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2007 NFL Schedule
2007 NFL First round draft order: 1. Oakland Raiders (2-14) JaMarcus Russell QB, LSU
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Raiders stink up the joint - again Oakland has now lost five games in a row. Only their 28-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers was by more than 11-points and Oakland held a fourth quarter lead in most of them. It would be easy to point a finger only at the offense, but despite their great play during the first three and a half quarters of the game, the Raiders defense looked like the 30th ranked unit they are in 2007 and not the 3rd ranked defense of 2006. Josh McCown was booed during the warm ups and a five of five start passing raised fans hope early on. Josh finished the game 14 of 27, 108-yards and an interception. And he is hurt again. This time he got a deep thigh bruise when Chicago's Hunter Hillenmeyer tackled him in the fourth quarter. If McCown can't start next week against Minnesota then Danute Culpepper would get the start. Will that mean JaMarcus gets elevated to the #2 QB spot, one play away from the brittle Culpepper getting hurt. Then I wonder if Russell will give Oakland their best chance of winning. The crowd was chanting for #1 pick JaMarcus Russell to get into the game, but once again he sat and watched Oakland lose. Oakland tried to pound the ball with running back Justin Fargas. He carried the ball 23-times (81-yards) and had five receptions for 23-more yards. LaMont Jordan was de-activated to give Dominic Rhodes a chance to play. Rhodes got all of one carry for two yards. At 2-7 the playoffs can't still be in the minds of Oakland's coaching staff. If they are coaching to reach the playoffs in 2007 they are wasting their time. Sure they might still have a shot, but winning out the season and all the tie breakers that need to happen won't. Oakland's AFC record (2-5) means they will not win very many tie breakers. Oakland might try beating somebody in their own division. It has been over two years since Oakland beat a squad from the AFC West. The Raiders played without their two starting cornerback's against Chicago. Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington were both hurt last week against Houston. Stanford Routt and Chris Carr played in their place and they did a great job, holding the Bears passing in check until it mattered the most. It looked like a baseball game until the fourth quarter. A 3-3 defensive battle got some life when Jano hit a 3-run homer, I mean kicked a 52-yard field goal with 4.04 left in the game. The kick was set up by great Raider's field position. Tim Dwight returned a Bears punt 12-yards to the Raiders 47. Seven plays and 19-yards later Jano did his thing and the packed house was buzzing. It did not last long. Grossman had done little to nothing since taking over for Griese. Bears fans could not believe their eyes when Rex let go a perfect strike to Berriman who ran right past Carr for the catch and score. Safety Stuart Schweigert was stuck in the middle of the field not knowing what to do. Why he would let Chicago's deep threat get past him so late in the game is beyond me, but that's what he did. Oakland still had a chance to win. Now down 10-6 with over three minutes left, McCown sealed Oakland's fate when he fumbled the ball inside the Raiders ten yard line the next time Oakland got the ball back..
Texans do it big in Oak-Town It was not pretty. Oakland spotted Houston a 17-0 half time lead before making a game of it in the fourth quarter. The Raiders pulled to within 17-10 before giving up a game ending 42-yard touchdown pass to Andre Davis in the fourth quarter. Once again Oakland's offense was lifeless in the first half and the defense failed to hold when the team needed it the most. Oakland is now 2-6 at the midway point in the season. The fans have turned on starting quarterback Josh McCown. They booed him every time he ran out on to the field and they chanted for rookie DeMarcus Russell to play from the middle of the first quarter. Head coach Lane Kiffin almost pulled the switch in the first half. " When we got down 14-0 I almost went to DeMarcus. I just want to give my team the best chance to win every week." coach Kiffin said after the game. McCown did not have a good game by any stretch of the imagination throwing for 158-yards, one touchdown but three picks and he could of had more - pick that is. Justin Fargas had a good day running the football for Oakland, gaining 104-yards on the ground and scoring a touchdown.
