If the phrase "running game" means anything to you, you have to look at Oakland and take a deep breath.
The presence is there for Darren McFadden and Michael Bush to rise to the next level.
The question is, can they?
The Raiders have had some had some truly great backs over the years. Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Kenny King, Mark Van Eeghan, Clem Daniels; all known for being punishing runners, although some are more notable than others.
Few can forget Bo's Kingdome show, or Marcus Allen pulling the plug on the Redskins in the Super Bowl.
In more recent years, tandem play has had ...
Every offseason each team in the NFL works hard to improve before the new season starts. Every team has a goal of reaching the playoffs and making a run at the title.
Even the Oakland Raiders, who have sturggled the last seven years, have hopes for making the playoffs. In previous years it may have been coaches or players saying all the right things to get the Raider Nation excited.
This year not only are the coaches, players and owner saying the right things, but they are also doing the right things as well.
All this has once again gotten the ...
Let's jump right into this with DE Richard Seymour.
Since the Oakland Raiders acquired Seymour from the New England Patriots, Seymour has played without losing a step. Very consistent. As a fantasy player, Seymour should have more sacks this year since the Raiders also added Kamerion Wimbley to the line.
Seymour averages 40 tackles a season and, with the new look of the Raiders, should be able to post higher sack numbers. Those sacks add to points.
LB Kamerion Wimbley is another sacking threat should he "step up" his game for the Silver and Black. Wimbley had a great rookie season with 11 ...
In 1960, the silver and black, then a member of the AFL, played their inaugural season across the bay in San Fransisco and shared Kezar Stadium with the 49ers. The 49ers would play their last game there in 1970.
The Raiders, meanwhile, moved on the next year to Candlestick Park. Candlestick Park was more famously known as the home to the 49ers, but in 1961, the park was used by the Raiders, sharing the field with the San Fransisco Giants.
The Raiders were on the move again in 1962. Moving across the bay to Oakland, the silver and black played out of Frank Youell Field ...
Now that the speculation seems to be over about the Oakland Raiders getting the often disgruntled Terrell Owens, let's take a look at the veteran that appears to make sense in more ways than a few.
Kevin Curtis is the option that makes the most sense to come in and lead a very young group of recievers. Unlike T.O., Curtis is a team player that is unconcerned about the amount of balls that come his way. You won't have to worry about him throwing quarterbacks and play callers under the bus.
At 32, Curtis isn't that old. He has very good hands and ...
Jason Campbell is the guy Oakland is depending on to move "from the red to the black" in victories and franchise value.
When an accountant says you are "in the red," it means you have less money than you have debt. That type of labeling could easily be applied to the win-loss record for the Oakland Raiders. If you look at the 2009 5-11 record and subtract the two numbers, you get a negative six, which means we were definitely "in the red."
Our team is in the red because we have more losses than wins. The 411 on this matter is ...
Rewind to 2007.
"With the number one pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders select from LSU, JaMarcus Russell."
Those words started what can be considered one of the biggest all time draft busts in the history of the NFL. No player has ever walked away from a team with so much money for doing so little.
After years of lackadaisical and uninterested effort, JaMarcus got his walking papers from the Raiders (some might say not soon enough) and a nice parting gift of $3 million dollars, for being a contestant on the show.
The architect of the scenario, however, remains quite behind ...
If you have been following this series, you'll remember a statement I made in Part-3. I said the defensive line was the most difficult position to predict. Do you remember that? Yeah, well...I lied!
The linebacker corps for the Raiders is deeper and more convoluted than I can remember in recent history. There's just one of the three positions that seems to be relatively clear cut, and that is the middle or "Mike" position.
There are 10 players listed as linebackers on the Raider's official roster at this moment. All of them are fighting for, at most seven spots on the team, ...
The Raiders have always polarised opinion in football fans, you either love them or you hate them.
Some people though cross the line, some former employees like Lane Kiffin, some are ex players who didn't make it in the silver and black, and some are sports journalists who have lost their objectivity and who should know better.
Either way, there are some people who should just shut up about the Oakland Raiders, because every time they open their mouths thay make fools of themselves, not the Raiders.
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There is much hype surrounding the impending promotion of Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals to the big leagues. Deservedly so. If he wasn't hyped up enough before being drafted by Washington, he's proved his mettle in the minors this season, specifically with his spotless 0.00 ERA after 18 1/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse.
But what of the A's most hyped prospect? First Baseman Chris Carter is nowhere near as acclaimed as Strasburg. However, a team as power-starved as the A's can't help but look to Carter to help bring balance to a team excelling with it's pitching staff.
The A's pitching ...