Bill's Raider Thread

[wmburk95]

New QB and Ready to ... improve a little.

In the end even Al Davis had to admit that he drafted a bust for a quarterback. Now the job goes to Jason Campbell who is considered mediocre by most (and also out of the SEC).
Right now I think most Raider fans would settle for mediocre across the board; in fact 8-8 would look good to many. I invite Raider fans, haters, and care-lessers to comment in this thread about the silver and black.

[LordCC]

I think the Raiders will be a better team, but certainly wont make the playoffs. I am still not a huge Campbell fan, but he is an upgrade over Russell for sure.

[jaguilar]

At this point just about any qb other than russel is an improvement. Bruce g also looked good late in pre-season should be ready if campbell falters. still need some Wide receiver weapons though, be nice if we could pick up vincent jackson. expectations are no high but we should have a better season than last year for sure. Like the D line too but safeties/lb's need to improve on run support.

[wmburk95]

Early Knockout:

They could have stopped this one at the half. The Raiders were battered by the Titans after taking a brief early lead on a FG off of a turnover. The above comment by Jaguilar proved to be on the money with more run support definitely needed. The defense played poorly giving up 205 rushing yards. This was a game the Raiders were not expected to win, but next week's home opener against the Rams now becomes a must win situation.
The Rams may be inclined to run the ball more against Oakland given rookie Sam Bradford's three interceptions in the opener. The Ram's certainly had a shot at winning. Raiders: Dare to be average.

[jaguilar]

Your right WM95, rams do have a shot. Be nice if we could pick up albert haynesworth from redskins to stuff up the run. Thought campbell would play better but he was not impressive. Bruce G will put some heat on him if he doesn't produce. Also heyward bey is a joke, don't know how this guy is in the nfl. Yeah your right , we will see a nice dose of steven jackson this week , none the less a nice opportunity for a win at home against the rams.

[Strike Force XL]

BRUCE GRADKOWSKI should be the starter, Campbell has no playmaking skills if it is not a perfectly designed play he dumps of to the running back. Raiders should have Gradkowski in!!

[Strike Force XL]

In addition I think Hayward-Bey could prove useful if used as a welker/type slot receiver and used on wr screens and so forth but he also should restructure that ridiculous contract so the raiders can get a True number one, Murphy is proving himself as a legitimate starter in the NFL but the Raiders need to get a true 6-4 and up, go up and get it, especially in the redzone wide receiver, V. Jackson is one of those 7 elite ones out there but doubt SD Gm would trade within division.

[wmburk95]

Gradkowski, Hayward-Bey

I'm as fan of Bruce G. The Raiders offense tends to show some life and spirit when he plays. He has been injured a lot, so I don't know if he can hold up over a season. I would agree that he certainly doesn't hurt the team when he is in there.

Heyward-Bey was a guest on Los Angeles radio stations a few times in the off season. Considering how little we hear from the Raiders, he was practically the team spokesman. He was very positive about the team and his own future. A good game from him and the team Sunday in a win over the Rams would be a nice way to start. Some pass protection and run stopping might help.

[wmburk95]

Raiders Hold On to Win, while posters to this thread nail key players in advance!

The Raiders got a win they really needed thanks to the two players named in posts by Jaguilar and Moneyline in this thread. Bruce Gradkowski was inserted by head coach Tom Cable to start the second half. He definitely brought life to the team and made frequent use of Darius Heyward-Bey who had his best game as a pro catching six passes for 80 yards. Gradkowski completed 11 out of 22 for 162 yards including a four yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy. He also earned himself a start at Arizona on Sunday.
It should be noted that Oakland did not cover the spread in either of its first two games. and are a definite underdog against Arizona.
What I'd like to see now is a good game from Gradkowski as a starter and for him to remain healthy.

[jaguilar]

Glad to see that raiders are not going to be stubborn and just leave campbell in there. You were right WM , that offensive line is not giving the qb's time to throw, but obviously Bruce is the right type of qb that should be in because he gets rid of the ball quickly and better accuracy on the run. Although our running game has been good with Mcfadden, which we need to keep using. Tough game on the road against arizona, who is beatable if we limit the turnovers especially in the first half.

[Strike Force XL]

Originally Posted by wmburk95

Bruce Gradkowski was inserted by head coach Tom Cable to start the second half. He definitely brought life to the team and made frequent use of Darius Heyward-Bey who had his best game as a pro catching six passes for 80 yards. Gradkowski completed 11 out of 22 for 162 yards including a four yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy. He also earned himself a start at Arizona on Sunday.
It should be noted that Oakland did not cover the spread in either of its first two games. and are a definite underdog against Arizona.
What I'd like to see now is a good game from Gradkowski as a starter and for him to remain healthy.

They almost had it there Burk....Damn. They can compete on both sides of the ball now. Should be fun to see if they can win the Division

[wmburk95]

A Tough One to Lose

The Raiders played somewhat better than the Cardinals today, so this one hurts. It is easy to look at the final field goal attempt which should have won the game and place the blame on Janakowski. He deserves some blame certainly, since he missed on 3 of 6 attempts. The Raiders offense on the other hand, therefore had eight decent drives, but only converted two for touchdowns. So the were settling for field goals all afternoon. Also they racked up 12 penalties for over 100 yards. They moved the ball well, they out passed Arizona, they won the turnover stat, but clearly were defeated in the special teams category. One can also look at the 20 points the Raiders put up in the first half versus the 3 points they put up in the second half.
The Raiders have a difficult home game coming up with Houston next week. Obviously it would have been nice to have a 2-1 record going in.

[Strike Force XL]

Originally Posted by wmburk95

A Tough One to Lose

The Raiders have a difficult home game coming up with Houston next week. Obviously it would have been nice to have a 2-1 record going in.

Agreed I aslo think that Gradkowski's first start this year was against ARZ in their home opener and didn't get rattled too much..I mean I could just sense how noisy it must have been in there and the team as a whole held up. They have a history of getting rattled these past couple of years but with the 10 penalties they had there is still room for improvement Asomougha going against Fitzgerald and Johnson on back to back weeks...its shut down time. OAK +4, maybe Dallas showed a defensive scheme that works against Houston and we can cash on it!

[wmburk95]

Yes, Moneyline the Raiders showed a lot more poise against Arizona. They put themselves in a position to win the game on a short field goal. I'm hoping they do learn from Dallas and pull an upset over Houston. I'd like to see them stay relevant for a while. Their pass defense will continue to be tested. Also they will need to slow down the Houston pass rush. A big effort from Darren McFadden running the ball and chipping Mario Williams might help.

[wmburk95]

And did I forget Foster?

Yes I sure did forget the NFL rushing leader Adrian Foster. Let's hope the Raiders don't forget. Frankly I don't have much confidence in the Raiders this week. In the past it seemed that they had the big loss after the tough loss. I think even a competitive game here would be an improvement.