Silver and Black Report

Unlike his dad, Mark Davis will be content with letting others run the show.

The National Football League’s All Pro team was selected this week and no members of the Silver & Black were selected.

Six Oakland Raiders received votes, but their cross bay rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, kept two stand out players off the squad. Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler, who will represent the conference in the Pro Bowl, were runner-ups to David Akers and Andy Lee.

Tyvon Branch, Richard Seymour, Jared Veldheer and Marcel Reece all received at least one vote of a possible 50 at each position by a national panel of writers that cover the league.

Now that the Raiders will have Reggie McKenzie as their new general manager, here are some initial thoughts on the hiring:

What’s his philosophy in selecting players and evaluating talent? Yesterday, I posted an article that gave you some insight into his thinking. But, we all know that when Al Davis was in action during the draft, it was all about the biggest, fastest and most decorated players.

Hue Jackson: There’s no denying his want for power and the fact that he wants to have his fingerprints on anything Silver & Black. But now he has a general manager he has to answer to. Jackson can now be held accountable for all the moves he has made and will be tied with the success or failure of Carson Palmer. McKenzie inherits Palmer, a depleted draft class and a team chopped full of talent that went on a slide after posting a 7-4 record heading into December. Will McKenzie even want to work with Jackson? It could also be one and done for the coach if McKenzie wants to do it his way. That may be the case if Oakland wants to start fresh and wash away the taste of a 2011 season that ended badly. And if Jackson does want too much power over the roster and becomes a nuisance, let the coaching search begin.

The Defense: It’s a matter of time for the ax to come down on a few staffers. McKenzie will likely see this unit in-fit to move forward and compete. Who stays, who goes… especially players will be very interesting.

Contracts: Palmer is here to stay — you can’t argue that. But what other contracts may the new g.m. see unfit? Will Stanford Routt’s contract be in jeopardy? Who will be asked to take a pay-cut or allocate their money elsewhere?

Free Agency: I’ve mentioned the importance of retaining Michael Bush, but now, it’s not just what Jackson may want, but what McKenzie will want to accomplish with the club with the future in mind. Jackson did the ultimate live for today move by trading for Palmer. In the NFL, some coaches live from year-to-year. Not general managers who have a plan for the organization and want to see them build towards consistency.

Green Bay crossover: McKenzie spent a lifetime for some as a Packer. So its natural for him to try to migrate some people over; whether staffers or players that he has had success with to Oakland. Darren Perry, Winston Moss, Kevin Greene and Mike Trgovac could all have a possible role with the Raiders once the defense begins to get revamped.

TE/WR Jermichael Finley, RB Ryan Grant, C Scott Wells, DL Johnny Jolly will be free agents. If Bush does not get tagged or signed, Grant could be an option. If Kevin Boss’ contract is not honored, Finley could be a dynamic addition and if Stefen Wisniewski is kept at guard and Samson Satele is not around, Wells could be replacement.

We’ll find out more about McKenzie during his introductory press conference and bring you more info on SBReport.net then.

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Ron Wolf on McKenzie: “Well, he’s worked his way right from the bottom up, all the way up to the top. He’s gone as far as you can go in his particular area, personnel. He’s handled every aspect in the personnel office that one could handle. He’s signed players. He’s cut players. He’s involved with players in contractual disputes. He’s handled things with the union. He understands how contracts work. He understands how the money end of the game works. He’s negotiated contracts. But most importantly, he’s an exceptional judge of talent.”

Wolf on Mark Davis: “I think what Mark Davis’ deal is, he wants to bring the Raiders back to where they were, the glory years of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. I think that’s what he wants to do. I also think he’s smart enough to realize what he can and cannot do, what he’s capable of and what he isn’t capable of. So I think, rather than putting himself in the limelight, I would think that he is going to hire people that would enable him to bring out the best in the Raiders. He knows, I believe, Mark is smart enough to know what he can do, and he will only help in areas that he can help in. I don’t think he feels that he needs to be the front line guy here.”

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Per beat writer Steve Corkran, the Oakland Raiders will move free-safety Michael Huff to cornerback next season.

This indicates that the Silver & Black are highly concerned with the play at defensive back, especially opposite Stanford Routt. Rookies DeMarcus Van Dyke and Chimdi Chekwa saw action at that spot, but both are raw and neither appears ready to take major steps forward.

