Raiders To Renew Mile-High Membership

 Posted by at 5:02 PM  No Responses »
Oct 222010
 

Last season, the Raiders went into Denver and got a win on the back of JaMarcus Russell. Charlie Frye started the game and Russell came in when Frye was injured to lead the Raiders to victory.

Michael Bush had 144 total yards and a touchdown. Darren McFadden had 74 yards rushing. Chaz Schilens made the game-winning catch. Brandon Marshall had seven receptions and a touchdown and Kyle Orton went 19/34 for 278 yards.

The Broncos couldn’t run the ball that day and haven’t been able to run the ball much this season. The worst rushing offense in the league happens to be doing very well passing. The addition of receiver Brandon Lloyd and subtraction of Brandon Marshall has the Broncos ranked third, behind San Diego and Indianapolis in the NFL.

Offense

The Raiders may not be able to run the ball on Denver like they did last season. The Broncos added nose tackle Jamal Williams to help with their woes stopping the run and have held five of six opposing rushers under 100 yards.

Maurice Jones-Drew was held to 98 yards, Joseph Addai to 29 yards, Chris Johnson to 53 yards, Justin Forsett to 44 and LaDainian Tomlinson to 55 yards. Only Ray Rice was able to break the 100-yard threshold with 133 yards in week five.

The Broncos still have a dangerous secondary and have only allowed one receiver to eclipse 100 yards. Austin Collie had a monster game against the Broncos, but the Raiders don’t have anything approaching Peyton Manning.

It could be a tough game for the Raiders offensively if they can’t get the run going. At this point, Kyle Boller looks like the starter for the Raiders. He played well during the preseason and has plenty of experience. He has the ability to make plays, but his problem had always been making good decisions with the football. If he can avoid the interception he is more than capable starter.

Matchup to Watch:

Samson Satele vs. Jamal Williams

If the Raiders get their running game going they will have a chance to win. It hinges on Satele, who must do a good job against Williams. Satele must keep Williams from eating up multiple blockers and make sure he has to work.

If Satele can contain Williams and Darren McFadden returns to action, the Raiders will be able to employ a two-headed rushing attack to chew up yards. Many coaches will preach wearing down and wearing out the big boys up front. Expect the backs to see plenty of action up the middle if Satele does his job.

Advantage: Broncos

Defense

In many ways the Broncos passing attack is overrated, but that doesn’t mean they should be taken lightly. The Ravens and Colts have decently rated pass defenses and beat the Broncos easily. The other four teams are all among the league’s worst against the pass. The Jaguars (28), Seahawks(30), Titans (23), and Jets (22).

Despite the Chargers outburst, the Raiders are ranked eighth against the pass. The Raiders poor rush defense might yield yards to Denver, but the matchup couldn’t be better for the Raiders. The Raiders rush defense seems to be close, having held rushers in check besides a couple long runs. It depends on if the Raiders can prevent those long rush plays.

Matchup to Watch:

Nnamdi Asomugha vs. Brandon Lloyd

Will the Raiders treat Lloyd like a top receiver or allow Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson to cover him? My bet is the Raiders will shadow Brandon Lloyd most of the time with Asomugha. Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson will draw matchups with the other receivers.

Advantage: Raiders

Special Teams

Broncos have a 27.1 yard kick return average and 10.1 yard punt return average, both rank top ten. On the other side, they have allowed 27.4 yards per kick return and one touchdown and average just 63 yards per kickoff, both rank bottom ten. Considering the altitude of their home stadium, this is extremely poor.

The Broncos have made 11 of 12 field goals including two from more than 50. The Raiders have made the most field goals, but also missed the most. Maybe we will see the 63-yard record broken on Sunday by Sebastian Janikowski. He can probably hit from 70 in Denver.

The Raiders dominate all the punting categories thanks to Shane Lechler and the coverage units. The Broncos have punted decently well, but haven’t done a good job containing the returns ranking near the bottom in punting net and near the top in gross.

Advantage: Raiders

Other Notes:

Quentin Groves gets his job back at weak-side outside linebacker. Trevor Scott moves back to defensive end. Interesting to note that Scott will likely now be a nickel rusher, with Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy the first down ends.

Maybe the reason for Scott’s move to end wasn’t Groves rise or Shaughnessy’s regression, but actually Trevor Scott’s inability to solidify himself at a position.

Jared Veldheer may have won the starting left tackle position. Tom Cable still insists it is a rotation, but Veldheer got all the first-team snaps during practice this week.

Injury Updates: Schilens, Bush & Campbell

 Posted by at 12:59 AM  No Responses »
Aug 302010
 

Chaz Schilens will miss 3-6 weeks after undergoing surgery on his knee. He is more than likely out for the opener and likely will also miss the first few weeks of the season. His injury history is now pages long and he can’t stay healthy enough to stay on the field for more than a few games at a time.

