Darren McFadden Photos

Offense QB Matt Flynn Terrelle Pryor Tyler Wilson Matt McGloin RB Darren McFadden Rashad Jennings Latavius Murray Jeremy Stewart Deonte Williams FB Marcel Reece Jamize Olawale Jon Hoese WR Denarius Moore Josh Cribbs Juron Criner Travionte Session Isaiah Williams Sam McGuffie WR Rod Streater Jacoby Ford (slot) Brice Butler Conner Vernon Andre Holmes Greg Jenkins TE David Ausberry* Richard Gordon* Mychal Rivera Nick Kasa Brian Leonhardt Jeron Mastrud LT Jared Veldheer Alex Barron John Wetzel LG Tony Bergstrom Jason Foster Lamar Mady C S...

It has been a long time since Jacoby Ford practiced with his teammates for the first time since last year's training camp. He missed all of last season with a Lisfranc foot injury. Much like when Darren McFadden went out with the same injury, it was initially thought to be a simply foot sprain that just wouldn't heal. Also like McFadden, it was a long road back. "I just been... a lot of rehab," said Ford. "I definitely do a lot of rehab every day and I just kinda make sure I stay on top of it. Really just take care of my body and work on little things after practice and just more flexi...

Last season Taiwan Jones was a forgotten man at running back. Even with the injuries to both Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson, Taiwan Jones was left out in the depth chart in favor of UDFA rookie Jeremy Stewart. The coaching staff had no faith in Jones' ball security or his ability to play in the team's zone blocking scheme. So, he was relegated to special teams duties exclusively. Although, not as a return man because of that whole ball security concern. With his standout play as a gunner on special teams and his absence from the running game, something had to give. I remembered Jones...

We move on to the running backs as I work through the positions and players on the Raiders draft radar. Along with the player, I include the round in which the Raiders would be likely to take the player should he be available with their pick in that round. Running back is a real need for the Raiders. They currently have Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings as their top two backs. Jennings has never proven he can step up and be a starting caliber back and with McFadden's injury history, it is likely Jennings will be asked to step up at some point this season. The team needs a third young...

Most people would point to the things they actually saw ON the field as why the Raiders couldn't get out of their own way offensively. Things like the failed zone blocking scheme experiment and poor play calling. The Raiders are hoping the Greg swap (Knapp for Olson) will remedy that issue. Darren McFadden won't make excuses for his poor season last year. As he told media today "It's the execution." However, he remembers he had his best season in the NFL in 2011 working in the Power Blocking Scheme and he's looking forward to working in it again. "It's confidence," said McFadden. "You ...

The Raiders officially announced they had signed free agent running back Rashad Jennings Thursday morning. The signing was a necessary one as the Raiders were in much need of depth at running back behind starter Darren McFadden. Being a reserve running back is nothing new to Jennings. He played behind All Pro Maurice Jones-Drew in Jacksonville the past few years. In his first two season, Jennings was considered one of the top reserve backs in the league. He was averaging over five yards a carry in relief of MJD in 2009-10. When asked how he would describe himself as a running back, he ...

Darren McFadden is ready to put 2012 behind him and to move on from a disastrous season that saw him have the lowest average per carry over every other starter in the league. Entering a contract year DMC has high hopes for returning to form with the return of his preferred blocking scheme of Power (PBS) over Zone (ZBS). After this many years in a row of failing to be able to rely on McFadden one does have to wonder if he will be a Raider for much longer. There are more than a few fans and pundits out there that feel like now is the time to trade McFadden and move on from him considerin...

The offensive has had a lot less turnover the past couple years than the defense. Carson Palmer, Darren McFadden, and Marcel Reece all returned as the starters last season from the 2011 season that looked pretty good offensively. Last year, there was little semblance of that great offense left. The new regime brought an old face with them in Greg Knapp and the west coast offense, Darren McFadden couldn't get going with the new zone blocking scheme, and Michael Bush left in free agency leaving no solid replacement in the lineup when McFadden went down with injury. It was a disaster. Her...

I put together the depth chart a week ago but with a few moves being made since then, it's time to update that depth chart. Here is what the Raiders current depth chart looks like Offense QB Carson Palmer Terrelle Pryor RB Darren McFadden Jeremy Stewart (ERFA) Taiwan Jones** FB Marcel Reece Jamize Olawale Jon Hoese WR Denarius Moore Juron Criner Travionte Session WR Rod Streater Jacoby Ford* Isaiah Williams TE David Ausberry Richard Gordon Mickey Shuler LT Jared Veldheer Tony Bergstrom LG Tony Bergstrom Jason Sl...

For Al Davis, finding the best athletes in football was not limited to a few positions. He wanted to dominate in that area you can't teach - athleticism. One such athlete was Darren McFadden who blazed through the combine in 2008 to cement himself as the Raiders' selection with the 4th overall pick. The interesting thing about the year McFadden became the Raiders pick was that was the same combine Chris Johnson set a new record by running a 4.24 40-yard dash. The Raiders saw McFadden's 4.33 40-yard dash as plenty good enough when combined with his accolades at Arkansas. Chris Johnson w...

The Oakland Raiders really missed former back up running back Michael Bush in 2012. Not just because of Darren McFadden's tendency to get injured, but more importantly, because it left the Raiders without a legitimate option in short yardage situations. While there are a ton of other positions that need to be upgraded, the Raiders cannot go another season without a big, bruising style of back and ESPN's Bill Williamson had a rather intruiging option for the Raiders to consider -- Peyton Hillis. The former Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs running back had a terrible year in 2012, b...

The Oakland Raiders need to improve and they need to do so with expediency. After a decade of fielding horrific teams, the Raiders showed a lot of promise and got the Raider Nation excited with back to back 8-8 seasons. Clearly these were not great seasons, but after what the fan base had been through, they sure seemed great. Then team owner Al Davis passed away and a complete overhaul of the organization began. The result of the overhaul? A 4-12 season that left Raiders fans yearning for a return to the ways of Al Davis. Now, second year head coach Dennis Allen and second year general...

Greg Olson knows how to use his weapons at the running back position. His former teams had the likes of Maurice Jones-Drew, LaGarrette Blount, and Stephen Jackson. Now he has two weapons in Oakland in the form of Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece and he intends to utilize both of them to their fullest. Olson realizes McFadden and Reece are premium weapons who had both been used improperly last season and the Raiders offense stagnated because of it. He intends to change that. "Marcel Reece is a different kind of a fullback, so what does he do well and how can we get him involved in some ...

The Oakland Raiders could show interest in St. Louis Rams RB Steven Jackson if he becomes a free agent this offseason. Huddle Up: Wait, didn't we just hear the Raiders were going to build their offense around Darren McFadden? This would be kind of the opposite of that. Jackson would likely be the short-yardage member of that backfield committee, taking a significant bite out of McFadden's potential--almost as big a bite as his injury risk. Surely Steven can find other clubs in need of a goal line back--maybe even a team that occasionally reaches the goal line.