Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 16 - Midweek News

No NCAA Football News


NFL News:

Jags HB Maurice Jones-Drew is expected to go for his team this week.

Marvin Lewis and Mike Tomlin are names thrown around to be on the hotseat this week. Rumors are that the Ravens may change coaches as well as they have struggled.

Ravens issues are not the fault of Ray Rice, and he continues up the rushing charts, now 8th all time.

WR Antonio Brown will have to be place on IR.

HB Nathaniel Pennix looks like he's found his system. The Giants power back picked up another 1,000 yard season, his 4th in a row.


Raiders News

Finally. The Broncos blinked and the Raiders clinched the division this week with a 13-1 record.

The loss stopped the Broncos from clinching a wild card spot, but if they win, they should be in. Otherwise, it appears that it would take two losses by the Broncos (10-4) and two wins by either the Bills, Pats or Dolphins (all tied at 8-6 atop the AFC East) for any 'interesting' scenarios to happen regarding the Orange Crush.

The Chiefs and Chargers are likely dead or on life support. If there's a bunch of 8-8 teams (which means the Chiefs and Chargers need to win both their two remaining games), then there's some scenario that might sneak them in. Maybe.

Raiders' Next Game: Broncos (10-4) @ Raiders (13-1)

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LB/DE	Tevin Ash	Out 4 weeks (broken collarbone)

Nothing new to see here, thank goodness.


Roster News:

Patrick Peterson was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week, thanks largely to his defensive touchdown last week.

With the Raiders outright clinching everything except home field throughout (and the team is close on that front with a 2-game lead over #2 seeded Titans), Lyle will have to decide if his starters will start and for how long. The Broncos being next on the schedule doesn't help as you never want to lay down to your rival, even if the game is almost meaningless in the standings. There's also the matter of staying sharp and keeping the intensity high.

The offensive line continues to struggle in pass protections. Swapping Freese in for Veldheer didn't help and Max Justice is starting to get exposed as well. There's not a whole lot of options, though, so Lyle will have to hope his guys can get it together.

Julio Caulder had a very solid start last week and he'll get the call again this week as the #2 HB.

"I'm likely his intensity. For a while there, it looked like Julio [Caulder] was losing his fire, but now, the 'old' Caulder is back it seems, " Lyle commented.

Old - as if a 26 year old can be called that, but this does look more like the back that gave the Raiders its first consistent run attack.

There is one player that will not be starting - Denarius Moore. Lyle has already announced that he's giving the aggressive playmaker at least a week off.

"He throws his body around trying to make great plays and block hard on runs - he needs some time to rest with a lighter load, " Lyle spoke.

Moore will still see field time on occasion as he's listed as #4 wide out this week.


Notable Progression:

LB Kendle Maeweather
PRC: 91 to 92

DT Immanuel Dawn
AGI: 61 to 62

DE Javia General
PRC: 65 to 69

FS Shyquawn Johnson
CTH: 72 to 73

CB J.J. Smoke
CTH: 63 to 64

HB DeRay Ray
JKM: 89 to 90


Scouting News:

Right defensive end seems to be taken care of between Ash and prospect General. However, Jaron Archer from Florida State might be tempting. He's a balanced rusher that's good with both power and finesse tactics and has solid athletic ability. He's got a brain as well as he diagnoses plays well for a college prospect. He's expected to go in the first round, however. So the Raiders might have to trade up and reach a bit if they want him as well as sticking to the expected plan of picking up LB Wilcox in the 1st round.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Sackmaster Lett
Lett Wins Race to 23 and Raiders Starters, Backups
Work Together for 30-7 Win.

Now the Raiders are starting to get some buzz in the media, especially the defense. Of course, breaking the single season sack record set by some guy named Michael Strahan will tend to do that.

"It's just been amazing to be a part of this. I'm just glad I could do it while the team as a whole is kicking *** all year long. Just makes it all the more sweet, " Lett commented after the game.

Evidently, that wasn't enough for Lett. He also picked up a safety on the play.

