Former Oakland Raider head coach John Rauch passed away in his sleep at the age of 80 in Oldsmar, Florida. 

Rauch was 33-8-1 in his three seasons as the Oakland Raiders head coach from 1966-68 and coached them to their first Super Bowl appearance, a loss to the Green Bay Packers. 

For his efforts, Rauch was named the AFL Coach of the Year.

From the Official Oakland Raiders website (www.raiders.com)

"Our hearts go out to his family who we knew well. John Rauch gave us several great years as an assistant and head coach for The Oakland Raiders and he took us to our first Super Bowl in 1967. They were memorable years for the Raiders and they will never be forgotten and they should not be forgotten.

Rauch came to the Raiders in 1963 when Al Davis became the head coach and general manager and turned the franchise around. He followed Al Davis as head coach of the Raiders in 1966 when Al Davis became commissioner of the American Football League and served in that capacity until 1969 when he became head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Rauch was succeeded as head coach of the Raiders by future Hall of Fame coach John Madden."

~ Jason ~

There have been many great wide receivers to don the Silver & Black, here I select the 5 I believe were the best. 

 

 

#5 JAMES JETT (1993-2002) – With a last name of Jett you know he has to be fast.  During his college days at West Virginia he was not only a 4 year starter at wide receiver but was also a seven-time All-American in track and field.   Jett was a member of the 4x100 relay team that won gold in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games but did not run in the gold medal performance.  He joined the Raiders following the 1993 NFL Draft as an un-drafted free agent and led the league in yards per reception (23.4).  Jett finished his career, all playing for the Raiders, with 256 receptions, 4,417 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. 

 

 

#4 – ART POWELL (1963-1966) – Art Powell attended San Jose State University and was originally drafted into the National Football League in 1959 by the Philadelphia Eagles in the eleventh round.  Powell joined the Raiders in 1963 and immediately made an impact leading the AFL in receiving yards (1,304) and receiving touchdowns (16) on 73 receptions.  He would go onto have two more 1,000 yard seasons and finished his Raider career with 254 receptions, 4,491 receiving yards, 50 touchdowns and was selected to play in the American Football League All-Star game all 4 years with the Raiders.  After the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 he was selected to the All-AFL Team. 

 

#3 – CLIFF BRANCH (1972-1985) – Cliff Branch played his college football at the University of Colorado and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1972 in the fourth round of the National Football League draft.  He spent his entire 14 year career with the Raiders and was selected to the Pro Bowl four straight years from 1974-1977.  Branch is third all-time for the Raiders in receptions (501), receiving yards (8,685) and receiving touchdowns (67) and owns the franchise record for longest reception, a 99 yard pass from Jim Plunkett in 1983.  He was a part of all three Raider Super Bowl victories (Super Bowl XI, XV and XVIII) before retiring in 1985.  

 

#2 – FRED BILETNIKOFF (1965-1978) – Fred Biletnikoff was the first ever consensus All-American football player at Florida State University.  He was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in the third round and by the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League in the second round.  He spent his entire 14 year NFL career with the Raiders and was selected to the Pro Bowl six times (American Football League All Star Game twice, NFL Pro Bowl four times), played in two Super Bowls and was selected as the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI, a 32-14 Raider victory over the Minnesota Vikings.  Biletnikoff finished his career with 540 game played, 589 receptions (10 straight years with 40 or more receptions), 8,974 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns.  He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and has a college award named after him, the Fred Biletnikoff Award is given annually to the best college wide receiver.  After his playing days he coached in various high school, college and amateur football associations including spending 18 years (1989-2006) as the Raiders wide receiver coach before retiring in 2007. 

 

#1 - TIM BROWN (1988–2003) – From “Touchdown Timmy” to “Mr. Raider”, Tim Brown excelled in college at Notre Dame and in Los Angeles/Oakland with the Raiders.  Brown attended Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas before choosing to attend Notre Dame over other schools such as Nebraska, Oklahoma, SMU and Iowa.  He earned the nickname “Touchdown Timmy” while playing for the Irish, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1987 and finishing his college career with 137 receptions, 5,024 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns.  He was the first ever receiver to win the Heisman Trophy.  Brown was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders with the 6th pick in the 1988 NFL draft.  During his rookie season he led the league in kickoff returns, return yards and yards per return average, earning a trip to the NFL Pro Bowl.  He would return to the Pro Bowl 8 more times in his career, once more as a return man and 7 times as a wide receiver.  His best season came in 1997 when he led the league in receptions with 104, had a career high 1,408 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.  He finished his Raider career with 1,070 receptions, 14,734 receiving yards and 99 receiving touchdowns.  Brown spent one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finished his career 2nd all-time in receiving yards (14,934), 3rd all-time in receptions (1,094) and tied for 3rd in touchdowns (100).  He owns pretty much every Raider receiving record possible including seasons played (16), career games (250), most passing receptions in a career (1,070), yards gained in a career (14,734), touchdown receptions in a career (99), pass receptions in a season (104), yards gained in a season (1,408), pass receptions in a game (14) earning him the nickname “Mr. Raider” and a future Pro Football Hall of Fame selection.

 

 

So there they are, my top 5 all-time Raider wide receivers.  Did I forget anybody?  Let me know your opinions. 

 

 

~ Jason ~

It seems everybody (and sometimes their moms) are putting down their predictions for the 2008 National Football League season. So here are mine -

AFC East

y - New England (13-3-0), x - Buffalo (9-7-0), New York (6-9-0), Miami (4-12-0)

AFC North

y - Cleveland (9-7-0), Pittsburgh (9-7-0), Baltimore (8-8-0), Cincinnati (5-11-0)

AFC South

zy - Indianapolis (13-3-0), x - Jacksonville (11-5-0), Tennessee (9-7-0), Houston (4-12-0)

AFC West

y - San Diego (10-6-0), Oakland (8-8-0), Denver (8-8-0), Kansas City (6-10-0)

z - Home Field Throughout Playoffs, y - Division Winner, x - Wild Card Team

AFC PLAYOFF TEAMS

Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills

NFC East

y - New York (11-5-0), Dallas Cowboys (9-7-0), Washington Redskins (8-8-0), Philadelphia (7-9-0)

NFC North

y - Minnesota (9-7-0), Detroit (8-8-0), Green Bay (6-10-0), Chicago (3-13-0)

NFC South

zy - New Orleans (11-5-0), x - Tampa Bay (9-7-0), Carolina (6-10-0), Atlanta (3-13-0)

NFC West

y - Seattle (10-6-0), x - Arizona (9-7-0), St. Louis (7-9-0), San Francisco (6-10-0)

NFC PLAYOFF TEAMS

New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals

z - Home Field Throughout Playoffs, y - Division Winner, x - Wild Card Team

SUPER BOWL

Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints (Indianapolis - Super Bowl Champions)

So what do you think?  Let me know.

~ Jason ~

The Oaland Raiders and rookie runningback Darren McFadden have reached an agreement that is rumored to be worth $60 million, with $26 million guaranteed over the next 6 years. 

Signing him only a week into June will be huge when it comes to his ability to perform this season for the Raiders.  Last year it took well into week 1 of the regular season for the overall pick in hte NFL Draft quarterback JaMarcus Russell to agree to a contract.

McFadden's agent, Ian Greengross has been in Alameda, California since Wednesday night meeting with Raider officials.

The Raiders will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. ET on Friday to formally announce the deal. McFadden and coach Lane Kiffin are expected to attend.

It is only a matter of time before the Oakland Raiders and RB LaMont Jordan go their separate ways.  Jordan showed up to the mandatory minicamp but was not allowed to participate with his teammates.    

"We released LaMont from ... on-the-field activities," Kiffin said, pausing in mid-sentence before choosing his words. "We're pursuing some other options with him.  "We're in communication with him. He was here this morning. We're just keeping him off the field."

 "I think a number of things go into that," Kiffin said. "LaMont hasn't been here in our off-season program and the last thing we want to do for him or ourselves is for LaMont to come out here and get hurt today." 

Look for Jordan to be released or traded as early as the end of this week, although his $4M dollar may be a little high for another team to take on. 

It was just a few seasons ago that Jordan rushed for 1,025 yards and he started the '07 season looking good before a back injury sidelined him.  Justin Fargas filled in nicely for Jordan but with the Raiders pick of Darren McFadden in this year’s draft his job may be in jeopardy also. 

 

With the 4th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft the Oakland Raiders selected Darren McFadden from Arkansas, the first time the Raiders had taken a running back in the first round since 1995 when they selected Napoleon Kaufman from Washington with the 18th pick.  The greatest running back in Raiders history, Marcus Allen was also a first round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1982, when he was taken with the 10th pick.  That is not the only similarity, McFadden is listed at 6'2" and 210 pounds which is the weight Allen was during his prime playing days with the Raiders.  Marcus won the Heisman Trophy at USC, unfortunately McFadden could not match that feat as he finished second in the voting twice. 

 

Can McFadden fill the shoes (and shoulder pads) of Allen who left the Raiders for the Kansas City Chiefs after the 1992 season?  A few running backs have tried and shown glimpses of stardom since that 1992 season; Kaufman led the team in rushing three consecutive seasons between 1996 and 1998, including a 1,294 yard season in 1997.  Tyrone Wheatley (2000), LaMont Jordan (2005) and Justin Fargas (2007) have all rushed for 1,000 yards in a season but none have matched what Allen was able to do.  Allen led the Raiders in rushing seven straight seasons between 1982 and 1988 including a league leading 1,759 rushing yards in 1985, still a Raider record.  Speaking of records, Marcus owns a handful of Raider records including; most rushing attempts in a career (2,090), most rushing yards in a career (8,545), most rushing touchdowns in a career (79), most consecutive games with 100 yards rushing (11), most rushing attempts in a season (380) and is tied with 7 others for most rushing touchdowns in a game with 3 (accomplished 4 times).  Allen also performed extraordinarily on the largest of stages, rushing for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns in Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins, a 38-9 victory for the Raiders.  For his performance Allen was named the Super Bowl MVP.  In addition to the Super Bowl MVP Allen also won the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 1982 and NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1985.

 

It is not guaranteed McFadden will win the starting job in Oakland this season as their backfield is pretty deep with the aforementioned Fargas, Jordan and second year back Michael Bush all vying for playing time.  Although I wouldn't be surprised to see this list dwindled down a bit and Jordan cut in the next few weeks.  Given the opportunity I am sure the shoes (and shoulder pads) left by Marcus in the early '90's will fit very well.

My name is Jason Culley and I am addicted to football!  So I was cruising around various sports sites and came across the Fox Sports Blogger and thought I would give it a try.  I am always looking for places to put my opinion down on paper (so to speak) about fantasy football and my favorite NFL team, the Oakland Raiders.  I belong to a dynasty fantasy football league that has been together since 2005.  I am also an amatuer Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders historian and gather any and all information I can on the Raiders from 1960 until present day.  I hope I can write some things that will entertain you and possibly spark some debate.  See you soon!