The Oakland Raiders will win the AFC West in 2011! Yeah, I said it! There's a new Sheriff in town! No, wait. There's a new "bully" on the block! I would never have dared to say such a thing from 2003 to 2009 but 2011 is a different year. In 2010, the once "proud and poised" franchise showed signs of regaining those traits to come out of their seven year funk. There is now plenty of reason to believe the Raiders can win the AFC West! Turn the page to explore the reasoning behind the prediction.Begin Slideshow
The NFL players and owners are back at it again in Boston trying to bang out a new agreement. That is a very good sign but there is some very interesting news coming out of Boston these days. Everyone that reports on the situation speaks of how close the two sides are and how deal will get done soon. ESPN's Adam Schefter via twitter revealed a little part of what the new C.B.A. is expected to consist of a couple of days ago. Okay, it's a big part! According to Schefter, unrestricted free agency will be at four years if the proposed deal ...
Darren McFadden's 2010 statistics:Rushing: 223 carries for 1,157 yards and 7 touchdowns.Receiving: 47 catches for 507 yards and 3 touchdowns.Those are the numbers that the Oakland Raiders were expecting from McFadden when they selected the Arkansas product fourth overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.McFadden finally lived up to the hype. Everyone knew all along that "Run DMC" had the talent. People just needed to see it.Now the question is whether McFadden can do it again. Listed below are five reasons he will and five reasons he won't duplicate the success of 2010.Five Reasons McFadden Will Duplicate the Success of 2010:1. McFadden is a complete backMcFadden used his ...
As expected, the Oakland A's optioned struggling first baseman, Daric Barton, to Triple-A, following Tuesday's game against the New York Mets.The move was made to clear a roster spot for Mark Ellis, who will be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday.According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser (via Twitter), the move was made to give Barton a chance "to get his stroke back." She also states that manager Bob Melvin still believes Barton will be important to the team this year.Barton has been stuck in a season-long slump, batting just .212 without a single homer. His defense has ...
Buyers or sellers? That is the question.
It wasn't long ago that the Oakland Athletics were knee-deep in a June swoon losing 13 out of 14 games. The climate in Oakland was lukewarm at best, and that's being nice.
There was still hope due to the A's pitching staff, but losing starting pitcher Brett Anderson for an extended period of time lowered the temperature a bit in A's land. Dallas Braden (out for the season), Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross have already been sideline by injuries, but Graham Godfrey and Guillermo Moscoso have filled in and done a formidable job keeping fans off ...
At the beginning of the year some experts picked the Oakland Athletics to make a deep playoff run. Now, sitting five games back of the Texas Rangers, it looks like Oakland’s chances of making the playoffs this year are slim. With the trade deadline a little over a month away, teams are looking to buy or sell. One of the teams looking to sell might be the Oakland Athletics, and one superstar is on every team’s wish list: Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez is considered one of the best young pitchers in the game. At only 25 years old, he still has ...
A few months ago, I wrote an article that revealed my top 10 all-time Raiders in franchise history. The Raiders have had so many great players, there were a bunch of players I believed I snubbed, but I didn't see them being better than my top 10 Raiders. To see those players on the list, I expanded it to 25. Again, there were so many great Raiders in the team's history, there are still some guys I didn't get in there. However, I am much happier with this list than I was with the last one. I have a few changes ...
It seems that some folk think that the NFL lockout will be over and settled in about two weeks. This news leak could be a teaser, or even better, a bit of torture. Since this is the first day of summer according to the news, it just makes sense to resolve and solve the NFL lockout issues. It's almost certain that some of the players have not stayed on course and trained with the intensity they would have had without the lockout. Others, some of us believe, worked out and focused so that they would be able to give optimal ...
With the NFL lockout now reaching 100 days, the Raider Nation has had much more time than usual to ponder free agency and what ramifications it will have on the Oakland Raiders.We've explored things ranging from Nnamdi Asomugha to the offensive line, and another hot topic that has risen in conversation is whether or not Oakland should sign a veteran wide receiver.The Raiders have an extremely young receiving corps, with the 27-year-old Johnnie Lee Higgins being the oldest body.Names that have floated around for possible signees include players like Plaxico Burress and Chad Johnson.However, the most likely receiver for Oakland ...
Geren out. Melvin in.The result: the longest winning streak of the year, a sweep of the reigning champs and an electric rookie sparking the offense.Will it continue? Will these changes be enough?I don't think so.So far, its been a great story. Melvin is 6-4. Jemile Weeks is batting .364 with seven extra base hits and the A's avenged their sweep at the hands of the Giants with one of their own.On paper, though, the A's are far from perfect. They are still five games out of first place and seven under .500. The offense, while improved, is still far from ...