2016 Raiders: How farr can this Carr go?

[Gunfighter 09]

2016 could be the year where the Raiders finally return to relevance and break a 13 year streak of non winning seasons. They finished 7-9 with a very tough schedule (AFC West, AFC Central, NFC Central) last year, a four win improvement over the previous season. Unlike previous year, they were competitive in every game save the opener against the Bengals. They were the last team to beat the Super Bowl Champion Broncos. Here is where they ranked:

The 2015 Raiders were 14th in overall DVOA, 17th in offense, 15th and defense
The 2015 offense was 17th in points and 24th in yards
The 2015 defense was 11th in both yards and points allowed

While these numbers place the Raiders squarely in the middle of the pack, they are big leap from the team's bottom dwelling performances of the last three years. Considering that they made that jump with a young roster full of stars at key position, it is reasonable to hope that this improvement will continue with a jump in to the top tier of teams in the league in 2016.

Key returning players:

QB Derek Carr: - Carr made a huge leap in his second year - 32TD/13Int /7.0YPA/91.1 Rating/3987 total yards. He has 32 starts in his first two seasons and has thrown the second most TDs (53) of any qb in NFL history during their first two years.

Edge Rusher Khalil Mack - 15 Sacks and basically all of the love that Pro Football Focus can show for a defensive player

WRs Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree

CB David Amerson


Key losses:

Retirement: S Charles Woodson and DE Justin Tuck
FA: Back up DE Benson Mayowa to Dallas. 6th WR Rod Streeter to KC


Key Additions (all Free agency):
LG Kelichi Osemele
Edge Rusher Bruce Irvin
Edge Rusher Aldon Smith
CB Sean Smith
Safety Reggie Nelson


This team is going to be young and exciting, and faces both a weaker AFC West and a much more manageable schedule this year. They are going to get a ton of hype in August as an up and coming team, but they need continued growth from their key young players to really push for the top of the AFC. A more realistic goal would be a winning season and competing for the wild card. They are certainly past their days as bottom dwellers in the conference and, as free agency showed this year, as clearly getting respect from players across the league that hasn't existed for quite a while. This should be a fun season.



I will flesh out the middle of the post as we go.

 

[edmunddantes]

I ended up watching a ton more Raider football than I normally would care to because of two reasons: I ended up with both Amari and David on my fantasy team (where they performed more than admirably) and I moved to the bay area from Chicago so it was either the 49ers or Raiders were on tap for a lot of the time.

They were a fun team to watch. They definitely seem to have the pieces now with a good young defense, and an offense that has a quarterback that looks like he has moved fairly far along the "I'm starting to not rush things, make good decisions, and let the game come to me" growth chart. Every so often he'd still make some bonehead plays, but they don't seem to be the classic young QB mistakes as much anymore.

I'm actually kind of excited for this year, as I think they'll be exciting to watch and I'll probably watch more because I want to versus they are the only thing on because of local team TV rules.

 

[mauf]

The Raiders schedule (AFCS and NFCS, plus Baltimore and Buffalo) should be easier than last year, even though the AFCS will be vastly improved. The divisional schedule will be easier too -- that home-and-home with Denver feels much different now.

I've got the Raiders as co-favorites with the Chiefs in the AFCW, with the runner-up likely to snag a wild card.

I feel good about this. The NFL is more fun when the Raiders are good.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Moving my post from the general FA thread.

And, according the Shefter and Rappaport, in that order, the Raiders agreed to a two year deal with S Reggie Nelson, formerly of the Bengals.

I am irrationally excited about the Raiders season. They're making sound personnel decisions with a great young core on both sides of the ball. Am I too giddy to expect a challenge for the division winner?

I feel good about this. The NFL is more fun when the Raiders are good.

Absolutely.

I'm also curious if Walford will continue to build on his rookie year and become a true #1 TE. If he does, this offense has the potential to be just explosive.

 

[pappymojo]

It's a weird feeling for me, but I find myself pulling for the Raiders. The league and specifically the league owners seem to be purposely attempting to limit the success of the Raiders organization. Plus, I am hoping Denver fails miserably in their post Super Bowl year.

An enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Let's go Raiders!

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

You misspelled "farr" in the title.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Not too bad for the Raiders:

-3 of 4 on the road to start the season. This limits the number of games on dirt in Oakland, which is always a good thing. None of those first four teams were very good last year, so winning at least two is a must.

-Two straight division home games in October, followed by a two week trip to Florida in the second quarter of the season. Once again, they need to win at least two of these games

-A Sunday night game at home!!!! That is followed by the bye, then off to Mexico City. The toughest game on their schedule all year is the Carolina home game and they are getting it on a short week after playing another physical team (Houston) at 7.5K feet on a Monday. That is no help from the schedule makers, I am thinking the Panthers game is a pretty sure loss. I really like the late bye, but it would have been better after the Mexico City game and not before. The Sunday night game will be a win, I think they beat Buffalo at home, no idea on the other two

-All three division road games (if you can really call San Diego a road game) in December, including one on a Thursday night. I really like getting the Colts at home on Christmas Eve. Ending at Denver, while KC gets to go to San Diego is a bit frustrating, but bring it on. I think they win 2 or 3 of these games.

-All told, 9 wins looks doable, with reasonable hope for 10 and a ceiling of 11. The floor (barring a Carr or Mack injury) is probably 6.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Mark Davis does the really smart thing and extends Reggie McKenzie for another 4 years. McKenzie was going to be a free agent after this season, so it makes sense to announce the deal now. I have assumed this was coming for a while now, since McKenzie's moves seemed to indicate that he was going to be around for a while, rather making a bunch of moral hazard moves like short terms signings or trading up in the draft. All of the Free Agents her signed this year are on pretty standard McKenzie deals, with limited signing bonuses and no dead money after the first couple years, and the only trade up McKenzie made was getting a third string developmental QB.

If Davis had let Reggie's contract lapse there certainly would have been other suitors next off season, so this is a smart move for the Raiders. Continuity outside of the owner position certainly feels nice and is a welcomed change.

Owner Mark Davis wanted the 100-plus Raiders’ alumni gathered in Napa Valley for the team’s annual “Alumni Weekend” to be the first to know that the team elected to extend the contract of General Manager Reggie McKenzie for an additional four years.

Davis made the announcement Friday night at dinner in front of the assembled former Raiders and notable sponsors, alerting them that McKenzie was now under contact through the end of the 2021 NFL Draft.

“Reggie’s contract was up at the end of this year, and we felt was time to reward him for the job that he has done,” said Mark Davis.

http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Announce-Four-Year-Extension-For-General-Manager-Reggie-McKenzie/5ec9ab61-ea4c-4533-8eb7-af2bfa7c604f

 

[E5 Yaz]

Raiders apply for "Las Vegas Raiders" trademark

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/nfl/article/Oakland-Raiders-file-Las-Vegas-Raiders-9184753.php

 

[axx]

Raiders apply for "Las Vegas Raiders" trademark

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/nfl/article/Oakland-Raiders-file-Las-Vegas-Raiders-9184753.php

The stadium looks pretty cool, but asking for $750M in public money is pretty crazy.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

So, The Raiders have been pretty weird the first two weeks.

The good: They have the #1 offense in yards/game (2nd rushing / 5th passing) and #1 offense in DVOA. They have scored 63 points in two games and been extremely effective in two second halves. Derek Carr looks awesome, with a 76+ QBR, 107+ rating, over 600 yards and 4TDs against 0 interceptions and only 1 sack (where he ran out of bounds for a loss of ~1 inch) in two games.

The Bad: the defense has been a historically bad abomination, giving up over a thousand yards and 69 points in two games. They are obviously last in DVOA. The pass rush has been ineffective with only two sacks, and Khalil Mack has no sacks and only two QB hits in the first two games. PFF seems to think the defense has been not that terrible, grading them 9th overall, but they have been completely unable to stop the Saints or Falcons in their first two games. In the second half of the Atlanta game HC Jack Del Rio took over play calling duties from Ken Norton jr, to little noticeable effect. For the Tennessee game two rookies, 1st round pick S Karl Joseph and 5th round MLB Cory James will likely start.

