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The Oakland Raiders came into the offseason with salary cap issues and needing to improve a team that finished a disappointing 8-8 last season. New general manager Reggie McKenzie was hired to reshape the Raiders' front office and establish a new philosophy to guide the team into the future. McKenzie has a plan and as time passes his philosophies will slowly be revealed. So far, McKenzie has made a flurry of moves designed to help the Raiders reach short-term and long-term goals such as getting under the salary cap and shedding back-loaded contracts that would have handicapped his plans in 2013 and beyond. A lot of activity doesn't always indicate a lot of change. As it stands, the Raiders will return 16 of 22 starters.   What does the Raiders activity or lack of activity mean for the team in 2012?   1. Reggie McKenzie wants to win and knows how to build a team to do it. Overreacting, overvaluing and overpaying is not a recipe for success in the NFL. The most successful teams ...

Two weeks ago headed into the game against Miami the Raiders were leading the AFC West and coming off three straight victories. Two weeks later the season is on the line. Thanks to Timothy Tebow in Denver and two horrible losses in a row, the Raiders are in must-win mode. Unfortunately for the Raiders the opponent this week needs a win just as badly. The Lions look and play like a playoff team. The Raiders haven't played like a playoff team in many weeks. What do the Raiders need to do to win? Let's take a look at the numbers. [table id=9 /] When the Raiders have the ball: The Lions are nearly as suspect against the run as the Raiders surrendering 5.1 yards per carry this season to the Raiders 5.2 and 5 yards less per game than the Raiders atrocious run defense. The Raiders will attempt to run on the Lions and keep Carson Palmer from hurting the Raiders with costly turnovers. The Lions secondary have proven themselves to be ball hawks and they will force Carson Palmer into a tu...

Surely in a blowout loss there were more duds than studs. I suppose a stud is relative to the play of the rest of the team when the score is 147-14. A few players did have nice days and the rest didn't. There were probably more duds than I can list, so the duds this week are the "Death Ro" of duds. STUDS Desmond Bryant He's earning himself more playing time each week. With the way Richard Seymour is playing and with John Henderson banged up he might just earn more time at defensive tackle as well as defensive end. Stefen Wisniewski Towards the end of the game the Raiders sat the Wiz kid down. I guess the coaching staff realized that he was the only solid offensive lineman and gave him a rest. He was very good pass blocking and did a solid job run blocking for Bush. He was particularly good at getting to the linebacker. Some may argue Wisniewski is better suited to play center, but until Stephon Heyer or Joseph Barksdale play well enough to slide Wisniewski over he...

It was such a painful football game to watch a second time that it took three days to get entirely through it. Searching for answers to what happened in Miami, I put some extra focus on finding the performers and pretenders this week, so let's take a look. STUDS Darrius Heyward-Bey Magnificent day from the Raiders' breakout receiver. No he didn't have great yardage numbers or multiple touchdowns, but he was the only offensive weapon the Raiders had on Sunday. He had 21 yards taken away from him via holding penalty on the offensive line and made a highlight one-handed touchdown grab. Knowing how far his team was behind, Heyward-Bey flipped the ball to the official. There would be no celebration of his second touchdown catch of the season. Stefen Wisniewski The rookie has a rough game last week and although the rest of the offensive line crumbled around him he stayed strong. It wasn't a great performance, but no other Raiders seems to qualify for studs this week. Stanford...

Belated this week, but the show must go on! STUDS Marcel Reece Quite the weapon for the Raiders. Expect him to continue to have a big role for the final five games. Aaron Curry Best game as a professional. He's a good player when he the play is in front of him. A good trade for the Raiders with potential to be great. Rolando McClain The linebackers were a big reason for the Raiders success on Sunday. McClain had a good game stopping the run and in coverage. He was in a tough position when Caleb Hanie scrambled to his right as he had to choose between covering Forte or going after Hanie. It was a big pickup for the Bears, but if McClain leaves Forte open it could have been bigger. ***I should revoke this for his actions Wednesday night in Alabama.*** Kamerion Wimbley He did a bit of everything on Sunday. Still the best pure pass rusher on the team, he stepped up and stopped the run and he had an interception and return that would have been a touchdown if not for a horse-collar tackl...

1. TAG! YOU’RE IT. - Michael Bush proved once again just how productive he can be as a starter in this league.  His 242 yards from scrimmage were the most by a Raider since the merger.  The Raiders need to use the franchise tag on him in the off-season, as its clear he is worth it.  It’s a steep price to pay for a backup runningback, but as this league continues to remind us, you cannot just rely on one. 2. PLAYING FAVORITES - Looks like Carson Palmer found his go-to guy in rookie wide out Denarius Moore.  Moore has come on strong the last two weeks and is finding his groove with Palmer.  Moore brought in 5 receptions for 123 yards and 2 TDs, including one of the best catches you’ll see all season.  The sky’s the limit for this kid, as he continues to wow the Raider Nation and develop a rapport with the Raiders new signal caller. 3. WIMBLEY IS BACK - Hue Jackson said Kamerion Wimbley would get his sacks in bunches, but who could predict he’d grab four against the Chargers, doubling h...

