Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[Gronk4M13]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Good win over the Jaguars, good luck next round.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Conference Championship Midweek News

No NCAA Football News


NFL News:

The 49ers advance on the legs of HB B.J. Graves. He rushed for a staggering four TDs.

The Bears pounded the Giants into submission with their defense, picking up 4 sacks.

QB Josh Freeman aired it out against the Titans for 367 yards to lead his Broncos to the AFC Championship Game.


Raiders News

Divisional foes will match up for the third time as the Broncos are due up next to face the Raiders. Josh Freeman is getting hot again, so the vaunted pass rush will need to be on the ball.

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
CB	Patrick Peterson	Out 7 weeks (foot fracture)
QB	Robert Griffin III	Out 2 weeks (abdominal tear)

Just in time to face Josh Freeman, the Raiders lose ace corner Patrick Peterson for the rest of the playoffs. Somewhere, coach Lyle is saying "this is why I don't want my starters returning kicks and punts."


Roster News:

HB DeRay Ray is back, but he will be #2 to Caulder this week. Caulder looks to be in rhythm and has brought the team to this point. Ray may also benefit more from a tired defense if Caulder can get going - which could be very scary for opposing defenses.

LB Tevin Ash is happy to just be on the field again, though some wonder how effective he'll be after a 7-week layoff and then having to start up again in the playoffs. He will be the starter, though.

Brandon Madison will move up into Patrick Peterson's CB slot. Madison is a solid corner, so the concern will be against Hopkins and the like that now move up one spot and might have to face skilled slot receivers.

DeRay Ray will be given the kick and punt return duty this week.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Physical Domination
Raiders Pummel Freeman With 10 Sacks and
Caulder Leads Offense. Raiders Head to Super Bowl
After 28-10 Win.

"We know who's over there throwing the ball. We know he's going to be confident. We know we aren't going to just bait him into mistakes. So you know what that means? It means we go kick their *** like the defense we are! It means we go get him every time he thinks of throwing. It means we make him see our silver numbers when he closes his eyes to sleep tonight. THAT it what it means. Go kill 'em!"
--Coach Lyle's locker room speech to his defense

The defense took that to heart and Lyle showed it in his playcalling. He dialed up a myriad of blitzes, zone, man, overloads - he threw it Freeman.

However, it was the bookends, Ash and Lett, that did most of the damage. The DEs combined for 6 sacks. Meaweather picked up two on the blitzes while Shyquawn Johnson and Shaquille Carillon grabbed one a piece.

To his credit, Freeman avoided making any turnovers, though a few nearly could have been interceptions. He hit Heyward-Bey for a long strike against Brandon Madison - but that was the only big play the Broncos would get.

The defense also scored a touchdown when Tyvon Branch laid out LeShore, who came in after Olsen knocked out Felix Jones. The fumble was scooped up by Lorenzo Hopkins, and he took it to the house for six.

That made the score 21-10, where it held until midway through the fourth quarter. Hopkins' play made the biggest difference to this point. At 14-10, the pressure would still be on, but with an 11-point lead, there was some breathing room.

The offense stuck to the ground game, especially after seeing how the defense was playing. Caulder got the bulk of the load in a running attack, and he found the end zone twice. DeRay Ray had some good carries and scored the team's first TD on a screen pass from 5 yards out.

The passionate Raiders fans gave their team a big send off after the game, hoping that their energy will go with the team in spirit as this was the last game played at the Coliseum this year and the last time the fans will cheer their team on in person.

The Super Bowl has been the thorn in the side for this tenure under Ander Lyle. He's run roughshod over the rest of the playoffs, now running his playoff record to 13-5 overall, but the Super Bowl portion is just 1-3.

He will have a big decision to make at QB. RG3 is on track to be ready for a Super Bowl appearance, but Martens has been relatively steady (especially for him) and has guided the Raiders to this point.


Box Score:

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Denver Broncos ()	0	3	7	0	10
Oakland Raiders ()	0	7	14	7	28

Team Stats Comparison
	DEN	OAK
Total Offense	307	324
Rushing Yards	65	132
Passing Yards	242	192
First Downs	15	19
Punt Return Yards	12	22
Kick Return Yards	102	52
Total Yards	421	398
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-15 (40%)	4-9 (44%)
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/1 (100%)	3/0 (75%)
Penalties	1-10	2-25
Posession Time	29:24	30:36

Denver Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Josh Freeman 24/34 (70%) 310 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Felix Jones 10 32 3.2 0 Mikel Leshoure 6 10 1.7 0 Josh Freeman 1 21 21.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Darius Heyward-Bey 6 139 23.2 1 Ravonne Winters 6 65 10.8 0 Mikel Leshoure 5 20 4.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Dannell Ellerbee 9 0 1 0 Bakari Kelly 8 0 0 0 Von Miller 5 1 0 0 Geno Hayes 5 0 0 0 Glover Quin, Jr. 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Matt Prater 1/1 36 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Britton Colquitt 6 260 43.3 0

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Danny Martens 16/25 (64%) 205 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 21 81 3.9 2 DeRay Ray 7 47 6.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Akia Green 4 64 16.0 0 Tim Willison 3 37 12.3 0 DeRay Ray 3 22 7.3 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kendle Maeweather 9 2 0 0 Jake Olsen 7 0 0 0 Shaquille Carillon 7 1 0 0 Keithen Lett 4 4 0 0 Tevin Ash 4 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rocco Vinopal 0/0 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 5 180 36.0 1

[Gronk4M13]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Awwwww yeah, Superbowl! Just win baby.

[SabbysDaddy]

Did u ever post your sliders that you are using? I am following even though its late. I hate the raiders (go chiefs) but I really enjoy the storyline you have set up here. What makes it perfect is your football knowledge plus your writing skill. Only problem is a few misspelled words.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Did u ever post your sliders that you are using? I am following even though its late. I hate the raiders (go chiefs) but I really enjoy the storyline you have set up here. What makes it perfect is your football knowledge plus your writing skill. Only problem is a few misspelled words.

Sorry about the misspellings - sometimes I play/write very late at night (or early in the morning) so I'm like half awake, etc.

But I'm glad you're enjoying overall.

Sliders - there's a link in the signature of my posts.

[SabbysDaddy]

Don't complain for the misspelling. It's great entertainment and honestly you have a gift with writing. The misspelling from late nights/early mornings shows the dedication you have to (us) the readers. Continue the amazing work and maybe you should think about two careers. NFL Analysts or a writer.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Griffin Gets the Super Bowl Start

"I can't be upset, I mean, that's why they got the guy. I'm glad to set it up for him by getting us here. Hopefully, we'll close the deal, " Martens spoke.

Ander Lyle made the announcement during one of the team's Media Day sessions, as the first question asked involved the quarterbacks.

"Griffin is our man and he's got big game ability. I know Danny [Martens] has played very well, but I think I have to go with RG3 here and have trust in him to get the job done, " Lyle commented, "If the doctors clear him, Griffin will start."

Martens' playoff line is 29-of-45 completions (64.4%), 445 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT in the two games.

The Raiders might keep some of the same tendencies as well. Lyle hinted a bit at that by saying that they (meaning the coaches) liked some of the things they (the coaches) saw offensively in the last two games.

Griffin had a couple rough games that marred an otherwise solid stat line. He threw for 21 TDs and ran for three more since coming over to the Raiders. That included some clutch comebacks as well. His mobility kept plays alive in addition to outright escaping pressure or taking advantage of open daylight if pass rushers vacate their lanes.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Super Bowl - Midweek News

No NCAA Football News


NFL News:

Alex Smith guides the 49ers to the Super Bowl with a 3 TD performance against the Bears.


Raiders News

The match-up for the Super Bowl will be the second meeting between the Raiders and 49ers. The first Super Bowl meeting between these two teams resulted in a defensive slugfest that the 49ers won 13-9 despite holding Alex Smith to just 71 yards passing.

The QB that year was Terrelle Pryor. Now, the Raiders have an upgraded version of Pryor in RG3, a second dynamic WR in Akia Green, a defense that's still mean, nasty, and talented, and a ground game that's still as good as they come.

The 49ers may not be as impressive on paper, but they still can pound the ball with B.J. Graves and Eric Decker is as reliable as any receiver in the game. Oh and that defense? It's still pretty good. Demontray (what a name) Hopkins fills the Justin Smith role, and there's a couple STRONG (90+ STR) guys behind him for depth, Kendall Jones is the big nasty NT, the tandem of Willis and Bowman is still there and still a threat, and safeties Whitner and Goldson are still there doing their best Ronnie Lott impressions.

Fortunately for the Raiders, Aldon Smith will be a no-show as he will still have a ways to go towards recovering from his pectoral tear. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Alex Smith is a mobile QB. Mobile QBs have, by far, given this defense the most consistent trouble, and it's not like the secondary is playing all that exceptionally in this playoff run...and there's no Patrick Peterson.

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
CB	Patrick Peterson	Out 5 weeks (foot fracture)

RG3 is cleared to play, leaving just Peterson watching from the sideline.


Raiders Pro Bowl Players

WR Akia Green
WR Denarius Moore
TE Tim Willison (from project gamble pick up to Pro Bowl backup TE)
C Patrick Seaver
RG Cale Welch
LG Max Justice
RE Keithen Lett
LB Kendle Maeweather (2.9 million votes!)
LB Tevin Ash
CB J.J. Smoke
CB Brandon Madison
CB Patrick Peterson
FS Shyquawn Johnson
SS Tyvon Branch
(Someone probably got snubbed in the safeties...)

Yes, that's just about the entire starting defense. Only James Hazard, Jake Olsen, and the two DTs were left off.


Roster News:

Griffin is starting, as per Lyle's comments, and was in practice getting some extra time in during each practice.

"I"m trying not to wear myself out, but I'm also trying to get sharp and get my chemistry back with my receivers, " Griffin spoke, "I hated the cautious timeline and missing the playoffs to this point."

Nothing else is going to change, including Caulder as starting HB.

[KBLover]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Griffin's Legs Are the Difference
Both Defenses Stout, But 49ers Had No Answer
for Griffin's Feet. Raiders Claim Lombardi 23-10.

The Raiders and 49ers both came out flexing their defensive muscle in the first quarter.

Alex Smith was picked off by Tyvon Branch. That set the Raiders up with a short field. Griffin was throwing short passes and perhaps the most time consuming 40 yard drive ever took place, ending with Griffin scampering in from 5 yards out.

Then the 49ers got one. Griffin tried to use playaction to hit Akia Green coming over the middle, but the pass floated and ended up in the hands of Whitner. The 49ers then went on their own version of the longest short drive ever and picked up a TD, hitting WR Ramses Barden on a short pass to open the second quarter.

Next possession, the Raiders kept trying to find something on the ground, but ended up running into Willis. Seeing this, Lyle decided to pull out the read option. Griffin executed it perfectly and the linebackers went after Caulder. Griffin darted off right tackle and found the open field. He set up Whitner and TE Willison picked up the key block to spring Griffin through the secondary. Goldson tried to cut down the angle, but Griffin had too much speed going. The result was a 67-yard TD run to put the Raiders up 14-7.

The Raiders tacked on a field goal after Griffin hit long pass to Denarius Moore, but the 49ers defense clamped down afterwards. The score was 17-7 at the half.

At this point, the Raiders just wanted to take things conservatively. Griffin was not on point with his arm, throwing 2 picks in the first half. The team went to Caulder to try to pound out yards and keep Griffin to shorter passes.

The result was just 3 points for the Raiders, but, more importantly, the 49ers couldn't get anything going as the defense had good field position and didn't let Graves get going, forcing Smith to win with his arm.

Arm, not feet. The pass rush contained Smith, not letting him try to get out of the pocket. Keithen Lett showed why he broke the sack record and Ash was working hard from his side. In the end, Lett had three sacks while Olsen and Maeweather picked up one each.

In the fourth quarter, Raiders up 20-7, the 49ers started moving the ball. Smith used his accuracy to find holes in the coverage and somehow Barden was starting to give Smoke fits. Smith took advantage and hit him on a couple throws and also found Shayn Jackson more often against Hopkins.

The 49ers were pushing down the field, looking to make it a one score game. The defense was bending and starting to tire and found their backs against the wall with 1st and Goal at their 4 yard line.

The first down run nearly got the 49ers in, but Ndamukong Suh stopped Graves at the 1.

The next play was Maeweather slicing in on a run blitz and dragging Graves down for a loss of two.

Third down saw the 49ers try to get tricky and use the fullback on a swing pass. Lyle anticipated pass, however, and called a cover 3, placing the corners up in the flat. J.J. Smoke showed some fight and stopped FB Bruce Miller at the half-yard line. The 49ers kicked the chip shot FG to make it 20-10.

The Raiders were still in conservative mode, especially with a two-score lead.

But Griffin was more aggressive with his feet. If he saw the 49ers in man coverage, he took off if he could find daylight. His first run on the drive went for 14 to pick up a first down. On third down, the 49ers sniffed out a screen, but Griffin turned it into a run play using the screening lineman like pulling lineman on a sweep or option and picked up a 3rd and long, gaining 18.

Those runs would be the last two for Griffin, leaving him with rushing totals a HB would kill for, 6 rushes, over 100 yards, 2 TDs.

The Raiders did not score, but a lot of time was taken off the clock. There was some saving grace for the 49ers as Griffin ducked out of bounds on his runs, stopping the 40 seconds running off on those plays.

