THE OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 OFFSEASON THREAD
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why do you even care? are you a closet raider fan that comes out when they are winning? 2 for 32 means making the right read and the going the right direction with the ball. during this particular drill he completed passes that may have been the wrong read according to the coaching staff, thus, resulting in 0/1. dont get your panties wet seeing this. VY is up to his old feminine tricks and i see you are too.
Here you Mooreblock, pay attention, this is from the article:
(I’ll be honest _ I’m not sure what that means. As poor as Russell was, he completed more than two passes last time. And he sure didn’t appear to have 11 touchdown passes Wednesday. Didn’t get a chance to ask Cable about it because I was involved in another interview at the beginning of the coach’s session. Eleven positive plays, perhaps? Or properly executed plays or reads? If I remember, I’ll try and clear that up next week).
(I’ll be honest _ I’m not sure what that means. As poor as Russell was, he completed more than two passes last time. And he sure didn’t appear to have 11 touchdown passes Wednesday. Didn’t get a chance to ask Cable about it because I was involved in another interview at the beginning of the coach’s session. Eleven positive plays, perhaps? Or properly executed plays or reads? If I remember, I’ll try and clear that up next week).
Offseason spotlight: Finding success in Oakland
Posted about 5 hours ago0 Comments 0 Recommendations E-mail
Offseason spotlight: Finding success in Oakland
NFL.com
Associated Press
JaMarcus Russell's development at quarterback could hinge on coach Tom Cable's plans for the running game.
As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, airing daily on Total Access, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each NFL team.
NFL Network analysts Rod Woodson and Solomon Wilcots discuss the Oakland Raiders. What needs to happen for the Raiders to be successful in 2009?
Read their takes and then enter the discussion below.
Woodson: Raiders have the talent
First of all, JaMarcus Russell needs to improve. He needs to show that he's a starting quarterback in the NFL. That's the first thing. The ability to have a power running game with Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, like they did last year, is the second thing. The third factor is defensive coordinator John Marshall bringing that defense together and getting it to play to its capability.
If the Raiders can do those things, they can definitely turn it around and get some wins.
I think they have the talent to get it done. Now we have to see if they can gel together and do it.
Head coach Tom Cable has put the Raiders into the mindset of being team players under a tough-minded coach. Normally the team emulates the head coach. If you're a tough-minded coach, the team will be tough-minded. If you're soft and crying every day, your team is going to be soft and crying every day.
I think the Raiders are headed in the right direction. I think Cable will be a blue-collar guy and bring his lunchpail to work every day and so will his players.
Wilcots: It starts with the run
The Raiders have to run the ball. It starts there. Coach Cable, a former offensive line coach, prides himself on being very physical and running the football.
The offensive line has performed much better since Cable took over. In my mind, they have to be able to run the ball. Last year they had the 10th-best rushing attack, but they didn't get a lot of rushing TDs -- only nine -- to show for that type of ability.
But look at the way they finished the season. Michael Bush had 177 yards in the season finale; I think he's going to be a star. He's going to break out. Then you throw Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas into the mix and you have three backs with a dominant offensive line, which can maybe mask some of the inabilities of JaMarcus Russell, who isn't fully grown in the passing game.
The Raiders have to run the ball. I think they will be able to. They have home-run hitters -- three runners who can go the distance from anywhere on the field. I have to believe they'll use that to their advantage, and it will go a long way into helping the passing game. It will give Russell a fair chance to develop and improve their overall situation. The running game is key to their improvement.
Posted about 5 hours ago0 Comments 0 Recommendations E-mail
Offseason spotlight: Finding success in Oakland
NFL.com
Associated Press
JaMarcus Russell's development at quarterback could hinge on coach Tom Cable's plans for the running game.
As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, airing daily on Total Access, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each NFL team.
NFL Network analysts Rod Woodson and Solomon Wilcots discuss the Oakland Raiders. What needs to happen for the Raiders to be successful in 2009?
Read their takes and then enter the discussion below.
Woodson: Raiders have the talent
First of all, JaMarcus Russell needs to improve. He needs to show that he's a starting quarterback in the NFL. That's the first thing. The ability to have a power running game with Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, like they did last year, is the second thing. The third factor is defensive coordinator John Marshall bringing that defense together and getting it to play to its capability.
If the Raiders can do those things, they can definitely turn it around and get some wins.
I think they have the talent to get it done. Now we have to see if they can gel together and do it.
Head coach Tom Cable has put the Raiders into the mindset of being team players under a tough-minded coach. Normally the team emulates the head coach. If you're a tough-minded coach, the team will be tough-minded. If you're soft and crying every day, your team is going to be soft and crying every day.
I think the Raiders are headed in the right direction. I think Cable will be a blue-collar guy and bring his lunchpail to work every day and so will his players.
Wilcots: It starts with the run
The Raiders have to run the ball. It starts there. Coach Cable, a former offensive line coach, prides himself on being very physical and running the football.
The offensive line has performed much better since Cable took over. In my mind, they have to be able to run the ball. Last year they had the 10th-best rushing attack, but they didn't get a lot of rushing TDs -- only nine -- to show for that type of ability.
But look at the way they finished the season. Michael Bush had 177 yards in the season finale; I think he's going to be a star. He's going to break out. Then you throw Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas into the mix and you have three backs with a dominant offensive line, which can maybe mask some of the inabilities of JaMarcus Russell, who isn't fully grown in the passing game.
The Raiders have to run the ball. I think they will be able to. They have home-run hitters -- three runners who can go the distance from anywhere on the field. I have to believe they'll use that to their advantage, and it will go a long way into helping the passing game. It will give Russell a fair chance to develop and improve their overall situation. The running game is key to their improvement.
Alston looks for leading role as the heavy
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am in Oakland Raiders.
Time, as well as the ability to shed blockers and make plays during training camp, will determine if Jon Alston is a blown-up safety or a strong sidelinebacker capable of blowing up a sweep to his side.
Although Alston felt the Raiders defense did not perform up to par in Wednesday’s open-to-the-media organized team activity session, his own performance was impressive.
He is one of the most spirited, enthusiastic defenders, playing with a contagious enthusiasm even in the most routine practice sessions. He made a number of plays in the passing game, and positioned himself for would-be stops in non-contact drills against the run.
It is the latter skill which will be tested when the Raiders convene in Napa. In his fourth-year out of Stanford, Alston is a man varied interests. He plays the guitar and has designs on being an actor in his post-football life.
Rather than spend a lot of time with those pursuits, Alston put his mind to packing on some pounds after finishing the season at 214 pounds, making him the smallest strongside linebacker in the league.
At first glance, Alston, with bigger arms and thicker around the neck and shoulders, doesn’t seem to have lost any of his quickness.
Building a body beyond its capacity can have its risks, not only in terms of health but performance. Years ago, the Raiders wanted Lance Johnstone to come in a little heavier so he could advance to something beyond a pass rusher.
Johnstone got heavier all right _ he came in with a gut and a year later he was released and wound up in Minnesota.
A pair of Raiders tight ends, Randal Williams and John Madsen, also got bigger but not necessarily better.
Williams, special teams player and wide receiver, went from a wide receiver in the 200-pound range to a thickly muscled 230-pound plus because Norv Turner wanted him to play tight end. He began to drop passes, experience back trouble and eventually was gone.
The decision with Madsen, a slot receiver at Utah, was to either make him a large wideout in the Ed McCaffrey mold or convert him to tight end. The bigger Madsen got, the more injury-prone he became, and his receiving skills suffered as well.
Alston believes his body has taken to the added weight and thinks he is at an age where he can get bigger as well as better.
Here’s a few questions I asked of Alston as he came off the field Wednesday in a brief interview before Tom Cable went to the podium to address the media:
Q: Is there a lot of difference in what you’re doing defensively this year, or is it just doing things better?
Alston: One of the main things we’re going to be seeing is a strong sense of refinement in this defense. Coach Marshall brings a ton of experience. he’s been in the NFL probably a lot longer than I’ve been alive and one of the things that comes with that is added discipline. We enjoy having him around, and that’s basically what’s going down.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk about how the run defense can be fixed with discipline without a major change in personnel. Is that viable?
