Did anyone happen to notice that you now have to actually pay EXTRA cash for the infamous NFL network? WTF? I wonder if they’ll actually preview the channel for any up and coming Pre-season games?
The force tells me it’s highly unlikely…not in this selfish world. Oh well, tough teats..
It’s not like the paid service channel has given your Oakland Raider’s any credit as of late. You’ve got time? Read this article..

NFLN Disregards Raiders Again

The Oakland Raiders were once again disregarded by the NFL Network, with the latest instance being the telecast of what the network regards as the NFL’s Top 10 Single-Season performances.
The 60-minute show features archival footage of each performance along with interviews with former players and coaches.
Omitted from the show are a number of single-season performances by great Raider players that have been hailed everywhere as being the best in NFL history.
GEORGE BLANDA, 1970 – The miracle of George Blanda has been widely hailed as the best single season performance in pro football history. Blanda, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was named the American Football Conference Player of the Year after leading the Raiders to the AFC Championship Game. Blanda had what the late Raiders Radio voice Bill King described as “one part fantasy, one part imagination and one part miracle.” During a crucial five-game stretch in 1970, Blanda came off the bench to throw game-winning touchdown passes or kicked game-winning field goals. He performed other “miracles” that season and at age 43 became the oldest quarterback to play in a championship game. In that championship game, Blanda had a hand in all 17 points that the Silver and Black scored, tossing two touchdown passes, kicking two extra points and converting a field goal.
LESTER HAYES, 1980 – Hayes enjoyed a sensational season, recording an all-time NFL-high 18 interceptions during the regular and postseason—to lead the NFL and help the Raiders capture the organization’s second World Championship of Professional Football by becoming the first Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl. For his efforts, Hayes was named AP Defensive Player of the Year. He returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown and added two fumble recoveries. Hayes picked off two passes in the Wild Card contest against Houston, returning one 20 yards for a score and another in the end zone. He had two more in the Divisional Playoffs versus Cleveland another interception in the AFC Championship win over San Diego.
RICH GANNON, 2002 – Gannon was named NFL MVP after leading the Raiders to their third straight AFC Western Division title and fifth Super Bowl appearance. Gannon quarterbacked a Raiders offense that led the NFL in total offense (6,237) and passing offense (4,475). Gannon passed for a league-best and Raiders-record 4,689 yards, the eighth-highest total in NFL history, and led the NFL and set a league record with 418 completions. Gannon also set league records for 300-yard games in a season (10), completions in a non-overtime game (43, Sept. 15 at Pittsburgh), and tied the league record for consecutive 300-yard games with six (Steve Young, 1998 and Kurt Warner, 2000).
11 ANGRY MEN, 1967 – The Raiders led the American Football League in sacks with 67. The sack total for 1967 was the most in a single season in AFL history and most in pro football history prior to the NFL going to a 16-game schedule. The 666 yards in losses on sacks recorded by the 11 Angry Men in 1967 are a pro football standard that still stands today. The Raiders posted 11 sacks in two games that year, posting that number against both the Bills in Buffalo on October 15 and versus the Broncos in Denver on November 5. The Raiders’ defense played a key role in the Silver and Black capturing the AFL title and playing in the organization’s first of five Super Bowls. Ike Lassiter, Dan Birdwell, Tom Keating and Ben Davidson were the front four for that AFL championship team that recorded a league-best 13-1-0 regular season record.
The NFL Network also neglected to give two Raider Super Bowl teams their proper due while ranking what a so-called “blue ribbon” committee deemed were the top teams to win the World Championship of Professional Football. However, the members of this so-called “blue ribbon” committee had very little direct contact with any Super Bowls.
Among the Silver and Black’s Super Bowl teams, the 1983 Super Bowl-winning team was incredulously ranked 20th by the committee while the 1976 World Championship team was ranked 10th.
Raider Legend Tom Flores, who as head coach guided the Raiders to two World Championships of Professional Football after capturing victories in Super Bowl XV and XVIII, called those rankings “ridiculous.”
Said Flores of the ranking, which was revealed during a television series on the NFL Network and was re-aired recently, “These teams should be in the top three of all time. The 1983 Raiders could beat any Super Bowl team from any decade, any league, and under any circumstance. The 20th ranking by the NFL Films panel is a disgrace to the history of the National Football League. We dominated the regular season, the playoffs, and the Super Bowl itself.”
Just as Flores called the 1983 team ranking “ridiculous,” most others have deemed the ranking of the 1976 Raiders’ World Championship team that went 13-1 and dominated the postseason en route to a resounding victory in Super Bowl XI as absurd.

Whatup Nation!!!!
From what I gather, it seems like there’s some heavy damn hitting going on between the Offense and Defense during the OTA’s (organized team activity access period)
All fight for improvement, body progression and the numero uno starting spot. No position is safe, including one of the most important;
Quarterback.
Maybe some have it better than others..
It seems that recently, Josh McCown has been turning heads by adapting well to the offense by getting out of hairy pass rushes, throwing very accurate passes and getting a better grasp of Kiffen’s new “Hybrid”" offense more so than the others..
“He really is a tremendous athlete, and has great ability to escape pressure, as you saw today a couple times,” Kiffin said. “He’s even quicker when you go from drills to when all of a sudden we’re in team (sessions) and he even looks quicker.”
So I believe we are now witnessing out future starting QB in week 1.
May God and the force help us all…(I guess the O-Line can use some of that help too..)

Everyone pay for their Season Tickets yet? I sure as hell did! I keep getting Raider marketing e-mails about how I can trade, sell and receive single game tickets before anyone else.
Yeah, that’s all sweet as candy, but to be completely honest, I’m not really concerned/impressed about all of these new options open to Season Ticket holders. We all know now that the higher ups are only trying to get us to buy more tickets.
Wake me when you tell me I’ve won a trip to Hawaii or an away game for being a Season ticket holder ever since the Raiders came back in ‘ 95.
Sure, my name is still on the wall near the Coliseum, but I’m thinking it’s about time for me and the other Die hards to receive something more…
let’s all pray for rings…platinum!

I leave ya’ll with some past Stewie Schweigert blogs..PEACE! -DR

By Stuart Schweigert
Raiders free safety
What’s up Raider faithful, this is Stuart Schweigert and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and got a chance to sit back and relax. This past Monday was great, everyone got the day off. I was very pleased to be able to sleep in to a late 9:00 a.m. The past four weeks the alarm has been kickin’ my butt with a 6:30 sharp wake up call so the extra couple hours were greatly appreciated.
OTAs continued for us this week. We were right back into things and we are really starting to click. Head Coach Lane Kiffin has also added a new wrinkle to practice. He lets a coach from the offense and a coach from the defense be the play coordinator and call the plays. It is best out of three and whatever side wins gets the bigger, nicer, more comfortable meeting room. The defense won that period Tuesday and Wednesday Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan suggested that the defense just bring in our pictures and hang them up because that room is as good as ours!
I am going to be helping out FB Zack Crockett in Florida for his annual youth football camp. I wish everyone a wonderful rest of the week and I will talk to you next week right here on Raiders.com. Thanks again for reading and GO RAIDERS!

May 24, 2007
Hello to the best Nation in the world, the Raider Nation. Well, another OTA week has come and gone and a ton of players have improved. Every passing week we get better and with every day on the field we continue on that path to success.
Looks like I wasn’t the only one struggling in a dentist’s chair lately. Our number one pick, Mr. Russell was sidelined on Tuesday because he had his wisdom teeth removed. I remember way back when mine were removed and it was not something I enjoyed. I think it was the summer before my freshman year of high school and I had to eat jello and soft serve ice cream for the first two days. I was just glad I didn’t end up looking like the fourth chipmunk brother in “Alvin and The Chipmunks.”
The practices this week were fast. We worked on game situations which included 3rd down, red zone, goal line, 2-minute and 4-minute. Third down is pretty critical for both the offense and defense because if you do not get a first down, or stop them from getting a first down every play before that does not matter. A team with a very high conversion rate on 3rd down increases their chances of winning immensely.

The red zone is the area from the 20-yard line to the goal line. The starting yardage varies from team to team but the Raiders defense starts the red zone from the 50-yard line in. This is the area where the term “bend but don’t break defense” comes from because a team can move the ball 99 yards and if we stop them on the 1-yard line, the other 99 yards don’t mean jack.

Goal line is the area from the 5-yard line to the end zone. This is when you see all the big boys come strolling in like Terdell Sands, Tommy Kelly, Warren Sapp, Anttaj Hawthorne and you see the little speedy guys like Fabian Washington and Chris “Fast Car” Carr head to the sideline for some water. The offense usually only has one receiver in the game and every QB thinks he’s Vick and can run for it.
Two-minute is also when you hear the the term “hurry-up offense.” Defensively you want to keep the ball carrier in bounds, because if they go out of bounds the clock stops. The biggest thing that ruins a two-minute drill is a QB sack, and with a guy like Derrick Burgess on my team I know the odds of us winning that drill is pretty good.
The contrast to a 2-minute drill is a 4-minute drill. This is when the offense is ahead and are trying their best to run as much time off the clock as possible to end the game. Defensively you don’t want to just stop them you want to get a turnover. Now the the ball carriers are trying their best to stay in bounds because they want that clock to keep moving.
I wish everyone a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Thanks again for reading and GO RAIDERS!