Team Report 11-10-2009...

[Angry Pope]

Raiders report: Inside slant

Nov. 10, 2009


The Raiders' ailing offense was closer to full strength than at any time this season as they took the field Monday following their bye week.

Wide receiver Chaz Schilens, out since Aug. 18 with a broken fifth metatarsal on his left foot, was running routes with the wide receivers. Running back Darren McFadden, who missed four games after surgery to repair a torn meniscus, was with the running backs, including Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.

The offensive line had two players back in left guard Robert Gallery, out with a broken left fibula sustained in Week 2, and right tackle Cornell Green, who missed four games with a calf strain, were also on the field and working with the first team.

"This is the healthiest this football team has been, there's no question," coach Tom Cable said. "Particularly on offense."

Considering that Schilens hasn't played yet this season, and that Fargas opened the season with a hamstring strain which meant the Raiders spent much of the early part of the season less than three healthy and dependable running backs, injuries shouldn't be a factor as they open the second half of the season against the Chiefs.

Cable's own job situation is tenuous with the club -- the Raiders have said they will look into allegations made in an ESPN report about a violent history toward women -- but he sounds eager to be at something approximating full strength.

"I just feel like there have been obvious issues that are out of our control," Cable said. "I'm not an excuse guy, but I think not having enough quality people on offense has really hindered us."

Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who opened the season playing with a chip fracture on one hand and has battled a hip injury, is no fan of the Raiders record at the midway point (he's been 2-6 in his five of six seasons and 3-5 in the other) he likes what he sees physically.

"We're getting healthy, and that's a great thing," Asomugha said. "It's never good going into the ninth week at 2-6. No one's happy with that. The fact that we're getting healthy and had a bye week to see where we stand is going to help us out a lot."

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[Angry Pope]

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--Center Samson Satele got off to a slow start, going from a power-blocking system to a zone-blocking scheme which places a premium on quickness and agility.

Chris Morris won the job as starting center coming out of camp, with Satele getting his chance when Morris moved to left guard to replace Robert Gallery.

The third-year center out of Hawaii played well enough to keep the job and was described by Cable as one of the pleasant developments in an overall disappointing first half of the season.

"Now I've got this offense down and I can just go and run with it," Satele said. "It's my job to lose, I guess."

Satele said he has benefited from Cable's presence during practice and meetings. As the line struggled, Cable, the line coach before being named head coach, took a more active role with the line with Jim Michalczik often watching Cable run the drills

--Left guard Robert Gallery, in his sixth season, has grown up as a professional in one of the sport's most volatile organization, but has done his best to keep outside distractions out of view.

Cable is Gallery's fourth head coach, following Norv Turner, Art Shell and Lane Kiffin.

Within the last two years have been Davis' public firing of Kiffin -- whose status was the subject of firing stories since the end of the previous season -- and the issues with Cable regarding the alleged attack on Randy Hanson as well the ESPN story about the coach's history of violence toward women.

"I think if you're winning you can overlook that kind of stuff," Gallery said. "I've been here six years and talking about it doesn't do any good. You do what you can. You can only look the mirror and ask yourself if you did all you can do."

PLAYER NOTES

--DT William Joseph was signed to the roster for the third time this season.

--WR/KR Nick Miller said his leg (broken tibia) was still sore and his return looks to be at least a week away. Miller was the week of the season opener.

--DT Tommy Kelly missed practice due to a "personal issue" and is expected to practice Wednesday and start against Kansas City.

--DE Greg Ellis missed practice after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last week.

--CB Chris Johnson was limited with a groin strain but is expected to play against Kansas City.

--RB Darren McFadden was limited but should play against the Chiefs although his role is undetermined.


REPORT CARD AFTER EIGHT GAMES

PASSING OFFENSE

F -- Ranked 31st in yardage at 122.1 yards per game and has generated two touchdown passes all season. JaMarcus Russell is completing less than 50 percent of his passes with nine interceptions, five lost fumbles and a 48.3 quarterback rating. The Raiders' wide receivers have been non-existent, led by rookie fourth-round pick Louis Murphy (16 receptions, 232 yards). Fellow rookie starter Darrius Heyward-Bey has 5 catches for 74 yards. The only reliable receiver is tight end Zach Miller (28 receptions, 421 yards).

