RAIDERNATION UK

I was contacted last week by one of the guys who runs a Raider website that seems to be in it's infancy, but has been well designed and seems to be one to keep an eye on for the RAIDER NATION.The reason that the site deserves a special mention here is that the guys are also based over here on this side of the Pond.Oh yes, the Limey RAIDERS are on the increase.The enthusiasm shown by RAIDER fans worldwide is one of the things that makes the NATION what it is.
All the RAIDER fans out there that read the Black Flag Network please take a look at ukraidernation.co.uk and give the guys some support .

Cheers

THE SKY ISN'T FALLING....PROBABLY.

Looking at the RAIDERS prior to the FA market opening up, the main areas of need for the team were pretty clear.DT/DE, WR, OL, S.

So far with Wilson, Walker, Harris, Carter and the re-signing of Tommy Kelly and Cornell Green, it seems like the terminally dysfunctional Silver and Black have spent their time actually dealing with stuff.Maybe, and this is only a maybe, Lane Kiffin has been so quiet with the media since the season ended because he has been busy planning for next.Maybe, just maybe, that "senile old goat" Mr Davis hasn't lost it completely yet, they have even been able to come to a mutual compromise on Dominic Rhodes' contract, this is getting plain weird.

That's what got me thinking, and that isn't always a good thing.If indeed the RAIDERS have a plan, and it seems that they do have some sort of plan to get better, then what have they got up their sleeves?

I have no doubt in my mind that Al would love Chris Long to be a RAIDER, but it seems increasingly unlikely that he will still be there when pick number four comes around, and with the most glaring of team needs seemingly dealt with in free agency, it's becoming increasingly intriguing as to where we will go in the first round of the draft.

The D-line, specifically at DE seems to be an area that could be strengthened further, and with Long gone that would possibly open the way for a pick spent on Vernon Gholston, whose stock seems to be on the rise following impressive showings at the combine and the subsequent Buckeyes pro day.Dorsey and Ellis could still be there at four, but DT looks pretty solid if Sands, Kelly, and Warren are ready to step up.The drafting of Gholston would possibly hint at a switch to Rob Ryans favoured 3-4 scheme.The last time that he tried to implement it the personnel was wrong, but the present D has players that will fit this time around.

With the news that the RAIDERS may be bringing in DeAngelo Hall, giving up our second round draft pick in the process ( which I can't decide is a good thing or not ), the impact of our first round pick becomes almost the final piece in this off-season jigsaw, with us then having no pick until round four.I have two theories on this first round pick right now, I say right now because just when I think I am settled on what the RAIDERS strategy is going to be, they go and sign someone else.As of right now, I am firmly and resolutely, without a shadow of a doubt believe that two things may happen, which automatically means lump your money on exactly the opposite.Either A) Lane Kiffin has persuaded Al to trade down and acquire some picks to load up on more talent, which seems a possibility with Kiffin's college recruitment background, or B) The Raiders will give it one more check out the size of our Silver And Black nuts move, and take Darren McFadden at number four, regardless of need.After all RAIDER NATION it would be hard to begrudge Al his athlete/speed pick after such an aggressive free agency period.

The off season that the RAIDERS have put together so far has been a surprise to me in the level of its aggressiveness, and regardless of the critics, who we will have whatever we do, no-one can deny that we will be better equipped to compete in 2008.The team is improving with the draft to come, and we split games with Denver and KC as it was last year.The raising of the game by the RAIDERS should put us in a position to challenge for the division, and a division title would be a huge step after the last few years.

The OAKLAND RAIDERS of 2008 may just be as big a surprise during the regular season as they have been during the off.And wouldn't that be a smack in the bollocks to those who have been telling us that the sky has been falling for a few weeks now, whatever happens from here, against recent odds the season is something to look forward to with optimism.

Free Agency Picks Up Momentum In Oakland

OK, here we go RAIDER NATION, it's that time of year again, and things have started to happen already in Alameda.

First Tommy Kelly gets a whopper of a contract to sign a long term deal over seven years, a deal which seems to have got the NFL's collective knickers in a twist, due to its size and recipient, and the fact that the rest of the league will have to cough up big time to pick up a DT in free agency.Only time will tell if the Kelly deal was warranted or not, but Warren Sapp seemed to be pretty confident of the guy's abilities, and a fully healthy Tommy Kelly playing inside with a big contract in his back pocket is a positive move for a team that was woeful against the run last year, who cares what the rest of the league thinks, the stock of D-linemen was on the rise anyway after the job that the NY Giants did on Brady's bunch, and with the top of the draft expected to involve Ellis, Dorsey, and Long the likelihood is that if one of these went No.1 their agents would have been looking at Mario Williams $54,000,000 contract with their clients yet to play a down in the NFL.

The inside of the RAIDERS line now has Kelly, Warren, and Sands.The DE position only really has Burgess and Jay Richardson coming back in 2008 after the loss of Chris Clemons to the Eagles.Does this point to either a draft pick up of Chris Long ( if still on the board ), or Vernon Gholston, or maybe a a rumoured shot at Jevon Kearse?Whatever the scenario you get the feeling that there is more to come concerning the D-line's look before next season.

The other pressing need on the RAIDERS D was at safety.The position needed to be upgraded and with the signing of Gibril Wilson at SS, we get a good tackler, who can also make the interception, and at the same time Micheal Huff will get the chance to switch to FS and hopefully become the big play guy that he looked in college.Huff hasn't delivered as a RAIDER so far, but this just might be the change he needs to kick start his NFL career.

On the other side of the ball there are things happening too, and irons in the fire it seems.Jerry Porter is gone, and I will not be missing him anytime soon although the RAIDERS offence could do as he has the ability to put up numbers when he can be bothered.The receiving corps looks decidedly weak at the moment and Jamarcus Russell needs some weapons to go to work with.The rumour mill had the RAIDERS looking at both Bernard Berrian and Donte Stallworth, both players now elsewhere, the possibility of Drew Carter visiting Alameda, even though the upcoming draft seems to be a deep one at WR you would expect that Al Davis and Lane Kiffin would like to have an experienced new guy in to compliment Curry and Higgins.

It was bye bye to Barry Simms AND Josh McCown, unless of course the RAIDERS re-negotiate with Simms before the season if he isn't offered a spot elsewhere.With Robert Gallery seemingly settled at LG, the LT spot will be a position of need to help keep Mr Russell in one piece.If Michigan's Jake Long is still there at No4, and with say Chris Long already gone, it could be OL in round one again for the RAIDERS, which is slightly worrying after the ups and downs of the afore-mentioned Gallery.The RAIDERS were a running team first in 2007, and with a returning Justin Fargas and a healthy Micheal Bush, it would be fair to assume that this will be the case again in 2008, but there were hints from Lane Kiffin that next season would see the playbook open up the passing game.If indeed this is the case, obviously the receiver position is going to be important but so will LT with an inexperienced QB back there.

The loss of McCown will hardly keep me up at night, but that leaves the RAIDERS with Andew Walter backing up Russell at this point, and unless it is planned to bring back Culpepper, there isn't much out there as far as FA QB's go.

There are twists and turns between here and the draft, but the team has made moves in and out that seem to have steadied the ship some more.Although the subsequent moves will be the more important, we have made a start, and the fear that free agents would not touch the "dis functional" RAIDERS has cleared to some degree as the great leveller ($$$$$$$$$) has come into play.

A few days ago RAIDERNEWS posted a piece in the Boston Herald regarding the RAIDERS franchised CB Nnamdi Asomugha, comparing the position that he finds himself in as a franchised player with that of recently departed Patriot Asante Samuel.During the article where the Herald writer was obviously dreaming of #21 in a Patriot uniform, he referred to the RAIDERS as a "second tier team".Let me give you an example of what a second tier team's players do to those connected with mouthy east coast teams with no class.Take it away Matt.......................

CAVALIER OR ROUNDHEAD ?

I have kept away from the keyboard for a while, waiting for the dust to settle on the whole Kiffin-Ryan-Davisgate thing.Mainly due to the fact that my position on the whole thing seemed to change on a daily basis, flip-flopping from the Al camp, to the Kiff camp, and back again.The changes of opinion tended to be swayed by the latest scoop, or titbit of information that was given to us by the reporters covering the situation.

The story, or stories, have certainly split the RAIDER NATION down the middle, as it had split my reasoning, you're either with Al or Kiffin, and the level of Al bashing has risen to new heights.This is what it was like in the English Civil War, forced to choose, father against son, brother against brother,only with less facial warts and violence (so far).

It seems as though every gentleman and lady (and Nancy Gay) of the press has had something to say on the matter.As it continued one phrase seemed to pop up on a regular basis, "a source close to the Raiders".But who is this source?Who is it that is so close to Al and the organisation that he/she is privy to the most clandestine of internal RAIDER decisions, yet continuously gets away with leaking information to the press on a regular basis?

It took some investigation, painstakingly undertaken, but I can reveal the name of the mole at 1220.RAIDER NATION I give you FANNY ADAMS, SWEET FANNY ADAMS.There you go, there she is revealed to us all, anytime that the Schefter's or the McDonald's of this world need a big story on the most secretive NFL team in the league, run by an owner that trusts few, who is coached by a man that won't even give you the name of a starting QB on a friday, they just call upon FANNY.As if by magic she will have been present to witness a lot of things, