Silver and Black Report

In 2007, when the Oakland Raiders faced the Green Bay Packers, in week-14 of the season, the home team was in need of a win to reach the playoffs.

The faithful at Lambeau were treated to a 38-7 victory and the end of a two-year playoff draught. Ryan Grant rushed for a career high 156-yards on 29-carries with a score. “I can’t say enough about Ryan Grant,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said at the time. “I think he’s really coming into his own.”

Brett Favre went 15-of-23 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Greg Jennings had an 80-yard scoring reception in the third quarter and Will Blackmon had a fumble recovery in the end zone during the rout.

Blackmon earlier in the game returned a punt 57-yards for a score, giving the Packers a 14-0 lead. The return was the first to hit paydirt since the Raiders had drafted Shane Lechler.

“I don’t think Shane has ever had a punt return for a TD, and the dude stepped out of bounds on that one,” said Warren Sapp after the game. “Everybody was against us today; that’s why we got 38 points put up on us.”

Josh McCown was under center for the Silver & Black, ending 7-of-15 for 110-yards, one score and two interceptions, before Andrew Walter came in and posted 38-yards on 5-of-8 completions.

The starter was ill that weekend with a stomach virus and was overwhelmed throughout the contest. “I battled as much as I could,” McCown commented. “It is what it is. It’s unfortunate.”

The Raiders were 3-13 on third downs, had nine penalties for 62-yards and had three turnovers. Green Bay amassed 445-yards of offense –179 on the ground – while playing in chilly conditions.

“I don’t think the cold didn’t tackle today,” then coach Lane Kiffin said. “I don’t think the cold threw incompletions today. I don’t think the cold had nine penalties. We did.”

Here’s a look at that game via images from our game archives:

Jerry Porter scored on a 25-yard pass in the 2nd quarter to cut into the Green Bay lead, 14-7.

Justin Fargas ran for 57-yards, but left the game with bruised ribs. ”You expect to win every game. But we didn’t play well today as a team and they were the better team today,” he stated after the game.

Thomas Howard (#53) kept his eyes on Brett Favre (#4) prior to a snap.

One of the few thrills on defense for the fans was when Warren Sapp (#99) slammed running back Vernand Morency (#34).

Tight end Tony Stewart (#86) and Justin Fargas (#25) share a post-game prayer with their opponents.

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

Apparently, Chaz Schilens had heard enough.

The often-injured wide receiver told the San Francisco Chronicle that, “Warren Sapp is a fool.”

Sapp, a former Raider and current NFL Network analyst, has been critical of the Silver & Black through the years, many times with merit, but Schilens and a lot of the fan-base has taken it to heart, his verbal barrage.

Schilens continued, “That dude is stupid. He played for the Raiders 20 years ago. No one cares what he says, nobody likes him, he’s a joke. … Everyone on this team thinks he’s a joke.”

The former NFL defensive player of the year responded, “Ok Just Woke Up From My Tuesday Slumber. Who’s Chaz Schilens ?? Oh Wasn’t He Just On DWTS? Did He Win??”, via twitter.

Then: “My Bad! I Looked Ole Chaz Up, 8 & 6 Starts His 1st Two Yrs. ONE Start In Last 2yrs, Better Start a Career Before Its Over! #BiggerFishToFry”

Schilens, who has done very little in his career to distinguish himself and has been known more for his fragility than actual skill level, had no reason to stir this up.

His team is atop the division at 6-4 and eyeing their first playoff berth since 2002. Whether his team does really believe Sapp is a joke or not, it makes no sense to bring further attention to a team that should be flying under the radar.

If he wanted notoriety, he got it. Now, can he actually help this team go forward, or continue his pedestrian NFL career?

Sapp has been critical many times of the Silver & Black. But who hasn’t when the team posted a historical losing stretch, finally got to 8-8 last season and many questions surrounded this year’s club ability to improve upon that with a first year head coach.

Oakland has been a pleasant surprise and with continued growth heading into the latter part of the schedule, they could become one of the scarier threats to come out of the AFC.

Fans believe that, and Schilens probably does to. If Sapp doesn’t, why bother going after him?

He gets paid by the NFL network to give his insight, thoughts and opinions on varying topics. He’s doing his job.

BEARS NEXT…

Brian Urlacher believes that Caleb Hanie will be just fine in his first NFL start…

But he’s also putting more of the onus on the defense to clamp down over the next few weeks.

