Silver and Black Report

Bruce Gradkowski is ready to start if Jason Campbell can't go

Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell was carted off the field on Saturday night with a confirmed neck injury that has not been deemed serious by coach Tom Cable.

But an injury to the passer’s right wrist sustained earlier in the contest versus the San Francisco 49ers is more of a concern to team officials.

“Right now, I guess it’s the wrist,” Cable said, addressing which injury was more of a concern.

Campbell stated he is a fast healer and his longevity has been proven, as the former Redskin has not missed prolonged periods of football with injuries in his career.

“It felt a lot worse at the time that it happened,” Campbell told reporters after the game Saturday night regarding the stinger.

Oakland is in good shape if Campbell is not able to go week-one versus the Titans. Bruce Gradkowski had a stellar showing after months of inactivity, posting 202-yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-22 passes.

“I haven’t been out there so it was good to get the feel of the first team,’’ Gradkowski said. “It was good to play almost three quarters. It was really good to get back out there and get a feel.’’

Gradkowski is all but assured the back-up job with that performance. Hue Jackson must’ve felt comfortable knowing that the hard-working back up was prepared and had a solid performance in his first action running the Raiders new offense.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Oakland Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was antsy to get on the field and stake his claim to the back-up role behind Jason Campbell. Last night against the San Francisco 49ers, Gradkowski convinced new offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and solidified what the head coach already knew – that the depth chart at quarterback is a strength.

“Bruce Gradkowski was one of the bright spots in terms of going in there and having some efficiency and move the club around fairly well,’’ Tom Cable commented. “I think that’s what you want from your backup quarterback and he showed himself very well that way.’’

“I haven’t been out there so it was good to get the feel of the first team,’’ Gradkowski said. “It was good to play almost three quarters. It was really good to get back out there and get a feel.’’

Gradkowski ended 14-of-22 for 202 yards and two scores. We also saw the continued chemistry between Louis Murphy and the passer when they both hooked up for a 74-yard scoring strike in the second quarter.

As for Jason Campbell, the expected starter got Oakland out of the gate quickly with four completions on their 81-yard scoring drive. After the sack by 49ers defender Travis LaBoy, an organization and fan-base held their collective breath seeing Campbell on the turf and seated on the passenger seat of a cart.

“It felt a lot worse at the time that it happened, but … they don’t think it’s going to be really, really serious,” Campbell said. “But at the same time it’s something we’ve got to take care of before the season starts.”

Campbell suffered a stinger, but Cable stated he expects to have his starter under center week-one versus the Titans.

Running back Michael Bush sustained a fractured left thumb and audio of his post-game chat can be found here on SBReport.net.

Jared Veldheer started for the injured Samson Satele. “I think you have to look at the film for that. I can remember one, there was a run through by a linebacker, (Patrick) Willis, one time that was on him but overall I think he directed the protections well,’’ Cable said of his center. “He really didn’t show up as the game went on so that’s a good sign. But we’ll have to look at the film.”

Neither Johnnie Lee Higgins nor Yamon Figurs distinguished themselves on special teams. But Figurs tallied two more catches for 18-yards while the inconsistent Higgins was shut-out on offense.

For the first time this pre-season, the Raiders did not record a sack. Rookie Rolando McClain led the team with 8 total tackles.

Both specialists are in pro-bowl mode; Sebastian Janikowski booted a 57-yard field goal and Shane Lechler bombed a 61yard punt, averaging 53.0 yards on his 4 attempts.

Darren McFadden played and was ineffective on the ground with 9-yards on 7-carries. He managed two receptions for 16-yards.

Defensive tackle Desmond Bryant had an elbow injury.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Oakland Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski spoke with the media after the game against the San Francisco 49ers and talked about, amongst other things, playing with the 1st team offense again after Jason Campbell went down with an injury.

During coach Tom Cable’s post game press conference, he listed the injuries sustained during tonight’s Raiders/49ers game. He also touched on what he liked from the play of his two quarterbacks, (Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski), as well as some of things he didn’t like such as the poor special teams play and the shoddy tackling.

The Oakland Raiders (2-0) will host the San Francisco 49ers (2-0) on Saturday evening. Both teams are expected to go with their starters for extended periods in the yearly Bay Area match-up. For San Francisco, two of their cornerstones on offense will see action for the first time. As for the Raiders, expect Jason Campbell to see first half action and then give away to Bruce Gradkowski who is fired up to finally get on the field. “Yeah, I feel good. I’m ready to rock and roll,” Gradkowski commented this week. “Shoot, I miss it. I’ve been champing at the bit. I’m just excited to get back out there this weekend.”

OAKLAND RAIDERS

On Offense:

Breaking News: Hue Jackson has spoken – publicly. Yesterday, the first year Raiders offensive coordinator briefed the media and gave a lot of insight on the 2010 offense for the Silver & Black.

“I hope it’s already looking different,” said Jackson when asked if the attack looked different. “The most important thing is we’re striving for balance. We want to be a team that we can run the football when we need to run it and we can throw it when we need to throw it. We’re a multiple formation team. We have some no huddle. We do a little bit of everything. We do whatever it takes to win football games. That’s the most important thing that I’ve stressed from our coaches to our players that whatever it takes to win that’s what we’re going to do.”

One of his more eye-popping statements was: “Honestly, we’re trying to build a bully here.”

This third pre-season game will go a long way in doing that. Oakland will start Jared Veldheer at centerfor the injured Samson Satele. Satele and the rest of the line has not been punishing opposing front-seven’s and if they want to run the ball as Jackson will like, they have to assert themselves quickly. Veldheer is a project and the transition to the pros as a rookie along the trenches is very daunting. But if Oakland can get any tough play in the interior with their mammoth draft pick, he may be their best option to start bullying opponents.

On Defense:

Everyone is all smiles on defense, so far. Oakland’s best player believes that this edition of the Raiders is headed into the campaign with as much positivity as any other club he has been on.

“We’ve accomplished a lot, and being able to put out good practices and win games in the preseason, it goes a long way,” Nnamdi Asomugha said. ` Just getting the wins, even though it’s preseason, it’s just getting those wins builds your confidence and gets you used to it.”

One player with loads of confidence right now is Kamerion Wimbley. His four-sack performance has injected a lot of high expectations for the rebuilt linebacker unit. “I’m just happy we got him,” Tom Cable stated  “I’m glad they didn’t want him, if that’s the case, and he’s ours.”

“Since I have been in the league, that’s what teams have been trying to stop with me,” Wimbley said. “Pressuring the quarterback. The momentum-changing sack. Beating up their quarterback.”

Oakland has pounced on quarterbacks 12 times this pre-season – most in the NFL.

A reason the Raiders look better on defense is the addition of Mike Waufle. His tutelage and experience has added a lot to a staff that already consisted of solid teachers such as, Defensive coordinator John Marshall, linebackers coach Mike Haluchak and secondary coach Lionel Washington.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

On Offense:

Quarterback Alex Smith will have a full complement of starts around him this Saturday. Running back Frank Gore and second year target Michael Crabtree are expected to make their pre-season debuts against the Raiders.

“I just want to see our guys continue to take another step — just continue to execute and continue the progression,” head coach Mike Singletary stated.

Newly acquired running back Brian Westbrook is also slated to take some reps, but the athletically gifted tight end Vernon Davis will be out after an injury to his knee during the team’s first pre-season game.

On Defense:

One of the concerns for the 49ers in 2010 is their secondary and ability to defend the pass. Oakland does not feature a potent aerial attack so this could be a good match-up for them to start building their confidence.

Veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes has noticed that the defensive backfield is getting feistier this summer. “In the back end, guys are more competitive,” Spikes said. “I think we’ll have a better idea of what’s expected from us. And that’s the big thing. Everybody is playing together and everybody is understanding.”

Aubrayo Franklin is still unsigned. And the 6-foot-1, 317-pound defensive lineman is a vital cog to the defense. “I’m not going to try and dictate one thing or another,” Singletary said at the start of camp. “I’m just going to let him do what he has to do, and at the same time, we’re going to do what we have to do as a football team.

“But we will not sit back and say, ‘Is he coming in today? Is he coming in tomorrow?’ The most important thing we have to do is really continue to focus on what we control.”

