The New England Patriots posted the best record in the NFL last season at 14-2. The Raiders realize that they can’t get to where they want to go without going through teams such as the New York Jets and Patriots.
After beating the Jets and losing to the Patriots the past two games, it’s apparent that the Raiders have some work to do before they can feel confident about being a Super Bowl-caliber team.
“There ain’t no magic to it or anything,” Raiders coach Hue Jackson said. “It’s just called work. We’re going to go back to work. We got beat by a team and an organization that’s a little bit better than us at this point.”
Beating the Jets showed the Raiders that they can play with the league’s elite teams. After all, the Jets played in the AFC Championship Game each of the past two seasons.
At the same time, losing to the Patriots showed the Raiders that it’s tough beating top-tier teams week after week.
Next up is a game against the 3-1 Houston Texans, fresh from an impressive victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the AFC Super Bowl representative last season.
Quarterback Jason Campbell said today’s game was not a reality check for he and his teammates.
“It’s a game that we’ll definitely learn from,” Campbell said. “We’ll bounce back, put it behind us. At the same time, we’re still a really good football team. One game is not going to define us as a team and as a whole season. So, we just got knocked down today, and we’ve gotta get back up.”
The way the Raiders went into the game and how they feel today says a lot, Campbell said.
“This whole team hates losing,” Campbell said. “Everyone can see that. It’s not guys running out of here saying, ‘Ah, man, we just lost.’ No, guys are really hurt by the loss today. Like I say, this one stung a little bit because, as a team, we feel like we were matching ourselves up in a position to compete at a high level in the AFC, and we still are, and we still will.”

FORD’S RETURN YIELDS MIXED RESULTS
Wide receiver/kick returner Jacoby Ford played Sunday for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury. It’s safe to say, he needed this game to get back into the swing of things.
Ford looked sharp on an end around that he turned into a 30-yard gain. On another play, he had a pass sail right through his hands. He failed to reach the 20-yard line on his two kick returns.

CAREER-BEST DAY FOR HEYWARD-BEY
Third-year receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey caught four passes for a career-high 115 yards on Sunday. He was one of five players to catch four passes. His 115 yards broke his previous best of 105 and led the Raiders.
Heyward-Bey capped his impressive day with a 58-yard catch despite double coverage. He could have had even more impressive stats were it not for two dropped passes on throws that were on target.
Still, all in all, a nice showing for Heyward-Bey.

WHY LESS OF MOORE?
Wide receiver Denarius Moore caught a pass for 7 yards on the Raiders first play from scrimmage Sunday. He had only one other reception until he caught a 6-yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in the game.
It begs the question, why wasn’t Moore more of a factor in the offense?
Moore has developed into one of Oakland’s most consistent performers. Yet, Sunday he was an afterthought in the game plan. Overall, he caught only three passes for 19 yards.
Moore also returned a punt 58 yards on his lone opportunity. A block in the back by Darryl Blackstock negated the return, and Moore was credited with only 18 yards.

PENALTIES A KILLER
The Raiders count on defensive tackle Richard Seymour to be a tone-setter for the defense, if not the entire team. On Sunday, he set the wrong kind of tone from the outset.
Seymour aided the Patriots first scoring drive by committing unnecessary roughness and facemask penalties within a five-play span. Both penalties gave the Patriots first downs and helped them march 80 yards for a touchdown.
The whistle had been blown on the first penalty, with Seymour acting as if he didn’t hear the whistle. He kept going, even though Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was standing still, upright, in an obvious sign of the play being dead.
Seymour wasn’t much of a factor the rest of the game. The Raiders committed seven more penalties and stand at 39 for 356 yards through four games.
Seymour was playing against the team that selected him in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft for the first time since he was traded to the Raiders before the 2009 season.
There’s no question that he wanted to be at his best and a disruptive force against the team that “blindsided” him with the trade. As it turned out, he was a disruptive force for the Raiders.
Jackson said he doesn’t think Seymour “was too amped up.”
“Obviously, it didn’t happen the way we wanted it to,” Jackson said. “He leaped offside one time and the one … about hitting the quarterback. Again, I don’t think that was too amped up. He came here to play, and we just didn’t get it done.”
Seymour said the referee told Jackson that the roughness penalty would have been called even if Seymour didn’t throw Brady to the ground.
“I didn’t know whether he had the ball or didn’t,” Seymour said. “Then I felt the ball, so you still continue to take him down when he’s not down. That’s the only way I know how to play.”
As for the play being whistled dead, Seymour said he didn’t hear the whistle.
“We in the Black Hole, I couldn’t hear the middle linebacker tell me the call, let alone hear a whistle,” Seymour said. “Still, no excuses. Like I said, that wasn’t the outcome of the game. We got to do a better job. No excuses.”

WELKER TORCHES RAIDERS
The Raiders were coy all week about how they intended to cover Patriots standout wide receiver Wes Welker. In the end, that might be because they didn’t have a suitable answer.
Welker caught nine passes for 158 yards and one touchdown. He entered the game as the league’s leading receiver in catches (31) and receiving yards (458).
The Raiders attempted to contain Welker through the use of Joe Porter, Stanford Routt, Chimdi Chekwa and Tyvon Branch, as well as some zone coverage. Nothing worked.
Welker found soft spots in the zone, used his eye-opening speed and moves to get free once he caught the ball and carved up the Raiders secondary from the get go.
“He’s good,” Jackson said, in a classic understatement. “Him and (Tom Brady), they’re on the same page. Trust me when I tell you, we tried to make sure they didn’t catch all those balls. They are a tandem and they’re very good at what they do. We got ‘em slowed down a little bit but, obviously, we didn’t get them stopped.”
Brady said Welker was just being Welker today, the same was he has for the past several seasons.
“Nothing surprises me with Wes,” Brady said. “He’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s been that way since the day he got here. He works his tail off. He’s a great player, a great teammate. He’s become a real dynamic player over the years. He’s made some huge plays for us. He’s clutch, mentally and physically tough. He’s awesome.”
Welker said he felt as if he could get open against the Raiders because of his speed and how much zone they played.
“Every time I go out there, I expect to do well and catch balls and move the ball and try to help the offense move the ball down the field,” Welker said. “That’s kind of my goal, no matter what. That’s kind of the place it’s taken me these first four games.”

CAMPBELL OFF THE MARK … TWICE
Jason Campbell had only one of his 82 passes intercepted in Oakland’s first three games, and that came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game against the Buffalo Bills.
On Sunday, he had two of his 39 passes intercepted. Worse, they came on plays in which Campbell had time to throw and ended up throwing passes right into the hands of Patrick Chung and Vince Wilfork, as if they were the intended targets.
The first one changed the complexion of the game. The Raiders were at the Patriots 6-yard line, trailing 14-10, and with a chance to retake the lead. Worst case, they had a golden opportunity to cut the lead to 14-13 just before halftime.
For some reason, Campbell threw the ball straight into Chung’s hands in the back of the end zone, with no Raiders receiver in sight.
On the first one, Campbell said he was trying to throw the ball out of bounds, but he lost control of the ball.
“Wasn’t no read (on that play),” Campbell said. “Just a bone-head (play), like I was going to throw the ball outside, and I started running around trying to make a play. It was just one of them … I’ve gotta throw it out of bounds.”
On the second one, Campbell said he was trying to get the ball into the hands of running back Darren McFadden.
“He played coverage downfield, so I was going to drop the ball off to Darren, and just never saw him,” Campbell said of the 325-pound Wilfork, who likely weighs much more. “We was blocking him, so I guess he just did a good job of reacting to the ball. He picked Philip Rivers like that the same way, to his credit. But I just never saw him.”

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Coach Hue Jackson said tight end Richard Gordon suffered a hand injury and running back Michael Bush hurt an ankle. There weren’t any other major injuries for the Raiders in their 31-19 loss to the New England Patriots.

The Raiders dropped one game behind the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West at 2-2. The Broncos and Chiefs are tied for third at 1-3. The Raiders don’t play the Chargers until Nov. 10. They wrap up the season in Oakland on Jan. 1. Might be for the division title at this rate.

The Raiders committed nine penalties for 85 yards. That snapped their string of reducing penalties from the previous game at two. They had 15 against the Broncos, eight against the Bills and seven against the Jets.
Overall, the Raiders have committed 39 penalties for 356 yards.

Darrius Heyward-Bey caught four passes for 115 yards today, including a 58-yarder. This marks his second 100-yard game in three seasons.

Running back Darren McFadden rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries. It appears as if he was limited by the groin he strained against the Jets a week earlier. Overall, he has 468 yards in four games.

Off to pore over notes and interviews before writing a lengthy post.

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Join Steve Corkran for a live blog and chat during today’s matchup between the Raiders and Patriots.

The Raiders on Saturday released wide receiver/kick returner Nick Miller and signed defensive back Ron Parker from their practice squad to take Miller’s spot on the 53-man roster.
Miller was with the Raiders the past two seasons and the first three games of this season. He became expendable with the emergence of rookies Denarius Moore and Taiwan Jones as viable options on punt and kick returns, respectively.
Parker was signed Monday. He spent time in training camp with the Seattle Seahawks before being released. He is out of Newberry College, where he played both safety spots.
The signing of Parker to the 53-man roster gives the Raiders another option at defensive back, with free safety Michael Huff fresh from a concussion and cornerback Chris Johnson out with a hamstring injury.
It’s uncertain whether Parker will be activated for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
In other news, it’s likely that the Raiders will re-sign undrafted rookie cornerback Sterling Moore to their practice squad now that they have an open spot — teams are permitted to carry as many as eight players.
Moore was released when the Raiders signed Parker.

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Raiders coach Hue Jackson says often that he prefers to live his life on the edge, bucking convention, doing things his way and reaping the rewards, consequences be damned. Read the rest of this entry »

The NFL just announced that it has “affirmed” the five-game suspension of Raiders rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor, which means he won’t be able to practice with his teammates, work with his coaches or play in a game until the Raiders get past the Houston Texans game Oct. 9.
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Three potential starters failed to practice for the second straight day and were listed as questionable by coach Hue Jackson following practice Friday.
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Some great stuff from Patriots coach Bill Belichick today to New England reporters on his head coaching inteview with Al Davis before the 1998 season. As closed off as Belichick can be, occasionally he is expansive and illuminating. He’s said some of these things before, but they’re worth repeating:
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Subbing for Steve Corkran today . . .

Looks like the following players aren’t practicing today: DE Matt Shaughnessy (shoulder), WR Louis Murphy, (groin) LB Ricky Brown (concussion), FB Marcel Reece (ankle), FS Michael Huff (concussion) and CB Chris Johnson (hamstring).
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Raiders coach Hue Jackson met with Bob Wylie at the Senior Bowl in January. It didn’t take long for Wylie to make a strong impression upon Jackson and earn a job on his staff.
Yet, it wasn’t until today that Wylie was made available to the local media for the first time since he replaced Jim Michalczik. Wylie more than made up for lost time by waxing poetic about everything from his philosophy to the play of his linemen to magic. Yes, magic.
Some might say that what Wylie has accomplished in such a short time is nothing short of magical, given he had no time with his players in the offseason, wasn’t here last season and he had to replace left guard Robert Gallery and right offensive tackle Langston Walker.
The Raiders offensive line has allowed only two sacks in three games — quarterback Jason Campbell tripped on one of those — and it has blocked well enough for running back Darren McFadden to lead the league in rushing.
“He’s everything I thought he’d be, and more,” Jackson said. “I’m really glad he’s here, and he’s done a sensational job. We have a long way to go, and he understands that.”
Wylie has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, given he has coached in the NFL for more than two decades and offensive linemen for even longer.
Center Samson Satele says he is amazed by the magic tricks that Wylie uses during meetings to break the tedium. He said he is even more amazed at how well the offensive line has gelled in such a short period of time.
“Oh, yes, without OTAs and none of that, just the bond that we had,” Satele said. “We started with Wiz at left guard (in the) third preseason game. This is our fourth game, and for us to solidify like this is awesome.”
Stefen Wisniewski is starting as a rookie, Jared Veldheer is at left offensive tackle in only his second season and Khalif Barnes is starting at right tackle for the first time in his seven-year NFL career.
Barnes said what people are seeing in games now is a manifestation of the teachings of Wylie and assistant line coach Steve Wisniewski, as well as hard work during training camp in Napa.
“What we tried to do was work so hard, make it as hard as you can during practice, then when Sunday comes it slows down,” Barnes said. “I wouldn’t say exactly easier but it slows down for you, and if it can slow down for you that’s half the game right there.”
Wylie said the key is getting players to understand the value of leverage. Most players in the NFL play too high, he said. It’s about using the leverage of the upper and lower body, maximizing your strenghts and repetition.
“My whole philosophy of blocking is, you need to create leverage,” Wylie said. “Period. And I don’t care what position. Whether it’s the tight ends, backs, receivers, the whole object of the deal is, the body has two power producing angles. There’s an upper body power angle and there’s a lower body power angle. And it’s the way it’s worked since the good dawn of time. It’s the way your body is constructed, and I try to teach them how the body works.”
Wylie said he hasn’t changed any of his drills since training camp.
“I really just consider myself nuts and bolts, down to earth,” Wylie said. “Nothing fancy, no frills. They know they’re going to carry their lunchpails to work and they’re going to work all day and, at the end of the day, they’re going to leave and when they come back tomorrow, they’re going to the same thing again.”

HUFF MISSES PRACTICE
Free safety Michael Huff was in uniform at practice, but he did not participate, according to Jackson.
Huff was running around during the early part of practice. However, he apparently wasn’t able to participate in full-team drills.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad sign,” Jackson said. “Obviously, we’re being overly cautious. We have to make sure that he is where he needs to be. We have to put healthy players out there.”
Huff suffered a concussion against the Jets on Sunday and missed most of the game. He passed the mandatory tests for players who suffer a concussion and practiced Wednesday in a limited capacity.
Huff was not available for comment in the locker room during media access.

JACKSON THANKFUL FOR FAN SUPPORT
The Raiders sold out Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. That marks the second sellout in as many games this season and equals the total from the past two seasons combined.
Jackson said the fans’ support is validation that the Raiders are playing a quality brand of football and that people want to see what all the fuss is about.
“It’s tremendous,” Jackson said. “It truly means that the fans are beginning to truly like and understand what we’re doing here. I thank them for that. Our players do and our organization does. Now we need to go out and play Raider football the way we know we can play and give them something to keep screaming about.”

MAYO ON MCFADDEN
Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo will be playing against running back Darren McFadden for the first time in his NFL career. Yet, he already knows what to expect.
Mayo played against McFadden in college twice, when Mayo was at Tennessee and McFadden at Arkansas.
“Obviously, he had a great college career,” Mayo said. “Ever since he came in as a freshman, he was a great running back. Great player and he’s very dangerous.”

MITCHELL ON THE MEND
Backup safety Mike Mitchell danced around whether he will play Sunday. Ultimately, Mitchell conceded that he is ready to play and is at the mercy of the trainers and coaches as to whether he will be allowed to go this Sunday.
If Mitchell plays for the first time this season, it’s a strong bet that he will be lined up against Rob Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez.
“He’s very important,” Mitchell said. “Just the fact that he can be back out there playing is great if we need him. He’s a good football player, one of the star players on our team. He brings a lot of energy so if he’s able to go we’re going to stick him out there, that’s for sure.”

FORD READY TO ROLL
Wide receiver/kick returner Jacoby Ford said his injured hamstring is feeling much better and that he is ready to play in a game for the first time since Sept. 12.
“I’ll be on the field,” Ford said. “I definitely will be playing. I don’t know how much, don’t know when. Whenever they want me in there, then I’m going to go.”
Ford fielded kicks Thursday, which means there’s a chance he will take over the job held by Nick Miller and Taiwan Jones, respectively, the past two games.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Yeah, I think the defensive backs really believe it’s real. ‘Show me another trick, coach. How’d you do that?’ — Wylie on the effect of his magic tricks on his players

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