Week 1 - Oakland vs Tennessee

[Komp]

Any thoughts or predictions prior to the week 1 matchup vs the Titans?

I think we'll come out looking like a better team with Campbell and have a much more balanced passing attack. Ultimately, I think our OL and Vince Young's legs (not Chris Johnson's) will put us under in the end for a tough road loss to open the season. I am quite worried that our LB core will have a hard time containing Young and preventing some big gains on some of the passing downs where he breaks loose.

24-17 - Titans

[RaiderNation]

Their defense is overall young but talented so it will be nice to see our offence go up against them. Our defense has one job to do, stop CJ2K. I will let VY pass all over us, we just have to contain CJ2K to no big runs, he will get his 100 yards but hopefully no 20+ yard runs.

Prediction:20-17 Raiders

[Stash]

Should be a close game. Tennessee is hard to place; they have CJ2K and a great o-line but there D isn't what it was when they had Fat Albert and Jim Schwartz.

[bernbabybern820]

I too am worried about Young's scrambling ability, especially with the scheme that Al loves. Man to man defense without a spy is going to mean lots of running space for Young.

[SwagU]

What a way to test the run defense then by going up against CJ2K. Wonder how Bush is goona be running with that heavy wrapping on his hand? I think our run game is our big key to scoring points. In both getting some good yardage, and hopefully bringing in the DB's so we can also go deep. We also have to convert in the Red Zone to keep this one close.

I say 20-14 Raiders

[619]

I have a hard time seeing our receivers getting off the Titans' press; they've got a solid, grubby corner duo that will be no fun match this week. The key for us, as it usually is, will be to use the run to set up the PA pass, which should be especially key versus the Titans' undisciplined safeties. I could see some big gains from Miller and McFadden (maybe even Reece? :D) based off such an offensive gameplan.

[_YL_]

Raiders 17 Titans 13

One thing that will help Oakland is that the Titans DT's are really thin so Veldheer,Gallery and Carlise should really have no problem getting a push in the run game

We need to expose there linebackers and get Miller and McFadden out there so they have to cover them.McFadden should have a very nice day receiving the ball.

[RaiderNation]

We signed Jay Alford today, should only help our run D

[RaiderNation]

Reports saying Trevor Scott will start at RDE :( No idea what we are thinking, Shaughnessy is clearly the better player

[619]

Originally Posted by RaiderNation

Reports saying Trevor Scott will start at RDE :( No idea what we are thinking, Shaughnessy is clearly the better player

He hasn't put on the required muscle mass to start in the trenches, at least not to my knowledge. Really, what the **** are we thinking? Our run defense is gonna blowww. I still doubt they leave him out there on run downs, especially against a mammoth like Roos this week.

[RaiderNation]

Originally Posted by 619

He hasn't put on the required muscle mass to start in the trenches, at least not to my knowledge. Really, what the **** are we thinking? Our run defense is gonna blowww. I still doubt they leave him out there on run downs, especially against a mammoth like Roos this week.

Seems like a decision only one man can make... Al Davis. Hopefully Shaugnessy gets more playing time even though Scott gets the start on paper.

[EvilNixon]

Trevor is a better overall player than Shaughnessy..I just don't think we'll contain CJ. VY shouldn't have a big day, but our offense doesn't inspire any confidence for me.

[DoughBoy]

Originally Posted by _YL_

Raiders 17 Titans 13

One thing that will help Oakland is that the Titans DT's are really thin so Veldheer,Gallery and Carlise should really have no problem getting a push in the run game

We need to expose there linebackers and get Miller and McFadden out there so they have to cover them.McFadden should have a very nice day receiving the ball.

I don't agree with this statement because DT is the position we have the most depth at on the entire roster (Tony Brown and Jason Jones both bordering on becoming elite players). However, I do think McFadden could have a nice day receiving because our linebacker unit is basically brand new with the exception of Stephen Tulluch and one of our starters going into the game is a career back-up in Colin Allred. I'm even more worried about Zach Miller seeing how TEs tore us a new asshole in pretty much every game last year.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

It's going to be Oakland's passing attack versus Tennessee's running attack. Right now, Tennessee's rushing attack is fantastic and Oakland's pass attack is, at best, fairly decent. It'll take some luck to leave Tennessee with a win, because only a miracle will keep Chris Johnson under 120 yards on the ground against our defense. Oakland may have shored up their interior run defense this year, but they are terrible at holding the edge right and it doesn't help in the slightest that the best defensive end we have at holding the edge, Shaughnessy, has apparently been benched for some reason. I imagine he'll get a lot of field time, but it's still frustrating.

Oakland has the goods to stymie Vince Young and likewise the Titans will probably shut down Oakland's run attack if Michael Bush can't reliably tote the ball. That said, the short range pass attack, featuring McFadden and Miller, could get some really big chunks of yardage.