The play came after Martens, who played the second half in relief of RG3, was somehow picked off by a defensive end. Broncos tried to pound it out from the shadow of their own goal post, but Maeweather was coming on an inside run blitz and blew up the fullback trying to lead block. Maeweather's force also ran into LeShoure, who had to try to redirect himself. By then, both Lett and Hazard were pinching in to finish the running back off. Lett got credit for the tackle and the 2 points.

"That's one way to get a 2-point conversion. There you go, offense. We got ya backs!" Lett was heard saying on the field.

Maeweather lead the team in tackles with "only" 9. He also picked up a sack to give him 22.

"He might have won the race to break the record, but I can still get the lead and end up with the high mark. Maybe I can talk coach into sitting Keithen [Lett] for the final game of the year, " Maeweather joked.

Those 9 tackles basically came in a quarter. That's about all the time the Broncos had the football. Three Broncos racked up 10 tackles, largely because they couldn't stop the Raiders from moving the ball.

Ray is really finding his groove, but he might be out for the final game as he tweaked his ankle on a hit by Von Miller. Still, Ray racked up 7.8 yards per carry as he'll come up just short of 1000 yards if he can't go next week.

Caulder took the rest of the load for the game and promptly put 3 Broncos out of the game.

"I don't like that low tackle ****. I think I got that message across, " Caulder spoke, "Try to hurt me and I'm putting your *** out of the game."

All of the hard running gave rookie Julius Hampton the longest run of his young career.

The Raiders ran a weakside zone play and the Broncos were coming hard on the strong side. Hampton had basically nothing but black shirts and daylight ahead. He broke into the secondary and about 25 yards downfield, he pulled a beautiful spin move to change his momentum and the safety went flying into the sideline as he was trying to make the tackle. However, MLB Ellerbee was able to keep his backside pursuit and stop the play from going the distance.

RG3 left after the first half with 1 TD and 1 INT. He also lost a fumble on a quarterback draw attempt. Martens came in for the second half and the vertical Raiders re-emerged. Martens, perhaps eager to loosen up the arm, promptly fired a 35 yard pass to De'Aarius Bumpers.

On the next drive, he found Akia Green for over 40 more. Martens worked the playaction after some Ray runs and found Green deep over the middle for an easy TD.

"I know RG3 is the better QB overall, but there's a certain rhythm to the team when Martens is on a good day, " one analysis spoke.

The play action plus deep pass combination is tough on defenses. However, his issues with shorter passes also showed up, stopping him from full taking advantage of his ability to stretch defenses. That's where RG3 can shine...if the line would actually protect him.

The Raiders improve to 14-1, which clinches everything - first round bye, #1 seed, everything. The Broncos may have to delay the clinch one more week, depending on how the rest of the action goes.


Box score:

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Denver Broncos (10-4)	0	7	0	0	7
Oakland Raiders (13-1)	7	6	9	8	30

Team Stats Comparison
	DEN	OAK
Total Offense	150	519
Rushing Yards	18	257
Passing Yards	132	262
First Downs	9	27
Punt Return Yards	3	68
Kick Return Yards	156	62
Total Yards	309	649
Turnovers	2	3
3rd Down Converstion	1-11 (9%)	6-15 (40%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0-0	1/3 (66%)
Penalties	2-22	2-25
Posession Time	15:50	44:10

Denver Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Josh Freeman 15/29 (51%) 170 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Mikel Leshoure 13 18 1.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Mikel Leshoure 5 27 5.4 0 Darius Heyward-Bey 3 50 16.7 0 Ravonne Winters 3 58 19.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Darnell Ellerbee 12 0 0 0 William Moore (1 FF) 11 0 0 0 Von Miller (1 FF, 1 FR) 10 0 0 0 Geno Hayes 8 0 0 0 Tyson Alualu 5 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Matt Prater 0/1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brandon Colquitt 9 401 44.6 1

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Robert Griffin III 13/24 (54%) 134 1 1 Danny Martens 7/11 (63%) 148 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD DeRay Ray 19 138 7.3 0 Julio Caulder 18 63 3.5 0 Julius Hampton 5 48 9.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Akia Green 7 124 17.7 1 DeRay Ray 5 24 4.8 0 De'Aarius Bumpers 4 92 23.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather 9 1 0 0 Tyvon Branch 6 1 1 0 Keithen Lett (1 SFTY) 4 2 0 0 Brandon Madison 4 0 1 0 Ndamukong Suh 2 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rocco Vinopal 5/5 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 1 39 39.0 0

[Gronk4M13]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Great game, good job breaking the record!

[BigMoneyAllDay]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Week 17 - Midweek News

NCAA Football News:

Navy WR Andre Gibbons is rising in the eyes of scouts after a stellar year that included catching a Hail Mary pass to beat Notre Dame. Some are saying he's now the #1 WR on the board, beating out Platt. Todd McShay is among those that disagrees with the assertion that Platt is now #2 on the WR board.

SC's LB Logan Bollinger fractured his foot in the National Championship Game, but the young defender assured everyone he will participate in the Combine this spring.


NFL News:

The big story is still Keithen Lett as the news gets around about his record breaking performance.

Broncos should have HB Felix Jones back this week.

Lions HB Frank Gore is looking like a true Hall of Fame contender as his numbers continue to pile up.

The Vikings and Lions dueled into overtime with the Vikings coming out on top 40-34.

The Redskins have passed 2,000 yards rushing.


Raiders News

The Raiders have locked up the #1 seed and have nothing else to shoot for this season. The main thing now is staying healthy and that likely has some regulars not playing at all or playing only in limited action.

As far as the rest of the AFC West - the Broncos are in. They clinch despite the loss. The Chiefs are dead for sure. They lost and fell to 6-9. The Chargers appear done as well. At 7-8, the best they can do is .500 and that doesn't appear to be enough.

Raiders' Next Game: Redskins (8-7) @ Raiders (14-1)

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LB/DE	Tevin Ash	Out 3 weeks (broken collarbone)
QB	Robert Griffin III	Out 5 weeks (abdominal tear)
HB	DeRay Ray	Out 3 weeks (dislocated ankle)

There will be some explaining to do as the team doctors have suddenly determined that Griffin will miss the next 5 weeks.

"I don't know what this is about, " Lyle fumed, "They told me he was fine after the game and he played his half without incident, now they say he's out for this long?"

Some are speculating that the doctors are being cautious because of what happened in his rookie year where he played through injury and needed major surgery in the offseason. However, the fact he suffered an injury after a game where he played without injury is very suspicious.

At least DeRay Ray did actually get hurt, but doctors again are using a cautious time table. On the field, they were saying it will be just a week to get the swelling down and give the ankle rest. Now they are saying three weeks.

"I'm about to fire me some doctors, " Lyle spoke, storming out of the press conference.


Roster News:

Backups will rule the day in a lot of positions.

"It might look like preseason, but I don't even care. I'm still mad over the Griffin situation, " Lyle spoke.

Indeed - backups pretty much everywhere except offensive linemen and a few positions on defense have a starter-level player, such as Maeweather refusing to just be on the bench and Madison moving up to CB #1, where he was before Smoke arrived.

Martens will be the QB and likely play the whole game to get back into rhythm since he'll be leading the Raiders through much of the playoffs.


Notable Progression:

LB Kendle Maeweather
ZCV: 75 to 80
AWR: 90 to 91
TAK: 90 to 91
PRC: 92 to 93

DE Keithen Lett
CON: 0 to 1
PRC: 56 to 60
PMV: 69 to 75

WR Akia Green
CTH: 89 to 90

RG Max Justice
PBK: 86 to 87
AWR: 86 to 87

LB Jake Olsen
JMP: 80 to 81


(Still can't believe that stupid "phantom injury" if I could edit it out I would...sigh)

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Vertical Raiders Return?
Martens Erractic but Throws 4 TDs for Nearly 400
Yards as Raiders Close Season With OT Win 30-24.

You could tell the regulars weren't out there in many ways.

No takeaways.

QB over 60% completion.

Up and down play from the linebackers and defensive line.

Couldn't get the other team off the field on 3rd down.

Allowed Russel Wilson to basically have his way and lead a comeback drive to tie.

But one thing they did do - come up with some big stops to hold the Redskins to field goals. Between those stops, one of which coming after a 15-play Redskins drive, and Martens' deep ball, that is how the Raiders stayed in it.

Martens was his usual "ugly good" self. He completed only 50% of his passes, but nearly racked up 400 yards and threw for 4 TDs, including hitting Green on a long catch and run for the winning score in overtime.

"Kind of forgotten how he plays, " one analyst spoke of Martens, "He probably drives fans to drink with how ugly he plays, but then you look up and realize he's won a game and picked up gaudy stats in some cases."

That was the case here. He started with a bad interception that got the Redskins going. He then proceeded to throw 2 TDs and hit many long passes. He had 250 yards by the end of the first half.

Then he did next to nothing for the next quarter and a half. Missing open targets, making bad short throws, and part of it was getting less protection - which was not his fault.

Finally, he gets a little rhythm...and another long pass.

Then in his first possession in OT, he finds Green after a few plays and sparks the game winning play.

Meanwhile, Russel Wilson tried to run the Raiders into the ground. Mobile QBs continue to be something of an issue for this defense, and it showed up again. It got to the point where Maeweather was used to spy constantly, and even that was limited in its success.

In the 4th quarter drive, Wilson used his legs to pick up a couple key first downs and keep the ball moving.

However, keeping Maeweather in to spy was changing his mentality. He started staying put when he saw it was Maeweather shadowing him. This is what allowed Lett to rack up two more sacks despite playing only in sure passing situations when the team brought out the Nickle or Dime defense.

This puts his sack record at 25. That will be the mark to beat.

With the spy in, Wilson started throwing. Problem there is this wasn't Peterson and Smoke he was throwing at. It was Madison, Carillon, and Hopkins. That showed up in a big way and the tying TD came from Fred Davis beating Hopkins in the end zone.

While the team is likely to miss RG3, at least seeing Martens sling the ball around should keep the fans and the players hopeful. Seeing big plays from De'Aarius Bumpers should help as well. The rookie wide receiver caught 2 TDs.


Box score:

Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Washington Redskins (8-7)	3	7	3	11	0	24
Oakland Raiders (14-1)	0	14	0	10	6	30

Team Stats Comparison
	WAS	OAK
Total Offense	360	449
Rushing Yards	217	62
Passing Yards	143	387
First Downs	22	14
Punt Return Yards	-1	36
Kick Return Yards	115	138
Total Yards	474	623
Turnovers	0	2
3rd Down Converstion	10-21 (47%)	6-12 (50%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/2 (100%)	1/0 (50%)
Penalties	4-35	0-0
Posession Time	43:37	20:55

Washington Redskins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Russell Wilson 20/32 (62%) 172 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marshawn Lynch 30 75 2.5 1 Russell Wilson 13 139 10.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Fred Davis 5 52 10.4 1 Jeremy Kerley 4 50 12.5 0 Marshawn Lynch 4 19 4.8 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Brian Orakpo 8 1 0 0 Jovan Belcher 8 0 0 0 Freddie Fuller 6 0 0 0 Timario Hill 5 0 0 0 Ladarius Webb (1 FR) 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Blair Walsh 3/3 44 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brett Kern 8 383 47.9 0

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Danny Martens 19/37 (51%) 394 4 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Bull Griggs 17 37 2.2 0 Julius Hampton 3 23 7.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Akia Green 5 89 17.8 1 Sam Jackson 4 91 22.8 1 Bull Griggs 4 26 6.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather 9 0 0 0 Bryant Smith 8 0 0 0 Shyquawn Johnson 7 0 0 0 Tavares Gooden 6 1 0 0 Tyvon Branch (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rocco Vinopal 1/1 44 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 5 206 41.2 0

[Gronk4M13]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Great game, but tough injuries to overcome.

