keggerz Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 (edited) http://www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog/ Making the callPosted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Tuesday at 4:18 pm And the winner is . . . Johnnie Lee Higgins. He'll return punts Sunday against the Detroit Lions, with Chris Carr handling kickoff returns. "See, I gave you one of three," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said after declining to make public his choices for quarterback (Daunte Culpepper or Josh McCown) and center (Jake Grove or Jeremy Newberry). Kiffin said he may have answers on both positions Wednesday. He did say the quarterbacks had been told, but both dodged the question. McCown played it coy, answering questions with a question and was agreeable on other topics. Said Culpepper, "I wouldn't lie to you . . . don't even bother." Wide receiver Mike Williams said he will wait like everyone else. "I don't know about the quarterback situation," Williams said. "I say that with all honesty." More news and notes: – Defensive tackle Warren Sapp was involved in what appeared to be a serious conversation with Daunte Culpepper heading off the practice field. Culpepper's body language suggested he hadn't received good news. Or they could have been talking about something not even related to the job of starting quarterback . . . maybe it's best to let Kiffin or one of the quarterbacks spill it. – McCown remembered getting the news from Dennis Green on the Saturday before a Week 10 game against Carolina that Shaun King would replace him as the starter. It never made much sense to McCown, Green keeping it to himself all week that deep into the regular season. He believes this situation is different. "I guess I can see right now the point of it," McCown said. "We might get an advantage. But the other thing is, for (Detroit), they know me well enough they can prepare for Daunte all week and if they got me they'd probably be OK." It's also true that the Lions prepared for Culpepper plenty of times during NFC North games, although the Lions defense has changed a great deal since 2004. Lions coach Rod Marinelli is familiar with Culpepper from Tampa Bay-Minnesota games. "I wouldn’t say, `If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying,’ but you try to get every edge you can in this business, that’s for sure," McCown said. – The Raiders went through drills at a pedestrian pace, but perhaps built up to something more akin to regular-season spirit once team sessions began and the media was out of sight. "I said to (offensive coordinator) Greg Knapp about 30 minutes through practice, I could feel them, I could feel the players a little differently," Kiffin said. "It made our job a little easier. You weren't prying all the time to get them to the next drill, to get them back in the huddle." – The highlight during the media session of practice came when linebackers coach Don Martindale, standing in the middle of the field at the 20-yard line, arched a pass toward a trash can standing at the right corner of the goal line and put the ball dead center, raising his arms in triumph. – Kiffin said he needed to see the film to be sure, but believed defensive tackle Gerard Warren had his best practice as a Raider. – The Raiders added linebacker Jon Alston and tight end Dave Fells to the practice squad. Alston, a linebacker from Stanford noted for his speed, was a third-round pick of the St. Louis Rams last year and somewhat of a surprise cut. He said he received a call from Kiffin asking him to join the Raiders, picking Oakland over two other opportunities. Fells made the Atlanta Falcons last season as an undrafted free agent from U.C. Davis. Raiders assistant coaches Knapp and Tom Cable were in Atlanta last season. – If the Raiders and JaMarcus Russell can ever get together on the best way to pay out a contract befitting the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the salary cap should not be a problem. Oakland is around $15 million under the cap, plenty of room to make a deal. – The cap has gone so high the Raiders are $15 million under despite having to account for $11,163,971 worth of "dead money" on the contracts of Randy Moss ($4,042,500), Brad Badger ($1,431,420), Bobby Hamilton ($1,260,000), Aaron Brooks ($1,000,000), Danny Clark ($861,000), Jarrod Cooper ($752,400), Tyrone Poole ($625,000), Donovin Darius ($600,000) and Zack Crockett ($591,651). – The Raiders are out $610,000 in signing bonus cash to Quentin Moses, but only $152,500 counts toward the cap. June 1 cuts accelerate and are due immediately. Moses' figure was prorated over four years. – The top 10 cap figures on the 2007 Raiders roster: Warren Sapp ($6,397,000), Robert Gallery ($5,472,428), LaMont Jordan ($5,401,440), Michael Huff ($4,803,360), Derrick Burgess ($4,000,480), Barry Sims ($3,988,576), Daunte Culpepper ($3,200,000), Terdell Sands ($3,200,000), Jerry Porter ($3,152,880) and Stuart Schweigert ($2,332,428). Edited September 5, 2007 by keggerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaiderSteve Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Ya, just read that. Who knows what the hell is going on. Waiting to hear it from Kiffin though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 Ya, just read that. Who knows what the hell is going on. Waiting to hear it from Kiffin though. Denver has Skeletor for RB drama Oakland has Kiffin for QB drama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice. Make me look like a Megan Fox. Thanks hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Your fantasy team is pretty much screwed either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I can't see Culpepper not starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice. Make me look like a Megan Fox. Aw c'mon now... Kiffin didn't make you look like a Megan Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Here's what the Raiders should do: On the first offensive snap of the game, send McCown out there and hand the ball off to Lamont Jordan. Then McCown runs off the field and Daunte runs in, immediately launching a deep ball to Porter or Curry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice. Make me look like a Megan Fox. Don't be so humble. You're a self-made man. You ought to be proud of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Score 1 Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Posted: 19 minutes ago Raiders to name McCown starter for opener NFL.com The Oakland Raiders are expected to announce that Josh McCown has won the starting quarterback job for the season opener against Detroit on Sunday, the NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports. www.nfl.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystykoekaki Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice. Make me look like a Megan Fox. Thanks hahaha Wasn't that your role here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankee22ap Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Josh McCown, QB OAK News: NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports Wednesday that the Raiders will name Josh McCown their starting quarterback for Week 1 vs. Detroit, not Daunte Culpepper. Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said that he has told his quarterbacks who his starter was, but neither confirmed or denied their roles on Tuesday. Analysis: McCown seemingly had a leg up on Culpepper because he had been with the Raiders since the 2007 draft when he got traded there from Detroit, his Week 1 opponent. We thought that Culpepper would be the pick since he was more effective during the preseason, but McCown did have more first-team reps than Culpepper, who came aboard the Raiders' ship during training camp. McCown is a low-end option at QB for Fantasy owners this week; we'd recommend Culpepper as a sleeper if he had been given the nod. One last note: The Raiders have lied to NFL Network's Adam Schefter before, so there's a chance that it could be happening again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Josh McCown, QB OAKNews: NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports Wednesday that the Raiders will name Josh McCown their starting quarterback for Week 1 vs. Detroit, not Daunte Culpepper. Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said that he has told his quarterbacks who his starter was, but neither confirmed or denied their roles on Tuesday. Analysis: McCown seemingly had a leg up on Culpepper because he had been with the Raiders since the 2007 draft when he got traded there from Detroit, his Week 1 opponent. We thought that Culpepper would be the pick since he was more effective during the preseason, but McCown did have more first-team reps than Culpepper, who came aboard the Raiders' ship during training camp. McCown is a low-end option at QB for Fantasy owners this week; we'd recommend Culpepper as a sleeper if he had been given the nod. One last note: The Raiders have lied to NFL Network's Adam Schefter before, so there's a chance that it could be happening again. Yeah, wasn't there a big rift between Schefter and Al Davis? Maybe Al is giving a little payback... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 One last note: The Raiders have lied to NFL Network's Adam Schefter before, so there's a chance that it could be happening again. A NFL GM could tell Schefter that he has 3 hands and 2 asses, and Schefter would report it faithfully. The guy is the biggest dupe in the league, and has been ever since his DEN days when Shanahan positively abused him regarding injury information. He's one of the least trustworthy sources out there, through no fault of his own other than his unwillingness to investigate a lead for secondary confirmation because he's so hungry to scoop everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 There is only one reason why they would start Josh McCown which is because he played for DET last year and know their defense already. Plus it gives him a minor bit of payback. Otherwise - gotta love needless drama... not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaiderSteve Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 There is only one reason why they would start Josh McCown which is because he played for DET last year and know their defense already. Plus it gives him a minor bit of payback. Otherwise - gotta love needless drama... not Needless is right! Hell, might as well start Jamarcus too while where at it. I honestly still think Pepp is going to start. If he doesn't it's a mistake in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 There is only one reason why they would start Josh McCown which is because he played for DET last year and know their defense already. Plus it gives him a minor bit of payback. Otherwise - gotta love needless drama... not Since when does Detroit have a defense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 (edited) What the hell is the huge secret? Kiffin is a new HC with a new QB so it's not like anyone has regular season NFL film on either QB in Kiffin's offense. No one even has any regular season NFL film on Kiffin's offense. AND it's not like this is a playoff game or a game with playoff implications versus some arch rival... it's week 1. It's the Detroit Lions. If Kiffin thinks that not revealing his starting QB to the Detroit Lions gives the Raiders some sort of leg up then the Raiders have much bigger problems. Edited September 5, 2007 by kingfish247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 If Kiffin thinks that not revealing his starting QB to the Detroit Lions gives the Raiders some sort of leg up then the Raiders have much bigger problems. MOO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffraff Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 There is only one reason why they would start Josh McCown which is because he played for DET last year and know their defense already. Plus it gives him a minor bit of payback. Otherwise - gotta love needless drama... not Correct. McCown gives them the best chance to win against his old team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 What the hell is the huge secret?Kiffin is a new HC with a new QB so it's not like anyone has regular season NFL film on either QB in Kiffin's offense. No one even has any regular season NFL film on Kiffin's offense. AND it's not like this is a playoff game or a game with playoff implications versus some arch rival... it's week 1. It's the Detroit Lions. If Kiffin thinks that not revealing his starting QB to the Detroit Lions gives the Raiders some sort of leg up then the Raiders have much bigger problems. Oh, I'm sure it's not Kiffin making the decisions. Al is right there I bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Aw c'mon now... Kiffin didn't make you look like a Megan Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Score 1 Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yeah, wasn't there a big rift between Schefter and Al Davis? Maybe Al is giving a little payback... Yep there's definitely a rift between these two. It was Schefter who first broke the news that Art Shell was getting fired. Big Al took umbrage over that & vigorously denied he was going to fire Shell in season, even going so far as to call Schefter a liar... Couple of weeks later Big Al fired Shell in season. I don't think the old man has gotten over it to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Wasn't that your role here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Correct. McCown gives them the best chance to win against his old team. Your interpretation is that McCown gives them the best chance to win from that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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