Lito Sheppard ended the season getting the majority of the reps, but his play may have sealed his fate, especially after the Chargers torched him last Sunday.

Huff is versatile enough to play in space and handle being in coverage. But at this late point of his career (not that he’s is falling apart), it is a risky move with a touch of desperation. Obviously Oakland is preparing to go into free agency not wanting to upgrade that spot with this transition and have little hope that one of the younger players could evolve into a contributor quickly.

Usually cornerbacks get moved to safety, especially veterans – not the other way around.

What does that mean for the safety spots? Tyvon Branch could be a hot commodity to other clubs this off-season, and if they need a change at both positions at the back-end, it will not bode well for a pass defense that allowed 251 passing yards per game (27^th in the NFL).

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Shane Lechler, P

Possibly the greatest punter in league history. He’s already been chosen six times to the Pro Bowl, an eight time All-Pro and now holds the franchise record for longest punt, set earlier in the season. Lechler leads the NFL with a 50.7 average per punt. More importantly, he has placed 27 punts inside the 20-yard line. The clear choice to represent the AFC in another Pro Bowl, anyone else would just be insulting.

VERDICT: LOCK TO BE SELECTED

Sebastian Janikowski, PK

Oakland’s place-kicker has attempted a league high 9 kicks from 50-yards or beyond. He has connected on six of them and is 9-of-10 from 40-49-yards out. His long of 63-yards on opening night tied the league record. This has been Janikowski’s finest year, despite suffering through a hamstring injury during the middle of the season. I said it early in the campaign, this may be the best tandem in league history for one season. In 1991, Jeff Jaeger and Jeff Gossett made the Pro-Bowl together as members of the Silver & Black. It should happen again in 2011.

VERDICT: LOCK TO BE SELECTED

Richard Seymour, DT

He has 6.0 sacks and two season saving field goal blocks versus Kansas City last weekend. The veteran should get the nod based on his past credentials, but in my opinion…

VERDICT: WILL LIKELY BE SELECTED, BUT TOMMY KELLY DESERVES IT MORE BASED ON HIS BODY OF WORK IN 2011.

Tommy Kelly, DT

Only Geno Atkins of the Bengals has more sacks (8.0) than Kelly (7.5) at defensive tackle. Kelly has been a quiet but steady presence. The problem is, the Raiders run defense allows 135.0 yards per game and Seymour’s notoriety gets him votes that maybe he shouldn’t get.

VERDICT: Kelly will miss the Pro Bowl, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the conference’s best tackles.

Tyvon Branch, SS

He leads the team in total tackles, has a sack and an interception. Always fiery and very good in run support, Branch has improved his game greatly with his coverage skills.

VERDICT: Not likely to make his first Pro Bowl. Eric Weddle, Reggie Nelson, George Wilson, Jon McGraw, Mike Adams and others, due to numbers, may sway the voters. It doesn’t help that Oakland’s defense ranks poorly.

Stanford Routt, CB

Stanford Routt was paired up many times with Calvin Johnson.

Only two other cornerbacks in the AFC have more interceptions. According to Football Outsiders, only Darrelle Revis ranks better in cornerback success rate.

VERDICT: Again, hard to pick an Oakland defender based on their defense, but if one of them does get in, it will be Routt.

OTHER NOTABLES

Marcel Reece had a fine year in 2010, but this year he didn’t have the impact or the numbers to warrant a Pro Bowl bid over Vonta Leach, who has been very good for the Ravens. Jon Condo always has a shot to make it due to his long-snapping prowess and defending on kicks and punts, and Darren McFadden would have been a lock if not for his foot injury.

FINAL PREDICTION: Three Raiders should make the Pro Bowl: both kicking specialists and either Seymour or Routt. I would be very surprise if others made it.
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Richard Seymour

I’ve talked about the veteran showing up and leading by example, and how he has failed to do so in vital games this season. Well, today, Seymour keyed Oakland’s road win with two blocked field goals. At the end of the half, with the game tied at three, Seymour got his hands on a Ryan Succop’s kick, his first miss since September. Then, with momentum on the Chiefs’ side and the game clock hitting all zeros, Seymour blocked Succop’s game winning attempt to send the game into overtime.

He also led a charge on a 4^th down that Kansas City could not convert on.

Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey

Both wide receivers made important plays all afternoon. After a Hue Jackson time out in the 3^rd quarter, on a 2^nd and 18, Moore streaked pass Kansas City’s safety and Carson Palmer hit him for a 61-yard score. That gave Oakland a 10-3 lead.

On the first play of overtime, Heyward-Bey hauled in a 53-yard bomb, which set up the game-clinching field goal. Jackson stated: “Sometimes you save a play in your pocket,” Romeo Crennel said after the game that on both plays, the safeties were victimized and it was similar coverage played in both critical downs.

“We set it up all day with the run and then called it. That was Carson Palmer at his finest,” Oakland’s head coach was quoted after the game.

Moore had four catches for 94-yards and Heyward-Bey finished with 70-yards on four grabs.

Special Teams

Bryan McCann: Oakland got going quickly on the road with McCann’s 91-yard return. That set-up Sebastian Janikowski’s first field goal of the game and gave the Raiders a quick 3-0 lead in the opening minutes.

Shane Lechler boomed a 76-yard punt that helped altered field position and Janikowski had three field goals (28, 31, 36). John Fassel almost pulled off another touchdown on a fake field goal, but it was nullified by a delay of game. Brandon Myers scampered 36-yards to paydirt on a beautifully executed fake.

The dangerous combo of Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas were held to 44-yards of total return yards.

Matt Giordano and Stanford Routt

Routt had some chain moving penalties and was beaten by Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown late in the 4^th quarter, but he had a crucial interception earlier to thwart a Kansas City drive. Giordano also had a momentum swinging pick in the end zone that he returned 62-yards, on a 3^rd and 3 when the Chiefs looked like they were going in for a score.

MORE FROM THE GAME…

PENALTIES A-PLENTY

Oakland had 15 penalties for 92-yards. Many of them wiped away good plays or extended Kansas City drives. The Chiefs were also infracted many times, tallying 88-yards on 11 penalties. There were two illegal formation flags on Oakland when they tried to bulk up the line with additional linemen on (S.Heyer & K.Barnes), a holding on Jared Veldheer that nullified a nice Michael Bush run and the delay of game on the Myers score.

“They’ve been playing good defense and we knew it was going to be a physical game, that it was going to be ugly,” Palmer said. “We talked about getting an ugly win. An ugly win is always better than a pretty loss.”

The Raiders have been penalized 155 times for 1,293 yards this season. Kansas City has the NFL record with 158 for 1,304, set in 1998.

WHERE’S THE RUN?

Inexplicably, Jackson was pass happy with his play calling early in the contest against the 24^th ranked rush defense. Bush had a workmanlike 23-carries for 70-yards, but with Palmer throwing early picks and pressured into miscues, it could’ve been in Oakland’s best interest to establish more of a run presence.

Jackson said: “When you win like this, you take the win however you can get it, especially this late in the season. We should enjoy this. Last week we lost a game like this. I wish we could win 40-12, but we haven’t had one of those yet.”

CRENNEL AFTERWARDS…

“We had a couple of field goals blocked, we got a couple balls thrown over our head, we turned the ball over a couple times. In the NFL, it’s hard to win when you do those kinds of things.”

UGLY BOTH WAYS…

It wasn’t pretty either way, as both teams combined for 26 penalties, 6-of-23 on 3^rd downs and both passers had two interceptions apiece.

Oakland allowed 435-total yards of offense and were bad on defense late when they needed to close the game.

McCluster’s 49-yard catch and run, weaving through Chuck Bresnahan’s defense was troubling, especially after they surrendered the lead last weekend versus the Lions. After Janikowski gave the Raiders a seven point lead, Kansas City drove 80-yards on five plays to tie the game with 1:02 remaining.
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This one hurt…

For three quarters, the Oakland Raiders (7-7) defense held their own versus the Detroit Lions (9-5). Linebacker Aaron Curry had scored, the unit was putting pressure on Matthew Stafford and the crowd was revved up knowing that with a Broncos’ loss, Oakland would again share the same record as their rival.

But a 13-point deficit was washed away in the final 7:47 and Ndamukong Suh blocked Sebastian Janikowski’s 65-yard game winning field goal as time expired. “It’s probably one of the worst things that happened since I’ve been here,” said Mike Mitchell.

Here’s what went wrong during the final minutes:

Matthew Stafford hit Titus Young for a three-yard score to cut into the Oakland lead, 27-21.

