SBReport.net presents more images of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad. As an added bonus, we’ll give you a few images captured at road games, with the lenses on the cheerleaders for the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers.
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
SBReport.net presents more images of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad. As an added bonus, we’ll give you a few images captured at road games, with the lenses on the cheerleaders for the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins.
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
SBReport.net presents more images of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad. As an added bonus, we’ll give you a few images captured at road games, with the lenses on the cheerleaders for the Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Washington Redskins.
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
SBReport.net presents more images of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad. As an added bonus, we’ll give you a few images captured at road games, with the lenses on the cheerleaders for the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers.
Halloween weekend in Tennessee
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
Well, at least the Oakland Raiders (2-7) didn’t wait till the 3rd quarter to get their initial first down of the game against the Carolina Panthers (7-2). They got that out of the way in the 1st quarter on Sunday, but after that, they couldn’t do much of else.
Unlike last weekend, the Raiders showed some signs of life, but their ineptitude on offense and sloppy play kept them from putting any scare into the Panthers as they lost their third straight game 17-6.
Oakland was 2-of-17 on third down conversions, had 10 penalties for 83 yards and Shane Lechler had a career high 11 punts during the slop-fest.
Both teams combined for 20 punts and seven turnovers. The Raiders won the time of possession battle 37:02 to 22:58 and actually had more first downs than the Panthers (17-10). But that only gave more opportunities for the offense to show how pitiable they are in front of a non-sellout crowd at the ‘Black Hole.’
The Panthers did not need to move the chains or play keep away today.
They scored on a short field at the beginning of the game after Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled the opening kickoff. Carolina started their drive at the Oakland 16-yard line and four plays later; they went up 7-0 on a Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad 3-yard connection.
Oakland’s defense was solid in spurts versus the run and gave Delhomme fits all day when he dropped back to pass. The revamped secondary recorded four interceptions and looked very active today, but with the good there was some bad, as they reverted to shoddy tackling at times and miscues that led directly to Carolina points.
Rashad Baker blew a tackle on a DeAngelo Williams run, which sprung him 69-yards for a touchdown and gave Carolina a 14-0 lead in the 2nd quarter.
Baker had two interceptions on the day, but at times was bowled over by opposing rushers.
And the Raiders, who came into the game allowing 157.6 rushing yards per game (30th in the NFL), allowed another 162 today and a career high 140 on 19 carries by Williams.
Oakland wasted many opportunities to score on short fields after turnovers.
Nnamdi Asomugha, who blanketed Steve Smith whenever they paired up, got his first interception of the season in the first quarter. Oakland took over on the Carolina 39-yard line, but Andrew Walter, starting his 9th career game, tossed an interception four plays later on a pass intended for rookie Chaz Schilens in the end zone.
The game was difficult to watch.
Oakland cold not muster up any offense and considering they won in time of possession and tallied more first downs than their opponent, it must be upsetting to coaches that they couldn’t wear down the Panther defense. If anything, it was Carolina who was exhausting the Raiders with their constant pressure and rugged play.
Julius Peppers was a one-man gang recording three sacks. The second time in as many weeks that a defensive end has compiled three sacks against the Raiders (John Abraham) and their turnstile tackles.
The Raiders couldn’t even catch a break when Sebastian Janikowski hit the cross bar from 58-yards out with :09 remaining. Oakland was looking to put up some points on that 3rd down and then get a chance on the ensuing kickoff to field an onside kick.
The Raiders are an abysmal football team right now. And the playoff bound Panthers, coming off their bye week, did not appear like the team atop their division.
You can play bad against Oakland and still get away with it. Just ask Carolina.
INJURIES
After the game, head coach Tom Cable stated that Jake Grove sustained a strained calf, but did not know the severity of the injury. Chaz Schilens had a high ankle sprain and Javon Walker’s injury was above his ankle, and the coach said that the he was ‘pretty sore.’
GAME NOTES
OAKLAND, CA – Today’s game against the visiting Carolina Panthers will be a monster of a test for the Oakland Raiders on many levels. Not because of any potential individual matchups, but rather because it will be a barometer of just where this team is after releasing cornerback DeAngelo Hall and the soon-to-come ‘shake ups’ by head coach Tom Cable and owner Al Davis.
After watching a mere 10 minutes of last weeks debacle against the Atlanta Falcons, it was obvious that the players lost the will to give everything they had to at least be professional or even look like they wanted to be here. Offensive linemen allowing defenders virtually unblocked or sometimes not helping its runningbacks of the ground. The Raiders painfully want to forget about last week and move forward.
Oakland would start the game by receiving the opening kick off as WR Johnnie Lee Higgins promptly fumbled it on his own 16-yard line, giving the ball to Carolina from almost point-blank range after he unwisely brought the bouncing ball out of the endzone instead of downing it for a touchback.
Carolina would make the Raiders pay after first giving up a first down and then subsequently allowing a short pass to the near-corner of the Raiders’ endzone to put them up 7-0 after only 1:35 expiring off the clock.
On the ensuing Raider offensive drive, Oakland kept the ball on the ground and ran for a first down. Already at this point, the Raiders have amassed more yards and first downs than they did the entire first half of last week’s game against the Falcons.
Riding the wave of offensive progress, today’s starting quarterback Andrew Walter threw the ball accurately and with confidence and helped move the chains as the Raiders found themselves on the opposition’s side of the field with over 9 minutes to go in the first quarter. Unfortunately, with the Raiders caught in an obvious passing down on a 3rd and 6, Walter would get sacked after the Panther’s Julius Peppers overpowered Raider guard Cooper Carlisle out-right and got to the QB. Despite having to punt the ball, the Raiders have looked to have turned the corner offensively with Andrew Walter at the helm…at least for the time being.
Oakland’s defense also showed its teeth as Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme tested Nnamdi Asomugha and paid the price as Asomugha picked the ball off while covering WR Steve Smith with perfect positioning. The Raiders would get the ball on Carolina’s 39-yard line.
The Raiders would get another two first downs on the ground on their next drive, but due to WR Chaz Schilens running too deep on a passing route, Carolina’s defender was able to get inside leverage and pick off Andrew Walter to Carolina’s 9-yard line. At least the Raiders, at this point in the 1st quarter, have accumulated more offensive stats than they did the entire game against Atlanta.
The Oakland Raiders’ defense again showed it’s resiliency by shutting down Carolina’s offensive drive and forced them to punt. And after the Raiders’ offense stalled and punted away at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, it was the Raider defense that would rise to the occasion time and time again; weather it’s coming from a big hit by LB Sam Williams or a crucial 3rd down pass break up by CB Chris Johnson. Even backup safety Rashad Baker got into stingy mood by picking off Delhomme (for no gain).
Both offensive units would spend largely the remainder of the second quarter jousting between relatively unsuccessful drives, until with about 3 minutes left on the game clock, the Raiders’ backup safety Rashad Baker whiffed on a tackle near the line of scrimmage as runningback Deangelo Williams sprung free and scampered 69-yards for a touchdown to extend the Panthers’ lead to 14-0. Up to this point, all things had been pretty even and relatively competitive (minus the Higgins fumble at the beginning of the game).
The Raiders would open the second half on defense and would immediately put Oakland’s stalemated offense in scoring position with a Rashad Baker interception and short return to Carolina’s 25-yard line. Still stagnated, the Raider offense managed to get a short field goal out of the turnover to put themselves on the board; 14-3.
After more of a back-and-forth offensive showing on both teams, the Raiders tried to tip the balance into their favor on a slightly high tipped pass that was intercepted by OLB Sam Williams on the Panther’s 32-yard line. After only advancing to ball 6 yards, Sebastian Janikowski kicked a filed goal that not only gave the Raiders three more points, but put Jano into rarified air as he topped George Blanda on the All-Time Raider scoring list with 865-points! The game score at this point would be 14-6.
To the fourth quarter: The Raiders would start on offense and immediately connected on a Walter to Walker for a first down. Sadly, the drive ended on an intended pass to Walker that was intercepted by Carolina’s CB Chris Gamble (no gain) as the Panthers took control of the ball on their own 39-yard line.
Fortunately, Carolina couldn’t do any real damage as they were forced to punt the ball away. On Oakland’s next drive, quarterback Andrew Walter would come out of the game with over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter with what seemed to be a lower leg injury. Backup Tuiasosopo would come in to spell Walter, but made little difference as they too were forced to punt the ball away after a stalled drive with over 6 minutes left in the game.
