The question arose again on an afternoon when the Niners once more had trouble scoring touchdowns and the Raiders simply had trouble playing football: What if San Francisco had selected Aaron Rodgers with the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft?Growing up in Chico, playing for Cal — where he once completed 23 straight passes against USC — Rodgers was a 49er fan. That the 49ers — specifically coach Mike Nolan — chose Alex Smith and Rodgers slipped to 24th, taken by Green Bay, always may haunt San Francisco.
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Winning every week is one thing. On Sunday, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers made a legitimate playoff contender look like a team that was ready to pack its bags.Rodgers threw for 281 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in less than three full quarters' worth of work, Ryan Grant had two touchdowns rushing and Charles Woodson picked off a pass against his former team as the Packers trounced the Oakland Raiders 46-16.
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Barring somewhat of a football miracle, Oakland’s brittle grasp on the top spot in the AFC West may be all but lost when the dimming lights shadow Lambeau Field Sunday. The Raiders, who were riding a three-game winning streak into last Sunday’s road game against Miami, were dominated for the better part of four quarters on both sides of the football, losing 34-14. And this week, Oakland hits the road once again.But this time it’ll be against the best team in football.
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Raiders coach Hue Jackson set up bad karma for his team when he allowed linebacker Rolando McClain to play against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. That backfired on him when the listless Raiders got blown out by the Dolphins.
Arraignment for McClain on charges that he assaulted Richard Tapscott, held a gun to his head and fired a shot by his ear will be held on Jan. 24. The very best interpretation is that McClain put himself in a bad situation.
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It was nearly four weeks ago when the Raiders last lost a football game, a painful setback to the division-rival Denver Broncos at the O.co Coliseum. If there was anything worth salvaging from Week 9, it was that the Silver and Black was still, despite the 38-24 loss, in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West. Oakland has since rattled off three straight wins, the latest of which was a 25-20 triumph over the Chicago Bears last Sunday, and now alone claims the division top spot.
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Oakland coach Hue Jackson said he is disturbed by the allegations against the Raiders' Rolando McClain but hasn't ruled the second-year linebacker out for Sunday's game in Miami.McClain was arrested Thursday on misdemeanor assault, firearms and other charges after police said he fired a gun during a fight in his Alabama hometown. The eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft, McClain later posted $2,000 bail and was released.
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More and more, the Carson Palmer trade looks like the impetus for the Raiders to make the postseason for the first time since 2002. Certainly, Palmer was the difference in Sunday’s 25-20 victory against the Chicago Bears.
The Raiders were without some significant players — running back Darren McFadden and receivers-kick returners Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore. But Palmer picked up the slack with a 301-yard passing game that put the Raiders in position for six field goals and — finally! — one touchdown.
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For Miguel Hernandez, merely wearing silver and black isn’t enough. The 24-year-old Oakland native, who hasn’t missed a Raiders home game along with his twin brother, Luis, in three years, customized his very own Al Davis No. 1 jersey at the start of the 2011 NFL season. And since Week 1, he hasn’t worn anything else.
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The NFL season the Bay Area wondered if they would ever see has arrived.The gloom has been lifted. The joy has returned. The playoffs are certain for the Niners, probable for the Raiders.
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For the Raiders to get to the postseason, they have to play smart and coach smart.Yes, I know: “Smart” and “Raiders” are not words that are normally used in the same sentence. But they played smart against the San Diego Chargers, cutting down on their penalties, and coached smart, except for one big “Oops!” by Hue Jackson.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/106/106?page=14
