The looming release of the film, Moneyball, based on the best-selling book with the same title should probably be a somewhat flattering achievement for not only general manager Billy Beane but also the entire Oakland A’s organization. Imagine: a feature-length movie that illustrates your team’s revolutionary new business model that produces successful results on the baseball field. Sounds more like an economics documentary for a Finance 101 class. Instead, Moneyball somehow has been turned into a made-for-big-screen story, Hollywoodized with the glamorous background and glitzy megastars in Brad Pitt and Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who would’ve thunk that such ...
In an NFL that has transformed into a passing league, defensive coordinators are coming up with complex blitzing and coverage schemes, and NFL front offices are scrambling for shutdown cornerbacks, which are a rarity. The better offensive coordinators in the NFL have made their bones by scheming against the 4-3, 3-4, nickel, and dime packages, which has led defensive coordinators to be more inventive. With four- and five-receiver sets, QBs are taking advantage of the lack of cover corners in the NFL. QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers might be on their way ...
Following an 8-8 season in 2010, both the Oakland Raiders players and head coach Hue Jackson believe that they can win the AFC West and send the Raiders to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.Last season was all about the running game as the Raiders ranked second in rushing yards per game, only behind the Kansas City Chiefs. On the defensive side of the ball, the loss of Nnamdi Asomugha puts a lot of pressure on the defensive backs in 2011. With all that said, we'll look at the five most important players for the Raiders in 2011 en route to ...
A lot of people will call the Raiders/Chiefs or Cowboys/Giants the biggest rivalry in the NFL. Others will say the Packers/Bears or Steelers/Ravens are the NFL's biggest all-time rivalry.The Packers/Bears goes back further than the rest, but they never really played for a whole lot since the merger. Cowboys/Giants is a pretty good one, but since the merger, the Giants were nothing until the mid-'80s. Raiders/Chiefs goes all the way back to the '60s, as Lamar Hunt and Al Davis feuded but have since fizzled. From the merger until now, the Raiders/Broncos rivalry has withstood the test of time, more so than any other. The rivalry has had no shortage ...
After looking at a video on www.raiders.com, a bright idea came to mind. There is so much criticism in the atmosphere after last week's heartbreaker, that I thought it would be a good idea to show a little love to the Oakland Raiders. Someone presented his teacher with flowers. It was a surprise to the teacher because the grades for the students have not been too good on the past few quizzes. The topics are getting tougher, and the weak students are falling by the wayside. Well, the competition is getting tougher for the Oakland Raiders. Falling by the wayside ...
Hue Jackson has been bold enough to state his vision. He says, "Call him crazy." Why? He believes that the Oakland Raiders can make it to the Super Bowl. He has written his vision, and now he is going to aggressively pursue it.
It makes sense to set expectations high. It requires a high level of commitment to stay focused on such a high goal for the team. Any vision lower than the Super Bowl will not inspire optimal performance from the Oakland Raiders. "Aim High" was a motto of one of the branches of the military, and perhaps Hue Jackson ...
On the surface, Darren McFadden had a breakout season in 2010. Upon further review, is there reason to believe that he won't be as productive this year?Last season, Darren McFadden rushed for 1,157 yards and had a 5.2 yards-per-carry average. He also added 47 receptions for 507 yards. By any standards, it was a fine season by the third-year back.Many wondered if the Raiders had drafted a first-round dud after McFadden's first two years in the NFL. As much as his seasons were marred by injuries, small and otherwise, McFadden had yet to display the explosive ability everyone was anticipating. In ...
All 32 teams are in action during the opening week of the season. Obviously, what that means is that 16 teams will win this week.Well, only 12 teams make the playoffs. So, we're going to have at least four teams that win that will not make the playoffs. We're also going to have a few teams lose that will come back and make the playoffs.But we're not going positive here. Let's take a look at the teams who will win their opener but will won't make the playoffs.Arizona CardinalsThe Cardinals are playing at home against Carolina. The Panthers' quarterback situation ...
The Oakland Raiders are no where near as bad as all of the media reports right now as they get healthy. But I think that there are some moves that the Raiders can make that will take the team even further in 2011.
This is a very talented and fast team with all the play making ability in the world at the skill positions on offense. But this "bully" that the Raiders are trying to build is lacking the bully type in a few positions.
The Raiders are getting healthy in the secondary so the unit isn't as bad as it looked in the preseason. A move ...
Oakland Raiders rookie running back Taiwan Jones made quite a splash this preseason, and he quickly rocketed up the list of must-have fantasy football sleepers.In the cold light of reality, however, can having Jones on your roster really provide your fantasy team with that much help?Jones, if he is a fantasy starter, should be thought of in the context of a third running back, a flex player or a PPR benefit. He only has RB2 value if the league is extremely deep, at least at this point in the season.It would take a lot for Jones to emerge as an ...