RUSHING OFFENSE

D-minus -- Was supposed to be a strength, but the three-headed monster of Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Michael Bush is ranked 26th with 93.6 yards per game. McFadden missed the last four games following arthroscopic knee surgery and was averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. Fargas and Bush are at 3.7. The Raiders have four rushing touchdowns and a high of 148 yards in Week 1.

PASS DEFENSE

C-plus -- Surrendering 212.2 yards per game, 13th in the NFL, and has given up a respectable eight touchdown passes. Teams seldom test cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, with Chris Johnson victimized by a handful of big plays on the other side. Strong safety Tyvon Branch leads all NFL safeties in tackles, and Michael Huff, thought to be near bust status, has been a pleasant surprise as the free safety. Pass rush ranges from invisible to very good on occasion. Ends Richard Seymour and Greg Ellis have four sacks each.

RUSH DEFENSE

D-minus -- Here we go again. A constant weakness during the six-year tenure of Rob Ryan, the steady beat of yardage and first downs continues with John Marshall at the helm. The Raiders are giving up 161.0 yards, 29th in the NFL. Opponents have 13 rushing touchdowns and 70 first downs rushing. Gave up more than 200 yards rushing twice (215 to Denver, 220 to the New York Giants) and 316 yards to the Jets -- games which they lost by a combined 105-10.

SPECIAL TEAMS

B-minus -- Shane Lechler could rewrite punting records and is averaging 52.3 yards per punt and 44.9 net. Place-kicker Sebastian Janikowski is 12-for-12 in field goal attempts and has eight touchbacks despite having kicked off only 26 times -- a 30.3 percentage that is fourth in the NFL. Coverage units have been so-so, return game has been abysmal. The Raiders are averaging just 19 yards per kickoff return and 3.2 yards per punt return.

COACHING

C-minus -- Inexplicable now-shows against division rival Denver, the Giants in the Meadowlands and the Jets at home showed a team unenthusiastic and ill-prepared. Training camp strategy of working overtime on the pass and assuming the running game would remain strong backfired -- through eight games, the Raiders do neither well. Strategy to bring extra pressure for a week against Philadelphia paid dividends but hasn't resulted in a more aggressive approach. Cable has been head coach for 20 games and nine times his teams have lost by three or more touchdowns.

[Angry Pope]

Don't know where to post this..

SeatGeek Launches NFL Ticket Price Forecasts

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 11, 2009 -- SeatGeek, the leading provider of price forecasting software for sports and concert tickets, today announced the launch of NFL ticket price forecasts. Available for free to all sports and music fans, www.seatgeek.com informs fans when tickets are selling at bargain prices and provides them instant access to the best deals from secondary markets like eBay, Razorgator, Stubhub, and TicketNetwork. With this latest addition, SeatGeek’s event coverage now includes NFL, MLB and concert tickets, and will be expanded to NBA and NHL games later this year.

SeatGeek earned industry accolades from publications such as Fast Company, the LA Times, and CNET when it debuted its consumer application in September at the 2009 TechCrunch50 Conference. VentureBeat and CNet identified SeatGeek as one of the top five startups to watch.

SeatGeek is the first company to employ complex statistical analysis to forecast NFL and other events ticket prices, with an accuracy rate exceeding 80%. Constantly integrating data on injuries, winning streaks, trades and other variables, SeatGeek updates its forecasts on a real-time basis. To ensure they buy tickets at the optimal time, fans can closely monitor these forecasts by signing up for SeatGeek’s free email alerts.

“Like most sports fans, we had a difficult time knowing whether we were paying too much or too little for sports tickets at any given point in time,” explains Co-Founder Russell D’Souza, a New York Giants fan. “With SeatGeek, we’ve removed much of the guesswork. While we could have released NFL forecasts sooner, we held off to enhance the experience for football fans and ensure that the trends we identified for previous seasons held true this year as well. In the process, we have already noticed some interesting themes.”

According to SeatGeek, this season, the Green Bay Packers have sold at the highest ticket premium, averaging 298% of face value on the secondary market. The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears have placed second and third, as their tickets have sold at 243% and 242% of face value respectively. Remarkably, a few teams are so cold this year that their tickets are reselling below face value. Tickets for the struggling Oakland Raiders have sold at 82% of face value on the secondary market while fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars have scooped tickets for 83% of their original price.

However, the real winners are not necessarily the “hottest teams.” SeatGeek calculates that tickets for the Dallas Cowboys sell at 96% of face value today, whereas six years ago tickets for the Cowboys sold on average at 186% of face value. What changed? In 2009, the Cowboys moved to a new stadium and nearly doubled most ticket prices. By raising ticket prices, the Cowboys captured revenue that once went to brokers and ticket resellers.

So, which NFL games are good buys now, and which ones are likely to be bargains later? It all depends on the game. Currently, SeatGeek forecasts ticket prices to jump when the hapless Detroit Lions face the red-hot Minnesota Vikings on November 15th, 2009. On the other hand, Chicago Bears fans should sit tight for now, and sign up for a pricing alert, if they want to catch the Philadelphia Eagles play at Soldier Field on November 22nd, 2009.

ABOUT SEATGEEK

With patent-pending technology , SeatGeek uniquely provides sports and entertainment fans with ticket pricing insight. The company helps fans identify the best deals and buy tickets for concerts and sports events on the secondary market, from sites like StubHub and eBay. Consumers rely on SeatGeek to determine whether ticket prices for an event will increase or decrease in the future. With this information they can determine the optimal time to buy tickets, thereby saving money.

The SeatGeek analytics team can fulfill data requests for journalists and bloggers. Simply email ticketologist(at)seatgeek(dot)com if you are covering the NFL, MLB, or live music and want to include ticket trend information.

[Angry Pope]

Midseason Report...
PFW

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos

Biggest surprise: It has to be a surprise that head coach Josh McDaniels' plan, once widely panned by observers, is working so well in his first year. It looked like the franchise was heading in a downward spiral ever since Jay Cutler was traded, but this has been one of the more impressive teams thus far, and McDaniels deserves a great deal of credit for turning things around so quickly.

Biggest disappointment: There have been few disappointments for Denver, but shaky special-teams play has been a problem. Second-year P Brett Kern didn't improve after showing promise as a rookie last year, and he was cut during the bye week. Field-goal protection also has been less than ideal, and mistakes on special teams in Week Five vs. the Patriots almost cost Denver a win.

Fantasy MVP: His numbers aren't overwhelming, but Kyle Orton has been a steady fantasy player this season. He has mostly avoided mistakes — he had made only one turnover in the first seven games before throwing three picks in Week Nine — and has thrown at least one TD in all but the past two games.

Assistant coach on the rise: Offensive coordinator/QB coach Mike McCoy has had his profile enhanced this season. He's not the play-caller in Denver, as McDaniels handles those duties, but don't discount what learning from McDaniels can do for a coach. McCoy has helped oversee Orton's development since taking over, and that is sure to impress some higher-ups around the league.

Fearless prediction: Despite their thrilling start, the Broncos will have to fight off a late surge from the Chargers for the AFC West title and will finish just one game better than San Diego before exiting the playoffs in the second round.



Kansas City Chiefs

Biggest surprise: The Chiefs were hoping to find a diamond in the rough when they used the final pick of the 2009 draft on PK Ryan Succop — and it looks like they did. Succop not only has shown surprising accuracy, hitting 11-of-14 field-goal attempts, but his range has been impressive, as well. The rookie has drilled five kicks from 40 yards and beyond, including one from 53 yards.

Biggest disappointment: During a season in which K.C. needed RB Larry Johnson to be effective to take pressure off the passing game, L.J. was been anything but, gaining 2.7 yards per carry with zero TDs. He then decided to become a distraction to the franchise, making offensive remarks that got him suspended for two weeks and then released.