GAME NOTES

Darrius Heyward-Bey on the game Saturday: “I mean, you always want to battle for it, you know, a team that’s in the same area as you,” Heyward-Bey commented in comparing it to Navy vs. Maryland . “At Maryland, we never had a chance to do that because we’re the only team in Maryland. Matter of fact, we play Navy this year so I guess that will be something.”

Tom Cable on the end of Camp: “We came with our plan, we got through everything, we installed everything that we wanted to. The mission was to try and get better every day, not have those days where you’re really disgusted or disappointed as a coaching staff, that, ‘Man, we really went backward today.’ We didn’t have any of those days.

“So, well done by this football team. Now the real issue is to continue that when we go home. Eliminate the distractions that come with living back at home and all those kinds of things, travel and such, and being able to handle that and eliminate those distractions.”

GAME INFO

When: Saturday, August 28 – 9:00 pm ET

Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens went through arthroscopic knee surgery. He will be out indefinitely, as head coach Tom Cable did not reveal the length of his recovery.

For a second straight campaign, Schilens is likely to miss the opener due to an impairment. He broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot on August 18, 2009 and did not see action until the latter part of the campaign.

The 24-year old is looked at as the Raiders number one target, but why has he warranted such regard?

Schilens has only 44 career receptions for 591 yards and 4 scores and has only been elevated up the depth chart based on the weakness of the Raiders wide receiver corps.

By default, you can put the spotlight on Schilens. Darrius Heyward-Bey is still a project, Louis Murphy is in development as much as any other young target on the roster and every other wide receiver is either a special teamer at best or wouldn’t round out any other club’s receiving unit.

Schilens still has to prove he can play 16-games. Not just a full complement of games, but play at a high level against opposing starters that know that he’ll be getting the ball and that has the burden of being a ‘go to guy.’ Something he has never been and has not been able to prove at the pro level.

This just proves the fragility of the Raiders receiving department.

And if any one of these players miss extended time, regardless of who’s running the offense now, the aerial game will remain anemic.

• Alex Daniels switched his jersey number from 39 to 71. The move from lineman to fullback was not as expected. “I just didn’t feel like we made the improvement as quickly as I’d hoped,” Cable said. “He was brought in here, started out on defense to be a pass rusher, and obviously, it’s good to get a set of legs back over there. It just didn’t feel like to me it was working.”
• Langston Walker (back) Richard Seymour (triceps) and Samson Satele (ankle) did not practice yesterday.
• Jay Richardson expects to be ready for the opener after undergoing surgery on his meniscus tear.
• Bruce Gradkowski is expected to play in the final two pre-season contests.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Tonight the Oakland Raiders will participate in pre-season game number two against the Chicago Bears. Before that, SBREPORT.net gives you more exclusive looks into the Silver & Black’s training camp through the lenses of our photographers.

Bruce Gradkowski has been sidelined the whole summer and won’t see any action tonight against the Bears. Head coach Tom Cable relies on the journeyman passer after a 2009 in which he endeared himself to fans with feisty performances. But Hue Jackson has seen very little of Gradkowski within his offense and you have to wonder that if the remaining passers in camp can show any signs of life, that could give Oakland an easy decision to part ways with him and save $1.4 million. “Mentally, he’s probably up to speed,” Cable said early August. “He has good command. He’s able to get us where we want to go at the line of scrimmage. But I think he’d probably be the first to tell you he’s a little bit rusty in terms of timing and accuracy right now.”

Colt Brennan is one of those passers brought in to complete along the depth chart. “He’s a gunslinger,” his teammate in Hawaii, Samson Satele said. “He’s got to learn how to go underneath the center. He’s still learning.”

Charlie Frye won’t be doing too much huddling after wrist surgery sidelined him for the entire 2010 season.

Johnnie Lee Higgins was all smiles earlier in camp, but with Yamon Figurs’ solid outing against the Dallas Cowboys last week, Oakland could have a new look on special teams and in the back end of the wide receiver unit. Figurs hauled in 3 catches for 34-yards last week. Higgins posted 3 receptions himself for 38-yards. But Higgins’ inconsistencies could be his downfall if Oakland decides to go with the more seasoned veteran.

