Raiders’ Woodson says he’ll retire at end of season

“It was hard to get it out”, Woodson said of his meeting with Raiders management during a media conference. He almost outlasted “South Park”.

Moreover, with new head coach Jack Del-Rio and the Raiders looking to change the current culture in Oakland, you would hope that they would want to win this game more than the Packers did!! They still won two Super Bowls and made the Hall of Fame.

Season arc for Green Bay so far: Start really good, turn really bad, then learn how to manage the badness decently well. The next year he was an AP First Team All American.

He was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the top college player while at MI in 1997. He has 974 tackles with 65 interceptions and 11 defensive touchdowns in his career. The problem was – the Raiders didn’t perform as thought they needed / wanted this game more than the Packers did!!

Thank you, thank you Mr. Woodson for spending the last two years with our up-and-coming starts and teaching them the right way to do things. He’s been one of Oakland’s strongest, sturdiest, and most reliable players.

The reason why he decided to make his retirement announcement at this point in time was because he wanted Oakland Raiders fans to watch him in person one final time.

The Raiders took a 37-6 lead into the fourth quarter, and the game was essentially out of reach at halftime when Oakland led by 24 points.

“I’m not letting the overall results deter my preparation and I continue to believe what our coaches have been preaching to us”, he said.

From the 1998 class, Woodson will have outlasted every non-QB by at least two years. Because of a sagging defense, San Diego will keep its foot on the accelerator while trying to hog the ball with a controlled passing game.

But it’s a different Raiders team this year, even if they have lost five of their past eight games.

And consider that Townsend had not even been a full-time starter in the National Football League since 2007. He leads the Raiders with five interceptions and has a career-high tying three fumble recoveries this season. Upon his return, Woodson took to creating an “O” out of his arms in reference to the stadium name. Which was way, way, way down. There he was in 2008, at the age of 32, with players like Townsend, Surtain, and Rolle on the way out, and Woodson had still not revealed the best that he had to offer. Mack has 15 sacks – one shy of the franchise record – and will likely get some help from chipping running backs and tight ends.

Woodson was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro. He played for the Raiders up until 2005, before he went to Green Bay in 2006.

With the Packers he earned his only championship ring at Super Bowl XLV. Woodson switched to safety in 2012 (without hesitation or whining) but broke his collarbone after seven games.

Woodson signed a one-year contract in January to remain with the Raiders. But, he returned to the Raiders after the Packers cut him in 2013… and has played his final years with the team.

Several have discussed Woodson’s work ethic, his maturation process during his second Raiders tenure, and the honor it’s been to work with the legendary defensive back.

This season, he’s allowed just one touchdown – and that came Week 1 while with Washington. He also has been named first-team All-Pro three times.

And well, he’s old.

Christmas Eve features a matchup of AFC West rivals. Since taking over the play-calling two games ago, he has been searching for something better and at the same time dealing with the reality of his offense’s limitations.