Tag: Oakland Raiders (Page 31 of 33)

      Chargers sneak past Raiders 28-18

      September 28, 2008 /

      The Chargers scored 18 25 fourth quarter points to beat the Raiders 21-18 28-18. San Diego was still able to win despite training 15-0 in the second half and turning the ball over four times.

      LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe must be feeling better, because the back rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard run to ice the game with just over a minute to play. LT essentially saved a poor passing day by Philip Rivers, who struggled to throw for only 180 yards and two picks.

      Raiders’ second-year QB JaMarcus Russell looked better today, throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown, but once San Diego’s defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, Oakland could do nothing offensively. Michael Bush was their leading rusher, gaining only 48 yards on 14 carries. Rookie Darren McFadden did play, but was limited to only 20 yards on seven carries due to injury.

      So what happens to head coach Lane Kiffin now? I’m sure by tonight a report will surface that he’ll be fired on Monday, but who knows what Al Davis will do. He obviously doesn’t have a replacement ready for Kiffin, so maybe this charade will go on for another week.

      The following edits were made to this post: In the first paragrah, the score was changed from 21-18 to the correct final score, 28-18. Also in the first pargraph, the number 18 was changed to 25.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Al Davis has lost his mind…

      September 25, 2008 /

      …or so Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says in a round-about way. On Monday, Kawakami had a run in with Raiders senior executive John Herrera about the state of Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin and his future employment.

      On Tuesday, Kawakami sat down with Deadspin to discuss, among other things, the mental state of Raiders’ owner Al Davis.

      Al DavisHas Davis lost it? Are we talking latter-day Howard Hughes?
      Al knows football. But he’s also paranoid; he’s into conspiracy theories about himself. He was that way when he was 40, but even more so now. And the ability to think around that gets harder as he gets older, so that effects his judgment. Also, he used to have people around him who were good at public relations. Guys like Bruce Allen, who were there during the Gruden years. Allen was a real people person and could help Al deal with the outside world. But Bruce is gone now. Al has absolutely no one around him who is good in dealing with people. It’s just Al in the darkness now.

      So, what’s the second-strangest thing that has happened to you since you began covering the Raiders?
      Do you know the Deng Xiaoping story? That’s the infamous one, I guess. It was at the press conference announcing the hiring of Kiffin. Afterwards I was talking to Al, and remarked that I thought it was a strange hire, given that Kiffin was so young and had no head coaching experience. Al didn’t like that, and said: ‘I’ll bet you don’t even know who Deng Xiaoping was.’ I was like, what? What does that have to do with anything? Al pressed it. ‘Who is Deng Xiaoping?’ So I thought for a minute, and said, ‘Well, if I’m not mistaken, wasn’t he the General Secretary of the Chinese government during the Tiananmen Square massacre?’ And Al repiles, ‘But what can you tell me about him other than that? See? You don’t even know anything about your own culture.’ I said, ‘Al, I’m Japanese-American, not Chinese.’ And Al said, ‘Ohh, geez. I bet you’re going to kill me on that now.’ It all happened in front of about 20 reporters, so I didn’t have to.

      In the interview, Kawakami notes that the only reason Kiffin still has a job right now is because Davis isn’t prepared for what happens next. Davis wants Kiffin gone, but isn’t prepared to go through the process of finding another coach.

      So in other words, things are about status quo at Oakland Raiders’ headquarters.

      NFL

      Here we go again: Lane Kiffin to be fired

      September 22, 2008 /

      With his team’s collapse Sunday in Buffalo, rumor has it that Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin could be fired by owner Al Davis as early as today.

      Kiffin has been informed by Raiders officials that Al Davis intends to remove him as the team’s head coach as early as Monday, FOXSports.com has learned.

      Davis blamed Kiffin for the Raiders’ 24-23 loss on Sunday to the Bills, and told his underlings that he will make the move on Monday. However, word was leaked out last week in a similar fashion and Kiffin survived. Players reached out to FOXSports.com to express hope that the move would not be made, and with Davis you can never be certain.

      Kiffin reportedly has been on bad terms with Davis since shortly after last season. Sources said that when Kiffin informed Davis of coaching changes he wanted to make, the owner actually sent word to those coaches that the head coach was looking to make a move, but that Davis would protect them.

      Davis isn’t running a football team – he’s running a circus. He’s going to fire Kiffin, the man he hired just over a year ago, because as it turns out Kiffin isn’t a “yes man.” And the team that has rallied around Kiffin the past two weeks will be left in the lurch once again.

      Davis is apparently leaning towards wide receivers coach James Lofton or defensive coordinator Rob Ryan as Kiffin’s possible successor. Whichever one Davis thinks he can control will likely get the nod.

      NFL

      Bills rally late, edge Raiders

      September 21, 2008 /

      Rian Lindell kicked a game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bills a 24-23 win over the Oakland Raiders in Buffalo on Sunday.

      Marshawn LynchIt was over when …
      Rian Lindell kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

      Game ball
      Trailing 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, quarterback Trent Edwards led the Bills to 17 points, including two scoring drives in the final 6:23 to complete the comeback.

      Key stat
      The Bills held the Raiders to 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and only 10 first downs total.

      Noteworthy
      The Bills are 3-0 for the first time since 1992, when the team started 4-0. … Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell threw only three passes in the second half. One of them was an 84-yard touchdown to Johnnie Lee Higgins. … The Raiders had only 98 rushing yards after gaining 300 on the ground against the Chiefs in Week 2.

      Some are going to look at this as a step back for Buffalo, but for a young team learning how to win, it was perfect. The Bills looked great the past two weeks, beating two former playoff teams. There was bound to be a drop off at some point. Oakland outplayed the Bills for three quarters, but Buffalo didn’t panic and finished with a monster fourth quarter. A win like this will do more for the Bills than had they won by a double-digit margin. It’ll keep them grounded and focused, especially with a trip to St. Louis coming up.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      The Monday After: NFL columnist and beat writers react

      September 15, 2008 /

      The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Chargers are fuming over the blown call that led to a Broncos’ victory on Sunday.

      – Woody Paige of The Denver Post discusses Mike Shanahan’s decision to go for two against the Chargers and how the Broncos are 2 good 2 be true.

      – Nancy Gay of The San Francisco Chronicle writes that Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin is on his way out despite his team’s victory over the Chiefs on Sunday.

      – Gary Myers of The New York Daily News writes that Jets’ head coach Eric Mangini was no “Mangenious” against the Patriots on Sunday.

      – Jason Whitlock of The Kansas City Star searches for people to blame for the Chiefs’ struggles this year.

      – Bud Shaw of The Cleveland Plain Dealer ponders how good the Browns would be if they would just stop beating themselves.

      – Steve Kelley of The Seattle Times can’t help but feel that this is the beginning of the end of the Seahawks after they lost to the 49ers in overtime on Sunday.

      NFL

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