Football is finally in the air again as the Oakland Raiders hit the field today in Alameda for OTAs, or “Organized Team Activities” in laymen’s terms. The entire roster as it stands right now was in attendance today, aside from two rookies (Kyle Padron and Deonte Williams) who have yet to finish their college classes. Even K Sebastian Janikowski who usually forgoes OTAs and prefers to work out independently was in attendance to welcome all of the new faces in Oakland. Levi Damien of Silver & Black Pride was able to get some quotes from Dennis Allen this morning:

It’s an exciting time for this team. So many new faces and so much unknown. Even a guy like Janikowski wants to be here to see it begin to take shape.

“I think that just goes to show the type of guys that we’re bringing into the program here,” said Allen. “These guys have done a great job all the way throughout the offseason program. I think we’ve had about 98 percent attendance throughout the offseason program for the first five weeks. I think it’s important that we’re all out here, I think it’s important that we’re all getting the work and we’re doing this thing as a team.”

As I am thousands miles away and cannot cover OTAs, or any of training camp for that matter, @LeviDamien and @CorkOnTheNFL (Steve Corkran of Contra Costa Times/Bay Area News Group) are must-follows on Twitter if you’re chomping at the bit for updates. Not only do they give you a bit of play-by-play, who looks good and who is struggling, etc., but they post pictures in real-time as well.

It is absolutely no secret that Raider Nation loves, admires and misses CB Charles Woodson and has since the day he left Oakland in 2005. After being drafted by the Raiders fourth overall in 1998 NFL Draft, Woodson went on to win two Defensive Rookie of the Year awards, was a three-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler just during his stay in the Bay. Not only is Woodson highly acclimated, but he is beloved by Raiders fans everywhere (probably the most beloved Raider in the last decade) and now the Nation is going to prove it tomorrow.

So far, 272 Raiders fans have RSVP’d on Facebook to this gathering that will take place tomorrow morning in Alameda County at Raiders HQ. Fans will be in attendance to tailgate and welcome Woodson once he touches down in an attempt to woo him back to the Black Hole. What was originally a harmless idea that was posted on Twitter has now blown up into a full-fledged “movement”, as the Raider Nation is calling it. It worked for when Philip Wheeler was trying to decide on where to sign last offseason, so why can’t it work now on an even bigger scale?

Although Woodson’s intentions are still unknown, all I do know is that Raider Nation would love to have the man back on the roster (or “back home”, as we’ve been saying) and we want it bad. The 36-year-old CB may not be in his prime any longer, and may have become a tad injury-prone over the last couple of years, but he would be an immense presence in the locker room. I think the consensus of the fan base is that our minds are set on him mentoring young CBs the Raiders have brought/will bring in, showing them how it’s done and learning from the best.

The support from the NFL and an ex-player has meant a lot to the Nation as well:

I truly do hope that this effort put forth by the fan base works; I’m certainly ready to dust off my #24 Woodson Raiders home jersey and I can’t wait to see a lot of fans wearing theirs at this even tomorrow morning and afternoon. Hopefully Woodson feels compelled and loved enough to make the Raiders his top priority once again.

Yesterday morning, former Cleveland Brown return specialist WR Josh Cribbs signed his one-year contract at the team’s Alameda headquarters. Cribbs is a three-time Pro Bowler and was part of the 2000s NFL All-Decade team. As per the official announcement on Raiders.com, a bit of Cribbs’ professional football resume:

In 2012, Cribbs saw action in 16 games with two starts at wide receiver, and totaled 43 kickoff returns for 1,178 yards. He also returned 38 punts for 457 yards, and recorded seven receptions for 63 yards.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Cribbs has totaled 12,169 career kick- and punt-return yards, making him just the sixth player in NFL history to reach the 12,000-yard mark. His 10,015 career kickoff-return yards are the fifth most in NFL history and his 11 total return touchdowns also rank fifth in NFL annals. He has returned 195 career punts for 2,154 yards and three touchdowns.

Cribbs logged a career-high 1,809 kickoff-return yards in 2007, and returned a career-best three kickoffs for touchdowns in 2009.

There are no hard numbers on this one-year deal, but my guess is that it is a bit above league minimum.

I am very excited about this new addition; the Raiders special teams (aside from the kicking trio) was a hurting unit  for the most part last season. I have also heard from a few Browns’ fan friends that he was one of the hardest working players in Cleveland, which is exactly the type of player that can fit into the vision Reggie McKenzie is trying to build on in Oakland.

Welcome to the Raider Nation, @JoshCribbs16!

*****

Where Will Charles Woodson Land?

It should also be noted that former Raiders CB, Charles Woodson, has not yet confirmed which team he will sign with. As in my last rumours article regarding Woodson, he was set to and did meet with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday while the contract offer is still on the table from Oakland. Rumour now has it that Woodson is still looking at the possibility of returning to Oakland and FOX News has reported that he will in fact be visiting the team on Tuesday.

