles have lost two straight and might be shaken up...Still, there's almost never an easy game in the NFL...


Injury Report:

WR D'Andre Ware is back to action this week. Will be interesting to see if the Moore/Lloyd/Ware trio can make something happen.

WR Brad Smith is out four weeks with a dislocated elbow.


Roster News:

HB Alfred Morris wanted to try returning kicks, but the team, for now, will go with rookie WR C.J. Gortman. On punt returns, WR Jacoby Ford will take charge.

WR D'Andre Ware becomes the #2 WR while the team will try to utilize Brandon Lloyd from the slot. WR Darryl Beatty slides down to #4.

Tevin Ash takes the starter role at ROLB this weak, moving K.J Wright to LOLB and Olsen will come in as a second ILB in 3-4 looks as well as in certain situations as Lyle wants to consider moving McClain around in some formations to try to create some mismatches with his star linebacker.

"I'd like to get more out of him than just tackles, not that I don't want him getting 10 tackles every game, " Lyle commented, "I just want to see if we can't get even more dynamic plays out of him, like we did last week."


Notable Progression:

WR Denarius Moore
INJ: 83 to 84

LB Tevin Ash
FMV: 88 to 89

LB K.J. Wright
AWR: 78 to 80

RG Cale Welch
AWR: 87 to 88

CB Brandon Madison
AWR: 53 to 55

LG Aaryn DePriest
PBK: 84 to 85


Scouting:

We do believe we have found our Wilfork replacement. DT Immanuel Dawn (Oklahoma) features a large frame...and he knows how to use it. He grades out at 96 STR with how he just pushes piles on tape. When it comes to getting after the quarterback, he's strong there, too. Team scouts put him at around 90 for his raw power in pushing the pocket. He's not afraid to wrap up and tackle some ball carriers and will fight to get off blocks as well. The only issue - high 2nd round projection - which means other teams low in the order might consider him in the first round as well...

If Dawn doesn't come to Oakland, perhaps DaRick White (Iowa St.) makes for a good alternative. Aside from the crazy name, he's not as strong or dynamic as Dawn, but he is a solid looking prospect and about as well-rounded, technique-wise. He's currently projected late-3rd round, so a more reachable target.

[BraedenG33]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 8 - Midweek News

NCAA Football News:

QB Jack Kane (Iowa) is getting distracted? Perhaps, considering he's lost his second game in a row and is not playing as well as he should.


NFL News:

LB Von Miller is ready to return to action for the Broncos.

QB Eli Manning signed a 4-year $77.7 M extension with the Giants.

TE Antonio Gates signs a 6-year, $39.8 M extension with the Chargers.

Awards:

NFC DPoW: LB O'Brien Schoefield (Cardinals)
AFC DPoW: LB Rolando McClain (Raiders)
NFC OPoW: WR Randall Cobb (Lions) Grrrrrrr...............

AFC OPoW: QB Jake Locker (Bengals)

Raiders defense sacked John Skelton 4 times in a 17-10 win.


Raiders News:

NFL Standings - Updated: Week 8
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Raiders	5	1	0	177	107
Chargers	3	4	0	158	176
Broncos	2	4	0	157	166
Chiefs	2	4	0	151	175

The division does not look strong this year...what happened? This was the toughest division in football last season...

Next Game: Raiders (5-1) @ Eagles (4-3)
Raiders have won 4 straight and the defense could be psyched up after their last game...Eagles have lost two straight and might be shaken up...Still, there's almost never an easy game in the NFL...


Injury Report:

WR D'Andre Ware is back to action this week. Will be interesting to see if the Moore/Lloyd/Ware trio can make something happen.

WR Brad Smith is out four weeks with a dislocated elbow.


Roster News:

HB Alfred Morris wanted to try returning kicks, but the team, for now, will go with rookie WR C.J. Gortman. On punt returns, WR Jacoby Ford will take charge.

WR D'Andre Ware becomes the #2 WR while the team will try to utilize Brandon Lloyd from the slot. WR Darryl Beatty slides down to #4.

Tevin Ash takes the starter role at ROLB this weak, moving K.J Wright to LOLB and Olsen will come in as a second ILB in 3-4 looks as well as in certain situations as Lyle wants to consider moving McClain around in some formations to try to create some mismatches with his star linebacker.

"I'd like to get more out of him than just tackles, not that I don't want him getting 10 tackles every game, " Lyle commented, "I just want to see if we can't get even more dynamic plays out of him, like we did last week."


