FIRST IT WAS A MONKEY OFF OUR BACK, NOW DONKEY.

Last weeks victory at Arrowhead was a start.The re-taking of AFC West pride continued last night in Oakland, and it was done with a little bit of the old swagger.

The sight of old wonky eyes gritting his teeth as his team were powerless to stop the smash mouth Silver and Black was enough to bring a tear to the eye, we all know how much Shanahan hates to lose to the RAIDERS, which makes beating him so much sweeter, especially as he could also see a wild card disappearing into a BLACK HOLE.

The opening drive set the tone for the game with Coach Kiffin running right at the suspect Denver defense, Justin Fargas hitting the hole at speed, as CBS' Bill McAtee put it "he runs with a sense of violence", running with violence!Now that SOUNDS like a RAIDER running back.Special mention should go to Shane Lechler at this point for his fine piece of comedy falling over keeping that first drive alive, it's no wonder he was laughing as he left the field.The Huggy Jnr. show had only just started with 8 for 43 yards, and Josh McCown finished off the first opening drive TD of the season with a great touch pass to Tim Dwight in the corner of the endzone.

The quick reply of the Bronco's suggested that they too would be able to run the ball successfully all day, but the Defense stiffened considerably against a team built on its ground game.Rob Ryan's men were flying around from the first whistle, and they were dishing out some hits too.One beauty on that first Denver drive in particular from Chris Clemons removed Cutler's helmet as he released the ball, a couple of inches higher and he may have looked a little different in the mirror this morning, which wouldn't be an all together bad thing when you consider that at the moment he has the face of a butch dyke.

Josh McCown had his best day as a RAIDER so far, finishing with 14 of 21 and three Touchdown's, adding another 22 yards on the ground.It was a gutsy performance all round, he was nursing an injured left hand, took a few big hits and was sent back onto the field just when the RAIDER NATION thought that the JaMarcus Russell era had started for real.McCown's TD throw to Zach Miller came quickly on a short field due to a fine strip by Robert Thomas which Tyler Brayton recovered at the Denver 35, the immediate success for McCown making sure that his re-appearance would not be a contentious issue.

Russell was blooded carefully, and we only got a taster of what to expect down the line, but his first pass as an NFL QB to Jerry Porter and a later throw to Ron Curry for 16 and 20 yards respectively, delivered with the flick of a wrist, were a tantalising look into the future of the RAIDERS.What really caught my eye was his mobility, be it avoiding a couple of oncoming pass rushers, or turning a botched hand off into a bootleg, he looks good on his feet for such a big man.The remaining weeks of the season will hopefully reveal more of Russell's skills if Kiffin stays with the plan to give him one or two drive cameo's, and despite the temptation as a fan to just say put him in and lets have some fun, the Coach has decided a way to go with JaMarcus and if it ultimately reaps rewards next year then we will thank Lane Kiffin.

A lot of good things came out of last nights game, other than the sight of JaMarcus Russell.Justin Fargas was outstanding, every carry was delivered at full speed with some great cut backs and total guts, and his TD was the crowning glory of a great day's work, Huggy is now on target for a 1000 plus yard season and deserves all the plaudits he is getting at the moment.Zach Miller is starting to show that he can be a pass catching threat at the TE position, having already shown his ability as a blocker, making some nice grabs and getting some real separation against what is supposed to be a good pass defense.Barry Simms and Robert Gallery seem to have returned to their early season form, with the running game going predominantly to the left.Chris Clemons is emerging as a nice compliment to Derek Burgess, as well as being an inspirational story.The special teams deserve a mention, with the kick coverage stepping up after the loss of Jarrod Cooper, and Chris Carr benefiting from some big holes on returns.We should also thank Travis Henry for setting us up nicely for 14 points following his fumbles, he should just go home, roll a fat one and forget about it.

The RAIDER team that we saw last night was almost un-recognisable in attitude terms, to the one that went six games without a win.The win in KC seems to have given the players a new belief in themselves and the system.Lane Kiffin has said that he found out a great deal about himself and his players during that period, and props to the HC, he seems to have kept the team with him throughout which bodes well for the future.

Beating the Donkey's is always a pleasurable experience, to do it with real attitude is even better.The final piece of humble pie came for Shanahan when he watched as Cutler knelt to concede the game to the Silver and Black, that's right Cutler kneel for mercy.

On to Lambeau Field and a Favre-less Packers.Three in a row?At least we don't look silly for suggesting it all of a sudden.Speaking of silly, having just watched the post game interview's, it should be said, JaMarcus, Joseph would like his dreamcoat back.