Moving on to the Raiders....

[jj28west]

I am guilty of this myself but it seems that I spend more time on the board when I am frustrated and witnessed a lot of negatives this past weekend. I bet the page visits doubled this past week like it was the playoffs.

Anyways, at least Campbell is no Brady and the Steelers have had his number (ref 2008 Washington Monday Night Steeler Nation Invasion)

Blueprint or not if we throw the house early and often we should get inside his head where he will begin to cave even if we dont get close to him.

Raiders 2010 version has some mismatches such as Bey & Jones & the TE Miller. Dont know if they are healthy but Miller & Jones look really good so far.

BMAC & Gay will hopefully bring their A game.

Hopefully stop the run and blitz Jason early & often.

[fordfixer]

Raiders-Steelers is among must-see games this week in NFL
By SAM FARMER - Los Angeles Times
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/11 ... -must.html (http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/11/16/1725439/raiders-steelers-is-among-must.html)

LOS ANGELES Each week this NFL season there have been one or two games worth circling in red.

This week, the marquee isn't big enough to handle all the must-see matchups. There are five games pitting winning teams. (Last week, for instance, there were two.)

Among the eye-catching showdowns:


Indianapolis at New England.

Green Bay at Minnesota.

The New York Giants at Philadelphia.

And maybe the most interesting one? Oakland at Pittsburgh - an old-school rivalry renewed; a showdown that wasn't as eye-catching at the beginning of the season because few people thought the Raiders still would be relevant at this point.

In fact, the Raiders are more than simply relevant. They have won four of five and are in a first-place tie with Kansas City - a team Oakland has beaten - atop the AFC West.

Whereas the Raiders (5-4) are rested after a week off, the Steelers are trying to regroup after a sound beating at home by New England, a game in which Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward was sidelined by a concussion.

Pittsburgh (6-3) has been ravaged by injuries, although coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he expects Ward, left guard Chris Kemoeatu (knee and ankle) and inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons (hip) to be ready to play.

The Steelers also parted ways with longtime kicker Jeff Reed, who entered the season as the most accurate kicker in club history but has missed seven of 22 attempts this fall - including a 26-yarder against the Patriots. Former Dallas and Washington kicker Shaun Suisham was signed to replace him.

Tomlin said Reed "had a lot of individual success and also contributed to our success but at this juncture we thought it was appropriate for us to make a change."

Last season, the Raiders shocked the Steelers by beating them in Pittsburgh, dropping them to 6-6. There's no more element of surprise for the Raiders.

In other games:

Colts at Patriots: Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are getting older, but their classic matchups seem ageless. Both teams are 4-1 over the last five games, and both have at least a share of their division leads.

Remember the last time these teams played? That's when Patriots coach Bill Belichick made the ill-fated decision at the end to go for it on fourth down deep in New England territory. The Patriots didn't convert, and watched the last shreds of a 17-point fourth-quarter lead slip away as Manning threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds to play and the Colts won, 35-34.

Giants at Eagles: The Giants were the hottest team in the league last week before they were stunned at home by the one-win Dallas Cowboys. Now, New York is looking to regain its equilibrium against a bitter rival, one led by the sizzling Michael Vick. The last time these teams played at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia cruised to a 40-17 victory. But that was with Donovan McNabb at quarterback for the Eagles.

Packers at Vikings: Brett Favre takes on his old franchise yet again, although - and you've heard this before - he's feeling pain in his throwing shoulder. He's well off his impressive pace of last season, when he finished with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. This season he leads the NFL with 16 interceptions, has lost five fumbles, and is 31st in passer rating.

Chicago at Miami: It should be fascinating to see how the Dolphins cope with their difficulties at quarterback, a problem made tougher because the game is on Thursday so the preparation time is severely limited. By all indications, it will be third-stringer Tyler Thigpen - who Tuesday took his first snaps of the season with the No. 1 offense - in place of the hurting Chads: Pennington and Henne.


Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/11 ... z15W7Hs5qI (http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/11/16/1725439/raiders-steelers-is-among-must.html#ixzz15W7Hs5qI)

[fordfixer]

NFL Week 11 Picks: Steelers Are Surprisingly Heavy Favorites Over Raiders
http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/2010/11/ ... ff-picture (http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/2010/11/16/1818855/nfl-week-11-picks-steelers-heavy-favorites-over-raiders-afc-playoff-picture)

By Michael Bean - Contributor


The Raiders sneaked by the Steelers when the historic rivals last met in 2009. Despite both teams seemingly heading in opposite directions, the Steelers are heavy favorites over the Raiders in Week 11.


Nov 16, 2010 - Two historic AFC rivals meet this coming Sunday at Heinz Field when the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) host the Oakland Raiders (5-4). The Steelers of course are coming off an embarrassing beat-down by the New England Patriots this past Sunday. The Raiders meanwhile will be fresh off their bye week and looking to extend their winning streak to four games. SB Nation's odds partner, Odds Shark, has Pittsburgh as 9-point favorites (+104), with the O/U set at 41 points. (BoDog has the Steelers as 7.5-point favorites (+100).

That's an interesting disparity between the lines. Nine points seems quite high, but even at 7.5 points, the money looks to be coming in on Oakland. That shouldn't be too surprising, I suppose. This may be a matchup of teams heading in opposite directions. With all the injuries sustained by the Steelers, they perhaps have played their best football of the year already. The Raiders meanwhile look to be getting their legs underneath them after a slow start to the year.

The Raiders have won their past two meetings against the Steelers, both in post-Super Bowl years for Pittsburgh. The first was in 2006 when Oakland beat the Steelers despite not gaining even 100 yards of total offense. Last year, the Raiders rallied to beat Pittsburgh with 21 fourth quarter points, punctuated by a Bruce Gradkowski touchdown to Louis Murphy with 9 seconds left.

I'd be inclined to say that Oakland is a much better play than is Pittsburgh except for one small but important fact: the Raiders' primary strength is rushing the football, and that just so happens to be what Pittsburgh's defense is still the best in the NFL at stopping, even with all the injuries they're dealing with. In all likelihood, the Raiders will need Jason Campbell to play well in order for Oakland to win. If the Steelers don't do a better job offensively than they have in recent weeks though, the Raiders may not need a Tom Brady-like performance from Campbell in order to win.

So, for now, I'd say hang tight and see where this line moves throughout the week. There looks to be too much variability at the moment. If you're inclined to take Pittsburgh, my guess is you'll be able to take a better position than 7.5 or 9 points later in the week.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Raiders win 27-26. Steelers miss a potential game-winning FG at the end of the game. :(

Hope I'm wrong.

[hawaiiansteel]

Raiders Conference Calls


STEELERS VS. RAIDERS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
AT HEINZ FIELD


RAIDERS COACH TOM CABLE


What are you seeing different from this Pittsburgh team than what you saw a year ago?
To me I think they have got their swagger back on defense and you always have issues with them in terms of pressure, just their style of play and all that. They are similar to last year but to me they are better than they were a year ago. Offensively I think they are throwing the ball as good as anybody and Mendenhall is a good runner so they are a better team than they were this time last year.

Are you still noticing that swagger on defense despite what happened on Sunday night against New England?

Yeah, I kind of live by the creed, one game doesn’t define you whether you win or lose. If you look at the games prior to that, the full body of work, they are very good.

Re: Process of getting team to 5-4 after struggles and now competing:
I think you have hit it on the head. We have learned how to compete, we have learned how to handle adversity. We are excited about the success that we have had. Winning the last four of five, it has been good for our mentality and attitude. But like everything, you are never there unless you have become a playoff type team and that is what we are still trying to do and we are getting closer but we still have a lot of work to do.

Re: Decision on JaMarcus Russell:
You know you have to live with whatever you decide and as an organization we felt like we needed to move on and take this team to the next level. Unfortunately it didn’t include him and we wish him well and we move forward.

Re: Jason Campbell:
I think he has brought some stability. I think he and Bruce (Gradkowski) both have settled us down at the quarterback position. Bruce has obviously had some injury issues and Jason started out as the starter and was replaced and then came back as the starter and has done a lot of good things. The best word to put to it is that he has just stabilized us there and we feel like we have a couple of guys that we can go to and can trust to get the job done.

Re: Bruce Gradkowski being from Pittsburgh:
We hadn’t talked about that directly but the fact that he is from there and all of that, it is important to him. But Bruce is a Raider so however we can do this thing, whatever it takes to win I will do and he is a part of that.

Re: Success versus Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter:
I don’t know about how it tends to be the case but I know for us it was a couple of guys, Louis Murphy, made a couple of plays, Bruce made a couple of throws and we were able to block them long enough to do that. If you look at the whole game, we really were playing from behind the whole game and just got some opportunities that we were able to take advantage of.

Re: Darren McFadden
I think Darren had taken his game to the next level by simply staying healthy. I think he has learned how to be a pro, I think he has learned how to take care of himself and that is all the natural maturation that young guys go through. He is playing how we expect him to play and I think the fact that he is healthy and able to go out every week now and contribute, we are getting to see him at his best.

How mindful are you of the Raider tradition and what would it mean to you to get the team back to the top?
It’s what drives me every day. It’s very dear to me to get this place back to respectability and back to being a team that everybody talks about like the Steelers, like the Patriots, like Baltimore, like the teams that have been good here for awhile. There was a time when you mentioned those teams and you would mention Oakland that way and it just hasn’t been that way. It does drive me and it is very dear to me to be the guy that gets this thing turned around.

The AFC seems wide open. Do you view it that way?
I think so. Just look at the numbers here just past midway and the numbers speak for themselves. Our division is certainly up for grabs and you can say that probably about every AFC division. I just think the numbers kind of speak loud and clear about what it is going to be like and it is that old saying, whoever has the best second half usually has the best opportunity.

Any reason in your eyes why there is more parody this season?
I think it is everything in terms of free agency and the draft. Just a lot of good players around the league. If you had struggles and you had been able to draft early for a few years, you are going to be able to raise the level of talent of your team and I think that and if you get a good group of coaches together with a group of players that mesh, anything is possible. They are all pro payers and they are all talented guys. We have had the opportunity, unfortunately, to draft early for a number of years now and it has raised the level of talent on this team.


RAIDERS RUNNING BACK DARREN MCFADDEN

How is this Oakland team different and similar from last year’s team?
I feel like one of the main things for us right now is that a lot of guys are playing with confidence. It’s not one of those if you get behind you get down types of things with us. We have been playing with a lot of confidence and I think it has been one of the main things that is helping us out.

Re: Coming back last year in the fourth quarter and winning:
At that time we had a different quarterback, guys were playing with a different energy. Bruce (Gradkowski) made a lot of big plays for us, receivers stepped up and made some great catches for us and helped us to be able to win the game.

What did that game do for you guys?
It was a great confidence builder. It gave us the thought in our head that we can do it and all guys need to do is go out there and play hard.

Re: Offensive approach this year as opposed to last year:
That is one thing that kind of gets me, I feel like we run the ball pretty good but I also think we throw the ball a lot so it is pretty balanced for us right now.

What is the difference for you?
Playing with confidence is one of the main things for me. Getting the ball, as a running back, getting in a groove. You get that confidence built up, you are able to go out there and play your game.

Sebastian (Janikowski) has had his ups and downs this year, how confident are you in him when he lines up to kick.
I have great confidence in Sebastian. He is a great kicker. Like you said, he has had his ups and downs but for the most part, he has been doing a great job for is this year. If we feel like we need leave the game in his hands, we feel like we can do that.

How much buzz is surrounding the team this year?
It is a great buzz for us right now. We have won three games in a row so it has been great for confidence. Guys approach the game with a ‘we are supposed to win’ attitude. That is one of the main things that is helping us out.

Are you guys always reminded about what the organization went through and how much they won in the 70’s and how you have to live up to that?
A lot of guys, we look back at that but at the same time we feel like it is a different ball game right now. It’s not like the 70’s. You could just go out there and beat somebody up and not even get a call. So it is kind of different right now.

You guys look like you are still trying play it that at times.
No, we try to approach the game with a football mentality. You have to have a mean mentality going into it and it is something we try to carry into the game.

Is piling up a lot of penalties just an attitude thing?
That is one thing that we have been saying. A lot of the pre-snap penalties we have to try to cut out. I think we are leading the league in penalties right now. It is something we have to correct.

Some of your teammates said that the week before the Kansas City game something was in the air, does that feeling still exist?
It’s one of those things for us, you can’t get too high off of a win and you can’t get too low off of a loss, so you just try to keep it level and go into the game ready to play.

How good of a lead blocker was Peyton Hillis?
He was a great lead blocker for me. I loved running behind him at school. He helped me a lot, I feel like he helped me get to the NFL.

Did he always want to be a tailback?
I’ve seen him run the ball several times and I knew he had the ability to run the ball. Actually, he was the starting tailback as I was coming in. He was a great runner then and when we came in coach made a few changes, but I knew he was a great runner all along.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/ ... 795c5c8706 (http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Conference-Calls/1f05638d-2bc0-48de-be0d-80795c5c8706)

[fordfixer]

Raiders Conference Calls
http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/ ... 795c5c8706 (http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Conference-Calls/1f05638d-2bc0-48de-be0d-80795c5c8706)

STEELERS VS. RAIDERS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
AT HEINZ FIELD

CONFERENCE CALLS



RAIDERS COACH TOM CABLE



What are you seeing different from this Pittsburgh team than what you saw a year ago?

To me I think they have got their swagger back on defense and you always have issues with them in terms of pressure, just their style of play and all that. They are similar to last year but to me they are better than they were a year ago. Offensively I think they are throwing the ball as good as anybody and Mendenhall is a good runner so they are a better team than they were this time last year.



Are you still noticing that swagger on defense despite what happened on Sunday night against New England?

Yeah, I kind of live by the creed, one game doesn’t define you whether you win or lose. If you look at the games prior to that, the full body of work, they are very good.



Re: Process of getting team to 5-4 after struggles and now competing:

I think you have hit it on the head. We have learned how to compete, we have learned how to handle adversity. We are excited about the success that we have had. Winning the last four of five, it has been good for our mentality and attitude. But like everything, you are never there unless you have become a playoff type team and that is what we are still trying to do and we are getting closer but we still have a lot of work to do.



Re: Decision on JaMarcus Russell:

You know you have to live with whatever you decide and as an organization we felt like we needed to move on and take this team to the next level. Unfortunately it didn’t include him and we wish him well and we move forward.



Re: Jason Campbell:

I think he has brought some stability. I think he and Bruce (Gradkowski) both have settled us down at the quarterback position. Bruce has obviously had some injury issues and Jason started out as the starter and was replaced and then came back as the starter and has done a lot of good things. The best word to put to it is that he has just stabilized us there and we feel like we have a couple of guys that we can go to and can trust to get the job done.



Re: Bruce Gradkowski being from Pittsburgh:

We hadn’t talked about that directly but the fact that he is from there and all of that, it is important to him. But Bruce is a Raider so however we can do this thing, whatever it takes to win I will do and he is a part of that.



Re: Success versus Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter:

I don’t know about how it tends to be the case but I know for us it was a couple of guys, Louis Murphy, made a couple of plays, Bruce made a couple of throws and we were able to block them long enough to do that. If you look at the whole game, we really were playing from behind the whole game and just got some opportunities that we were able to take advantage of.



Re: Darren McFadden

I think Darren had taken his game to the next level by simply staying healthy. I think he has learned how to be a pro, I think he has learned how to take care of himself and that is all the natural maturation that young guys go through. He is playing how we expect him to play and I think the fact that he is healthy and able to go out every week now and contribute, we are getting to see him at his best.



How mindful are you of the Raider tradition and what would it mean to you to get the team back to the top?

It’s what drives me every day. It’s very dear to me to get this place back to respectability and back to being a team that everybody talks about like the Steelers, like the Patriots, like Baltimore, like the teams that have been good here for awhile. There was a time when you mentioned those teams and you would mention Oakland that way and it just hasn’t been that way. It does drive me and it is very dear to me to be the guy that gets this thing turned around.



The AFC seems wide open. Do you view it that way?

I think so. Just look at the numbers here just past midway and the numbers speak for themselves. Our division is certainly up for grabs and you can say that probably about every AFC division. I just think the numbers kind of speak loud and clear about what it is going to be like and it is that old saying, whoever has the best second half usually has the best opportunity.



Any reason in your eyes why there is more parity this season?

I think it is everything in terms of free agency and the draft. Just a lot of good players around the league. If you had struggles and you had been able to draft early for a few years, you are going to be able to raise the level of talent of your team and I think that and if you get a good group of coaches together with a group of players that mesh, anything is possible. They are all pro payers and they are all talented guys. We have had the opportunity, unfortunately, to draft early for a number of years now and it has raised the level of talent on this team.


RAIDERS RUNNING BACK DARREN MCFADDEN

How is this Oakland team different and similar from last year’s team?

I feel like one of the main things for us right now is that a lot of guys are playing with confidence. It’s not one of those if you get behind you get down types of things with us. We have been playing with a lot of confidence and I think it has been one of the main things that is helping us out.



Re: Coming back last year in the fourth quarter and winning:

At that time we had a different quarterback, guys were playing with a different energy. Bruce (Gradkowski) made a lot of big plays for us, receivers stepped up and made some great catches for us and helped us to be able to win the game.



What did that game do for you guys?

It was a great confidence builder. It gave us the thought in our head that we can do it and all guys need to do is go out there and play hard.



Re: Offensive approach this year as opposed to last year:

That is one thing that kind of gets me, I feel like we run the ball pretty good but I also think we throw the ball a lot so it is pretty balanced for us right now.



What is the difference for you?

Playing with confidence is one of the main things for me. Getting the ball, as a running back, getting in a groove. You get that confidence built up, you are able to go out there and play your game.



Sebastian (Janikowski) has had his ups and downs this year, how confident are you in him when he lines up to kick.

I have great confidence in Sebastian. He is a great kicker. Like you said, he has had his ups and downs but for the most part, he has been doing a great job for is this year. If we feel like we need leave the game in his hands, we feel like we can do that.



How much buzz is surrounding the team this year?

It is a great buzz for us right now. We have won three games in a row so it has been great for confidence. Guys approach the game with a ‘we are supposed to win’ attitude. That is one of the main things that is helping us out.



Are you guys always reminded about what the organization went through and how much they won in the 70’s and how you have to live up to that?

A lot of guys, we look back at that but at the same time we feel like it is a different ball game right now. It’s not like the 70’s. You could just go out there and beat somebody up and not even get a call. So it is kind of different right now.



You guys look like you are still trying play it that at times.

No, we try to approach the game with a football mentality. You have to have a mean mentality going into it and it is something we try to carry into the game.



Is piling up a lot of penalties just an attitude thing?

That is one thing that we have been saying. A lot of the pre-snap penalties we have to try to cut out. I think we are leading the league in penalties right now. It is something we have to correct.



Some of your teammates said that the week before the Kansas City game something was in the air, does that feeling still exist?

It’s one of those things for us, you can’t get too high off of a win and you can’t get too low off of a loss, so you just try to keep it level and go into the game ready to play.



How good of a lead blocker was Peyton Hillis?

He was a great lead blocker for me. I loved running behind him at school. He helped me a lot, I feel like he helped me get to the NFL.



Did he always want to be a tailback?

I’ve seen him run the ball several times and I knew he had the ability to run the ball. Actually, he was the starting tailback as I was coming in. He was a great runner then and when we came in coach made a few changes, but I knew he was a great runner all along.