Oakland Raiders '09 Team page

Week 1

After much anticipation the NFL season is upon us. Week 1 pitted your Oakland Raiders against their division rivals the San Diego Chargers.

The game started off on a bad foot as WR Johnny Lee Higgins fumbled the first kick return of the game and the Chargers

recovered deep in Oakland territory. Oakland's D held up and only gave up a Kaeding FG. The Raiders tied game on the next

possession with a Janikowski FG from 37 yds out. The Second quarter saw the Chargers score first with a playaction pass

to TE Antonio Gates to take a 10-3 lead. The Raiders next drive stalled and a Lechler punt set up the

defense for a 3 and out. Oakland marched down the field with a long run by RB Darren Mcfadden and TE Zack Miller caught a

quick strike for a TD to tie the game 10-10. Kaeding ended the 2nd Qtr with a 25 yd fg. The Chargers started with the ball in the 2nd half

and added another fg to go up 16-10. That was the only score for a somewhat boring 3rd Qtr. The Raiders had ball to start the 4th and their

drive stumbled and were forced to punt. Using an aerial assault led by Gates the Chargers got into the endzone when RB Darren Sproles

caught a tipped pass and made someone miss for a TD putting them up 22-10. A failed 2-point conversion followed as San Diego tried to go

up 2 touchdowns. With not much time left on the clock the Raiders were forced to take some chances and costly J.Russell interception by

S.Cooper proved to be pivotal as it led to another FG and a 25-10 lead. On the next Raiders drive WR D.Heyward-Bey caught 2 passes of

20+ yds, and TE Zack Miller caught his 2nd TD pass from 12 Yds out making it 25-17. A failed onside kick ended all hope as QB Rivers took

a knee to end a hard fought game worthy of a Monday night primetime.

Players of the game:

San Diego:

Oakland:

Week 2 Raiders @ Kansas City (W 35-7)

Arrowhead Stadium K.C.- The Raiders went to Kansas City to play the Chiefs in a divisional rivalry game. After a loss last week to San

Diego, Oakland was looking to rebound against a weaker team in Kansas City. The game started with the Chiefs scoring a TD off a L.

Johnson 3 yd run up the middle. The Chiefs moved the ball with no problems, combining powerful runs and passes down the middle. On the

first possession of the game for Oakland RB Darren McFadden lost the ball on a fumble and left K.C. with great field position. For some

reason, after having success with the run, the Chiefs decided to pass instead. Oakland decided to pressure the QB Matt Cassell which forced

him into the 1st of six (6) interceptions. Nnamdi Asomugha started the turnover fest with a great play against Cassell and Bowe. After the

turnover Oakland drove down the field and McFadden Punched it in from 1 yd to tie the game a 7-7. After another Cassell INT, the Raiders

took advantage and scored on a 5 yd run by Justin Fargas making it 14-7. Right before the half ended QB Jamarcus Russell

hit WR Louis Murphy for 24yds that lead to a 50 yd FG and a halftime score of 17-7.



The second half was all Raiders as CB Chris Johnson scored on a INT, DE Greg Ellis also got into the action with a pick 6 of his own.

The pressure proved too much to handle for Cassell and he ended the day with 6 INT's and a bunch a bruises from being hit all day.



Highlight tags (click on text in recap) [*got into the action; hit Louis Murphy for 24 yds; a great play against Cassell and Bowe]

dude excellent game as well as excellent recap. I definitely look forward to our next meeting.

Thanks! And for sure I got that game circled! Turnovers are bad haha.

Turnovers are really demoralizing in madden. In my first game as the Eagles in this league I forced 6 fumbles and recovered 5 of them. The guy quit the franchise soon afterwards. So yea....turnovers suck.

Oh and I do believe our divisions play this year so....looking forward to the game.

For sure, Should be a good one.

anyone notice there's links in my recaps to highlights? siiiiiiick haha. like the sproles tipped pass TD.

Week 3 Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders (W 38-23)

After getting their first win in Kansas City, the Raiders looked to keep that momentum going against division rival Denver. The first quarter

was defensive mostly with Denver getting a 35 yd FG by M.Prater and Oakland getting a touch on a D.McFadden 44 yd run. Denver then

added another FG this time from 43 yds out to close the gap 7-6. JaMarcus Russell then hooked up with WR Heyward Bey for a 60 yd strike

to make it 14-6. Denver's next drive stalled again as they were limited to a 48 yd FG. After getting the ball back, McFadden took a toss

outside and took a shot, which caused a fumble. Elvis Dumervil scooped it up and took it to the house making it 14-15, the Broncos elected

to go for 2 to make it a 3 point game and failed on the attempt. After an Oakland drive and McFadden's second TD of the game, the Broncos

tried to score before half and T. Brandstater threw a pick 6 to Chris Johnson as the 1st half expired. Halftime score 28-15. The second half

saw scores by : J.Fargas (4-yd TD run), S.Janikowski (54 yd FG) and K. Moreno (2 Yd run). The first half deficit proved enough as Oakland

pulled out a divison win.