Notable Progression:

WR Denarius Moore
INJ: 83 to 84

LB Tevin Ash
FMV: 88 to 89

LB K.J. Wright
AWR: 78 to 80

RG Cale Welch
AWR: 87 to 88

CB Brandon Madison
AWR: 53 to 55

LG Aaryn DePriest
PBK: 84 to 85


Scouting:

We do believe we have found our Wilfork replacement. DT Immanuel Dawn (Oklahoma) features a large frame...and he knows how to use it. He grades out at 96 STR with how he just pushes piles on tape. When it comes to getting after the quarterback, he's strong there, too. Team scouts put him at around 90 for his raw power in pushing the pocket. He's not afraid to wrap up and tackle some ball carriers and will fight to get off blocks as well. The only issue - high 2nd round projection - which means other teams low in the order might consider him in the first round as well...

If Dawn doesn't come to Oakland, perhaps DaRick White (Iowa St.) makes for a good alternative. Aside from the crazy name, he's not as strong or dynamic as Dawn, but he is a solid looking prospect and about as well-rounded, technique-wise. He's currently projected late-3rd round, so a more reachable target.

If you make the playoffs then you should trade down to the top of second round unless you make the super bowl again in which case you should draft him with your first pick and also what is his HT/WT.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Rare Error by Moore Costly
Moore Fumble in Overtime Sets Up
Eagles For Win, 26-23

Denarius Moore had just got done tying the game. Schumacher was off-target much of the day, but he led a complete drive down the field for the tying touchdown, hitting Moore for the score.

The defense contained the Eagles and the teams headed to overtime. Raiders won the toss.

Schumacher found Moore with a pass, and LB Mychal Kendricks, who played an excellent game, made the one big play that would decide the contest. Schumacher tackled the fumble returner to prevent the outright touchdown, but the Eagles were set up for an easy FG and there was no doubt about it.

Moore laid dejected on the field for so long, the team thought he was hurt.

Prior to that OT period, a competitive and exciting game took place. C.J. Gortman had a 100+ yard kick off return to get the struggling Raiders on the board. Tevin Ash picked up a safety, which accounted for nearly as many points as the offense had generated to that point.

The pass rush, including McClain playing defensive end, got to Pryor, forcing him to throw two INTs (both on McClain rushes) while Lamarr Houston, perhaps not wanting to be outdone, harassed the QB as well.

The one thing that didn't work well was Schumacher. He threw a forced pass to Moore, which got intercepted, and other than that just had no consistency in the game.

Julio Caulder was held out of the end zone, but still had a productive day. Moore had 110 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Pryor, for his part, was aggressive all day, even in the face of the pass rush. He wasn't particularly consistent either, but he racked up the passing yardage.

The pass coverage was better in general, and Patrick Peterson got his first interception of the season (Madison got his second).

Moving McClain around had mixed results. He still led the team in tackles - which either says a lot about him...or everyone else. He came close to three sacks, including running Pryor into Ash for the safety. He nearly had another interception, but couldn't quite grab this one.

The defense contained McCoy, but the deep aggression by Pryor gave the coverage fits, letting the former Raider put up 299 yards.

Still, in the end, it came down to one mistake by the team's best offensive player.

"I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that I let something like that happen in overtime. It's just something I know not to do, I had the ball covered, but I didn't protect it well enough from the hit itself, " Moore spoke.

The loss snapped the Raiders' 4-game win steak and puts the Raiders at 5-2 on the season.


Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (5-1)	3	5	8	7	0	23
Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)	3	7	3	10	3	26

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	PHI
Total Offense	274	352
Rushing Yards	101	91
Passing Yards	173	261
First Downs	15	15
Punt Return Yards	21	14
Kick Return Yards	247	88
Total Yards	542	454
Turnovers	3	2
3rd Down Converstion	4-14 (28%)	5-14 (35%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/1 (100%)	2/2 (100%)
Penalties
Posession Time	30:31	33:43

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 19/36 (52%) 182 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 23 80 3.5 0 Steven Grant 7 21 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 9 134 14.9 1 D'Andre Ware 3 24 8.0 0 Steven Grant 2 5 2.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Rolando McClain 9 0 0 0 Jake Olsen (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 Tevin Ash (1 SFTY) 6 2 0 0 Brandon Madison 5 0 1 0 Lamarr Houston 4 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 2/2 55 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 8 300 37.5 6 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C.J. Gortman 7 239 34.1 1

Philadelphia Eagles PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Terrelle Pryor 17/31 (54%) 299 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Lesean McCoy 29 68 2.3 0 Terrelle Pryor 3 23 7.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brent Celek 5 64 12.8 1 Mike Sims-Walker 5 97 19.4 0 Titus Young, Sr 3 85 28.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Mychal Kendricks (1 FF) 10 0 0 0 James Gbor 7 0 0 0 Nnamdi Asmougha 6 0 0 0 Cale Miller 5 0 0 0 Oshiomogho Atogwe 4 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jay Feely 4/4 55 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Lincoln Anderson 5 230 46.0 1

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 9 - Midweek News


NCAA Football:

Georgia HB Gary Pruitt's injuries are start to mount up...and concern scouts league-wide.


NFL News:

Chiefs HB Jamaal Charles is ready to play in this week's game.

Pro Bowl voting has begun.


Awards:
NFC DPoW: DB Janoris Jenkins (Rams)
AFC DPoW: DL Kalen Day (Steelers)
NFC OPoW: HB Matt Forte (Bears)
AFC OPoW: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Bills)

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald is expected to miss some time with an injury.

Cardinals HB Legarrette Blount is expected to miss games with his injury.



Raiders News:

NFL Standings - Updated: Jan 1,
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Raiders	5	2	0	200	133
Chargers	4	4	0	171	185
Broncos	3	4	0	188	188
Chiefs	2	5	0	173	206

Raiders' loss allows the Chargers and Broncos to pick up a game. Still in control, but the team needs to get some aspects going before the lead slips away.

Next Game: Chiefs (2-5) @ Raiders (5-2)


Notable Progression:

LB Rolando McClain
MCV: 65 to 68

LB Tevin Ash
STR: 78 to 79

HB Julio Caulder
AWR: 81 to 83

WR Denarius Moore
CAR: 72 to 74

SS Tyvon Branch
PRC: 85 to 86

CB Paris Cooper
AWR: 85 to 86

CB Patrick Peterson
PRC: 75 to 76


Roster News:

Mike Mitchell will get the start at free safety this week.

Rolando McClain is back to his usual middle linebacker position. Lyle indicated that he may still get aggressive with using his middle linebacker on blitzes.

Alfredo Morris gets another turn as #2 half back.

Gortman will handle both kick and punt returns this week on the heels of his 100-yard return last week.


Scouting:

Texas Tech HB Terrence Smith might draw attention in the later part of the draft for his raw speed and acceleration. He also has a knack for kick returns and has a good foundation for taking care of the football. That could get him on the team's radar. Expected to go in the 5th round.

Baylor LT Aaron Crumley looks interesting on the first look at his tape. He seems to enjoy pushing around defenders when run blocking and holds up well against most types of rushers in pass protection. Currently listed as a late-3rd rounder.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Another OT Contest
This Time, Raiders Get the Takeaway
and Kick 50-yd FG for 34-31 Win.

This game was a back and forth contest that had both offense and defense rising and falling.

At first, it looked like a high scoring affair was in the making. The Raiders got a pick-six from Patrick Peterson, his second INT in two games. They then picked up a TD to Denarius Moore to get 14 in the first quarter.

Then the defenses showed up, forcing turnovers and shutting down drives off those turnovers. Chiefs managed a TD on a Maggitt-to-Baldwin connection in the second quarter. This made the score 14-10 at the half.

Defenses continued to be in control through the 3rd quarter. The Chiefs were threatening after Schumacher threw his 2nd interception, but then McClain knocked the ball loose from Charles and the Raiders recovered, kicking a field goal as a result to make it 17-10.

Then the scoring and wildness ensued. It wouldn't be Chiefs-Raiders without it. Maggitt threw his second TD pass to David Gettis to knot the game at 17. Things started looking bleak when Schumacher threw interception #3 on a botched screen pass to Glenn Dorsey, who lumbered into the end zone to make it a 24-17 Chiefs lead.

The Raiders were on the move, when injury struck. Denarius Moore went down again with what might be a serious injury. He was able to stagger off the field, but it didn't look good.

At the time, the crowd was in silence, seeming to be prepared for the collapse of what was a budding rally. Instead, Schumacher and the Raiders seemed to play more intensely. Brandon Lloyd got back into the picture and made some tough catches in traffic to get things going again. The running game was there as well - and it was Caulder scoring a TD, not rushing, but this time a successful screen play that caught the Chiefs in a blitz from the opposite side of the formation. This tied the game at 24.

