Weekly Team Report...

[Angry Pope]

Oakland Raiders Team Report

Posted 18h 49m ago

The Raiders staged an all-out assault that caught just about everyone off guard. Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid admitted as much, and so did some of his players. Mike Martz, an NFL Network analyst and former head coach who has interviewed with the Raiders and knows what owner Al Davis likes in a defense, thought he was watching another team. "They're doing things on defense I've never seen them do before," Martz said. "It's very effective. The Raiders are nearly as synonymous with bringing four-man pressure and backing it with old-school man-to-man defense as Vince Lombardi was with the power sweep in Green Bay. So who were those guys in silver and black, bringing linebackers and safeties early and often against an Eagles team that was a 15-point favorite? And often backing that attack with a Cover 2 zone? Yes, defensive linemen got five of the six sacks on Donovan McNabb, but that was at least in part due to the uncharacteristic aggression in sending extra men to rush the passer as the Raiders put off their season obituary notices for the time being in a 13-9 win over a perennial playoff team. Raiders defenders were almost giddy in the aftermath as if they'd been unchained. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who missed much of the game with vision problems after being poked in the eye by DeSean Jackson, said he'd spent considerable time lobbying for a change-up only to see the Raiders revert to their usual style on Sundays. "Maybe he'll see it actually works, and we'll stick on it," Asomugha said, referring to defensive coordinator John Marshall. "He said he might get hell for it, but he'll keep it going. The element of surprise got Reid, who said he'd been outcoached. Right tackle Winston Justice and right guard Max Jean-Gilles both said they were caught flat-footed, never expecting to see linebackers and safeties coming their way. "They did a lot of things we weren't expecting," Justice said. "We just weren't prepared," Jean-Gilles said. When was the last time you heard an NFL team readily admit they'd been had? Except now the Raiders are on tape, and the element of surprise is gone. Not only that, but their next opponent, the New York Jets, presents a different problem — and not only because they've got a head start in preparing for had what dumbfounded Philadelphia. The Eagles were the perfect team to blitz, and not just because they hadn't anticipated the possibility. Philadelphia was one of the NFL's least persistent rushing teams, ranked 30th in attempts, meaning the Raiders could bring extra men and not be overly concerned with having a back squirt through for a big gain. The Eagles were playing a quarterback, Donovan McNabb, recovering from a cracked rib. They were protecting him with an offensive line that had four of the five men expected to be their starters either out of action or out of position. It was made to order. The whole blitzing issue is an uncomfortable one in Oakland because of the 80-year-old elephant in the room. Davis' involvement in defensive schemes has been noted by colleagues who respect him, such as Bill Belichick (he calls Davis "coach) and former employees who don't, such as Lane Kiffin. It was Kiffin, exaggerating to make a point, who said Davis actually drew up defensive game plans with former coordinator Rob Ryan as Kiffin was in the process of burning his last bridge out of town. When Cable was asked about who Asomugha could be talking about with regard to "yelling Marshall, he looked stricken for a moment and said without a trace of emotion, "I don't know. Maybe it's one of the players. I have no idea. Will we blitz? To me, you blitz based on if you can get there, if you can execute it. We did a great job of that (against Philadelphia). I think so long as we can do it, why not? Cornerback Chris Johnson prides himself on his man-to-man skills — it's what earned him the starting job when DeAngelo Hall was cut last year — but liked the change-up aspect. "We just had a different game plan this week," Johnson said. "The previous two game plans, we had a lot of man going in, but we just kind of switched up on them. In the fourth quarter, with the Eagles needing a first down on third-and-10, McNabb threw a swing pass to Leonard Weaver only to have Johnson come up and make the hit. "It was a soft Cover 2," Johnson said. "He didn't have anything else to go to and it was his last read. It's getting to me now that I'll be respected out in the flat. Linebacker Thomas Howard, who had the lone sack against Philadelphia that didn't come from a defensive end, understands he doesn't play for a team which will go heavy with the blitz. The threat of one — and attacking with a little more frequency — will do just fine. "We're going to mix it up," Howard said. "We're going to go in here and break down film and see how we can get to (Jets quarterback) Mark Sanchez." SERIES HISTORY: 37th regular season meeting. Raiders lead series 20-14-2. Raiders won on Oct. 19 of last season when Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 57-yard field goal — the longest in NFL overtime history — to beat the Jets and Brett Favre 16-13. It was Tom Cable's first win as head coach after taking over for Lane Kiffin. The Jets won the three previous games.

[Angry Pope]

cont'd...

