Silver and Black Report

• The Oakland Raiders brought back Napoleon Harris yesterday; the same linebacker that was traded for Randy Moss after the 2004 campaign. The former first round draft choice (23^rd overall) of the Silver & Black has made stops in Minnesota (2005-2006 & 2008) and Kansas City (2007-2008) before coming back to the bay area. Out of Northwestern, the once boisterous defender has tallied 481 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in his career. He’ll always be remembered for being traded to the Vikings in exchange for Moss. Oakland also sent the seventh overall pick in that draft and a seventh rounder to Minnesota. Harris wore number 96 in practice and worked with the second team. SB Report journalist DeMarcus Davis stated, “The one play I saw him make was a tackle on Michael Bush up the middle. Harris shed his blocker to make the tackle.”
• Javon Walker worked with the team for the first time on Monday and looked crisp running his route drills. The wide receiver is expected to play versus the Saints this week, but is not sure for how long. “The rehab part is the hard part,” Walker said. “The easy part is being out there practicing and catching balls now.”
• Oakland released CB Ricky Manning Jr to make room for Harris. Manning was signed on August 15 and played during the pre-season for the Silver & Black.
• JaMarcus Russell had another up-and-down day in practice. He zipped the ball a few times to Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey. The rookie out of Maryland was observed dropping another ball that was a perfect toss.
• Ricky Brown played MLB along with Jon Alston and Thomas Howard.
• Raiders that sat out of practice: Shane Lechler (groin), Justin Fargas (hamstring), Mike Mitchell (hamstring) & Hiram Eugene (flu).

Quarterback: B-

The numbers were fairly decent for JaMarcus Russell (7/11 for 76 yards and 1 TD), but most of his tosses were of the short variety and were safe. His 24-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy is what the team wants to see more of. On 3^rd and 22, hit got enough time to scan the field and then Russell was able to realize the break in the coverage and hit the rookie to give them a 7-0 lead. Russell was decisive and accurate on a 20-yard completion to TE Tony Stewart, releasing the ball above his OL and a defender plowing into him. Bruce Gradkowski looks to be way ahead in the fight for third in the depth chart. He was 3/5 for 44 yards, one touchdown and one interception. As soon as he came into the game in the 3^rd quarter, he showed off his mobility with a 9-yard scamper. A few plays later, he hooks up with the rookie tight end for a nice 36-yard pass before he connects with Brandon Myers again to cap the drive with a touchdown and a 14-3 lead. Jeff Garcia came on late in the 1^st half, immediately completed a 9-yard pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins, then ran for 9 yards, but as time expired and the Raiders in 49ers territory, he overthrew his target, and the pass was deflected into the hands of a defender. Garcia looked healthy and ready to continue work this week after his stint. Charlie Frye had his moments, but his interception led to the 49ers game-winning score. After Gradkowski’s pick, Carlos Thomas returned Frye’s first pass to the Raider 25 yard line. Frye was feisty at the end of the contest, scrambling and making plays with his feet.

Running Back: C

Much of the talk here is what they couldn’t do due to the weak play of the offensive line. Darren McFadden opened the game with Oren O’Neal. The fullback looked slow and not able to neither seal any lanes nor get into the second level of the defense. McFadden had to dance around bodies just to get to the line of scrimmage. On a 2^nd and goal in the 1^st quarter, Justin Fargas got the call, but the offensive line was mauled on the play. The running backs were at their best during screens and dump offs and little else. The best ground game Oakland had was with their shifty quarterbacks when they broke out of the pocket.

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends: B+

Brandon Myers was athletic, sure-handed and looked every part of being a tight end at the NFL level. His 4 receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown were very impressive. Murphy continues to show that he can be a contributor to this attack. He found the soft spot in the 49ers cover-2 on the touchdown and tallied 34 yards on the night. Zach Miller had 3 catches and was Russell’s safety blanket once again. On a 3^rd and 9 in the first quarter, it appeared that Darrius Heyward-Bey wiggled open on a out pattern, but Russell was not able to connect on his pass. Johnnie Lee Higgins was active and beat a CB so bad, he drew a pass interference penalty that netted the Raiders 22-yards.

Offensive Line: D-

This group was ineffective and looked sluggish all night. They were not able to open up any holes for the rushers, beaten at the point of attack on the majority of running plays the Raiders called. On a 2^nd and 13 in the 2^nd quarter in which Fargas got near the goal line on a screen pass, Center Samson Satele was flagged for a hold. James Marten could’ve had a costly penalty, as he was flagged before Frye’s touchdown run deep in SF territory. Cornell Green’s penalty in the 2^nd quarter also put the Raiders in a tough down and distance.

