Pats Sign LaMont Jordan - 07/26/2008
Source: Boston Herald After the Raiders released LaMont Jordan, the Patriots have signed him, presumably as a backup to RB Laurence Maroney. Fantasy Impact: Jordan would be a good choice to handcuff with Maroney. |
| |
Lamont Jordan Not Welcome in Oakland - 07/24/2008
Source: San Francisco Chronicle Raiders RB LaMont Jordan was told he was not welcome at training camp. However, since he's under contract with the Raiders, they can't bar him from participating. This is essentially the same situation Steve McNair faced with the Titans before his trade. Fantasy Impact: Jordan is oft-injured, and the article cites New Orleans as a possible landing spot. With a backfield of Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister, and the intriguing Pierre Thomas, he could jump from one overcrowded running back situation to another. Wait to see where he lands. |
| |
Bengals stay hot, beat Raiders 27-10 - 12/10/2006
Source: NFL.com Only a month ago, the Cincinnati Bengals looked like they were on the verge of imploding. The defending AFC North champs were openly pouting and regularly losing.
Video highlights
Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
56k | 300k
Raiders postgame press conference
56k | 300k
Bengals postgame press conference
56k | 300k
Look at them now.
Carson Palmer threw for a pair of touchdowns and Rudi Johnson ran for two more, setting up a well-rounded 27-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders that strengthened Cincinnati's playoff chances.
"We're peaking at the right time," receiver Chad Johnson proclaimed.
The Bengals (8-5) have won four in a row, moving to the forefront of the AFC wild card race. At the moment, Cincinnati is positioned for one of the two spots, with pivotal games coming up the next two weeks at Indianapolis and Denver.
It's all coming together for a team that's piling up franchise records on offense and defense these days.
They had a pair of 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher, a combination they've never had before. And, the defense had another record-setting performance -- Cincinnati has given up only 17 points in the last three games, another first.
They've come a long way from that 4-5 start that left them with no margin for error.
"We've been in this position for the last month," said Rudi Johnson, who ran for 117 yards. "Our backs have been against the wall. We've been coming out fighting and clawing. We definitely understand our situation."
The Raiders (2-11) understand theirs, too.
It keeps getting worse.
The defense keeps them in games, and the offense gives them away. Oakland's first three drives ended this way: fumble, missed field goal, interception. None of it was new.
"We need a win badly," coach Art Shell said. "I keep saying that every week. They're trying. We're just not getting it done."
Oakland has lost six in a row, failing to score more than 14 points in any game. The Raiders were simply outclassed in this one.
|
| |
Just when Raiders get Brooks back, Jordan goes down - 11/21/2006
Source: National Football League News Wire Just when quarterback Aaron Brooks
returned to give Oakland's struggling offense a needed boost, the
Raiders lost starting running back LaMont Jordan to a knee injury
that could sideline him for the rest of the season.
Jordan underwent an MRI on Monday, a day after tearing the
medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Coach Art Shell didn't
know the extent of the tear when he addressed the media and was
unsure how long Jordan would be sidelined.
Jordan said he wouldn't need surgery on the knee, but wouldn't
speculate how long he would be out. But with only six games
remaining this season and the Raiders out of contention, it's
unlikely he'd be able to make it back.
"It's just like, 'Wow.' It's not something you try to
understand," Jordan said. "Everybody has been calling me and
telling me that everything happens for a reason. For me, this is
the biggest injury I've ever had. ... The main thing for me is to
just try to maintain a positive attitude and just try to get myself
healthy."
Jordan's injury was the latest blow to the Raiders (2-8), who
have scored a league-low 118 points and failed to generate any
consistent threat on offense.
|
| |
Green returns to lead Chiefs past Raiders - 11/19/2006
Source: NFL.com Trent Green looked and felt just like new. He was at his best when Kansas City needed him most.
After passing for barely 50 yards in his return from a 10-week layoff, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback coolly threw for 50 yards in one game-winning fourth-quarter drive. Hitting three of five in the final minutes, Green set up Larry Johnson 's 1-yard go-ahead touchdown run and rallied the sluggish Chiefs past injury-riddled Oakland 17-13.
"The majority of games in this league come down to the fourth quarter, and finding ways to get that done," said Green, who couldn't even drive the first couple of weeks after suffering a severe concussion on Sept. 10.
"I just feel proud I was able to contribute to that part of it and make some throws when we needed."
The Raiders held a 13-10 lead when the Chiefs (6-4) took the ball on their 20 with 4:53 to play. He hit 3-of-5, including passes of 10 and 16 yards to Samie Parker and a beauty of a 24-yard gainer to Eddie Kennison.
Johnson, with 1:32 to play, squeezed into the end zone, capping a two-touchdown, 159-yard rushing game on his 27th birthday.
"I wouldn't say I had any extra butterflies. I was just so anxious to get the thing started waking up this morning," said Green, who was a conservative 9-of-16 for 102 yards. "It's been hard, especially these last two or three weeks when I felt really good and felt like I could go out and play."
The Raiders (2-8) also made a quarterback switch, starting Aaron Brooks over Andrew Walter for the first time since Sept. 17. Brooks hit Ronald Curry for a 39-yard gain to the Chiefs 8 with 32 seconds left. But safety Jarrad Page intercepted his next pass intended for Randy Moss in the end zone.
"That was not a game-saving play," said cornerback Patrick Surtain. "That was a season-saver."
Oakland's NFL-worst offense had already suffered two key injuries, losing starting running back Lamont Jordan to a knee injury in the first quarter and left tackle Robert Gallery to a dislocated elbow in the third. The Raiders said Jordan had a torn knee ligament and is likely out for the year. Gallery had a dislocated elbow. |
| |
Broncos hold off Raiders 17-13 - 11/12/2006
Source: NFL.com The Denver Broncos went back to the formula they used to start the season: a stifling defense that made up for the mistakes of the offense.
Jake Plummer overcame three interceptions to throw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Kyle Johnson early in the fourth quarter and the Broncos forced two fumbles down the stretch to seal a 17-13 victory against the Oakland Raiders.
After breaking through with 31-point performances the past two weeks, Denver (7-2) reverted to its early season form when the defense dominated and often won in spite of the offense.
While that proved to be more than enough against the struggling Raiders (2-7), the Broncos know they'll need to be better when the competition gets tougher starting with a first-place showdown next week against San Diego.
"The good thing about it is we got a win, but we didn't play our best game," receiver Javon Walker said. "We left a lot of yards out there on the field. We made a lot of penalties and put ourselves in bad positions. We knew we could have played better."
The winning touchdown came after a fumbled punt by Denver was overruled by an obscure penalty call against Oakland.
The Raiders appeared in control when they recovered David Kircus' fumble at the Denver 20. But instead of adding to a 13-7 lead, Oakland was forced to punt again when Chris Carr was called for a personal foul for running out of bounds on the coverage. |
| |
Seattle sacks Oakland 16-0 in the rain - 11/07/2006
Source: NFL.com Mike Holmgren showed a new side of his coaching persona. The passing game guru motivated his defense by dressing down his players and made sure he stuck to a game plan for the Seattle Seahawks that relied heavily on a backup running back.
It was the same old Oakland Raiders. They capped yet another Monday night meltdown with a knee to the groin that led to defensive end Tyler Brayton's ejection.
Craig Terrill had three of Seattle's nine sacks and Maurice Morris ran 30 times for a career-high 138 yards to help the Seahawks end a two-game skid with a 16-0 victory over the Raiders.
The victory got the Seahawks (5-3) back on track after injuries to reigning MVP Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left the defending NFC champions struggling to match last season's success.
But it was the defense that had Holmgren most concerned and led to the harsh talk following last week's 35-28 loss at Kansas City. |
| |
Raiders KO defending champs 20-13 - 10/30/2006
Source: NFL.com As putrid as the Oakland Raiders were to start the season, they're now at least as good -- or is it bad? -- as the Super Bowl champs.
Chris Carr returned an interception by Ben Roethlisberger 100 yards for a touchdown, Nnamdi Asomugha also took back an interception for a score and the Raiders mounted a late goal-line stand to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13.
The Raiders forced five Ben Roethlisberger turnovers and controlled the ball on offense.
After losing five straight games to open the season and spark talk of possibly going winless, the Raiders have put together consecutive wins for the first time since October 2005.
"We're not going to go around and stroke our egos or anything like that," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "We're still 2-5. We have a long way to go to get ourselves to .500."
But to find an equal, they need only go as far as the Steelers, who lost for the fifth time in six games and are in danger of missing the playoffs after falling three games behind Baltimore in the AFC North. Pittsburgh (2-5) did their best impression of the Raiders by committing four turnovers, four personal fouls and allowing five sacks.
|
| |
Raiders stomp Cardinals for first win - 10/22/2006
Source: NFL.com Art Shell gathered his team the night before the game and told his players they needed to find some swagger.
Nothing like a visit from the hapless Arizona Cardinals to do the trick.
Andrew Walter threw for 263 yards and a score to lead his Raiders to their first win of the season.
Andrew Walter threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss, ReShard Lee ran for a 1-yard score in the first quarter and the Raiders overcame five turnovers to win their first game of the season, 22-9 over Arizona on Sunday.
"It's a weight off everybody's shoulders to get a first win," Shell said. "I'm most happy for the guys in the locker room. It's not about me. It's about those guys in the locker room. They've worked very hard to get some taste of success."
The win snapped an 11-game losing streak and ended the growing talk of a possible winless season for the Raiders (1-5), who found all sorts of ways to lose in previous weeks.
"By no means does this set our season on a pedestal," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "We've still got to go out and get some more wins."
And now there's a new contender for worst team in the NFL in the Cardinals, who have lost six straight.
Arizona blew 14-point leads after the first quarter the previous two weeks, including a 20-point second-half lead a week ago to Chicago when the Bears won 24-23 despite committing six turnovers.
"I can't believe that we're sitting at 1-6. But we are," coach Dennis Green said. "Absolutely this is my fault. It's my job to make sure the ship is being ruddered the right way." |
| |
Frye rallies Browns past Raiders 24-21 - 10/01/2006
Source: NFL.com Charlie Frye threw the ball up for grabs in the end zone and it looked as if another late mistake by the young quarterback would do in the Cleveland Browns.
Instead, the defense held tough and the Browns rallied from 18 points down and won for the first time this season, 24-21 over the Oakland Raiders.
"This win is huge," Frye said. "I thought it was a game we were supposed to win. I thought we were a better team than Oakland. I'm glad we came out in the second half and played well."
|
| |
Radiers lose Gallery with calf tear - 09/15/2006
Source: ESPN Raiders LT Robert Gallery is sidelined for 2-3 weeks, and possibly longer, ESPN reports. Fantasy Impact: As if things couldn't get any worse for the Raiders, they lose their best offensive lineman. I wouldn't touch any Raiders skill position players with a ten foot pole right now from a fantasy perspective. |
| |
Raiders place Gallery on PUP list with quad injury - 07/25/2006
Source: espn.com, yahoo.com Robert Gallery's move back to left tackle was temporarily put on hold Monday when the Oakland Raiders placed the third-year offensive lineman on the physically unable to perform list. Fantasy Impact: Though the injury isn't thought to be serious, anything that keeps Gallery from living up to the hype of being the 2nd overall is disappointing. The longer he's off the field, the more RB LaMont Jordan and QB Aaron Brooks will struggle. |
