Oakland Raiders

Just last season, Richard Seymour was one of the highest paid defensive linemen in the NFL. He had been one of the highest paid for a number of years and at one time perhaps he deserved it. Those days are gone for Seymour. They actually lasted longer than they should have because of the hefty contract he received from the Raiders when he was acquired in trade with the New England Patriots where he hadn't made a Pro Bowl in three seasons. When he arrived in Oakland, he was already on a downturn but was still considered among the best defensive linemen in the game. The problem was, there was no way he would still be worth his contract by the time it was up and so his eventual release was inevitable. In last year's training camp Seymour was seen standing on the sideline more than he was actually practicing. In previous seasons, he was among the veterans who got regular days off practice but last year on top of those days, he was also battling chronic knee pain. Midway through camp, Myself and Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke with Seymour. At the time, the hot story was about how he said he thought the Raiders could be a top 5 defense and he even used the Patriots as an example of how a defense could be underestimated. Not only was the Raiders defense just as bad, if not worse than expected, but Seymour was ineffective with those bad knees the first half of the season before being sidelined for the latter half. But it wasn't Seymour's controversial prediction that stuck with me from that conversation. The part of that conversation that I couldn't really stop thinking about was when Vic asked him about being the highest paid defensive lineman in the league. He insisted that he was no longer the highest paid player, citing Julius Peppers and Mario Williams as having surpassed him. Then he joked that "I need to load back up (laughs)... The guys came and took my throne away.... I'm looking to get back, yeah." I understood it as a joke and didn't make anything of it, but something still seemed unsettling about a player, especially one nearing the final years of his career, focusing so heavily on who is making more money than he is. Now 33, if he were to still be under contract with the Raiders, he would again be the highest paid defensive lineman. His salary against the cap was set at $19 million. The Raiders had put a playing time clause in his contract that would give them the option to void it while taking a $13 million bath and they exercised it. Not that they had much choice, that is still a much needed $6 million savings. It is about nine months since he joked about being the highest paid defensive lineman and over four months since his contract was voided and remains unemployed. Then this week, for the first time, news came out of him visiting the Falcons. Seymour lives near Atlanta in the offseason so Initially it seemed his becoming a Falcon was going to happen. However, shortly thereafter things broke down and word is they couldn't agree on financial details. There are likely two things at work here and they are both classic Richard Seymour. 1) He simply wants too much money. 2) He doesn't want to sign with a team until OTA's and minicamps are over so he won't be required to show up and practice. Most likely it's a combination of the two The humble pie is bubbling and he will be served it soon enough. He has to realize he is not the player he once was both due to age and injury and he will have to be content with the gobs of cash he has already made in his career (even when he was undeserving) because it's that or forced retirement from football.

Kirby Lee-US Presswire New offensive coordinator Greg Olsen must find a way to get the ball in wide receiver Jacoby Ford‘s hands this season. When the Oakland Raiders drafted him in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft, everyone expected Ford to be another track star who could not play a lick of football. Ford was the latest Raider draft pick to run the fastest 40-yard dash (4.28) at the combine. While many Raider fans expected a reincarnation of Johnny Lee Higgins, Ford immediately showed that he was the real deal within a few games of wearing the silver and black. During Ford’s rookie season he helped revitalize the kick return game by taking three kick returns to the house for touchdowns. He became the most explosive return man in recent memory for the Raiders by consistently giving the offense great field position. Not only was Ford explosive on special teams but he also showed he was a game breaking wide receiver. During a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ford made a plethora of spectacular catches and returns. He finished with over 140 yards receiving and 150 return yards. Former offensive coordinator and head coach Hue Jackson knew exactly how to use Ford on offense. Not only would he line up in the slot to burn by slower defenders but he also got the ball on reverses which he broke for big runs. New quarterback Matt Flynn should study how his mentor, Aaron Rodgers, used receiver Randall Cobb last season in the passing game. It is of utmost importance that Ford is used in the offense this season. With no proven game breakers on the receiving corps, Ford needs to step up as a leader. He should work well with Flynn’s style of play as a wide receiver by turning short throws into long touchdowns. Ford has all the game breaking ability as Percy Harvin, so the Raiders need to find a way to give him the ball on reverses and even line him up in the backfield. Hopefully Jacoby Ford stays healthy this year because he will be an important part of the new Oakland Raiders. Jorge Contreras is an Oakland Raiders writer for RantSports.com. Follow Jorge on Twitter @jraycontreras

The Pro Football Hall of Fame isn't like the Baseball Hall of Fame in which a player must choose a team to identify himself with when being enshrined. But Charles Woodson told a radio station in Milwaukee Wisconsin Friday morning that when it comes his time to be enshrined in those hallowed halls in Canton, his intention is to go in as a Raider. "I'm an Oakland Raider now. That's kind of the way I look at it," said Woodson when asked whether he would enter the Hall of Fame as a Packer or a Raider. "My whole plan was... to retire a Green Bay Packer. There was no thought of me ever leaving the Green Bay Packers. Life throws curve balls sometimes and you gotta take the plate. So, now I'm back with the Oakland Raiders and I don't foresee myself playing for any other team after that. If I play this year, maybe play next year, who knows, when it comes that time, I'm going probably with the last team I played for." Woodson received a one-year deal from the Raiders. He will turn 37 in October when most NFL careers are long over. Injuries have piled up for him the past few seasons, most notably having broken his collarbone twice, including last season which cost him nine games. The switch to safety last was made to try and prolong his career but safeties are asked to do more hitting and tackling than corners so the injury questions will continue. As he said, he would like to play more than one season and his health will play a large part in whether he will be able to do so. "I see myself coming in and making an impact. There's a lot of talk about me as a player and now I can't do this, can't do that, but I don't see it that way and maybe I delusional but I don't think so. I look at myself coming in and making an impact, making a lot of plays." The hope for the Raiders is to get at least one good season out of him. His base salary is a very manageable $1.38 million with playing time incentives that max out at $4 million. This protects the Raiders should Woodson not finish the season. Even without taking a snap, Woodson has already played more season in Oakland (8) than in Green Bay (7) and would retire in Oakland as well. He had plenty of playoff success with both team including trips to the Super Bowl as a Raider and as a Packer. He was finally able to get his ring as a Packer two seasons ago. The one big difference is what uniform he will be wearing when the music stops. And at this point, it looks to be his old/new #24 Raiders jersey. Follow @LeviDamien

Recently, eight Raiders players and several staff members had the opportunity to visit Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

New Raiders WR/KR Josh Cribbs makes his Behind the Shield debut as he sits down with Jeanette Thompson.

Thursday, we reported here on S&BP the comments that were made by Trey Wingo on his weekday ESPN program NFL Live in which he suggested the Raiders had orchestrated the rally at Raiders headquarters on Tuesday to greet Charles Woodson on his visit with the team. Within hours of the story's release, the producers of Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game had caught wind of the fan reaction to Wingo's comments and scheduled Wingo to appear on the show. Here is the transcript of that conversation: Mark Kreidler: Your reaction to the venom coming from Raiders fans. You said you're baffled by the reaction? Trey Wingo: Yeah, I literally had no idea what was going on until John, your producer -- who I knew from his days back in St Louis -- called me and told me about it, so it took me by complete surprise. Kreidler: You've probably tracked this down by now but there was the Silver & Black Pride blog yesterday wrote this said ‘News of the rally staged at Raiders headquarters to greet Charles Woodson upon his arrival to meet with the team has been widely reported. Every news outlet recognized Raider fans as mobilizing to show Woodson they wanted him back but not Trey Wingo and ESPN.' Again I'm just reading here from Silver & Black Pride. Your quoted here as saying ‘Raiders put out a social media campaign to have all the fans show up at the facility welcoming him back' end quote. Raider fans see this as you saying the fans didn't do it, it was staged by the team and fans are feeling like you're disrespecting their efforts. Wingo: Well, let me just say this; they're absolutely right, it was done by the fans, and I meant to say Raider fans, I just didn't say ‘fans'. So, I totally get it, but I gotta be honest with you, the fact that they felt slighted I don't quite understand, but that's fine, I didn't say it the right way. I left out that one word. But we were not trying to slight anybody. The reason we brought it up is we thought it was awesome that they mobilized and did this, that was the whole point of even having it as part of the show. The topic was, in our hot read segment, it was just me and Adam (Schefter) on what we call the debate set there and the debate was ‘where's he gonna go? Is Charles Woodson gonna go to Denver or is he gonna go back to the Raiders' and Adam was saying ‘Probably if he's looking for another ring, it's probably a better bet, with the team the Broncos have, to go to Denver, but a lot of sentiment is going for the idea of going back to the Raiders where, not only was he a first round pick in the draft but also he knows Reggie McKenzie from their days together up in Green Bay and I said ‘yeah, that's great what they've done' and I meant to say ‘Raider fans' and it just came out ‘Raiders' and that's all it was. Dan Dibley: I have absolutely no problem with any of that and I'm not 100% sure of why it was as big of a deal as it was. Wingo: That makes two of us Kreidler: I do understand but I can understand Raider fans are ridiculed a lot and when they went and organized something organically and it sounds like someone is saying maybe the team put them up to that, I can see how they're upset. I can understand what Trey is saying, but I can understand how fans are upset. Dibley: I guess what I'm saying is, and Trey I'm not putting words in your mouth, that sometimes you generalize and say Raiders and you mean all of the Raiders, not the Raiders front office... Wingo: No, absolutely, Raider ‘Nation' Dibley: Do you think [the rally] made any difference? Wingo: I think it did actually. And what I have to think once the Raiders front office slash team, not Raiders slash Nation slash fans, found out about it I'm sure they were like ‘This is the greatest thing in the world' you know. I absolutely think it meant something and I think that it shows the passion that Raiders fans have. We've said this a million times on NFL Live and nobody ever wants to

Raiders Legend WR Tim Brown was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

After spending 7 years with the Green Bay Packers, 8 time all pro safety Charles Woodson has returned to Oakland to wear the Silver and Black.  Woodson signed a 1 year contract with Oakland worth up to 4.3 million.  Woodson came into free agency after being released by Green Bay in February looking to play for a Super Bowl contender and met with upper echelon teams San Francisco and Denver during the process.  Nothing was worked out with the 49ers and Denver wasn’t willing to make the same commitment as Oakland, leading to Woodson’s decision to sign with the Raiders. Originally taken 4th overall in the 1998 NFL draft, Woodson returns to the Raiders as a safety at age 36. He will likely slide in at free safety in place of  Michael Huff and the Raiders will use his versatility to upgrade a defense that struggled last season. Woodson says he has fully recovered from a broken collarbone that sidelined him for nine regular season games last year.  He was the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and has 55 career interceptions, 17 sacks, 24 forced fumbles and 11 interception returns for touchdowns in eight seasons in Oakland and seven in Green Bay. ”I’m just going to bring the intensity,  I’m a football player so I’m going to bring a lot of intensity, somebody that’s passionate about the game, and a guy that knows how to make plays. That’s what I’m going to bring. I think when guys watch me play, I think that raises the level of other guys because of the way I play the game. I’m going to bring that mindset, that mentality to the game, the same as I always have and have fun doing it.” Woodson said. One of Woodson’s first orders of business will be negotiating with new teammate Tracy Porter to get his  No. 24 jersey back. He wore that uniform in his first stint with the Raiders, owns a Napa winery called TwentyFour and has many fans eager to bring out their old Woodson jerseys to wear to games next fall. ”We’ll definitely have to have that conversation,” Woodson said. ”We haven’t had it yet. Raider Nation has me back but I don’t know if they’ll have me back without the 24 on my back.”

Raiders great, Tim Brown, has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the past three years and has fallen short each time. In the meantime he has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and can now add Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame to that list. "Initially, I'm like, ‘OK. All right,'because at that time I was waiting to see about the Pro Football Hall of Fame." Brown told Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group. "But somebody who is a baseball fan said, ‘Dude, you're going to be in a friggin' Hall of Fame with Willie Mays." I'm like, ‘Whoa.' It just sort of changed the whole perspective of what this is about. This is not a football Hall of Fame, this is a Bay Area sports deal. And from that standpoint, we really started to look forward to this night." Known as "Mr Raider", Tim Brown was the greatest Raiders receiver since the days when Fred Biletnikoff suited up in Silver and Black in the 70's. And while he was setting records for the Raiders in the 90's and 00's, Biletnikoff was his position coach. In fact, there was only two of Brown's 16-year career (88, 04) he wasn't coached by Biletnikoff and only three of Biletnikoff's 18-year NFL coaching career (04-06) he didn't have Brown to coach. So, it was only right that it was Biletnikoff who presented him at the ceremony. "To me, it was the only choice. Freddy was, what did I play, 15-16 years with the Raiders, and he saw the whole maturation process," Brown said. "From struggling coming off my knee injury to being just happy be on the field to wanting to play hard to more to starting to making Pro Bowls and until the end of the 16 years. "From that standpoint, I needed him to be part of the ceremony tonight. Whatever he's going to say, he's going to say because it's not or ever was about his words. It's just about him being part of the ceremony." "Watching Tim play for all those years was amazing," Biletnikoff said in his induction speech. "I could never be so proud." It may not be the all-important Pro Football Hall of Fame, but it is a Hall of Fame and an accomplishment none the less. Perhaps when he has been inducted into every other Hall of Fame, he will finally break through into Canton. Follow @LeviDamien

Some interesting observations from former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown Thursday night as he was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Brown was a teammate of Charles Woodson, who returned to the Raiders Tuesday as a free agent, and also a fellow Heisman Trophy winner. When they played together, Brown was the consummate [...]