Defensive Line: F

The 49ers rushed for 275 yards and controlled the time of possession 38:44 to 21:16. Frank Gore got his feet wet early, but his back-up Glen Coffee plowed through the Raiders, amassing over 100 yards rushing in the 1^st half and 129 for the contest. Michael Robinson and Kory Sheets joined the party later; they totaled 148 yards. Gerard Warren and Tommy Kelly were a sieve. They got pushed around all night, and when Terdell Sands and William Joseph were in there, it did not get any better. The most noticeable trend from last night was how the edges of the defense were exposed. Trevor Scott, Greg Ellis and Jay Richardson all were manhandled on tosses, sweeps and any rush plays run at them. William Joseph did have some nice plays, batting a ball down on 4^th down to end a 49er drive and shutting down an end around for -6 yards. Ellis got pressure early on passing downs, but his rush was neutralized once San Francisco began to pound at John Marshall’s defense.

Linebackers: D

If not for a Ricky Brown interception and return for 46 yards that set Oakland up for points in 49er territory, this unit would have been given an ‘F’ as well. Oakland blitzed a lot with this group, but only managed one sack the whole night. Kirk Morrison was whipped away on a few rushes, Thomas Howard was active, but needed to make trailing tackles on rushers that broke free into the second level of the defense, and Jon Alston, who started at OLB was ineffective. Slade Norris missed some tackles and Morlon Greenwood could not a case for himself making the roster with poorest showing by the defense.

Secondary: C

The starters were solid, but not tested much since the 49ers had so much success on the ground. Starter Chris Johnson had his moments in the 1^st half; covering and tackling Vernon Davis for minimal gains. Hiram Eugene and Tyvon Branch appeared lost at times as well as Jerome Boyd. Ricky Manning Jr. played well, and recorded a big tackle on a 3^rd and 7 run to get the Raiders off the field.

Special Teams: B

Nick Miller did not put any fear into the 49er coverage units. His fumble late ended any hope the Raiders had of winning the game. Justin Miller had a 26-yard kickoff return and punter Ricky Schmitt did an admirable job averaging 48.0 yards a punt.

Coaching: B-

Tom Cable should had left Russell in the game to end the half. That was a perfect opportunity to let the young passer orchestrate a 2-minute drill. He did a good job challenging Frye’s touchdown. He stuck to the game plan, playing all the quarterbacks on the roster and giving them all a shot to get their feet wet last night. His team built a nice lead and appeared in control to start the 3^rd quarter, but there was no answer for the onslaught on the ground. Cable did a nice job taking a time-out in the 2^nd quarter when the 49ers got to the goal line. That got the Raiders a breather and thwarted a 13 play drive that could’ve ended in a touchdown, but instead the 49ers got a FG.

NOTES:

• When the 49ers took a 21-14 lead, they had scored 18-unanswered points on the strength of a powerful running game and 3 turnovers. San Francisco has also dominated the time of possession, 35:14 to 15:52 to that point in the final quarter.
• Kirk Morrison was seen leaving the game with his arm in sling. He will be out at least 2-weeks, and with Ricky Brown making plays and looking more intense out there, it appears that the product out of Oakland will have to deal with a bumpy road in 2009.

Sebastian Janikowski’s second half kickoff is a touchback and the 49ers will begin at the 20-yard line.

Michael Robinson, in at RB now, gets 4 yards on the first play. Nate Davis, in at QB now, hands off to Robinson, and the rusher gets 12 yards. Ricky Brown slows the bleeding with a nice tackle around the line scrimmage after the defense clogs up the right side. On 2^nd and 7, Robinson continues to pound on the Raiders for 6 yards. On 3^rd and 1, San Francisco picks up the 1^st down with a run up the middle. On a pitch to the edge, Robinson tallies 8 yards. Robinson on the ensuing play, cut backs against the grain, and picks up another 1^st down after the run was shut down on the play side. Robinson again on the edge gets a big gain after Slade Norris blows a tackle around the line of scrimmage. DT Ryan Boschetti is getting manhandled in the interior.

Ricky Manning makes a nice tackle on 3^rd and 7, stalling Robinson for no gain. Joe Nedney on the ensuing play misses a 51-yard field goal.

Bruce Gradkowski opens the half at QB for the Raiders and bootlegged for 9 yards. Michael Bush gets the first down in the next play with a short run. Gradkowski goes 36 yards down the seam to the rookie TE Brandon Myers on the next play. On 2^nd and 8, Gradkowski connects with Myers again to the SF 2 yard line. Oakland faced a 3^rd and inches there, and the quarterback sneaked in for a new set of downs to the 1-yard line. Louis Rankin got the call on the next play and was not able to get in the end zone. Gradkowski rolls out on a play-action bootleg and finds Myers again, this time for a touchdown that gives the Raiders a 14-3 lead. The rookie tight end looked smooth and agile during the drive, while Gradkowski looked confident running the team for a second straight week, going 3-for-3 for 44 yards on the drive.

