I am glad to hear that Porter is excited for next season… in Oakland even but I am not happy about him changing his number to 81.  Al, how can you let Jerry Porter take Tim Brown’s number!!  It isn’t right!!  Tim has to be one of the top 10 Raiders of all time and you let Porter take his number?!  Maybe Jerry wants to prentend that all of the fans wearing Brown jerseys in the stands are wearing his jersey next season.  Come on Jerry, pick something else.  There are plenty of other numbers to choose from. Porter ready for new start in Oakland – NFL – Yahoo! Sports

So the Brooks experiment is over.  After a forgetful year at QB it looks like the Raiders are leaning towards selecting a QB with pick #1.  Tui is expected to leave as well as he is a free agent which just leaves Walters on the roster.  Better start watching that combine on NFL Network. 

Raiders cut ties with Brooks – NFL – Yahoo! Sports

Well the Raiders Head Coach search is over, the question remains, what did they find in the 31 year old Kiffin?  I was in favor of hiring a first time coach over a coach that has been fired (i.e., Fassel, Green, Turner) but Kiffin is very wet behind the ears.  Maybe I should have turned in my resume.  But the decision has been made so that means he is a Raider now and the Nation will be behind you as long as you, “Just win baby!”

Raiders make Kiffin NFL’s youngest head coach – NFL – Yahoo! Sports

Raiders are hoping that the search for a head coach does not take as long as it did last year.  I think promoting Coach Ryan is a good idea but they would NEED a good O-coordinator. 

NFL.com – Oakland Raiders Team News

Here is an article posted on Yahoo that details the status of the race for #1 between the Lions and the Ratiders in the next NFL draft.  Apparently if the Lions and Raiders lose, the Lions will get the #1 pick because of their strength of schedule.  That means the Lions need to beat the Cowboys and the Raiders need to lose to the Jets in order for Oakland to slide to the number one spot.  It could happen.  The article also speculates on who the Raiders would target but it is still too early to tell. 

In my opinion, in order for the Raiders to turn things around next year, they will need to do it through free agency.  Clean out ALL of the trouble makers, strengthen your offensive line, and pick a QB in the draft.

Raiders in running for top pick – NFL – Yahoo! Sports

Well, I didn’t expect Art to make this move at this point in the season.  Especially making a change involving his good friend Tom Walsh.  Art has defended him since bringing him out of retirement and I thought they would stick it out together but it seems that the losing is getting to Shell.  I don’t know much about the new offensive coordinator, John Shoop (other than he is the tight ends coach), but I don’t think the offense will get worse so let’s hope for the best.  I was kind of hoping that Shell would make some other changes like bench Moss or take away his Captain status.  I do have one other question though, is Whitted actually better than Curry?  Why isn’t he more involved?

 Oakland Raiders

Kawakami: Raiders got it right — they were wronged By Tim Kawakami 

Mercury News Staff Columnist  SAN DIEGO – Brace yourself. I know this is weird for you to read, because it’s staggeringly weird for me to type:  The Raiders got robbed Sunday in their 21-14 loss to the Chargers, got robbed in as remarkable and ridiculous a manner as any un-indicted co-conspirator could’ve imagined. 

They played well against a very good San Diego squad, they were ahead, and they got robbed, plain and tall. Robbed in clear daylight. Robbed, and they’re not allowed to press charges. Robbed, and they’re still not really sure how it happened and what rules determined it, if any. 

Everybody who saw Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson’s fourth-quarter celebratory fool’s flip — he assumed he was down, but he wasn’t — knows it was a fumble, had to be a fumble, definitely should’ve been ruled a fummm-ble! 

The Raiders’ Fabian Washington recovered. They were going to win this game, they were really going to win. But . . . 

After at least two announced reversals, referee Mike Carey finally ruled that Jackson‘s apparent fumble was actually an illegal forward pass (while 8 yards downfield!) and therefore it was a penalty but not a fumble. San Diego retained possession, first down. 

A little while later, LaDainian Tomlinson threw a 19-yard option touchdown pass to Antonio Gates, tying the score 14-14, revving the home crowd and signaling the Raiders’ inevitable fall to 2-9. 

That’s when I feared Raiders chief executive Amy Trask’s head might have exploded while she verbally jousted with NFL observer Jerry Seaman in the press box about 20 feet from me. Turns out it was only the cannon blast the Chargers use to celebrate scores. But you never know.  “A forward pass? That was bull,” defensive back Jarrod Cooper said later. “I mean, they changed the call, what, four times? That means somebody didn’t know what they were talking about, just flat out.  “I don’t think anybody that’s ever watched a football game has any idea how they could call that a pass.”  Ka-blam! The Raiders losing to the Chargers does not affect the playoff picture, of course. They always lose to the Chargers. And it does not mean that the NFL officials are conspiring against them.  But this decision was wrong in the same general, logical way that the Tuck Rule game in January 2002 was wrong. It was wrong because Jackson was flipping the ball away, not passing it, and any interpretation other than a fumble is egregiously foolish. 

“They went `first down San Diego,’ then our ball, then San Diego ball, then eh, eh, eh, who’s ball is it?” quarterback Aaron Brooks said. “Did they want to go back to the coin toss?”  It was wrong because the Raiders were ahead, had played better, had walled off Tomlinson within reason, had dominated Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and had taken advantage of an idiotic, game-losing move by Jackson. 