NOTES, QUOTES

—Raiders coach Tom Cable will not face charges in connection with an alleged assault on assistant coach Randy Hanson. The Napa County (Calif.) district attorney's office, which interviewed Hanson and three other Raiders assistants who were witnesses, determined it could not convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Cable was intentionally responsible for Hanson receiving a broken jaw. The DA acknowledged that Cable argued with Hanson and grabbed him by the collar Aug. 5, but he said there was no evidence supporting a criminal prosecution. —Wide receiver Chaz Schilens, out eight weeks with a broken metatarsal in his right foot, practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday and will see considerable action. If all goes as well as it did during practice, Cable said he would play "a ton. Schilens was having an excellent training camp and caught all five passes throw his way from JaMarcus Russell in the first preseason game. He also drew a pass interference penalty which set up a touchdown. "We got some good work in last week. I got some good limited practice and I got some good routes on air. And again this week," Schilens said of re-creating his chemistry with Russell. "We've got a little bit more than a week, and I've also been running routes on off days. Running as much as I can. We'll work on it and fine tune it this week." Raiders wide receivers have caught only 19 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown in five games. There are 38 wide receivers in the NFL with more than 19 receptions and 37 with more than 264 yards. If Schilens were to start, Cable said he wasn't sure whether Louis Murphy (12 catches, 174 yards, one touchdown) or Darrius Heyward-Bey (two catches, 36 yards) would get bumped, although he would expect all three to play. —Murphy has one reception in his last two games but has gained considerable credibility within the locker room for delivering a pair of blocks that enabled Zach Miller to go 86 yards for the touchdown in the win over the Eagles. Miller caught a first-down pass at the 30-yard line, broke free to the right, and was free down the sideline because Murphy took safety Quintin Mikell out of the play. As Miller rumbled down the sideline, Murphy accelerated, and the tight end slowed up just enough to allow the wide receiver to pick off safety Ellis Hobbs at the 5. "Great effort. Great effort. Two big blocks," Cable said. "Zach set up the last one as best he could. Just a great job by those kids. That's guys playing for each other. That's what you're supposed to do. Murphy shrugged off the donut in the game book in favor of the blocks that led to a touchdown. "That's what I'm here to do. I'm here to help," Murphy said. "I want to help the team win, by any means necessary. I didn't have a catch. Doesn't matter. We won. That's all that matters. — Nobody in the locker room has accused Cable of playing favorites, but the coach couldn't help but have a glow about him after running back Justin Fargas gained 87 yards on 24 carries to help the Raiders control the clock against the Eagles. Fargas entered the game with 50 yards on 23 carries this season (missing two games because of injury). He is the Raiders' leading rusher over the past three years, but ended up behind both Darren McFadden and Michael Bush in the pecking order. With McFadden out following minor knee surgery and Bush taking a blow to the back of the head, Fargas made the most of his time against Philadelphia. "I think he and I have a connection since I got here about running the ball and how you do it," Cable said. "I thought he was great in short-yardage situations. That's what you need. You need a guy who will go in there with his shoulders square and stick it up there. That's what he does. Said Fargas: "It felt good to just getting back to doing what we do, being who we are. It's not always pretty, but we can run the ball and we can control and clock and it can open up things in the play-action game like it did today. —While Cable tried to downplay comments by the New York Giants' Antonio Pierce the previous week, where he said the Raiders were lifeless and it was "like a scrimmage the 44-7 loss at the Meadowlands, it seemed clear Pierce's words stung. The quotes were printed out and placed in the locker room and in a hallway of the Raiders facility. "I was surprised that my quotes became bulletin board material. I meant no disrespect by what I said. It was just my opinion of how the game was going," Pierce said in another spot on Sirius Satellite Radio. "I was shocked to see how the Raiders went out and played a very good Eagles team who we know very well. They got motivated by whatever ... if it was my comments, I'm happy because they beat the Eagles. — Fullback Gary Russell, whose five catches for 55 yards and excellent blocking reviews from Cable could earned him another start against the Jets, said he was approached by the coach because of his experience playing with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last season. "He came to me asking what's the difference between here (Oakland) and Pittsburgh, and I was like, 'Man, y'all got a lot more talent than we had in Pittsburgh, but talent doesn't win games,'" Russell said. "And we started breaking it down and I told him that if the guys can get in there and throw their bodies on the line every play we could have a great team. — When cornerback Chris Johnson blew up 250-pound fullback Leonard Weaver for no gain as the Eagles were facing a third-and-10 late in the game, he immediately thought of what his mentor would think. Johnson works every offseason with Deion Sanders, whose cover skills were unmatched but whose tackling and hitting skills were legend in that he didn't have a taste for either. "My mentor wasn't known for hitting. I want to be known as a hitter and a cover man," Johnson said. "I take pride in tackling, so if it's time for me to make a big hit or a big lay, I'm going to do it. Prime Time's critique? "He told me to make sure I don't end up getting hurt trying to knock fullbacks out," Johnson said. —A film clip of a pigeon following the Raiders' kickoff return team down the field made for amusing television, but some of the players took it more seriously. Offensive tackle Cornell Green told teammate Sam Williams, "That was Marquis in reference to Marquis Cooper, the special teams standout who was lost at sea while on a fishing trip on March 1 and presumed dead. Williams, who talks regularly with Cooper's mother, said Donna Cooper thought the same thing. "She said, 'That was Marquis out there with you guys,'" Williams said. BY THE NUMBERS: 64 — The number of catches covering 17 games between touchdowns for Raiders starting tight end Zach Miller, the Raiders' leading receiver for the past three years. QUOTE TO NOTE: "He told me to make sure I don't get hurt trying to knock fullbacks out. — Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson on the message he received from his mentor, the contact-challenged Deion Sanders, after his big hit on 250-pound Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver.

[Angry Pope]

cont'd...

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Chaz Schilens' return to the lineup means a return to the inactive list for Javon Walker, who was active last week and got in for four plays but did not catch a pass. Cable said Walker did not produce, and with practices closed, it's impossible to know how the veteran receiver is playing during the week. Walker is under contract for $2.3 million guaranteed this season and next season, but it's clear the Raiders are making a commitment to their young receivers to develop along with Russell — hence the continued playing time of Heyward-Bey despite having little or no impact in the passing game other than blocking.PLAYER NOTES —WR Chaz Schilens (foot) practiced without limitations Thursday and will play against the Jets, although coach Tom Cable said he hasn't been determined if Schilens would start. —G Cooper Carlisle, nursing an ankle injury and limited earlier in the week, practiced without limitations Thursday and is expected to start against the Jets. —TE Brandon Myers missed practice for the second consecutive day with a stomach ailment and was sent home to recuperate. —FB Luke Lawton has recovered from an ankle injury, but the starter will be Gary Russell, who had five catches for 55 yards against Philadelphia. —LG Robert Gallery (broken fibula) did not practice Thursday and is not expected to play against the Jets. Chris Morris would start in his place. —C Samson Satele played well against the Eagles, and with another strong game against the Jets, he could retain the starting job when Robert Gallery returns. Chris Morris has moved from center to left guard with Gallery sidelined due to a broken fibula. GAME PLAN: The Raiders went of character, blitzing by one count 14 times on passing plays against the Eagles despite blitzing just 20 times in five previous games combined. The Eagles, however, are ranked 30th in rushing attempts and the Jets average 33.5 carries per game. The only chance the Raiders have to get after rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez with extra rushers is to defend the run well enough to get New York into second-and-long and third-and-long situations. They can be expected to dial back the pressure in favor of being fundamentally sound in terms of gaps and fits. Offensively, they'll look to get WR Chaz Schilens involved in safe routes early to build up JaMarcus Russell's confidence, but like the Jets, will be looking to run. New York has given up 143.5 yards per game on the ground in their last four games and Fargas-yard, 24-carry effort against Philadelphia was their top performance of the season. MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Raiders C Samson Satele vs. Jets NT Sione Pouha. Satele, a trade acquisition who started all 32 games he played in Miami, was a disappointment in both line calls and his ability to adapt to a zone blocking system, with Chris Morris winning the job as starting center. When Robert Gallery went out in Week 2, Morris moved to left guard and Satele to starting center. He is coming off his best game against Philadelphia and could well keep the job at center when Gallery returns either next week following the bye. Pouha replaces Kris Jenkins, the immovable middle of the Jets4 defense who went down for the season with a knee injury. Pouha, part of the defensive line rotation, actually has more tackles (26 to 17) than Jenkins but may not require as many double-teams. Jets offensive line vs. Raiders DL Richard Seymour. The Raiders have implemented a similar strategy to the one used by the Patriots when Seymour was a Pro Bowl player in New England: line him up at different spots and create mismatches. Equally adept at blowing up a blocking scheme from the outside or inside, Seymour was devastating against a makeshift Eagles line. Both left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and right tackle Damien Woody should get a piece of the action, and it will be up to one of the league's best centers in Nick Mangold to locate Seymour before the snap and get out the correct instructions for blocking assignments, which include chips and double teams. INJURY IMPACT: With Gallery still out at left guard and Green missing at right tackle, the Raiders will depend on right tackle Erik Pears and versatile Chris Morris as substitutes, with Satele in the middle, against a Jets 3-4 front which likes to overload and blitz. It could mean for an even more conservative game plan than usual.

[RaiderIVlife]

Oh my eyes !!!!!!!

[Armyr8rfan]

Lol, good read AP...Double spacing that bad boy would have made it too long IMO.....You've quickly become one of my must read posters on here, hopefully a few more W's will reel back in some other's who've been scarce.....

[CrossBones]

No sure where AP got that but if it was written like that (with no returns) here's to the author... :spank:

Good read indeed AP...thanks for finding it.

[Madturk]

Welcome back AP. He's the king of posting articles

[CrossBones]

Welcome back AP. He's the king of posting articlesI mean, where does he get those wonderful toys (articles)? :righton:

[Angry Pope]

Thanks guys....

[Xplosive]

Fresh kool-aid after the bye week.


X

[NIPS]

Cables way over his head = absoluetly no creativity

No referses, no bubble screens - nothing

Just awful -

Not to mention the scarecrow from the "Wizard of Oz" at QB

[Angry Pope]

Because I knew you were wondering...

After repeated tries, former Gustavus receiver finally catches on with football league

When you have been released by NFL teams as often as former Gustavus Adolphus wideout Ryan Hoag has — seven times by five organizations, to be precise — you learn to appreciate a moment of success, even if it's not in the league you ultimately hope to be.

Six years after the Oakland Raiders took Hoag with the final pick of the 2003 draft, making him the so-called Mr. Irrelevant (a semi-gag award given to the last player chosen every year), Hoag made the opening-night roster of the New York Sentinels in the United Football League. Never heard of the UFL? It's a four-team startup minor league, and you're probably more familiar with the names of the coaches — Dennis Green and Jim Fassel, to name two — than most of the players.

Hoag harbors the same dream as everyone else, though at 29 the window of opportunity is closing on his fingers. But Hoag's perseverance so impressed the Sentinels head coach Ted Cottrell — yes, the former Vikings' defensive coordinator — that after the final cuts, Cottrell lauded Hoag in a team meeting and asked him to tell the others his story.

Accolades from the coach

"It shocked me," Hoag said in a telephone interview last week. "It was something I didn't see coming.

"It felt good, I'll tell you that. I felt proud to be in that room. To get a shout-out from the head coach in front of the whole team, that was special."

Ryan Hoag's pro football resume reads like that of a guy who can't take a hint. Since Oakland drafted him in '03 after a stellar career with the Division III Gusties, Hoag has been cut by, in order, the Raiders, the Giants, the Vikings (twice), the Redskins (twice), the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He spent parts of four seasons on NFL and CFL practice squads, and was briefly with Berlin in NFL Europe. Hoag has never played a down in the NFL, coming closest in 2004, when he spent three weeks on the Vikings' active roster without suiting up for a game.

So why keep at it? Because as recently as last year, Hoag made it to final cut-down day before the Jaguars released him. He's been so close so many times, he said, that he wants to exhaust every possible chance so he'll have no regrets when he finally moves on to teaching and coaching.

"It's not like I've been going to training camp, I'm a bum, and I'm the first guy cut," Hoag said. "If it came to that, if I'm not cutting it, I'd say I'm not cut out for it and go on to something else."

Old Viking connections
Those old Vikings connections helped Hoag hook on with the Sentinels. Besides Cottrell, the staff includes offensive coordinator Wes Chandler, who was Hoag's receivers coach with the Vikes. And John Tice, brother of Mike and another former Vikes' assistant, coaches the offensive line.

Though Hoag had, by his estimation, his worst training camp ever, his special teams play earned him a roster spot. Hoag has yet to catch a pass in the Sentinels' first two games, but he plays on all four special teams. That's where Hoag pins his NFL hopes.

The UFL has no affiliation with the NFL, but it does have a television contract, with Versus. Though its four franchises bear geographic names, only one is based accordingly. Two train in Orlando, Fla. (New York and Florida) and two in Arizona (California, Las Vegas). Hoag and his teammates practice at the Citrus Bowl and live in a resort near Disney World.

Each team plays six games at various venues. On Thursday, the Sentinels are scheduled to face California in a televised game at Giants Stadium (6 p.m. Central time, Versus). Both teams are 0-2. New York's next two "home" games are at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and then in Hartford, Conn. The Hofstra game had been scheduled for Citi Field, the new home of the New York Mets. The league's championship game will be Nov. 27 in Las Vegas.

He's clearly not doing it for the money but, rather, for the chance to catch on again with a pro team. Best guess: Hoag is probably making at least as much as he would on an NFL practice squad (a minimum of $5,200 a week) but way less than the NFL player minimum (a little more than $18,000 a week).

Hoag said the league allows players to negotiate with NFL teams beginning Nov. 1 and can sign Nov. 20. That's the day the UFL regular season ends, and three days before Hoag turns 30. No wonder Hoag referenced Vince Papale, the subject of the movie "Invincible," as his inspiration. The Eagles signed Papale as a 30-year-old rookie wideout and special-teams player in 1976, and he hung on for three seasons.

"Vince Papale did it," Hoag said, "so why can't I?"