Studs and Duds From Week 4

This a little late this week as it took an extra night to watch the game for the second time.

Studs

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He made a great hands catch and already has nine receptions for 164 yards in three games which surpasses his entire rookie season.

Kevin Boss

4 catches for 78 yards. He's proving to be every bit the weapon Miller was in the passing game and he blocks well also.

The Offensive Line

Without singling out a single player, these guys have been the surprise of the season. Campbell has all day to throw and they are opening holes for the backs as well. Jared Veldheer, Stefen Wisniewski, Samson Satele, Cooper Carlisle, and even Khalif Barnes. Sprinkle in a little Joe Barksdale. No stars here, this group is getting it done together.

Duds

Richard Seymour

Penalties, penalties, penalties. Complain if you want, but the penalties can't happen. Giving free yards to Tom Brady is a recipe for disaster. To cap it off, Seymour didn't have a very good day putting pressure on Brady. It's Seymour's defense and they got waxed on Sunday through the air and on the ground.

Joe Porter

I'm not sure who thought it would be wise to put Joe Porter on Wes Welker for most of the afternoon. That didn't work out. I feel bad for putting Porter here because he was put in an impossible situation, but he still played poorly.

Rolando McClain

The Patriots ran all over the Raiders. Rolando McClain needs to be responsible for the running game as it is his primary job. There are many factors that go into stopping the run, but McClain is not getting it done. McClain has his own issues as a player and he can't make up for others deficiencies. He doesn't get much help and he's not capable of overcoming others mistakes. He must play better for the Raiders to have a chance.

Tyvon Branch

A few rather poor angles and tackles in the game Sunday. Pretty uncharacteristic day for Branch. He's always putting in the effort and that is admirable, but he didn't play well last Sunday.

Jason Campbell

The first interception was killer and the second the final nail in the Raiders coffin. If the Raiders score a touchdown on that drive things could have gone very differently than they did.

Oakland Raiders Swing for the Fences in 2016 NFL Draft

[embed align="center"]http://gty.im/153039819[/embed] These aren't your daddy's Oakland Raiders or even your younger self's Raiders. If anything, these are your newborn's Raiders or your puppy's Raiders. These are the Raiders we've never seen before. Indicative of the freshness of the franchise was their 2016 NFL Draft. No longer slave to a high draft pick and desperate needs, the theme of the draft for the Raiders was upside. It's as if general manager Reggie McKenzie got so used to hitting his draft picks out of the park that he started swinging for the fences. We'll have to wait a couple of years before we know if he struck out or if he'll continue his Ruthian ways. First, McKenzie boldly went with a safety at No. 14 overall. Kyle Joseph is coming off a torn ACL and fills a major need, but safety isn't a premium position. Only a handful of safeties have been drafted in the first 14 picks in the last 15 years and include names like Ea

The Raiders aren't who we thought they were....they're better

The Oakland Raiders are tired of being the team that will be good in a year or two. The team expects to win now and it is winning now. We thought the Raiders needed more talent. We thought that being in the playoff hunt was a year away for this team, but we were wrong. This isn't the team we thought they were, they're better. On Sunday, they moved to 3-3 on Sunday with a 37-29 win over the San Diego Chargers that wasn't close until the final minute. It was also the Raiders second road win of the season. The last time the Raiders had two road wins by their sixth game was 2011. Before that, a five-year streak from 1998-2002. The Raiders went 8-8 in 1998, 1999 and 2011 and narrowly missed the playoffs each year. They made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They didn't have a losing record in any of those seasons because teams that can win on the road are usually pretty good. As the season matures, there is more and more evidence that some of the "best-case scenario

Final 53-Man Roster Prediction

The Oakland Raiders will trim their roster to 53 players today. Expect them to make at least two waiver claims Sunday to address needs at defensive back and on the offensive line. As such, there are a couple guys on this final roster who could be waived on Sunday and could subsequently find their way onto the team's practice squad. As is, I've included a list of players who are candidates for the practice squad. There is some positional imbalance on the 53-man roster as I expect the Raiders to balance it out with a few waiver claims. [table id=8 /]

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