Tui would remain in the game to lead the offense after a Carolina punt. Yet again, the offense couldn’t mount a string of plays together despite a brilliant naked bootleg by Tui to start the drive.
On the ensuing special teams coverage with time winding out, Raider defensive back Hiram Eugene whiffed on a big tackle in space just outside of the receiver’s own endzone. Because of the missed tackle, the punt returner was able to move the ball up field to the Raiders’ 35-yard line after a force out by Oakland’s punter Shane Lechler.
The Panthers managed to elude Oakland’s suffocating defense long enough to get it’s kicker within field goal range to put the game out of reach 17-6 with 1:49 left in the game.
Oakland found a way to move the ball (with help from a personal foul against Carolina) in garbage time and even managed to try a 58-yard field goal which hit the crossbar and fell harmlessly to the ground, but too little, too late as the Raiders fell to the Carolina Panthers by a score of 17-6. The one silver (and black) lining in all of this…at least they looked ‘respectable’ despite having their starting quarterback out for the game and several key starting players injured.
For the Oakland Raiders, rookie running back Darren McFadden will miss his third straight contest, designated inactive for today’s game versus the Carolina Panthers.
Oakland will start Andrew Walter today, as JaMarcus Russell was also on the inactive list along with WR Ronald Curry, OL James Marten and OL John Wade.
On defense, Derrick Burgess will sit again along with linebacker Ricky Brown.
Sam Williams will start today in place of Brown, who was replaced by Robert Thomas last week before he was injured and eventually placed on injured reserve.
Kalimba Edwards will be in the starting line-up once again in place of Burgess.
For Russell, it’s the first game missed in his career due to injury. Throughout the week, rumors circled regarding his aching right knee and whether he would be able to make the start.
For the Panthers; CB CJ Wilson, LB James Anderson, G Mackenzy Bernadeau, T Frank Omiyale, WR Dwayne Jarett, WR Kenneth Moore, DT Darwin Walker and QB Matt Moore (3rd in the depth chart) occupied the inactive list.
It was a week of shake-ups and frank player reactions for the Oakland Raiders (2-6), who now have the daunting task of playing a Carolina Panthers (6-2) that won two consecutive games prior to their bye week and sit atop the NFC South.
Oakland released DeAngelo Hall and dealt with the aftermath all week, with players reinforcing the bizarre happenings around the volatile organization and the difficulty playing under such circumstances. One thing is losing and another is dealing with all the extra stuff. We have so much on our plate already. To deal with the extra stuff is not healthy for anybody, especially when you’re trying to get a game plan in and you’re trying to know what you’re supposed to do and all that. It’s not a healthy situation at all,” said Gibril Wilson this week.
OAKLAND RAIDERS
On Offense:
Since Lane Kiffin’s firing, the Raiders have been outscored 100-29. Last week against the Falcons, they didn’t get their initial first down until the 3rd quarter. And with Darren McFadden out of the line-up with a lingering toe injury, the offense has been in shambles.
JaMarcus Russell had the worst start of his young career, going 6-of-19 for 31 yards with an interception, while being sacked four times.
The offensive line’s play has gotten progressively worse, and at some point, Tom Cable has to plug in Mario Henderson for the ineffective Kwame Harris. When Henderson last saw action, the Raiders were running the ball efficiently and the former 3rd round draft choice played very well, starting in place for an injured Harris. Cable believed in Harris’ ability to run block and develop in his zone-blocking scheme, but Raider fan are learning exactly what 49er fans knew all along – that Harris should not be trusted to protect a young and pricey quarterback.
What to expect:
The offense has been abysmal. And with Carolina being the 8th ranked defense in the NFL, it’s hard to imagine the Raiders moving the ball consistently down the field. They’ll need big plays and breakdowns in the Panther secondary when Greg Knapp opens it up for his quarterback. Which is something I think he’ll do to loosen up the front seven in order to get his running backs going.
On Defense:
DeAngelo Hall can’t be blamed for the rush defense. For a sixth straight season, the interior of the defensive line has been a sieve, currently allowing 157.6 yards per game (30th in the NFL). Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands and Gerard Warren have been pushed around, thus allowing opposing blockers to get to the second level easily and occupying the Raider linebackers.
