Las Vegas Raiders Thread

There seems to be a growing number of rumours linking the Raiders with a trade for Adrian Peterson, though it isn't clear whether they stem from information becoming from within the Raider organisation or just the fact that the Raiders still have plenty of cash to spend.

As I see it, the major obstacle to a trade for Peterson is the price. The Vikings do not seem to want to trade him and do not need to trade him, which means that any trade offer would have to be very attractive to entice them to part with the leagues' best running back.

The Vikings would probably want probably want a high round draft pick, possibly a first rounder, though they might have to settle for a second or third rounder instead. Surely the Raiders, who are supposed, under GM Reggie McKenzie to be building through the draft, won't trade their first round pick for a 30 year old with a high value multi year contract and forego the chance to pick a pass rusher or top wide receiver with the fourth pick of the draft.

Then a scenario arose that might make it possible, as there is also a rumour that Cleveland might want to trade up in the draft, trading their 12th and 19th picks in the first round for the Raiders 4th pick. If that transpired, then the Raiders could trade one of those picks to the Vikings, get Peterson and still have a first round pick(though much lower down).

As I see it the reasons to trade for Peterson are that: he's the leagues' top running back, they can afford him, he would be the superstar player that would help attract other free agents next year and he would help the team win now. The reasons why he should be left to go to Dallas or Arizona are that the Raiders need all their draft picks to build a team for the future, 30 year+ running backs tend to slow down and be injury prone, and that signing him would mean that they wouldn't find out whether Latavius Murray or Trent Richardson have what it takes to succeed, as Peterson would get virtually all the carries.

Much as I'd like to see Peterson in Silver and Black, long term I'm not sure its the right move for the team, even if it would give their running game a big boost, help Derek Carr and perhaps add a few wins to their record this year.

Magico Gonzalez wrote: »

Vikings would be, according to the Daily Norseman, looking for a 1st round pick and a starting corner back.

In other words AP will be playing for the Vikings as that deal doesn't work for anyone. He'll be back in purple.

If that's what they are looking for :eek: , then I agree he'll be back in purple.

Prefab Sprouter wrote: »

AP has hit 30. to me, thats warning sign enough. Dont care how good he is, Running Back's rarely deliver after 30. With one or two notable exceptions, the production tails off, and its normally at a rapid pace. If we did sign him, we would be signing a reputation, and as heyjude says, he'll probably will be in purple this season. Reggie values his draft picks highly and I totally agree with him.

I don't think it would be a good deal for the raiders, even just the 1st round pick but dropping a start CB would be nonsense.

Dunno who is going to take the gamble on him with his age, past injury and the fact the he is on his 9th life with Goodell. One more mistake and it's over.

Just three days to go until the 2015 draft and a stop to the endless mock drafts that have punctuated the month or so since the free agency frenzy died down, so what is everyone hoping to see the Raiders do in the draft ?

I don't see them trading up, so my dream draft would be for Leonard Williams to still be there when the Raiders pick and for them to take him, the best player in the draft and a Raider fan as well, the ideal combo. I'm not 100% convinced by Amari Cooper or Kevin White, so if Williams is gone, then ideally I'd hope that the Raiders could trade back perhaps 6-10 places and grab a few extra picks in the first three rounds.

This years draft class isn't reckoned to be great for cornerbacks or offensive tackles, but is supposed to be pretty strong for defensive lineman and wide receivers(two areas where Raiders need to upgrade), so gaining a few extra picks may allow them to pick up a wide receiver, d-lineman and right guard in the early rounds. I would concentrate on a pass rusher before taking a receiver.

If Leonard Williams, Amari Cooper and Kevin White are all available at 4, I think Del Rio as a defensive coach would probably favour Williams too.

Both Cooper and White are supposed to be inferior compared to last year's crop, so I'd prefer to trade down.

Whatever about our 1st pick (and it will only be 1 player), I'm intrigued about our middle round selections this time. Will we unearth another Gabe Jackson, perhaps get another decent Guard?

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

We didn't do anything on a decent WR upgrade in FA so we have to draft a quality receiver above all other needs, would want us taking Cooper if he is available at #4.

Have a nasty feeling that we will go for White instead, just because we're the Raiders and have a history of doing risky things with our 1st round picks.

Yup, why take proven when you can have potential???

I don't know if it indicates which players the Raiders might be looking at in the draft, but the Raiders reportedly only held private meetings with 12 players in preparation for the draft including 7 defensive backs. Some just had a private visit while others worked out for the team.

The 12 players were

Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida (private visit)
Shane Wynn, WR, Indiana (private visit)
Jeremiah Poutasi, OT/G, Utah (workout)
Matt Huffer, OT, South Dakota (workout)
Akeem King, FS, San Jose State (private visit)
Travis Lee, CB, Miles (private visit)
Marcus Peters, CB, Washington (private visit)
Eric Rowe, CB, Utah (private visit)
Josh Shaw, CB/S, USC (private visit)
Cedric Thompson, FS, Minnesota (private visit)
Tray Walker, CB, Texas Southern (private visit)
David Irving, DT, Iowa State (private visit and workout)

I notice that 8 of the 12 players play on defence, but that did not include any of the highly touted edge rushers.

