To say the Oakland Raiders cleaned house on their defense is an understatement. Only two starters from last year's defense are back for 2013, Tyvon Branch and Lamarr Houston.
Houston is the sole survivor of the 2012 defensive line. The 2010 second-rounder is thrilled to be back and for good reason, as he escaped the house cleaning by general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen. The top brass saw value in Houston and decided to spare him.
There's no doubt Houston has a new life with the Raiders, and he hasn't taken it for granted.
He took this offseason to rededicate himself ...
The Oakland Raiders are going through a transition. Among the many changes in Oakland are nine new starters on defense, a new starting quarterback and a new offensive scheme. Only 17 players remain from the 2010 team and as many as five of those players are fighting for their roster spot.
One of the positions with the least turnover was wide receiver, where the Raiders returned four of the six players from last season. One of them is second-year man Rod Streater, who made the roster last season as an undrafted free agent out of Temple University.
Streater had just 49 receptions ...
During the eighth inning of Monday night's Oakland Athletics-Toronto Blue Jays game, one usher showed off some serious dance moves.This guy is a dancing machine. Video and GIF from MLB.Read more Oakland Athletics news on BleacherReport.com
After an eventful offseason, the Oakland Raiders have now officially kicked off their 2013 training camp. With that, the Raider Nation can really start to get excited about the upcoming season.
This year's squad has some familiar faces back in the fold, but plenty of new ones as well.
Here is a look at some photos from the first few days of camp.Begin Slideshow
Though the Texas Rangers acquired pitcher Matt Garza, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane shouldn't feel pressured to respond with an equivalently loud move.
The Rangers are 2-5 since the July 22 addition. The A's, meanwhile, won five out of seven in the same span, increasing their AL West division lead by six games. And best of all, they're earning hard-fought wins with the same sense of confidence we saw late last season.
In comments captured by Jane Lee of MLB.com, Oakland skipper Bob Melvin shared some insight:
I think we got some confidence in the second half of last year going forward, ...
Billy Beane is doing it again. He's putting together a roster of misfits who are doing nothing but winning baseball games. And it's all being done with the fourth-lowest payroll in the majors and a bunch of guys the casual fan can't name.
Heading into action on July 27, the Oakland A's winning percentage is .583, good for fifth in Major League Baseball. And they're leading the Texas Rangers in the American League West by four games. All this with a roster of cast-offs and no-names and a ballpark that has a history of sewage backups.
Despite all the disadvantages Beane and Co. ...
According to Scott Blair of CSN California, the Oakland Raiders wrapped up their first day of training camp by signing veteran offensive lineman Andre Gurode. Gurode was given the typical Reggie McKenzie one-year deal that many of the general manager's free-agent acquisitions get.
Throughout his long NFL career, Gurode went to five consecutive Pro Bowls (2006-2010) and has started 127 games since 2002. The downside to signing Gurode is that at his age (34) he is at the end of his career and after not playing at all in 2012, his best days are behind him.
Despite his age, this is a ...
With less than a week until the MLB trade deadline, it was reported by CSN Bay Area that the Oakland A's are interested in acquiring Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox. Oakland's interest in Peavy could just be a knee-jerk reaction to the division-rival Texas Rangers acquiring Matt Garza from the White Sox's geographic rival, the Chicago Cubs.
According to the report, the A's interest revolved around Oakland having one scout watching Peavy in a game, which is nothing unusual. However, if the A's are seriously interested in acquiring Peavy, we should consider the pros and cons of Oakland pulling ...
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane must pull the trigger on a trade for Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy to keep his team rolling through the second half of the season and into the playoffs.
The Athletics are one of a few teams interested in potentially landing the veteran pitcher, as noted by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who also considers the team a "dark-horse player" to land him:
Perhaps the biggest sticking point for Beane right now is Peavy's contract. He's in his first year of a three-year deal worth $14.5 million in 2014 and $15 million in 2015 (via ...
As the Oakland Raiders open up their 2013 training camp, their roster continues to take shape for the season.
While there are still some question marks at certain positions and plenty of competition to be had, the starters can be forecast already.
At this point, despite some key offseason losses, this Raiders look to be much improved at some key positions. Also, there is upgraded depth in areas where the team has struggled to be consistent as of late.
Let's take a look at the Oakland Raiders’ two-deep depth chart at the start of their 2013 training camp. Begin Slideshow