“Our mindset right now is we’re going to have to carry this team,” Urlacher said. “Not to take anything away from our offense right now, but our mindset is we have to play better and get more takeaways and put them in better field position to be able to be successful.

“We can do that. We’ve done it in the past. We’ve got to do it again. No more mistakes for us. We didn’t play well [last Sunday against the Chargers]. We can’t have any mistakes this late in the season. So we’ve got to play better and hopefully our offense can pick it up when they have to.”

ORTON EFFECT…

Today is the deadline for teams to claim Kyle Orton. Candidates include the Chiefs, Bears and Texans.

Sources have stated that Chicago could claim him, but it will be unlikely he starts Sunday if that is the case. Any team claiming the passer would owe him the pro-rated portion of his $8.8 million contract, which would be around $2.58 million. If Orton goes unclaimed, Denver would be on the hook for his remaining salary.

MORE…

“That’d be 90 in three games. That’d be pretty good,” said Hue Jackson, regarding Michael Bush’s workload the last couple of weeks and his expected contributions this week.

“I think Sammy will be fine,” commented Jackson his starting center (Samson Satele).

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

During the 2007 season, the Oakland Raiders traveled to Minnesota to face the Vikings in a battle of struggling clubs.

As Adrian Peterson watched from the sideline – due to injury – Chester Taylor tallied 202-total yards of offense and three scores, in a 29-22 Minnesota win.

The Vikings tried their best to keep Oakland in the game with four first half turnovers, which led to four of Sebastian Janikowski’s five field goals.

A banged up Josh McCown could not start, giving away to Daunte Culpepper, who had his best years as pro with the Vikings. “You can’t predict emotions,” Culpepper before his appearance at the Metrodome. “When you go to a place that you played before, obviously emotion is going to be part of it.”

Facing one of the league’s worst pass defenses, Culpepper ended 23/39 for 344-yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“I thought Daunte was a warrior today,” then Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. “I thought he played really well.”

Some of the shinning moments for the Raiders included highlight reel receptions by receiver Ronald Curry. At the start of the 2nd quarter, he was able to jump between two-defenders and snare a bomb from Daunte Culpepper for a 49-yard gain. In the process of coming down with the football, Curry lost his helmet and controlled the reception as he hit the turf.

Oakland’s run defense was abysmal that season and at the end of the afternoon, it was their seventh time in twelve weeks that the Silver & Black allowed a rusher to break the 100-yard mark.

During post-game interviews, Warren Sapp took exception of Tim Dwight’s mental error at the end of the game. Dwight had a false start, which led to a 10-second run off and cost the Raiders a chance at a scoring chance.

“I’m going to be where I’m supposed to be when I’m supposed to be there,” Sapp said. “I’m going to know the snap count. I’m not going to jump offside on a spike play. Where the hell are you going? That makes no sense. Just when you think you’ve seen it all in 13 years, here’s something else.”

Warren Sapp (#99) and Thomas Howard (#53) didn’t have much to celebrate after the Vikings compiled 228-rushing yards and 478 total yards of offense on November 18, 2007.

Ronald Curry enjoyed his stunning 49-yard grab, after losing his helmet. He ended with 4-catches for 120-yards.

Here’s a link to the Monday Morning Musings’ article for this contest.

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

Lane Kiffin got his first win as head coach of the Oakland Raiders during a week-three match-up versus the Cleveland Browns in 2007.

The then 32-year old learned a week earlier from Mike Shanahan, who called a time-out right before Sebastian Janikowski’s potential game winner against the Broncos. The Raider kicker nailed the first field goal, which was blown dead, but missed the ensuing attempt.

Browns kicker Phil Dawson was lining up for a final kick, but his initial attempt, which split the uprights, was disallowed after Kiffin called a late-second time out.

“The rookie coach learned something from the veteran last week,” commented wide receiver Ronald Curry.

Tommy Kelly blocked the final kick and Oakland snapped an 11-game losing streak with a thrilling 26-24 victory.

“I told [the official] I was going to call it, and he gave me the ‘You’re going to have to give me the signal,’” Kiffin detailed. “I guess I don’t have as many years in the league as Mike. I got it in a second later than I wanted, but it worked out.”

Derek Anderson drove the Browns from their own 9-yard line to the Raiders 23 in the final 1:04 without a time out. “I actually didn’t hear the timeout or the whistle,” Dawson said at the end of the contest. “I thought we had won the game. They did a good job of waiting until the last second to call the timeout.”