Score still 20-10, the 49ers moved the ball some, but were taking a lot of time. Smith pushed it a bit, hitting a medium pass, but Shyquawn Johnson put a big hit on Shayn Jackson popping the ball loose. Shaquille Carillon picked up the loose ball to end the 49ers possession.

The Raiders worked the clock past the 2-minute warning and made the 49ers use timeouts. Vinopal put in his 3rd FG of the day to give the Raiders a 23-10 lead, not really changing the game situation much in terms of possessions - still a TD and onside kick deficit.

Assuming the 49ers could get the TD.

And they could not. The defense didn't let Smith complete a pass on first or second down, and Keithen Lett's 3rd sack came on 3rd down. The Raiders blitzed on 4th down, but Smith got the ball off to Graves. Shyquawn Johnson was there to make the hit and stop the 49ers short of the first down. That was the ballgame.

The Raiders stormed the field and gathered in complete jubilation over finally getting over the hump again - or for the first time in the case of many of the new anchors of the defense as well as for players like Akia Green.

"Unbelievable, that's the only word I can think of right now, " Maeweather spoke during the celebration, "It's surreal - all the emotions right now."

The players passed the Lombardi around, absorbing the first moments of being Super Bowl LIV champions.

While Griffin provided the wow moments with his mobility, it was the defense that shut down the 49ers. Eric Decker was held to just one catch as Brandon Madison did his job flawlessly. The front seven stopped the running attack, and there were no lapses on the defensive side.

Much of the same was true for the 49ers - except against Griffin.

Keithen Lett can add Super Bowl MVP to his storybook season. His three sacks were enough to win him the honor.

"We got our revenge. Now it's tied 1-1 in Super Bowls, we'll have to meet again next year for the tie breaker, " Moore spoke playfully.

For now, no one is thinking of next year or even the looming offseason. For now, the Raiders are just basking on being on top of the mountain.


Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at San Francisco 49ers
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders ()	7	10	3	3	23
San Francisco 49ers ()	0	7	0	3	10

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	SFO
Total Offense	343	164
Rushing Yards	208	36
Passing Yards	135	128
First Downs	15	9
Punt Return Yards	57	20
Kick Return Yards	46	73
Total Yards	446	257
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Converstion	4-13 (30%)	5-15 (33%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/2 (100%)	1/1 (100%)
Penalties	0-0	3-30
Posession Time	30:35	29:25

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Robert Griffin III 11/21 (52%) 132 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Julio Caulder 21 67 3.2 0 DeRay Ray 10 21 2.1 0 Robert Griffin III 7 119 17.0 2 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 5 75 15.0 0 Akia Green 3 29 9.7 0 De'Aarius Bumpers 3 31 10.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jake Olsen 8 1 0 0 Kendle Maeweather (1 FF) 8 1 0 0 Shyquawn Johnson (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 Keithen Lett 5 3 0 0 Ndamukong Suh 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rocco Vinopal 3/3 40 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Je-Marc Gibbs 6 238 39.7 2

San Francisco 49ers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Alex Smith 16/27 (59%) 170 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD B.J. Graves 26 32 1.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Shayn Johnson 4 47 11.8 0 B.J. Graves 4 32 8.0 0 Ramses Barden 3 39 13.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Patrick Willis 11 1 1 0 Navarro Bowman 8 0 0 0 Fernando Douglas 5 0 0 0 Chris Cook 5 0 0 0 Donte Whitner 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Terrence Seastrunk 1/1 18 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Andy Lee 7 337 48.1 0

[Gronk4M13]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Great, great job this season, congratulations on the Superbowl!

[SabbysDaddy]

Honestly how do u continue with after one season? I always find myself restarting before I even get to my first preseason game. Any advice

[JaymeeAwesome]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Honestly how do u continue with after one season? I always find myself restarting before I even get to my first preseason game. Any advice

You have to use your imagination. Unless you can create a world within your dynasty, you're bound to get bored. Create controversy on and off the field with your team. Position battles that go beyond preseason. Do things like trading away your top player because you want to "shake things up". Don't let the game be just a game, create your own football fantasy world.

[SabbysDaddy]

Thanks for the advice and btw I have been following your dynasty too. I mean I have thought of it that way but it seems that I just get bummed out. Also I can't seem to find any level that I can compete with. I either destroy them or I get destroyed.

[JaymeeAwesome]

Re: Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

Thanks for the advice and btw I have been following your dynasty too. I mean I have thought of it that way but it seems that I just get bummed out. Also I can't seem to find any level that I can compete with. I either destroy them or I get destroyed.

Just watch the slider forum. Plenty of good sets to start from.