So, where from here? The defense was also terrible against Cincy and Baltimore in the first two games last year before improving as the season went on, so it might be reasonable to hope for progress again. The offense's balance and Carr's continued improvement leaves me somewhat confident that they can continue to look like a top 5-10 unit in the league. Overall, based on how all four teams in the division have looked, the Broncos have to be a clear favorite now, and we will need a few weeks to figure out if the Raiders can get their defense fixed and compete or if they will just be a very fun to watch mediocre team.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

I'll have more to say tomorrow, but holy shit the play design and execution on this is perfect. The Raiders run more screens and short passes than anyone else in the league. Combine that with the run blocking by the O line and the play design allowing Carr to look right at the short receiver (Seth Roberts #10) and to read Crabtree's man on the fade in the same field of view and it is not hard to see how Ravens corner Sharice Wright was frozen and the inside corner drove hard on Roberts until the fade was in the air and flying over both of their heads. Thrown perfectly, of course.

 

[jsinger121]

This to me looks like a playoff team. Already with 3 road wins on the season with 2 of them coming in the eastern time zone. The next 4 games don't look overly tough and the toughest of the 4 is probably the Chiefs in Oakland. Entirely possible they could come out of these next 4 games and be 7-1.

 

[jsinger121]

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 1m1 minute ago
#Raiders TE Lee Smith, one of their more underrated pieces, suffered a fractured bone in his lower leg, source said. It threatens his season

 

[BigSoxFan]

The resurgence of Michael Crabtree is not getting enough mention. He is settling in very nicely in the Cris Carter role to Amari Cooper's Moss (obviously Amari isn't near Moss yet). Defense is a shitshow but this offense is legit.

 

[dbn]

The resurgence of Michael Crabtree is not getting enough mention. He is settling in very nicely in the Cris Carter role to Amari Cooper's Moss (obviously Amari isn't near Moss yet). Defense is a shitshow but this offense is legit.

I was watching the Patriots at a BW3s yesterday and a neighboring screen had the Oakland game on. I kept seeing his name pop up and was wondering if there was another M.C. in the league or if it was still that guy. Looking at his PFR page just now, though, I see that last year he tied his career high in receptions and had his second most receiving yards. Also, he's only in his 8th season, so it's not like he's old - only half-way to Steve Smith-years. He went from SF Super Bowl year (2012) to hurt year (2013) to an 8-8 year (2014) to an Oakland 7-9 year (2015), so I guess he's been steadily dropping from radars, but evidently the guy is still good.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Looks like no Latavius Murray this week. I'm actually curious to see what DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard can do with greater opportunities. May be a blessing in disguise.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Yet another week where a more mature Raiders team, or perhaps just one with a better secondary or power running game, should have blown a lesser team out. They failed to score a touchdown in the first half despite taking five drives inside the Charger's 35 yard line. They turned three first half turnovers into 6 points, largely because Amari Cooper can't get his damn feet inbounds on perfectly thrown fade passes in the end zone Then, in the fourth quarter, they continued their annoying habit of being unable to put a game away when they have the lead late. Just like last week, they had a two score lead with less than 6:30 minutes left and let the other team come back.

Of course, this many games where the Raiders play better and smarter in the fourth quarter are less and less likely to be a fluke or mere luck . Last year the Raiders blew 4 games where they led or were tied in the fourth quarter and failed to come back in three other games where they had a fourth quarter possession where they could have taken the lead. It is starting to look like they have grown from that experience and it is helping them win this season.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Small inconsistencies from a team that seems to be maturing and improving from week to week is OK, but all the false start penalties at home from the offensive line was driving me crazy.

 

[mauf]

Last year the Raiders blew 4 games where they led or were tied in the fourth quarter and failed to come back in three other games where they had a fourth quarter possession where they could have taken the lead. It is starting to look like they have grown from that experience and it is helping them win this season.

Or, their luck is evening out.

That said, their YTD schedule looks tougher now than it did before the season, so even 3-2 would be impressive. They will likely be favored in 6 of their next 7 games, so they'll have plenty of chances to show they're capable of putting an inferior team away.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Small inconsistencies from a team that seems to be maturing and improving from week to week is OK, but all the false start penalties at home from the offensive line was driving me crazy.

Well, Black Jack Del Rio agrees with you.

“Yeah, that’s the biggest one,” Del Rio said of pre-snap penalties. “The judgment calls that can go either way, you’re going to be a competitive team, a team that plays really hard, you’re going to have some of those. Over the year, they tend to balance out. The pre-snap penalties, don’t have a lot of patience for those. We have zero tolerance for those. We’ve got to clean those up. Pre-snap penalties get me going there.”

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2016/10/10/13237290/jack-del-rio-has-zero-tolerance-for-raiders-mounting-pre-snap-penalties

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Hard to say what was more putrid on Sunday:

A- The Raiders defense which put up hardly any opposition to the the Alex Smith led Chiefs offense
B- The Raiders offense which showed that it is awful when Derek Carr isn't excellent. And he was much less than excellent in the second half (7-14 56 1 fumble) after looking great in the first half (15-20 169 1/1). The Raiders got inside the KC 40 four times without scoring and really had no chance in the last ten minutes when Carr was playing as bad as he has since last year's debacle agains the Chiefs at home.
C- The truly disgusting experience of watching a game in the Coliseum in the rain. We had an inch of water at our feet in our seats, and the concourses were basically a lake.



Courtney Cronin ‏@CourtneyRCronin 19h19 hours ago
Lake Merritt has moved inside section 216 at the Coliseum. #flood

As you can see below, the bottom of the stadium, where the players and coaches work, was essentially a sewer.
EDIT (I can't embed the video from a tweet, but check out the video with this tweet on her timeline)

Courtney Cronin ‏@CourtneyRCronin 20h20 hours ago
Look at this mess in the bowels of the Coliseum. Players have to walk through this to go to and from the field. Smh.

 

[Sox and Rocks]

Everything was bad, but for the offense this was probably just an off day. Hard to be concerned about the offense moving forward, though the running game has not been as strong as it should have been all year with the Oline.

The defense is just putrid, but how can at be so bad? There's talent there, especially on the Dline and in the secondary. Do they miss Woodson this much? Is Mario Edward's injury that significant to the pass rush and Dline in general? Will Aldon Smith be back, and can he upgrade the pass rush?

I think it's fair to question Norton at this point as the D coordinator. He has been less than impressive throughout his time in Oakland.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Everything was bad, but for the offense this was probably just an off day. Hard to be concerned about the offense moving forward, though the running game has not been as strong as it should have been all year with the Oline.

I don't know if it is small sample size or what, but every time I'm able to catch a game in our area, offensive play in the red zone seems particularly bad compared to how well the offense looks otherwise. Like, more than it should be. I understand the red zone is tough on offenses all over.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

That was a nice comfortable win. Watch this throw and catch:

http://www.snappytv.com/tc/3077045/1719908


The Raiders took a 14 point lead into the half and basically took the air out of the ball in the second half as the Jags seemed more intent on self destructing than winning the game. The two minute drive at the end of the first half, where Carr completed the incredible throw and catch to Crabtree above, was probably the highlight of the game. But the offense is clearly much better when they have Latavius Murray in the backfield giving them some size and power in the running game. The defense looked much better, not giving up a touchdown until garbage time and harassing Blake Bortles into a terrible performance.

The other highlight, of course, is punter Marquette King running for a first down on 4th & 24 after a bad snap. It certainly helps to have a punter who played receiver in college.

The Raiders play at Tampa next week, but will remain in Florida through the week rather than fly back to the West Coast. It will be interesting to see if the mini training camp mid season helps the team for the second half. It will also be interesting to see if Jack Del Rio goes to Jacksonville on Saturday to watch his son start for Florida in the world's largest cocktail party. I know Saturday is a tough work day for NFL coaches, but I can't see JDR passing up an opportunity to see his son play in person.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Never mind

Fat finger post, but, I did watch the Raiders game yesterday. If the Pats aren't on, I can definitely watch and enjoy Raider games. 49ers, not bloody lately, even though I live in "49er country". Happy to see Crabtree get back to major relevance and Derek Carr looks really, really good. Maybe the Raiders and Pats meet down the road?

 

[dbn]

Never mind

Fat finger post, but, I did watch the Raiders game yesterday. If the Pats aren't on, I can definitely watch and enjoy Raider games. 49ers, not bloody lately, even though I live in "49er country". Happy to see Crabtree get back to major relevance and Derek Carr looks really, really good. Maybe the Raiders and Pats meet down the road?

In Foxborough, for the AFC championship game. In the snow.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

I think the Pats would score half a hundred against the Raiders defense. There is no one on the Raiders defense with a prayer of covering Gronk. Edelman would give guys like Amerson and Smith fits. Josh McDaniels is about 7million times craftier than Ken Norton Jr.

That said, if the Raiders put it all together they could score a bunch of points on New England, probably not enough to win, but a bunch. It would be interesting if they took the reigns off of Carr and the offense and let them work a fast tempo from the start. That might be a 4 pick disaster, but Carr keeps exceeding my expectations, so maybe it would work. I am really curious which receiver between Cooper and Crabtree BB would try and take away.

In Foxborough, for the AFC championship game. In the snow.

My avatar might have to come out of retirement for that game.

 

[MuzzyField]

That was a nice comfortable win. Watch this throw and catch:

http://www.snappytv.com/tc/3077045/1719908


The Raiders took a 14 point lead into the half and basically took the air out of the ball in the second half as the Jags seemed more intent on self destructing than winning the game. The two minute drive at the end of the first half, where Carr completed the incredible throw and catch to Crabtree above, was probably the highlight of the game. But the offense is clearly much better when they have Latavius Murray in the backfield giving them some size and power in the running game. The defense looked much better, not giving up a touchdown until garbage time and harassing Blake Bortles into a terrible performance.

The other highlight, of course, is punter Marquette King running for a first down on 4th & 24 after a bad snap. It certainly helps to have a punter who played receiver in college.

The Raiders play at Tampa next week, but will remain in Florida through the week rather than fly back to the West Coast. It will be interesting to see if the mini training camp mid season helps the team for the second half. It will also be interesting to see if Jack Del Rio goes to Jacksonville on Saturday to watch his son start for Florida in the world's largest cocktail party. I know Saturday is a tough work day for NFL coaches, but I can't see JDR passing up an opportunity to see his son play in person.

JDR will be going to the cocktail party, as will I. Saturday is a keep the ship from sinking day for NFL coaching staffs... the game planing is already done. He'll be back in Tampa in time to watch the team movie and get a full night of sleep.

 

[Sox and Rocks]

I think the Pats would score half a hundred against the Raiders defense. There is no one on the Raiders defense with a prayer of covering Gronk. Edelman would give guys like Amerson and Smith fits. Josh McDaniels is about 7million times craftier than Ken Norton Jr.

That said, if the Raiders put it all together they could score a bunch of points on New England, probably not enough to win, but a bunch. It would be interesting if they took the reigns off of Carr and the offense and let them work a fast tempo from the start. That might be a 4 pick disaster, but Carr keeps exceeding my expectations, so maybe it would work. I am really curious which receiver between Cooper and Crabtree BB would try and take away.



My avatar might have to come out of retirement for that game.

The Raiders definitely don't match up well with New England. Their biggest weaknesses on D are covering tight ends and multiple shifty receivers since Amerson is the only CB who can do so. New England would probably score at will against this D.

Luckily for the Raiders, they do match up well with Denver. The tight ends aren't much of a threat, and they can match Amerson on Sanders and Smith on Thomas and force Simien to throw deep. Offensively, they can run the ball and throw quick passes to their RBs, which Denver struggles with.

The defense is still a big concern. They looked better against Jacksonville, but how much of that was simply Jacksonville?

 

[Sox and Rocks]

The Raiders definitely don't match up well with New England. Their biggest weaknesses on D are covering tight ends and multiple shifty receivers since Amerson is the only CB who can do so. New England would probably score at will against this D.

Luckily for the Raiders, they do match up well with Denver. The tight ends aren't much of a threat, and they can match Amerson on Sanders and Smith on Thomas and force Simien to throw deep. Offensively, they can run the ball and throw quick passes to their RBs, which is Denver's main weakness on defense..

The Raiders defense is still a big concern. They looked better against Jacksonville, but how much of that was simply Jacksonville?

Sorry, meant to edit, not quote myself.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

That was a quality ass whooping they just put on Denver. It says a quite a bit about the Raider's quality that they have mostly won with their passing game this season and just ran right through and over the league's best defense.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Totally agreed. Watching last night I came away incredibly impressed with the Raiders. That was a goddamn clinic.

I was somewhat less impressed with Mark Davis' attire, however.

 

[TomTerrific]

As opposed to almost all other games I watched this year, I came away not wanting to play either team. Oakland looked like they had some serious talent on both sides of the ball, and Carr looked very good at times. They also looked really jacked up for this game.

On the other side of the ball, Denver's defense looked a lot better than the score indicated, I thought. I'll bet you a lot of those calls don't get made if that game isn't in Oakland. And the offense, while crappy some of the time, looked like the kind of offense that could give the Pats D real trouble.

I really don't want to visit Denver for the playoffs.

 

[cgori]

Totally agreed. Watching last night I came away incredibly impressed with the Raiders. That was a goddamn clinic.

I was somewhat less impressed with Mark Davis' attire, however.

3 of the 4 barbers at the shop I go to are life-long Raiders fans. They really don't like his haircut either.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

The famously cheap Mark Davis flies from Oakland to Palm Springs once a month to get that haircut...

SO, ABOUT THE HAIR It's a bowl cut, yes, in the Roman centurion mold, but it's much, much more. The reddish-blond bangs, each strand the exact same length, the geometrically precise feathering over the ears -- not so much a haircut as a feat of engineering.

In perfect Davis family fashion, it's a middle finger to convention. Davis travels to Palm Desert to get it cut, just as he traveled to Chico from Oakland to visit a preferred barber long after he left college at Chico State. "I think he's had three barbers since college," Branch says. "If he likes something, he stays loyal."

He's aware of the public fascination with his hair. Damn straight he is. When news stories relating to the team are emailed to him, Davis, Badain says, has been known to respond by writing, "The comments on this one are all about my hair."

Has anyone ever suggested an alternative?

"Every day," Branch says. "Every day. That's the No. 1 topic."

And Davis' response?

"He ain't changing it," Branch says. "When people say something, he just laughs. The more they tell him, the more he's going to keep it. If they back off and don't say anything, he might change it."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/13735322/are-mark-davis-raiders-leaving-oakland

 

[Shelterdog]

The famously cheap Mark Davis flies from Oakland to Palm Springs once a month to get that haircut...

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/13735322/are-mark-davis-raiders-leaving-oakland

I will say this--the choice of that guy to go to chico state for college is goddamn inspired one. Not sure what it's like now, being old and married and whatnot, but holy hell that was a party school back in the day.

 

[Sox and Rocks]

The key to this team is and will probably continue to be their defense. The offense is good enough to score on anyone. They are balanced and can run the ball, throw to their backs and receivers, and of course Carr is the real deal. The Oline is really good, too. In short, they don't really have any weaknesses on offense, and they showed it last night with a balanced attack against one of the leagues better defensese. They can have bad games, clearly, like any team, but unless they stop themselves with penalties or bad play, they should put up points on anyone.

The defense, though, is another matter. They started quite poor, but since then they have been better. They picked up Perry Riley Jr. at MLB, and he has been a huge improvement over Heiney, who started the year at MLB and was beyond bad. They also moved rookie Karl Joseph into the starting lineup. Also, they are not making as many mental/personnel mistakes that they had at the beginning of the year. Perhaps it took a while for the new additions to gel? And all of this is without Mario Edwards, their best Dlineman (apart from Mack, who is a hybrid DE/OLB) from last year, and Aldon Smith, both of whom could be back soon.

If the defense can continue to play well and perhaps even get better, then watch out. They are a legit contender. If not, they will probably be a wildcard team, but a scary one at that given their offensive prowess.

 

[Leather]

That's a bummer. Carr has a fractured fibula.

Sorry Raiders fans. That's a lousy thing to happen.

 

[dynomite]

That's a bummer. Carr has a fractured fibula.

Sorry Raiders fans. That's a lousy thing to happen.

Ugh, absolutely hated hearing about this tonight -- the Raiders were a ton of fun to watch this year. First time making the playoffs since that disasterous Super Bowl in 2002 and this happens.

Sorry, gunfighter.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

Yeah that fucking blows. Don't wish it on anyone.




Except Jets fans.

I kid, I kid.

 

[LogansDad]

Posted in the game thread, but, yeah, this is depressing.

 

[Sox and Rocks]

I'm no doctor, but everyone seems to assume he's done for the year. Is this the case? Didn't CWood, ironically, play 2 weeks after fracturing his fibula? And as a DB, too.

Obviously, every injury is different, but if the Raiders clinch a 1st round bye it will be 3 weeks before their first playoff game. Perhaps even 22 days.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

I'm not 100% sure who CWood is - I'm guessing Charles Woodson? Is that like your pet name for him or did I miss the CWood era? - but assuming so, he missed three weeks, then had the bye before coming back and not exactly looking good during the playoffs.

Carr is going in for surgery tomorrow for his break, so presumably his situation is worse. Which leaves McGloin running the show so the first round bye isn't exactly locked up since they have to go to Denver next week and KC has the tie breaker. It's quite likely the Raiders will be opening the playoffs on the road now. Granted that will be against the Texans, but then they'd be bringing him back (assuming all best case miracles) to face the Pats or Chiefs on the road. The Raiders are most likely done. As is Carr.

 

[jon abbey]

It's quite likely the Raiders will be opening the playoffs on the road now.

This might be overstating it a bit, all three games left need to go KC's way for them to win the division (2 wins for KC and a loss for OAK), and if KC beats DEN tonight, that will eliminate DEN from the postseason, leaving them with nothing but pride to play for in the final week against OAK.

 

[edoug]

I'm not 100% sure who CWood is - I'm guessing Charles Woodson? Is that like your pet name for him or did I miss the CWood era? - but assuming so, he missed three weeks, then had the bye before coming back and not exactly looking good during the playoffs.

Carr is going in for surgery tomorrow for his break, so presumably his situation is worse. Which leaves McGloin running the show so the first round bye isn't exactly locked up since they have to go to Denver next week and KC has the tie breaker. It's quite likely the Raiders will be opening the playoffs on the road now. Granted that will be against the Texans, but then they'd be bringing him back (assuming all best case miracles) to face the Pats or Chiefs on the road. The Raiders are most likely done. As is Carr.

http://thedisabledlist.com/2005/treatment-broken-fibula/
"How do you treat a broken fibula? If there is no tissue damage to the area that requires sutures, the calf area can be addressed with a cast. If there is significant tissue damage or the fibula is shattered, then surgery will be necessary."

 

[wilked]

CWood would've walked it off

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Totally blows for the Raiders and the league. T+P to Carr, and to Gunfighter and the Raiders crew -- reading the thread shows a lot of folks chiming in on what a fun team Oakland was this year.

 

[snowmanny]

It sucks but they're still pretty likely to get a bye and they have six pro bowlers left. It's not like they'd be ten point underdogs at home even against Pittsburgh. Again, it sucks but I'd hold off on the eulogies.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

http://thedisabledlist.com/2005/treatment-broken-fibula/
"How do you treat a broken fibula? If there is no tissue damage to the area that requires sutures, the calf area can be addressed with a cast. If there is significant tissue damage or the fibula is shattered, then surgery will be necessary."

How can you mend a broken Carr?
How can the Raiders ever win?
How can you stop the doc from surgery
And let him cast the shin?