It’s been all smiles in Raiders camp when talking about rookie Rolando McClain. “He’s very well-schooled,” Cable said. “When he came here, he’s got an understanding of the game that is unique. But the most impressive thing has been — since we drafted him, through minicamp and OTA — his retention, his ability from day one to get us lined up and adjusted. He has a great feel for that. He just naturally has control.”

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Per press releases by the Oakland Raiders:

LB Thomas Howard visited The Bay Area After-School All-Stars at Horace Mann Elementary in San Jose. The Bay Area After-School All-Stars is a program that provides free after school programming for underserved youth. The program currently serves 26 schools in San Jose and is looking to expand to more schools in the future. Students attend the program for four hours each day after school, doing their homework creating art and playing sports.

Raiders cornerback and United Way ambassador Nnamdi Asomugha participated in the United Way/Matchbridge Dress for Success Work-Readiness Fair. Young people had the opportunity to select donated business clothing to wear for job interviews, and also take part in mock interviews to learn how to enter the business world and land a job. Asomugha helped the participants choose clothing and served as a mock interviewer.

QB Bruce Gradkowski surprised Napa High School senior Michaela Lambert by presenting her with the Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Award during class. This was Napa High’s first student to receive the scholarship. The Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Program receives applications from schools in nine Bay Area counties annually. Student advisors recommend two female and two male seniors who display outstanding achievement in the classroom, community, and in sports.

LB Thomas Howard and safeties Michael Huff, Jerome Boyd, Tyvon Branch and Mike Mitchell, went head to head against the 5th graders of Anna Yates Elementary School in Emeryville for an “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” showdown. The Thomas Howard Foundation partnered with the Bay Area After-School All-Stars to demonstrate to students that learning can be fun. As standardized testing approached, Howard wanted to motivate the students to be successful in school. Students were on the edge of their seats for the opportunity to prove to the NFL players that they could beat them in this educational competition.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Here are more exclusive images captured by our photographer DeMarcus Davis of the Oakland Raiders at work during Organized Team Activities. Visit SBReport in the coming days for more eye-popping visuals from the Silver & Black’s workouts.

Hue Jackson (pictured on the right) has been one of biggest acquisitions this off-season for the Silver & Black, He has been vocal in practices, authoritative and demanding; holding every player along the depth chart accountable for their assignments and knowledge of the playbook.

Chaz Schilens (#81, pictured below) must stay healthy and give the Raiders a full season worth of production. The team expects a lot out of the former 7^th round draft choice, but the facts are, his 44 career receptions for 591 yards are not indicative of a player that can be an effective starter at the pro level.

Recently signed Damola Adeniji (#84) was in action with the rest of the wide receivers recently.

Free safety Michael Huff (#24) was getting his hands on the football during drills. The product out of Texas is looking to build off his solid season in 2009 in a very talented Raiders secondary.

Bruce Gradkowski may be sitting out till training camp with his pectoral injury, but that has not prevented him from being present during workouts and being a positive influence on and off the field.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

SBReport.net photographer DeMarcus Davis was able to capture images of the 2010 Oakland Raiders in action during Wednesday’s Organized Team Activities. Here are a few highlights of the session:

Second year pro Darrius Heyward-Bey couldn’t shake off rookie Walter McFadden various times during drills, but he continues to work hard and practice on his craft in an attempt to erase the bad taste of 2009.

Kyle Boller has a live arm and enough talent to snatch that third string job away from Charlie Frye. Frye has an edge based on being with the club a season and the coaching staff feeling comfortable with the veteran’s presence. The former third round pick of the Cleveland Browns is astute and very coach-like in his approach.

Langston Walker continued to work with the first team offensive line at right tackle. That position is one that is up for grabs and if he can continue to display an ability to lock down the edge, he’ll join Mario Henderson (LT), Robert Gallery (LG) and Samson Satele (C) as locks in the trenches.

Bruce Gradkowski’s commitment to excel has never been in question. But with the acquisition of Jason Campbell, it will be hard for the underdog passer to unseat the former Redskin. Campbell is getting a lot of good work in with teammates and is absorbing Hue Jackson’s playbook very quickly. All the time off, inactive due to a torn pectoral muscle has put Gradkowski behind the eight ball.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist