The Oakland Raiders are trying to put together a winning team for the first time in over a decade. The Raiders have mortgaged future years for long enough as they patched holes in the trenches and added speedsters outside. General manager Reggie McKenzie is trying to build something more stable and to do that he needs a good foundation. The offensive and defensive lines are that foundation. McKenzie had six draft picks in 2011 and spent three of them on the lines. Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei is a player McKenzie should have on his short list of players to ...
As general manager Reggie McKenzie prepares to deal with his second offseason under the financial burdens left behind by late owner Al Davis, there are 17 unrestricted free agents on Oakland's roster that McKenzie must decide upon.Notable free agents like linebacker Philip Wheeler, tight end Brandon Myers and defensive tackle Desmond Bryant should be brought back next season, but there is still too much dead weight on the Raiders' roster.Here are some free agents McKenzie must part ways with in the offseason: Richard Seymour, DTThe 33-year-old defensive tackle missed the second half of the 2012 regular season after he injured his ...
If you were shocked by the production the Oakland Athletics finished 2012 with, you might also be surprised when they end 2013 even better. The A's were in the top 10 in home runs, walks and stolen bases last season. Granted, they struck out as a team more than any other in Major League Baseball. Still, getting on base, runners moving themselves over and the long ball are efficient when it comes to winning ballgames. During this coming season, Oakland will score even more. The offseason moves were few and subtle. But by the end of the year, they'll be ...
The Oakland Raiders need defensive players. There isn’t a position on defense in Oakland that couldn’t use an infusion of talent, but the need for a pass-rusher is the most glaring. A good pass rush helps the secondary and linebackers in coverage. The Raiders are in luck because there is no shortage of pass-rushers in the 2013 NFL draft. Whether the Raiders trade down for more draft picks or keep their selection, there is likely to be a good pass-rusher available. One of the best in the class is LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo.Only one team had fewer sacks in ...
Well before the Oakland Raiders get to the 2013 NFL Draft, Dennis Allen and Reggie McKenzie will have some important decisions to make in the free agency period. This time around, the Raiders are expected to be right up against the salary cap, rather than the significant amount over that they were last offseason. This, in tandem with some likely cost-cutting moves to come, will allow Reggie McKenzie at least a little bit of wiggle room to make some moves. It’s easy enough to point out which free agents a given team should go after. However, moves that a team ...
The Oakland A's caught lightning in a bottle in 2012 and then weaponized it, using their electricity to scorch all comers in one of the most improbable late-season surges in recent memory.It wasn't until the A's came across the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS that they finally ran out of juice. But even in defeat, the fans at O.co Coliseum still treated their beloved A's like winners, giving them a standing ovation mere minutes after Detroit ace Justin Verlander had finished off a shutout in Game 5.That's the kind of season it was for Oakland's local nine. One for the books, indeed. ...
The Oakland A's and the rest of the MLB are getting ready to send their pitchers and catchers to either Arizona or Florida to begin the 2013 spring training. The A's may have one more guest than anticipated. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's are considering signing Japanese relief pitcher Hideki Okajima, who spent several seasons pitching for the Boston Red Sox, as well as several seasons in Japan. This past year in Japan, he put up great numbers, with a 0.94 ERA over 47.2 innings. During his time in Boston, he posted a 3.06 ...
There has been a lot of talk lately about who should be the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. Many have argued that Terrelle Pryor should be given his chance, especially after his decent start in the last game of the season against the San Diego Chargers. Others are still in the camp of veteran Carson Palmer. They say he had a decent season, and some of the problems he had was the fault of a very poor offensive game plan by the now departed Greg Knapp. While valid arguments can be made for both Pryor and Palmer, I believe it ...
The San Francisco 49ers have a chance to win their sixth Super Bowl on Sunday and a big part of their run has been Colin Kaepernick. Jim Harbaugh made the decision to go with Kaepernick as his starter midseason, and now he looks like a genius. Kaepernick was drafted two years ago with the fourth pick of the second round (36th overall) when the 49ers traded up with the Denver Broncos. If the Raiders also wanted to draft Kaepernick (and it seems like they did), they would have needed to trade ahead of the 49ers to draft him. Hindsight is ...
The strength of the Oakland A's is in their pitching. They have a very good bullpen that has been fortified in the offseason and it is expected to anchor the team in 2013. But as spring training approaches, the unit with the most room for growth and with the biggest potential to move the A's closer towards a World Series championship is their starting pitching.Last year, the A's ranked ninth in starter's earned run average (ERA) at 3.80 in spite of many obstacles. The biggest by far was the prolonged absence of staff ace Brett Anderson, who did not return ...