Raidersblog.com

The Raidersblog team gives their grades at the midway point of the season. Quarterback Chris Hansen: B Brandon Dwonch: C - (Incomplete) Nick Silverman: B- Natalie Saar: C - (Boller D) Bram Makonda: C+ Jeff Fagen: B Overall GPA: 2.5 Jason Campbell played his game and did it well enough until he got injured. Carson Palmer, given ample time to learn the offense, tossed three touchdowns and had such command of the offense he was audibling at the line. The grade can be considered incomplete for now, but with significant room to grow. Runningback/Fullback Chris Hansen: A- Brandon Dwonch: A- Nick Silverman: B+ Natalie Saar: A Bram Makonda: A- Jeff Fagen: A Overall GPA: 3.8 Darren McFadden held the league lead in rushing until his injury against Kansas City. Michael Bush is a great replacement back and can consistently put up 100-yard days. Marcel Reece injury really hurt the offense, but he's as good as they come at the position. Richard Gordon and Manase Tonga have done a good job as blo...

Raiders offense vs Jets Defense  Everyone knows the Jets have a very good defense and the raiders have a very good running offense. The Jets' defense is 9th in the league vs the run allowing 88 rushing yards per game.  The Raiders' offense is 4th in rushing per game, averaging 160 yards per contest. The Raiders will have the advantage on the ground with the top end speed from the backs. The Jets run a 3-4, and have a very slow front 7. The front seven can lay the wood but struggle with keeping up with faster players. The Raiders will have to hold blocks just a little longer and seal off the edges and it can be off to the races for McFadden and company. Jason Campbell will have to pass the ball fairly decent or they will easily see 8 or more players in the box. The two targets that will help the Raiders move the ball through the air will be rookie Denarius Moore who exploded on the NFL scene last week vs Buffalo with 146 yards and one touchdown on five catches. Then the debut of...

After a week one win, on Monday night, against a division rival, the Raiders and the Raider Nation were flying high. The opening game curse was broken, the Prime Time curse was broken, Hue Jackson was 1-0 as a head coach, and the Raiders were back. Week 2 has brought everyone back down to earth a little. Welcome to the first, but probably not last time the Raiders have to look in the mirror and decide what kind of team they are going to be this year. Hue Jackson had a lot of time this off-season to say what he wanted to say. Get his message across to everyone. The time for talk, however, is now in the past. This is a different Raiders team under Hue Jackson, but one win on Monday Night Football is not going to convince anyone. He has to get his persona to show through his players. That's what good coaches do. Rex Ryan is able to get his attitude to show through his players on the field. Bill Belichick is able to get his players to always be right mentally. Mike Tomlin has his playe...