[NewscasterNews4]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Longtime guest follower, was wondering what team you're doing for Madden 25?

[DoubleRussia]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

I was about to ask why was Jovan Belcher in the game but then I remembered you started before the man's death.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

2019 Raiders Season Stats

(It's amazing how consistent this were with 2015's stats - the year I made the template. Really scary...)

         Passing
           Name             POS     QBR    Yards     TD     INT    Sacks    Comp    Att    Comp %   YPA     TD%     INT%   Sack %
    Robert Griffin III       QB     78.0   2,695     21      12      33     225     421    53.4%    6.4     5.0%    2.9%    7.8%
      Danny Martens          QB     97.7   1,179     9       6       6       67     115    58.3%    10.3    7.8%    5.2%    5.2%
 Patrick Papagianopoulos     QB     77.3    354      2       1       8       38      65    58.5%    5.4     3.1%    1.5%   12.3%

         Rushing            POS     Att    Yards    Avg      TD     Fumb   Fumb%
        DeRay Ray            HB     181     988     5.5      6       7      3.9%
       Bull Griggs           HB     135     484     3.6      1       2      1.5%
      Julio Caulder          HB      75     297     4.0      0       0      0.0%
    Robert Griffin III       QB      63     302     4.8      3       5      7.9%
      Julius Hampton         HB      26     112     4.3      0       0      0.0%

        Receiving           POS     Rec    Yards    Avg      TD
        Akia Green           WR      89    1,277    14.3     9
      Denarius Moore         WR      75    1,192    15.9     8
    De'Aarius Bumpers        WR      48     569     11.9     9
       Tim Willison          TE      40     464     11.3     3
       Sam Jackson           WR      23     344     15.0     1
        DeRay Ray            HB      23     136     5.9      1
       Bull Griggs           HB      13      55     4.2      0
      Ramonn Majors          WR      6       92     15.3     0

        Defensive           POS     Tak     TFL     Sack    INT      PD      FF      FR     SFTY     TD
    Kendle Maeweather        LB     162      45      22      1       4       10      1       0       0
       Tyvon Branch          SS      61      11      2       2       9       3       3       0       0
     Shyquawn Johnson        FS      61      2       1       1       10      5       1       0       0
        Jake Olsen           LB      59      7       1       0       6       1       0       0       0
       Keithen Lett          DE      54      32      25      0       0       0       2       1       0
      Ndamukong Suh          DT      48      9       2       0       0       2       2       0       0
     Brandon Madison         CB      46      1       1       4       10      0       3       0       1
        J.J. Smoke           CB      46      1       0       7       20      0       0       0       2
     Patrick Peterson        CB      45      1       0       3       13      1       0       0       1
      James Hazzard          LB      39      12      1       0       2       1       2       0       0
        Tevin Ash            DE      36      22      12      0       0       2       1       0       0
      Lamel Seawood          FS      29      1       0       0       0       1       0       0       0
      Immanuel Dawn          DT      27      4       0       0       0       0       2       0       0
      Javia General          DE      23      5       1       0       0       0       0       0       0
       Bryant Smith          LB      22      3       0       0       0       2       0       0       0
     Lorenzo Hopkins         CB      17      0       0       0       4       0       1       0       0

         Kicking            POS     FGM     FGA     FG %  FG Long
      Rocco Vinopal          K       37      41    90.2%     51

         Punting            POS    Punts    Avg   Net Avg   In20     TB     Long
      Je-Marc Gibbs          P       87     38.3    34.6     24      8       53

       Kick Returns         POS      KR    Yards    AVG      TD     Long
     Patrick Peterson        CB      45     932     20.7     0       34
       Sam Jackson           WR      6      138     23.0     0       28

       Punt Returns         POS      PR    Yards    AVG      TD     Long
     Patrick Peterson        CB      50     487     9.7      0       20
        DeRay Ray            HB      6       33     5.5      0       11

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Wild Card Round - Midweek News

No NCAA Football News.



