Ex-Tech standout Eddie Royal shines in NFL debut

InRich.com
Published: September 9, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif.—Midway through the first quarter, Raiders fans were already digging into their game programs to learn more about that rookie Denver receiver out there embarrassing their $70 million cornerback.

He’s Eddie Royal, a second-round pick from Virginia Tech. After his superb NFL debut in Oakland, the Raider Nation should be worried it’ll become far too familiar with the Broncos’ budding star in the future.

Royal had nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown, and Jay Cutler passed for 299 yards and two scores in Denver’s 41-14 season-opening victory over the Raiders last night.

“You dream about it, and you hope you can come out and play this well, but the main thing is we won,“ Royal said. “It was a great feeling, especially in the stadium against our rivals. Our game plan was to attack. We knew we had a lot of weapons and Coach drew up a great game plan. We just wanted to keep the pressure on them.“

Royal did most of his damage against DeAngelo Hall, acquired from Atlanta in the biggest move of the Raiders’ offseason restocking. The new look was still unsightly for the Raiders, who fell behind 27-0 in the third quarter with a bumbling effort on both sides of the ball.

Hall, another former Virginia Tech standout, committed two 15-yard personal fouls against Royal on the same drive in the second quarter, losing his discipline while the game slipped away from Oakland.

“They just outschemed us and outplayed us. We didn’t show up at all,“ said Hall, who claimed both penalties were bad calls. “They came out and dominated us from start to finish.“