The Official 2011 Oakland Raiders offseason thread
- Thread starter Defy
- Start date
They know I'm down... I took it too far by leaving for that "week", mistakes happen bruh... people and fans gotta learn how to move forward in life. 4 years from now fools is still gone be talking about how Tony stopped being a Raider fan for a week... let it go fellaz and let's talk Raider football.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/31199/raiders-bring-in-veteran-cb-sheppard
While the Raiders plan to unveil rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor in Friday’s practice, they addressed their shaky cornerback situation in the form of former Pro Bowl player Lito Sheppard.
Sheppard
Sheppard was a star for the Eagles, but he has bounced around in recent years. He will have a chance to be in Oakland’s rotation and conceivably vie to start the season opener at Denver in 17 days.
Veteran Chris Johnson is out for an undisclosed amount of time with an injury, but the Raiders have said he should be back in time for the opener. Rookie DeMarcus Van Dyke has missed the past couple of practices.
Oakland’s cornerback play has been suspect in the preseason so far as the team adjusts to life without star Nnamdi Asomugha, who signed with the Eagles.
Sheppard, 30, was with the Vikings last year and started two games for Minnesota. He has started 14 games the past three seasons. Don’t expect Sheppard to be a savior, but he is a veteran and that is worth adding to the mix in Oakland.
Yet, Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. doesn’t think the Raiders should expect much.
“Highly doubt it,” Williamson responded when asked if he think Sheppard can make an impact in Oakland. “He has really struggled the past few seasons.”
While the Raiders plan to unveil rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor in Friday’s practice, they addressed their shaky cornerback situation in the form of former Pro Bowl player Lito Sheppard.
Sheppard
Sheppard was a star for the Eagles, but he has bounced around in recent years. He will have a chance to be in Oakland’s rotation and conceivably vie to start the season opener at Denver in 17 days.
Veteran Chris Johnson is out for an undisclosed amount of time with an injury, but the Raiders have said he should be back in time for the opener. Rookie DeMarcus Van Dyke has missed the past couple of practices.
Oakland’s cornerback play has been suspect in the preseason so far as the team adjusts to life without star Nnamdi Asomugha, who signed with the Eagles.
Sheppard, 30, was with the Vikings last year and started two games for Minnesota. He has started 14 games the past three seasons. Don’t expect Sheppard to be a savior, but he is a veteran and that is worth adding to the mix in Oakland.
Yet, Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. doesn’t think the Raiders should expect much.
“Highly doubt it,” Williamson responded when asked if he think Sheppard can make an impact in Oakland. “He has really struggled the past few seasons.”
Oakland Raiders still haven't solved problems with run defense
Even by the buoyant standards of Raiders coach Hue Jackson, it seemed a little over the top.
Defensive end Trevor Scott shed a block during a recent practice, dumped Rock Cartwright for a 2-yard loss, and Jackson reacted as if Scott had pushed the entire offense into the end zone with one hand and recovered a fumble with the other.
Even after practice Wednesday, Jackson was still gushing.
"Wow. Wow. What a tremendous competitor. What a tremendous football player," Jackson said.
Then again, given the Raiders' problems defending the run over the past eight years, maybe a little hyperbole is in order to get things turned around.
When the Raiders host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night at O.co Coliseum, Jackson will be watching for signs of improvement after a disheartening performance defending the run against the 49ers on Saturday.
Worse than the 17-3 final score was the way San Francisco pushed the Raiders around, running for 239 yards on 41 carries and 14 first downs.
"I don't think anybody is locked in right now," defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. "That's what preseason is for. Coach is going to keep his foot on our necks. All you can do is go back to work and try to get a little bit better."
Jackson has promised to "build a bully," and he can't do it without a defense that stops the run.
"When I put my name to something and say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do
it," Jackson said. "This run defense thing has baffled this organization for years."
The last time the Raiders had a decent run defense was 2002, when they gave up 90.8 yards per game and won the AFC championship. They haven't done better than 22nd ever since, and the last four years have been 29th, 29th, 31st and 31st.
Even the arrival of five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour two seasons ago has not made a big impact on the way the Raiders defend the run.
"That's something that is dear to me. If you can't stop the run, you aren't going to be successful in this league," Seymour said. "It has to be important to the team. There has to be a mindset."
Defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, who also ran the defense in 2002, said, "It starts with an attitude, an attitude we build from the beginning."
Aside from attitude, problems addressed by every Raiders coach over the past several years include maintaining gap assignments, fitting those gaps correctly, shedding blocks and simply doing the job assigned without freelancing.
Weakside linebacker Quentin Groves, who played with the first-and second-team defense against the 49ers, said, "The second-team guys were way too anxious because they want to make a play and make the team. You have to be sure you're where you're supposed to be."