Michael Bush will have a procedure on his left thumb. Tom Cable said he will not wear a cast, but will wear protection on the thumb. This is good news as it may have already been determined that he can play through the injury or wouldn’t miss significant time.

Michael Bennett may have secured his spot on the roster with the injury to Bush and the injury history of Darren McFadden.

Jason Campbell is likely good for the season opener. The more severe injury sustained in Saturday nights game was not the stinger but the right wrist injury from the drive before. This likely isn’t an issue, he came back into the game after the injury. The Raiders will be cautious, but I don’t expect this to be anything going forward.

Jared Veldheer will practice at tackle and center this week and it will be determined soon which position will be his permanent position. This is a tough decision to make, with the poor play of Mario Henderson and the injury and sub par play of Samson Satele.

Schilens Has Surgery, McClain All Business

 Posted by at 1:45 AM  No Responses »
Aug 252010
 

Receiver Chaz Schilens had arthroscopic knee surgery. The timetable for his return is not known at this point.

If Schilens isn’t able to return by the start of the season, the starters would likely be Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Zach Miller could see an additional bump in targets if Schilens misses significant time. Fantasy sleeper alert, he could be a top five tight end.

Interesting reports that rookie linebacker Rolando McClain doesn’t sign autographs or interact with the fans. He may not be the most outgoing of players. Chalk it up as McClain being all football, but it is interesting to note.

Raiders Getting Healthy, Sans Schilens

 Posted by at 8:43 PM  No Responses »
Aug 232010
 

Tom Cable announced all the players that missed Saturday’s game in Chicago should be back to practice Tuesday except for wide receiver Chaz Schilens.

Schilens may have over compensated for his foot injury and may need a scope of his knee. If the scope is done this week, he could be back for the season opener, but don’t bet on Schilens at this point. His foot is also still sore 12 months after the injury first occurred.

The only notable injury was Samson Satele with an ankle injury. He will have an x-ray this afternoon to determine the severity.

This means Darrius Heyward-Bey is over a case of fatigue and Darren McFadden’s hamstring is good enough to at least go through some drills.

Richard Seymour and Nnamdi Asomugha will return from feeling…under the weather. A nice way of saying the Raiders didn’t want to risk its investments by putting them on the field in a game that didn’t mean anything.

Watch The Passing Game

 Posted by at 9:49 PM  No Responses »
Aug 212010
 

Preseason is not a time to worry about wins and losses. The coaches aren’t worried about wins because too often a score is the result of little to no game planning.

The coaches will go back and evaluate every player in the film room, but only a few fans even watch a preseason game more than once.

Tom Cable has stated the offensive problems in last week’s preseason game were minor things that can be tweaked.

That theory will be put to the test today in Chicago.

So what should the fans be looking for in the second preseason game of 2010?

Since this will be the first action of the season for Bruce Gradkowski, Jacoby Ford and Colt Brennan this will be the first chance the coaches and fans have to evaluate their performance and progression.

The poor showing from Jason Campbell and the receivers in last Thursday’s preseason win over Dallas will likely bring a more critical eyes to both groups.

Darrius Heyward-Bey has missed nearly the entire week worth of practice due to fatigue. He hasn’t been ruled out of the preseason game, but don’t be surprised if he is a late scratch. His ‘fatigue’ is something to watch closely.

Chaz Schilens hardly ever practices and the excitement surrounding him has worn off, leaving nothing but health concerns. One has to wonder if he can ever progress without practice reps and if he can stay healthy enough to become a favorite target for newly minted starter Campbell.

Colt Brennan will see his first action of the season, but at this point would have to really impress the coaches to get the nod as third quarterback over Kyle Boller.

Will fans start calling for Gradkowski if he performs better than Campbell against the second string units? They shouldn’t. Gradkowski is the perfect backup. The depth is second to few in the league even if Campbell isn’t an elite quarterback.

The passing game usually hinges on protection and Samson Satele and Cooper Carlisle didn’t do a great job of that last week.

Carlisle doesn’t yet have to worry about his job with rookie Bruce Campbell as the backup, but Satele needs a positive game to stop the calls for rookie Jared Veldheer to replace him.

While Mario Henderson did a solid job last week against a vanilla 3-4 Cowboys defense and all-pro DeMarcus Ware, the bigger test comes this week against the immensely talented Julius Peppers.

If Henderson can successfully block Peppers and Ware in back-to-back weeks the fans and coaches will likely be very pleased.

Chris Johnson was victimized by Tony Romo and Miles Austin last week and will sit out this week due to a sore hamstring. Stanford Routt and the rookies will get an extended look and attempt to cover a young and explosive receiving core.

During the game, follow me on Twitter or join the game-day chat.

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