The injury report for the Oakland Raiders heading into the all important game against the San Diego Chargers may be the shortest list we’ve seen all year. That’s especially good news for the Silver and Black who have their postseason on the line with this final game of the regular season.

Jacoby Ford, Oakland Raiders
Wikimedia Commons

There are just three players who are definitely out, and that’s quarterback Jason Campbell, who wasn’t really expected to return after suffering a broken collar bone in week six, running back Darren McFadden, whose chances were already slim to none, and defensive tackle, Big John, John Henderson, out with a knee injury.

The players who are listed as questionable, are likely to see at least some time on the field, and receiver Jacoby Ford and safety Michael Huff have already been pretty adamant about getting in the game.

Ford commented, “It was definitely a positive week for me so I feel good going into the game. If I practiced this much this week and I’m not out there, I’d be mad.”

He could become a big factor in a victory for the Raiders. Ford and Palmer displayed a great rhythm together. In Palmer’s second outing with the team as they faced the Denver Broncos in Oakland, Ford made an incredible catch in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Just days later in San Diego, he somehow grabbed a 41-yarder, making it look easy.

Huff is the player who saved the game for the Raiders against the Texans when he interception Houston’s Matt Schaub in the end zone. A healthy Huff will bring much needed improvement to Oakland’s defense.

Running back Taiwan Jones is a little more questionable. He’s been battling a hamstring injury, but it’s likely he’ll see time on the field as well. Michael Bush, once again, will be given the opportunity to show what he’s made of.

The Chargers’ wide receiver Vincent Jackson was reportedly not likely to be in the game due to a groin injury, but it looks like that has changed, and he’s now listed as probable. Jackson is one of the Chargers star players, but against the Raiders he caught just one pass for 22 yards. In their recent game against Detroit he had just two catches for 41 yards. He may be trying to play through pain, and I don’t think he’ll be a big concern for the Raiders on Sunday. San Diego’s running back Ryan Mathews is still questionable, with running back Mike Tolbert as probable.

Just one day before we find out the fate of the Silver and Black, things continue to look brighter. As always, whoever is on, or off, the field, Just win baby!

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter, Twitter @kcdermody, or www.kcdermodywriter.com.

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“I don’t have the answer, obviously,” Jackson said. “I talk to the team about it all the time. I don’t just talk. I yell, I scream, I threaten. I’ve done everything. I get a bunch of letters of people telling me other things I should try, too. And please don’t send any new ones because those things don’t work.”

The Raiders (8-7) head into their must-win season finale against San Diego needing four penalties for 11 yards to break both records held by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs.

Considering the Raiders have committed at least four penalties in 27 straight games and have had at least 11 yards in penalties in all but three games since moving back to Oakland in 1995, it seems like a safe bet those records will fall.

Jackson vowed at the start of training camp that he would fix a problem that has plagued the Raiders for most of their history. Oakland has committed at least 100 penalties for 12 straight seasons and have ranked in the top five in total penalties in the NFL for five straight seasons.

Jackson has had three officials at most practices in order to curb the problem and said they usually see about three or four infractions a day. That rises to more than 10 a game when it counts.

The players have also instituted a $100 fine system for committing penalties with a jar on defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan’s desk collecting the loot.

“Charity will love us at the end of the year,” Bresnahan said.

But the flags keep flying each week. The Raiders have hit double digits in four straight games, including a season-high tying 15 in last week’s overtime win at Kansas City that featured a delay of game that negated a fake field goal for a touchdown.

“I wish we knew what it was,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “It’s not a bunch of false starts. It’s not just holdings. It’s kind of all over the place. In special teams, on a touchdown a delay of game. It’s just been a weird year. There’s been some calls that you can’t find on film when you go back and watch them. It’s not one thing. It’s not a trend. As those flags get going in games I always have guys come up to me on the sideline saying, ‘This is what happens when you play for the Raiders.’”

There have been quite a variety of penalties with 58 being pre-snap calls, including 20 offsides calls and 19 false starts. There have also been a league-worst 29 personal fouls, and 39 holding calls.

The biggest problem has been on defense where the Raiders have committed a league-worst 78 penalties on defense — more than twice the league average of 35. They have 58 penalties on offense — tied for fourth most — and are tied for sixth with 19 on special teams.

“You want the penalties to hold down because they’re going to come back and bite you sooner or later,” said defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, who has been called for seven. “To me, just limit the 15-yarders, the big ones. We can deal with the 5-yarders. But the 15-yarders are the ones keeping the drives alive.”

There have been some costly ones as the Raiders have given opponents 54 first downs with penalties, including 20 drives that led to a score. Penalties aided Buffalo’s two fourth-quarter TD drives in a 38-35 Oakland loss in September and Detroit’s two fourth-quarter TD drives in the Raiders 28-27 loss earlier this month.

“I stay up late at night trying to figure this out, as much as I can,” Jackson said. “I’ve worked at that as hard as I’ve worked at anything. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen, but we’ll have a long discussion about penalties when this season is over. I promise you that.”

In all, 43 players have accounted for the penalties, including Terrelle Pryor, who committed a false start to negate his only play all season. Jackson also has a penalty for challenging a scoring play in Week 2 at Buffalo, which is against the rules.

Cornerback Stanford Routt has been the most penalized player in the league with 16 — one more than the entire Green Bay defense. Offensive linemen Khalif Barnes and Jared Veldheer are next with 10 apiece, followed by defensive tackle Richard Seymour with nine.

“Obviously, getting penalties is never a good thing, but you can’t let that get in your head, because if you do then you’re playing into the other team’s hands,” Routt said. “You don’t ever want to let the referees decide the game, and if you let them get in your head, you’re letting them decide the game.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Oakland Raiders’ fans everywhere are patiently, or impatiently, waiting for New Year’s Day to arrive. Forget the big New Year’s Eve bash, we just want to watch the Silver and Black defeat the San Diego Chargers, while the Kansas City Chiefs blow out the crumbling Denver Broncos on January 1, 2012.

One Nation. Home of the Oakland Raiders, the Oakland Coliseum
Creative Commons

There are still three more days before we find out how this will play out, and the closer we get the stronger my belief becomes that we’ll get our wish.

First, let’s look at the scenario in Denver. Even though Kansas City isn’t playing for a playoff berth, they have strong reasons for wanting a victory at Sports Authority Field. The Chiefs’ quarterback Kyle Orton is returning to play against the team that dumped him for Tebow, and that’s has to sting more than a little.

Orton is out to prove that Denver made a big mistake in thinking that Tebow was their savior. The Broncos were lucky in more than a few of their wins with the young quarterback at the helm, but he’s started to crumble quickly. Denver was stomped in their last two losses, 40-14 by the Buffalo Bills and 41-23 by the New England Patriots. On top of that, their players have really taken a beating, and they’re dealing with a lot of injuries.

The Chiefs’ interim coach, Romeo Crennel, needs the win to save his job, and even Orton may not keep his in 2012 if the team doesn’t do well in Denver. That’s quite a bit of motivation. Is it enough for Kansas City to get the victory? I believe it is.

The biggest concern for the Raiders, of course, is their game against the Chargers. While the team has been inconsistent this year to say the least, they’ve were able to beat San Diego on the road, and won both of their games against the Chargers in 2010.

The Silver and Black will be on fire for this one. The players showed they have heart in the game on Christmas Eve, and they were also extremely resilient. Quarterback Carson Palmer does well against San Diego, and potentially having two exceptional receivers on the field in Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford, could turn this game into a high scoring offensive show for the Raiders.

Palmer commented on Wednesday, “So this is a big moment for this team and our fans and the fact that we get to play at home is obviously a huge advantage any time we get to play in front of our fans in that stadium because they can be so loud. So it’s exciting, this whole team’s excited.”

After so many years without the hope of even being in the playoffs, the Silver and Black have given us an exciting 2011, and the team could take their season farther than we even thought was possible. Just believe.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

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The Oakland Raiders’ rookie receiver, Denarius Moore, has been nominated for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. The moment Moore signed on with the Raiders, he’s been exceptional. Head coach Hue Jackson called the receiver not only the most impressive rookie at training camp, but one of the most impressive of all the players.

Denarius Moore
Wikimedia Commons

At training camp, the rookie made an acrobatic catch in the end zone when his teammates rushed up to congratulate him. Moore commented that “It was overwhelming for a rookie to make a play like that and then get supported by the whole team.”

The receiver made his NFL debut in preseason during the game against the Arizona Cardinals. In that match up h e had three catches and 37-yards, and in his limited time on the field against the 49ers in the next game, he made two great catches look like it was just another casual day at the office.

Moore went on to earn his first Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award in just the second week of the regular season in the game against the Buffalo Bills. In that battle, the receiver hauled in five passes for 146 yards and scored a touchdown.

Moore’s second Rookie of the Week honor came in the game against the San Diego Chargers in week ten. In that game he caught five passes for 123 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Raiders’ 24-17 victory. The following week against the Minnesota Vikings, Moore went down with a foot injury and he was sorely missed in the following three games, especially in the Raiders’ losses to the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers.

The moment Moore was back on the field in the game against the Lions he made a great catch, and in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had a major impact. In week 16, Moore caught four passes for 94 yards and scored a touchdown. In the second quarter he made an incredible 61-yard touchdown catch to put the Raiders up 10-6 over the Chiefs.

Moore certainly deserves the recognition. And all this from a fifth-round draft pick? He’s definitely the NFL deal of the season. What are you waiting for? Vote for Moore for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for his stand out performance in helping the Silver and Black defeat Kansas City and keep their playoff hopes alive.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

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The Oakland Raiders gave fans the best Christmas gift we could hope for. A victory over the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs. Once again, as throughout the 50+ year history battles between the two teams, it came down to a dramatic finish.

Oakland Raiders Sebastian Janikowski
Broken Sphere/Wikimedia Commons

Though it wasn’t the high scoring battle I thought would happen, it was certainly another roller coaster ride in which we thought the Silver and Black had the win, and then, in the final few minutes it seemed we might be destined for another heartbreaking loss, similar to what we experienced last Sunday against the Lions and earlier in the season to the Buffalo Bills.

We won’t talk about how sloppy the game was and how bad penalties were in the second quarter. Both the Chiefs and Raiders looked pretty pitiful in the first half leaving the game tied 3-3 at halftime. At that point, neither looked like they should have an opportunity in the playoffs.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders were up 13-6, and things were looking good for a Raider victory, but of course, they couldn’t make it easy for us, and allowed the Chiefs to catch up and tie at 13-13. If it wasn’t for Raiders’ defensive end Trevor Scott’s block of a Kansas City 49-yard field goal, the game likely would have gone to the Chiefs.

Fortunately, for the Raider Nation the game went into overtime at 13-13, and it became receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey’s time to shine. He caught an amazing 53-yard pass from quarterback Carson Palmer to set up a winning field goal kick for Sebastian Janikowski. My heart was still pounding at this point, with the way Raider games have gone as of late, anything could happen.

But the Polish Cannon, as he usually does, came through, and kicked the winning 36-yard field goal to give the Raiders the 16-13 victory.

Despite 15 penalties, the Raiders got the win, and it doesn’t matter how they got there, they did it. Their playoff hopes are still alive and they have a chance at coming out on top in the AFC West. The Denver Broncos lost to the Buffalo Bills by a score of 40-14, with Tim Tebow throwing four interceptions, and the San Diego Chargers are currently losing to the Detroit Lions by a score of 24-0 in the third quarter.

The Raider Nation will certainly have a Merry Christmas, and then it will be back home to Oakland for a battle against the Chargers and, hopefully, a New Year’s Day win, and an AFC West division title. We’re on our way! Just believe. Happy holidays to Raider fans everywhere.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

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Fan’s Look at the Heated Rivalry Between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders’ Punter Shane Lechler Named to All-Fundamentals Team: Fan Reactio n

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