Silver and Black Report

Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders had several gut-checks during yesterday’s contest.

Either club had opportunities to put the game out of reach, but both responded with rallies or game tying drives, ultimately ending in the Silver & Black falling short and going back to Oakland defeated, 38-31.

“They’re a chippy team. They try to bully you,” defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said of the Raiders.“We’ll fight. We fought a little better today. They throw a punch, we throw a punch back. They kick, we kick back. That’s the kind of team we are. You’re not going to come into our house and bully us.”

Down 17-7 to start the second half, it took Jacksonville four plays to get back into the game after the giddy Raiders scored with 00:19 left in the 2^nd quarter. On 2^nd and 18, David Garrard’s 48-yard bomb to Jason Hill revitalize the team and crowd, inching his team to 17-14.

Oakland probably felt that they had deflated Jacksonville’s balloon 3 plays later when Darren McFadden sprinted 51-yards into the end zone to extend the Silver & Black’s lead, 24-14.

But two drives later, Rashad Jennings’ 74-yard romp crept the Jaguars closer, 24-21. “There were a lot of moments that we showed a lot of gritty determination,” coach Jack Del Rio, stated. “That’s what this team has been about all year. That’s what we have and we’re going to hang onto it.”

Even after blowing the lead when rookie Jacoby Ford’s fumble set up a Jaguars’ possession at the Oakland 22-yard line, which ended in a Mike Sims-Walker score and being behind 31-24 in the closing minutes, the Raiders recovered, stuffing Maurice Jones-Drew on a 2^nd and 2 and then Garrard on a 3^rd and 3 to set up a game tying drive.

McFadden ultimately ran it in from 36-yards out to tie the back-and-forth battle at 31, giving the Raiders a shot to come away with a road victory. “We came out and played hard, but they had a bunch of big plays, and I felt that cost us,” McFadden said after the game.

“Heck of a game,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said.

Both teams demonstrated grit and determination. The one that’s looking like a playoff contender got the job done at the end.

“We’ve really had some growth through the course of this year,” Del Rio said. “Not only in terms of playing better football, but the culture we have in our locker room that guys really believe we’ll continue to fight and hang together.”

MCFADDEN, A MVP CANDIDATE

Yesterday, McFadden looked every bit of a MVP candidate. The Raiders running back tallied 209-yards of total offense and three scores, but he took no solace in his performance, stating, “A game like that means nothing if we don’t win. I felt we played hard the whole game, but it didn’t bounce our way at the end.”

McFadden became the fourth Raider in franchise history with two touchdowns of at least 50 yards in the same game and the first with a 50 yard or more scoring run and a 50 yard or more touchdown reception in the same game since Clem Daniels in 1963.

“They have a pretty good run defense, but we have a pretty good rushing offense,” he said. “It was a battle of the titans out there.”

GAME NOTES

John Henderson played his best game as a Raider, against his former club. His ex-teammate Terrance Knighton did not restraint himself after the win, saying, “He’s over there yapping. We’re over there yapping. We won. Ha, ha,” in a comment directed to Oakland’s defensive tackle.

Kirk Morrison wants more respect. “Everybody keeps saying Indy, Indy,” stated the linebacker, who beat his former team on Sunday. “What about us? What about the Jacksonville Jaguars? What about us going out and executing and holding everything we want in our own hands? Not worrying about they do, but worrying about what we do. We know what’s at stake.” Did he take a pot shot at his old team? I’ll let you dissect this comment: “I’m playing meaningful December football and it’s a great feeling.”

With the loss and fledgling playoff aspirations, could this be the end of the line for Tom Cable? He deserves a lot of credit for leading this team to six-wins so far and meaningful football this late in the season. Changing the culture in that locker room and navigating through the JaMarcus Russell era was quite the task. But with no contract past the end of this campaign, the struggles of the offensive line and the owner’s high expectations, could the Raiders just let the coach walk? This could be an interesting off-season, as Oakland could just operate without having to announce a ‘firing’ because Cable’s deal runs out once the season ends. Hue Jackson has made quite the impression and according to Yahoo’s Jason Cole, both the coach and offensive coordinator have ‘butted heads’ and that Cable is trying to under cut the assistant. Cable disowned any responsibility when a reporter asked is his star rushers should’ve had more carries yesterday, stating, “I don’t know. That is not for me to decide right now.”

Jackson has been receiving much of the credit for the offense. When the former Ravens assistant was brought in, it freed Cable to be more of a leader and work with the offensive line, a group that has been shaky in 2010. Oakland could cite the team’s inability to get over the hump and transform themselves into a playoff contender and the struggles of the offensive line for not bringing back Cable. Stay tuned…

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

The Oakland Raiders (6-6) took a major step forward last weekend with a victory at San Diego, making themselves a playoff contender in the AFC. The Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5) are sitting pretty atop the AFC South, looking to control their own destiny as the season winds down. “This isn’t about anyone but us,” said tight end Marcedes Lewis. “We set our goals high before the season and we have a chance to make those a reality.” The Silver & Black have altered their practice schedule and are fully aware of what it will take to fly east and come away with a victory. “Just looking at the history of us, just in my time here, we’ve really struggled,” Tom Cable stated. “When you look at the records of teams going west to east it’s not very good. The only thing we could come up with was try to get their body clocks on something similar to that.”

OAKLAND RAIDERS

On Offense:

When the Raiders run the football effectively, they usually win. In their six victories, Oakland has averaged 133.5 more ground yards than their opponent. During the six losses, they’ve been outgained in the rushing department by 84.2 yards per contest.

“If we just keep running the ball and doing what we do, then I think that’s the Raiders,” running back Michael Bush commented this week. “We come out, pound you, pound you, pound you, throw the ball, then I think we’ll get a lot accomplished.”

What to Expect:

The Jaguars have the 17^th ranked (109.5) rush defense in the NFL. It’s imperative Oakland runs the ball with consistency and keeps Jason Campbell in manageable 3^rd down situations on the road. The quarterback was masterful in his decision-making, scrambling and mastery of the offense last weekend. Maybe he feels completely comfortable knowing Bruce Gradkowski is no longer looking over his shoulder? If that’s the case, Oakland will then be able to open up the passing attack a bit more against a Jacksonville secondary that allows 253 yards a game via the air (27^th in the NFL).

On Defense:

The Raiders are now tied with the Steelers for the most sacks in the NFL (36).

Oakland can get into the backfield with a four-man rush, but it’s their blitzing mentality that can rattle opponents, and that shows on how the sacks are distributed throughout the team.

Tommy Kelly leads the team with 6.5 and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley has 5.5, but starting safeties Tyvon Branch and Michael Huff have combined for 7.

Their rush defense is aided whenever they can jump ahead; which has been the case in many of their wins, especially last week versus the Chargers, when Oakland allowed a measly 21-yards on the ground.

What to Expect:

Shutting down Maurice Jones-Drew is imperative. If Oakland can stack the box and be successful in slowing down the league’s second-leading rusher, Jacksonville’s targets pose no threat to a very active Raiders secondary. The Jaguars rank 29^th in passing offense. More importantly for Oakland, the Jaguars have the most giveaways in the AFC (16 interceptions, 10 fumbles).

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

On Offense:

The Jaguars deploy a simple game-plan; run the ball with Jones-Drew and feed off that. The fifth year talent out of UCLA has tallied 1,177-rushing yards in 2010.

“I like our physical approach,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “… The team that controls the line of scrimmage wins the game a large percentage of the time.”

Jacksonville’s passer David Garrard has thrown 11 interceptions and has been sacked 26-times this season. He is turnover prone, but his mobility and ability to break containment could give the pass-rush happy Raiders some problems.

