Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 22, 2014
The new NFL Pro Bowl format has NFL Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders "drafting" their respective teams for the Pro Bowl this season. Raiders fullback Marcel Reece, who is attending his second-straight Pro Bowl, was assigned to Team Sanders after Rice selected Carolina FB Mike Tolber. There are only two fullbacks sent to the Pro Bowl. But it doesn't sound like Sanders is going to utilize Reece the way that much of Raider Nation knows he can be used. “That's who we want. We love him because he's not getting the ball. All we want him to do is block, for that man over there,” Sanders said during the broadcast, according to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. The man he referred to Reece blocking for is Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Reece can be a tough mismatch for linebackers and a defense and Sanders should find innovative ways to get him the ball as we have all seen his ability to be much more than a blocking fullback. The former University of Washington wide receiver has 1,481 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns to go with his 723 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in his 62 games (45 starts) played in the Silver & Black. Reece finished the 2013 campaign with 218 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and 331 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Reece finished last year's Pro Bowl with just one carry for one yard rushing and no receptions on one target. Lets hope that Sanders' quote is just a smokescreen and he utilizes Reece in other capacities other than just blocking.
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Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 14, 2014
The Raiders announced Tuesday that they have signed one more player to a reserve/future contract, adding safety Tony Dye. Dye, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound safety, originally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in May of 2012 but missed all of 2012 while on the Reserve/Injured list with an ankle injury. Dye was then waived by the Bengals following the 2013 training camp but quickly signed onto their practice squad. Dye was eventually elevated to the active roster in November and appeared in one game, recording just one special teams tackle before being waived again in December before re-signing to the practice squad. The three-year starter at UCLA recorded a team-high 95 tackles during his senior year. The Raiders have now signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 14, 2014 ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has tweeted that the Raiders have re-signed defensive coordinator Jason Tarver to a new deal. Not to be outdone by Chargers bringing back their DC John Pagano, Raiders have re-signed their DC Jason Tarver. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 14, 2014 Tarver, who's deal expired today, was thought to be exploring other options but it appears that he recent trend of continuity in Oakland will extend to the defensive coordinator position. It was reporter earlier in the offseason that owner Mark Davis was reluctant to give two-year deals to Dennis Allen's assistant coaches but we have already seen assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano sign a two-year extension just three days ago. Tarver's defense started strong in the season but struggled down the stretch towards the end of the season, giving up 36.8 points per game over the last five contests. The Raiders defense also gave up a franchise-worst 56 points to the Kansas City Chiefs week 15. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 14, 2014
Rookie linebacker Sio Moore has been named to the Pro Football Writers Association's 2013 All-Rookie Team, the PFWA announced on Tuesday. Moore was selected in the third round (66th overall) of last April's NFL Draft and quickly made an impact while playing in 15 games, with 11 starts, and recording 55 tackles, 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Moore's 4.5 sacks was tied for fourth-most among fellow rookies this season. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound linebacker out of the University of Connecticut was also named the Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week for his play in week eight against the Pittsburgh Steelers, logging eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. The accolade marks the first time a Raiders rookie has been named to the PFWA All-Rookie team since offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski was named to the team in 2011. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 13, 2014
Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie announced the signing of three more players to reserve/future contracts on Monday. The Raiders have announced that they have signed linebacker Frank Beltre, center Jarrod Shaw, and cornerback Neiko Thorpe to reserve/future contracts. The addition of the newest three makes that 13 new players signed to reserve/future contracts by the Raiders since the season ended. Beltre played defensive end while at Towson University but has since moved to the outside linebacker position in the NFL with his 6-foot-2, 240-pound frame. Shaw has spent time with the Cleveland Browns after playing both guard positions, and left tackle, while at the University of Tennessee. Thorpe originally signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2012 out of the University of Auburn. After being released on August 25, 2013, Thorpe signed an agreement with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 12, 2014 Former Raiders punter Ray Guy has been named a finalist for the 2014 class of the NFL Hall of Fame. Guy is the first and only punter to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft, going 23rd overall to the Raiders in 1973. Guy is largely considered the best punter of all time finishing with a 42.4 yard average in 207 games with the Raiders. Guy also averaged over 40 yards per punt in 13 of his 14 NFL seasons. Guy has been named a senior committee selection, giving him a better chance to be inducted after being overlooked over previous years. Seven of the last eight senior nominees have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Guy has been a finalist seven times but has been voted down for a wide-variety of reasons. Though he is a senior selection, Guy still must receive 80 percent of the vote to be inducted, just as the other finalists must. The vote takes place on February 1, 2014. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 10, 2014 The Oakland Raiders announced via Twitter that offensive line coach Tony Sparano has signed a two-year deal to remain with the team.Tony Sparano has signed a 2 year contract to remain the Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach of The Oakland Raiders. — OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) January 11, 2014 As the tweet says, Sparano will also keep the title as Assistant Head Coach for his two year deal, the same title he held in his one-year deal last season. Speculation arose about the return of Sparano with news coming out that owner Mark Davis was believed to have only been willing to give out one-year extensions. It was quickly believed that Sparano may bolt out of Oakland and join Lovie Smith's staff in Tampa Bay for more security. The signing further proves that Davis is willing to give the coaching staff a chance with a full deck and believes in the strength of continuity among a coaching staff. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 9, 2013
Former Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown was named a finalist for the 2014 NFL Hall of Fame class by the NFL on Thursday. Brown was named a finalist last year's class but ultimately lost out as Cris Carter was the only wide receiver to be inducted in 2013. Though fellow wide receivers Andre Reed and Marvin Harrison have also been named finalists for 2014, Brown possesses the numbers to give him a good chance. Brown, who was with the Raiders from 1988-2003, currently holds the fifth-most receptions in league history with 1,094 to go along with the fifth most receiving yards in league history with 14,934 yards. Brown also is tied for seventh most with 100 touchdown receptions. Brown also averaged 10.1 yards per punt return and added three punt returns for touchdowns. Making his feats even more impressive, Brown suffered a torn MCL and PCL in 1989, his second year in the league. To put Browns' numbers into perspective, Hall of Famer Carter hauled in 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards and 130 receiving touchdowns. Brown does face tough competition once again this year in Reed and Harrison. Reed hauled in 951 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdown receptions. Harrison snatched 1,102 receptions for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 8, 2014
Weeks after telling Mercury News' Tim Kawakami that he needs "patience" with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis allen, Mark Davis has decided to retain Allen as the Raiders head coach. According to Steve Corkran of Contra Costa Times, Davis met with Allen on Tuesday and the meeting "went well" and Allen will be the coach for the 2014 season. #Raiders owner Mark Davis said meeting with coach Dennis Allen "went well" tonight and that Allen will be the Raiders coach in 2014. — Steve Corkran (@CorkOnTheNFL) January 8, 2014 Allen, the youngest head coach in the NFL, has been the Raiders head coach for the past two seasons and led the team to an 8-24 record, second worst over the last two seasons in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only team worse with a 6-26 record. Though his team finished the disappointing six-game losing streak, Allen stated that he believed he should be allowed to be back next season. "I fully believe that I deserve the opportunity to come back here and get a chance to, as we’ve said, go through the deconstruction phase… I want to be part of the rebuilding phase," Allen said after their 34-14 loss to the Denver Broncos in their season finale. It appears that Davis will give McKenzie and Allen the opportunity to prove themselves with a full deck as they have suffered from the lack of draft picks and then the lack of salary-cap space in their first two seasons. Allen, McKenzie and Davis are expected to meet again to discuss the direction of the team, according to Corkran. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 3, 2014 Just one week after earning a Pro Bowl selection for the second-straight year, the Associated Press announced Friday that Oakland Raiders fullback Marcel Reece has been named AP's second-team All-Pro. Though he is now a two-time Pro Bowler, this marks the first time that Reece has been named All-Pro. He marks the first Raider to receive the honors since both kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler were deemed All-Pro in 2011. Reece, who was originally a wide receiver at the University of Washington, has become a versatile weapon for the Raiders, playing fullback while also serving as an emergency running back with great receiving abilities. The 6-foot-1, 255-pound fullback saw action in all 16 games with 15 starts in 2013, ranking fourth on the team with 218 rushing yards on 46 carries with two touchdowns. Reece also totaled 32 receptions for 331 yards and two scores. In Reece's four years with the Raiders, he has 152 rushes for 723 yards and three touchdowns, and 138 receptions for 1,481 yards and eight scores. |
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