Fantasy MVP: On an offense in which nobody is putting up impressive stats, WR Dwayne Bowe gets this distinction almost by default. Despite missing one game due to injury, he still has 23 catches for 301 yards and four TDs, numbers worthy of a No. 3 fantasy receiver. While expectations were much higher for Bowe coming into 2009, his production is more than acceptable considering the lifelessness of this offense.

Assistant coach on the rise: In his first season as a full-time special-teams coach, Steve Hoffman has done a remarkable job in Kansas City. He has helped make a good punter in Dustin Colquitt even better, and he's had a lot to do with the rapid emergence of Succop. The Chiefs' coverage units have also been very solid, helping them win the hidden-yardage battle.

Fearless prediction: Opponents will overlook the Chiefs in the second half, but they shouldn't. With a very manageable schedule and a head coach in Todd Haley who will have them fighting tooth and nail to win each game, Kansas City will win at least 3-4 games in the final two months, springing a major upset along the way. Haley will also do enough to show he deserves another year at the helm.



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[Angry Pope]

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Oakland Raiders

Biggest surprise: Rookie WR Louis Murphy, a fourth-round pick, has more than three times as many catches as the Raiders' second-ranked wide receiver in receptions. That's troubling or impressive, depending on your perspective. Murphy has outplayed and outworked first-round selection Darrius Heyward-Bey and is one of QB JaMarcus Russell's more trusted targets.

Biggest disappointment: This was supposed to be the year that Russell figured things out, but he still looks as confused as ever. Russell has regressed from where he was at the end of last season. He still hasn't shown the commitment and leadership that head coach Tom Cable publicly called him out for lacking, and it looks as if he might never develop into a decent quarterback.

Fantasy MVP: No offensive player has been particularly impressive for the Raiders, but the closest thing to a fantasy MVP is TE Zach Miller. With a better quarterback and supporting cast, Miller would be a fantasy stud, but he's being held back in Oakland. His yardage numbers are decent for a tight end, but he's scored only one TD.

Assistant coach on the rise: No Raiders assistant is on the rise at the moment, but WR coach Sanjay Lal has a chance to make a name for himself if he can help develop a young corps of pass catchers into a reliable group. If rookie WRs Murphy and Heyward-Bey become the kind of weapons the Raiders think they can be, Lal could become an in-demand coach.

Fearless prediction: Tom Cable will not harm anyone in the next few months, but he will be fired at the end of the season, and Al Davis will hire a new head coach for the sixth time in the past nine years.



San Diego Chargers

Biggest surprise: Although WR Vincent Jackson was great last season, he has taken his game to another level in '09. No longer strictly a deep threat, Jackson has surpassed TE Antonio Gates as Rivers' go-to guy. Not only does he already have four 100-yard outings, but he also is among the NFL leaders in receiving yards and TD grabs.

Biggest disappointment: A year removed from reconstructive knee surgery, OLB Shawne Merriman wasn't expected to be an All-Pro this season, but he was being counted on to make a big impact. Dealing with a nagging groin injury as well, Merriman didn't record a sack until Week Eight, and he has not been a consistently disruptive force. That said, he did notch two sacks last week, providing hope that he's in store for a big second half.

Fantasy MVP: Despite not being drafted as a No. 1 receiver in most fantasy leagues, Jackson has played like one through the first half. Not only does he have 722 yards and seven TDs, but he's been a consistent producer, posting double-digit fantasy points in all but one game. With a strong final two months, he could wind up as the top wideout in all of fantasy football.

Assistant coach on the rise: Despite having one of the league's more talented secondaries, the Chargers finished 31st in pass defense last season, prompting them to bring in a new DB coach to right the ship. That's exactly what Steve Wilks has done this year, helping elevate San Diego's pass "D" into the top five. His work is most noticeable in CB Antonio Cromartie, who's playing at a much higher level after altering his technique a bit.

Fearless prediction: Although they've gotten back into the hunt in the AFC West, the Chargers will ultimately fall one game short of the Broncos and miss the playoffs. After falling short of expectations yet again, head coach Norv Turner will finally get the ax as San Diego tries to score a big-name head coach this offseason.