Jack Tatum, who was once one of the most feared tacklers in the NFL, died Tuesday morning of a heart attack. His death was confirmed by longtime friend and ex Ohio State teammate, John Hicks. Tatum was 61 years old.

The man known as "The Assassin" was selected in the first round of the 1971 draft by the Oakland Raiders. Tatum served the Raiders for 9 out of his 10 NFL seasons, was a part of the 1976 Super Bowl Championship team and also earned 3 nods to the Pro Bowl.

Jack Tatum was a two-time All-American at Ohio State, where he began his college career as a running back, then was later moved to safety.

"We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes. When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans."

Jim Tressel, Head Coach - Ohio State

Source: NFL.com

Tatum, who was regarded as one of the most feared defensive players in the history of the NFL, was perhaps best known for the hit in which he paralyzed former New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley. The hit occurred during a 1978 pre-season game in which the Patriots wide out ran head on into Tatum on a crossing pattern. Stingley's 4th and 5th vertebrae were severed as a result of the devastating blow, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. Stingley passed away in 2007.

Tatum alleges that he tried to visit Stingley in the hospital after the accident, but was immediately turned away by family members.

After nine seasons with the Oakland Raiders, Tatum finished out his career by playing one season with the Houston Oilers.

Later on in his life, Tatum had his own struggles. Due to complications caused by his Diabetes, Tatum ended up having all five the toes from his left foot amputated as a result of a staph infection. Later he also had much of his right leg removed due to an arterial blockage. Tatum devoted much of his life to increasing awareness of Diabetes.

Tatum created the Ohio-based Jack Tatum Fund for Youthful Diabetes, which finances diabetes research. He also served as co-chair of an annual fundraiser for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Celebrities for Diabetes, which is held during the week of The Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus, Ohio.

Last year, the NFL Network ranked Jack Tatum at no. 6 in their list of Top Ten Most Feared Tacklers in NFL History.

Jack Tatum wrote three best-selling books, including: They Call Me Assassin in 1980, They Still Call Me Assassin in 1989, and Final Confessions of NFL Assassin Jack Tatum in 1996.

Tatum is survived by his widow, Denise, and their three children.

One of the many areas in need of an emerging go-to presence is the return game. Last year, the Oakland Raiders had eleven different players return either punts or kicks.

While once a threat on return duties, Johnnie Lee Higgins was reduced to just handling punts in 2009. Coming off of a 2008 season which saw him return 36 kicks for 842 yards, Higgins was hampered by injuries for the better part of 2009. Higgins was pulled off of kick return duties altogether and ended up sharing punt returns with both Javon Walker and Sam Williams. It's uncertain as to whether or not Higgins will re-emerge and prove that his speed and quickness are still there, or if another player will step up and completely remove him of his duties.

The kick return situation is far less settled, as there were eight players last year handling that duty. In 2009, Johnathan Holland, Gary Russell, Justin Miller, Louis Rankin, Marcel Reece, Sam Williams, Tony Stewart and Luke Lawton were all called upon at one time or another to return kickoffs.

It's safe to say that the Raiders are in dire need of at least two individuals to step and emerge as special teams threats come this training camp.

This past Wednesday the Oakland Raiders signed 7th round pick Jeremy Ware to a 4 year deal totaling 1.85 million, including a $62,450 signing bonus. Ware wasn't expected to be a sure-fire selection in this year's draft, and was the only player chosen from MSU.

Ware, who wasn't even invited to the NFL scouting combine, really caused scouts to take notice of him at MSU's Pro Day last March when he ran a 4.37 second 40 and posted a 37.5 inch vertical leap. Al Davis has always been one to take a chance on speedy gifted athletes - Ware being no exception.

See this article over at the StateNews for a transcript from an interview with Ware and his thoughts on his emerging pro football career with the Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders have signed 7th round pick Stevie Brown to a 4 year deal worth 1.82 million, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.

Brown's deal consists of the standard base salaries of $320,000, $405,000, $490,000 and $575,000, plus a signing bonus of nearly $38,000 and a fourth-year escalator clause that can boost the maximum value of the deal to $2.56 million.

Brown registered 215 career tackles, four interceptions and two sacks at the University of Michigan.

Brown played outside linebacker in college, but is now moving to the safety position for the start of his NFL career.

The 5-foot-11, 212-pounder has good strength and speed, posting a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, along with a 34 1/2 inch vertical leap.

It's widely believed that Stevie Brown was a little undervalued in this year's draft and may emerge as one of the top steals for the Raiders in 2010.

The Raiders began wrapping up the first of their draft picks by signing offensive linemen Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell on Friday. The Veldheer and Campbell contracts mark just the first two completed out of the nine players the Raiders selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Veldheer was a 3rd round pick for the Raiders, with Campbell being chosen first out of their two 4th round selections. Veldeer hails from Hillsdale College in Michigan, and Campbell comes to the Raiders out of Maryland.

Both players are expected to join the Raiders as backups for the 2010 season, but the team expects both of them to become starters eventually. Both players started at offensive tackle for their respective teams, but the Raiders have plans to move Campbell to the guard position.

The Raiders have until July 28th to sign the 7 remaining draftees to contracts in order to get them in for the first practice of training camp.

Source: MercuryNews.com

Heading into the 2010 season, Tom Cable is through with the committee running back scheme - he wants a starter. Cable is looking for a back who can carry the ball on every down.

Here's what he had to say at the NFL owners meeting this past week.

"We'll move forward with those two guys," Cable said. "I think it will help both of them that they will get more work. The question with (Darren) is, now that he's healthy, can he be an everydown back? And I think he can be."

- Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable

Source: SFGate

With the Raiders' release of Justin Fargas, expect competition for the starting job at the running back position to be pretty stiff this off-season.

Regardless of who emerges as the No. 1, the RB position looks to be in good shape this year, especially if Oakland addresses their needs on the O-Line.

Beginning with Monday's home opener vs San Diego, the Oakland Raiders will be hosting a new pre-game entertainment event for the Raider Nation. Raiderville will be located on the South side of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Parking Lot G.

Monday's event will be hosted from 2:00pm - 6:30pm

Highlights of Raiderville will include:

• Half Pipe snow mountain sponsored by Coors Light, complete with a snowboard stunt demonstration.
• Raider Legends and Raiderettes will be on hand to sign autographs for fans.
• Football's Fabulous Females will be performing live, as will the new Raiders drum line.
• A 9 foot LED television screen will be available so fans can catch other NFL action.
• Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

This Monday's schedule:

• The Coors Light snowboard half pipe show will happen at 2:00pm and again at 4:30pm.
• Raider Legends Jim Otto and Daryle Lamonica will be on hand to sign autographs from 4:00pm to 5:00pm.
• The Raiders new drumline will perform at 5:15pm.
• The Raiderettes will be available for autographs at 5:15pm and will close out the event with their performance at 6:00pm.

Source: Raiders.com

Having just turned 30 and about to embark upon his ninth season in the NFL, San Diego Chargers' running back Ladainian Tomlinson is anxious to prove that he's still the best back in the NFL. Tomlinson has had a chip on his shoulder ever since Jim Brown and other analysts claimed Minnesota's Adrian Peterson was currently the top running back in the NFL.

Tomlinson is looking to prove his claims that he's still the best back in the NFL by running all over the Raiders on Monday Night Football.

The Raiders lead the all-time series over the Chargers (54-42-2) and also possess an impressive 15-6 win record on Monday Night Football home games.

San Diego has won the last 11 straight meetings vs the Raiders, and are expected to trounce them on Monday night in Oakland. The Chargers are 9 1/2 point favorites over the Raiders.

Six days after Richard Seymour's trade from the New England Patriots, the five time pro bowl defensive lineman reported to the Oakland Raiders on Saturday. Seymour told the Boston Herald that he expects to see some play time in the season opening game versus the San Diego Chargers. Seymour will make his debut for the Raiders on Monday Night Football.

Seymour apparently wasn't expecting the last minute trade from New England, as he likened the news of his trade to Oakland as being "blindsided". The sudden trade didn't leave Seymour with much time to prepare for his relocation to the west coast, but he's rolling with it. He's pumped over the idea of playing in the seaoson opener and told the Boston Herald that, "I'll be the guy on top of the quarterback".

The SFGate reports that the Oakland Raiders are in danger of possibly having their nationally televised home opener blacked out due to soft ticket sales.

The Bay Area's unemployment rate has reached nearly 10 percent, leaving the Raiders' fan base in terrible shape economically. With fewer than 33,000 fans in attendance for the final pre-season home game vs New Orleans, it's doubtful that the Raiders will sell many tickets this season.

Unless a last minute price reduction goes into effect, ticket sales are expected to be possibly the lowest in the NFL. If six straight losing seasons, including the worst record in the NFL over the past six seasons weren't enough to dissuade fans from buying tickets, the 45-7 debacle vs the Saints may have been the deciding factor.

Unless the Raiders deliver on Monday Night Football, which is somewhat doubtful considering their recent record vs San Diego, they're in for some rough seas as far as home game ticket sales are concerned.

The San Diego Chargers are 9 1/2 point favorites over the hosting Oakland Raiders.