It was wrong, and this time the Raiders were, for once, both righteous and indignant. 

“We did learn something today,” Warren Sapp bellowed in the locker room. “That’s the first time you’ve ever heard of that, isn’t it? Somebody gets up, throws the ball down and that’s not a live ball? I’ve been in the league 12 years, that’s the first time for me. 

“I remember Plaxico Burress spiking the ball” against Jacksonville in 2000, ruled a fumble. “I don’t remember any rule change. Come on. Come on, man!” 

The ruling, and the loss, seemed to hit Coach Art Shell squarely in the solar plexus, and he has a big solar plexus. He is, after all, both a true Raider and a longtime NFL office executive. 

In his news conference, Shell barely seemed to have a voice, though he made sure to record his frustrations.  “I heard about three or four different stories during the course of that,” Shell said of Carey’s to-and-fro-ing on the Jackson play. “Nobody touched him. And he spiked the ball. I thought it should be our ball.”  Do you think you win the game if you get that fumble? “I believe we would have,” Shell said quietly. “Yes.” 

He was right. Sunday, for the second consecutive week, the Raiders had life and energy (and a future?), but also ended up with a loss.  It’s true, the Chargers (9-2) played this one a little fast and loose, until turning it over to Tomlinson in the fourth quarter. But the Raiders played well enough to beat one of the AFC’s best teams, until they were robbed. So yes, there is a team that’s more confused and confusing than the Raiders, and unfortunately for them, that team was officiating the game Sunday.

By Jason Jones – Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 23, 2006

OAKLAND-The immobile kid from Arizona State made a nifty move to set the tone.  It was third and 21 from the Raiders’ 39-yard line in the first quarter.  Arizona’s defensive line was bearing down on Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter, not known for his elusiveness.  Chike Okeafor had the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Walter within his grasp. But Walter slithered away to his left and found Randy Moss for a 32-yard gain.  Seven plays later, ReShard Lee scored on a one-yard run to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead that would become a 22-9 win Sunday at McAfee Coliseum.  It was the first victory for the Raiders (1-5), who entered the game the NFL’s only winless team.
It was Walter’s first victory as a starter, one that ended an 11-game losing streak that started Nov. 27, 2005, with a home loss to Miami.  It was also the first time coach Art Shell said after a game that Walter would start the next week, even as it appears Aaron Brooks is close to returning from a shoulder injury suffered in Week One.  None of that seemed to matter to Walter, who said Shell was given the game ball.  “I’m just happy we got the win,” Walter said. “Hopefully we’ll put the bricks in place to build a foundation.  “But it’s one good game; now we’ve got to make it two.”  Walter might have solidified himself as part of the Raiders’ foundation, but he left the game late in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury.  He said he could have played, but the coaches elected to have Marques Tuiasosopo finish the game.  But as long as Walter is healthy, the Raiders are his team. 
And the scramble and pass to Moss in the first quarter got it started.  “That was sweet; that was nice,” guard Barry Sims said. “That’s what you like. After the protection breaks down and a guy gets on him, he’s able to make guys miss and still make plays. That’s the kind of highlights you can expect to see from him.”  Walter completed 17 of 30 passes for 263 yards — all career bests — and a touchdown. It was Walter’s first game as a pro completing more than half of his passes.  But it wasn’t all good for Walter. He was intercepted late in the first half and lost two fumbles after being hit on sacks.  “Walter played well, I thought,” Shell said. “He made a couple of mistakes, but again, he’s young. But he made some great throws out there at times. He moved around in the pocket and made some good throws. He got us into some good checks at times, and he continues to grow.”  A lot of those good throws came on third downs, on which Walter was 9 of 10 for 137 yards. The Raiders converted 13 of 20 third downs (65 percent). 
Walter’s favorite target was Moss, who caught seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.  Ronald Curry said Walter showed what his teammates expected after he did not play as a rookie in 2005.  “We’ve been watching him for two years,” Curry said. “It wasn’t about growing up — it was about him getting out there and playing. And if you don’t play for a year, obviously there’s going to be some rough spots.”  Being a part of three of the Raiders’ five turnovers wasn’t a bright spot for the second-year quarterback, making his fourth career start.  “It’s not easy to talk about after a win,” Walter said of the turnovers. “But bottom line is, our defense stepped up.”  The Raiders didn’t allow a touchdown and kept Cardinals rookie quarterback Matt Leinart off balance with three sacks, two interceptions and constant pressure. Walter was peppered with questions during the week about Leinart, whom the Raiders didn’t draft because they believed in Walter.  Walter was 0-2 in college against Leinart, who was at USC winning national championships.  But that didn’t matter Sunday.  “One-and-oh as a professional,” Walter said with a laugh.

Report card

B-: OFFENSE
Five turnovers were a downer, but Andrew Walter played the best game of his career. Raiders converted 65 percent of third downs.
B+: DEFENSE
Had two interceptions and didn’t allow a touchdown. Line made Matt Leinart look like the rookie he is.
A: SPECIAL TEAMS
Perfect on two field goals and shored up problems in kick and punt coverage. Chris Carr had 118 yards on five kickoff returns and forced a fumble on a kickoff.
B: OVERALL
Sure, the Cardinals are bad. But so are the 49ers and Browns, both of whom beat Oakland this season. Still must fix turnover problems.
 

Walter helps Raiders enter the win column – sacbee.com