The most successful teams in the NFL have their franchise quarterback. No other position in the NFL is as valuable. Teams, however, don’t need a spectacular quarterback to win. Look at San Francisco, Tampa Bay and the Giants. More than anything, teams need a reliable quarterback to hold it together that does not give away the game. When NFL teams struggle for years, it’s largely due to the team’s perpetual ineptness at quarterback. This year Miami, Indianapolis and Minnesota have arguably the worst quarterback situations. It seems every week these teams get embarrassed like the Raiders did last week against Kansas City. Not since the inept team of 2006 have the Raiders been shutout at home versus an AFC West rival. Hue Jackson has reminded everybody how valuable a stable, quarterback is. If the scrappy game against the Houston Texans was this emotional high of the season then the embarrassing loss in Oakland vs. Kansas City was the low. Hue Jackson’s “gamesmanship” caused a resurfacing...

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...

It was 2009 the last time the Raiders played the Saints in the preseason. The New Orleans Saints were still the "Aints" and the Raiders were a team headed into the Tom Cable era without a true identity. That game-also in Oakland and the third preseason game-was a 45-7 shellacking at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl Champion Saints. The Raiders would win five games, none by more than four points. Preseason is usually a time to evaluate individual performances over team performance, but the first half of the third preseason game is the closest we will get to predicting how a team might play during the regular season. The coaches scheme a bit and the starters play at least a full half. Let's take a look at third preseason games over the past few years. 2007 first-half score Rams 3 @ Raiders 17. Rams would finish 3-13. The Raiders would finish 4-12 If it had been any other team besides the Rams, would the Raiders have even won? Both teams were terrible in 2007 and the fac...

The Raiders host the Arizona Cardinals today at 7 p.m. at O.com Coliseum in Oakland. When the team takes the field for the first time in 2011, they will be led by Hue Jackson. It will be Jackson's first game as the head coach. Jackson will use the preseason as time to get the hang of his responsibilities as the head man. As for the players, judging the preseason is complicated. Louis Rankin routinely makes preseason highlight reels, but he has hardly been able to stick on a roster in his career.   Special Teams Besides estimating the Raiders season ticket base from the preseason attendance, you should be watching special teams closely. The fringe roster players will not make the team if they can't perform on special teams. When deciding on a the last receiver, linebacker, or safety to make the roster, the coaching staff is going to choose the guy that performed the best on special teams.   Offensive Line The only position on the offensive line that appears cemented is Jared Ve...

I asked Raider Nation to grade the draft picks on a scale of A to F. Love (A), Like (B), Wait (C), Hope D and Hate (F) were the options. Draft grades mean nothing, but what you, the fan, thinks of the draft actually does mean something. Fan grades are a reflection of how much confidence the fans have in the front office. So let's get to the grades... Stefen Wisniewski A - Love Grades: 38 B - Like Grades: 30 C - Wait Grades: 0 D - Hope Grades: 3 F - Hate Grades: 1 Overall GPA: .901 (A) Wisniewski receives a low A letter grade by the fans. His uncle's legacy in silver and black certainly had a lot to do with his reception, but the Raiders needed lineman badly also and this probably boosted his stock. Demarcus Van Dyke A - Love Grades: 2 B - Like Grades: 9 C - Wait Grades: 46 D - Hope Grades: 14 F - Hate Grades: 1 Overall GPA: .609 (D) Ouch, Demarcus Van Dyke receives a near failing grade from Raiders fans, but it is interesting to note that the vast majority voted to wait on Van ...

The Oakland Raiders tried to trade up for Colin Kaepernick, but were not successful. Instead, the Raiders made the most natural pick they could and selected Steve Wisniewski's nephew Stefen. Stefen will play center for the Raiders and become and instant fan favorite. His technique is sound and should be a starter for years. The Raiders traded their 2012 second round pick for the Patriots third, pick 94 and fourth, pick 125. The Raiders used their own third round pick to again draft the fastest player at the scouting combine in Demarcus Van Dyke. You might as well pencil in the fastest player at the combine every year. Al Davis loves his speed. Van Dyke seems like a reach, but he's got good physical tools and will be mentored by Rod Woodson. His teammate will be Stanford Routt, who was much like Van Dyke coming out of college. Van Dyke is long and lean and Hue Jackson said he felt very comfortable with the pick. With the pick acquired from the Patriots, the Raiders selected Jose...

The Raiders came into the day without a first-round draft pick and finished the day without acquiring one. Not much has changed. The Raiders still have needs and the same number of picks to work with. The only thing that happened today, 32 players were skimmed off the player pool. Colin Kaepernick is still available and so are Da'Quan Bowers and Stefen Wisniewski. Five of the top offensive tackles were taken in round one and the talent really thins out now. Raiders would be wise to look to the surplus of guards still available. Brandon Harris and Aaron Williams are two highly-rated cornerbacks that were not taken in the first round. It turns out a trade into the first round was not in the best interest of the Raiders. However, there are just a handful of top-tier players remaining that fit the Raiders most pressing needs. Don't rule out the Raiders jumping into the early second round.