Yall doing good in the Yard?

As most of you know by now I chose #20 as my jersey number. I like the number and thought that it fit me well. I always wore #4 in little league, although the first year I ever played I was #71. That was not the right # for me so I became #4. My first year in junior high I was #8. I tried to get #4 in the 10th grade but someone already had it so I became #5 and stayed with it in college. Now I'm #20, which means they'll be getting four quarters of #5 on Sundays! Michael Irvin told me you make your own history and that's what I plan to do.

In case all you good people in the Yard hadn't heard, I signed my contract with Raiders. It is done, it is out of the way and I am very happy. I am officially part of the Raider Nation and I am excited about it. There will be no worries about holdouts, we'll just be focusing on football.

Here's how it played out. My agent, Mike Conley left out on Tuesday so when I got the call Thursday night that it was done it caught me off guard a little bit. I was watching the Celtics-Lakers game with my sister when JR called me. It was around 8:30 and he said he'd come by around 9 for me to sign. I don't know what my facial expression was like, probably not much of one because I was so into the basketball game, but I was happy and relieved. I called my dad and my step mom to tell them the news. They were in town until yesterday. My dad's reaction was just like mine - happy to have it out of the way so I could focus on football and learn the plays.

Coach Rathman called me to congratulate me and we had a good talk. When I woke up that next morning I had at least 20 text messages and tons of missed calls. News travels fast I guess. I'm just glad I had some of my family with me when it happened. I am going to wait to celebrate when I get home and I have all my family there. That's when we'll really celebrate. Now I'm just going to keep working.

I am pulling for the Celtics btw.

I gotta say Yard, I love the Bay Area. Weather is great and I'm going to love making it my home. I just haven't found my spot to live just yet. I've been looking around for the last couple weeks but haven't settled on anything. I found one spot in Pleasanton that I liked but it's just a little too far from the facility. It would probably be a 45 minute drive each day and I don't want to commute like that.

I've been looking in Pleasanton, Oakland Hills, Alameda. Coming from the South the places are a lot smaller than I'm used to, but don't get me wrong I'm not looking for anything big. I want to start small, something with decent space but not too big. I don't do much cooking and most of these places that I'm seeing don't have yards. The most important thing for me is proximity. I want to be close to work so I need to find a nice spot that's not too far out.

If you have any ideas let me know

It's been awhile Yardbarkers but I am back.

I am just getting back to Oakland from the Hall of Fame. Each team sends its rookies to Canton in order to learn about the history of the game. We had history with us because two of our Hall of Famers, Willie Brown and Ted Hendricks, went with us. We flew out yesterday and got to Ohio at about 11 last night. Our wake up call came at 7:30 and then after breakfast we went to the Hall of Fame. It was really cool seeing all of that history, learning about when the game started and seeing all of those great coaches and players in there. You can tell things have changed just by looking at some of the cleats they have on display. They looked like work boots with spikes on the bottom. They have come a long way since then.

I was watching highlights of all the running backs. There was this one highlight when Dallas was playing Washington and they had the ball near the goalline. Tony Dorsett took the handoff, dipped inside, put his foot in the hole, spun and then bounced it outside. He left the defenders crashing into each other and scored. I know after watching that there are some things he did that I wouldn't mind picking up.

It was a great trip. It's so important to keep the legacy of the game going because these great players paved the way for all of us. You always have to appreciate the history and those who played the game before you. I know I do.

- Darren

I gotta tell you Yardbarkers, it was a relief to finally get picked by the Raiders. It was such a long process and you're constantly wondering where you're going to be and who your teammates are and who is going to be your coach. I can tell you this I don't get asked where you going 5,000 times a day anymore. Now it's just congratulations. I like that much better.

I was thrilled to hear my name called. I had such a good visit to Oakland and really liked the coaching staff. When they picked me I was just so happy. What really made it special to me is that i was able to share all of it with my family. My mom and dad and stepmom were there and they flew with me to Oakland after I was picked. They were all very excited and being able to share that experience with them was a great honor for me.

After doing all the interviews in New York we hopped on a flight to Oakland. It was the longest flight I've ever taken. I watched two movies, one of them was Juno and the other I can't remember. Juno was pretty good but I started to dose a little at the end. I tried to get some sleep but I just couldn't sleep. Too excited I guess and hoping everyone in Oakland was going to embrace me. We got in around 12:30, went to the hotel and I went straight to bed. The next day we went to the facility and met the coaching staff. Then I did a press conference and met the media. They were all pretty cool. It was my first day with my new team.

What's up, Yardbarkers?

Just wanted to check in with the Yard on the night before the Draft. It's been a big week out here in the Big Apple, not just for me but also for Glenn Dorsey, Matt Ryan, Vernon Gholston, Chris Long and of course #1 pick Jake Long (congratulations, man). I've been loving New York and the whole Draft experience. I came out a couple days before the other guys on my own to spend some time with some kids from the new york parks department and talk about fitness and exercise. They were fun and Paramount gave them some tickets to go see Iron Man before it comes out on May 2nd. It feels like we've done so many things these last two days. A Nike fitness event with kids from New York City. I got to go to Wall Street. I stood on top of the Radio City Hall marquee and had my picture taken. I met with a bunch of producers from ESPN and also a lot of people from the league, too. I feel like I know exactly what to expect tomorrow... except what team I'll be going to. I'm excited but also really tired. I'm ready to be a running back in the National Football League.

Today we had a chance to visit Mt. Sinai Children's Hospital and talk to some kids there. I loved it. We played some pool, some of the guys played Nintendo Wii boxing, and one of the kids was shooting baskets and impressing all of us football players with how good he was. He made 12 out of 13 at one point. His name was R.J. and he was only eight years old. What's up, R.J. Hope you're reading this!

Tonight I just chilled. I finally got a chance to meet up with some friends who came out to show their support. We just grabbed a steak and walked around the city to do a little shopping.

If you haven't checked out ESPN the Magazine with me on the cover you need to pick it up. That was the longest photo shoot I have ever done, but it was a great experience. Even though we went for about 4 or 5 hours I really had a great time.

This was my first major shoot where they had makeup, wardrobe and food. The food was good. The ones I have done before are a lot shorter and the SID puts a time limit on it. For this one, the way I looked at it was that this was my job for that day so I was going to work hard. I had to fly to LA to do it because the photographer has young kids and doesn't travel. She was a great photographer. We shot it at on the football field at Long Beach City College. She had me do a lot of different things. I did some jumping around and they even had me jumping around barefooted. That surprised me because football players wear shoes.

I did have to wear makeup, but they only put it on me at the beginning to keep my head from looking shiny. I'm glad for that because I am not a big fan of makeup. They told me it was a little colder than normal for LA and the longer we were there the colder that breeze got. They kept spraying me down with water so by the time we left at 7 I was pretty cold. Then I actually got to see the magazine and all the great pictures. It was well worth it.

Darren

I went to New England last week and I loved their facility and their stadium. They are doing a lot of construction around it. They are building a mall and a hospital right there. If I get a chance to play there I will never have to leave. They said much of the building they are doing will keep all the noise in the stadium so game days will be especially loud. They are already great at home, that will just give them another advantage.

I really enjoyed meeting Coach Belichick. He told me about their team and their system and what they would expect of me. They are always looking for playmakers and that's what I am. I sat down with most of the offensive coaching staff and watched film. They also introduced me to Kevin Faulk. He's impressive, the way he studies, how he trains and how he carries himself. If I can duplicate the way he prepares I'll be doing just fine.

Just got back from St. Louis and the Jets so I'll fill you in on those trips next.

I have been making a lot of trips to the NFL teams the last two weeks and wanted to catch the Yard up with my visits.

I had a great visit with the Raiders last week. It was my first trip and I had a great time. I got in Monday night and went to dinner with the offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp, and the running backs coach, Tom Rathman. Coach Rathman picked me up the next morning for breakfast. He gave me a tour of the facility and then we watched some film. We watched two of my games - one against Alabama and the Arkansas-LSU game. Coach Rathman seemed to like what he was watching. He said he likes tough running backs. In the LSU game we ran a dash right, a sprint out pass to the right. When the defensive end came charging in I hit him real good and knocked him backwards. Coach Rathman liked that play a whole lot. He is a coach I would love to play for. He is the type of coach who can take me to the next level and I'm a player who is looking and willing to work to get to that next level. I think we'd be a great combination.

I also got a chance to meet Al Davis. I was really excited about that. I'm just a guy from little ol' Arkansas meeting a legend like him. That was great. He had a lot of energy and he knows so much about the game and all the players in the draft. We spent about 10 minutes together and I enjoyed it very much.

I'll fill you in on my New England trip next.

Darren

The Wildhog Offense is an offense that we ran to destroy opposing defenses. It was very hard to stop and/or gameplan for it. The Wildhog is a triple-threat offense. You put a running back at QB, and you have the option of running the ball, handing it off or passing it. I'm an ex-QB so I've got mixed emotions. I like throwing the ball but being a running back I love to score TDs running. Here's a video of me breaking down the Wildhog Offense for the Yard.

Darren

I'm back in the Yard with a quick hello and a short video letting you know why I feel like the best backfield in college football this year was me, Felix and Peyton. My next post will be a video explaining the WildHog offense, which is what we ran with the Razorbacks.

Darren

Hello to the Yard. I filmed a video of my tattoos for you, starting with my forearm, where I have "D-Dawg" in Old English. D-Dawg's my nickname. Memphis/Kansas tonight! Go Tigers.

Darren

They made history. First time all four #1 teams have been in the Final Four. I've pretty much watched all of them play at least a few games this year. There are gonna be a lot of good matchups. Me being from the South, with Memphis right down the street from me, I'm going with Memphis to win it all. Memphis is a cool city. I've got two sisters that stay in Memphis. It's not home for me but it's close to home. It's a nice play to go and relax and hang out, I guess. I'm going with Memphis and Kansas in the Final. I think Kansas will beat Carolina and Memphis will beat Kansas.

What does the Yard think?

Darren

What's up, Yardbarkers.

It's Darren McFadden, University of Arkansas running back, born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. Number 10 of 12 children, 7 boys and 5 girls. One of the babies. I want to tell you about the process leading up to the Combine after the Bowl Game. Took a week or two off after the game to get ready. After that, I moved down to Dallas, Texas, where I was working out preparing for the Combine. MJPC. Michael Johnson Performance Center. Learned a lot of speed techniques. It was a great experience for me. I feel like I could've ran a 4.3-anything, but MJ helped me get to 4.33 (gotta stick with the official time).

After that, I went up to the Combine. It was a great experience. I just hated all the waiting around. After that, moved from Dallas back to Fayetteville, working out at school with some of the guys also preparing for the NFL Draft. Felix Jones (RB), Peyton Hillis (FB), Marcus Monk (WR). Getting ready for Pro Day. Pro Day came around. I did the shuttle drills and agility drills that I didn't do at the Combine. Then a lot of interviews. Media things. Just helping get my name out there in the public.

Now I'm out in Beverly Hills for the ESPN photo shoot. This is my second trip to LA. My first trip was for EA Sports. We wrapping it up now, just counting down the days until the NFL Draft. Here's some video, a little intro for the Yard.

Darren