Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Divisional Round - Midweek News

No NCAA News.


NFL News:

Seahawks WR Dezrick Johnson scored twice as his team won 45-28.

QB Matt Ryan threw 3 TDs to lead the Jaguars over the Texans.

Saints QB Andy Dalton threw 3 TDs to get past the Bears.

Divisional Round Matchups:

Jaguars @ Broncos
Saints @ Cowboys
Raiders @ Bengals
Seahawks @ Vikings


Raiders News

The Raiders won a tough game at New England and are rewarded with going on the road to face the #1 seed in the AFC, the 12-4 Bengals.

In addition, the Raiders have some important injuries to contend with. The Road to the Superbowl continues to be uphill.

Still, the team's heart and soul is still the defense - and that showed in spades last week. If they continue to fight and find a way, perhaps the Bengals will fall as well.

Raiders Next Game: Raiders (11-5) @ Bengals (12-4)

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
QB	Danny Martens	Out 3 weeks (abdominal tear)
WR	Akia Green	Out 1 week (abdominal tear)
HB	Vincent Matthinson	IR (forearm fracture)

The return of Denarius Moore is offset by the loss of Danny Martens once again. Martens is proving to be somewhat injury prone, something the team will want to keep an eye on.

C.J. Spiller's injury looked serious, but reports are that he will be dressed and playing in the game this week.

The timetable for Martens' return is the Super Bowl, should the team advance that far.


Roster News:

QB Kip Ricketts will get the start this week. He looked very solid last week and the team will likely try a similar approach offensively. Having Moore back should give the rookie QB two reliable targets. Crabtree, who's proven to be very helpful, will be relied on again.

C.J. Spiller will return to the punt return spot.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

An Insane Turnover Fest
15 Combined Turnovers. Raiders Score 2 Defensive
TDs to Turn Tide. Advance 30-12 over Bengals.

"I don't know what that **** was. I have no words. I know we'll be looking for a backup quarterback, that much I know. Both these kids stunk. It was embarrassing. Only saving grace is that their QB sucked equally bad and they had some fumbles, " Lyle spoke.

Kip Ricketts had a nice game in the Wild Card round. Perhaps he got over anxious because he was completely terrible. In fact, he got pulled after three to give Papagianopolus a chance.

At first, it looked like "Big Papa" would be the spark. His 2nd pass of the game went to Denarius Moore for an 80-yard score, Moore's 2nd of the day.

However, he threw two interceptions...in 5 minutes, including one in the end zone.

Luckily, Reshard Watson had his own issues. Tyvon Branch picked him off three times, and Patrick Peterson and J.J. Smoke got one. Watson was more accurate with his passes, but he couldn't find the end zone. Rickets did throw a TD to Moore.

The Bengals had a DB with 3 INTs as well. Veteran corner Terrell Thomas did the deed three times, all against Ricketts, while covering Moore.

The Raiders defense, though, was the difference in scoring. Brandon Madison picked up a Seawood forced fumble and took it the distance for a TD. The other defensive TD came from a Maeweather forced fumble. Tevin Ash grabbed the ball along the sideline, stayed in bounds, and scored.

Devarius Bullock picked up 2 sacks to help keep Watson rattled.

Both running backs had solid days, but both defenses eventually clamped down on the run, seeing as that was the only way the ball was moving for the most part. It didn't help that both Griggs and Caulder left the game with injuries.

"This was just a messed up game, but somehow we win. I don't know - maybe it's a sign that we are destined, " Moore spoke.

It's uncertain who should get the start next week, considering both QBs were bad. Both QBs clearly showed they can not run the Raiders offense. Big Papa lacks a reliable deep ball or any consistency in short passes. Ricketts just lacks consistency in general. Some of the misses by both QBs were terrible for NFL QBs.

Whether it was caused by two psyched up secondaries or three flaked out QBs will be up for some debate. How ever ugly it was, the Raiders' march continues.


Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (11-5)	0	7	9	14	30
Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)	6	3	0	3	12

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	CIN
Total Offense	331	333
Rushing Yards	139	132
Passing Yards	192	201
First Downs	15	19
Punt Return Yards	17	18
Kick Return Yards	71	103
Total Yards	419	454
Turnovers	7	8
3rd Down Converstion	6-19 (31%)	3-11 (27%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/0 (25%)	0/2 (100%)
Penalties	3-20	7-65
Posession Time	25:21	34:39

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kip Ricketts 11/36 (30%) 103 1 4 Patrick Papagianoplous 4/7 (57%) 115 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Bull Griggs 19 118 6.2 0 Julio Caulder 3 14 4.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 5 119 23.8 2 Michael Crabtree 5 58 11.6 0 Karl Kruger 2 31 15.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather (1 FF) 13 0 0 0 Tyvon Branch 10 0 3 0 Lamel Seawood (2 FF) 8 0 0 0 Davarius Bullock 8 2 0 0 J.J. Smoke 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 1/1 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 4 148 37.0 1

Cincinnati Bengals PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Reshard Watson 22/35 (62%) 226 0 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Alfred Morris 33 120 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jacorius Linder 9 73 8.1 0 Silas Olaniyan 6 80 13.3 0 A.J. Green 2 40 20.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Mike Mitchell 9 0 0 0 Usama Young 6 0 0 0 Brandon Browner 6 0 0 0 Victor Butler 3 1 0 0 Allen Bailey 3 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ben Marske 4/4 46 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Allen Whipkey 5 256 51.2 0

[JHeyBraves]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

That was insanity.

Big Papa to the rescue.. err.. kinda.. He can handle the pressure of the big game as long as he has time to find his rhythm first. Do I need to get my Big Papa sign out again?

Besides, it can't be worse than Ricketts. That guy was piece of garbage.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

That was insanity.

Big Papa to the rescue.. err.. kinda.. He can handle the pressure of the big game as long as he has time to find his rhythm first. Do I need to get my Big Papa sign out again?

Besides, it can't be worse than Ricketts. That guy was piece of garbage.

Ricketts, I am disappoint, son.

Garbage indeed. Made Jamarcus Russell look accurate. Janikowski probably could have done better.

I'm thinking it's going to have to be Big Papa...and a big dose of Griggs, even if they stack the box and we have 3-runs-and-punt drives just about all day.

I think coach Lyle will never ever ever whine about any bad days Martens has from now on.

[DoubleRussia]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

What defensive playbook are you using?

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

What defensive playbook are you using?

I use multiple books depending on who's hot/healthy/cold, etc.

For the last game, I used Denver's D. I often use the Bengals, but since I was playing them, I wanted to use another book.

I've also used Baltimore's, Atlanta's, and the 3-4 generic book

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Conference Championship Round - Midweek News


No NCAA Football news.


NFL News:

Cowboys QB Jordan Norwell threw 3 TDs in his team's victory last week.

The Seahawks overcame the Vikings to advance to the NFC Championship Game.

The Broncos emerged victorious in their matchup to advance to the AFC Championship Game.


Conference Championship Matchups:

Raiders @ Broncos
Seahawks @ Cowboys


Raiders News

The Raiders are going to have to put last week behind them and find some kind of way to not make mistakes. The team was extremely fortunate the game was turnover insanity or else they would have been blown out.

The opponent for the Raiders is the rival Broncos, winners of the AFC West. They would love nothing more than to beat the Raiders not only for the division, but for a trip to the Super Bowl as well.

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
QB	Danny Martens	Out 2 weeks (abdominal tear)
HB	Vincent Matthinson	IR (forearm fracture)

IF the Raiders can find a way to win, they know that Martens will return for the Super Bowl. That might be a pretty big IF, considering how the last two games have gone.

At least the WR will be healthy. Both Moore and Green will be there to try to help whomever the Raiders stick at QB.


Roster News:

Patrick Papagianopolus will be the starting QB after another abysmal failure for Ricketts. "Big Papa" may be something of a cult hero and positive community influence, but he is exceptionally raw on the football field. The Raiders are going to have to cull the offense this week unless coach Lyle is willing to roll the dice again.

Green and Moore are the starting tandem again with Crabtree in the slot role. This worked well...but that was with Martens and the threat of the deep ball hanging over defenses.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

More Injuries Leave Raiders With No Firepower
"Big Papa" Plays Well But Veteran Freeman
Exploits Gambling Secondary. Raiders Fall 30-22.

Injuries, injuries, injuries. The Raiders suffered a multitude of injuries in the game, three of which were severe. Moore, Suh, who hardly ever leaves for injuries, and Kruger went down. Hazzard and Maeweather also left but were able to return.

Another problem was the pass rush - there was little of it for the Raiders. No sacks and too few hits on Freeman helped to allow Freeman to find a way back into rhythm. The pass defense is heavily predicated on pass rushing first and foremost - and it didn't materialize.

On the other hand, the secondary had one of those over-aggressive games that resembled the play from earlier in the season. Patrick Peterson was victimized twice for TDs.

On the positive side, the defense did force four turnovers. The problem was the lack of firepower on offense. With a 3rd string QB, missing a major playmaker and a TE that's a threat in the passing game, the only thing the Raiders had left was the run game and the shorter passing game.

Those two things worked well. Bull Griggs answered the call with a 100-yard game. He also had a TD called back on penalties, another thing the Raiders beat themselves with. Julio Caulder also pounded himself in to pick up some first downs as well, and the Raiders controlled the clock. Offense did everything right...except score touchdowns. Made just one turnover, stayed patient, kept Papagianopulos in relatively easy situations, kept the defense fresh with ball control, but no big plays and no TDs.

"It caught up to them. The third game on the road against their third consecutive top-notch team, facing a hot Josh Freeman - it was a tall order already. Then when Moore and Kruger go down and you need two scores without the deep ball late in the game - forget it, " an analyst commented.

The Raiders did extend the game as much as they could. Down 30-19, the defense forced the 3rd fumble from Reggie Bush, which Immanuel Dawn recovered. Papagianopulos then lead a 2-minute drill down to the Broncos' 8 yard line. However, Von Miller came up with a sack and that forced the Raiders to settle for a FG. Still, 30-22, the Raiders had a chance, but the onside kick failed.

The defense didn't have much to do. Maeweather lead with just 6 tackles as the Raiders dominated the time of possession. Unfortunately, they messed up what little work they had to do, outside of the takeaways.

"I'm just mad at myself. I let the guys down, didn't stay in the game plan, " Peterson, the league leader in interceptions, commented, "I tried to get too aggressive, got myself out of position."

The Raiders will have to look to next year and wonder "what if". Were the Raiders too conservative? What if Martens was healthy? The debate over Patrick Peterson will arise again - is his super-aggressive mistakes worth the great plays that also result?


Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (11-5)	0	16	3	3	22
Denver Broncos (12-4)	3	14	0	13	30

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	DEN
Total Offense	404	362
Rushing Yards	157	99
Passing Yards	247	263
First Downs	22	14
Punt Return Yards	14	21
Kick Return Yards	111	125
Total Yards	529	508
Turnovers	1	4
3rd Down Converstion	10/17 (58%)	5-10 (50%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/3 (100%)	1/2 (100%)
Penalties	6-65	0-0
Posession Time	40:30	19:30

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Patrick Papagianopulos 20/37 (54%) 267 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Bull Griggs 25 109 4.4 0 Julio Caulder 12 39 3.3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Akia Green 6 69 11.5 0 Denarius Moore 5 88 17.6 1 Michael Crabtree 3 37 12.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather 6 0 0 0 Lamel Seawood (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 Tyvon Branch 5 0 1 0 Davarius Bullock (1 FF) 4 0 0 0 Bobby Wagner (1 FF, 1 FR) 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 5/5 51 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 3 132 44.0 0

Denver Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Josh Freeman 16/26 (61%) 271 3 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Reggie Bush 17 57 3.4 0 Pierre Thomas 6 15 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Darrius Heyword-Bey 4 69 17.3 2 Eric Derise 3 47 15.7 0 Ravonne Winters 3 42 14.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD William Moore 13 0 0 0 Armond Jones 11 0 0 0 Von Miller 7 1 0 0 Melvin Ingram 5 0 0 0 Rashon Tucker 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Matt Prater 3/3 57 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Britton Colquitt 1 48 48.0 0

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Super Bowl LIII

The Broncos completed the journey and won the Lombardi Trophy with a
convincing 35-17 win over the Seahawks. Josh Freeman again led the way with 407 yards passing in the game.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

2018 Offseason Begins

Stage 1

Retirements:
QB Ben Rothlisberger (Steelers)
WR Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals)


Franchise Tags:

Bills: DE Mario Williams
Browns: OL Joe Thomas
Chiefs: WR Dwayne Bowe
Dolphins: GUESS. Yep, DT Randy Starks

FA Retirees:
WR Josh Cribbs

Contracts News:
Tony Romo rejects the Bills' extension offer.

Comebacks:
CB Asantei Samuel has returned from retirement.


Raiders Contracts:

WR Michael Crabtree rejected the Raiders' offer.
TE Tim Willison signed the Raiders' tender of 1 year @ $850 K

Notable Non-Tenders:

K Sebastian Janikowski
C Sergey Wainwright
HB C.J. Spiller

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Stage 2

Coach Changes:

Patriots hire Jason Brooke as the new head coach.
Packers hire Mike Mularkey as its new head coach.
Falcons hire Mike McCarthy for the head coaching job.
Saints hire Aaron Leary as the new head coach.


Free Agency Begins

QB Wade Schumacher has 9 suckers...teams bidding for his services.
LB Tanner Bailey has a staggering 22 bids.
LT Wade Gasper has 15 bids.
C Sergey Wainwright has 16 bids.


Raiders Offers:
WR Michael Crabtree, 3 yrs, $6 M

[JHeyBraves]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Looks like you had a solid gameplan, but those injuries were brutal.

Is Papa going to stay on or does Lyle dislike the cult following he brings?

LOL at the Dolphins and Randy Starks..again..and again.. Round and round they go. They need to cut the cord already, haha.

[JaymeeAwesome]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Looks like you had a solid gameplan, but those injuries were brutal.