Raiders can't stop LT, lose in San Diego San Diego went up 14-0 in a flash against the Oakland Raiders in an AFC West match up for first place and never looked back in route to a 28-14 win. The Raiders did not roll over, coming back to make a game out of it. It was to much LT for the Raiders. San Diego's running back got right against the Raiders, rushing for 198-yards and four TD's. Oakland missed out on a chance to be in first place all by themselves. The Chargers now share the lead with Kansas City. The Raiders fell a game back, but they are closer to the top of the division then they were last season. The Chargers came right at the Raiders. LT jumped over the line from four yards out to score the first TD of the game with nine minutes left in the first quarter. It was a sign of things to come. Oakland did nothing with the ball the next time they had it and punted to the Chargers. LT finished off that drive with a 27-yard TD scamper and just like that it was 14-0 San Diego. Oakland got some help from it's defense when linebacker Thomas Howard continued his impersonation a safety intercepting his fourth pass of the season. He took it to the house 66-yards away. Howard's TD came right after Raiders punter Shane Lechler thought a fake punt was still on and he got dropped at the Raiders 34. Culpepper played ok under center for Oakland He passed for 230-yards on 24 of 37 passing with one TD, but he also threw two picks. The first one set up LT's second score. LaMont Jordan got the bulk of the rushing attempt's for Oakland gaining 42-yards on 18-carries. Justin Fargas got two carries and Dominic Rhodes, fresh off his four game suspension, did not get in the game. We had a ball game. Oakland came up a yard short of trying the game heading into the half. Starting QB Danute Culpepper hit Ronald Curry who took it down to the one. Two plays later Culpepper fumbled after getting sacked and that was that. LT made it 21-7 when he took a handoff and broke through the left side of the line from 13-yards out midway through the third quarter. The Raiders made it interesting, pulling to within seven (21-14) when Culpepper hooked up with rookie tight end Zach Miller with a one yard TD pass on 4th down with 5:18 left in the game. San Diego got the ball back and went 85-yards in six plays. LT ended Oakland's hopes with a 41-yard TD jaunt for the final score. The Raiders now get ready for the Kansas City Chief's who hit town Oct. 21st. Game time for that one is 1:05pm. Oakland will have to contend with Tony Gonzales. KC's tight end caught two touchdowns in the Chief's 27-20 win over Cincinnati. The game will also be for a share of first place with San Diego. Oakland has a now 16-game losing streak against the AFC West. If they can stop that against KC, Oakland will keep pace with the Chargers while getting a leg up on the Chief's.
First place Raiders Who would have thought. The Raiders, in a first place tie with, not San Diego, but the Kansas City Chief's and Denver Bronco's after four games of the season. That is where the teams stands after Danute Culpepper scored five TD's leading the Raiders to a 35-17 victory over Miami.
The Raiders continued to run the ball at will. It did not seem to matter who got the rock. Oakland just lined up and went right at Miami. The Dolphin's defense is not what it used to be and they gave up over 30-points for the 3rd straight game. Starter LaMont Jordan went out of the game with a back injury late in the first half and Justin Fargas replaced him to the tune of a career high 179-yards on 22-carries. This against a Miami defense that prides itself on playing tough, run stuffing defense. The Raiders piled up a total of 299-yards rushing in the win. Jerry Porter had his best game in years, catching three passes for 52-yards and two TD's. The biggest one was on third down and the Raiders clinging to a 21-17 lead midway through the third quarter. The 27-yarder made it 28-17 Oakland and for the first time in over a year the Raiders had some breathing room late in a game. They can thank Culpepper for that. Given a new lease on his NFL life, Danute did just enough to move the ball and put Oakland in a position to score, touchdowns. That is something Oakland has not done very often the past couple of years. Oakland is used to driving the field and have to settle for a field goal. Their lack of points keep they defense under constant pressure not to give up the big play which is not the way to win in the NFL. the Raiders were last in the NFL in touchdown's scored last year. The way the team ran the ball it looks like they have gone back to basic's with the offense. Nothing fancy, just run the ball until they stop it. Miami was missing their man in the middle, Zach Thomas and it showed against the Raiders. Ronnie Brown was the offensive star for Miami. He accounted for over 200-yards off offense and a rushing TD, but after QB Trent Green hit tight Justin Peelle for a three yard TD making it a 21-17 Raiders lead at the end of the 3rd quarter, Oakland put the game away. That has been one of the hardest things for the Raiders to do the past couple of season's. They have blown many a lead, but not this time. Daunte led two more scoring drives and the Raiders defense did the rest. Green was picked off twice by the now ball hawking Raiders defense. linebacker Thomas Howard snatched his third of the season while new starter Stanford Routt collected his second of the season. What is ahead for the 2-2 Raiders. Only time will tell. Despite the points he put up on the board, head coach Lane Kiffin is still not sold on Culpepper as the Raiders starting QB. A bye week is up next for Oakland followed by a game at struggling San Diego. The Chargers are in last place and things are getting pretty steamy down south. The Raiders will only have to leave California once between now and their Nov. 18th game at Minnesota. Dominic Rhodes returned to the team after serving his four game suspension for a DUI he got this past off season. His return could not have come at a better time. Starter LaMont Jordan needs to rest his back for what could be a playoff run and the bye week helps Rhodes get some extra work in as he gets up to regular season game speed. Rhodes last played in the pre season and he will share time with Fargas if Jordan can not go down in San Diego. Another running back is not what the rest of the league wants to see Oakland get right now. The Raiders lead the NFL in rushing yards per game (194.3) and only the Cowboys (7), Tampa Bay (7) and the Colts (6) have more rushing TD's then Oakland's five.
Raiders gets first win of the season New Oakland Raider head coach Lane Kiffin got his first win as a head coach with the Raiders nail biting 26-24 victory over the Cleveland Browns. This one was an almost direct opposite of Oakland's first two games when they fell behind big before coming back only to lose at the end of the game. The Raider's jumped out to a 16-0 lead before holding off the Browns with a blocked field goal as time ran out. Defensive Tackle Tommy Kelly did the trick, blasting up the middle of the line to block the 40-yard attempt with three seconds left. Coach Kiffin showed that he is a fast learner. The Browns lined up and made the field goal, but Kiffin called timeout right before the snap, just like Denver had done a week earlier to throw off the Raiders. The same thing happened, except for the fact that this time Oakland came out on top. The dearly needed win stopped a 11-game losing streak and it shows that their is a light at the end of the tunnel with young Lane at the helm The signs were there. Down big against Detroit, but the Raiders came back. Against Denver a win was snatched away by a time out call as Sebastian Janikowski kicked what looked like a game winner. Oakland lost both games, but against Cleveland everything went the right way at the end, when it matters most. Once again LaMont Jordan put the team on his back, which by the way is very sore, carrying the ball 29 of the teams 41 rushes in the game. Oakland's running game shined it's brightest on a 15-play touchdown drive in the third quarter in which they ran the ball 13-times. Lamont had 121-yards rushing and a TD. Jordan has had a re birth in 2007. He ranks second in th NFL to Pittsburgh's Willie Parker in rushing through the first three games with 350-yards on the ground. The Raiders pounded out 186-yards on the ground against Cleveland, while holding the Browns to just 88-yards. This just one week after the browns went 51-50 against the Bengals on offense. Oakland's defense finally reminded people of the unit last year when it ranked among the league's best against the pass. They did just about everything to shut down Browns QB Derek Anderson. Anderson passed for 248-yards and a TD, but the Raiders picked him off twice. One by linebacker Thomas Howard and another one middle linebacker Kirk Morrison. That was Kirk's third on the year and he has one in every game so far this year. Starting quarterback Josh McCown has been under the gun because of two poor starts in 2007. Fans have been calling for back up Dante Culpepper all year and McCown's body finally forced a chance to to start the second half against Cleveland. McCown was 6 of 12 for 108-yards passing and a touchdown in the first half as the Raiders built a 16-0 lead. Culpepper was 8 of 14 for 118-yards in the second half. Neither QB threw an interception, but McCown did fumble at the end of the half to allow the Browns to get back in the game. With the Raiders up 16-0 after a Jano,short 23-yard field goal, Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs returned the kick off 99-yards for a TD. McCown gave it up the next time Oakland had the ball leading to a Browns 23-yard field goal. All of this happened in the last 1:30 of the first half. When Anderson found wide receiver Braylon Edwards for a touchdown with 9-minutes left in the third quarter, the Browns led 17-16. LaMont Jordan would cash in from a yard out to finish off Oakland's 15-play drive at the end of the third quarter to put the Raiders in the lead for good. Jordan had to convert a 4 and 1 on the drive to keep it going.
Raiders drop a tight one in Denver I do not know if it is in the play book, but once again the Raiders spotted a team a big lead before making a game of it, losing 23-20 in overtime to Denver.
Jano's re-kick hit the top of the goal post and bounced out giving the Bronco's a short field to work with. Denver took advantage, driving deep into Raiders territory before Jason Elam won his second game in as many weeks with a short field goal. As bad as Oakland looked in the first half, they looked good in the second. Behind their defense and the running of LaMont Jordan Oakland got back into the game in the third quarter. Jordan rushed for a game high 159-yards in the game, but he did not get into the end zone. Raiders quarterback Josh McCown had another poor game, throwing for just 73-yards (8-16), one touchdown and three interceptions. He still somehow played well enough to give the Raiders a chance to win the game. He hit Jerry Porter for Porter's only catch of the game, a 46-yard TD that made it a 17-10 game with 5:19 left in the third quarter. Oakland's defense took things into their own hands by scoring the next nine points for Oakland. First Bronco cast off Gerald Warren sacked Jay Cutler for a safety cutting the Denver lead to 17-12 with 14:15 left in the game. Thomas Howard then picked of Jay Cutler the next time Denver had the ball and returned it 44-yards and a touchdown. They made the two point conversion to go ahead 20-17 with 8:55 left in the game. Just like the first game against Detroit the Raiders found themselves ahead in a game that they trailed big in. Oakland won this game. Or I should say they found another way to lose. Oakland now has a losing streak of 11-games that dates back to last year. The Raiders look a lot better then they did last year despite their 0-2 record. Last year Oakland would have given up when it got to be 17-3 Denver. Head coach Lane Kiffin refuses to let his team give up. One big series was at the end of the first half when they held Denver to a short, 23-yard field goal that made it 17-3 Denver. That came with :18-seconds left and a touchdown there would have put Denver up 21-3. Oakland returns home to face Cleveland, a 51-45 winner over the Bengals Sunday. New Browns QB Derek Anderson threw for 328-yards and five TD's while running back Jamal Lewis ran for 215-yards and a score. Game time is 1pm.
