Will Matt Leinart Ever Be a Starting Quarterback in the NFL?

Matt Leinart has always been a question mark in the NFL. Good enough to play in the league as a back-up, but does he have what it takes to make the jump and become a full time starting quarterback? Well...

First off, he's very knowledgeable. He's got seven years of NFL experience under his belt, while learning from some of the game's best, as he backed up Kurt Warner (future hall-of-famer), Matt Schuab, and Carson Palmer. Schuab and Palmer might not be considered elite, but both have intangibles and mechanics that can be learned by a young newcomer like Leinart.

However, things haven't always gone his way. Leinart never got much playing time in Arizona when he played under Warner (not surprising) and his short stint with Houston didn't go well. After starting quarterback Matt Schuab went down with a broken bone in his right foot late into the season last year, Matt Leinart was presented a golden opportunity to start for the playoff-hoping Texans and show the league what he's made of.

However, in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Leinart wound up on the sidelines too, as reports later revealed he had a broken collarbone. Rookie TJ Yates then took over and finished out the Texans' season strong and helped them reach the postseason.

And now, Leinart is in Oakland, playing yet another back-up role with the Raiders. It's unlikely that he'll start over Carson Palmer, the veteran QB who was acquired from Cincinnati last season. At least he is ahead of Terrelle Pryor on Oakland's depth chart, but with Leinart's luck, don't be surprised if Pryor makes the leap and snags his job, especially after we saw glimpses of excellence in him during the preseason.

It's sad to see this all happen to Matt Leinart, who, believe it or not, was once a Heisman-winning quarterback for the USC Trojans. Hopefully his hard work and patience will guide him to finding a starting role for himself, that he can keep for years to come.

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Raiders Wide Receiver Injuries Starting to Cause Concern

The Oakland Raiders have always been interested in speed, speed, and more speed. And if there's one thing we can all agree on, its that the Raiders' receiving core is built around just that. Just look at the numbers. Between Oakland's three main receivers (Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, and Denarius Moore) they share an average 40-yard dash time of 4.3! Don't forgot that Ford ran a blazing 4.28 in the dash during the 2010 NFL combine, which ranks second fastest of all time, only behind Tennessee's star running back Chris Johnson. However, once these speedsters go down with an injury, all sorts of questions rise along with concern. When will they be back? How effective will they be? The answers that the fans want to hear are often not the ones they receive.

Injury. Blemish. Damage. Wound. However you put it, it never sounds good. And for the Oakland Raiders, it sounds even worse. Starter Denarius Moore hasn't practiced since early on in training camp due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Dennis Allen said Moore is "running a round a little bit", but that doesn't sound too promising. Another starter, Jacoby Ford, was jogging earlier today for the first time since spraining his left foot on August 17th against the Arizona Cardinals. This left foot injury isn't anything new for Ford. Last year, the Raiders' top kickoff and punt returner missed six games due to the same injury. He hopes to be running on the field soon, and when he does, he expects to do so well-prepared. Eric Gilmore of CBSSports.com reported that Jacoby plans to wear a "special shoe" that will help to take pressure off of his foot.

And if that isn't bad enough, impressive rookie Juron Criner also isn't at full health. During today's practice, Criner was running routes on a hobbled right ankle. Yet, Dennis Allen didn't seem too concerned, as he said that: "It's a long time until Monday night, so we'll be fine there".

With those injuries, Oakland hopes to have Ford, Moore, and Criner out on the field as soon as possible. Until then, look for rookie Rod Streater to get a lot of action, as he clinched a spot on the final 53-man roster after exploding during training camp and the preseason. The undrafted rookie from Temple looks to fill some pretty big shoes this season, starting with San Diego on Monday.

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Raiders Get Pummeled by Seahawks in Final Preseason Game

If it wasn't for Eddy Carmona's 31 yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the game, the Raiders would have been shut out by the Seahawks tonight. That said, this 18 point loss ends Oakland's preseason at a disappointing record of 1-3.

The Raiders played an excruciatingly bad overall game and it stands as a poor performance to lead them into the regular season. The Seahawks had nearly triple the total yards of the Raiders, as Oakland only racked up 101 to Seattle's 334. Granted, Carson Palmer and the first team only played one drive at the beginning of the game, but the Oakland squad should be playing much harder, especially because they are all striving to make the teams' final 53 man roster that will be announced tomorrow before six o'clock in the afternoon.

Fans also did not get a chance to see the Terrelle Pryor that they saw last week against Detroit, the one who threw for 137 yards, and 2 touchdowns, and also took it on the ground for 90 yards and a touchdown. Instead, they saw Pryor throw for 55 yards and no touchdowns tonight. Many including myself, were hoping that Pryor would follow up last week's game with another outstanding performance and make his case to be the second string quarterback behind Carson Palmer.

However, with Matt Leinart returning to the field and already having experience as a solidified back-up playing under veteran quarterbacks like Kurt Warner and Matt Schuab, it doesn't seem likely that Terrelle will be able to take his job. Speaking of Leinart, the team was glad to have him back, as he played through a lacerated right index finger tonight and was throwing with the precision that we're used to seeing.

Star running back Darren McFadden was held out of the game, and wisely so, as the team wants him to be fully healthy for the regular season.

Oakland hopes to put this preseason behind them and start their promising regular season on September 10th, against the San Diego Chargers.

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Why Darren McFadden Will Lead the NFL in Rushing This Season

This may come across as a bold statement, depending on how you look at it. But at the end of the day, Darren McFadden is fully capable of leading the NFL in rushing yards for this upcoming 2012-2013 season, and I'll tell you why.

First off, many people have had their concerns about "Run DMC" this year because of the foot injury that he suffered last year which sidelined him for most of the season. However, before Darren's injury, the league saw something special. He rushed for 614 yards in the first six games of last season, including a game against the New York Jets at home when he rushed for a career-high 171 yards. A superstar was emerging, and the injury was just a delay to the stardom that was in line for McFadden. But now, throughout training camp, the internet was blowing up with columnists and beat writers reporting how vigorous and tenacious Darren looked as he ran through the Oakland plays and practiced hard with the team. He has ran the ball efficiently throughout the presesason and has stayed healthy heading into their last game before the regular season. As NFL superstar Drew Brees once said, "A setback is just a set-up for a comeback". Darren McFadden is showing all signs of battling back from this Lisfranc injury stronger than ever to show the league what he really has in him. Whether its Drew Brees, Victor Cruz, or Kobe Bryant, we've seen several professional athletes recover from major injuries and stun the world. You can add McFadden to that list.

Another key reason why McFadden will dominate the NFL rushing game this season, is his value to the team. Now, obviously every star player on their respective team is indispensably valuable, but in Darren's case it is different. Last year, McFadden shared carries with another quality running back in Michael Bush, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last year and hauled in seven touchdowns. With Bush off to Chicago on a four year, $14 million dollar deal, McFadden will predominantly own the number of carries amongst the Oakland running back core, especially with the Raiders' lack of depth at the position. The door is now wide open for Darren to step in, fully healthy, and take as many snaps as he needs to get the job done. He won't have to worry about splitting touches with the back-up Taiwan Jones, who is progressing but still learning a lot from McFadden. And there's not many running backs that you can learn from more than Darren McFadden.

A key reason to Darren's success this season will be the competetion. With Vikings running back Adrian Peterson still not recovered from a torn ACL and MCL injury, or Maurice Jones-Drew's holdout from the Jacksonville Jaguars, it helps to ease up the race to the league's top rusher. Superstar running backs such as LeSean McCoy, Chris Johnson, and Arian Foster are still there and are going to be hungry, so McFadden is going to have to prove himself.

All in all, leading the league in rushing for Darren McFadden will come down to his health and consistency. We saw glimpses of stardom last year, and hopefully McFadden is able to break through his shell and show the world that he can reach that extra plateau and rack up the most rushing yards this season.

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Darren McFadden: The Need for His Presence

The health of Oakland Raiders’ running back Darren McFadden is perhaps the most important issue of the team. The Lisfranc injury that McFadden suffered last season against the Kansas City Chiefs was by far the biggest scourge of the Raiders’ season. Amidst all of that, McFadden has been working hard to rehabilitate and get back on the field as soon as he can.

The NFL knows just how phenomenal of a player McFadden is. Coaches, fans, and the entire league witnessed him lead the league with 614 rushing yards through six games before he was forced to watch from the sidelines. His injury took a huge toll on the rest of the Raiders’ season, as they were not able to qualify for the playoffs without him.

The team understands that they need McFadden healthy in order to succeed, and new Raiders coach Dennis Allen is taking all of the precautions: “We want him to be able to stay healthy, and we want to do everything we can to keep him that way”. Throughout his four year career, Darren has never played more than 13 games. If there’s one thing that an NFL player can not stand, it’s to have the insignia of an injury-prone player, and many people have been declaring that about McFadden. However, he doesn’t let it bother him: “Everybody has their own opinion; I'm just out there playing, going hard. If I get hurt, so be it. I could see if I was just going down the street, falling over, getting hurt. It's all behind me. If I get hurt going hard, I can't do anything about it”, said the 6’1, 218 pound running back to the San Jose Mercury News.

Regardless of the complications Darren has faced in his past, he’s ready to put it aside. The team loves him and has use for his incredible speed, strength, but more importantly his leadership. Carson Palmer told the LA times about his teammate: “Guys love him. He’s a leader. When you have your best player on your team be one of your hardest workers, it’s great for young guys, vets, even guys like Richard Seymour who have Super Bowl rings.”

Beyond McFadden, the Oakland Raiders are pretty slim at the running back position, after key back-up running back Michael Bush signed with Chicago. However, the Oakland Raiders still have much hope in their team, after several beat writers have been reporting how healthy and sharp Darren McFadden has looked thus far in training camp. That said, watch out for the Oakland Raiders during the 2012-2013 season as a viable dangerous playoff bound team.

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