Is Papa going to stay on or does Lyle dislike the cult following he brings?

LOL at the Dolphins and Randy Starks..again..and again.. Round and round they go. They need to cut the cord already, haha.

PAPA

PAPA

PAPA

PAPA

PAPA

PAPA

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Looks like you had a solid gameplan, but those injuries were brutal.

Is Papa going to stay on or does Lyle dislike the cult following he brings?

LOL at the Dolphins and Randy Starks..again..and again.. Round and round they go. They need to cut the cord already, haha.

Papa will probably hang around at least until his contract is up (Ricketts...we'll see). If nothing else, his efforts in relief (two wins, though one was that ugly Divisional game, nearly winning the AFC Championship Game) show he at least can be serviceable.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Stage 4

Retirements:
QB Aaron Rodgers
LB Terrell Suggs
HB Adrian Peterson
DT Vince Wilfork

Notable Signings:
Seahawks: DT Terrance Knighton (5 years, $22.9 M)
Titans: CB Jimmy Smith (5 years, $27 M)


Stage 6

Notable Signings:
Bengals: DE Cameron Jordan (4 years, $15.8 M)
Falcons: WR Torrey Smith (5 years, $35.8 M)
Broncos: WR Jeremy Maclin (5 years, $38.5 M)
Giants: SS LaRon Landry (2 years, $12.6 M)


Stage 7

Notable Signings:

Cardinals: QB Brandon Weeden (1 year, $4.5 M)
Bills: QB Terrelle Pryor (4 years, $21 M)
Ravens: DL Calias Campbell (4 years, $36 M)
Falcons: LB John Lugo (terms not disclosed)
Ravens: QB John Skelton (3 years, $23.4 M)
Redskins: CB Ladarius Webb (6 years, $60.2 M)
Ravens: LB Kevin Burnett (1 year, $5.4 M)
Saints: LB Jonathon Vilma (1 year, $3.4 M)
Ravens: WR Michael Crabtree (terms not disclosed)
Broncos: CB Asante Samuel (terms not disclosed)
Steelers: QB Kyle Orton (terms not disclosed)
Colts: DT Nick Fairley (5 years, $39.6 M)
Chiefs: SS Roman Harper (1 year, $1.9 M)
Jets: HB Ryan Mathews (3 years, $14.6 M)


Raiders News:

Offers have been pouring in about RG Max Justice. Raiders have been telling anyone who inquires that the young guard is not available. He is still penciled in as the starter at left guard. Reports are that teams are trying to pry him away as they see Cale Welch at right guard and feel DePriest is going to be the starter again sooner than later.


Scouting News:

The Draft is right around the corner, and the here's the top targets on the Raiders' board.

1. HB DeRay Ray - Blazing fast, explosive - showed insane 10-yard split time in the Combine. Good vision during position drills. Not a pass catcher, but could be dynamic nonetheless. Concerns about conditioning, however.

2. WR Sam Jackson - Talented wide out that seems to feature quick feet and shifty moves once the ball is in his hands. Long stride makes him deceptively fast. Catches with his hands, but upper body strength and physicality are in question.

3. HB Aerion Boudreaux - Just as fast as Ray, but not as explosive. Better overall football IQ, but not as refined in position drills. Still projects as a quality back

4. DT Manny Smith - Big fellow moves well for his size and plays with leverage at the point of attack. Reads his keys well most of the time and fights to get away from blockers. Not a refined pass rusher, but that could be learned over time while working behind Suh and Dawn.

5. SS Mohammad Mata - Polamalu-type SS that plays more like a small linebacker than a defensive back. Could be a 46 specialist for now while learning coverage. No illusions of being the best prospect ever, but you can project him to be a solid contributor down the line.

6. FS Shyquawn Johnson - In terms of pure athleticism, he's excellent. He got all the times you want from a safety - he's more like a corner in that regard. Okay coverage ability, loses track of things once in a while. Decent man coverage for a safety, something that could give him an edge in making the roster. Hits hard like Seawood, so he'd fit right in.

7. K Jason Kinslow - He's this far down the list, but with Janikowski not signing, he's likely to be targeted if there's a chance to get him. He's projected as a 2nd rounder - but he may not go there. Still, it puts the team in something of a bind. If he does go in the 2nd, he probably won't last until the team's pick, but do you trade up to grab a kicker?

8. OLB Christopher Arollo - To make the LB squad on this team at this point, you need something to make you stand out. Arollo could fill the void left by Tevin Ash succeeding at defensive end - pass rush specialist. His feet are ridiculously quick for a LB and he gets to top speed quickly for a LB as well. He might mature into a zone coverage LB as well. He doesn't tackle as well as you'd like and he's projected to go in the 1st round...unlikely we take him that high, even in what seems to be a weak draft.