Said Jackson: "There's no magic to it. You guys have heard all the clichés. We have to get it done. We're not going to make excuses."
Even by the buoyant standards of Raiders coach Hue Jackson, it seemed a little over the top.
Defensive end Trevor Scott shed a block during a recent practice, dumped Rock Cartwright for a 2-yard loss, and Jackson reacted as if Scott had pushed the entire offense into the end zone with one hand and recovered a fumble with the other.
Even after practice Wednesday, Jackson was still gushing.
"Wow. Wow. What a tremendous competitor. What a tremendous football player," Jackson said.
Then again, given the Raiders' problems defending the run over the past eight years, maybe a little hyperbole is in order to get things turned around.
When the Raiders host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night at O.co Coliseum, Jackson will be watching for signs of improvement after a disheartening performance defending the run against the 49ers on Saturday.
Worse than the 17-3 final score was the way San Francisco pushed the Raiders around, running for 239 yards on 41 carries and 14 first downs.
"I don't think anybody is locked in right now," defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. "That's what preseason is for. Coach is going to keep his foot on our necks. All you can do is go back to work and try to get a little bit better."
Jackson has promised to "build a bully," and he can't do it without a defense that stops the run.
"When I put my name to something and say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do
it," Jackson said. "This run defense thing has baffled this organization for years."
The last time the Raiders had a decent run defense was 2002, when they gave up 90.8 yards per game and won the AFC championship. They haven't done better than 22nd ever since, and the last four years have been 29th, 29th, 31st and 31st.
Even the arrival of five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour two seasons ago has not made a big impact on the way the Raiders defend the run.
"That's something that is dear to me. If you can't stop the run, you aren't going to be successful in this league," Seymour said. "It has to be important to the team. There has to be a mindset."
Defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, who also ran the defense in 2002, said, "It starts with an attitude, an attitude we build from the beginning."
Aside from attitude, problems addressed by every Raiders coach over the past several years include maintaining gap assignments, fitting those gaps correctly, shedding blocks and simply doing the job assigned without freelancing.
Weakside linebacker Quentin Groves, who played with the first-and second-team defense against the 49ers, said, "The second-team guys were way too anxious because they want to make a play and make the team. You have to be sure you're where you're supposed to be."
Said Jackson: "There's no magic to it. You guys have heard all the clichés. We have to get it done. We're not going to make excuses."
think im skipping the 3 hour round trip drive to the game tomorrow. I got to much shit to catch up on. I'll just watch the game on tape delay. Gonna be going to 10 of 16 regular season games. Just got tix for the game in SD. They must be struggling to sell tickets to cuz I was able to cop on ticketmaster. Usually you gotta get tix for the chargers off stubhub, cl, ect.. They skyrocket those fuckin prices too man.
Headed to the game in a few hours. Should be a good look at the starters.
I took my son to the last day of training camp on Friday. It was closed to the Public but I let the Raiders staff know that I was a season ticket holder and they let us in.
It was dope. We got to meet damn near the whole team and all the coaches. We even met Terrelle Pryor. Got autographs from everyone.
I'll post pics in a minute.
The D Line is going to be crazy again this season. I think we have the best one in the league. Kamerion Wimbley is a total animal. Taiwan Jones was amazingly fast. McFadden and Ford looked dope. Denaurious Moore was killin it. Campell looked sharp.
I even saw Lito Sheppard out there making plays. Pryor was getting his rhythm down. It was great to see everyone.
I don't think my son will ever forget it.
I took my son to the last day of training camp on Friday. It was closed to the Public but I let the Raiders staff know that I was a season ticket holder and they let us in.
It was dope. We got to meet damn near the whole team and all the coaches. We even met Terrelle Pryor. Got autographs from everyone.
I'll post pics in a minute.
The D Line is going to be crazy again this season. I think we have the best one in the league. Kamerion Wimbley is a total animal. Taiwan Jones was amazingly fast. McFadden and Ford looked dope. Denaurious Moore was killin it. Campell looked sharp.
I even saw Lito Sheppard out there making plays. Pryor was getting his rhythm down. It was great to see everyone.
I don't think my son will ever forget it.
ummmm... preseason tickets are the same price as far as I know
you can get them for a lot cheaper on sites like stub hub, but that's not gonna boost attendance. That's just season ticket holders selling their tickets because they don't wanna go
the reason our preseason games are blacked out is because our season ticket sales are low
you can get them for a lot cheaper on sites like stub hub, but that's not gonna boost attendance. That's just season ticket holders selling their tickets because they don't wanna go
the reason our preseason games are blacked out is because our season ticket sales are low