Raiders fall to Dolphins 15-17

The Oakland Raiders lost a hard fought game Sunday in Miami, falling to the Dolphins 15 to 17.  The fourth straight loss for the Raiders sends them to 2-8, while the resurgent Dolphins are now standing at 6-4.  The Raiders travel to Denver to play the Broncos at Invesco Field Sunday.  With 38 seconds left in the game, rookie Miami kicker Dan Carpenter nailed a 38 yard field goal to give the Dolphins the go-ahead points and the win.  Oakland has now gone 13 consecutive quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown.

With no offensive touchdown to speak of, the Raiders scored on a 93 yard punt return from Johnnie Lee Higgins with 4:30 left to play to give Oakland their first lead.  Dolphin QB Chad Pennington then moved his team in 10 plays, including a 7 yard pass on 4th & 5 to Ted Ginn Jr to keep the drive alive.  Carpenter then nailed the game winning 38 yard field goal shortly afterwards to give Miami the win.  Coach Tom Cable said of the game “This is good for us.  It hurts because we lost, but we are getting closer.  We’ve just got to keep pounding away, and we will get a break one of these days.”

Oakland generated only 2 field goals on offense, and scored a safety on Jay Richardson’s sack of Pennington in the end zone.  QB JaMarcusRussell returned after missing last weeks game with a knee injury, and went 15 for 22 for 156 yards.  Miami sacked Russell 6 times.  Raider rookie RB Darren McFadden played for the first time in 4 games after sitting out with turf toe.  He carried 3 times for 13 yards as the Raiders totaled only 70 yards rushing.

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Report Says Fassel Writes Letter to Davis Wanting to be Coach

It looks as if the Raiders are going to be on the coaching search again at the end of the year, and one guy who reportedly has already put his name in the mix is former Giants head coach Jim Fassel.  ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting that Fassel actually sent a handwritten letter to Raiders owner Al Davis, telling the owner how much respect and admiration he has for Davis, and that he’d like to be the teams coach in 2009.  Fassel was a front-runner for the Redskins job this past offseason, but then they went in another direction with Jim Zorn.  We’ll see if he’s in the mix come this offseason for a spot with the team.

Receiver Javon Walker done for year

Although no official announcement has been made, and Coach Tom Cable did not mention it during his daily meeting with the media Thursday, reports out of Oakland are saying that Oakland Raider wide receiver Javon Walker is scheduled to undergo ankle surgery in the very near future and is out for the remainder of the season.  

Walker told reports Thursday that his season is over after injuring his left ankle during the Raiders 17-6 loss to Carolina last Sunday.  Walker was not at practice, but walked into the Oakland locker room using a pair of crutches and wearing a high protective boot on his left foot.  Walker told reporters ” I am done for the season. They have to put some screws in.” 

Walker injured himself while making a 14 yard catch in the second quarter against Carolina.  He limped off the field, but later returned to make another catch in the second half.  Even though he was able to finish the game, he did not practice Wednesday, and had tests done Thursday.   Coach Cable apparently had not spoken to Javon, and was unaware of his status. 

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Offensive Coordinator Knapp Stripped of Play Calling Duties

The Raiders offense has been awful during parts of the 2008 season, and now the team is doing something about it, as offensive coordinator Greg Knapp has been stripped of the play calling duties according to the Oakland Tribune. Tom Cable, acting head coach, is taking over the duties, meaning that he is the third different coach to call offensive plays in Oakland in 08.

Reports say that Cable called the plays Sunday during the Raiders 17-6 loss at home to Carolina. The move likely was made quickly after the team put up just 77 yards and three first downs against the Falcons at home during a 24-0 loss two weeks ago.

McFadden Could Return This Week from Toe Injury

The Raiders may get a lift in the running game, and first round draft chocie rookie back Darren McFadden could return as early as this week from a toe injury that has kept him out.  Coach Tom Cable said that McFadden could be back in the lineup against the Dolphins.  He is trying to come back from a nasty turf toe injury on both feet.  He will no longer take any injections for the injuries, as he says that the shot made him actually feel worse.  McFadden’s status for Sunday’s game will be determined by this week’s practices.

Raiders Effort Better - But Results Same in 17-6 Loss

The Panthers got a big win on the road in Oakland, but it was an ugly affair, and Jake Delhomme had one of the worst games of his career. This game was marred with plenty of turnovers and three and outs, from both teams. In fact, Raiders punter Shane Lechler kicked it away a career-high 11 times.

The Raiders decided to get Jamarcus Russell out of the line of fire, and sent in Andrew Walter in hopes of moving the ball a little better than last week. After last weeks’ abysmal effort, anything would be an improvement, and they actually were able to generate some offense today as Justin Fargas had 89 yards rushing, but they were held without a touchdown for the second straight week.

The game couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for the Raiders, as Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled the opening kick off, handing the Panthers excellent starting field position. The Panthers used the short field to get on the board first by way of a 3 yard touchdown reception from Muhsin Muhammed. That was as good as the Panthers passing game would get all day.

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Russell Misses End of Practice w/ Tendinitis in Knee

Already struggling a ton this season and even more as of late, Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell is struggling now with tendinitis in his right knee. He was unable to finish practice Thursday w/ the injury, but is expected to play against the Carolina Panthers at home Sunday. “It’s more precautionary than anything else,” interim coach Tom Cable said. “We kind of did it just to hold him back. He did a great (job) today so the last eight reps weren’t going to matter.” Russell didn’t take part in the last eight plays of practice.

Raiders Ready to Waive DeAngelo Hall?

While the Raiders are having one tough season, the team may be pulling the plug on one of their bigger off season pickups that they grabbed via trade. Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that the Raiders may actually release former Falcon and first-round pick corner back DeAngelo Hall. Schefter says the team was going to do it today, on the teams off day, but did back off.

They still may do the deed on Wednesday, this before the team gets back to practice getting set for their second straight home game, this against the Carolina Panthers Sunday. The Raiders gave Atlanta a second-round pick for Hall, and also gave him $8 million, meaning if they waive him they would have paid him one million dollars per game. Not good for a CB that has been not very good in 2008.

The team is reportedly going to put Hall on waivers, meaning that he would go to a team that puts a claim in for him. If no one claims him, he’ll be free to sign where ever he would like. There are enough teams out there that need corner help that would grab him before he makes it through the other 31 teams to being unrestricted.

Falcons Thrash Raiders 24-0

The Atlanta Falcons flew into Oakland and administered a 24-0 beat down on the hapless Oakland Raiders Sunday.  The loss sends to Raiders to a dismal record of 2-6, and was the third blow out in four games under interim coach Tom Cable.

Falcon QB Matt Ryan threw a pair of first half touchdowns to Michael Jenkins as the Falcons held the Raiders to negative yards and no first downs in the first half of the game, and their lowest yard total in 47 years.   Oakland finished with just 77 yards in the game, the lowest total yards since 1961 when they got 58 yards against the San Diego Charges.

It was the lowest total in the NFL since the Cleveland Browns gained 26 yards in December of 2004 against the Buffalo Bills.  Al Davis’ once proud franchise may have hit a new low this week in front of a half-filled stadium of fans who began booing the Raiders just minutes into the game.  Said coach Cable “Quite simply, we just did not do anything that we were trying to do offensively.  It was not a good effort today for the Oakland Raiders.”

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Breaking Down Sundays Fantasy Matchups in the Raiders-Falcons Game

Falcons WR Roddy White vs. Raiders CB DeAngelo Hall

If the first seven games are any indication, the Falcons will look to get their best receiver away from cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha - which puts Hall in a position to make plays against his former team. Hall is coming off his two best games of the season, with tight coverage and seven passes defensed. He will be fired up for this old practice matchup. Raiders head coach Tom Cable remembers that, when he was an assistant in Atlanta, White was prone to drop passes; now he says he now catches everything in sight. Early in his career, White went up against Hall daily. Their battles were always good and hard fought. Once White stopped dropping passes, the battles became more spirited. Look for Hall to try to jam White and talk him off his game. White has the same number of catches (43) as the Raiders’ entire corps of wide receivers.

Raiders TE Zach Miller vs. Falcons SS Lawyer Milloy

In the third game of the season, Miller was blanked for only the second time in 19 games as a professional. Since then, the receptions have returned, and Miller’s yardage is way up. Instead of the shallow block-and-catch receiving he often did as a rookie, Miller is getting downfield - he’s averaging 18.1 yards per reception over his last four games. Milloy remains a physical presence and is strong in the box, but he can be beaten over the top by the very routes Miller has run in recent games.

Falcons RB Jerious Norwood vs. Raiders LB Thomas Howard

Norwood, the Falcons’ second leading receiver with 17 receptions, is developing into a major threat on third downs. He made a spectacular catch deep last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. He is averaging more than six yards per carry. Howard, a third-year man from the University of Texas-El Paso, has the speed to at least stay in Norwood’s neighborhood and a penchant for the interception. Last season he had six interceptions for 172 yards, including two touchdown returns.

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