NFL News:

Steelers fire head coach M. Rodgers.
Redskins fire head coach Brian Billick.
Jets fire head coach Dennis Allen.

Jim Harbaugh wins his 100th game.

2019 NFL Awards
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	Jay Cutler	QB	Bears
Coach of the Year	Ander Lyle	HC	Raiders
Offensive Player of the Year	Josh Freeman	QB	Broncos
Offensive Player of the Year	Jay Cutler	QB	Bears
Defensive Player of the Year	Kendle Maeweather	LB	Raiders
Defensive Player of the Year	Joshlin Collins	LB	Falcons
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Kian McKenzie	QB	Chiefs
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Tanner Hurns	QB	Giants

Wildcard Round Matchups

Broncos @ Browns
Vikings @ Giants
Jaguars @ Patriots
Cardinals @ Falcons

After missing last year in what was a surprisingly bleak season, the Browns are back, looking to finish the journey they nearly completed two seasons ago. The Broncos are relegated to the Wild Card, but are division-champion caliber. AFC Offensive Player of the Year is not enough for Broncos QB Josh Freeman. He wants to win it all. The Giants are hoping a punishing ground attack can pave the way to a ring for their rookie QB. The Jags are looking to put a ring on Matt Ryan's finger as the clutch QB's career begins to wind down. The Cardinals are this year's upstarts and dark horse team. Can they make a surprise run with Brandon Weeden at the helm?

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Trey Wingo Interviews Kendle Maeweather

Trey Wingo (TW): Welcome, Kendle. Thanks for coming.

Kendle Maeweather (KM): It's a pleasure. I'm honored to be here.

TW: So, let's get to it. Going to take you back to draft day. Your selection was booed voraciously. You win Defensive MVP in your rookie year and rack up 180 tackles. You win it again this year, your second. You pick up 160 tackles and threaten the sack record, something middle linebackers just don't do. Do you feel vindicated seeing the Black Hole littered with #51?

KM: In a way, I do. I mean, having that happen just wants to make you prove them all wrong. The organization took a risk on picking me early and the last thing I want to do is make the naysayers say "told you so". But I haven't gotten to the top yet. I haven't won a Super Bowl. I won't have the last laugh until that day comes.

TW: Is this year the year that happens - that Super Bowl win?

KM: Well, you think every year is. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and say "oh, no Trey, we won't win it." We have a dominant defensive unit, one that should be feared by anyone we step up against, but we lost one game because we were just a bit slower than we needed to be. That gets you sent home this time of year.

TW: Do you consider yourself a leader on the team, much like Ray Lewis?

KM: I'm not like Ray. I watched him in his run and during much of his career. He's a vocal presence, he's a natural motivator. I just let my pads and my hits do my talking and set an example with my work ethic. If that can motivate everyone, then I'm glad for it, but I'm not the kind of guy that be that kind of leader.

TW: Who, then, do you consider the leader of your defense?

KM: Tyvon [Branch] is one that I feel like is a leader on defense. He's always psyching people up and keeping us loose. I think J.J. [Smoke] will be as well as he finds himself as a player. I know the media doesn't like Ndamukong [Suh], but he's a hard-nosed personality that helps keep the locker room in order.

TW: As you know, your offense can be very uneven. How does it feel to play in one of the games where the offense just isn't showing up that week?

KM: It makes you feel more important, which motivates you to play that much harder. There's no "oh here we go again, the offense is screwing up". We have to pick each other up. If we're as good as we want to be and think we are, we'll get it done and be glad for the opportunity.

TW: Your squad went 10 weeks unbeaten. Was that first loss devastating?

KM: Ah...I don't think it was. It was disappointing because we were making a run at history, but we also know it's a hard thing to do, one of the rarest achievements in the NFL for a team. Ultimately, our goal was the playoffs and now it's the Super Bowl.

