As first broken by Paul Gutierrez of CSN Bay Area about four hours ago, the Raiders have waived WR Duke Calhoun and LB Mario Kurn, who both had their 2012 season ended by torn ACL’s last week.

Both players were long shots when it came to making the squad, but no one likes to see season-ending injuries. Best wishes in the future, gentlemen!

Photo: Tony Gonzales

As I had mentioned in my post from last night, towards the end of practice yesterday RB Mike Goodson collided helmet-to-helmet with LB Philip Wheeler while running a play. Goodson was playing on second-team offense since RB Taiwan Jones was still sidelined with a bothersome hamstring injury, making him the #2 man behind McFadden right now.

He was down on the field for 15 minutes apparently, while his extremities were checked and he was examined, only to be rushed to Napa Valley hospital minutes later for a MRI.

Of course my initial reaction was to panic, since the first thing that comes to mind for me in any helmet-to-helmet situation is “spinal injury”. A lot of tweets and rumours swirled about the Internet immediately, with words like “spine” and “neck” being thrown around – very unpleasant.

A few hours after the accident, Goodson’s sister Amber tweeted this to let fans know of his condition:

» Continue reading “Raiders RB Mike Goodson’s MRI Negative”

Over 1,000 fans watch the team stretch Sunday afternoon. Photo credit: Tony Gonzales

We’re six days away from Monday Night Football, Raiders fans! I got a taste (more of a tease) last Sunday night, tuning in to the NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, and boy, I’m ready for some football.

I know, I know… I have a lot of training camp action to catch up on. My apologies for the weekend slacking; it was actually my 24th birthday on Sunday. Nothing particularly exciting has happened, so I’m going to keep this recap of the past five days as short and sweet as possible.

The Raiders took their mandatory day off from camp on Thursday, August 8 and returned Friday afternoon at 2:20pm PST, greeted by over 1,000 fans!  According to media in attendance, 1,000+ showed up Friday through Monday. Even though it is a great show of support, Coach Allen has been telling the media that it has not been a distraction and that they have conducted practice as they would if fans were not there at all (he’s all about the business and I, for one, am loving it).

My first order of business is a quick injury report broken down by day:

» Continue reading “Happy August! Raiders Camp Days 4-8″

A beautiful day for football in Napa Valley, CA

Although yesterday was an off-day for the boys in Silver & Black, I thought I’d update on how Days 2 & 3 went in Napa Valley, the Raiders transitioning from drills to pads over those days. I will include a few photos throughout, kindly provided from the Raiders.com photo gallery and were all taken by wonderful team photographer, Tony Gonzales. Even though not living in California and being able to attend these training camp practices myself isn’t beneficial to me, Tony makes it feel like I was there live every day.

Day 2 (07/31):

All offense seemed to be the major focus on Day 1, but on Tuesday Dennis Allen’s priority shifted to the defense, the side of the ball that struggled the most in 2011. The Raiders hit the field at 8:50am PST again, and you could say it was the right timeline Allen had in mind: the pads were about to go on the day after and the defense takes the majority of the pummeling throughout the season. The two players that stood out the most, from what I had read and saw was tweeted about the most, were second-year CB DeMarcus Van Dyke and SS Mike Mitchell, both making defensive plays of the day.

Before I get to some comments about those two, a recap on the injury situation first. The same players sitting out on Day 1 also sat out on Day 2: Lechler, Bartell, Ivey and Curry. On Day 2, Lechler and Bartell were actually added to the active NFI list, which is the equivalent to the PUP list that Curry is on right now.

But during and after Tuesday’s practice, two more injuries were reported. @VicTafur from the San Francisco Chronicle explained:

» Continue reading “Rundown With The Raiders: Days 2 & 3 At Camp”

Photo: Tony Gonzales

The 89-man active roster of the Oakland Raiders have now all reported to the Napa Valley Training Complex. The boys underwent conditioning tests and had a few team meetings yesterday, and finally took to the field for practice this morning at 8:50am PST. They are the final NFL team to check in to camp and will not play with pads until Wednesday.

I will not post this every time, but I wanted to share the Day 1 Camp Notebook that went up this evening on Raiders.com, written by team reporter, Rebecca Corman.

The Oakland Raiders took the field for the first time of Training Camp 2012, powered by Verizon 4G LTE, at their Napa Valley Training Complex. Practicing in “shells,” the players had the opportunity to play with contact and run around at full speed. The guys were excited to get back to football and prepare for the upcoming season.

Head Coach Dennis Allen was pleased with Monday’s practice. “I thought we had a pretty good first day of practice,” said Coach Allen. “We still have a lot of things that we need to get better at, but I thought for a first day of training camp it was pretty good.”

For C Stefen Wisniewski and SS Mike Mitchell, this practice was a chance to get out on the field for the first time since last season after recovering from injuries. “It feels awesome,” said Wisniewski. “I was standing around doing nothing for awhile and I didn’t like that. It’s been seven months since I’ve played football. It feels awesome; it feels great to be back.”

» Continue reading “Highs & Lows: Raiders Camp Day 1″

Football is in the air! The 2012 Raiders united at their Napa Valley Training Complex last Saturday (July 28) afternoon for check-in and I thought that I would share with you some of my favourite pictures from Raiders Media Relations. The full gallery of pictures can be found here and were all taken by team photographer, Tony Gonzales.

K Sebastian Janikowski arrives – the Polish Cannon needs to put away those golf clubs & get to work now!

The Raiders’ rookie bus is here!

» Continue reading “Raiders Touch Down In The Valley (Photos)”

DeAundre Muhammad arrives in Napa Valley for training camp – Photo: Tony Gonzales

About six hours ago, the Raiders announced on the team’s official website that they signed undrafted free agents LB Chad Kilgore and WR DeAundre Muhammad. I had seen a few tweets and rumours last night regarding Muhammad coming on board, who goes by “Dre”, and I originally thought that it was a ploy since rookie WR Juron Criner looked as though he was going to hold out.

The Raiders certainly need help at the linebacker position and the competition in Kilgore is probably welcomed in Napa Valley and amongst the fans. Also, even though the team is stacked at WR, there can never be enough competition amongst receivers in my mind – Muhammad will definitely have to fight for his spot.

Out of Indiana University, Muhammad stands at 5’10″, 180 lbs. He’s a slower receiver, posting a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. It appears as though he is used more in short gain situations, and boy, he sure loves to head up the sidelines, doesn’t he? Not a bad return guy either. Check out this highlight reel that I found:

» Continue reading “Raiders Sign UDFAs Kilgore & Muhammad”

BUST IT, BOYS: Rolando McClain (55) sprinting between Travis Goethel (50) & rookie, Nathan Stupar, (54) back in May. And Stupar probably thought it was tough then… Photo: AP.

The day is upon us, Raider Nation – only 3 days away. And this year, more fans will be allowed to attend training camp in Napa Valley! The following is a direct statement from the Raiders official website of how you can get there:

Each summer since establishing Training Camp in Napa in 1996, the Raiders have invited youth groups, military groups, community groups, booster clubs, sponsors, suite holders, and broadcast partners to enjoy watching the team practice and prepare for the football season.

This year, even more fans will be able to visit Training Camp to get an up-close look at the Silver and Black, as the team prepares for an exciting 2012 NFL season.

Beginning Friday, July 27 at 10:00 a.m., fans wishing to attend a practice in Napa can visit any Raider Image location and receive two tickets to one practice, while supplies last.  Tickets will be available for practices on Friday, August 3, Saturday, August 4 and Sunday, August 5. The tickets are free of charge and no purchase is necessary. 

Fans wishing to attend a practice in Napa must have a ticket. There will be no entry without a ticket to the applicable practice. 

Limited parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis on the grounds of Redwood Middle School (enter on Oxford Street), and at the Napa Valley Marriott, at the south end of the hotel behind the spa.

Visit http://www.raiders.com/fans/training-camp.html for a list of Raider Image locations, a list of items that will not be allowed at practice, and for more information.

You lucky Bay Area brats better be showing up if you’re able to! I will just continue to sit up here in Ontario, Canada.. in my igloo.. crying, while you all gallivant around in the sun in your Raider gear, watching the 2012 Raiders live.