Alston: Look at anybody’s life. If you ever want to prove something, you’ve got to know where you messed up, acknowledge that you messed up, then fix those problems piece by piece. Personnel is not going be the issue. We have talent. Everyone knows we have talent. It’s can we play together, can we be disciplined, how much do we care? That’s the test. I think what we have now is a new sense of vigor, especially under coach Cable, in making sure we get stuff done.
It’s not just going to be that we play well once in awhile and that’s good enough. It’s making sure we get this stuff done. It’s got to be every time we play, we play well. Today we didn’t have the best practice, so we have to come out (Thursday) and have a better practice than (Tuesday) _ which was a great practice, especially on the defensive side. Coach Cable let us know, and that’s the biggest part. he let us know we’ve got to go to work.
Q: You were considered a tweener at Stanford, not exactly a safety, not exactly a weakside linebacker. You played on the strong side last year. Is too much made of pigeonholing a player in a certain position or is a football player simply a football player?
Alston: Everybody’s journey in this league is different. I’ve been fortunate enough to put on some weight this offseason. It’s come with age and a lot of hard work, but it’s given me a chance to compete. If they tell me to play SAM, I’ll bulk up and do my best to play SAM. I just want to play.
Q: How much bigger did you get?
Alston: You know what? I probably ended the season around 214 and I’ve gotten up to 235. Right now I’m sitting at 232.
Q: Some players lose their quickness when they bulk up and that’s a big part of your game. But you seem to have kept yours judging from the practice field . . .
Alston: I think it was time for my body to grow a little bit.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am in Oakland Raiders.
Time, as well as the ability to shed blockers and make plays during training camp, will determine if Jon Alston is a blown-up safety or a strong sidelinebacker capable of blowing up a sweep to his side.
Although Alston felt the Raiders defense did not perform up to par in Wednesday’s open-to-the-media organized team activity session, his own performance was impressive.
He is one of the most spirited, enthusiastic defenders, playing with a contagious enthusiasm even in the most routine practice sessions. He made a number of plays in the passing game, and positioned himself for would-be stops in non-contact drills against the run.
It is the latter skill which will be tested when the Raiders convene in Napa. In his fourth-year out of Stanford, Alston is a man varied interests. He plays the guitar and has designs on being an actor in his post-football life.
Rather than spend a lot of time with those pursuits, Alston put his mind to packing on some pounds after finishing the season at 214 pounds, making him the smallest strongside linebacker in the league.
At first glance, Alston, with bigger arms and thicker around the neck and shoulders, doesn’t seem to have lost any of his quickness.
Building a body beyond its capacity can have its risks, not only in terms of health but performance. Years ago, the Raiders wanted Lance Johnstone to come in a little heavier so he could advance to something beyond a pass rusher.
Johnstone got heavier all right _ he came in with a gut and a year later he was released and wound up in Minnesota.
A pair of Raiders tight ends, Randal Williams and John Madsen, also got bigger but not necessarily better.
Williams, special teams player and wide receiver, went from a wide receiver in the 200-pound range to a thickly muscled 230-pound plus because Norv Turner wanted him to play tight end. He began to drop passes, experience back trouble and eventually was gone.
The decision with Madsen, a slot receiver at Utah, was to either make him a large wideout in the Ed McCaffrey mold or convert him to tight end. The bigger Madsen got, the more injury-prone he became, and his receiving skills suffered as well.
Alston believes his body has taken to the added weight and thinks he is at an age where he can get bigger as well as better.
Here’s a few questions I asked of Alston as he came off the field Wednesday in a brief interview before Tom Cable went to the podium to address the media:
Q: Is there a lot of difference in what you’re doing defensively this year, or is it just doing things better?
Alston: One of the main things we’re going to be seeing is a strong sense of refinement in this defense. Coach Marshall brings a ton of experience. he’s been in the NFL probably a lot longer than I’ve been alive and one of the things that comes with that is added discipline. We enjoy having him around, and that’s basically what’s going down.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk about how the run defense can be fixed with discipline without a major change in personnel. Is that viable?
Alston: Look at anybody’s life. If you ever want to prove something, you’ve got to know where you messed up, acknowledge that you messed up, then fix those problems piece by piece. Personnel is not going be the issue. We have talent. Everyone knows we have talent. It’s can we play together, can we be disciplined, how much do we care? That’s the test. I think what we have now is a new sense of vigor, especially under coach Cable, in making sure we get stuff done.
It’s not just going to be that we play well once in awhile and that’s good enough. It’s making sure we get this stuff done. It’s got to be every time we play, we play well. Today we didn’t have the best practice, so we have to come out (Thursday) and have a better practice than (Tuesday) _ which was a great practice, especially on the defensive side. Coach Cable let us know, and that’s the biggest part. he let us know we’ve got to go to work.
Q: You were considered a tweener at Stanford, not exactly a safety, not exactly a weakside linebacker. You played on the strong side last year. Is too much made of pigeonholing a player in a certain position or is a football player simply a football player?
Alston: Everybody’s journey in this league is different. I’ve been fortunate enough to put on some weight this offseason. It’s come with age and a lot of hard work, but it’s given me a chance to compete. If they tell me to play SAM, I’ll bulk up and do my best to play SAM. I just want to play.
Q: How much bigger did you get?
Alston: You know what? I probably ended the season around 214 and I’ve gotten up to 235. Right now I’m sitting at 232.
Q: Some players lose their quickness when they bulk up and that’s a big part of your game. But you seem to have kept yours judging from the practice field . . .
Alston: I think it was time for my body to grow a little bit.
LOUIS MURPHY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT after Wednesday’s practice
Raiders fourth-round draft pick Louis Murphy is competing for a roster spot on a team that needs an upgrade over last year’s receiving corps. He returned to practice this week after missing a lot of time at the mandatory mini camp in early May and the first part of the OTA. Here is a question-and-answer session on Murphy after Wednesday’s practice in Alameda, Calif.:
Q: What happened on the long pass from Bruce Gradkowski that you dropped?
Murphy: “I had a dropped pass today. I wanted to get some deep balls where I had to stop and go back to get the ball. That was pretty much it.”
Q: What prompts you to be so boisterous during practice?
Murphy: “That’s me. I love this game. At Florida, that’s how we won championships—enthusiasm every day and just coming out and making sure everybody stays up. That’s all I know. When they tell me to stop, I’ll stop—until then, I’m going to keep going and try to motivate the receivers and the rest of the players.”
Q: What’s the difference between catching passes from JaMarcus Russell and Jeff Garcia?
Murphy: “All of them throw pretty much the same to me. Honestly, all of them are good quarterbacks. All of them throw it on the money, right out of the breaks, and very few mistakes out of all three of them. J-Rock has a cannon, everybody knows that, but Jeff and Bruce throw really good balls.”
Q: What have you learned in your short time with the Raiders?
Murphy: “The playbook, actually is pretty much similar to Florida’s offense. A lot of what I learned right off the bat is the speed. Linebackers are faster. (Defensive backs) are faster, the linemen are faster, it’s just the speed. The coverages and everything are pretty much the same.”
Q: What is the receiving corps like right now?
Murphy: “Our receiver unit changed around our meeting room so that it’s a circle table instead of chairs. Our whole goal and purpose for this off-season was to just come out and get unity—no individualism because that is going to stop the whole team from going forward. If we all get on the same page and become a strong group, I think that we can all complement each other. (Wide receivers) coach Sanjay (Lal) said we’re going to switch up the meeting room, we’ll have a circle table so we can all look at each other and become more of a family. That’s our whole goal, no individualism, no one’s, two’s, just rotating and trying to make plays. Javon Walker does a lot of talking, a lot of teaching to us.”
Q: How much is Walker helping you acclimate to the pros?
Murphy: “He’s been a big help. He knows the offense like the back of his hand. He comes back and says ‘You know Murph, on this play, you should do it this way.’ That’s what I wanted to have, to come to a team with a veteran receiver that could really help me out.”
