Marcus The G.O.A.T.

Marcus Allen was recently voted the top Raider of all time over on ESPN, despite finishing up with those nasty Chefs. It is hard to disagree, however, because Marcus did it about as well as anybody ever, Silver and Black or otherwise.

1) Who is the greatest player in Raiders history?

57.8% Marcus Allen, RB (1982-92):
Nearly 13,000 yards rushing-receiving, NFL’s No. 2 with 123 rushing TDs.

13.5% Tim Brown, WR (1988-2004):
Heisman Trophy success story who was one of NFL’s best. Had nine 1,000-yards seasons.

9.8% Howie Long, DE (1981-93):
Second-round surprise piled up 84 sacks and eight Pro Bowls in 13 seasons.

6.7% Ken Stabler, QB (1970-79):
”The Snake” made four Pro Bowls and ranked among passing leaders for the 1970s.

4.6% Fred Biletnikoff, WR (1965-78):
Hall of Famer who made six Pro Bowls and held most franchise receiving records at retirement.

3.2% Art Shell, OL (1968-1982):
Eight-time Pro Bowler who anchored the line, later coached the team to the AFC title game.

2.1% Gene Upshaw, OL (1967-81):
Hall of Famer started 207 consecutive games, played on two Super Bowl winners.

1.1% Ted Hendricks, LB (1975-1983):
Key defensive player on three Super Bowl winners, versatile linebacker.

0.6% Willie Brown, CB (1967-78):
Hall of Famer who made Pro Bowl his first six seasons with team.

0.5% Dave Casper, TE (1974-80, 1984):
”The Ghost” was named first-team All-Pro four years in a row, elected to Hall of Fame.

Arizona Cardinals (1-1) vs Oakland Raiders (1-1)

Preseason week three this weekend finds your Arizona Cardinals taking a trip to the bay and taking on the Oakland Raiders.

What to watch for: This is the last game before the first round of cuts that are due by Tuesday. There probably won’t be a lot of surprises made in this week’s cuts, however, it doesn’t make it any less important for the five guys that are going to be cut. For those not making this team, it is still an opportunity for players to shine and possibly hook with another team before opening day.

Who you will see at QB for the Cardinals: Matt Leinart will start. Kurt Warner will come in probably sometime in the second quarter. The timing I’m sure will depend on what Leinart has been able to accomplish by the time the middle of the second quarter arrives.

One improvement I am looking for is in the kicking game. I’m sure coach Ken Whisenhunt doesn’t want touchbacks from K Neil Rackers, however I am quite sure he doesn’t want to see the ball going out of bounds on kickoffs either. Also, let’s see if Rackers can avoid another missed extra point. No excuse on that one.

Don’t expect much more out this game than what you saw last week and expect even less next week when they finish the preseason at home against Denver.

Gametime is 6 pm on ABC-15. Radio coverage is on KTAR 92.3 FM.

After the game, the Cardinals return to Tempe to finish out the preseason. The Cardinals broke camp on Thursday in Flagstaff.

Go Cards!

Scott Allen

AZScott

Raiders-Niners Highlights

Raiders-Niners Highlights

McFadden Behind The Scenes Of “Madden Nation”

Make sure you check out Darren McFadden’s blog over at YardBarker.com

Stray Arrows: Crypt Keeper Keeps Walker From Walking Away

And, yes, I am patting myself on the back over that redunkulous tongue-twister title. Al Davis just begged Javon Walker to come back and waste $55 million of the Raiders‘ money. Not all free agency signings have to end up this way, but it certainly gives the ever-growing free-agency-is-a-waste-of-money crowd some ammo.

I still think it just comes down to spending cap room wisely. When teams get in trouble is often when they spend on guys who are aging, coming off injuries, have emotional baggage, etc. It’s like the bargain DVD bin at Wall-Mart; once in a while you’ll find a steal, but its mostly just a pile of crap. From ESPN:

Oakland Raiders receiver Javon Walker, struggling with his performance during training camp, told the team Thursday he intended to retire and offered to return his $11 million signing bonus.

According to a source, Raiders owner Al Davis persuaded Walker to remain with the team.