The drive opened with a 14-yard pass interference call on Stanford Routt, as he worked on Calvin Johnson. A few plays later on 3^rd and 10, Brandon Pettigrew hauled in a 17-yard pass.

Johnson then had a 16-yard catch. Jim Schwartz went for it on 4^th and 2 from the eight-yard line and his passer scrambled for a first down. Young hit paydirt on the next play.

Drive: 10-plays, 71-yards, 2:48 elapsed.

WITH OVER 4:00 TO GO, OAKLAND TOOK OVER…

Michael Bush quickly gained 12-yards on the ground to start the drive and a play later, after Hue Jackson decided to keep the clock running with another run, Detroit was forced to use their second time out.

A few plays later, on 3^rd and 3 at the Lions 48-yard line, Carson Palmer went deep to Chaz Schilens, but the receiver failed to haul in the pass. In the 1^st quarter, Palmer had missed a wide-open Denarius Moore for a score. This time around, Oakland’s chance to run out the clock was washed down the drain with Schilens’ effort.

Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards, 2:32 elapsed.

MEGATRON WINS IT…

After a stellar Shane Lechler punt, which was placed at the 2-yard line, Stafford went to work against the Raiders secondary.

Nate Burleson had a vital 8-yard catch on 3^rd and 2 and then Johnson hauled in a 21 yard toss near the sideline that was reviewed and held up.

The mind-boggling play of the day was on Johnson’s 48-yard catch. Why were Rolando McClain and Jerome Boyd in coverage versus their lethal downfield target?

“It isn’t a scheme issue,” Jackson said. “The ball’s laying up in the air. You gotta go make that play. Their guy made it and we didn’t. So they won the game.”

Routt, who gets paid top cornerback money, was not on their best wide receiver, and then he gets flagged for pass interference on a 1^st and 20. Two plays later, Johnson hauls in the game-winning 6-yard score.

“He is a good player. We have a lot of great players and we made a lot of plays on Calvin today. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the ones that counted,” stated Tyvon Branch.

Drive: 7 plays, 98 yards, 1:35 elapsed.

Darrius Heyward-Bey had momentum shifting fumble.

OAKLAND’S FINAL CHANCE

Palmer got Oakland off on the right foot on their final drive with a 13-yard completion to Kevin Boss and then another 21-yard toss to the tight end.

But Janikowski’s 65-yard field goal was too much to ask for. It was blocked at the line of scrimmage and the Raiders lost a thriller at the O.Co Coliseum.

“I got off the ball as hard and as fast as I could. Put up my hand.  Coach (Danny) Crossman does a great job with us, telling us that Janikowski is a great kicker and he gets the ball off fast. I put my (right) hand up. It hit my thumb,” Suh stated in the locker room.
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It doesn't look like Taiwan Jones will be ready for the Detroit Lions.

On Wednesday, the Oakland Raiders got wide receiver Denarius Moore back into practice mode. He sprained his foot against the Vikings a few weeks back, but today, he was fielding punts and working with the offense, as it appears that the Silver & Black will get a little pop back into the offense on Sunday versus the Detroit Lions.

Moore is the only one of the recently hindered Raiders that was back on the field.

Darren McFadden was missing in action, and will likely be out again this Sunday a few days after Hue Jackson proclaimed that his starting running back “does not need surgery.”

Jacoby Ford (foot) and Taiwan Jones (hamstring) got light work in with trainers, so there’s question whether or not they’ll be able to play against the Lions. At this point, it appears that only Moore will be healthy enough for action, especially since Jackson has stated in the past that he would rather not put players out there that may be slowed by any ailments.

The always nicked up Samson Satele practiced, so did Chaz Schilens and Louis Murphy. Defensive tackle John Henderson (knee) and Michael Huff (hamstring) were missing today, but both should be active versus Detroit.

Cornerback Chris Houston was a full participant in practice for the Lions after missing the last two games with a sprained MCL.

Louis Delmas, who has that same injury, was absent from the practice field. Nick Fairley and linemate Ndamukong Suh were both in the trenches on Wednesday.

“It is what it is. I’m looking forward to playing against Oakland and getting back on the football field,” said Suh.

“He’s obviously healthy and looked good and is excited to be back and focused on the Oakland Raiders,” stated head coach Jim Schwartz on Monday.

