Raiders- Seahawks

The Oakland Raiders are still winless in Seattle, after closing out their pre-season schedule in ugly yet typical  fashion, losing 21-3 to the Seahawks.  Since 2002 the former AFC West rivals have played eight exhibitions games in Seattle with the Seahawks winning all eight.  Raider Head Coach, Dennis Allen's remarks after the game had a familiar ring, "We've got a lot of things we've got to get cleaned up,"  Allen said. "Lots of things we've got to get shored up, and it was obvious by our execution tonight we weren't ready for primetime."

Heading in to the season opener in 2011, Hue Jackson sang a similar tune and we all know where that stinkin' thinkin' got him and his staff. The Raiders must face down a myriad of problems between now and the Sept. 10th.  Monday night season opener against the San Diego Chargers. Of major concern is a sputtering offense that still isn't comfortable with new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's system. Carson Palmer rarely looked like he had command of the offense and that is disconcerting.

Terrelle Pryor coming off a dynamic game against Detroit, (when he completed three of five passes for 137 yards, including 40- and 74-yard touchdown passes to Juron Criner), struggled while being chased out of the pocket repeatedly. Pryor was 6-for-9 for 55 yards, he drew a delay of game penalty and then scrambled out of bounds on third down to kill a Raider possession. Pryor was also sacked at the Raider two yard line, and on the ensuing play, Mike Goodson failed to get back to the line of scrimmage giving Seattle a safety.

Terrelle Pryor wasn't the only Raider who had a bad game. Punt returner Roscoe Parrish muffed a punt, which Seattle nearly recovered. Parrish then fumbled another punt in the first quarter, which the Seahawks recovered and converted into a  Steven Hauschka field goal. "He had two opportunities out there, turned it over one time, the ball was on the ground the other time," Allen said. "He's done a nice job in the National Football League as a returner. Don't know if one night defines who he is, but, obviously, he had a rough night tonight."

Coach Allen was being diplomatic, Parrish didn't touch the ball again, Bryan McCann handled punt return duties for the rest of the game.  On his second return, Parrish struggled to adjust his helmet as Seattle punted to him,  you have to think that for all intents and purposes Roscoe's Raider career ended with that fumble. Coye Francies, the other kick returner signed this week, fumbled on a kickoff return as he was being tackled, however, the Raiders managed to recover.  Put special teams at the top of the "must fix" list.

The Oakland coaching staff worked right up until Friday's deadline to reduce the roster to the regular season limit of 53 players.  The Raiders waived 17 players and terminated one veteran (Roscoe Parrish got the Old Yeller treatment) LB, Aaron Curry was placed on the physically unable to perform list. (he's eligible to return to practice by Oct. 16th., he can then practice for up to 21 days without being listed on the active roster) Tory Humphrey, Marquette King and Brandon Underwood were placed on the reserve-injured list. 

The Raiders  made six more roster transactions on Saturday, claiming three players off waivers and waiving three players from the active roster.  DB Phillip Adams, LB Keenan Clayton and T Willie Smith, were claimed off waivers.  Adams (5-11, 195) played in 22 career games in two seasons with San Francisco, New England and Seattle.  Clayton (6-1, 230) played in 21 games with one start in two seasons with Philadelphia.  Smith (6-5, 310) a non-drafted free agent, played in four games with three starts for Washington last year. 

CB Chimdi Chekwa and CB Bryan McCann, and waived/injured DT Jamie Cumbie were waived. Chekwa not making the cut comes as a surprise, though he could return as roster spots open up.  McCann's departure means that Coye Francies will handle kick returns until Jacoby Ford returns. On Saturday, The Raiders added linebackers Nathan Stupar and Kaelin Burnett and receivers Brandon Carswell and Travionte Session to their practice squad. Oakland still has four empty spots on the practice squad.

The Raiders' roster moves Friday:

Transaction Pos. Player (exp)

Waived LB Kaelin Burnett (R)

Waived K Eddy Carmona (R) (worth keeping him on the practice squad)

Waived WR Derek Carrier (R)

Waived WR Brandon Carswell (R) (bad game against Seahawks cost him dearly)

Waived DE Hall Davis (1)

Waived TE Kyle Efaw (R)

Waived DL Dominique Hamilton (R)

Waived OL Kevin Haslam (3)

Waived OL Nick Howell (1)

Waived LB Chad Kilgore (R)

Waived OL Dan Knapp (R)

Waived WR Eddie McGee (1) (3 catches against Seattle was too little too late)

Waived C Colin Miller (1)

Waived RB Lonyae Miller (1) (made an early impression before flatlining)

Terminated WR Roscoe Parrish (8)  (stick a fork in him, he's done)

Waived WR Travionte Session (R)

Waived LB Nathan Stupar (R)(his 11 tackles against Seattle didn't win him a roster spot)

Waived S Curtis Taylor (3)

Arizona Shooting Update:

An Arizona Cardinals football fan  (a former policeman) shot an Oakland Raiders fan during  a preseason football game two weeks ago.  This runs contrary to most "eyewitness" reports following the game, that said a Raider fan had shot a Cardinals fan.  Michael Horan, a former cop was at the game with his wife and was leaving the stadium when he got into a confrontation with Chris Knight of Lake Havasu. 

According to the police report Knight had been causing a disturbance in the stadium parking lot during the game and was acting in an aggressive manner toward motorists attempting to exit the parking lot.  Although Horan and his wife were wearing Cardinals jerseys and Knight was wearing a Raiders jersey and had painted his face silver, police say it was more likely a case of self defense rather than a fan rivalry incident. 

The police report doesn't state why Horan, (who had a loaded weapon in his vehicle) resorted to deadly force during his confrontation with Knight.  Horan's weapon was legal and he didn't appear to be impaired, though with Knight "there is a possibility of impairment" police reported. Investigators plan to submit the case to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, Knight could face criminal charges as a result of this incident.

At the present time, Knight who was shot in the eye, remains hospitalized in stable condition.  According to a friend of Knight's, he was paroled from prison a couple months ago. A statement from Glendale police said "We are aware of Chris Knight's criminal history and his recent release from prison, but beyond that we cannot comment"