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Raiders Pulse
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Raiders Weekly Week 8 |
INJURY HIT RAIDERS CLING ON IN THRILLER
Oakland 27-21 Denver
When Tight end Zach Miller went over to put Oakland 27-0 up with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, a 4th win in a row looked a formality. A trip to the psychiatrist would have been the recommendation for anyone suggesting Denver might score let alone leave Oakland sweating at the end. Phillip Rivers was having a miserable day with-6 yards passing two picks and the rampant raiders defence were all over him. Colt McCoy on the other hand had the freedom of Oakland behind a dominant offensive line and the jitters of past weeks looked well and truly behind him. For once finding his own receivers more frequently than the opposition defenders he had been near flawless. Darren McFadden went over as did rookie linebacker Carl Ihenacho, returning a Rivers pick 60 yards for a score. Brandon Coutu’s perfect season continued with kicks from 53 and 55 yards and all was well in the Raider Nation. Things then began to look even better with yet another Denver drive stalling and McCoy moving Oakland to the Denver 20. However the complexion of the game was to change in the space of two minutes as Oakland’s lead crumbled. First McCoy handed the ball back to Denver forcing a pass which was picked off by Alphonso Smith. Then in the space of one drive Oakland lost defensive end Kiwanuka who had been a thorn in Rivers side all day followed by both starting corners Rookie Ross and probowler Asomugha all three to game ending injuries. Shorn of its starters Oakland had to look to another rookie Dennis Rogan and perennial nickel Stanford Routt and while they strived manfully Rivers sensed his opportunity and seized it. Santonio Holmes and the other receivers began to find space and in the space of 5 minutes the lead became a 6 point one. In the final 2 minutes a heroic effort by the makeshift Raiders Defence finally stopped Denver and Darren McFadden was ableto move the ball and run down the clock to secure the win, a win that had gone from a certainty to unlikely and back again. So with San Diego’s loss in Washington Oakland moved to within one game of the top of the AFC West. Their schedule however remains a tough looking one and they will be anxiously awaiting the medical reports on their injuries. |
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Forum Discussion
(by T_Brown on 07/16/2010)
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Replies - 4 :: Views - 25 |
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Raiders Weekly week 7 |
RAIDERS HOLD OFF DALLAS
Oakland 14-10 Dallas
A tight defensive struggle in Dallas saw Oakland sneak a second win in a row, but once again their offence looked far from impressive. Two key turnovers could have cost the Raiders dearly, as Colt McCoy threw yet another end zone pick, while rookie receiver Alric Arnett fumbled on the Dallas 5 yard line to end what looked like a key scoring drive.
Oakland had gone into the game knowing a repeat of last week’s woeful passing performance would likely as not lead to defeat at the hands of the Cowboys. The conservative offensive strategy they employed involved putting the ball in the hands of Darren Mcfadden as often as possible and by and large it worked with McFadden having a 100 yard game. Ironically however both Oakland scores came through the air with passes to Darius Heyward-Bey and Michael Bush. McCoy looked far more comfortable throwing the odd pass, whilst allowing McFadden to grind out the yards., a repeat of last years successful formula. Stats wise there was little to choose between the teams and it came down to the Raiders making the most of their field position while being tough defensively in the redzone. A key goal line stand late in the game proved crucial as the Cowboys failed four times to punch the ball in, turning the ball over and allowing Oakland to run down the clock. Oakland now face three crucial divisional matchups in a row knowing they need to win them all if they are to put the Chargers under any sort of pressure at all. |
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Forum Discussion
(by T_Brown on 07/11/2010)
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Replies - 1 :: Views - 15 |
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Raiders Weekly Week 5 |
RAIDERS DEFENCE WINS IN DENVER
Oakland 20-17 Broncos
Anytime you turn the ball over 6 times you‘re asking for a good hiding and that‘s exactly what the Raiders offence did in Denver week 5. That they still managed to walk away with an important win is down entirely to an immense defensive performance by the men in Silver and Black. Colt McCoy had another miserable day with 5 picks and Raiders fans are fast wondering where the confident poise of last year’s rookie season has gone with McCoy looking all at sea for much of the game.
The game had started well for Oakland with a smooth opening drive landing them a Field Goal as Brandon Coutu maintained his 100% record for the season. The defence had Denver in a stranglehold with Phillip Rivers unable to move the ball at all and the only time they were able to put points on the board was when McCoy threw the first of his picks to give them the ball inside the Oakland 10, Moreno going over to give Denver the lead. McCoy rallied the troops however and another nice drive ended in an 18 yard scoring pass to Jerricho Cotchery. When the defence put Rivers under pressure on the final play of the first half , his under thrown pass was picked off by corner Asomugha who ran it back to the house from 58 yards out to send Oakland in 17-7 up.
The second half started with McCoy throwing the first of four more picks and the defence bailing him out, restricting Denver to a field goal. That quickly became the pattern of the half, the offence turning the ball over only for the defence to halt Denver’s progress. A Coutu field goal restored the 10 point cushion but as the game wore on the defence began to tire and Denver were able to move the ball to the Oakland 20 inside the last minute. With the tieing field goal in sight Denver saw their chance to win it in normal time, but hadn’t counted on the character of the Oakland defensive unit. Anticipating the pass Oakland hurried Rivers for the final time and his attempt to find a receiver in the end zone was picked off by a grateful Matthias Kiwanuka to effectively end the game. Oakland move to 2 and 3 on the season but know they will need to cut out the turnovers if they are to have any chance of making the post season. Next up is another tough roadtrip to the Cowboys, and another must win game. . |
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Forum Discussion
(by T_Brown on 07/05/2010)
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Replies - 1 :: Views - 12 |
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raiders Weekly Week Four |
RAIDERS ROUTED BY ROOKIE QUARTERBACK
Oakland 24-27 San Diego
The 2011 season is fast turning into a series of what ifs in Oakland as they went down to their third narrow defeat to one of the AAO powerhouses. The difference in week four is that while they can count themselves a little unlucky to lose to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the scoreline against San Diego was flattering to say the least.
Oakland went into the game 1 and 2 and on the back of playing some pretty good football notwithstanding their record. With San Diego having to hand rookie Rusty Smith his debut in the absence of long term injury Tom Brady, Oakland were probably slight favourites. Unfortunately no-one told Smith who on the opening drive hit Calvin Johnson deep to open the scoring. That pass set the tone with Smith and Johnson terrorizing rookie corner Devin Ross and making sure the question Tom who resounded round the stadium. Smith finished with 337 yards and 3 scores and although he was sacked 6 times he was not phased by the pressure and dissected the Oakland defence with clinical precision. Colt McCoy on the other hand looked woefully out of touch, prompting one Oakland coach to describe his performance as less Joe Montana and more Hannah Montana. At the half he had the miserable figures of 6 from 20 for 45 yards and two interceptions. The Oakland running game was not it’s usual fluid self and it was only a couple of late scores that gave the scoreline any semblance of respectability. Oakland will no doubt point to the early loss to injury of key players on both offense and defence, but the truth is they never got started and in the end were well beaten. Worse news came after the game with two of those injuries, to Safety Melvin Bullitt and receiver Louis Murphy proving to be season enders.Both have been outstanding for Oakland and thir loss capped a miserable day in Oakland. Raiders Gm Tim Brown had this to say after the match. “ Despite the scoreline that was easily our worst performance for some time and it’s one that’s not easy to explain. We were in pretty good form going into the game but we never got off the ground. Anything that could go wrong did and San Diego are too good a team to let you off the hook. We’ll take a look at the game film and work hard to ensure we put things right. Rest assured that wasn’t the real Raiders out there today and we need to get that team back on the field quickly”
