Category: News

Oakland Raiders at New Orleans Saints: First Half Notes

The Oakland Raiders took on the New Orleans Saints for the first game of the season. The Saints lead 17-10 at home.

DEFENSE:

  • Bruce Irvin sacked and forced a fumble on Drew Brees which ends first drive. Leads to first points of the season off of Sebastian Janikowski kick.
  • Mark Ingrim gets 12 and 20-yard gains for Saints on the second series. Saints held to a field goal, which ties game at three all.
  • Tim Hightower gets run going again later in first. Willie Snead tears apart Raiders. Snead Catches a deep ball that puts them in the red zone. He then catches short fourth and goal touchdown pass to make game 10-10.
  • Saints go up 17-10 in second quarter thanks to Brandin  Cooks touchdown pass. He beat D.J. Hayden in coverage. Sean Smith also gave up the crucial play that put Saints inside the red zone. Michael Thomas catches a pass, then registers some yards after the catch.
  • D.J. Hayden gets defensive holding call that negates Bruce Irvin sack. Luckily, Raiders defense forces punt with a little more than a minute left in first half.

OFFENSE:

  • Latavius Murray gets the Raiders first touchdown of the year via an 11-yard run thanks to an Amari Cooper sprawling catch which put Raiders at the five-yard-line. It was Cooper’s second catch on the drive. Oakland goes up 10-3.
  • Jalen Richard made his first appearance with a catch in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Taiwan Jones loses eight yards on a carry later in the first half.
  • Derek Carr shows his scrambling ability in second quarter. Makes first down run and leaps for extra yards. However, this drive did not lead to points.
  • Menelik Watson goes down during Raiders final drive with about a minute left in the second quarter. He walks off the field on his own, but it looked like an ankle injury.
  • Cooper catches the final pass of the half via a hitch route.

Oakland must try to stop the run on defense. Hightower and Ingrim were having their way. On offense, look for Oakland to continue establishing the run. Hopefully, Watson’s injury is not serious. Backup right tackle Austin Howard got hurt last week, so he is inactive.

Raiders Rants: Sean Smith, Jack Del Rio and John Madden

Check out the latest headlines and notes with my take on the news and issues facing the Oakland Raiders.

Sean Smith

  • Earlier this week, Sean Smith spoke to the media about the Raiders secondary reinventing itself.
  • Smith said, David Amerson has impressed him with his size and athleticism.
  • As for DJ Hayden, Smith said he believes Hayden can turn his career around.

I hope Smith is right about Hayden. It would be nice if the Raiders could salvage the 2013 first round pick. Hayden’s skill set fits the slot corner role. If Hayden wants to make the roster he must beat out TJ Carrie and Neiko Thorpe at the Nickel spot.

Raiders schedule

  • Pro Football Focus put the Raiders at 11-5.
  • ESPN also has the Raiders favored in every game except 4.
  • Raiders will travel the most miles in the league.
  • Oakland faces the toughest second half of the schedule, and the easiest first half.

Earlier this offseason, Vegas had the Raiders record at 8 wins. Now, the Raiders are expected to do a lot better. This is the first time in years that the Raiders have gotten this much preseason hype. Hopefully, they will live up to expectations when the time comes.

Ken Norton Jr. on Ali

  • The great Muhammad Ali died last week, and Ken Norton Jr., whose father fought Ali three-times, opened up about the champ.
  • Norton Jr. talked about Ali helping out his family and being intertwined.
  • Ali used to do magic for Norton Jr.

It is always great to hear about Ali. Norton Jr. brought an interesting perspective because he lived during Ali’s time. Ali also helped his family make it as Heavyweight Champion.

Relocation update

  • NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell encouraged the Oakland mayor to meet with Oakland investors lead by Ronnie Lott.
  • Earlier this week, a Vegas strip club offered the Raiders free limo rides and lapdances.
  • In the same article, former player Donte Stallworth said any Vegas team would lose every game.

First, I am glad that there is some news on the Oakland front. Second, I agree with Stallworth that Vegas is a unique party area. Sin City is not the greatest place for an NFL team.

Mainstream attention

  • The NFL is finally taking notice of the Raiders with their Mack Mondays and Woodson Wednesdays.
  • Speaking of attention, two Raiders will participate in Family Feud. 

The Raiders are actually newsworthy? We don’t want your mainstream hype or bandwagon fans. Period.

Jack Del Rio

  • The Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio finally joined Twitter.
  • Del Rio posted some cool picks of the media and the team.
  • Oakland’s head coach said he wanted to get up with the times.

Congrats coach! Welcome to Twitter.

John Madden

  • Raiders great John Madden missed his annual Bocce Tournament.
  • Madden is rehabbing a new hip.
  • The Raiders Hall of Fame coach underwent open heart surgery earlier this year.

Prays for Madden. For reals. Let’s hope one of the greatest gets back to full strength.

Marcel Reece suspended for finale

A week after securing a spot on his fourth Pro Bowl roster, full back Marcel Reece was suspended by the league for four games.

Multiple reports indicated Reece’s suspension coming from a violation of the League’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

 

Reece will miss the Raiders’ next four games, including three games next season. He also loses eligibility for participation in Pro Bowl.

“I know he’s disappointed and doesn’t really feel like it’s justified.” Head Coach Jack Del Rio said Monday after the announcement.

Now, the Raiders will rely on Jamize Olawale as Reece’s primary replacement. Olawale signed a three-year contract extension earlier this season.

Otherwise, Del Rio said Roy Helu Jr. could also get some added snaps in the season finale versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

Reece was already facing a diminishing role with the Raiders this season, but it is still a huge blow to the Raider fan favorite.

This season, Reece posted 3 receiving touchdowns and 266 yards receiving.

The fullback has a $3.58 million cap hit this season, and a $3.53 cap hit next season, the final year of his current deal.

In my opinion, Reece should be back with the squad next season. For the past few seasons, Reece represented the brand well in the community and at the Pro Bowl.

The Raiders have more than $65 million in cap. They must pay someone, so why not one of their own?

It may be redundant with Olawale on the Roster, but they could battle for the position in training camp. The loser could be cut or traded for a seventh rounder.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what the Raiders do with Reece moving forward.