<![CDATA[CHRISTOPHER MCCLAIN - SIlver & Black Report]]>Thu, 16 Apr 2020 22:26:54 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Raiders sign quarterback Derek Carr]]>Wed, 21 May 2014 13:13:28 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-sign-quarterback-derek-carrOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 21, 2014

The Raiders announced Wednesday that they have agreed to terms with second-round draft pick Derek Carr.

Carr was selected in the second round with hopes that he can develop into the franchise quarterback the Raiders have been so desperately seeking for quite some time.

The signing comes just one day after the signing of their trio of seventh-round draft picks, TJ Carrie, Jonathan Dowling and Shelby Harris.

The Raiders now just have third-round pick Gabe Jackson, and fourth-round picks Justin Ellis and Keith McGill to get signed.

]]><![CDATA[Raiders sign three more draft picks]]>Tue, 20 May 2014 13:11:44 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-sign-three-more-draft-picksOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 20, 2014


The Oakland Raiders announced in Tuesday the signing of there three seventh-round draft selections.

Defensive end Shelby Harris, cornerback TJ Carrie and safety Konathan Dowling all agreed to terms with the Raiders on Tuesday.

The signings come after first-round selection Khalil Mack signed his contract last week.

The Raiders still have four unsigned rookies: quarterback Derek Carr, offensive lineman Gabe Jackson, defensive tackle Justin Ellis and cornerback Keith McGill.

The Raiders will look to have all their drafted rookies under contract soon and it shouldn’t take long.

In addition, the Raiders also announced the signing of defensive end Denico Autry.

Autry played two seasons at Mississippi State, accumulating 73 tackles, six sacks and three forced fumbles.

]]><![CDATA[Raiders host local Yale-bound student]]>Tue, 20 May 2014 13:10:39 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-host-local-yale-bound-studentPicture
Originally published on Silver & Black Report on May 20, 2014


Oakland’s Akintunde Ahmad, the Oakland Technical High School student who recently committed to attend Yale University, toured the Raiders facilities on Tuesday.

“I’m thankful and glad they extended the invitation to me,” Ahmad said after the event. “Born and raised in Oakland, you know, Raider Nation, always been a raiders fan so I’m happy everyone’s here to give me a warm embrace and just allow me to be here and to meet everyone and be in the store.”

Ahmad grew up in Oakland and has recently drawn media attention due to accumulating a 5.0 GPA while attending Oakland Technical High School, scoring 2100 (out of 2400) on the SAT em route to earning acceptance offers from Yale, USC, UCLA, Howard, Chapman, Cal Poly (SLO) and Cal State East Bay, Brown, Columbia, Northwestern, while also being waitlisted by UC Berkeley and Georgetown, according to SFGate.

“It never really occurred to me until after it happened,” Ahmad said about his success in school. “I always strived to be the best I could be and not really compare myself to others, and it just turned out that way. I guess hard work paid off.”

‘Tunde, as his friends call him, ultimately chose Yale while on the Ellen Degeneres show.

‘Tunde says his family didn’t even know his decision until they heard him make it on The Ellen Show. He picked Yale because of the “community” feel it provides.

While at the Raiders facility on Tuesday, ‘Tunde received a tour of the Alameda grounds and was also allowed to pick an item of his choice from the Raider Image. In the store, ‘Tunde will be escorted by Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater, linebacker Nick Roach and cornerback Taiwan Jones.

Ahmad hopes that his success can be an inspiration for others to arrive for greatness, no matter the situation.

“People are going to say you can’t do things; people are going to judge you a certainly way based on your appearance,” Ahmad said. “But in the end of the day it’s up to you to do what you want to do and do what makes you happy and do whatever you can to get where you want to be.”

]]><![CDATA[Raiders claim WR Greg Little off waivers]]>Mon, 19 May 2014 13:08:26 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-claim-wr-greg-little-off-waiversOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 19, 2014


Reggie McKenzie announced Monday that the Raiders have claimed former Browns WR Greg Little off is waivers.

Little is entering his fourth season in the NFL after appearing in 48 games (41 starts) with the Browns.

In his three years with the Browns, little hauled in 155 receptions for 1,821 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

The former running back has shown glimpses of talent but has not been able to consistently produce after being selected in the second round (59th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. He has also had off-the-field issues such as driving his car 127 mph, resulting in a crash and being cited for drag racing.

Should little find a way to be a consistent wide receiver, he could become a solid contributor to the Raiders roster.

The Raiders also signed linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu and cornerback Janson Watson.

]]><![CDATA[VIDEO: RB George Atkinson III speaks after rookie minicamp]]>Fri, 16 May 2014 13:07:34 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/video-rb-george-atkinson-iii-speaks-after-rookie-minicampOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 16, 2014


Raiders undrafted rookie George Atkinson III spoke with the media following Friday’s rookie minicamp in Alameda, Calif.

You can see the video from the interview below.

]]><![CDATA[VIDEO: LB Khalil Mack speaks at Raiders rookie minicamp]]>Fri, 16 May 2014 13:06:06 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/video-lb-khalil-mack-speaks-at-raiders-rookie-minicampOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 16, 2014

Linebacker Khalil Mack took the field in Alameda, Calif. just one day after signing his rookie contract with the Raiders.