Maggitt then stepped up, as did Charles, looking to atone for his fumble earlier. The Raiders were caught off balance by the mix of runs and passes and Charles was running with determination. He broke 100 yards on the day on this drive, and just barely got the most important one of those yards at the goal line. It was a questionable call as Tevin Ash knocked Charles backwards, looking short of the goal line. However, it was called a TD and not challenged by the booth.

That touchdown was the third in the quarter by the Chiefs, who took a 31-24 lead with under 1 minute left. The Raiders had just one timeout as well as they tried to conserve time on defense.

Schumacher was unfazed, however. He fired strikes to Lloyd to move the ball down the field. Schumacher got the Raiders in the red zone with 16 seconds left, having spent the team's last time out.

The next play, took to the shotgun and snapped the ball. Initially, everyone was covered by the Chiefs' zone defense, looking to protect the end zone. Schumacher had time and slid to his right, looking for someone to uncover, but in position to throw it away legally, if needed.

He saw rookie Darryl Beatty extending his route to the back corner of the end zone and Schumacher fired the pass. Beatty was able to get his feet down with possession for the tying touchdown with 11 seconds left. The booth did challenge this, but it was upheld.

In overtime, the Chiefs won the toss. Of course, they received and picked up a first down to get things started. But then Maggitt got greedy and tried to hit Bowe long. Brandon Madison had trail position with Mitchell covering over the top, and took the chance at an interception. He grabbed the ball just out of the grasp of Bowe for the big takeaway.

It was as good as a punt, however, in terms of field position. The team decided to lean on the running attack, and it worked very well. Caulder and Morris worked together to grind the ball down into field goal range, and were stopped only when Ty Warren made an excellent play to beat Wainwright off the line.

Janikowski came out to try the winning kick and put it through. This time, the Raiders won their overtime contest.

It was another mixed-bag day for Schumacher, but again he came through when it counted.

"He's got a gunslinger mentality, " coach Lyle spoke after the game, "Kid doesn't give up and he just wants another chance to get it done. That kind of spirit makes everyone fight a little harder when the chips are down late in the game. Sure, we'll work with him to help him learn when to take the shot and when to wait for a better time, but right now, we want to keep the game somewhat simple and let him fire away and try to make plays."

So far, it's working as the team is 6-2 and the offense is putting up significant amounts of points. At the team's halfway point, he has 16 TDs vs 12 INTs, not the best ratio, but still a pace for 32 TD passes. He's just out side of 2,000 yards, meaning he may have a chance for a 4,000 yards season as a rookie.

Of course, there's indications that the team wants to get the running game going again in the second half - so these rates may change, but, still, it's a sign of what the Raiders' gunslinger QB can do.

Box Score:

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Kansas City Chiefs (2-5)	3	7	0	21	0	31
Oakland Raiders (5-2)	14	0	3	14	3	34

Team Stats Comparison
	KAN	OAK
Total Offense	347	438
Rushing Yards	112	140
Passing Yards	235	298
First Downs	15	21
Punt Return Yards	0	15
Kick Return Yards	144	131
Total Yards	501	584
Turnovers	3	3
3rd Down Converstion	8	6
4th Down Conversion	0	1
2-Point Conversion	0	0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3/1 (100%)	2/1 (100%)
Penalties
Posession Time	30:27	37:38

Kansas City Chiefs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tim Maggitt 21/36 (58%) 243 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jamaal Charles 31 111 3.6 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeremy Shockey 5 78 15.6 0 Dwayne Bowe 4 65 16.3 0 David Gettis 4 50 12.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Lawrence Guy 8 0 0 0 Justin Houston (1 FF) 7 0 0 0 Eric Berry 6 0 0 0 Kendrick Lewis 5 0 1 0 Mike Jenkins 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ryan Succop 1/1 35 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brett Karn 5 218 43.6 0

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 23/41 (56%) 278 3 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 23 108 4.7 0 Alfred Morris 8 36 4.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 8 130 16.3 1 Julio Caulder 6 25 4.2 1 Brandon Lloyd 5 85 17.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Mike Mitchell 8 0 0 0 Rolando McClain (1 FF) 7 0 0 0 Tevin Ash 7 0 0 0 Brandon Madison 5 0 1 0 Patrick Peterson 4 0 1 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 2/2 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 4 145 36.3 1