What to Expect:

Mike Sims-Walker has been limited in practice. Leading receiver Mike Thomas and Marcedes Lewis need to be factors in this contest. Oakland will commit to stopping Jones-Drew, so if Garrard can draw the safeties in and get the ball down the field a few times, it could soften the defense enough where they can pound away in the ladder stages of the game with their powerful run game.

On Defense:

Kirk Morrison was moved to Jacksonville in the off-season for a fourth round draft choice. The former middle linebacker for the Raiders is excited to play against his ex-teammates and the team he grew up cheering for.

“Because you grew up there, you want to play as a Raider for your whole entire life but sometimes change is good. And, definitely, for me, it has helped me out tremendously,” said Morrison.

He sees a change in Oakland and is anticipating a tough contest on Sunday.

“Both teams really like to run the football, both teams are going to be physical. It’s December football. I know how excited we are here for the opportunity that we have. I can only imagine what’s going on in that locker room down in Oakland . Guys are playing inspired football this late in the season. You haven’t seen that over there, I know I didn’t. We didn’t have that opportunity in the five years that I was there to be playing December with so much at stake and with so much on the line. It’s going to make for a nice atmosphere on Sunday afternoon.”

What to Expect:

The Jaguars rank 24^th in points per game allowed, 17^th in run defense and 27^th in pass defense. So you wonder, how they have got atop the AFC South? “We’ve got a pretty good story going on in a year when this city really needed it,” said Del Rio. The defense was stout against Arian Foster (56 yards), Peyton Hillis (48 yards) and Chris Johnson (53 yards). If they can slow Darren McFadden, Oakland will struggle to move the chains

GAME NOTES

• “Running the ball and stopping the run are good things to do, but it goes beyond that,” Del Rio said. “They have five miscellaneous touchdowns. We don’t have any yet.” Jacksonville has scored fewer points (257) and have a worse point differential (minus-43) than four last-place teams. They’ve also won games with a 50-yard Hail Mary pass, a 59-yard field goal on the game’s final play and after committing 6 turnovers.
• In 2009, the Jaguars were 7-5 and in the lead for a wild card berth before losing four straight to end the season.
• Since 2003, the Silver & Black are 5-17 in day games at east coast sites.
• The Jaguars are 12-1 the last two seasons when scoring more than 20-points.
• John Henderson, Quentin Groves and Khalif Barnes used to play for Jacksonville. The defensive tackle said of Jones-Drew, “Powerful. Great running back. Going down Sunday. 1 o’clock, Jacksonville, Florida. Sixty-six degrees. Maybe 20. Maybe a little bit of rain. It’s going down.’’

PREDICTION

Raiders 24 – Jaguars 17

The Jaguars are too one-dimensional on offense. Jones-Drew could carry them, but against a Raider team that is motivated and finding ways to fly east prepared and working to get acclimated to the time-zone, Garrard and the rest of the team must keep John Marshall’s unit off-balance. Something they won’t be able to do if the Raider team that showed up in San Diego shows up in Jacksonville.

BROADCAST INFORMATION (cited from official Raiders web site)

TELEVISION: The game will be televised on CBS with Kevin Harlan providing play-by-play and former NFL player Solomon Wilcots handling color analysis.  The game will air in the Bay Area on KPIX Channel 5 and in Sacramento on KOVR Channel 13.The game also airs on KHSL in Chico, KION in Monterey and KJEO in Fresno. RADIO: Greg Papa and Tom Flores will call the game live on Raiders Radio Network originating on KITS LIVE 105.3 FM and KFRC 1550 AM, with pre and post-game analysis on KFRC. Papa and Raiders two-time Super Bowl winning head coach Flores will man the booth for the 13th straight year. The radio pregame and postgame shows will feature Raider Legends George Atkinson and David Humm as well as local veteran radio personalities Bruce Magowan and Jason Ross.