After the game both Bullitt and Murphy were placed on IR with ex Seahawk Deon Grant being signed as cover at the safety position. Given Oakland’s habit of blooding youngsters Tyvon Branch is likely to start ahead of Grant. Former Colt Reggie Wayne proved too expensive for Oakland who announced they would be turning to rookie Joe Webb in the absence of Murphy. The 6ft 3” Webb was a 4th Rd pick out of UAB and has one score so far despite limited playing time. Of more concern to Oakland will be to get McCoy and McFadden back on form as with key games coming up any more defeats would likely prove terminal to their season. |
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Forum Discussion
(by T_Brown on 07/03/2010)
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Replies - 4 :: Views - 29 |
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Raiders Weekly Week Two |
TURNOVERS SURFACE AGAIN FOR OAKLAND
Oakland 17-10 Cleveland
After last week’s turnover turmoil Oakland almost contrived to hand the game to Cleveland in a lacklustre performance week 2. Three fumbles and a pick handed over possession to the Browns but fortunately for Oakland their defence was able to limit the damage. On the bright side Colt McCoy and his receivers were in tune again as last week’s cobwebs were blown off in a fine performance, especially by the splendid Heyward-Bey who had a career best 212 yards receiving. In true Raiders fashion however as one element of their offense blossomed the other stuttered as McFadden had his worst game in a Raiders shirt with less than 50 yds at 2.33ypc. Raiders fans must be licking their lips at the thought of what will happen if they get the offense firing on all cylinders. With the offensive line looking solid and settled they will be hoping that day’s not far off.
On defense it was business as usual as Oakland hounded Derek Anderson all day sacking him 3 times and intercepting him twice. Rookie Corner Devin Ross replaced the disappointing Stanford Routt at number two, having an excellent debut. The Raiders were impressive against the run again giving up just 65 yards with 30 of those on one play as once again they looked solid if unspectacular in all areas.
The Raiders now enter into a brutal run with games against the Steelers, Cowboys Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos. At the end of that run we’ll have a better idea of where their season will end up. One thing’s for sure they will need to cut out the unforced errors if they’re to have a chance of progressing. First up is a trip to Pittsburgh with Oakland out to revenge last season’s close defeat in the AFC Divisional game. Expect the usual tight encounter and some old fashioned grind it out football. |
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Forum Discussion
(by T_Brown on 06/21/2010)
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Replies - 3 :: Views - 34 |
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At A Glance
| AFC West |
| RNK |
TEAM |
W-L-T |
PCT |
DIV |
| #3 |
 Chargers |
6-2-0 |
0.750 |
2-1 |
| #10 |
 Raiders |
5-3-0 |
0.625 |
3-1 |
| #26 |
 Chiefs |
3-5-0 |
0.375 |
1-1 |
| #16 |
 Broncos |
3-5-0 |
0.375 |
0-3 |
| RAIDERS SCHEDULE |
| WK |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME/RESULT |
| 1 |
Sun |
vs  Eagles #9 |
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| 2 |
Sun |
at  Browns #29 |
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| 3 |
Sun |
at  Steelers #19 |
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| 5 |
Sun |
vs Chargers #3 |
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| 6 |
Sun |
at Broncos #16 |
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| 7 |
Sun |
at  Cowboys #13 |
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| 8 |
Sun |
at Chiefs #26 |
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| 9 |
Sun |
vs Broncos #16 |
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| 10 |
Sun |
vs Chiefs #26 |
4:15pm |
| 11 |
Sun |
at  Giants #22 |
1:00pm |
| 12 |
Sun |
at Chargers #3 |
4:15pm |
| 13 |
Sun |
at  Bills #27 |
4:15pm |
| 14 |
Sun |
vs  Redskins #4 |
4:05pm |
| 15 |
Sat |
vs  Bengals #17 |
8:30pm |
| 16 |
Sat |
vs  Ravens #12 |
4:15pm |
| 17 |
Sun |
vs  Colts #8 |
4:15pm |
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