Don’t mess up a good thing, Oakland. Give Terrelle Pryor a redshirt this season. The Raiders are 3-2 and one of the surprise teams in the NFL because they have an identity. They are an elite rushing team (second in the NFL), and they take full advantage of a superior offensive line that is quietly one of the best in the game. The passing game is all about game management. QB Jason Campbell is perfect for this role as he is one of the smartest QBs in the league. He doesn’t take a ton of chances downfield, but he doesn’t ...
Even if you need him to be your backup/starting quarterback, the Oakland Raiders' Jason Campbell is a solid fantasy option.That is, if he's still available in your league.For starters, the Raiders have the No. 2 rushing offense, with running back Darren McFadden thwarting opposing rush defenses.And although Run DMC only account for 68 total yards last week in Houston, attempting to establish a ground game is important for the success of Jason Campbell.As evidenced by that game plan against the Texans, Campbell threw for only 190 yards, but connected on two TD passes.In the end, Oakland's defense stepped up big, ...
Let’s begin our offseason with a look at where the A’s stand at each of their positions heading into next year. With nine weeks remaining before the beginning of baseball’s winter meetings, we’ll split the roster up into exactly nine installments of this segment: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, outfield, designated hitter, starting pitching and bullpen. There may need to be some updates here and there if the front office gets busy early on; but ideally we’ll be able to use this as a starting point and reflect on whether or not the A’s are making positive ...
Sports owners tend to stay out of the limelight. However, in this generation, there have been three major sports owners that always seemed to seek it. Al Davis and George Steinbrenner were two of them.Al Davis was a great owner. He won 15 division championships, five AFC/AFL titles and three Super Bowls (XI, XV and XVIII). However, after the victory in Super Bowl XVII victory, their success was more like waves at the beach.They would not reach the success of winning a Super Bowl. However, they would have back-to-back playoff runs in 1984-85, three in four years from '90-'93 and ...
The Biggest Loser scale could not withstand the enormity of the collective NFL heart today as we digest the passing of icon Al Davis. Many will grieve in their own Silver and Black way today, but the heaviest heart should be that of former Raiders head coach John Madden.
The importance of Al Davis on John Madden’s career is not lost on the gregarious former coach and longtime friend:
Al Davis has been the biggest influence in my professional football life. I mean, he was a guy that gave me an opportunity, one, to get into professional football in 1967 as an ...
No matter how one feels about Al Davis it’s tough to deny his contribution to the National Football League. The 82-year-old football pioneer passed away this morning at his home in Oakland. The Raider legend was nothing short of a lightening rod during his tenure with the Raiders by challenging the NFL on several occasions and drafting controversial players.But before he turned into the crotchety, cantankerous old man who used an overhead projector at a press conference to explain why he decided to fire a certain head coach he was an innovator.During the Al Davis era players like Bo Jackson, ...
With Saturday's passing of Al Davis, we're given an opportunity to reflect on what he meant to not only the Oakland Raiders, but the entire NFL.Davis brought a different element to ownership. He was more than any title we could truly give him. He was more than a coach, an innovator, owner or catalyst for change in the NFL. There have been few whom have had the affect Davis has had on the league, and here are the top four ways he brought change to the NFL we now know and love.Begin Slideshow
It's no secret that the Oakland Raiders have struggled in recent years, and Al Davis typically gets the blame for that. Does Davis deserve the bad rap he receives, or is he too harshly judged? It is well known that Davis once ran the NFL with his tremendous knowledge of the game, but was he still at the top of his game in recent years?Since 1998, the Raiders have had seven different head coaches. The team has had a top 10 draft pick six times since 2004. This is not exactly a sign of success, and to further the point, ...
In the Oakland Raiders' history, they have always been something of a nomadic team. After a few years of courtroom battles, they left Oakland for supposedly greener pastures in Los Angeles after the 1981 season. For disputed reasons, they never managed to get a new stadium in Los Angeles. So, they made a move back up north, to their original home of Oakland. They became the Oakland Raiders again in the 1995 season, but the rumors of relocation have never really stopped. In part, it's because Al Davis had relocated so often that nobody could say with any ...
I write this article with a 2,000-pound heart.An NFL giant has passed away today at age 82, so today, I write this article in celebration. No—not in celebration of his death but in celebration his life in football and his many accomplishments.Everyone loves to talk about what a rebel he was as he did things his own way, but it's much deeper than that. He was an innovator—giving opportunities to many that otherwise wouldn't get one and had an eye for talent like no other.He is actually responsible for the NFL we have today.I even wonder how much Raider fans would love the ...