Javon Walker wants to retire

ESPN has a source telling them that on Thursday Javon Walker asked to return the $11 million dollar signing bonus he received, and told the Oakland Raiders he was done playing football.

Walker is said to have told the Raiders he hasn’t been happy with his performance during training camp, but without stating any other details, ESPN says that Al Davis convinced Walker not to retire.

I’ve said week after week that there’s just something wrong with this guy. Although I still don’t know what is going on in his head or his life, nor do I really care to know, it does seem that whatever is going on is weighing too much on the 29-year old receiver for him to be able to handle the rigors of the NFL. Let alone hone in on his incredible talents long enough to actually live up to the tens of millions of dollars that the Raiders have given him, and promised him over the next 6 seasons.

I’m very curious to find out what Davis told him. Did he convince Walker to at least stay until camp was done? Has Walker’s feelings really changed? I’ll have more to say as more details emerge.

Updated:

Walker had yet another bad practice this morning.  Lane Kiffin said on Friday that Walker would start joining the team on Monday for both of their daily practices.  Kiffin said the 2-a-days are meant to help Walker catch up to speed.

2 days down, but Russell says he’s good to go

JaMarcus Russell sat out todays practice after sitting out last night. 

Coach Lane Kiffin said X-rays were “fine.”

“None whatsoever,” Russell said when asked if there was anything to be overly concerned about. “I’m OK and I’m pretty happy.”

That said, there are no guarantees Russell will practice during the Raiders double session Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Behind Enemy Lines: Us On Them

Here’s my breakdown, er, beat down of our AFC West rivals:

Denver Broncos:

We were also interested in OT Ryan Clady, until we saw that he basically tanked his Wonderlic. He actually would have scored a 14 on the test instead of 13, but he spelled his last name with two “Ds” accidentally.

As for their receiving corps, what a mess. Darrell Jackson? That guy could drop a newborn baby in the delivery room. Keary Colbert? He hardly played in Carolina even when Steve Smith was hurt? Brandon Stokley? He had one good game–Thanksgiving day about four years ago. Must have been white boy day. Brandon Marshall? Hopefully there won’t be any McDonald’s bags on the field this season–I’m lovin’ it! Samie Parker? After watching him screw up for us for years, this will be a nice change. I wouldn’t trade Dwayne Bowe for the whole lot.

Is it just me, or does Jay Cutler look like he has Down syndrome? He did carve us up last year a little bit, though. That might be more difficult without Travis Henry around. I think ol’ Horse Face, aka Mike Shanahan, took analysts who say the Broncos can just put anyone back there a little too literally. I’m actually hoping they have as bad of a season as I’m expecting and ownership cans his ass.

The Bottom Line: The Broncos aren’t any better than us.

Oakland Raiders:

Despite how good Broncos and Chargers fans think their respective teams are, this is the only AFC West squad that has made a Super Bowl appearance since the dawn of the new Millennium. Too bad they’ve won like a dozen games since. Is spending a bajillion dollars on Javon Walker and Tommy Kelly really going to get the Crypt Keeper and his boy wonder coach back to the Promised Land? I don’t think so.

I do like Run DMC, but if Lane Kiffin is Robin, JaMarcus Russell is Fatman. Did he eat Daunte Culpepper? Now they’ve signed Greg Wesley? Were they trying to one-up the Broncos on the pathetic Parker signing? What’s next, the Bolts signing Kendrell Bell? I do like Nnamdi Asomugha, but it pisses me off that I have to look up his name every time. I also do like DeAngelo Hall, but not for a quarter of the U.S. defecit. You’ve got to give it to Al, however, he ain’t trying to take any of that money with him when he checks out. Not that I admire how he’s spent his change, but I do admire owners who aren’t frugal. I’ll give him that.

The Bottom Line: At least one Chiefs’ win, if not two.

San Diego Chargers:

They bitch and bitch and bitch about Marty Schottenheimer, then go out and sign…Norv Turner? That’s like bitching about Cuba Gooding Jr.’s acting only to replace him with L.L. Cool J. WTF? Marty, if Carl does end up getting canned, his office has your name on it. As far as I’m concerned, anyway.

