The Oakland Raiders only kept five wide receivers on the 53-man roster, and that could prove problematic for the team in Week 1. Of the five young receivers that made the team, there is a possibility Jacoby Ford, Denarius Moore and Juron Criner will not play or will be limited on Monday night against the San Diego Chargers. Ford is battling back from an injury to the same foot that caused him to miss six games last season, and Moore has been nursing a hamstring since the very start of training camp. Criner has been limited in practice this week ...
The Oakland Raiders are consistently underestimated, and the San Diego Chargers will do that to their cost on Monday night. There is a new dawn rising in Oakland and this Week 1 matchup will be the first glimpse of it. This fixture has always had a hard-hitting history and Monday should only continue that trend. San Diego has already had injury problems, so it will be likely be without running back Ryan Mathews as well as wide receiver Vincent Brown. This will only add to the woes of the Chargers as Oakland gets its season off with a bang. There ...
Raiders fans are counting the minutes until Monday night when Oakland will host the San Diego Chargers to kick off the regular season.It's a new day and age for the Silver and Black Attack, including the seven rookies on Oakland's final 53-man roster. From late round workhorses to undrafted standouts, the Raiders look to benefit from a heap of fresh talent and energy on both sides of the ball.Let's see how the Raiders' rookie class looks heading into Monday night.Begin Slideshow
In a year where Josh Reddick was arguably ousted from the American League All-Star team, Oakland Athletics fans can eat the chip on their shoulders—as the right fielder did against his former employer. Reddick was named American League player of the week due in large part to his first career grand slam against Bobby Valentine's struggling Red Sox in the 20-2 massacre in Oakland. The Athletics' OF accounted for three home runs, 10 RBI, 12 hits and scored six times over their flawless week that left the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians winless against Oakland. The American League is no ...
When Al Davis died and a new regime was brought in to make the decisions for the Oakland Raiders, everyone knew there would be wide-scale changes, but I'm not sure anyone could have imagined they'd happen this quickly.The clearest picture of these changes began to take form this past week, when defensive backs DeMarcus Van Dyke and Chimdi Chekwa were both released before their second full professional season could begin.On paper, Van Dyke was the quintessential Al Davis guy—fast.Unfortunately, throughout his rookie season (which was eventually cut short by injury), Van Dyke failed to convert that speed into the ability ...
When people mention the name of Oakland A's general manager, Billy Beane, many adjectives follow: Overrated, brilliant, shrewd and ring-less are a few. And while there are those who may never give Beane the credit he deserves for having built a solid small-market playoff contender during the 2000s, the job he has done in 2012 simply cannot be overstated.Understand, the A's were simply supposed to be a bad rebuilding team working towards a new stadium in Oakland or elsewhere. It was expected that their nucleus would not be solidified until at least 2014, and this was supposed to be the ...
Monday Night Football. The Black Hole. A big rivalry game.What's not to like?Well, it may not be pretty, but there's lots of storylines in this one.This marks the first full season without Al Davis for the Raiders. They are coming off a tumultuous 2011, and first-year head coach, 39-year-old Dennis Allen, will make his debut for the Silver and Black. Raiders fans are also waiting in anticipation to see if Darren McFadden is all the way back. And some in Raider Nation are counting the days until Terrell Pryor spells Carson Palmer.For the Chargers, Norv Turner has a lot to ...
It's been a long time since the Oakland Raiders have had a legitimate No. 1 receiver lining up outside.Tim Brown was the last great receiver the Raiders had, and trying to find a solid No. 1 option has plagued the team since he left in 2004.Al Davis drafted Darrius Heyward-Bey with the seventh-overall pick in 2009 with the hopes of bringing a young, fast receiver to Oakland, and the Raiders' late owner took plenty of heat for his decision to pass on Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree for the speedy Heyward-Bey.Though he was a disappointment in his first two years ...
While the 53-man roster is an ever-evolving list of players, the Oakland Raiders have done their best to compile the roster they'll go to battle with Monday night.Among the surprising cuts were defensive backs Chimdi Chekwa and DeMarcus Van Dyke, two 2011 Oakland draft picks who had up-and-down preseasons thus far. In their place are some new faces who have yet to wear the silver and black, and they will do so for the first time in Week 1.With all the changes and surprises, we graded each player's performance this offseason as we anxiously await the season's opening.Begin Slideshow
In March of this year my nine and 11 year old sons said to me, “Dad, we think the A’s are gonna be pretty good this year.” I smiled at the innocence of youth and thought to myself that the national pundits might know a little more than a couple of kids. A mathematician from NJIT used carefully constructed algorithms and thoughtful mathematical theories to predict a 68-94 record. National scribes from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and others predicted no better than a third place finish for the Green and Gold. Even as recently as last Monday, the team with ...