GAME INFO

Sunday, December 12, 2010 1:00 p.m. ET | EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL

Home Team: Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5) Home: 4-2  Road: 3-3

Road Team: Oakland Raiders (6-6) Home: 4-2 Road: 2-4

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

There’s quite a few storylines between the Oakland Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Both teams are looking to land playoff spots. Both teams aren’t looked at as threats in a top-heavy American Football Conference. And both share connections with ex-teammates.

John Henderson, Quentin Groves and Khalif Barnes used to play for Jacksonville. Kirk Morrison and Slade Norris used to don the Silver & Black.

“Big John was one of my favorites,’’ said Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. “Big, strong, powerful guy and a lot of fun to be around. It’s not easy to let go of guys like that. In the end we felt we did what we had to do as an organization.’’

In April, Jacksonville cut the two-time pro bowl defensive tackle opening up a starting spot for first-round draft pick Tyson Alualu.

“He can be nice all he wants,’’ Henderson said jokingly about his former coach and the complimentary comments Del Rio had for him. “I’ll put it up on the bulletin board. He knows it.’’

Del Rio reportedly slighted Henderson for pulling out of off-season drills, suggesting he wasn’t dedicated and faking a shoulder injury to steer clear of work.

“It’s going to feel good to go and whip somebody’s you know what,’’ Henderson said. “I wasn’t laughing. I hope he goes and puts it on his bulletin board, too. Because I know what he’s going to do.”

As for the match-up against the league’s second leading rusher – Maurice Jones-Drew, Henderson commented, “Powerful. Great running back. Going down Sunday. 1 o’clock, Jacksonville, Florida. Sixty-six degrees. Maybe 20. Maybe a little bit of rain. It’s going down.’’

Groves talked about his time in Jacksonville:  “I mean, they gave me chances, they gave me opportunities, you know, at the same time, but it’s whatever they want to say. If they want to say they didn’t put me in position, then they didn’t put me in position. I’m not gonna go tit for tat with these guys. Like I said, I strap it up on Sunday at 1:05 in Duval County and I’ll be ready. I’ll just tell you that I’ll be ready.’’

‘Captain’ Kirk,  a mainstay in Oakland for a few seasons talked to Bay Area reporters about his former team coming to Jacksonville and his observations of this edition of the Silver & Black:

“Both teams really like to run the football, both teams are going to be physical. It’s December football. I know how excited we are here for the opportunity that we have. I can only imagine what’s going on in that locker room down in Oakland . Guys are playing inspired football this late in the season. You haven’t seen that over there, I know I didn’t. We didn’t have that opportunity in the five years that I was there to be playing December with so much at stake and with so much on the line. It’s going to make for a nice atmosphere on Sunday afternoon.” – Morrison

OTHER NOTES

• CB Chris Johnson was back on the practice field today.
• MLB Rolando McClain was on the field, but wearing a protective boot.
• WR Chaz Schilens continued to work with the first-team.
• “They absolutely annihilated the Chargers,” said Del Rio of Oakland’s performance last weekend.
• The Jaguars have been fortunate in a few wins; claiming victory during contests where they committed six turnovers, had to kick a 59-yard field goal as time expired and a 50-yard Hail Mary pass.
• The Jaguars have scored fewer points (257) & have a worse point differential (minus-43) than four last-place teams.
• In 2009, Jacksonville was 7-5, in line for a playoff berth before losing 4-straight to end the season.
• Raiders TE Zach Miller vs. Jaguars TE Zach Miller

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Ronald Curry vs. the Rams during the 2006 season

The last time the Oakland Raiders faced the St. Louis Rams, running back Steven Jackson ran for 127-yards and 2 scores. St. Louis routed the Raiders 20-0 in front of ‘the Black Hole.’

Then Rams quarterback Marc Bulger was 11-for-22 for 137-yards. The tandem of Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce combined for 7 receptions for 117-yards.

“It’s just embarrassing,” said then Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks, who was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Andrew Walter. “It’s embarrassing because we’re better than that.”

At that point, the Raiders were 2-12.

Ronald Curry was the lone spark in that abysmal home performance, hauling in 9-catches for 87-yards.