Players of the game:

Earlier today the Raiders worked out a deal that sent WR/KR Johnnie Lee Higgins to the Tampa Bay Bucs for HB Cadillac Williams. GM EnerG was asked for comment.

"Cadillac is a guy we've been looking at for a while, I know we have 3 solid running backs already but Cadillac adds that experience factor even though hes 27 I still think hes got alot left in the tank. The guy is smooth and runs hard."

When asked about playing time:


"I can see Cadillac jumping into the no.2 spot on our depth chart behind Darren, which means Fargas or Bush wont see many carries, I like those guys alot, but this is a business where you win or you go home. So right now were looking to shop one of those guys. Hopefully they land a gig and produce for somebody else."

Its to early to tell if this trade will work out for Oakland, but its good to see the GM make a move in week 4 as the trade deadline is only 2 weeks away!

Week 4: Oakland Raiders (2-1) @ Houston Texans (2-0-1) (W 49-17)

After back to back wins in the AFC west the Raiders were confident going into Houston to play the undefeated Texans. Houston WR Andre Johnson leads the league in receiving and is a homerun threat at all times. The biggest surprise in this young season has been the defense of the young Raiders, they have been playing well since week 2 and have been lessening the load on the shoulders off 3rd year QB Jamarcus Russell and the offense.

On the first drive of the game Houston's M. Schaub hit TE V. Davis for a 56yd TD. With such a quick strike, Oakland figured it would be a long day. After failed drives by both teams, Oakland got to the HOU 3 yd line when DE. A. Smith got a sack and forced a 36 yd FG. The first quarter ended with a score of 7-3. After a few nice passes to Andre Johnson, the defense started to key in on him. DT R.Seymour and DE Greg Ellis were constantly beating their guys to get in Schaub's face. On a 4th and 2 Houston decided to go for it. CB C.Johnson picked off the pass to Slaton and took it to the house making the score 10-7. Seeing how well this worked, Oakland stopped blitzing linebackers and added nickel and dime personel to help with Houstons aerial assault. On Houston's next drive, R.Seymour got to the QB and forced a fumble in which DT. T.Kelley returned for 49 yds and a touch making it 17-7. Houston quickly answered as A.Johnson beat 3 Oakland defenders on a crossing route and a foot race for a 75 yd score. Up 17-14 Oakland then drove into FG range and hit one from 48 yds out. Houston followed with a 3 and out and Oakland scored on a 10 yd quick strike to WR Louis Murphy right before the half. 27-14 halftime score. Second half scoring began when CB C. Johnson picked off another pass for a score to put Oakland up 35-14. Houston added a FG to make it 35-17 and forced Oakland to punt on their next possession. With Houston down late in the 3rd, they had to throw. R.Seymour hit Schaub as he threw and DE G.Ellis picked off the floating pass for a 17yd score to make it 42-17. Ellis then picked off another pass on a screen pass, 2 for him in the game. Oakland sat their starters for the fourth and featured new pick up Cadillac Williams. Williams had 49 yds on 10 carries and found the endzone for his first TD of the year, and with the Raiders. So all in all, defense was the name of the game as Oakland forced 5 INT'S and scored 4 Defensive TD's.

Players of the game:

Week 5 Oakland Raiders (3-1) @ New York Giants (3-1) (L 10-34)

Riding a 3 game win streak Oakland went into New York to play the Giants. It was a rainy day in NY and it clearly affected play. The Giants

methodically drove the field and E.Manning hooked up with rookie TE T.Beckum on a 37 yard pass to strike first 7-0. Oakland quickly

answered with a score of their own when M.Bush caught a 9 yard pass. That was the only positive for Oakland as the Giants ripped off 24

unanswered points, 3 scores belonging to HB A.Bradshaw (37 yd TD rec, 15 Yd TD run, 26 yd TD rec). He proved too much for the Oakland

defense..He's slippery enough and the rain didn't help and he seemingly slipped the 1st guy and met him for a tackle, and most times the

second guy. J.Russel was off target all day, as missed his recievers deep, short, long, anywhere in between. On 2 plays with NY in a 4-6

Heyward-Bey was left wide open with no corners on him, and a LB at least 8 yards away..both times Russell missed him high. Oakland had

no luck on the ground and were forced to throw 40 times. Overall a very ugly game for Oakland, they look to bounce back against another

tough NFC east team next week in the Eagles.

Game note: CB C.Johnson, an early defensive stud for Oakand, broke his jaw and is out for 3 weeks.

Oakland, California- The Raiders made a deal with the Chicago Bears sending Rookie strong safety Michael Mitchell for kick returner/free safety Danieal Manning. This move comes before the deadline. When asked about the move EnerG repsonded.