Should be a good game. If any team is going to run away with it though, it'll be the Titans.

[RaiderNation]

Originally Posted by EvilNixon

Trevor is a better overall player than Shaughnessy..I just don't think we'll contain CJ. VY shouldn't have a big day, but our offense doesn't inspire any confidence for me.

No way Scott is bad against the run. Shaughnessy has shown he is atleast decent at both pass and run defense. Scott needs to be a back up DE and OLB

EDIT:Heres the depth chart that was updated today...

Offense

WR
12 Darrius Heyward-Bey
15 Johnnie Lee Higgins
12 Jacoby Ford

LT
75 Mario Henderson
69 Khalif Barnes

LG
76 Robert Gallery
69 Khalif Barnes
60 Daniel Loper

C
68 Jared Veldheer
64 Samson Satele

RG
66 Cooper Carlisle
74 Bruce Campbell

RT
70 Langston Walker
69 Khalif Barnes

TE
80 Zach Miller
83 Brandon Myers

WR
81 Chaz Schilens
18 Louis Murphy
89 Nick Miller

FB
45 Marcel Reece

RB
20 Darren McFadden/29 Michael Bush
25 Rock Cartwright
32 Michael Bennett

QB
8 Jason Campbell
5 Bruce Gradkowski
7 Kyle Boller

Defense

DE
99 Lamarr Houston
77 Matt Shaughnessy

DT
92 Richard Seymour
90 Desmond Bryant
94 Jay Alford

DT
93 Tommy Kelly
79 John Henderson
94 Jay Alford

DE
91 Trevor Scott
77 Matt Shaughnessy

OLB
52 Quentin Groves
53 Thomas Howard

MLB
55 Rolando McClain
57 Ricky Brown
50 Travis Goethel

OLB
96 Kamerion Wimbley
54 Sam Williams

SS
33 Tyvon Branch
34 Mike Mitchell

FS
24 Michael Huff
31 Hiram Eugene

CB
21 Nnamdi Asomugha
22 Walter McFadden

CB
26 Stanford Routt
37 Chris Johnson
23 Jeremy Ware

Specialists

K
11 Sebastian Janikowski

P
9 Shane Lechler

LS
59 Jon Condo
80 Zach Miller

KOR
13 Yamon Figurs
25 Rock Cartwright
12 Jacoby Ford

PR
13 Yamon Figurs
15 Johnnie Lee Higgins
89 Nick Miller

H
9 Shane Lechler
5 Bruce Gradkowski

[_YL_]

I hope Jay Alford can play on Sunday he can give us a good 20 snaps and it will be helpful I also heard Cable say that he will play end.

[Stash]

I don't understand why we drafted Ford if we aren't even going to use him in the return game.

[RaiderNation]

Bush didnt practice today but Cable is saying he expect him to play but its still considered a game time decision.

[TitanHope]

I ain't sleepin' on you guys. Gonna be a great game!

Best of luck and here's to no injuries! *cheers*

[RaiderNation]

The media met with Raiders defensive coordinator John Marshall for the first time this season, and here's his take on the Trevor Scott move and rookie starters Rolando McClain and Lamarr Houston:

On moving Scott from LB to DE:

"He's one of the 11 best that we've got and he needs to be in that group, so we're putting him, and he's versatile, and he just wants to play. He wasn't moved because he couldn't play linebacker, if that's your question, he was moved because we had another guy that we wanted to get in that 11."
On new starting outside linebacker Quentin Groves:

"He's what we expected. He's still got the same speed God gave him and what we saw from him is what we're getting on the field, and he's a smart young man, he loves to play, and so he's added into the package real well.

He had to grow into the position because he's never played, really, behind the ball. When he was with the other teams, he was an outside linebacker, an outside linebacker on the line of scrimmage. When you go behind the ball, then you've got a lot of different reads, you’ve got to read guards pulling, it's a lot more involved.

On McClain:

"I think he's right there with Lofa Tatupu at this point. Lofa came in, just a tremendous aptitude for football. He understood football, and so does Rolando. Obviously his head coach at Alabama spent time with him and has schooled him real well. He understands concepts, he understands strengths and weaknesses, and of course, being big and fast, that helps. So he's made a great transition. ...

"It's a ton of pressure. He's got run things out there, and in order to be the leader that that position has to be, he has to be respected, and the players do respect him, and obviously he's got to be able to make plays, make the plays a Mike linebacker should make. So he's the third in my career, he's the third rookie Mike linebacker I've had. (Other two are Tatupu and Carolina's Lester Towns in 2000)."

On Houston:

"He's a man, and (at camp) when the offense, sometimes, not all the time, sometimes they hold and they do some things that upset him, and he let 'em know, that's not happening with this guy. He kind of put his foot down and took a stand, and I think the other players respect him for it.

"But he's a baller, he's a ball-player, just loves to play football, he loves to practice, just like yesterday in pass rush, he beat somebody, I won't say who, and he was just laughing like crazy. And the next time, the offensive lineman was upset, and he kind of half-way beat him again, but the offensive lineman threw him down. We'll, he got up laughing and said, 'That's what happens -- when you get beat, you get mad.' He has fun out here."

On the team's versatility:

"You've got an addition like (Jeremy) Ware, who can move all over in the secondary. He's got safety material. ... He could be a safety. He plays the nickel position. He plays the corner. There's a lot of versatility with our players. Especially, you had veterans that were here, you have Tyvon and Michael Huff, they can both play corner, they can play the nickel position, so they're really versatile back there.

"Trevor, as a linebacker was also a third down rusher, same thing with Wimbley, he goes in there on third down. So there's a lot of versatility. Then you take a guy like Lamarr. Lamarr plays defensive end and he can go inside. That really helps you out, especially in this league when you can get so many injuries and you don't have to change things or panic."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...entry_id=72034

Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour told the Three Hour Lunch radio show on WGFX in Nashville (Via sportsradiointerviews.com) that the Raiders would stop Chris Johnson and that he believed that former quarterback JaMarcus Russell was a "Good Guy."

On JaMarcus Russell:

“I think it’s very unfortunate. I think obviously if he could change a few things, I think he would. I think it’s definitely been an unfortunate situation as talented a guy as he is. Talent only gets you so far in this league. I think he understands that now and he’s willing to put in the work to turn things around. I know personally, just from being around him, he’s a really good guy… I think he’s always been that talented guy that maybe didn’t have to work as hard in high school or in college because he was always better than everybody. At the quarterback position, being around guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and seeing those guys put in the work, and even Jason Campbell now, it’s a level that the quarter back has to be a coach on the field. He was still developing into that player, into that guy. But, that didn’t happen fast enough for the organization.”

He also talked about having played in the 3-4 defense in New England and in the Raiders 4-3 scheme. He was a defensive end in the 3-4, then played mostly defensive end in the 4-3 his first year in Oakland, However in 2010 he will be primarily inside at 3 technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 hybrid.

“One of the things that I proud myself on because I’ve played in the 3-4. I’ve played in the 4-3. As a defensive lineman, you want to pride yourself as the type of player that can play in any system. Whether it’s the 3-4, the 4-3, you want to say, ‘Hey, I’m a guy that can stay on the field versus the run, versus the pass, short yardage situation, long yardage passing situation.’ You always want to be a guy that the team can depend on to do everything. That’s one of the challenges where have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey I can play in any system on any team.’ If there is one defensive lineman that you want, you always want to be that guy… You don’t have the opportunity to make as many big plays in the 3-4 defense. Because in the 43, you penetrate, get up the field, be more disruptive. In the 34 defense, you are still knocking the guys back, but it’s a situation where the linebackers are really making more plays in the defense. You need to be a team guy to do it. I did that eight years in New England. If you look the success that we had, it wasn’t about one guy. It was about the total team success. For me personally, I’ll give up some personal success if it can put some rings on your finger.”

Seymour was effusive in his praise of new quarterback Jason Campbell. He said that the best defense is to keep the offense on the field and sustain drives, that was a problem all last season.

“It’s really been good. Last year, teams were able to just run the clock out – some guys in the second quarter going into halftime. Offensively, I think we have definitely made some strides and I think Jason’s been a leader for us and we are going to need that. I always feel that our best defense is keeping the offense on the field and continue to sustain drives.”

He was asked if the Raiders could stop Chris Johnson.

“Of course we are.”

Nice reads

[thenewfeature06]

Im glad we picked up a guy like Houston who truly has passion for the game to go along with his talent.

[Xonraider]

I have a really hard time picturing us winning this one, but I think it is going to be close. This will be a really hard test for McClain and his crew.

[RaiderNation]

I like this game because its not against a elite level team but a real test against a overall good team with one of the most talented RB in the league. All the talk about the defense changing schemes and saying their one goal is to stop the run, now we get to see if its true. Also the offence doesnt go against a great D but a good young one so we can see who improved over the off season. Overall I dont really care if we win this one game, I just want to see us compete the whole 60 mins of football

[locseti]

Chris Johnson will carve up the run d, it's going to be a familiar sight in that element of the game. Trevor Scott should he coming in on passing downs, shaughnessy is much more stout against the run and that's what we really should be concerned with in this game. Like somebody else mentioned, why is figurs returning punts over ford and jlh? That guy had a shotty preseason and gets rewarded. Our special teams has been terrible with fassels kid, hopefully he will be shown the door soon.

[EvilNixon]

I'm so excited. I hope we can at least not let CJ rip off some huge gains. TN's o-line is beastly.