At defensive end, it appears that Derrick Burgess will miss another game, as his injured triceps isn’t healed enough. His fellow end Jay Richardson gave his thoughts this week on the struggles versus the run, stating, “Until we decide we want to stop some of these concepts and some of these schemes, it’s going to be like that. I think we can, I think we will. I know we will.”
What to expect:
What to expect…? Hmmm — maybe more of the same this week. I can’t see the Raiders stopping Carolina’s 13th ranked ground game, led by DeAngelo Williams. The only entertaining match-up this week will be when Nnamdi Asomugha lines up in front of Steve Smith.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
On Offense:
Jake Delhomme is back under center a year after Tommy John surgery. And that has made a world of a difference due to his leadership and fiery play.
It helps also when you have Steve Smith (33 rec. 613 yards 4 TD) and Muhsin Muhammad (37 rec. 507 yards 2 TD). But what has helped this offense click has been Williams’ team leading 522 rushing yards and Jonathan Stewart’s 5 touchdowns as a back up.
On Thursday, Stewart missed practice and was walking with a boot to protect his sore left heel. “It’s a sharp pain in my heel,” Stewart said. “I have to run the ball and it hurts every time I press off on it.”
What to expect:
Williams can carry the load of needed, and the way the Raiders are defending the ground game, he should be able to produce enough yards to move the chains and then help Delhomme use his play action to attack down the field. Center Ryan Kalil and right tackle Jeff Otah have been practicing and will start for the Raiders. So the Panthers are getting healthy at the right moment.
On Defense:
Reserve defensive tackle Darwin Walker has a sore neck after being in a car accident. He stated this week, “It was like a super-hard hit on the field.
“My neck still hasn’t recovered.”
The Panthers won’t need him as long as DE Julius Peppers (4 sacks), DT Damione Lewis, DT Ma’ake Kemoeatu and DE Charles Johnson (3.5 sacks) can control the line of scrimmage.
The solid trio of Jon Beason, Thomas Davis and Na’il Diggs can chase down ball carriers with the best of them.
What to expect:
The Raiders have struggled at tackle. John Abraham had a three-sack game last week, and with Peppers coming into town, Russell should have his head on a swivel. Johnson has played well for the Panthers, and head coach John Fox has appreciated the play of his 6’2” end, stating, “He’s got good playing strength and has the flexibility to play inside or outside. A good athlete. The only thing missing is experience, and that is just a matter of playing.”
GAME NOTES
KEY MATCH-UPS
Raiders LT & RT vs. Carolina pass rush
If Abraham had three-sacks last week, what can the combo of Peppers and Johnson rack up?
Asomugha vs. Smith
We may not see these two match-up often, but when it does happen, it will be entertaining. This face-off may not decide the winner of the game, but high caliber talents should provide good moments.
PREDICTION
Panthers 23 – Raiders 13
TV & RADIO
The game will be televised on FOX with Dick Stockton providing play-by-play and Brian Baldinger and Brian Billick handling color analysis with Laura Okmin the sideline reporter. If sold out per NFL blackout rules, the game will air locally on KTVU Channel 2. The game will also air in Sacramento on KXTL Channel 40 as well as on KCVU Channel 30 in Chico/Redding, KCBA Channel 35 in Monterey, KVBU Channel 29 in Eureka and KMPH Channel 26 in Fresno. The game will air on Raiders Radio originating on KSFO 560 AM, the Silver and Black Flagship for the multi-state Radio Network. Greg Papa and former Raiders player, assistant and head coach Tom Flores will man the booth for the 11th straight year. The radio pregame show and postgame show will feature Raider Legends George Atkinson and David Humm along with KGO’s Rich Walcoff. Sports USA Radio will broadcast the game nationally with Howard David, Terry Donahue and Tony Graziani calling the action. (Broadcast information found on the official Raiders web site)
Home Team: Oakland Raiders (2-6) Home: 1-3 Road: 1-3
Road Team: Carolina Panthers (6-2) Home: 5-0 Road: 1-2
When and Where: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 1:05 p.m. PT | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