Mack took time after the practice to speak with the local media. You can watch the video of the interview below.

]]><![CDATA[Raiders rookies practice at rookie minicamp]]>Fri, 16 May 2014 13:04:34 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-rookies-practice-at-rookie-minicampPicture
Originally published on Silver & Black Report on May 16, 2014

The media got their first look at the Raiders rookies on Friday, headlined by linebacker Khalil Mack and quarterback Derek Carr.

With only the rookies in attendance, Carr received lots of opportunities to show off his talent.

Despite fumbling his first snap from under center, Carr displayed the talent that got him drafted in the second round. He showed a strong arm and quickness when throwing the ball to receivers that weren’t against a defensive rush and little coverage.

Carr used solid footwork to get the ball out quickly and even displayed his athleticism with a couple of bootlegs.

Carr did however miss some targets by throwing it behind them and sailing throws, but that can be expected during an early-offseason workout having not worked with the receivers before, many of which are in on a tryout basis. We will have a better data sample as workouts progress and he gets more reps with receivers.




]]><![CDATA[Raiders announce undrafted free agent signings]]>Fri, 16 May 2014 13:01:49 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-announce-undrafted-free-agent-signingsOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 16, 2014


With the rookies set to take the field at Raiders rookie minicamp, Reggie McKenzie officially announced the undrafted free agent signings Friday.

Included in the list is Notre Dame running back George Atkinson III, son of former Raiders great safety George Atkinson. Atkinson III rushed for 943 rushing yards, ten touchdowns on 153 attempts in his career at Notre Dame. He’s also a dangerous return man.

Texas wide receiver Mike Davis is another intriguing name on the list. Davis finished fourth in school history with 200 receptions in his four-year career. He also finished fourth in receiving yards (2,753) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (18). We’ll see if he can help pick up the Raiders receiving game.

The full list of undrafted free agent signings announced is as follows:

RB Atkinson III, George (Notre Dame)

WR Coles, D.J. (Virginia Tech)

WR Davis, Mike (Texas)

LB Fields, Carlos (Winstom-Salem State)

WR Grigsby, Noel (San Jose State)

T Kistler, Dan (Montana)

T Ladson, Erle (Delaware)

TE Murphy, Jake (Utah)

WR Roberts, Seth (West Alabama)

TE Simonson, Scott (Assumption)

FB Williams, Karl (Utah)

]]><![CDATA[VIDEO: Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr speaks at rookie minicamp]]>Fri, 16 May 2014 13:00:39 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/video-raiders-rookie-qb-derek-carr-speaks-at-rookie-minicampOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 16, 2014

Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr took the field at Alameda, Calif. for the first time at the team’s rookie minicamp on Friday, then spoke with the media shortly after.

The full interview can be seen below.

]]><![CDATA[Raiders rookies to take field for first time Friday]]>Thu, 15 May 2014 12:58:53 GMThttp://www.christophermcclain.com/silver--black-report/raiders-rookies-to-take-field-for-first-time-fridayOriginally published on Silver & Black Report on May 15, 2014


It was under two weeks ago that the Raiders selected eight new players via the draft and the team will get to see those eight on the field for the first time Friday for the Raiders rookie minicamp.

Headlining the event will most certainly be fifth-overall selection linebacker Khalil Mack. Mack, who already signed his contract on Thursday, is expected to be an explosive leader for the Raiders defense for years to come.

Friday’s session will give us a brief glimpse as to how the Raiders may intend to use him and where to line him up. We’ll also get to see how his coverage skill matches up with receivers entering the NFL level.

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr will get the opportunity of receiving a lot of snaps with veteran Matt Schaub not attending. This will give a view into how Carr commands himself with a new playbook and to see how well he can throw the deep ball.

We will also get to see a couple of new linemen in Justin Ellis, Gabe Jackson and Shelby Harris. Friday’s session will give us a good indication in how each of these lineman play and what Raider Nation can expect of them in the trenches. It will be interesting to see where they put Jackson in the rookie minicamp and if that continues throughout the offseason. Harris, who didn’t play football last year, will have eyes on him after being drafted in the seventh round. He’ll need to prove he’s in football shape and can help bring defensive pressure as a defensive end on the team.

The Raiders also selected some secondary help in safety Jonathan Dowling and cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Keith McGill. Though they’ll be going up against other rookies and players there on a tryout basis, we’ll get a glimpse of their skills and see what they can bring to the NFL level. They’re not only expected to help in the secondary, but also provide further ammo on special teams. We’ll see where some of them line up in special teams drills at points in the offseason.

In addition to their eight new draft selections, undrafted free agent signings and players on a workout basis will also be in attendance.

After not drafting a wide receiver, it will be interesting to see what undrafted free agent wide receivers may stand out. The Raiders could use another explosive wide receiver and it could come in the form of one of their undrafted free agents, just as Rod Streater did a couple of years ago.

Tomorrow is just another step in a long offseason workout program, with the full team (relatively) coming together for the first Organized Team Activity on May 27. While the rookie minicamp will give us a good look at the rookies, the OTA’s will give us a better understanding of the entire team.

Practice is open to the media starting at 1:50 p.m. until 4:15 p.m. Be sure to follow along with Silver & Black Report as we provide you full coverage, along with interviews following the session.

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