August 31st, 2006 10:07pm
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Remember those old slugfests in the Kingdome? The Raiders
had some great games with the Seahawks before the dome was imploded, but the
venue – while offering the Hawks a huge home-field advantage – was an aesthetic
dud.
In contrast, Qwest Field, pet project of Seahawks owner Paul
Allen, is a space-age beauty, capped by huge arcing spans of steel that look
like suspension bridges. At the north end of the stadium is a small,
freestanding pyramid …
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August 30th, 2006 08:11pm
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OK, Raider Nation. I apologize. I told you the deadline for the Jarrod Cooper First Annual Raiders Tattoo Contest was Oct. 31, and that Cooper was throwing in a pair of tickets to the Raiders-Steelers game. Several of you then pointed out that the game is Oct. 29, which didn’t make much sense.
I had forgotten that when Coop sweetened the pot, he amended the deadline to Oct. 26. So there …
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August 29th, 2006 08:29pm
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OK, you ink-stained Raiders fans, here’s your chance to win
a cool $1,000, courtesy of safety Jarrod Cooper.
Cooper, in addition to his hellacious special-teams play,
saucy tales and collection of giant snakes, is known for his tattoos -
especially the vaguely tribal swooshes that fill most of his left arm. And he
wants to see yours. He announced to writers Tuesday that he’s got a thousand
bucks waiting for the person who can show him …
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August 29th, 2006 05:00pm
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The Raiders are where they need to be, at 75 players. They
got there by cutting six guys Tuesday – wide receivers Burl Toler and Rick
Gatewood, quarterback Kent Smith, tight end Derek Miller and cornerback Dennis
Davis – and placing four players on injured reserve – fullback Joe Hall,
linebacker Timi Wusu, running back DeJuan Green and defensive tackle Michael
Quarshie.
Those 10 joined six players cut the previous day: tight end
Marcellus Rivers, quarterback Reggie …
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August 28th, 2006 07:38pm
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The best thing about the Raiders’ signing Jeff George on
Monday? It was so patently unbelievable, it gave you carte blanche to mess with
people’s heads.
Raiders PR director Mike Taylor broke the news after the
open locker room session at midday, gathering the present writers in a circle.
The reaction: several seconds of dumbfounded silence. Then came the opportunity
to inform each new person who walked in the door, eliciting the expected “yeah,
right” responses.
I called …
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August 26th, 2006 03:22pm
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OK, Art Shell and Ted Daisher, can we call off the Doug
Gabriel experiment yet? Throughout training camp and the preseason, Gabriel and
Chris Carr have shared duties on punt and kickoff returns. Carr takes a few too many
risks, but he’s an electric open-field runner. That was in evidence Friday
night, when he was one toe tackle away from a possible touchdown on the opening
kickoff, and later when he made about five guys …
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August 24th, 2006 03:21pm
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Well, training camp is over, and with it goes our chance to witness live practices. Once the team moves down to Alameda, the writers’ information comes secondhand, from coach Art Shell and his players. That information includes the configuration of the depth chart, which can be a little hazy when you’re not seeing it with your own eyes.
To mark the occasion, here’s a look at the Raiders’ first-team offense and …
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August 23rd, 2006 03:45pm
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It was great to see Ronald Curry working at practice
Tuesday, but several other Raiders wound up sore.
Wide receiver Alvis Whitted was the first to go. He strained
his groin and left the field, though he said afterward it was no big deal. Then
defensive tackle Michael Quarshie, the Footballin’ Finn, had someone fall on
the back of his legs. Quarshie hurt his left knee and followed Whitted to the
locker room. Finally, we noticed …
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August 23rd, 2006 03:02pm
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One of the more shocking pieces of news to emerge this week was the decision by a Dade County (Fla.) Circuit judge to sentence former Raiders center Barret Robbins to five years’ probation for attempted murder, battery and three other charges. The charges stem from a wild brawl in Miami Beach on Jan. 15, 2005, when Robbins injured three police officers – he rammed one cop’s head into a wall …
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August 21st, 2006 07:39pm
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It’s hard to explain how the Raiders’ offense could improve
in every facet after stinking up the field twice this preseason – even
factoring in the home crowd and the level of competition.
Did Aaron Brooks and LaMont Jordan
and Robert Gallery and Langston Walker all get better
at the same time? Doubtful.
If there was one main underlying factor, I think it was Tom
Walsh’s play calling against the 49ers. San
Francisco seemed surprised to …
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Phil Barber covers the Raiders for The Press Democrat, uncovering news and features despite the team’s best efforts to keep everything a secret. He’ll keep our online audience up-to-date and informed with his blog “Instant Raiders.”