Good news in the wake of opening day loss, JaMarcus signs JaMarcus Russell took some of the sting off Oakland's 2007 season opening loss to their 36-21 loss to the Detroit Lions Sunday. The #1 overall pick in 2007 signed September 12th ending the longest holdout by a 31 pick since Bo Jackson skipped his entire rookie year refusing to play for Tampa Bay 20-years ago. Photo by James Taylor
Against the Lions Oakland fell behind 17-0. The Raiders defense, the heart and soul of the team did not play like the third ranked unit in the NFL they were last year. The Loins had over 300-yards of offense including a game winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Josh McCown, making his first start as a Raider had a decent day under center if you take away the first half boo's and second half turnovers that sealed the deal for Detroit. How soon can JaMarcus help. He has been keeping in touch with Raider coaches and studying the playbook so he is at least familiar with the plays. He will get his shot sometime this season. Is this the end of the line for Andrew Walters in a Raiders uniform. If Dante Culpepper starts and wins Sunday the 3-million Oakland is paying him will be well spent. Keeping four quarterbacks in not likely. Oakland kept the Lions off the board until a field position advantage gave Detroit a short field to work with. A Lions punt pinned Oakland back at the two. Oakland went three and out and the ensuing punt was returned to the Raider 37. Lions QB John Kitna hit Roy Williams from 13-yards out a couple of plays later at it was 7-0 Detroit with 8:32 left in the first half. Oakland had their chances. LaMont Jordan fueled a late first quarter drive that stalled at the Lions 37. Sebastian Janikowski missed three field goals, all of them in the first half. Two of them were 50-yards and 57-yards and the other was 48-yards,, but Jano was a highly draft kicker to make kicks just like that. Oakland needs all the points they can score. Instead of it being a 10-9 game at the half it was 10-0 and Oakland was going nowhere. Detroit would use the help of a McCown interception to build a 17-0 lead in the third quarter. Rookie Calvin Johnson caught his first TD pass in the NFL, a 16-yarder 9:19 left in the 3rd. Oakland started to step up their game and McCown got into a rhythm with receiver Ronald Curry that help move the team down the field. Curry has come back once again from an injury and he looks like Oakland's best receiver's. He has always played better then Jerry Porter and his 10-catches good 133-yards and a TD showed that. Detroit could not guard him. Oakland finally got on the board with McCown hooked up with Curry from four yards out with 3:49 left in the third quarter making it a 17-7 game. This seemed to light a fire under the Raiders. Stanford Routt got the ball right back for the Raiders with his interception of Lions QB John Kitna, returning it 31-yards down to the Detroit 27. LaMont Jordan finished off the drive with his first TD of the season, a 12-yard run that made it 17-14 late in the fourth quarter. Jordan had a great game against Detroit. Jordan busted out with 159-yards of total offense and a touchdown. Jordan's play was what Oakland had in mind when they brought him over from the Jets a couple of years ago. The Lions answered back with Jason Hanson 46-yard field for a 20-14 Lions lead. Oakland then embarked on their most impressive drive in a while, an eight play, 71-yard march that ended when McCown found fullback Justin Griffith from seven yards out with 7:43 left in the game. Now 21-20 Raiders, it was up to Oakland's D to seal the victory. The Lions had little trouble with the Raiders vaunted D, scoring on a Kitna to Shaun McDonald pass from 32-yards out to make it a 26-21 Lions lead with 4:15 to play in the game. Two more McCown turnovers, a pick and a fumble lead to Detroit's final ten points. The 21 points in a row were a nice sight for Raiders fans, but the last two turnovers reminded them of the past few years. Oakland now heads off to play at Denver Sunday. It will be the first division game of the season. Oakland has not won a game against somebody in the AFC West in two years.
Oakland wins again in the pre season The Raiders defense looked as strong as ever. True they did not have to stop Rams top running back Stephen Jackson or all pro wide receiver Torry Holt, who both did not play.
Oakland kept the Rams out of the end zone until Veteran Gus Freotte hit Haggans five seconds into the fourth quarter for the final score of the game. Head coach Lane Kiffin was pleased with his defense. "I am excited with the way our defense played." said Nolan. He was not as pleased with his offense. "We left a lot of points out there. Offensively we were not very good today." Oakland did give up two fumbles, but the holding calls, false starts and missed blocking assignments that have plagued the team in the last four years did not happen. Maybe coach is somewhat of a perfectionist, but after Culpepper handled the games first snap without fumbling, the crowd lets out a huge sigh of relief as if that's all they wanted to see. Raiders tailback Lamont Jordan did his best to show that he can not only handle the running back duties for Oakland, but also push Dominic Rhodes for the starting spot the rest of the season. Lamont again shook off a fumble to have a productive game. He got a workout against the Rams, rushing 18-times for 41-yards one TD. Jordan also caught a short pass that he turned into a 49-yard play that set up his touchdown, a one yard plunge with thirty seconds left in the first half that made it 17-3 Raiders. Several young players fighting for jobs played well for Oakland. Running back Echemandu, a fourth year back out of Cal, helped salt away the game in the second half by rushing for 60-yards on 14-carries. Johnnie Lee Higgins had a great game returning kicks. Higgins, a rookie out of UTEP, has blazing speed which he showed off on a long return that was called back on a penalty. With one pre season left coach Kiffin still has a choice to make. Is it going to be Culpepper or Josh McCown who was six of nine good for 138-yards, but he only led the team to three points, while Culpepper accounted for 17.
Advantage Daunte. "Ideally I would have made that choice a month ago." Kiffin said after the game about his quarterback situation. Andrew Walters looks like he could be the odd man out. Just last year he held the keys to Oakland's offense. If number one pick JaMarcus Russell ever signs somebody's got to go. The Raiders will not carry four QB's. Kiffin does not seem worried about JaMarcus at all. He knows he has two capable signal callers under contract right now. Should Culpepper run out to take Oakland's first snap of the season when the Raiders take on Detroit at home Sept. 9th it could mean something that has not happened since Rich Gannon was under center. Points being scored by the Raiders. With the way their young defense is playing things could get interesting for Oakland. They play at Seattle next week. That will help raise their intensity. Even though it is only a pre season game, the fans up in Seattle still hate the Raiders from their AFC West days.
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The annual Raider Nation Celebration is Aug. 9 at the Coliseum. The event features current and former Raiders and runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission is free to season-ticket holders and children ages 13 and under, $5 for others. Raiders come up at 2007 NFL Draft The Oakland Raiders and their new head coach Lane Kiffin took a step towards getting back to respectability. Oakland might have taking in a few offers to trade the number 1 pick, but their minds were made up. JaMarcus Russell became the first pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. Russell has the look of a game winner. He got better each year he played at LSU which is one of the things you want to see in somebody that you are going to make such a big investment in. It was also the first time in Raiders history that they had the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Al has done it all now. "It was easy for us. After talking to other people about trades there was nothing that could move us from drafting Russell." said Kiffin after the draft. The past couple of years the Raiders quarterback position has produced horrible results. Second year pro Andrew Walters did not have a chance behind Oakland's offensive line in 2006. Walters had more interceptions then touchdowns last year. He was also beat up just about every time he stepped back to pass. Oakland cut QB Aaron Brooks realizing that his skills have started to fade. Brooks had more fumbles then anything else last year. He never had a chance behind Oakland's offensive line either. The Raiders answered a lot needs on offense the first day of the 2007 NFL Draft. After selecting Russell Oakland went with tight end Zach Miller out of Arizona St. in the second round. Miller could develop into somebody who can stretch the field down the middle. Quentin Moses, a defensive end from Georgia was picked in the 3rd round. Oakland also got WR Mike Williams and QB Josh McCown from Detroit in exchange for a 4th round pick. Getting Mike Williams could be like getting another first round pick if he can round back into the shape he was in his last year at USC. Williams tried to go pro early but was forced to sit out when the courts up held the NFL's age limit. Williams was drafted by the Lions the next year but sitting out a season had an effect on Williams who was not the same player he was in college. Mike was a little out of shape but he began to produce once he got back into the swing of things last year. Lane was his coach in college and if anybody can get Mike to produce if should be his new head coach. McCown could be the safety net that allows Russell to develop into the starting QB and not get rushed into the job. Oakland still has questions to answer. The Raiders addressed their running game when Louisville tailback Michael Bush. He is a big back with the speed to get outside. He takes a lot of pounding because of his size but he should be a good player in the NFL. Zack Miller comes to Oakland after a career at Arizona St. in which he re wrote a few of Todd Heaps records for tight ends. Miller started since his freshmen year and he came out after a Jr. season that saw him catch 50-passes good for 484-yards. Oakland used their third and fourth round picks to help shore up their defensive and offensive lines. Quentin Moss, from Georgia, has speed and Oakland hopes that he can complement Derrick Burgess and Warren Sapp rushing the quarterback. Florida St. offensive tackle Mario Henderson is a big lineman who has had experience at several different positions on the O-line in college. The 6'6" 302-pounder even spent time at tight end. That tells me he is light on his feet which should help him stay in front of rushing defenders in the NFL. Al Davis stayed true to his need for speed when his team selected wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins out of UTEP. Higgins ranked third in the nation in all purpose yards (156 per game). He can return punts and kickoffs and be spotted around as a solid third down play maker. It all sounds good but on a team that was 2-14 last year just about every job on offense is up for grabs. You do not have to go any farther then the quarterback position where three players have their eyes on the job. All of a sudden Andrew Walters is the vet with McCown and Russell coming into the fold. Unless Russell dazzles the coaching staff and gets the start in the opener McCown seems to have the inside track to the staring position. Vince Young showed that you can come in and win your rookie year in the NFL. If Russell can maintain his accuracy, he completed better then 61% of his passes last year at LSU, he could make the transition to the starting in the NFL right away. He has a strong arm. To be successful in the NFL have have to throw the ball to the receiver on time, hitting them in stride so that they can do something with the ball after they catch it. You can throw the ball 70-yards all you want, but if you can't throw the little 10 to 15-yarder you will struggle in the NFL. Touch, guile they all come into play when it comes to a quarterback moving a team down field and putting points on the board. That is what it comes down to in the NFL. Oakland will need a big year from the running game. That takes pressure off everybody from the offensive line to the quarterback to the wide receiver's. With the defense looking into the backfield to see if it's a running play can help the O gain a step or two on a play fake or even a straight passing play. Who will be their running back seems to be up in the air right now. Incumbent's Justin Fargas and LaMont Jordan will be tested by the rookie Bush.
Oakland gets ready for #1 pick They seem to have their man ready to go. LSU QB DeMarcus Russell is big, kinda fast with a strong arm. Is fits somewhere between Dante Culpepper and Vince Young. Oakland is hoping Russell turns out to be more like Young, who took the NFL by storm once he got inserted into the starting line up last season. The Raiders need a spark on offense and some better play at the safety position on defense. A stud on the offensive would not hurt either and the running game has not been much of a threat the last few years. The 2007 draft has an answer for all of the needs and it is up to the Raiders to make the right move. A trade could serve the Raiders well. Oakland could swing a deal to get the fourth or fifth pick, possibly pick up a good young vet and save some money. I would not go below the fifth pick. Their appear's to be at least five impact players coming out of the draft. Besides Russell, Calvin Johnson, a wide receiver from Georgia Tech as all the tools you need to succeed in the NFL. Many people point to last years draft when Oakland could have drafted Matt Leinart or Jay Cutler. Both played their way into the starting line up as rookies and they could have solved the Raiders problem that still plagues them. Who knows how either Cutler or Lienart would have held up behind the Raiders offensive line last year. It was one of the worst in the league in 2006 and shoring that up is just as important as getting someone to throw the ball. Left tackle Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) and Levi Brown (Penn St.) appear to be the top two linemen coming out of college this year. Oakland could trade down to get some veteran help and take either one of these two with the 4th through 10th picks. In the history of the NFL since the AFL-NFL merger the Raiders had never had the number 1 overall pick until this year. If they keep it then AL Davis can really say that he has done it all. Oakland has 10 picks in the draft and the nine they make after picking first will have a big effect on the direction that the team will take in the next few years. Russell is the obvious choice for Oakland to pick. Only time will t ell if he is the best pick the Raiders could have made. Russell seemed to come into his own down the stretch for LSU leading them to wins in the teams last seven games of the season. When you have the number one pick in the draft it can be hard to pass up the best player in the draft. It looks like Oakland is going to do just that. Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson has not seen a db he could not beat the last two year in college.
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Culpepper only had 103-yards of total offense (75-passing and 28-rushing), but he threw two TD's and rushed for three more in the win. 
Oakland appeared to have won the game, but a Sebastian Janikowski 52-yard field goal was waved off because the Bronco's called time out a second before the snap.