Q: How comfortable are you in this offense?
Murphy: “Honestly, it’s just a blessing that coach (Urban) Meyer’s offense (at Florida) is pretty much the same. A lot of the play calling is a lot alike. So getting the playbook is like studying old notes or riding a bike, it’s just coming back to me. Some of the words and terminology are different, but the concepts are the same.
Q: What’s it going to take for the Raiders to become a dominant team once again?
Murphy: “I see the same stages as when I came into Florida, from the freshman year when we went 9-4 to my sophomore year when we won the National Championship. I see the same stages, I think I came in and coach (Brad) Roll, the strength and conditioning coach, said it was the best off-season that they’ve had. And now I just see everyone’s enthusiasm, the locker room, everybody is just ready to play football. I think it’s going to be a big change this year.”"
Raiders fourth-round draft pick Louis Murphy is competing for a roster spot on a team that needs an upgrade over last year’s receiving corps. He returned to practice this week after missing a lot of time at the mandatory mini camp in early May and the first part of the OTA. Here is a question-and-answer session on Murphy after Wednesday’s practice in Alameda, Calif.:
Q: What happened on the long pass from Bruce Gradkowski that you dropped?
Murphy: “I had a dropped pass today. I wanted to get some deep balls where I had to stop and go back to get the ball. That was pretty much it.”
Q: What prompts you to be so boisterous during practice?
Murphy: “That’s me. I love this game. At Florida, that’s how we won championships—enthusiasm every day and just coming out and making sure everybody stays up. That’s all I know. When they tell me to stop, I’ll stop—until then, I’m going to keep going and try to motivate the receivers and the rest of the players.”
Q: What’s the difference between catching passes from JaMarcus Russell and Jeff Garcia?
Murphy: “All of them throw pretty much the same to me. Honestly, all of them are good quarterbacks. All of them throw it on the money, right out of the breaks, and very few mistakes out of all three of them. J-Rock has a cannon, everybody knows that, but Jeff and Bruce throw really good balls.”
Q: What have you learned in your short time with the Raiders?
Murphy: “The playbook, actually is pretty much similar to Florida’s offense. A lot of what I learned right off the bat is the speed. Linebackers are faster. (Defensive backs) are faster, the linemen are faster, it’s just the speed. The coverages and everything are pretty much the same.”
Q: What is the receiving corps like right now?
Murphy: “Our receiver unit changed around our meeting room so that it’s a circle table instead of chairs. Our whole goal and purpose for this off-season was to just come out and get unity—no individualism because that is going to stop the whole team from going forward. If we all get on the same page and become a strong group, I think that we can all complement each other. (Wide receivers) coach Sanjay (Lal) said we’re going to switch up the meeting room, we’ll have a circle table so we can all look at each other and become more of a family. That’s our whole goal, no individualism, no one’s, two’s, just rotating and trying to make plays. Javon Walker does a lot of talking, a lot of teaching to us.”
Q: How much is Walker helping you acclimate to the pros?
Murphy: “He’s been a big help. He knows the offense like the back of his hand. He comes back and says ‘You know Murph, on this play, you should do it this way.’ That’s what I wanted to have, to come to a team with a veteran receiver that could really help me out.”
Q: How comfortable are you in this offense?
Murphy: “Honestly, it’s just a blessing that coach (Urban) Meyer’s offense (at Florida) is pretty much the same. A lot of the play calling is a lot alike. So getting the playbook is like studying old notes or riding a bike, it’s just coming back to me. Some of the words and terminology are different, but the concepts are the same.
Q: What’s it going to take for the Raiders to become a dominant team once again?
Murphy: “I see the same stages as when I came into Florida, from the freshman year when we went 9-4 to my sophomore year when we won the National Championship. I see the same stages, I think I came in and coach (Brad) Roll, the strength and conditioning coach, said it was the best off-season that they’ve had. And now I just see everyone’s enthusiasm, the locker room, everybody is just ready to play football. I think it’s going to be a big change this year.”"