Former Raiders QB of the 70s Kenny Stabler passed away today from complications arising from colon cancer, he was 69.

Affectionately known as 'The Snake', he became the Raiders starting QB in 1973 and led the Raiders to five consecutive AFC Championship games and to victory in Superbowl XI against Minnesota. At the time, he broke Joe Unitas' record by recording 100 wins in just his first 150 starts(only Bradshaw, Montana and Brady have reached 100 wins faster). Stabler was also AFC player of the year in 1974 and 1976, the NFL's passing champion in 1976 and a 4 time pro bowler.

In a recent NFL feature on the top ten eligible players not in the Hall of Fame, Stabler was listed at No 6. He is the only quarterback from the NFL's All-1970's team and the only Superbowl winning QB of the 1970s that is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, perhaps due to off the field issues.

One of his most famous plays came in a 1977 playoff game against the Baltimore Colts, when he completed a fourth quarter pass to TE Dave Caspar which came to be known as the "Ghost to the Post", that led to a field goal that tied the game, sent it into overtime, where a TD pass to Caspar saw the Raiders win 37-31.

After leaving the Raiders, Stabler played several seasons with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints, before retiring.

A new Raiders season just about to start and despite being in possibly the toughest division in the NFL, there are a number of reasons to be more optimistic.

Coaching - Replacing Tony Sparano with Jack Del Rio is a definite upgrade, Del Rio is from the Bay area, grew up as a Raiders fan and has a deep affinity for the team. He also has 9 years head coaching experience and so, should have a good idea of what works and what doesn't, so no learning as he goes along, as is often the case with rookie coaches. He has also assembled an impressive coaching team with over 100 years of NFL playing experience and a number of Superbowl wins.

Facilities - Del Rio demanded a significant upgrade in the team training facility and over $10m has been spent on new training pitches and a gym facility, featuring state of the art equipment.

Player Personnel - There has been another huge turnover in players since last season which seems to offer an upgrade at several positions, but a new offensive scheme under Bill Musgrave and new defensive scheme under Ken Norton, means that the offensive players in particular may take some time to get comfortable with. Compared to Week One of last season, only QB Derek Carr, FB Marcel Reece, TE Mychal Rivera and LT Donald Penn remain in the same positions with Austin Howard moving from RG last season to RT this season, meaning 6 new players in the starting lineup, the most notable being Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray. The situation is much the same on defence, with only Justin Tuck and Charles Woodson returning in the same positions. DT Justin Ellis, who became a starter in Week 3 also returns, while Khalil Mack moves from OLB to DE, as the team waved goodbye to Lamarr Woodley, Antonio Smith, Miles Burris, Sio Moore, Nick Roach, Tarrel Brown, Carlos Rogers and Tyvon Branch.

So how does the roster look

Quarterback - Derek Carr is the starter, entering his second season with Matt McGloin as backup. Matt Schaub was let go, as was Christian Ponder, who was signed a few months ago as a free agent. So it all depends on whether Carr improves going into his second year or not.

Running Back - Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones Drew are gone and Latavius Murray is the starter, with Roy Helu as his main backup. Murray has good size, vision and breakaway speed but much depends on whether he can avoid injury. Marcel Reece is nominally listed as FB, but the Musgrave scheme doesn't utilise a fullback, so look to see Reece used more as a receiver.Taiwan Jones is listed as a RB, his original position after playing last year as a cornerback, but he figures to feature mainly as a kick returner.

Tight End - Third round draft pick Clive Walford was supposed to be a starter, but injuries during training camp set back his progress, he is now fit but probably won't start in week one, as Mychal Rivera retains the start. Lee Smith was added as a free agent mainly as a run blocker.

Wide Receiver - This position was largely overhauled as Amari Cooper was drafted to assume the No 1 position opposite former 49er Michael Crabtree. Rob Streater, Andre Holmes and Brice Butler return from last year alongside promising youngster Seth Roberts. James Jones and Denarius Moore were cut.

O-Line - Donald Penn remains at LT, along Gabe Jackson at LG, Rodney Hudson was a big free agent signing from Kansas City to start at centre replacing Stefan Wisniewski and should offer a more physical presence. Third year player Menelik Watson from Manchester, England had an impressive off-season and had earned the right tackle start until he injury in a preseason game left him on injured reserve, mean Austin Howard moves from guard back to right tackle, a position he filled unsuccessfullly when he first joined the Raiders. Meanwhile former tackle Jamarcus Webb starts at right guard. How the o-line plays so will the whole offence, they need to open running lanes and do a competent job protecting Carr, or the offence will struggle to put points on the board.

D-Line - Antonio Smith, who struggled at DT against the run and DE Lamarr Woodley, who was injured early on and didn't impress, are both gone. Justin Tuck returns at DE, playing alongside DT/NT Dan Williams, signed from Arizona. Justin Ellis, who made several starts at DT last year also returns and the teams defensive stud Khalil Mack moves from outside linebacker to DE, with the task of pressuring the opposing QB(removing his pass defending duties). The last mniute signing of former 49er Aldon Smith may also impact this unit, if he plays DE on passing downs, with Tuck moving inside alongside 2nd round pick Mario Edwards Jr with Khalil Mack at the other end spot. Whatever happens with Williams and Ellis in the middle, the team should be tougher to run against.

Linebackers - Nick Roach is gone, Sio Moore was traded and so the team looks set to start with Curtis Lofton in the middle, with Ray Ray Armstrong and former Superbowl MVP Malcolm Butler manning the outside spots. But Aldon Smith may also see duty at OLB and impressive rookie Ben Heeney may play a grow role in the middle.

Safety - Charles Woodson returns again for his 18th season and is joined by former Eagle Nate Allen, but a lot will depend on the play of the front 7, as Allen had a rough season last year and Woodson can't cover the whole field at his age.Larry Asante and Brandian Ross provide the depth, so the team can't really afford for Woodson or Allen to get injured.

Cornerbacks - By far the teams' weakest unit, both last seasons' week one starters are gone and the team looks set to start with oft-injured former first round pick DJ Hayden and former 7th round pick TJ Currie with Keith McGill and Neiko Thorpe backing them up. God help the team if the team can't get pressure on opposing QBs as their secondary could be picked on badly, not great news in a division that sees them facing Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers twice.

Special Teams - Long snapper Jon Condo, punter Marquette King and kicker Sebastian Janikowski all return and should maintain their previous high standard of play, with King perhaps challenging for a pro bowl berth.

So in summary, if the offensive line performs competently, then the team should score enough points, combined with an improved defesnive showing to allow the team to win a few more games. The AFC West is a tough division at present, so a wild card berth is probably optimistic, but after last years start in which they lost their opening 10 games and finished 3-13, I could see 6-8 wins this year, which would be progress, especially if the young players really show up well. I'd also love Khalil Mack make to further huge steps and be a real game changer on defence and I look forward to seeing how Ken Norton schemes to make this happen.

Here we go again....... Didnt reach the opponent's half of the field until the 4th quarter, Defense on the pitch WAYYYYYYY too long and consequently got worn down. Ravens rolling into town next week, its going to be a long season, people. AGAIN

The only positive thing you could say about that performance was that, the Bengals are a very good team and it showed, they've made the playoffs for the last three years and have a good chance of doing so again this year.

From a Raiders point of view, the offence couldn't get anything going, they seemed to give up on the run and the number of short out passes to receivers became so predictable that almost everyone in the stadium must have known before the play started where it was going. I think there was one play where they needed 7 yards and they passed it to Latavius Murray a couple of yards behind the line of scrimmage with the defender literally a couple of yards in front of him and he only made a yard or two.....Musgrave really has to come up with some more variety or there's no point in having the likes of Cooper, Crabtree and Murray. Then Carr got injured(apparently x-rays didn't show any break) and McGloin did okay, but was playing against a Bengals D that were content to allow short gains, so you can't read too much into it.

The defence got pummelled as they were on the field way too long, but Ray Ray Armstrong has to do a better job of setting the edge as the Bengal rushers got outside several times including once for a TD. The Bengals O-line also handled Khalil Mack and the Raider pass rush comfortably and they have to improve this if they want to win games.

Apart from the injury to Carr, I think I heard that DT Justin Ellis also has an injured ankle and yesterday I said

heyjude wrote: »

Larry Asante and Brandian Ross provide the depth, so the team can't really afford for Woodson or Allen to get injured.

Now it seems that Allen may have torn his ACL (meaning an end to his season) and Woodson has a shoulder injury, but there is no news as to its severity. :-(

If all four are missing next week against Baltimore next week, then the strength in depth is really going to be tested. McGloin is the only other Qb on the roster and if he'd been hurt last night, Michael Crabtree was the designated third choice quarterback, having played the position in high school. :eek: If Carr is out next week, then Christian Ponder, who was only cut a few days ago may be re-signed.

Yeah, same old same old, very disappointing on Sunday night, expected some sort of effort. Our Offense was poor and our Secondary is poor, without pressure from our pretty decent front 7 we got exposed.

It was interesting to see James Jones in the earlier Green Bay game tearing it up, he looked excellent, yet apparently not good enough for our roster?

Anyway, I have zero expectations for the Ravens game next week, so on-wards and upwards!

Woohooo!!!! Go Raiders!!!

Was very happy on Sunday night and glad I stayed up to watch the game. Great effort from the Offense. The Running Game still needs improvement but the receiving corps really stepped up. Even fringe players like Holmes and Roberts made good contributions. Defence needs to be looked at. The complete lack of a pass rush is very disconcerting. Flacco had all day to throw, and wasnt sacked. Whatever about him, giving Manning or Rivers that amount of time will be disastrous. The secondary held up better than expected although I cant imagine that will be consistent. Cleveland next week is a good team for us to face. Inexperienced QB, mediocre WR corps, we have a chance to be competitive but the Defense needs to turn up next week.