Murphy returns, but . . . – Inside the Oakland Raiders

Wide receiver Louis Murphy was back on the field with his injured clavicle but looked something less than 100 percent.

During drills, Murphy ran a route down the left sideline at about three-quarter speed and raised only one arm in an unsuccessful attempt to catch the ball. He then removed his helmet and watched from near the end zone, later helping cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha with his daily stretching routine.

Murphy leads Raiders wide receivers with 15 receptions for 238 yards and a touchdown, followed by Darrius Heyward-Bey (10 receptions, 140 yards).

The only other wide receivers with receptions are Yamon Figurs (2 receptions, 17 yards), who was waived after the opener, and Johnnie Lee Higgins (1 reception, 2 yards). Oakland hasn’t employed a lot of three-wide receiver sets, choosing to keep fullback Marcel Reece in the game and bringing in Khalif Barnes as an extra blocker rather than flooding the field with extra wide outs.

Higgins would be the receiver most likely to get extensive time should Murphy be unable to play.

Players who were suited up and went through some drills as practice began included defensive tackle Richard Seymour (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Johnson (ankle).

Those who weren’t present included left guard Robert Gallery (hamstring), defensive tackle John Henderson (foot), cornerback Walter McFadden (Hamstring), Schilens (knee), linebacker Ricky Brown (hamstring) and linebacker Travis Goethel (lower back).

priesttj

Surprisingly I think we’re OK at WR, JLH can certainly fill in where Murphy might not show and JFord can take up the slack but the kid I think that can really help is Nick Miller. The Raiders really need to take a look at playing more 3 wides with him and JLH in the slot. Add DMC to the mix in the passing game split wide, slot and screens.

DHB is lifting the defense all we need is a consistent running game there are plenty of pass recievers.
mistic1

DHB will be mediocre at best this season, as he still can’t get any separation from defensive backs. Despite all the attention on his hands, his biggest problem is that he can’t get open. He doesn’t look fast on the field, even if he has a great 40 time.
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I disagree with this. campbell missed him while he was running deep. Grads missed him running deep, and he was interfered with twice becuase he had smoked the dbs. Grads also missed him wide open running a post corner no db was even on the screen.

He needs to learn to get better position with the ball in the air. I say this kid will have somewhere between 60 and 80 catches this year.
mistic1

The o-line cant protect to run 3 wides. Also especially against this 3-4 defense this week. Our o-line is in trouble.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ KoolKell

Davis overrode Coaches who wanted to cut Mike Mitchell.

Davis essentially wanted to avoid the P.R. hit and admit he made such a big mistake last year. (Maybe Davis told them Mitchell “is a great player. Get over it.”)

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/09/05/report-al-davis-overrules-decision-to-cut-mike-mitchell/
mistic1

KK,

Im not sure about this story, but even if it is true, i ok with it. It is the owners perogative what playrs play for his team. Since we have both of these guys on the team, we havent lost anything. For the record I think mm34 needs more time on the field as branch is struggling, and brown absolutely should learn on the job over huff. becuase although huff is a good cover guy and has range, brown seems to fit that mold and has a knack for taking the ball away, something our dbs dont do very well.
priesttj

Anyone wh says DHB can’t get open and can’t get separation is clueless. That is probably his best attribute they can’t cover the kid. The problem is timing between QB and DHB needs to get much better. I have yet to see anyone cover him the season.

In fact our wideouts are plenty open can we protect and get them the football is the issue. Even ZMiller is drawing single coverage due to DHB you saw that on the first TD to Zack. This passing game has a ton of potential it’s just starting to gel.
PurpleDrank81

I like Stevie Brown alot but do we really know he has a knack for the ball I mean he was getting interception’s off 3rd string players in Pre-season
DKnight007

RNOraiderFan Says:
September 30th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Why not try some bubble screens to JLH or Jacoby Ford with Miller and Murphy blocking for them?

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I have been screaming to see more bubble screens also to get the ball in the hands of their speed guys. All they need is two blockers in front of them and they can do the rest.
mistic1

# PurpleDrank81 Says:
September 30th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

I like Stevie Brown alot but do we really know he has a knack for the ball I mean he was getting interception’s off 3rd string players in Pre-season
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fair enough, this is why I want to see him get some run. I saw him right bu the ball on the muffed punt, he looked like a line backer in run support standing up blockers and tackling the rb with one hand.
The Big Banana

LA to TheBay Says:
September 30th, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Would Shanarat unload Hayensworth on us? Would we want him? What would the asking price be?

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For the right compensation, sure. He already jobbed us for a 4th in exchange for Campbell. He doesn’t mind taking advantage of his old employer.
Glutten for Punishment

LA to TheBay Says:
September 30th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
As for the Supreme Commander, even he said last year playoffs are unlikely and this year he is ‘cautiously optimistic,’ but unless we clean up the red zone stuff and make sure our DTs are healthy (Fat Albert, anyone?), we’re running a serious risk of the whole playoff-appearance-first-year-of-every-decade streak.
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what hurts is the fact that we got ripped off by NE for our 1st. i hope we find a diamond in the rough in Rd2 and we get at least 8 wins so our pick we give them is a mid and not a top 5.
raiderzmaverick

Travis Groethel is taking up a roster spot and hasn’t even practiced this year once. Why keep switching the Pears/Stevie Brown but keep him on the active roster? He’s a Back up LB that I haven’t seen do anything (at least that I remember)

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer