The Oakland Raiders have the talent to play meaningful games in December, but in order to this, though, they will need many of their players to have excellent seasons.Reggie McKenzie has managed to get the Raiders under the cap, which was no easy task. Unfortunately for McKenzie, the Raiders do not have many draft selections this year due to the old regime trading their first two selections away. The Raiders have not reached the playoffs since 2002. The arrival of Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos will not make their path to the playoffs any easier. Oakland will need to depend on Carson ...
I had planned on writing a post entitled "Reggie McKenzie Quietly Doing Things Right In Oakland," until Sports Illustrated's Peter King led his Monday Morning Quarterback column with McKenzie cleaning up Al Davis and Hue Jackson's mess. Seems McKenzie's work is not going unnoticed. McKenzie, who worked in the Green Bay Packers front office for 18 years under the tutelage of Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, walked into just about the worst situation possible for a new general manager. The Raiders were $26 million over the salary cap and had traded away the bulk of their 2012 draft, and they were ...
The 2012 NFL draft is just over two weeks away and teams will have to start making some tough decisions about their draft boards in the coming days. When it comes to equally graded players, each team will have to decide how to break the tie.The smallest of the details might be the difference between Spergon Wynn and Tom Brady.While Tom Brady is the exception and not the norm, missing details can lead you to miss on a player and alter the path of an entire franchise.It's not hard to assume that every team has draft regrets. How many teams ...
The Oakland Raiders agreed to a contract with free-agent defensive end Dave Tollefson on Friday, marking another smart move from new general manager Reggie McKenzie in restocking the Raiders roster and repairing a messy salary-cap situation this offseason.According to Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post and ESPN, the deal was for two years and worth $2.5 million, with $1.5 million guaranteed.
Former Giant/Packer DE Dave Tollefson agrees with Oakland for 2 years, $2.5M. Good guy, good value for Reggie and the Raiders.— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) April 7, 2012
In 16 games (two starts) for the New York Giants last season, Tollefson ...
Christmas has come early for fans of the Oakland Raiders in 2012, as not only does the team now appear to have a competent general manager in Reggie McKenzie, but when compensatory draft selections were recently handed out by the NFL the Raiders were among the big winners, picking up a trio of picks.The great train robbery that was the Carson Palmer trade still leaves the Raiders with no picks in the 2012 NFL draft until the end of the third round. However, that doesn't mean that Oakland can't get better at the end of the month, and here's one ...
The Athletics fell behind 4-0 in the first game of 2012 in the Oakland Coliseum and never recovered, falling 7-3 to the Seattle Mariners.Starter Brandon McCarthy was less than sharp in five innings, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out three. This marks the second time on two continents that Seattle has defeated Oakland in an "opener," the first being a 3-1 extra innings victory on March 28th. The loss drops Oakland to 1-2 on the season.Once again, Jason Vargas kept the A's largely off balance. Over 5.1 innings, he allowed five hits and one walk while striking ...
Before the Oakland Raiders front office closed up shop for Friday Night, they managed to make one more move towards improving their depth at defensive line, signing free agent defensive end Dave Tollefson to a reported two-year, $2.5 million deal.Tollefson, who for a time was on the Raiders practice squad, will see decent playing time as a rotational rusher, as well as a role on special teams. This acquisition helps to fill the void from losing DE Trevor Scott, the release of DT John Henderson, and the uncertain future with unrestricted free agent DE Jarvis Moss.Tollefson had solid production ...
The Oakland Raiders made another wise signing that addressed an area of need Friday, agreeing to terms with free-agent defensive lineman Dave Tollefson in a move that will help solidify a defensive front that had been weakened by free agency.The 29 year-old Tollefson's deal was first reported by Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group, who said that, while the contract itself hasn't been formalized, details are being ironed out that will signal a return to Oakland for Tollefson, who spent part of the 2007 season on the Raiders' practice squad:
Details of the contract are being finalized. A source ...
The A's 2012 regular season resumed Friday against the Mariners, and finally their roster appears to be set, for now. They chose to go in interesting routes, like maintaining only a four-man rotation and having three lefties in the bullpen, but it's safe to say that this roster is only temporary.With that said, there are several surprising names on the A's 25-man roster and several surprising names playing in Sacramento right now. For the time being, having a seven-man bullpen and an extra outfielder is a luxury they can afford, but one they won't be able to keep in the ...
With the draft only a few weeks away, general manager Reggie McKenzie has done a tremendous job filling in the holes of the Oakland Raiders.On defense, he has signed serviceable players such as Philip Wheeler, Ron Bartell and Shawntae Spencer. Of course, there are other positions—such as tight end, left guard and right tackle—that can be upgraded.Of those three, I see left guard being the most glaring because there is no apparent heir to take over as starter. At right tackle, Khalif Barnes will be pushed by second-year Joseph Barksdale, while both Richard Gordon and Davis Ausberry will fight with ...