NOTES

• “We’re on pace for that? Wow. It’s a record you don’t want to break. I guess we need to do everything in our power not to break it. First and foremost we have to win Sunday. If we win and still have an enormous amount of penalties, I really couldn’t care either way,” commented Stanford Routt, regarding the team’s130 penalties for 1,116 yards, which has them on pace for the league record.
• “We have to go 3-0 in the next three weeks,” Carson Palmer said about the team’s outlook for the post-season. “There is no other option, no other route. If you want to make it to the playoffs and then you want to play well in the playoffs, you have to be playing really good football at this time of year. We got to start on Sunday.”
• Oakland is the worst, allowing 5.2 yard per carry, but Detroit is right behind them allowing 5.1 yards per carry. This bodes well for the Silver & Black, who need to revitalize their ground attack – they’ve ran for an average of 78.6 yards per game in their last three contests.
• They will have to run the ball, especially because Detroit ranks third in the NFL with 29 takeaways and are tied for second with 18 interceptions. The Lions lead the league in defensive scoring with 36 points. Oakland is knotted at second for throwing most interceptions in the NFL.

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The Green Bay Packers (12-0) are looking to clinch a first round bye in the playoffs with a win versus the Oakland Raiders (7-5). The Silver & Black are locked-up with the Denver Broncos (7-5) with just weeks remaining atop the AFC West. There’s no questioning who the desperate team is here, but Green Bay has visions of an undefeated campaign and a historical finish to their season – going perfect all the way through an scoring a consecutive Super Bowl victory. Hue Jackson’s team has to travel to a chilly environment and show that they belong with the upper echelon clubs in the league.

OAKLAND RAIDERS

On Offense:

It’s another week of who’s who on the infirmary report on offense, with running backs Darren McFadden [foot] and Taiwan Jones [hamstring] officially out on Sunday. Wide receivers Denarius Moore [foot] and Jacoby Ford [foot] also will not play against Green Bay.

Michael Bush will make his sixth start of the season against the 13^th ranked rush defense. “We need to get back to playing Raiders football, get back to doing what we do,” Jackson said. “We’re a big, physical football team and we need to play that way. We need to be able to stop the run and we need to be able to run the ball. That’s where it starts for us and that’s where it’s going to end. We need to be who we are and that’s what we plan on doing.”

A solid run game could keep Carson Palmer upright on Sunday, but more importantly, keep the Packer offense off the field.

“Control the clock,” Palmer said. “We weren’t successful the last two weeks running the ball, and it’s definitely on our minds, something we’re getting screamed at and ripped for, but something we’re working very hard on, because you have to keep the ball out of Aaron’s hands and keep those receivers off the field.”

On Defense:

It’s all about getting to Aaron Rodgers this week if you’re the Raiders. Problem is, you can’t blitz the league’s leading passer too often. Rodgers’ overall passer rating is an NFL-best 125.3, but when he’s blitzed it’s a staggering149.3.

So Oakland must get to the passer with four down linemen. Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly have to be disruptive in the trenches, and the likes of Jarvis Moss, Lamarr Houston and Trevor Scott have to win their battles on the edges.

“You have to get him off his rhythm,” stated Chuck Bresnahan.

Making Green Bay one-dimensional is a must. James Starks may not play, so containing Ryan Grant, who rushed for a career high against Oakland in 2007, is imperative. The Packers rank 29^th in the NFL rushing the football.

GREEN BAY PACKERS

On Offense:

The last time the Raiders defeated Green Bay, Rodgers was four-years old. The quarterback is at the top of his game and Oakland’s secondary knows it.

“They definitely have an ace at quarterback,” cornerback Lito Sheppard said. “He’s definitely on the same page as his receivers. He knows what they’re going to do, when they’re going to do it and how they’re going to do it. He’s just really good with putting the ball where it needs to be for them to make plays. … Aaron Rodgers is playing like an MVP right now.”

“You see a quarterback that can make every throw on the field,” added Stanford Routt. “He has great receivers, great scheme, great defense — he’s got basically everything you need to be successful. He’s got a little of that Tom Brady, where he doesn’t mind who is going to be the leading receiver that Sunday. Obviously, they do have a lot of good receivers. They’ve got about two or three guys that are actually like number ones, so it’s definitely going to be a good challenge for us on the back end on Sunday.”

Green Bay had many key drops last week against the New York Giants, something that they focused on for their next contest.

On Defense:

The Packers will have Charles Woodson on Sunday, and possibly A.J Hawk, who returned to practice on Friday for the first time since he pulled a calf muscle on Thanksgiving Day.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop is out.

“Having A.J. up for the game to me is a bonus,” coach Mike McCarthy said.

One area the Packers are susceptible at is their pass defense.  They are allowing 306.7 passing yards per game (31^st in the NFL) and have only tallied 26.0 sacks in 2011.

They are opportunistic though, as they have tallied 23 4^th quarter interceptions, tops in the league.

KEY MATCH-UPS

Raiders Front-Four vs. Packers Offensive Line

It’s all about disruption, and whether Oakland can bring the heat with their massive bodies in the interior versus the Pack’s offensive line. If they can get to Rodgers with four down linemen, they will have a shot at staying close.

Bush-Time

Controlling the clock is vital – keeping the Packers offense on the sideline.  Bush has a career high 196-touches, but has been slowed the last two weeks. Has he hit a wall? Can Oakland regain their run dominance from earlier in the season? Palmer will have an easier time dissecting that secondary if he can have play-action to complement the attack.

GAME NOTES

• “Tyvon [Branch] is a Pro Bowl player, without a doubt,” said Bresnahan about his starting strong safety, this week. “This is a guy who every game he comes with his A game.”
• “Nope. I’m done for the rest of the year, rest of my career. It was fun while it lasted,” stated Rolando McClain about his self-imposed silence with the media.
• The Colts lead the NFL with 83 missed starts because of injuries. The Panthers are second with 80, followed by the Giants, Rams and Raiders 65 missed starts.
• “He’s a very poised quarterback,” safety Mike Mitchell on Rodgers. “’That’s the one thing I’ve seen on film. He doesn’t rattle very easy. He gets the ball out of his hand very quickly. And he really just trusts his one-on-one matchups. When he sees the one-on-one, he thinks that his guy is better than yours. So, as a defender, it gets you a little excited because you know that you’re going to get opportunities to play the ball and make game-changing plays. It’s also a lot of pressure because the ball is coming.”
• Since their loss versus the Patriots, Oakland is one of two teams in that span to allow less than half the passes against them to be completed, with their 49.5 percent mark trailing only the Texans. They’ve tallied 22 sacks and 11 interceptions in that span, holding opponents to a 68.6 passer rating — second only to the Texans.

PREDICTION

Packers 37 – Raiders 16

Here’s a look at their 2007 match-up with game images:

A Look Back: Raiders at Packers (2007)

And a look at how Charles Woodson revitalized his career in Green Bay, from January, 2011:

Woodson masterful in Green Bay, revitalized after career in Oakland

Click on this link to follow Victor Cotto on Twitter and get up to date news, updates & thoughts on the Silver & Black.

A week after suffering a devastating loss to the Miami Dolphins the task does not get any less challenging for the Oakland Raiders. This week, the Raiders head to chilly Lambeau Field to take on the undefeated Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.

Including the playoffs last year and this year’s regular season play, the Packers have won 18 consecutive games, second to only the New England Patriots who won 21

Lambeau Field - Home of the Green Bay Packers

straight games from 2003-2004.

After leading his team to their Super Bowl victory in February, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP-like season. This season, Rodgers, who was born in Chico, Calif. and went to the University of California-Berkeley,  is completing an astonishing 70.6 percent of his passes for 3,844 yards, 37 touchdowns and only five interceptions thus far this season.

Rodgers and Green Bay’s passing game could pose problems for a Raiders defense that has had a problem of giving up big plays in the air this season. The Raiders are currently 17th in the league with 231.9 passing yards allowed per game.

Corner back Stanford Routt and his secondary will have their work cut out for them this week as they take on Rodgers and his explosive wide receivers that include Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson. Jennings has hauled in 65 receptions for 929 yards and nine touchdowns and Nelson has hauled in nine touchdowns and 876 yards of his own.

In order to help relieve the linebackers and secondary, the defensive line will need to be able to apply pressure on Rodgers and disrupt the timing of plays. The return of

Corner back Stanford Routt and the secondary will have their hands full with Green Bay's passing offense

pass rusher Jarvis Moss should help the rest of the defensive line rush the passer. Moss returned to practice this week after missing the last three games due to injury.

The Packers offensive line has allowed the 11th most sacks in the league with 29. The Raiders are tied for fifth in the NFL for the most sacks with 33 on the season.

Much to the pleasure of the Raiders defense, they face a weak Packers rushing offense. The Packers have the third worst rushing offense, only averaging 96.5 yards on the ground per game.

The Raiders have again struggled against the run this year, which has seemingly been an annual problem of late. The Raiders are allowing 141.4 rushing yards per game this year.

Packers starting running back James Starks went down last week with an ankle injury, it is looking like backup Ryan Grant will get the call as the starting running back. Grant ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown the last time the Raiders and Packers met in 2007.

The Raiders still are without wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, along with star running back Darren McFadden. All three have yet to practice this week and remain in doubt to be on the field for the Silver & Black come Sunday.

This means that the Raiders will once again likely be starting Michael Bush at running back. Bush struggled last week with only 10 carries for 18 yards against the Dolphins, but faces a Packers defense that is allowing 105.1 yards per game. Rookie running back Taiwan Jones is also expected to miss the game after missing practice this week with a hamstring injury.

With the injuries to Moore and Ford, the Raiders will likely start Darrius Heyward-Bey and Chaz Schilens at wide receiver.

Going up against a porous Packers pass defense that has allowed 292.8 passing yards per game, second worst in the league thus far.

The Raiders will look to control the lines on both sides of the ball

This means that Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer and his wide receivers should be able to find room to get the offense going through the air.

Palmer and the Raiders offense will be facing former Raiders Charles Woodson, who played his first eight seasons in the NFL wearing the silver & black before going to the Green Bay Packers. Woodson suffered a concussion during their game last week, but has returned to practice and is expected to start against his former team.

With the Broncos continuing their winning streak, the Raiders now find themselves outside of the playoffs looking in. They must win more games than the Broncos down the stretch to win the AFC West, and are also in the hunt for one of the AFC Wild Card slots.

Marcel Reece played an important role yesterday in the Oakland Raiders 25-20 home win versus the Chicago Bears.

With two of their key targets inactive, the fullback ran through the Bears secondary for a total of 92-yards. “I relish taking on every challenge,” said Reece after the game, who split out wide and scampered for yardage as a receiver out of the backfield. “Whatever the case may be, I just challenge myself to do it to the best of my abilities.”

Oakland is now 7-4 and controlling their own destiny entering December.  Stanford Routt noted how vastly different it is being the hunted: “But 7-4 is also a gift and a curse. Right now we’re still leading the division. If we go in and pee down our leg and wind up finishing second in the division, it’s going to be an embarrassment. Se we definitely got to keep going.”

The rush defense is a major concern, especially since the Bears tallied 172-yards on the ground. “We’re an aggressive team, a lot of young, hungry dogs, but we’re trying to play smarter,” safety Mike Mitchell stated.

Matt Forte did not hurt them out of the backfield pass catching, and he only had one breakout run. But Marion Barber plowed through the defensive line and gave Chicago life when they needed a ground attack. Oh, and yet another quarterback enjoyed success bolting out of the backfield, as Caleb Hanie ended with 50-yards rushing.

“We knew Forte was 60 percent of the offense, so our goal was to stop him and put the game in the quarterback’s hands,” commented Michael Huff. “And we did that.”

The linebackers had their best game as a unit all season. Kamerion Wimbley had the momentum shifting interception and 73-yard return, Rolando McClain had a sack and was violent at the line of scrimmage and Aaron Curry was disruptive, as he dissected Hanie’s interception at the end of the 2^nd quarter.

The red-zone woes almost hurt Oakland, and their lack of success in the 4^th quarter. But a vital 3^rd down conversion by Chaz Schilens and Louis Murphy 47-yard catch gave them enough breathing room at the end.

“Not to get touchdowns is something that frustrates you, but you can’t let it frustrate you,” stated Carson Palmer, who tallied 301-yards on  21-for-37 attempts. “You have to be happy to get field goals and points and getting points on the board when your defense is playing like that, and be conservative at times.”

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The Miami Dolphins, who are 3-8, have been playing better football lately and are coming off a tough defeat on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas.

“They played a heck of a football game, a hard fought national NFL game last night. It was a hard fought game. We didn’t win the game. I’m proud of the effort the guys put out there. We didn’t win the game. They’ll be excited to get back to work. They’ll be a little bit healthier and ready to go,” said head coach Tony Sparano after their loss.

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