Boschetti plows over a 49er OL on the first play of the next drive, as San Francisco has no gain to start the next drive. Morlon Greenwood had good coverage on J.Finley on the next play, but the 49ers gained 8 yards on the play. The Raiders again pressure Davis and force the young passer to throw away the football. Davis hits J.Hill for 13 yards with Jerome Boyd in coverage. On 2^nd and 7, Norris blitzes from the OLB spot and forces the 49er passer into an incompletion. On 3^rd and 7, Norris again blitzes and forces the QB out of the pocket, but the 49ers torch the secondary for 26 yards on the pass to D.Walker. Robinson then continues to bulldoze the Raider run defense for a run of 22 yards. Greenwood tackles Robinson as he rushes inside the OAK 5-yard line.

The 3^rd quarter ends with the Raiders leading 14-3.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Nnamdi Asomugha & Willie Brown have a new teammate

On Saturday, the Oakland Raiders inked cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. and said goodbye to tight end John Paul Foschi.

This after the Silver & Black struggled against the Dallas Cowboys’ passing attack in their pre-season opener. Nnamdi Asomugha will blanket one side of the field and is expected to have another stellar season. But after that, Oakland has questions all over their secondary.

Oakland this off-season retained Johnson with a substantial raise that included a $4 million signing bonus. In 2008, he started 7 games once the Raiders parted ways with DeAngelo Hall, and Johnson answered the call with 12 passes defended and 3 interceptions. But during camp, head coach Tom Cable has talked about competition and how the left cornerback spot will be up for grabs.

“We want to have competition everywhere that it’s possible to have it,” Cable stated in early August.

Those statements were a surprise to many, especially to Stanford Routt, as it seemed like Johnson was going to reprise his role. “I’m not going to lie to you, probably not; I really didn’t,” Routt said, when asked if he thought he could start on this defense. “But you go ahead and you just try to hope for the best sometimes, and it will shake out the way it’s supposed to shake out.”

Routt did not have the best showing last week versus Dallas, picked on by Jon Kitna and Roy Williams as soon as he substituted for Asomugha. And just because he was given a new deal and played well as the season wound down in 2008, don’t expect the Raiders to hand over the starting duties to the confident Johnson.

Chris Johnson working in camp

“Since I got drafted (in 2003 by Green Bay), I felt I was one of the top league corners in this league,” Johnson commented this summer, “but I just never got the opportunity to play. Last year, Mr. (Al) Davis and Tom gave me the opportunity to play, the opportunity to show my abilities. “… I just needed an opportunity to play. Once I got an opportunity to play, it showed.”

Manning now is in the mix with his 14 career interceptions, as he has spent his first six seasons in the league with the Panthers, Bears and Rams.

He has not had the chance to play as much man-to-man coverage in the league as the Raiders require of their cornerbacks. But Manning feels that this situation will make for an effortless transition, stating, “It makes it easier to learn the playbook, I’ll tell you that. You got a lot more man coverage, just cover your man. Getting the language is going to take a little time, but not too long, but that’s fine, I’m a gravity player, I like to get in there and bump and press and be physical.”

“He’s a proven guy,” coach Cable said. “He’s here obviously to give us more juice and to compete as well.”

Analysis: Oakland needs to have a steady secondary. Asomugha is a given, and because of that, teams will shy away from his side of the field and attack whoever else is covering the other targets. Johnson has speed and has shown the knack for the big play. But Johnson has not shown he can do it consistently over the course of 16-games and no one knows how a player reacts when given a new deal, especially when that player does not have a reliable track record. Routt was drafted by Oakland, unseated a year ago by Hall, but has never been able to get back to a caliber of play that warrants being a starter. He struggles as a nickel/dime defender and is consistently torched when in the slot. Which gives a defender like Manning an edge due to his experience in such formations.

As for the back-end; Oakland is still hoping that Michael Huff can realize his first round potential and whoever is next to him, whether Tyvon Branch, Hiram Eugene or rookie Mike Mitchell, neither is a safe bet to play at a steady pace.

CABLE THE PUGILIST?

Reports from several media outlets are stating that Tom Cable punched on of his assistants on August 5^th at the team’s training camp headquarters.

One web site reported that a Raider staffer struck defensive assistant Randy Hanson in the jaw. Then an unidentified source stated on another site that it was Cable who landed the blow on the third-year coach.

It was reported that Hanson did not want to pursue the matter, but staff at the hospital alerted the authorities according to fanhouse.com.

Hanson sustained a fractured jaw. Napa police Lt. Brian McGovern stated “unless we are re-contacted by the victim, and the victim changes their mind that they want us to follow through and pursue an investigation. At this point we’re not doing anything else with it.”

Cable is scheduled to address the media at 8:30 pm ET.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist