ALAMEDA -- Carson Palmer has yet to start a game with Darren McFadden in the backfield. Palmer said today he had heard a couple weeks ago that this would be the week McFadden returns to the field for the Raiders. That still could be the case, but McFadden did not participate in practice today and was not seen in the locker room.
The injury report was pretty extensive. McFadden (foot), receivers Jacoby Ford (foot), Denarius Moore (foot) and Chaz Schilens (foot), running back Taiwan Jones (foot) and defensive tackle John Henderson (knee) did not practice.
Safety Michael Huff (ankle) practiced at full capacity.
Head coach Hue Jackson said McFadden has not experienced setbacks in his recovery. McFadden has not played in the last five games. Ford has missed the last three, and Moore the last two.
"They're getting closer," Jackson said.
Said Palmer, on McFadden: "(Michael Bush) has done a great job filling in for him and when he's back, he'll be ready. And this team knows that Darren's doing everything he can to get back on the field."
ALAMEDA -- Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson was in the Dallas area on Wednesday following the "tragic death" of a family member, head coach Hue Jackson said.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Monday that Johnson's sister was killed and his mother wounded in a shooting Monday afternoon outside a Fort Worth apartment complex.
"It's very unfortunate," Jackson said Wednesday. "This is a game of football. The thing he's dealing with is a game of life. Very, very tough situation that he's dealing with. But the organization supports him, I support him, he'll get back here and be ready to go."
According to the Star-Telegram, an argument allegedly led to a 46-year-old man fatally shooting 33-year-old Jennifer Johnson and wounding 53-year-old Della Johnson.
The report cites friends of Jennifer Johnson saying that she was the sister of the Raiders' Chris Johnson. According to Chris Johnson's biography on the Louisville athletics website, he is the son of Della Johnson.
Jackson said he expects that Johnson will be back with the team for its game Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
OAKLAND - The following players were not seen at practice this morning:
WR Jacoby Ford (foot)
RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring)
RB Darren McFadden (foot)
WR Denarius Moore (foot)
Looked like LB Rolando McClain (ankle) was sitting to the side watching, while DT John Henderson was standing off with the defensive line.
DE Jarvis Moss (foot), inactive for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, was back practicing.
The Raiders also announced they've signed two players to their practice squad -- RB Lonyae Miller and LB Carl Ihenacho.
Full participation report to come later.
]]>He was just walking before the media headed to the locker room for interviews. If McFadden did more, he waited until the media could not see him.
But McFadden being on the field for even a light workout is a positive considering he hasn't practiced since spraining his foot Oct. 23.
]]> "I think that was huge," said Raiders coach Hue Jackson. "I think that's a step in the right direction."The chances McFadden plays this weekend at Miami don't appear good. Jackson said McFadden would need to get his conditioning back and that he doesn't want to play McFadden until he is 100 percent.
Wide receiver Jacoby Ford said his foot injury isn't as severe as McFadden's. Ford has missed the last two games. It doesn't sound as if Ford will be available this Sunday at Miami.
"It's kind of week-by-week, day-by-day," Ford said. "That's just kind of how we're taking it. Slow process but it's getting there. It's definitely getting better."
Jackson also said quarterback Jason Campbell (broken collarbone) had begun to toss a football but not very far yet.
FLEXED OUT
The Raiders game at Green Bay on Dec. 11 has been "flexed" and will air at 1:15 p.m. PST, making it a game many around the country will see.
If the Packers beat the New York Giants this Sunday, they would be 12-0 when hosting the Raiders.
Sebastian Janikowski made a team-record six field goals in the win. Shane Lechler set a team record with an 80-yard punt.
Janikowski had made five field goals three times and shared that record with Jeff Jaeger.
]]> Lechler broke the record he shared with Wayne Crow, a 77-yard punt.There was plenty of praise for both after the game.
"Those guys are game-changers," said quarterback Carson Palmer. "There's not many punter-kicker combinations in the league, they're can't be a better one. Shane with as big a task as anybody this week. We really focused on Devin Hester and Shane was focused on him. Some of the balls he hit just didn't give him a chance. That's something we needed Shane to do and we needed our punt team to really focus on Devin and he did a great job of it all day."
Added safety Mike Mitchell: "Clearly we have the two best specialists in the game."
*Both were needed because most of the game the Raiders struggled on offense. The Raiders were 3-of-15 on third downs and had one touchdown in five trips to the red zone.
Carson Palmer passed for 301 yards but had no touchdowns and had an interception.
*Unlike the Cleveland game, the Raiders recovered the onside kick late when the Bears pulled within 25-20.
Hue Jackson called a timeout to make sure the Raiders were ready.
The ball was recovered by tight end David Ausberry after safety Matt Giordano was drilled by Charles Tillman trying to recover the ball.
"Matt took a big hit for the team and I had to take advantage of the opportunity," Ausberry said.
At the bottom of the pile Ausberry had to do all he could to hold on to the ball.
What happened down there?
"Everything you could imagine," Ausberry said.
*The Raiders did a lot of good on defense (three interceptions, four sacks) but gave up 172 rushing yards.
Fifty of those yards were to quarterback Caleb Hanie on scrambles.
Matt Forte ran for 59 yards on 12 attempts and Marion Barber managed 63 yards in 10 rushes.
Linebacker Aaron Curry acknowledged the statistics show the Raiders struggled to stop the run, but he was happy Forte did not have a big impact.
Forte also caught six passes but for only 25 yards.
"I'll take it just to not let Forte be as a huge as he has been because when you watch film on him he's the answer," Curry said. "He's the answer. If you get it him out the game, it's easier to win that way. It's hard to win with him in the game."
*Perhaps my writing about how good Jared Veldheer was playing jinxed him. Veldheer had a tough time dealing with Julius Peppers, who recorded two sacks.
*The Raiders had a good day with penalties -- six for 44 yards.
The record breaker was a 44-yard make with 22 second left in the third quarter.
Janikowski had made five field goals more than once, the last time being Nov. 18, 2007 at Minnesota. Janikowski shared the team record with Jeff Jaeger.
The NFL record is eight by Tennessee's Rob Bironas. The way the Raiders have looked on offense in the red zone, there's a good chance Janikowski could tie or break the record today.
The Raiders have not scored a touchdown in four trips to the red zone. Oakland's average starting field position is their own 42, but they haven't turned that into touchdowns.
It helps that the Bears have been unable to take advantage of rushing for 146 yards already with touchdowns.
The Bears were in position to score late in the first half when Hanie's pass for Matt Forte was deflected by Aaron Curry and intercepted by Kamerion Wimbley.
Wimbley returned the interception 73 yards to the Chicago 12 and had six yards added because he horse-collar tackled with 18 second left in the half.
The Raiders settled for a 19-yard kick by Janikowski on third down.
Carson Pamer is 10-of-18 for 133 yards and an interception for the Raiders. Hanie is 7-of-15 for 2 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
The Raiders have had problems blocking Julius Peppers. The Chicago defensive end has overpowered left tackle Jared Veldheer at times and already has two sacks.
The running game has not been a factor f or the Raiders. Oakland has just 24 rushing yards.
The Raiders have moved the ball on the Bears, but settled for field goals. Carson Palmer is 5-of-9 for 59 yards.
Sebastian Janikowski has made kicks from 40 and 48 yards.
Hanie is off to a ragged start. He is 3-of-8 for 25 yards with two interceptions. Stanford Routt and Michael Huff each have an interception for the Raiders.
Hanie is playing because Jay Cutler ha a broken thumb. Thus far he has harassed constantly.
Matt Forte has run for 32 yards for the Bears, 33 coming on one run.
]]>The other Raider inactives are: QB Jason Campbell, RB Darren McFadde, RB Taiwan Jones, G Bruce Campbell and DE Jarvis Moss.
Chicago's inactives are: QB Jay Cutler, QB Josh McCown, CB D.J. Moore, G Ricky Henry, TE Andre Smith, LB Jabara Williams, DT Anthony Adams.
]]>The news about McFadden is no surprise. He has not practiced since he injured his foot Oct. 23.
At this rate, the Raiders will simply need to hope he's healthy for the end of the season and the playoffs (assuming the Raiders can win the AFC West).
]]> Even if McFadden were able to practice next week, for example, after being out more than a month it would take time for him to be ready to play, which coach Hue Jackson acknowledged."It's hard to come back when you've been gone that long to just hit the ground running and expect him to be exactly what he was before he left," Jackson said. "We'll have a plan to take care of that, too. We just want to get him back. That's the most important thing. I want to get the player back out here to practice at some point in time. Whenever that is, our doctors will let me know. I think we're getting closer to that happening than not happening. We just have to keep playing and keep winning and go from there."
Wide receiver Jacoby Ford (foot) and defensive end Jarvis Moss (hamstring) are also out for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
SPECIAL TEAMS SHUFFLING
Ford being out and wide receiver Denarius Moore and running back Taiwan Jones being questionable is impacting special teams.
Ford and Jones are the top-2 kick returners while Moore returns punts.
Both duties are likely to belong to defensive back Bryan McCann, who was signed last week.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh was catching punts in practice, but with the injuries at receiver, Houshmandzadeh could be needed more on offense.
The good news for the Raiders is receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey practiced today and appears likely to be available against the Bears. That didn't seem possible when he left the field on a stretcher last Sunday in Minnesota with a neck injury.
PREPPING FOR HANIE
Raiders defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan spoke with the media after Friday's practice and discussed preparing for Chicago backup quarterback Caleb Hanie in his first NFL start:
"This is a guy, what you got to understand, go back and watch the (NFC) Championship game last year. He was not the backup, he was the third quarterback in. You think about the limited number of reps the second quarterback gets during the week, what do you think the third quarterback got? They didn't miss a beat, now. He came in, threw the two picks, but he also played with some poise, so they've got enough weapons and they've got a solid enough football team that they're going to expect him to manage the game, not win the game, Lovie and his staff will do a fine job, Mike Martz of preparing for him."
Hanie has some running ability. And recently the Raiders have been hurt by the running of quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Christian Ponder.
Bresnahan said the Raiders know how to contain running quarterbacks:
"It's really executing the plan. We had a pass rush plan for a guy like Ponder, for a guy like Ponder, and even if Tim Tebow's a guy that's in the pocket, you want to make sure you collapse the pocket and you don't get at different levels. It's the same thing with a running back like (Matt) Forte, if you get a different level, or even Adrian Peterson last week, those guys can find those lateral seams as well as vertical seams, and they'll hurt you, same thing with an escape lane for a quarterback. You've got to constrict those, whether it's just collapsing or setting up games inside, to make him spill outside. Last week the game plan wasn't to let him run to our defensive left. We didn't execute early on and we had two missed assignments in pressure packages where we should have had an extra guy there. There's a design to keep guys like that in the pocket and that's always going to be in the back of our mind based on who that quarterback is."
INJURY REPORT
RAIDERS
OUT
QB Jason Campbell (collarbone), WR Jacoby Ford (foot), RB Darren McFadden (foot), DE Jarvis Moss (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (neck), DE Lamarr Houston (knee), S Michael Huff (ankle), CB Chris Johnson (hamstring, groin), RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring), S Michael Mitchell (ankle), WR Denarius Moore (foot), DT Richard Seymour (knee), RB Manase Tonga (knee)
PROBABLE
C Samson Satele (concussion)
BEARS
OUT
QB Jay Cutler (right thumb)
DOUBTFUL
CB D.J. Moore (ankle)
PROBABLE
WR Devin Hester (shin), S Brandon Meriweather (concussion)
Hester, Chicago's record-setting kick/punt returner will be the focal point of the Raiders coverage units Sunday.
The Raiders have been vulnerable to punt returns - having given up two for scores this season.
]]> Punter Shane Lechler doesn't plan to let his ego get in the way Sunday by kicking to Hester and allowing him to the chance to return a kick for a score.Hester has three of his record 18 punt/kick returns for touchdowns this season.
"I don't want to put ourselves in that situation, where giving him a chance for him to be the spark in this game, especially with Cutler being down and a new quarterback coming in the game, I don't want to give him the edge in the special teams battle." I don't want to put ourselves in that situation, where giving him a chance for him to be the spark in this game, especially with Cutler being down and a new quarterback coming in the game, I don't want to give him the edge in the special teams battle."
But not everyone is Lechler.
Try telling Raiders safety Mike Mitchell he should be worried about Lechler.
Mitchell called Hester the best returner in the game "besides Jacoby (Ford)."
And he's not in favor of kicking the ball out of bounds in fear of Hester.
"I don't think Bones (special team coach Jim Fassel) would ever do that because we have a guy who can punt a ball 60 yards in the air," Mitchell said. "We're going to take every advantage of that. We have the biggest, fastest guys in the league covering our punts. We just have to get down field and outrun their protection team and make tackles. After he gets machine gunned a couple of times he's not going to be too quick to return punts. I'm not talking any trash either. I think he's the best punt returner, best returner besides Jacoby. Jacoby's on my team. I think he's awesome. But our mentality is he has to play us."
Mitchell's mindset is what Chicago coach Lovie Smith expects.
Football players aren't going to want to hear they need to be cared of one man.
"I think it's hard to go into meetings and tell your team, say Devin is returning a punt, and tell your punt team that, 'Hey guys, we don't think you're good enough so we're going to have to kick it out of bounds because we don't think you can tackle one guy down on the other end,'" Smith said. "I just don't think you can go in and do that very often. So, I assume a lot of teams have kicked it to him and I think they'll continue to do that, because he's just an NFL player, like everybody else. And believe me, we love it every time that they do decide to do that."
Mitchell agrees with that.
"Not a chance," Mitchell said. "I mean if you're a man."
So who will Lechler's common sense or the confidence of Mitchell win out Sunday?
That will be something to watch.
Injury report
The Raiders were short on wide receivers at practice today. Coach Hue Jackson was hopeful some of the receivers would return by the end of the week, noting Jacoby Ford should be out of his walking boot Thursday.
Denarius Moore was wearing a walking boot today.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
QB Jason Campbell (collarbone), WR Jacoby Ford (foot), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (neck), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (not injury related), DE Lamarr Houston (knee), RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring), RB Darren McFadden (foot), WR Denarius Moore (foot), DE Jarvis Moss (hamstring), DT Richard Seymour (knee)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
S Michael Huff (ankle), CB Chris Johnson (hamstring, groin), S Michael Mitchell (ankle), C Samson Satele (concussion), RB Manase Tonga (knee)
BEARS
OUT (DEFINITELY WILL NOT PLAY)
QB Jay Cutler (right thumb)
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
CB D.J. Moore (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
S Brandon Meriweather (concussion)
Raiders coach Hue Jackson said the third-year wide receiver sustained a concussion along with neck and back injuries. Heyward-Bey was taken off the field on a stretcher after falling and being kneed in the back of the head by Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson early in the fourth quarter.
Jackson did not give a timetable for when Heyward-Bey might return to the field.
"Obviously there's procedures when you're dealing with a concussion you have to go through," Jackson said. "So I think he's at the normal stages of that and then I think it's more let's see where this soreness exactly where it's located in his body and go from there too."
"I (saw) Darren McFadden without a boot, standing out here with his teammates today for the first time in a long time," Jackson said. "So to me, that's huge progress. Again, to know exactly where that is, I'll walk in, see our medical people and find out exactly where he is."
]]> McFadden has not played or practiced since spraining his right foot in the first quarter of the Raiders' Oct. 23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.Considering McFadden's progress is limited to his ability to stand and watch practice, it seems unlikely that he would play Sunday at Minnesota.
That's assuming McFadden doesn't surprise us all and get on the practice field tomorrow. Even then, Jackson has shown to be overly cautious and would probably sit McFadden another week.
Practice injury report
Did not practice: RB Darren McFadden (foot), WR Jacoby Ford (foot), FB Manase Tonga (knee), K Sebastian Janikowski (hamstring), DT Richard Seymour (ankle) CB Chris Johnson (groin, hamstring), QB Jason Campbell (broken collarbone).
Limited in practice: C Samson Satele (knee), CB Chimdi Chekwa (hamstring), S Matt Giordano (neck), S Michael Huff (ankle), S Mike Mitchell (ankle).
Even though he's the Raiders' leading receiver, Heyward-Bey said he wasn't surprised he didn't play as much and had one pass thrown to him.
"It's just the way the game plan went," Heyward-Bey said before the Raiders left for San Diego. "I wish we would have won. That's the most important thing. But other than that, no (surprise)."
Heyward-Bey said he prepares the same every week and that jealousy is not a factor among the wide receivers.
"In our room we love the fact that we're all good," Heyward-Bey said. "We feel that we're all starters in this league and we can make plays. That's the good thing about our group. We want everybody to succeed and we know everybody brings something to the table."
No comment
Raiders guard Stefen Wisniewski declined to discuss what is going on at Penn State, where he his father and uncle starred for coach Joe Paterno, who has been fired as part of the child sex abuse charges against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
To the surprise of no one, running back Darren McFadden will his second game in a row with a strained right foot that still has him in a walking boot.
Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke is also out with a hamstring injury. Lito Sheppard will start in his place.
OUT: QB Jason Campbell (collarbone), CB Chris Johnson (groin, hamstring), RB Darren McFadden (foot), CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (hamstring).
QUESTIONABLE: T Khalif Barnes (shoulder), CB Chimdi Chekwa (hamstring), S Michael Huff (ankle), K Sebastian Janikowski (left hamstring), LB Rolando McClain (ankle), S Michael Mitchell (ankle), S Chinedum Ndukwe (knee), C Samson Satele (knee), DT Richard Seymour (ankle).
Huff was moving slowly and still wearing a walking boot in the locker room. He said if he feels "30 percent" or better he will play. Huff said he was at "31 percent" today.
PROBABLE: RB Rock Cartwright (calf), S Matt Giordano (neck), QB Carson Palmer (quadriccep), RB Marcel Reece (shoulder).
Chargers injury report
OUT: DE Luis Castillo (tibia), G Kris Dielman (concussion)
DOUBTFUL: WR Malcom Floyd (hip), LB Shaun Phillips (foot)
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