Here are some shots from the game from SBReport.net’s archive:

Kirk Morrison (#52) tallied his third interception of the season early in that contest.

Ronald Curry scored on a 41-yard pass from Josh McCown in the 2nd quarter and ended with 3-receptions for 62-yards.

LaMont Jordan (#34) had 29-carries for 121-yards and a touchdown. Facing a 3rd and 23 in the 4th quarter, Oakland moved the chains with a screen to Jordan that went for 27-yards, leading to a key Janikowski field goal. ”It feels good. It’s a good start,” Jordan said. “My name will be the one in the headlines, but I’m happy for my offensive linemen.”

Warren Sapp (#99) gobbles up Jamal Lewis. Cleveland’s leading rusher ended the game with 56-yards on 15-carries. ”They don’t ask you how you get them done, they just ask did you,” commented Sapp. ”We’re a ballclub that is trying to learn how to win. Last week, we took a step closer and this week we got over the hump.”

Michael Huff (#24), Stuart Schweigert (#30) and Gerard Warren (#61) swamp Joe Thomas on the game’s final play – a blocked field goal.

Follow me on Twitter, click here.

Stay logged on to SBReport.net for exclusive coverage of tomorrow’s game between the Browns and the Raiders. SBReport will be there live to bring you images from the O.co Coliseum.

The Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins have battled 33 times, with the Silver & Black leading the series 19-13-1 [including playoffs]. At Miami, the Dolphins have a 9-8 record against the Silver & Black. Oakland holds the edge 10-4 in front of their fans.

In 2007, Oakland went into South Beach and trounced the Dolphins 35-17. Daunte Culpepper made a triumphant return, accounting for five touchdowns (ran for three and threw for two) against his former team.

“The only thing I felt bad about is I didn’t have a chance to show the fans here me healthy as a Dolphin,” Culpepper said. “But now I had a chance to show them today, and I’m glad I was able to do that.”

Culpepper led the team out of the tunnel and on his first score; he looked at the crowd, pointed to his surgically repaired knee and signaled, “ok” to the stands.

“There were a lot of questions about my knee,” he said. “Everywhere I would go, people would ask me about my knee. I wanted to say, ‘Hey, I’m OK. I’m getting better every day.’”

Justin Fargas ran for 179-yards on 22 carries, LaMont Jordan tallied 74-yards on the ground and Jerry Porter scored twice.

“What’s he going to guarantee next week?” Warren Sapp said of linebacker Joey Porter after the game. “It’s tough when you run your mouth.”

Here are some images from that match-up, exclusively from SBReport.net:

Daunte Culpepper running into the end-zone.

Jerry Porter (84) celebrating with Ronald Curry after a score

Ronnie Brown stuffed by Warren Sapp and Terdell Sands.

Culpepper giving the ‘ok’ to Dolphins’ fans.

Culpepper and Trent Green exchanged pleasantries after the Raider win.

Follow me on Twitter, click here.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

The Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers will battle for Bay Area bragging rights this weekend.

Last time the Raiders and 49ers met, Oakland was defeated 34-20 in San Francisco on October 8, 2006 (week-5). During that contest, Alex Smith tossed three touchdown passes, two to Arnaz Battle, as the 49ers scored 27-second half points. Frank Gore rushed for a then career high 134-yards for offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who had coached the Silver & Black the prior two campaigns.

For Oakland, Andrew Walter was benched for Marques Tuiasosopo, LaMont Jordan dropped a lateral, disregarded the loose football and Melvin Oliver returned it for a score. Then Raider Randy Moss tallied his 100^th career touchdown reception in the losing effort.

“I don’t see any improvement with what we’re doing,” defensive tackle Warren Sapp commented. “We don’t make a play. We don’t make an adjustment to get momentum back on our side.”

Enjoy images captured by our photographers from that contest, dusted off from our archived game coverage:

Robert Gallery

Kevin Huntley

Randy Moss

Follow me on Twitter, click here.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Former Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Warren Sapp will not face a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after prosecutors for the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office informed Judge Carroll Kelly.

Sapp was arrested on February 6, the day before Super Bowl XLIV, for allegedly choking a woman in his hotel room in Florida.

The vocal personality stated via text message: “The State Attorney’s office declined to file charges. BS is over!”