TW: The Raiders have a reputation of being a "linebacker factory", meaning they find guys, develop them, then find more younger guys and move the veterans. Do you think this will happen to you, that the team will look for your replacement and move you on elsewhere?

KM: I don't think about that stuff. I just play hard everyday. I've heard that sort of thing, and, yes, guys like Bullock and McClain are in different uniforms and doing reasonably well. But the only part of that I can control is me: my play, my attitude, and my willingness to help the team. That's all I can worry about.

TW: Well, Kendle, I know you're busy getting ready for your Divisional Round game. We'll wrap it up here and thank you again for spending some time here with us.

KM: No problem. Thanks for having me.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Wildcard Round - Midweek News

No NCAA Football news.


NFL News:

Falcons QB Lejon Jackson threw 3 INTs in his team's upset loss to the Cardinals, 30-20.

Matt Ryan led his Jags to a tight 38-34 win over the Patroits. He threw 4 TDs to spark his team's attack.

Broncos QB Josh Freeman was a man on a mission, shredding the Browns secondary for 5 TDs in a 47-24 win.

The Giants got by the Vikings in a dramatic 23-22 win. Rookie Tanner Hurns threw a TD and Nathaniel Pennix pounded out 89 yards and a TD in the win.


Divisional Round Matchups

Broncos @ Titans
Giants @ Bears
Jaguars @ Raiders
Cardinals @ 49ers


The Titans are a well-rounded team, but will have a tall order in stopping the hot Broncos. The Bears will look to move on behind the strength of League MVP Jay Cutler's arm. The Raiders are looking to get back to the Super Bowl with the strongest defense in the league, but the Jaguars always tend to present a tough, physical test.



Raiders News

The Raiders hope the crazy Black Hole faithful can keep the team emotionally charged up as they look to get back on the field. They will greet the always-tough Jaguars and have to deal with Matt Ryan coming off a brilliant performance. The Raiders' pass rush will need to get it going if they want to have any chance. A strong day by Ryan will put a lot of pressure on Martens.

Raiders' Next Game: Jaguars (9-7) @ Raiders (15-1)

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LB/DE	Tevin Ash	Out 1 week (broken collarbone)
QB	Robert Griffin III	Out 3 weeks (abdominal tear)
HB	DeRay Ray	Out 1 week (dislocated ankle)

If the Raiders can survive this week, Ash and DeRay Ray returning would be a big boost to morale. Griffin is looking at a Super Bowl return if the team can make it that far.


Roster News:

It will be Caulder time in the backfield for this week's game as the team might return to it's power run and deep pass combination. The deep ball, of course, is less a concern with Martens. It's working off the deep ball to take the shorter throws that open up that's always the issue. It's often said that the short pass is like a "long handoff" - well, the Raiders may reverse that...a long run is like a "short pass".

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

No Rust for the Rested
Matt Ryan Stellar, But Defense Makes Plays and Martens Exploits Power Running for 38-24 Win.

Heading into the game, most would have thought the Raiders would air it out with Martens at the helm while the Jags would be the ones trying to power it with MJD all day long.

Well...it sort of worked that way...just in a different way.

Martens did air it out. He averaged over 12 yards per attempt on the day...but threw it just 19 times.

Maurice Jones-Drew did feature heavily in the Jags' attack...as a receiver. He caught a dozen passes, leading everyone in receptions on either team.

But the Raiders had the power run game. Julio Caulder made fans remember "Caulder Time" as he pushed through the Jaguars defense all game and scored two touchdowns. Bull Griggs also saw some action, though he remained as iffy as he was during the regular season. Still, he did pick up some first downs when giving Caulder a bit of a rest.

For Martens, much of that 12-yard average came on one 88-yard bomb-and-run connection to Denarius Moore.

Martens also worked one deep to Willison and hit Caulder on a 25-yard gain off a screen pass.