"Well this move has a couple of intentions the first was acquiring a kick/punt returner, the second was replacing Mitchell with a decent defensive back to play in our nickel and dime. CB Chris Johnson has been huge for us this year and broke his jaw during the Giants game. So when he gets back all he has to worry about is playing his starting CB spot and let Manning handle the returns.

Mitchell has great potential to be a solid player in this league, but sometimes you have to give to get. He hits hard and plays the safety spot well for a young guy, the Bears will be happy with him"

Week 6- Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) @ Oakland Raiders (3-2) (W 41-31)

After a disappointing loss to the NFC east leaders the NY Giants, the Raiders looked to rebound against a dangerously offensive Philadelphia

Eagles team. The game started off with a bang in the first quarter after an Eagles FG, newly acquired RaiderD.Manning took the first kickoff 100 yards to the house and put the Raiders up 7-3. The Eagles then drove the length of the field and scored on a 2yd pass to FB L.Weaver making it 10-7 Philly. Raiders then responded with a drive of their own that ended with a 2 yd TD run by D.McFadden. (14-10 Oakland). The Eagles came right back and scored on a 7 yd screen pass to Maclin(17-14 PHI). Nnamdi Asomugha had a returned fumble TD taken away after an Eagle challenge on this scoring drive. The Raiders had no problem against this defense using the run for most of their attack. For some reason Philly DE Trent Cole lined up way off the line looking to pass rush while the Oakland HBs ran to that hole setting up a 7 yd TD catch by C.Williams right before halftime. (21-17 Oak)

The Raiders scored to open up the 2nd half on a S.Janikowski 39 yd FG (24-17 Oak). They shut down Eagle HB B.Westbrook at the start of the game so it was an all out air attack by Philly. It usually consisted on a rollout by Mcnabb to avoid the pass rush and find open recievers. Philly scored on a 10 yd pass to Westbrook to tie the game at 24. (24-24) Oakland responded yet again with a 15 yd score to WR C.Schilens to put Oakland up 31-24. After a 3 and out by Philly, Oakland scored again this time on a 7 yd run by C.Williams. (38-24). Philly then countered with the screen pass to J.Maclin for a 72 yd TD to put them withing 1 TD with 5 minutes left. Philly decided to go for an onside kick instead of kicking to the Raiders and relying on their defense. That proved to be the nail in the coffin as the Raiders recovered basically in Janikowksi's range. So the Raiders were guaranteed points. Head scratcher there. Oakland ran the ball down to the 2 minute mark and kicked a 41 yd FG to go up 41-31. Thats how the game ended.

After the game Coach/GM EnerG commented on the game "Im not happy with this win, we let Mcnabb scramble every where on every play. We let the same screen play to Maclin beat us 4 or 5 times. and we didnt respond well to the constant hurry up offense. Other than that I like how our run game dictated this game for us."

hey nice recap of the game. sorry i gave you shit afterwards....you know how it is.

good game

Week 7 Oakland Raiders @ New York Jets (W 44-22)

Week 8 Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers (W41-21)

Week 9 BYE

Sorry for no recaps. Been busy

AFC West Standings as of week 9
Oakland Raiders 6-2
Denver Broncos 5-3
Kansas City Chiefs 4-4
San Diego Chargers 2-6

Stats

J.Russell - 85 for 150 1182yds 9 TD 4 INT

D. Mcfadden - 127 attempts 778 yds 8 TD 2 FMB

D. Heyward-Bey - 17 rec 407 yds 3 TD

K. Morrison - 32 Tackles

N. Asomugha - 6 INTS 2 TD
C. Johnson - 4 INTS 4TD
D. Manning - 6 INTS 2 TD

R.Seymour & T.Scott - 4 Sacks each

This game was controlled the whole way by KC. With Cassel finding the open target time after time. Handling the Oakland blitzes with ease. The Raiders had a tough time getting the run game going which led to an inaccurate JaMarcus Russel having to throw the ball. Larry Johnson had a decent game with 1 TD and 60+ yds rushing. Back up running back J.Charles showed his home run ability on a 48 yd dump off score. The Raiders play the Bengals next.

Week 11 Bengals @ Raiders (L 27-17)

This game was odd. The Raiders forced 5 fumbles and recovered 4 of them but only managed to put up 17 points. The offense had another rough week as McFadden gained -5 yds on 5 carries. The run game is a big indicator of this teams success. And when they dont run well then its going to be a long day. For the Bengals WR G.Lewis had 2 scores and kicker S. Graham a couple of FGs. The defense played fairly well with the turnovers, but offense could not get anything going. This leaves the AFC west wide open for Denver and KC to sweep in and take the top spot.

You have to wonder if the Raiders will ever rebound. With rather low expectations this year its a surprise Oakland has made it this far in 1st place. Next week doesnt look too good as they will face a 7-2 Cowboy team.