“I didn’t like it,” Brooks said of his benching. “I thought it was bad timing. I didn’t see any reason why I should have come out. But it was not my decision.”

Here are some images from that contest, pulled from our game coverage dated December 17, 2006:

Justin Fargas (#25) breaking away from Ram defenders.

Kevin Huntley (#94) recording a sack

Kirk Morrison(#52) tallied 6-tackles and a sack during the game.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

In this second installment of SBReport’s exclusive interview with Oakland Raiders defensive end Jay Richardson, the 26-year old talks about his head coach coming back for one more campaign, the off-season and the Silver & Black’s fan-base among many other topics.

SBREPORT: You’ve been around a lot of solid veteran defensive linemen since you arrived: Warren Sapp, Derrick Burges, Greg Spires, Kalimba Edwards, Greg Ellis…what have you learned from those guys?

JAY RICHARDSON: “That’s a good point you make, I’ve had the privilege to be around a lot of good defensive ends, just good leaders, good players and all very different. All guys you can learn from.  When it comes to leadership, Greg Ellis was just one of those guys that is going to take charge, he’s just a perfect model for what a pro is supposed to be. But when I first go there, Derrick Burgess was here, and he was kind of like the man at the time, and who you wanted to look at, to see how to do things and the way he rushed the quarterback…he was just a real special athlete. I had the privilege of watching him rush every day, just trying to take what I could, such a tough player, just started to rub off on me. Obviously, we have [Richard] Seymour now, and he’s like a champion. A guy who has three rings, he’s been to the big show and I think it just helps a lot. It valuable to have someone like that on your team.”

SBREPORT: Not to many people know about your defensive coordinator. What’s John Marshall like during game days, the week leading to the game and now, in the off-season during camp and OTAs?

RICHARDSON: “It’s fun. He plays an attacking style defense. John Marshall is a fundamentally sound coordinator. He wants everything done right all the time and he has a lot of personality. He does the best he can to try to get us going throughout the week, even though it gets tough sometimes, he sticks with it and he’s just one of those guys that is relentless. He has fun with it. We have a good time with coach Marshall.”

After a six-year stint with the New York Giants, Oakland brought back defensive line coach Mike Waufle this off-season. He was on staff when the Raiders and Giants were in the Super Bowl and has been credited for helping the careers of many successful defensive linemen. Tom Cable also has a connection with the tough coach, spending six years with Waufle at the University of California. Richardson talked about Waufle and answered a question regarding Cable’s return after speculation of his demise after the 2009 season.

SBREPORT: Mike Waufle is your new position coach. He was with the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl recently and worked with many good linemen. Have you talked to him during the off-season and what do you expect out of Waufle?

RICHARDSON: “’Waf’ is real military man. He’s a serious guy, but he knows his stuff. He’s one of those guys that knows how to play defense. He’s been doing it for so long, he’s so technical about it and he has the formula down for everything. He knows exactly how he wants things done. It’s good to play for a coach like that because; you know when you are making a mistake, you know there is no gray area. As long as you do things the right way, you’ll be fine. He’s a very smart coach.”

SBREPORT: How does it feel knowing that Tom Cable will be back another season?

RICHARDSON: “Its good for us. You want some consistency. There can’t be a new coach every year; it makes it hard on a team trying to hold on to its identity. Under Cable, we’ve kind of grown as a team and we are still trying to polish it up. But he’s helped a lot in trying to get this team to, rallying the troops if you will and getting us all on the same page. Getting us all to understand what it’s going to take for us to win in this league and be successful as a team and not a group of individuals. So I think he’s very important to our team success.”

SBREPORT: When Jay Richardson is not playing football or training, what’s your day like during the off-season?

RICHARDSON: “Not nearly as exciting as you think. I do some grocery shopping, I play some video games. I relax, I try to do as little as possible. I’m out there paying bills, making sure my family is ok and just do the day-to-day normal stuff.”

SBREPORT: How do you approach the off-season; in terms of balancing your time off and recovering from the season, and working-out and trying to get better as a player?

RICHARDSON: “It’s been fun. I took it a little different this particular year. I took it a little bit more serious. Obviously a contract year and all of that. I just, I felt like this year, I had to be in the best shape of my life and you know, I didn’t do as much hanging out as I probably have done in the past years because this is a big year, not just for myself, but for this team, this organization and I think this is going to be a pivotal year in Oakland Raiders history. This is going to be a big one for us. So I just wanted to be ready for it. As far as my preparation goes, its at an all-time high when it comes to focus and trying to make it happen this year.”

During the draft weekend, Oakland parted ways with veteran linebacker Kirk Morrison. A teammate of Richardson since 2007, the defensive end gave his thoughts on his former teammate and what he meant to the squad.

“Captain Kirk man, I know…that’s the man. We are all going to miss Kirk. Kirk is just a good stand up guy. A good linebacker. A good player. A good smart guy. Any team that gets him, obviously, it was Jacksonville. They are fortunate to have him. He’s a real good guy in the locker room. Kirk is going to do his job and he’s a real classy guy. So, he’ll definitely be missed out here in the Bay Area.”

SBREPORT: The team is taking on a new look: Jason Campbell was acquired, the new draft picks, and JaMarcus Russell looks to be on the way out. What are your thoughts on that?

RICHARDSON: “Yeah, its crazy man. You just don’t know and as they say: you don’t know what you don’t know. All you can do is just worry about yourself. But at the same time, Jason Campbell, from what I have seen of him the last few years, it’s a pretty solid guy, a solid quarterback who knows what he’s doing. He needed a fresh start it seems, this was the best place for it to try to re-establish his identity at quarterback in this league and jump-start his career. I think there is a lot of potential in him, he’s a smart guy. You know, we have a good stable of quarterbacks. Charlie Frye can play. Bruce Gradkowski, we all saw last year, can go out there and hold his own and win games for us. It’s just going to be an interesting dynamic for us this year, going into camp with a lot of talent out here.”

SBREPORT: You’ve gone through tough seasons, but in all, what are your impressions of the fan-base and your start of your career?

RICHARDSON: “They are unbelievable. I remember when I got drafted, I never knew how many Raiders’ fans are nationwide, globally, they are really. I never watched a tons of Raider football in the Midwest, you just didn’t see too much of those games.”

“For a team that has had the lack of success, I guess I have to say, over the last half decade, no fans cheer harder, no fans travel better than our people out here and that’s a testament to the fans, that they believe in us no matter what’s going on, no matter what the situation is. I think that is just awesome. That kind of stuff gives us the energy, especially on game day, like those tough games, the Philly game. We went out, at home, against a playoff team that we beat, most of that you tribute to the fans just being there for us and giving us energy.”

He continued to talk about the direction of the club, stating, “Things are about to turn around. This team is so close to turning the corner and becoming a potential playoff contender year in and year out. We are a few pieces away, I think we have to gain our identity as a team this year and do it early on in the year and establish ourselves our first eight games and I know for a fact that we can do that. I believe it is going to happen this year. I think it’s going to be a huge year for us.”

SBREPORT: What are the next few weeks looking like in terms of mini camps etc.?

RICHARDSON: “We got mini-camp this weekend, we finally get to have the whole team together. This whole new team we have here. Have good practices: we have two on Friday, two on Saturday, one on Sunday and kind of see where we are at. Get everyone up to speed and then the next few weeks, we’ll be polishing that up, working out and building some sort of chemistry and get guys going. It should be fun.”

SBREPORT: You are also a spokesperson for “The Right to Read Foundation,” can you talk about your contributions there and your countless hours of work with The United Way and the local Boy Scouts.

RICHARDSON: “For me its fun. This was all stuff I was involved in, in my life growing up, so it only made sense that once I had a chance to help give back, to help kids that may have been in similar situations that I was in growing up –  it just made sense. As soon as I got out west, out here, my rookie year, there was an opportunity to, on Saturday mornings, to go to children’s hospitals. It was always voluntary. But I signed up. At least every other week, just because I can relate to a lot of the stuff kids are going through. Plus, it’s always just nice to go in there and cheer the kids up, especially in the hospitals. There are a lot of kids in a lot tougher situations than we are. And I think sometimes, our lives get stressful and we focus so much on ourselves and wondering how we are getting out of the situations we put ourselves into and we never stop to look back at the situations other people are in. Especially kids. Doing stuff like that keeps things in perspective.”

RICHARDSON NOTES:

• Participated in 48-league games; tallying 109 combined tackles and 7.0 sacks.
• While at Ohio State, the collegiate majored in African-American studies.
• Selected in the 5^th round (138^th overall) in the 2007 draft.
• His mother, Deborah Johnson, attended Ohio State, where she played rugby and graduated in 1979.

Here is a link to Jay’s Official Web Site & info about his foundation:

JayRichardson98.com

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

NEW YORK – The Oakland Raiders continued to make moves in the draft, trading up to the 108^th overall selection and selecting Jacoby Ford, a wide receiver/return specialist out of the University of Clemson.

The speedster was a NCAA 2008-09 60-meters indoor champion and had a streak of 18 straight victories in 60 and 100-meter races as a collegiate.

Oakland traded linebacker Kirk Morrison and their 5^th round selection  (153^rd overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars to select Ford.

Ford started 27-of-48 games at Clemson, catching 143 passes for 1,986 yards and sixteen touchdowns. He also carried the ball 58 times for 494 yards and two scores. The return specialist also tallied 479-yards and two touchdowns in 49 punt return attempts.

Morrison was on the trading block well before the draft, as Oakland finally parted ways with their starting middle linebacker in recent years after choosing Rolando McClain in the first round on Friday.

The local product was deemed expendable and the Raiders used him as bait to slide up the draft board to take a player they feel will add pop to their special teams and can potentially stretch the field with his speed.

In this final installment of the Oakland Raiders draft outlooks, we analyze the mid-section and backfield of the Silver & Black’s defense.

LINEBACKERS

Oakland has tried to gauge the interest around the league for middle linebacker Kirk Morrison. Ultimately, no club felt that he was worth his 3^rd rounder and the Raiders brought him back at a one-year deal worth nearly $2.5 million. Thomas Howard also signed his tender at $1.759 million for 2010. Neither is a lock to remain with the club, as they could be used as trade bait to bring in mid-to-late round selections and open up spots for cheaper alternatives on the roster. Ricky Brown is one of those other options, but he’ll also make $1.7 million and his inability to be durable and unproven play over a course of 16-games may leave Oakland very light in the middle of the defense with the 6’2, 235 pound talent who has mainly played on special teams. The trade for Kamerion Wimbley was an under the radar move that could pay dividends. But he’ll be on the strong side initially, and all indications are that Trevor Scott will be given every shot to continue his solid play from the end of last season along the weak-side of the formation.

The rest of the unit; Sam Williams, David Nixon, Slade Norris and Isaiah Ekejiuba will compete for depth or be pillars on special teams.

OUTLOOK:

In the last week, Oakland has shown interest in Rolando McClain (Alabama) and they’ve viewed film of the talented linebackers. Mock drafts have shifted a tad and more pundits are speculating whether or not he could be a selection. And if the Raiders pull off a trade prior to the start of the first round, and Howard or Morrison are jettisoned, then McClain could be a real possibility. Could they add McClain anyway knowing a deal could be brokered? Sure. You’ll also wonder if this team could be better of as a 3-4 unit with the talent on the roster and Richard Seymour anchoring the defensive line.

DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD

Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Johnson, Stanford Routt, Mike Mitchell, Tyvon Branch and Michael Huff at this point are all expected to be on the roster in 2010. You can realistically look at this collection and say that there is no immediate need in the secondary. But the Raiders – Al Davis – find it irresistible adding athletic talents to this corps.

OUTLOOK:

Joe Haden (Florida) has been rumored to Oakland, as they are indications that the Silver & Black may not be too enthused with the corner play opposite Asomugha. But it is more likely that the Raiders will add a speedier or more physically gifted defensive back later in the draft that may fly under the radar or drop on draft boards. Taylor Mays can be aggressive in run support, is a physical specimen and enjoys making the big hit in the open field. Problem is, many of his vitals and attributes may not translate well on the next level and many scouts believe he won’t be versatile enough to succeed as pro. Oakland could be enamored enough to take him in the 2^nd round if he is there.

The Oakland Raiders will be busy next week at the NFL Draft. But so far this month, they have made a few moves on their roster. Here is a capsule of the Silver & Black’s recent transactions:

The 19th overall selection in the 2003 draft – Kyle Boller – was added to the Raiders roster. The former Cal signal caller has played for the Baltimore Ravens (2003-2008) and the St. Louis Rams (2009). In his career, Boller has tallied 8,745 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, 50 interceptions at a 56.8 completion rate and a passer rating of 70.6. He’ll likely battle for the third spot on the depth chart behind JaMarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski. All signs indicate that the Raiders will have an open competition in the summer at quarterback, but Russell will jolt out of the gate with the lead due to the draft and monetary commitment that Oakland locked themselves in.

Kirk Morrison signed his restricted free agent tender deal offer this week. The one-year contract will land him nearly $2.5 million if he makes the roster. While Oakland slapped a 3^rd round tender on the middle linebacker, no team bit and now Oakland can trade him if they choose to do so.

Kicker Swayze Waters was also added to the roster. With the quality of legs already on the unit, Waters will be fodder eventually unless an injury keeps Sebastian Janikowski or Shane Lechler off the field. Waters best chance to make a squad in 2010 will be to learn as much as possible from the incumbents and impress in his stints during the pre-season, if he even makes it that far.

Since Boller is now on the roster, will Oakland attempt to roll the dice on the passer in the draft? A week ago, a report by the National Football Post stated that the Raiders were working out Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka. And in recent weeks, speculation about Donovan McNabb, Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow has been rampant.

As for McNabb, who was traded to the Redskins, while on ESPN radio the chatty passer stated, “I would have been at the workouts and working out with the team, throwing and trying to get the timing down with the corps of receivers and running backs they have and communicated with the offensive line to get ready for minicamp,” if he would have been a member of the Silver & Black.

Chris Cooper is back with the Raiders. The defensive lineman who has played for San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle and Arizona since leaving the Raiders following the 2003 season, inked a deal with Oakland last week. Linebacker Sam Williams was also signed, as the 29-year old will likely continue his role as a reserve and a special teams contributor.

According to Profootballtalk.com, the Oakland Raiders have released defensive tackle Gerard Warren, who had a roster bonus due on March 16.

Warren, 31, was acquired via trade from the Denver Broncos. He’s been entrenched along the defensive line since his arrival, but Oakland has consistently been one of the worst run defenses in the league even with his addition.

He started 32-games last two seasons.

Kirk Morrison, who was a guest of Adam Schein and Solomon Wilcots today on “The Sirius Blitz” on Sirius NFL Radio stated, “There are some teams we’re looking at and we’ve talked to.”

“I’m technically an Oakland Raider still. That’s No. 1,” Morrison said. “But at the same time, you have to explore your options for the future, for the long term. There are some teams out there that would be a good fit, I feel like. But we just have to wait and see.”

The linebacker did not mention any specific clubs.

“Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks we can get something done … either with the Raiders or with other teams. I know next year I’m going to be playing football. I just want to make sure I’m in the best, most comfortable position I can be in.”

Morrison, 28, can pocket up to $2.521 million if he signs the third round tender by the Raiders.

He’s been a five-year starter and has lead the team in tackles in four of those five campaigns.