“We appreciate that the State Attorney’s office conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations and determined that no charges should be filed,” Sapp’s attorney, Christopher Lyons, commented in a statement.

“From the beginning, Mr. Sapp was always confident that the system would work and he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Warren looks forward to putting this matter behind him.”

Sapp was taken off the NFL Network, while he was committed to Super Bowl coverage duties, upon the arrest.

The woman claimed that Sapp choked her and pushed her around, leading to bruises and a swollen knee.

According to a memo to the prosecution, discrepancies were found in the woman’s story. “Victim gave sworn testimony that she was in excruciating pain from the moment she fell on her knee and was teary-eyed while in the lobby moments after the incident,” the memo states. “However, there is a security witness who observed the victim giggling with an anonymous man, as well as walking in high heels without any trouble.”

Aaron Brooks, QB

After the Oakland Raiders parted ways with Kerry Collins, they signed Brooks to a 2-year deal worth $8 million. “Aaron gives us great depth at the quarterback position and provides us with a veteran presence,” then Raiders head coach Art Shell stated. Brooks was the starter at the beginning of the 2006 campaign, as his only competition was Marques Tuiasosopo and Andrew Walter. Brooks was sacked seven times in the opener against San Diego and battered week-two versus Baltimore, fumbling two snaps from center before straining his pectoral muscle. Eventually he started eight games for the Raiders, losing all of them and was cut after his lone season in Silver & Black, as the team wanted to avoid a $5 million roster bonus he was due the next off-season.

Verdict: Brooks was a stopgap quarterback during an agonizing season for the Raiders. His final stats: a 57.3 completion percentage, eight interceptions and three touchdown passes while being sacked 26 times in eight games.

Eric Turner, S

Prior to the 1997 season, the Raiders were on a shopping spree, and one of their prized signings was the Pro Bowl safety. Turner was reeled in with a 4-year $6 million deal. ”We’re delighted that we can add another impact player to the organization,” said Joe Bugel. He played 32-contest with the Silver & Black before dying of intestinal cancer at age 31. “I realize people are concerned, but I have chosen to keep this issue within my family,” Turner said in a statement prior to his death.

Verdict: The former 2^nd overall pick of the 1991 draft arrived in Oakland after being selected to two Pro Bowls. Turner has always been remembered fondly by teammates and the organization on and off the field.

Andre Rison, WR

A week after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs in August of 2000, Oakland picked up the 33-year old target with a one-year contract worth $450,000 and a $100,000 signing bonus. “The day I was released I already knew where I was going,” Rison commented when he landed with the Chiefs rival. The mercurial wide receiver played 16-games, compiling 41-receptions for 606-yards and 6 touchdowns. The prior season, he tallied career lows in catches and yards with no scores. Rison had 3 receptions for 44-yards in the playoffs, but had a score nullified due to pass interference flag with 4-minutes remaining in the AFC Championship game loss to the Ravens.

Verdict: Rison added attitude to the offense and solid production at wide-receiver behind Tim Brown as the Raiders marched to a 12-4 finish in the regular season in Jon Gruden’s third season.

LaMont Jordan, RB

After the 2004 season, Oakland looked to boost their putrid ground game with the signing of LaMont Jordan. After the former NewYork Jet landed in the Bay Area with a five-year, $27.5 million contract, he stated, “I’ve played out here in Oakland a couple of times and it’s actually my favorite stadium to play in, so I’m really looking forward to getting this ball rolling and hopefully being a big piece to us accomplishing our goals.” Jordan led all NFL rushers with 70 catches his first season and tallied 1,588 total yards from scrimmage and 11 scores. But it went down hill from there, as he tore his MCL in November of 2006 and missed the remainder of the season. After starting the 2007 campaign with 350-yards rushing and two touchdowns in the team’s first three-games, he sustained a back injury in Miami.

Verdict: Jordan was phased out due to his ineffective running and Justin Fargas’ emergence in his last months in Oakland. He never lived up to his contract or the expectations he had to become a productive rusher in the NFL. “After three games [in 2007], LaMont Jordan led the NFL in rushing,” teammate Warren Sapp said. “But…he was out of shape and couldn’t keep it going.”

