As the Oakland Raiders try to move forward from Punch-Gate and put together their first winning season since Jerry Rice was their leading receiver, they have already received some more bad news. Chaz Schilens, who was definitely shaping up as their best receiver, has suffered a relatively serious injury.
According to FanHouse's Nancy Gay (via e-mail), who is in Raiders camp today, Schilens has a fractured 5th metatarsal bone in his left foot. He currently has a boot on it. There is no word yet on if he'll require surgery.
One can only assume that the offseason knee surgery Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker had -- in secret, without telling the team -- was performed in a hospital, by a licensed surgeon.
Walker's comments to reporters at Oakland's training camp session on Friday invite some curiosity, though.
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet the ... Running game that needs help from the passing game. One thing is for sure, the Oakland Raiders can run the football. They finished 10th in the NFL last season in rushing offense. The problem is that they only had nine rushing touchdowns (only three teams had less), which we can attribute to the fact that the Raiders had the worst passing offense in the NFL.
If the Raiders can find a way to stretch the field and move the ball through the air, expect the rushing game to get even better.
Another wide receiver in Raiders camp, Javon Walker, said he should be ready in time for training camp after a mysterious right knee surgery a month ago.
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker had knee surgery last month. No surprise there; hundreds of NFL players have surgery each offseason. But here's the odd twist: Walker didn't inform the Raiders that he was having the procedure.
It's not completely clear what is wrong with Walker's right knee -- the same knee he injured in 2007 -- but it's serious enough that he isn't able to participate in this weekend's minicamp and won't be ready to go until training camp starts in July. And whatever is wrong with the knee, it's particularly odd that Walker apparently didn't bother to tell the Raiders until a few weeks after the operation.
The second half of the NFL offseason is here. Rookies and second-year players are coming in, trying to prove themselves in minicamps. But there are a few veterans who either want out, could be cut, or not re-signed by NFL teams. Here's a look at 10 who probably need a new address.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
The Oakland Raiders are coming off their sixth straight losing season and will be entering 2009 with their fifth different head coach in seven years.
For the second consecutive offseason, the Raiders have spent a gargantuan amount of money on cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson, and punter Shane Lechler. The Raiders also find themselves in their customary spot in the top 10 of the NFL draft, and their biggest need is pretty obvious.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
The 2008 season might go down as one of the most bizarre campaigns in the history of the Oakland Raiders. Lane Kiffin and Al Davis clearly didn't get along, while Kiffin pulled off the impossible task of making Davis look like a sane, rational person.
A team spokesperson nearly decked a beat writer; the punter was, reportedly, punched out by a defensive lineman; and the team on the field finished with a losing season, failing to win more than five games for the sixth consecutive year. Just a disastrous season in every way imaginable.
On Friday, the Oakland Raiders released safety Gibril Wilson, defensive end Kalimba Edwards and wide receiver Ronald Curry, saving the team about $6 million against the 2009 salary cap.
Think back to last offseason when owner Al Davis, in an effort to return his once proud franchise to glory, was signing blank checks with a stamp and passing them out to second-tier free agents like it was the fashionable thing to do. A year later, it's becoming obvious as to how much of a total failure the offseason was.
As the Oakland Raiders try to move forward from Punch-Gate and put together their first winning season since Jerry Rice was their leading receiver, they have already received some more bad news. Chaz Schilens, who was definitely shaping up as their best receiver, has suffered a relatively serious injury. 
One can only assume that the offseason knee surgery Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker had -- in secret, 
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
A pair of Raiders wide receivers are the subject of much debate these days.
Oakland Raiders wide receiver 
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
On Friday, the Oakland Raiders released safety 