As a KSU fan, I love me some Darren Sproles. But isn’t L.T. a bit of a crybaby? None of that on my fantasy team, even though he did win it all for me once. Not seeing Michael Turner over on the sidelines will be nice, but I’m not sure Sproles isn’t better, especially with back-up touches. I’m actually thinking L.T. might get hurt this year. Not that I’d wish that on anybody, but every running back has to visit the M*A*S*H unit eventually. Even him.

As for the defense, San Diegians better hope that those guys are taking their Vitamin S again. After all, Luis Castillo just got a huge raise, and they wouldn’t want to see Shawne Merriman get punked by a little guy like MJD again. That was embarrassing, son. Is Vincent Jackson finaly going to break out this year? Yeah? Really? I almost actually believe you this time.

The Bottom Line: Sure, they’ll be good. But I’ll thoroughly enjoy watching them get bounced by New England in the playoffs–again.

Let’s go ahead and have you Addicts dogpile on and add insult to injury in the comments thread! Go Chiefs!

Behind Enemy Lines: Them On Us

(Sorry for my disappearing act the past 24 hours or so. Came down with one of my patented migraines some of you have heard about. No, I’m not talking about a hangover, as, like, Jared Allen, I’ve been dry for a while now. Anyway, had to unplug for a day, but I’m back…)

The other AFC West bloggers were kind enough to drop their assessments of the Chiefs recently. Here they are:

Johnny of Bolt Beat (Chargers):

Dwayne Bowe is promising… but who is going to get him the ball? What’s his name? (I refuse to remember the name of a Chiefs quarterback. It’s kind of like getting to know a new bartender at a really, really bad bar. They might be nice and all, but the joint is so bad, it will break their spirit soon enough and send them crying out the door.) Chiefs have nothing to look forward too. You hear me, Larry Johnson, nothing.

The front office had a dynamite draft. Plenty of picks to fill a lot of holes. I don’t see these moves coming to fruition this season. Look to next year, Kansas City.

Chris of Just Blog Baby (Raiders):

A lot like the talent in San Diego, there are few player’s that I think are a joke in K.C. They have a nice combination of young and old talent, and although it will be a weakness at times I think they will do far better than they did last year. I know Brodie Croyle hasn’t become a steady starter, but I loved this kid at Bama, and have no doubt that he can play at this level. It took the overlooked Jeff Garcia and the first round blue chip Rich Gannon to totally different paths to the Bay Area where they finally lived up to their abilities. I hope for Croyle’s sake he finds his place sooner than later, but I can’t believe he’ll never make it in this league. Larry Johnson might not last forever and Kolby Smith isn’t the best second choice, but after Smith’s performance against the Raiders last season in Arrowhead he gives me no place to say the Chiefs are in trouble at running back. Dwayne Bowe reminds me of the Texans Andre Johnson, and he should start putting up similar numbers as the Pro-Bowl wideout.

7 of the 11 presumed defensive starters were drafted in the first and second round (Napolean Harris, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Glenn Dorsey, Patrick Surtain, Bernard Pollard, Brandon Flowers). The lack of effort in free agency, especially since an upcoming un-caped season approaches, shows how stingy Carl Peterson is. He knew he was going to have to give into the absurd rookie contracts ($51 million makes Dorsey one of the top paid DT’s in the league), but refused to shell out any money for veterans that were on the market. The Chiefs are still in bad shape, and need a lot to go right and a couple of guys to come out of nowhere for them to come close to .500.

Kim of Predominantly Orange (Broncos):

Last year’s 4-12 season sent Chiefs fans longing for the days of Priest Holmes and a healthy Trent Green. The ups and downs continued for the team in the offseason as they lost Jared Allen to the Vikes, and nabbed Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert in the first round of the draft.

To Broncos fans: Don’t worry too much about this team. While playing at Arrowhead isn’t a dream come true, we had some success against this team even during last year’s abysmal season. As Jay Cutler was dropping pounds, we put a beating on the Chiefs both times we played them. The life-saving efforts of Tony Gonzalez may just be the highlight of the Chiefs’ year for fans.

Chiefs outlook - Overall Record: 7-9; AFC Record: 2-4 (They can beat the Raiders twice)

Did I say nice–whoops! I’ll have my breakdown of our AFC West rivals soon…

Next Page »