Silver and Black Report

Gerard Warren got his hands on Peyton Manning when he was a Raider.

The New York Giants were crowned Super Bowl champions, again, beating the New England Patriots 21-17 at Indianapolis.

A few former Oakland Raiders were key on both sides. SBReport.net takes a look at their performances:

Sterling Moore – Patriots – CB

Moore had three tackles, ending his solid playoff run with the Patriots. The cornerback had two passes defended, one which halted a key Giants’ drive on a 3^rd and 10. That gave Tom Brady the ball back in the 4^th quarter with a shot at extending their lead prior to New York’s go-ahead possession. Moore had a forced fumble on a play in the 1^st quarter that was negated due to a penalty.

Gerard Warren – Patriots – DT

Had one tackle and assisted on another playing as a reserve.

Dave Tollefson – Giants – DL

Played well on special teams and in varying packages along the defensive front.

Kevin Boothe – Giants – OL

In the 2^nd quarter, he had a holding penalty that washed away a converted 3^rd and 1. On the next play, on 3^rd and 11, Eli Manning tossed an incomplete pass in the direction of Mario Manningham.
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There’s a sprinkling of story lines that can be attached to the Oakland Raiders from this weekend’s playoff match-ups. Here are some you can tie back to the Silver & Black:

Thomas Howard – Bengals LB

The former 2^nd round pick out of UTEP saw post-season action in his second year with the Cincinnati Bengals. He had a very active game, leading the team with six-tackles. The Houston Texans advanced with a 31-10 win, but Howard had a nice showing.

Gibril Wilson – Bengals S

Yes, he was a Raider back in the 2008 campaign. He had very little impact during the game on Saturday.

Dave Tollefson – Giants DL

Did not play a significant role as a reserve versus the Falcons, but he did tally 5.0 sacks this season.

John Fox – Broncos HC

His team stunned the Steelers on the first play of overtime, as the AFC West champs advance to face the New England Patriots. Fox was a one time assistant with the Silver & Black in Los Angeles.

Aaron Kromer – Saints OL coach

Was a vital coach for the Raiders in 2002 during their run to the Super Bowl.  The Saints are sending three linemen to the Pro Bowl this year.

Terry Robiskie – Falcons WR coach

Served with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1982 where he coached with the team for 12 seasons. Now, he has Roddy White and Julio Jones to mentor in Atlanta.

Greg Knapp – Texans QB coach

Was the offensive coordinator with the Raiders in 2007-2008. Knapp has done a great job with many injuries at quarterback for Houston and a rookie passer currently under center.

OTHER NOTES

Al Davis wanted JaMarcus Russell; Lane Kiffin wanted the man dubbed “Megatron.” In February of 2009, when Davis reflected on those days, he stated, “Someone the other day said we had to go get a receiver. We should’ve drafted Calvin Johnson instead of JaMarcus Russell. But [Detroit Lions] record was 0-16 last year with Calvin Johnson.”

Johnson, in his team’s first playoff appearance since 1999, caught two touchdown passes and tallied 211-yards.

The Raiders were 7-4 heading into December and the Broncos were floundering around .500 when Tim Tebow began his charge to an AFC West crown. Yesterday, Tebow posted 316-yards passing, two touchdowns throwing the football and one rushing with a rating of 125.6 during the Broncos 29-23 overtime victory. It was the first extra period NFL post-season game with the new rules. It took all but one play to end the contest after Tebow hung the most yards passing the Steelers allowed all campaign.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – David Carr opened the final quarter with completions to Hakeem Nicks of 17 and 14 yards. Nicks beat Chris Johnson on the opening play of the quarter and then a few plays later, he won the battle versus Nnamdi Asomugha, escaped his grasp and set the Giants up for another score.

Lawrence Tynes nailed his third field goal of the day from 37-yards out to extend New York’s lead to 44-7.

JaMarcus Russell opened the next Raider drive with a 29-yard toss to Zach Miller. But on the next play, Miller was flagged for holding and Oakland faced a 1^st and 20. Russell again found Miller, this time for 13-yards and after a unsuccessful Michael Bush run on 2^nd down, the Raiders faced a 3^rd and 11. Former Raider Dave Tollefson sacked Russell on third-down – the sixth in the afternoon for the Giants – ending the Oakland threat.

New York started running out the clock midway through the 4^th quarter with running back Gartrell Johnson and a Carr scramble of 11-yards on 3^rd and 11.

The Giants had piled up nearly 500-yards of total offense approaching the 2:00 warning.

Stay tuned for more coverage live from New York.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report.net Columnist