Stay tuned for upcoming installments, looking back at the Raiders history during the free-agency period. Part-six is coming soon…

Archived Game Coverage: Rod Woodson was a solid veteran addition for the Silver & Black

Rich Gannon, QB

At 33, Oakland tabbed the former Kansas City passer to lead Jon Gruden’s offense. That signing in February of 1999 changed the fortunes of the Silver & Black. Gannon once said, “When I came to Oakland in 1999, I didn’t sign up to be the team jerk but I was taken aback by the things I was seeing. Guys being late to meetings, guys missing practices. Sometimes, something had to be said.” He said them and backed it up with Pro Bowl years, playoff appearances and ultimately, winning the league’s MVP award in 2002 as he led the Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII.

Verdict: One of the best signings in Raiders history.

Larry Brown, CB

In February of 1996, Oakland raided the world champion Dallas Cowboys. They signed cornerback Larry Brown to a five-year $12.5 million deal that included $3.5 million signing bonus. He played in 12 games in two seasons for the Raiders, parlaying his MVP winning performance in Super Bowl XXX to the then lucrative deal. Within days of signing Brown, Oakland snatched up defensive tackle Russell Maryland, inking him to a six-year $19 million deal. Leigh Steinberg, Maryland’s agent at the time stated, “This is another case of the salary cap breaking up a marriage.”

Verdict: Brown was a complete disaster in Oakland and while Maryland had his moments, neither influenced the team enough to make them into winners.

Rod Woodson, S

In his first year with the Raiders, the Hall of Fame bound safety led the NFL in interceptions (8) at 37-years old. Woodson added stability, veteran leadership and solid playmaking ability to a secondary that featured Tory James, Charles Woodson, Derrick Gibson and Anthony Dorsett. An underrated play during the 2002 campaign was his 98-yard interception return for a score. A loss in Denver would have had them at 4-5, instead, they romped in that game led by that momentum-changing play and won six of the next seven games.

Verdict: Although it was a brief stint in Silver & Black, Woodson gave them a presence at safety that was much needed. He was a key addition to that Super Bowl run.

Warren Sapp, DT

After spurning the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland reached out to the boisterous veteran and signed him to a seven year $36.6 million deal. In his 4 campaigns in Silver & Black, Sapp tallied 19.5 sacks. His first year was a disappointment, as Oakland moved him around from tackle to end throughout the season. A shoulder injury sidelined him for six games in 2005, but in 2006, the former Buccaneer had 10-sacks. A more svelte Sapp ended his career after the 2007 season with a simple message on his web site stating, “I’m done!”

Verdict: Yes Sapp was a loud mouth, never was the dominant force he was in Tampa Bay nor was he as influential as he was earlier in his career. But he had his moments and added some life at times to teams that were just abysmal and otherwise boring to watch.

During the off-season, SBReport.net will continue to look back at signings that work and that failed for the Oakland Raiders. Stay tuned for the second installment very soon…

Archive: Warren Sapp chasing down New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

The NFL Network has pulled former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Warren Sapp from their Super Bowl XLIV coverage because he is being questioned by Miami authorities regarding a domestic violence case according to a NFL source.

Sapp, 37, was reportedly seen by detectives and questioned on Saturday afternoon, and news circulated late Saturday about his arrest.

Per reports, the former sack-master was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic battery and is expected to appear before a Miami-Dade County judge Sunday, Miami Beach police spokesman Juan Sanchez said.

In recent weeks, Sapp has ripped Raiders head coach Tom Cable.

“For me to say something about the man right now, would be a little, you know, disingenuous,” Sapp told the Dan Patrick show.

“Tom Cable don’t even know that the defensive lineman knows his protection when he goes into a ballgame,” Sapp said. “I was standing in front of the man, he tells me to rush his offensive line. I said, ‘Okay, what set are you coming out in?’ He looks at me and says, ‘What? No, I just want you to rush.’”

He continued: “I said, ‘Let me understand this. You’re gonna break the huddle, you come out into a formation. It’ll be two receivers, three receivers, whatever you want to do. But there’s some way you have to protect. And I would know that, 90% of the time. He looked at me like I was speaking Chinese.”

Sapp piled on by saying, “He’s not qualified to be an offensive line coach in my book.

“Because he doesn’t know I know which way his center’s going 90% of the time. He blew my mind with that one. I said, ‘Son, you think I got all these sacks ’cause I’m guessing which way the center’s going?’”

In a statement released on Saturday, “We have been made aware of the arrest of Warren Sapp by the Miami Beach Police Department,” a NFL network statement said. “In light of these circumstances, Warren Sapp will not appear on NFL Network while we review the matter.”