Raiders head coach Tom Cable addresses the media following today’s practice session. Cable touches on the status of the key players, injuries, and who’s been getting noticed in camp thus far.
Here are more looks into the Oakland Raiders OTA sessions captured by photojournalist DeMarcus Davis. The Raiders will be headed into the summer with more optimism after an off-season of purging and solid acquisitions. Here’s a glimpse of what we saw in the Spring:
Roland McClain (#55) – Linebacker
Todd Watkins (#19) – Wide Receiver
Mike Mitchell (#34) – Strong Safety
Hue Jackson – Offensive Coordinator
Darrius Heyward-Bey (#85) – Wide Receiver
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
The Oakland Raiders took a break from Organized Team Activities this week. Here’s a schedule of their remaining sessions: June 8-10, June 15-17.
In the meantime, here’s an exclusive look of more images captured by SBReport.net photojournalist DeMarcus Davis during recent OTAs. Stay logged on to SBReport for comprehensive coverage of the Raiders throughout the summer.
Rookie Jared Veldheer and veteran Khalif Barnes at work during drills.
Wide receiver Todd Watkins is in for a battle against some of the other young wide receivers on the Raiders’ roster. He could be out of a roster spot, especially if some of the other players show their versatility on special teams.
Rookie Lamarr Houston has been one of the bright spots so far; his attitude and aggressiveness may just change the dynamic of the Silver & Black’s defensive line.
Darrius Heyward-Bey was overwhelmed as a rookie. As a second year pro, he’s putting in a lot of work to silence many of the critics that scolded the Raiders for taking him so high in the draft.
Follow me on Twitter, click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens is a major question mark going into the 2010 campaign.
The 24-year old target is Oakland’s ‘go to’ target by default since their wide receiving corps is one of the thinnest and least intimidating in the league. And while Schilens has shown glimpses, the facts are, the San Diego State product has a long way to go before he can boast about being a reliable starting caliber wide receiver in this league.
Schilens was held out of minicamp due to off-season surgery on his left foot – the same appendage that he injured in 2009 and kept him off the field the majority of the season. Head coach Tom Cable stated that the procedure was “follow up work” and that the club was being very cautious with Schilens, but his fragility so far should be something to worry about.
He’s never played an entire 16-game schedule. More importantly, he’s never played a full season expecting to be a major contributor facing opponents that have targeted him at practice all week.
And until Schilens plays a pivotal role on this team and produces with consistency, no one should feel comfortable with him in the starting line-up.
Especially when the Raiders are projecting Darrius Heyward-Bey as the other starter.
Where does that leave Louis Murphy?
As the team’s most polished, but most volatile wide receiver, coming off the bench or the third wide-out when they spread out the field.
Murphy has legitimate tools to become a solid pro. And in his rookie season, the former Florida Gator had his ups and downs. But when he played well and made big plays, Oakland greatly benefited from his exploits and showed that he can be a legitimate producer, especially if the rest of the unit can elevate their play.
One thing will surely help; a passer who can be more accurate and that can absorb a deeper playbook, giving these wide receivers some diversity in their attacks.
But ultimately, they all have to develop and show they can handle the reps.
WR AT A GLANCE:
Shaun Bodiford during minicamp last weekend
Follow me on Twitter, click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
QUARTERBACKS: F
The loudest cheers during this lowly contest were of fans happy to see Bruce Gradkowski in at quarterback for the ineffective JaMarcus Russell. Oakland pulled their pricey young passer after he went 6-for-11 for 61 yards with 2 interceptions and a lost fumble. Russell had three turnovers in four possessions and after the fifth drive, the coaching staff and crowd had seen enough. The former number one overall pick was sacked on the opening play of the game and lost the football, giving the Jets a start at the Oakland 4-yard line. Russell again showed poor pocket presence, was oblivious to the incoming pressure, locked down the field to his target and victimized the offense with his lack of awareness. On a 2nd and 8 a few drives later, he was blitzed, panicked and lofted a pass into Jim Leonhard’s hands that was returned 44-yards to the Oakland 4-yard line. Russell has accounted for 13 turnovers and completed only 46% of his passes. Gradkowski finished 10-of-19 for 97 yards. He attempted to go long on his first pass to Louis Murphy, but Darrelle Revis broke up the toss. In his first drive of the second half, Gradkowski eluded blitzing defenders and ran for a 20-yard gain. But a few plays later Calvin Pace stripped him while scrambling on 3rd and 5.
RUNNING BACKS & FULLBACKS: B
This grade is solely based on Justin Fargas’ constant professionalism. He ran 8 times for 67-yards and added 3 receptions for 23-yards. Fargas was one of the few Raiders who showed up ready to play and did not give up when the game was out of reach. Michael Bush had another non-eventful performance, carrying the football 8 times for 25-yards. After a solid outing last week, Gary Russell was silent as a ball carriers and pass catcher.
WIDE RECEIVERS & TIGHT ENDS: F
Louis Murphy had 4 grabs for 58-yards, but most of those stats were compiled during garbage time. The rookie out of Florida hurt the Raiders on offense on their second drive, dropping a catch able pass on 3rd and 3. He tried to take out a Jets defender at the end of Tony Stewart’s 19-yard reception on a 3rd and 10 in the first quarter, but got shook up after the huge impact. Darrius Heyward-Bey had 2 receptions for 28-yards, but again was a non-threat. His 24-yard grab in the first quarter was probably the best executed pass play of the afternoon, as the Jets blitzed and Russell was able to sit in the pocket and fire a dart to the rookie. Heyward-Bey had his hands on a fade pattern late in the 4th quarter that he should have come down with in the end zone. Zach Miller had only 2 receptions and Todd Watkins again had drops, and was no help to Russell on a pass that Revis made a spectacular play on to haul in the interception.
OFFENSIVE LINE: F
The Jets came into the game allowing 148 rushing yards per during their three-game slide. And with no Kris Jenkins, the Raiders offensive line was not able to establish themselves for any sustained drives. They allowed 3 sacks and were confused at times when Rex Ryan attacked with his blitzing 3-4 fronts. The Jets also played without Shaun Ellis, who left the game in the 1st quarter with an ankle injury.
DEFENSIVE LINE: F
Oakland let the Jets run wild for 316 yards on the ground. Thomas Jones followed up his career outing last week with 121 yards and a score. Rookie Shonn Greene tallied his first 2 touchdowns of his career and 144 yards rushing. Greene came on when New York’s multi-dimensional rusher Leon Washington was lost with a broken leg earlier in the contest. The Jets’ offensive line dominated from the start. Richard Seymour was flagged for a personal foul on a 3rd and 5 after the Raiders held and forced an incompletion out of Mark Sanchez.
LINEBACKERS: F
This group missed tackles, was out of position and when John Marshall sold out to stop the run with this corps, it just put them in bad configurations all afternoon. Kirk Morrison almost got an interception in the 4th quarter; one of the few times he dropped back into zone and the front-four applied pressure. It seemed like every time the Raiders run blitzed, the Jets took advantage of missing defenders on the second level.
SECONDARY: D
Chris Johnson was bad again. David Clowney torched him on the 35-yard touchdown reception and on a 19-yard grab on 3rd and 6. The Jets were hurt at wide receiver this week, playing without Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith. In the 2nd quarter, Stanford Routt was flagged for defensive holding on a 3rd and 5 that was not converted. Michael Huff saved a few big plays as the last line of defender on many runs. Unfortunately for Oakland, many of those times, the Jets already had ripped through the defense for big chunks.
SPECIAL TEAMS: F
The Jets toyed with the Raiders punt coverage team in the first quarter with a fake punt. Steven Weatherford ran for 16-yards before Isaiah Ekejiuba could make the stop, with the majority of the coverage team with their backs to the punter. Jonathan Holland has been futile on kickoff returns. He puts no fear on opposing coverage teams and the blocking on kickoffs has been dreadful.
COACHING: F
With a second home game after a solid performance last week in front of the ‘Black Hole’, Tom Cable’s bunch missed a great opportunity to send a message to their fan base and the rest of the NFL that they were in fact turning the corner. The Raiders came out flat, were not inspired and played a horrendous game at home against a team that had a struggling rookie passer, many of their best players inactive, a first year coach trying to steer his team away from a fourth straight loss while traveling across country for their lone west coast visit. Cable takes a big hit for this performance. Now he has to play psychologist in dealing with Russell and his benching.
GAME NOTES
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants took the game’s opening drive down the field and scored on the Oakland Raiders, with Eli Manning leading a 14 play drive that ate up 77-yards. On the possession, Manning opened the game with a 9-yard completion to Darcy Johnson for 9-yards. Facing a 3rd and 7, Gerard Warren jumped offsides and gave New York a manageable 3rd and 2. On that play, Manning found a streaking Steve Smith for 8-yards with Stanford Routt trailing on the play. A few plays later, on 3rd and 8, the Raiders were penalized again, this time Routt for pass interference in trying to cover Smith. The 11-yard penalty set-up the Giants deep in Raiders territory and a few plays later on 4th and goal from the 1, Ahmad Bradshaw gave the Giants a 7-0 lead.
Oakland’s opening drive stalled after Michael Bush ran for 7 yards on the first play. Erik Pears was flagged for a false start and the Raiders were not able to recover after that. On 3rd and 6, JaMarcus Russell avoided a sack and was able to find a wide-open Todd Watkins near midfield, but the receiver was not able to hold on to the pass, which would have extended the Raiders’ drive.
The Giants quickly bolted down the field on their next drive. Manning connected with Smith for 43-yards on a perfect sideline toss with Chris Johnson and Hiram Eugene in coverage. Then, Bradshaw ripped a 17-yard gain before darting to the end zone from 19-yards out to give the Giants a 14-0 lead.
Manning at that point was 5-of-6 for 79 yards, this after being held out of practice most of the week with a foot injury.
Oakland had an uneventful second drive that ended with a Zach Miller reception for 5-yards on 3rd and 6.
New York again attacked on their next possession, with Bradshaw ripping the Raider defense for a 23-yard gain and then closing the quarter with a 55-yard catch and run on 3rd and 23.
SCORE: Giants 14 – Raiders 0
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report.net Columnist
QUARTERBACK: D-
What prevented JaMarcus Russell from getting an ‘F’ this week? Completing 3-of-6 passes for 58 yards in the decisive drive for the Raiders. Otherwise, it was a display of inaccuracy, struggles, and miserable quarterback play. Russell ended 7/24 for 109 yards 0 TD 0 INT and a rating of 46.0%. He had difficulties checking down to his running backs and sailing passes over the heads of his receivers. It started immediately with the game’s first play; an incompletion to Darren McFadden. On the opening play of the second drive he missed a wide-open Zach Miller, on 3rd and 9 at the end of that possession he bypassed an open Miller and threw into double coverage to one of his rookie wide receivers and after three consecutive three and outs on offense, Oakland’s passer ended the first quarter 0-for-5 with his team holding the ball for only 3:15. When he audibled in the first half, both pass plays he went to were futile fade patterns. When one of his receivers slipped on a play in the first half, he delivered the ball right into the hands of a Kansas City defensive back, but the defender was not able to haul in the pass that could’ve been a touchdown the other way. He also inexplicably tossed a prayer up to Miller on a 3rd and 7, with the Raiders holding the lead; pinned deep in their own territory, a careless play late in the 3rd quarter. Like last Monday night, Russell struggled for most of the game, but made enough plays late to get his team a lead when it mattered most. That’s the silver lining in his overall stumbling to start the season; that Russell can shake off in-game problems, and stay focus for the next play. Russell’s 3rd and 15 pass on the game winning drive to Todd Watkins for 28-yards was as good as it got today. (Note: on Oakland’s first scoring drive, Russell was 3/6 for 42 yards)
RUNNING BACKS: C-
Darren McFadden punched it in from 5-yards out to secure the Raiders first victory. But before that, there were no electrifying moments and very little semblance to the running game that thrashed the Chargers last week. McFadden was at his best on rushing plays on the edges, but he only ended with 12 carries for 35-yards. Michael Bush tallied 35-yards on 9 carries, but was a non-factor on the ground. He did bulldoze his way to 8-yards on one brutal run in the 2nd quarter and picked up 17-yards off a screen pass on a 2nd and 9 during the drive Oakland tied the game at three a piece.
WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS: D
Again, the un-proven and young talent at receiver contributed to the woes on offense. Louis Murphy started and compiled 2 receptions for 26-yards. First rounder Darrius Heyward-Bey recorded his first NFL reception on an 18-yard catch. That was one of the few throws Russell had both good velocity and accuracy and showed that the rookie has the ability to go over the middle and make a catch within arms reach of safeties. Todd Watkins keyed the rally with his lone catch for 28 yards and almost had another big play if not for a great play by a Kansas City cornerback. Russell went deep to Watkins to start that game-winning drive, made an accurate toss, but Maurice Leggett broke up the play, extending his right hand to deflect the pass. Javon Walker saw action, looked good on his first play getting a seal block on a run, but was non-existent after that. Zach Miller had no catches today, last time he was shutout was during week-three at Buffalo last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D-
Where did the dominant group that played physical football last week go? They were not explosive at the point of attack, aggressive, or consistent in pushing off the Chiefs at the line of scrimmage. Cornell Green made sure to collect more infractions this week; getting flagged for a false start in the 4th quarter on a 3rd and 10. Guard Robert Gallery had a solid block down the field on Bush’s 17-yard screen play and Cooper Carlisle had his moment on another dump off that was positive. But for the most part this unit had a negative effect on the ground game and at times had Russell backpedaling and tossing the football in disadvantageous situations. Oakland ended the first half with only 26 rushing yards and 61 total yards. When the outcome was decided, they only managed 67-yards on the ground with a measly 2.7 yards per carry.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C-
Greg Ellis continues to be Mr. Consistent, recording two sacks today; giving him three for the season. His second sack was key late, getting to Matt Cassel on 3rd and 1 on the Chiefs last drive. Like the offensive line, this unit was neither as physical nor as tough as they were last week. Kansas City averaged 4.3 yards a carry on their way to 173 rushing yards. In the 2nd quarter, Matt Shaughnessy made a cameo appearance and forced Cassel into an incompletion. Trevor Scott again played on passing downs and showed a good motor. Gerard Warren was flagged for a personal foul (facemask) in the 2nd quarter.
LINEBACKERS: C
Thomas Howard was superb this afternoon, run blitzing early in the game and recording a 6-yard loss on one play and notching tackles around the line of scrimmage with his speed on dump offs. Ricky Brown and Kirk Morrison played well, but many times were victims of a defensive line that took a step back after a solid performance on Monday night. Morrison led the team with 13 tackles.
SECONDARY: C-
The defensive backfield allowed 236 passing yards this week. But Nnamdi Asomugha’s tackle of Dantrell Savage at the end of the first half may have been the underrated play of the game. Not having any time outs, Kansas City’s running back tried to get out of bounds after a short catch, but the pro-bowl cornerback tackled him in the field of play as time expired, hindering the Chiefs from getting their field goal unit for a chance at three points. When Asomugha went out o the game, Dwayne Bowe feasted on Stanford Routt for a 29-yard touchdown that gave Kansas City a 10-6 lead with 2:36 remaining. Michael Huff played centerfield perfectly in the 3rd quarter, reading Cassel from afar and breaking underneath the intended target to pick off a pass. That turnover gave Oakland the ball on the KC 49-yard line and led to a 6-3 lead. Huff struck again the 4th quarter ending a KC drive deep in Oakland territory on a diving catch for his second interception of the game.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Shane Lechler was outstanding; punting 7 times and averaging 56.9 per. Sebastian Janikowski was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts (48, 54) and consistently drove the ball into the end-zone for touchbacks during kickoffs. Louis Rankin is sure-handed during returns, but does not provide any punch. With Johnnie Lee Higgins out, Hiram Eugene got a lot of work in on punts, but he was at his best today rushing down the field covering punts. Oakland dodged a bullet and made a mistake sending out Javon Walker to field a punt in the second half.
COACHING: B-
Oakland did not play a clean game. But neither did Kansas City who is a team with a new coach, a new quarterback, rebuilding with lesser talent than Oakland, and they shot themselves in the foot with drops, penalties that negated positive plays on offense and mental mistakes. Yet they almost pulled out the victory. Tom Cable has to be given credit for keeping his club focus throughout the game and pulling out the victory after appearing to have blown it late. His quarterback was erratic, the defense was not as good as it was last week, and his offensive line did not maul anyone. Yet they won a game that in the past they would have never been in. And now they have a three-game winning streak at Arrowhead. Cable believes in Russell; he has no choice. But even through the passers struggles, and heading into the final drive, he had missed on 10 consecutive tosses; Cable had enough confidence in Russell to open it up.
GAME NOTES:
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
The Oakland Raiders, despite falling late in the game to the Tennessee Titans, fared very well considering the seemingly daunting task of keeping it’s quarterbacks off the turf against a very good defensive line and the defense preventing one of the deepest running teams from running them out of LP Field.
In general, I thought the first units played pretty well. On defense, the Raiders pass defense was very good. Going on the last drive, the Titans sputtered all evening. Their two big runs in the first half displayed that the Raiders need to play better because they are over 5 yards, they do end up over 5 yards a carry at the half versus the first team. “So, that was the only disappointing thing there and that we didn’t force any turnovers the whole night,” said head coach Lane Kiffin during a conference call with the media on Saturday.
Now that the offensive line showed what it is capable of doing against a strong defensive team, the up and down play of it’s receiving corps is thrust back into the forefront with veteran Javon Walker not being able to haul in a couple of passes. “There’s a couple of balls that we would have liked him to come up with so at the end of everything all that matters is that you take everything in and how do you perform after you do everything, how do you perform on game day,” said Kiffin.
The coach even referred back to last week’s game against the 49ers, citing problems there as well, “For him not make those plays or on our first game…you know there’s a fade that we throw to him that he can’t go up and get is discouraging because he was paid a whole lot of money and was paid like one of the top five receivers in the NFL for him to make those plays.”
In terms of second year receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins and his route running, consistency and understanding of the offense, “Johnnie just ran the wrong route…that was discouraging. That’s something that Johnnie did last year a lot in practices and why we weren’t able to trust him to play him that much in games,” said Kiffin although he plans to give him another go next week at home against the Arizona Cardinals.
Higgins will also get the nod to return kicks after his debacle near their own endzone that resulted in a fumble and a subsequent Titan recovery for a touchdown.
The receiving corps as a whole must do a much better job next week as they will undoubtedly be compared to the dynamic duo of receivers Arizona has(Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin), and potentially have their differences magnified. Two such players who look to be up to the comparison challenge are Chaz Schilens and Todd Watkins, despite the difference in experience and size.
Watkins has been the best target in training camp thus far and will undoubtedly look to show his former team just what they missed out on. Having been on the outside looking in back during his rookie year (2006), he was placed on the practice squad, mostly due to the crowded depth chart behind Fitzgerald and Boldin. Since then, Watkins has had time to hone his skills and become a receiver that a team can rely upon to come up with big the catches.
But the receiver of the night was without a doubt rookie Chaz Schilens; a tall target that opened a lot of eyes with his ability to go up and haul in passes in tight coverage. As Kiffin exalted, “He played the best of all our receivers last night including the front-running guys. It was good to see because he did not play well in the first game on offense or on special teams.” It will be exciting to see these pair of receivers put pressure on the incumbents and hopefully elevate their game. If not, then look forward to another difficult season at receiver.
Napa, CA – Oakland Raiders wide receiver Todd Watkins spends a few minutes with DeMarcus Davis of SBReport.net.