Those plays made up much of his day. The rest was some possession throws to Akia Green, filling the possession receiver role he sometimes is called upon to do.

The defense had a hand in it and, as usual, it centered around Maeweather.

The first play was kicked off with J.J. Smoke making a fierce hit against a Jaguars HB releasing out of the backfield. The hit jarred the ball loose and Maeweather darted in and scooped it up. He then headed down the sideline for the score.

Not known for his big hits, J.J. Smoke delivered one here.

The next play was Maeweather starting things with a sack and forced fumble that was recovered by Jake Olsen. The Raiders scored on a FG with that possession. At the time, it had given the Raiders a 17-10 lead.

Maeweather does his thing on Matt Ryan, setting the Raiders up for a FG.

However, Ryan went back to work, continuing to move the ball with Jones-Drew out of the backfield and finding Chris Givens as well. Later in the drive, it would be Jones-Drew who made the catch at the back of the end zone to tie the game at 17.

The Raiders got a late field goal in the half to make it 20-17.

Neither team got much going for the first part of the third quarter. It looked as though the defenses would settle in. The Raiders leaned heavily on the run game, mixing in a few throws once in a while. Caulder picked up his first TD at the end of this drive. Martens hit Akia Green for the 2-point conversion.

Raiders added on another field goal to make the score 31-17 after three quarters.

With the run game working, the Raiders stuck with it in hopes of working on the clock. The offense achieved that and more as Caulder showed that power that made him a star in his first couple seasons.

Caulder reaches out with the football as the defenders try to bring him down.

The Raiders survived a mistake as Shaquille Carillon, coming in after Peterson injured his foot, mishandled a punt return chance. The Jaguars recovered but were called on fair catch interference. The Raiders milked some more of the clock but eventually had to punt away.

Ryan went back to work, but with time running out as the Raiders bled the clock on the previous drive. Still, Ryan found success against the Raiders secondary. With Patrick Peterson also going down with a serious foot injury, that made things easier for Ryan.

He found Givens in the end zone after buying some time in the pocket. Falcons drew to 38-24.

The onside kick attempt failed, giving the Raiders the victory.


"We played like we're capable of in this one and kept it going for the whole game. Nice to see we're still sharp, " Lyle commented.

With DeRay Ray coming back, it will be interesting to see how the run game gets handled.


Box Score:

Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Jacksonville Jaguars ()	10	7	0	7	24
Oakland Raiders ()	7	13	11	7	38

Team Stats Comparison
	JAC	OAK
Total Offense	308	397
Rushing Yards	26	176
Passing Yards	282	221
First Downs	15	16
Punt Return Yards	8	24
Kick Return Yards	152	88
Total Yards	468	509
Turnovers	2	0
3rd Down Converstion	9-17 (52%)	5-13 (38%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3/0 (100%)	2/1 (100%)
Penalties	2-20	3-40
Posession Time	30:10	29:50

Jacksonville Jaguars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matt Ryan 30/39 (76%) 309 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Maurice Jones-Drew 17 21 1.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Maurice Jones-Drew 12 97 7.8 1 Chris Givens 10 143 14.3 1 Ryan Johnson 3 29 9.7 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Johnaton Goff 11 1 0 0 Leon Hall 5 0 0 0 Jakhari Hopkins 5 0 0 0 Bradley Hargrove 5 1 0 0 Jordan Gilliand 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Josh Scobee 1/1 47 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Kevin Huber 4 180 4.50 0

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Danny Martens 13/19 (68%) 240 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 24 129 5.4 2 Bull Griggs 10 36 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Akia Green 5 53 10.6 0 Denarious Moore 3 113 37.7 1 Tim Willison 3 47 15.7 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather (1 FF, 1 FR) 16 2 0 1 Jake Olsen (1 FR) 8 0 0 0 Brandon Madison 5 0 0 0 J.J. Smoke (1 FF) 5 0 0 0 Tyvon Branch 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rocco Vinopal 3/3 0 0 44 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 4 153 38.3 2

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Added the box score.