Competition At The Punting Position

According also to FOX News, former Minnesota Viking P Chris Kluwe has said he will be joining the Raiders. Although the team has not yet confirmed this signing, I whole-heartedly welcome this addition to special teams. Not only will it give the young protege P Marquette King (who sat on the IR all of last season) some competition and drive to work for that #1 spot, but he is an NFL player I have always shared similar social views with. He is indeed outspoken, but he is also passionate about the game. With that being said, if any Raiders fan believes that Kluwe is an appropriate replacement for Shane Lechler, unfortunately the fact of the matter is is that no one can replace him. But I do believe that Kluwe can at least be consistent if it came down to him.

UPDATE: 05/20

The Oakland Raiders officially announced the signing of P Chris Kluwe last Friday. Read more here at the team’s official website.

The following eight players were tryout participants in Oakland’s rookie mini camp over this past weekend and were signed yesterday as per the team’s official website:

Free agents:

Chance Casey-Thomas (5-11, 190) CB – Baylor: Started all or parts of four seasons as a safety, playing with Robert Griffin III from 2009-11. Finished with 212 tackles (161 solo), six for loss, three interceptions, 18 passes defensed and three forced fumbles. Also returned punts for the Bears.

Eric Harper (6-3, 240) LB – Grambling State: Transferred from Louisiana Tech prior to his senior season, then in his first season as a college starter had 54 tackles and 6½ sacks. Played primarily tight end until his transfer. Lost his house in Hurricane Katrina, which forced him to play for another high school.

Greg Jenkins (6-1, 208) WR – Alabama State: Compiled 17 touchdowns and almost 2,200 yards in the Southwest Athletic Conference’s most productive offense

» Continue reading “Raiders Roster Moves: Eight Signed Upon Rookie Mini Camp”

Photo: Jim Prisching, Getty Images

The rumour mill in Oakland is abuzz after a report surfaced this afternoon that a contract offer had been extended to former Raiders CB and now free agent, Charles Woodson, who was drafted by the Raiders in ’98. As per USA Today:

The veteran safety is on his way to a meeting with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday and has received paperwork concerning a possible return to the Oakland Raiders, his agent Carl Poston told USA TODAY Sports. Woodson, who was cut by the Green Bay Packers earlier this offseason, isn’t about to pack it in.

…

As for the Raiders, who drafted the 36-year-old Woodson fourth overall in 1998, Poston believes the offer he received was “just kind of preliminary negotiations. Just showing they’re interested.”

According to various other sources and as the article above confirms, Woodson is set to meet with the division rival Denver Broncos. Apparently the Broncos are also said to be Woodson’s first priority.

Boy, I’d love to bring the one and only Oakland Raiders home jersey that I own out of retirement, and I believe that the Raider Nation shares this same sentiment. Woodson is among very few great memories that this franchise has had in the past 15 years. As a Twitter follower of mine had put so eloquently, “Woodson is like the ex-girlfriend you break up with but then see again years later, and you think to yourself ‘Damn, she looks old but she’s still so fine’”. Precisely.

I believe it’s very unlikely that Woodson will return to Oakland, regardless of what that offer entails, but we can hope! He’d fit right in with the rest of the elderly, ahem.. veteran players that have been acquired over the offseason.

Photo: via Bloomberg

News broke on CBS Sports yesterday afternoon that longtime Oakland Raiders CEO, Amy Trask, had announced her resignation with the organization after 25 years. As I couldn’t have said it better myself, Levi Damien of Silver & Black Pride for SB Nation wrote this article with the details:

In a stunning move today, Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask has officially resigned from her post. Trask sent out an email announcing her resignation saying.

“For over a quarter of a century, it was my honor and my privilege to work for the Raiders. I will forever appreciate the opportunity afforded me by Al Davis,” said Trask. “I honored a commitment that I made to effectuate a smooth transition and transfer of control. I no longer wish to remain with the organization,”

This in essence says that Trask was on her way out the moment the new regime took over and spent last season training her replacement. And saying she no longer wishes to remain with the organization suggests this parting may not have been the most positive.

According to Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated, this move was expected due to Mark Davis telling her she would have a subordinate role with the organization under his ownership. This did not sit well with Trask.

This is disappointing news to say the least. Trask was with the Raiders organization for the past 25 years. Her hiring by the Raiders broke the gender barrier as she was the first female team executive in NFL history and remained the highest ranking female executive in all of professional sports.

Trask was known for her fan outreach and her many years as the steady hand in the Raiders organization and she will be missed. The Raiders have said they will be issuing a statement soon.

The team website has not yet been updated with said statement.

While Trask was a monumental part of this team, much of Raider Nation was not completely shocked by this move as indicated in the article above. Trask was Al Davis’ right-hand woman, repeatedly going to bat and supporting all of Davis’ decisions – it is no wonder that she now butts heads with Al’s son, Mark, who is now heading in an entirely different direction with the organization.

» Continue reading ““First Lady Of Football” & Raiders CEO, Amy Trask, Resigns”

This post is long overdue (and if you haven’t seen the full Raiders 2013 draft class already you may be as far behind as I am), but I thought I would post it here:

Every problem position for the Oakland Raiders was covered and many more new additions were added post-draft as well. To be perfectly honest, the first three draft picks in Hayden, Menelik and Moore caught me a bit off-guard, but rumours that swirled around the NFL media post-draft included that Sio Moore could be one of the best first-rounders at the LB position that was taken.

» Continue reading “Oakland Raiders 2013 Draft Class”

CB D.J Hayden. Photo: AP

Happy draft season, Raider Nation! The 2013 NFL Draft kicked off this past Thursday evening in prime time, and I’m sure like me, Raiders fans were sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what cards the new Oakland GM would play.

This is the first year in Reggie McKenzie’s stint with the Raiders that he’s had a first-round draft pick to play with, and because we the fans aren’t familiar with his style, anything could have happened.

The Raiders’ first three draft picks and their positions are as follows:

• 12th pick overall: Cornerback D.J. Hayden – #2, University of Houston (@_Go_DJ_ on Twitter)
• 42nd pick overall: Offensive tackle Menelik Watson – #71, Florida State University (@MenelikWatson71 on Twitter)
• 66th pick overall: Outside linebacker Sio Moore – #3, University of Connecticut (@MrUconn3 on Twitter)

I was never more impressed than when I saw that Reggie McKenzie was able to trade from the third pick overall down to #12 with the Miami Dolphins. It was almost as if McZ was reading Raider Nation’s mind. The sentiment that I share with the rest of the fan base is that it is refreshing to now have a GM who understands the team’s needs and selects players they have been targeting for all the right reasons rather than drafting players who performed the best at the NFL Combine.

Cornerback, in particular, is a dead position right now in Oakland. Did I expect that the Raiders would take a CB in the first-round? No, but I fully understand why it happened. Hayden will have a chance to learn from one of the best in newly acquired veteran CB, Tracy Porter. Not only that, but based on Hayden’s incredible back story, going from his death bed while in college to a first-round NFL draft choice, it is evident that this kid is willing to work and do what it takes to succeed in professional football.

D.J Hayden & GM Reggie McKenzie. Photo: USA Today Sports

I believe McZ, above all, admires Hayden’s work ethic – and so do I. This move instills what I believe to be Reggie’s philosophy for a revamped Oakland Raiders team: No one is going to play who isn’t willing to work or who doesn’t show him improvement. This first-rounder took a while to grow on me, because I did have my heart set on DT Star Lotulelei out of Utah (who, by the way, went two picks later to Carolina), but now that I have found out that McZ specifically targeted Hayden in the days leading up to the draft, I am at peace in knowing that he got his guy. Here’s a direct clip from the NFL Network when Hayden’s name was called Thursday night:

You can also watch GM Reggie McKenzie’s Draft Day 1 press conference here.

» Continue reading “Raiders Get Second-Rounder & Draft CB, T, LB (Rounds 1-3)”

It’s that time of year again! And I can’t believe how quickly the draft has snuck up on us NFL fans already!

Personally, I always get excited for the draft, even if the later rounds fly by as the top talent diminishes. But it’s also interesting to see how all of the other teams draft and to find out from the media afterwards why they drafted the way that they did. Half of the fun is to judge other teams, rather than to focus on only the team you root for.

This is the first time new Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie will have a first-rounder at his disposal. Will the Oakland Raiders trade down in an attempt to acquire that second-round pick they are missing? And if they do trade down, with which team? As McKenzie has been adding many defensive veterans to the roster, do the Raiders focus on mainly offense in this year’s draft? Or do the Raiders draft a bit of everything to create competition in camp?

Let me tell you, I can’t wait to find out.

Finally, the wait is over! The 2013 preseason & regular season schedules were released last Friday. Here is what the Oakland Raiders have to look forward to this fall:

I was hoping that the away game in Indianapolis would be sometime in October so I would have a chance to go to my first ever NFL game, but unfortunately that isn’t how the cards fell. I believe the Raiders’ toughest stretch will be after the Week 7 bye week when they will meet the New York Giants and the Houston Texans on the road back-to-back. I do, however, love the fact that our last three games of the regular season are division rivalry games – should make for an interesting finish as one team will need represent the AFC West.

Also note the two nationally televised games: The first in Week 3 on Monday Night Football at Mile High (a given) and the other on Thanksgiving in Dallas.

My early predictions off the top of my head are that the Raiders will go 3-3 before the bye, 4-6 after the bye. If I had to make a prediction for the preseason, I would bet we lose all four.

Which game do you plan to attend in the fall? Predictions on what our record will be in 2013 yet, or too early to tell? I will ask again in a poll after the draft, which is coming up this Thursday.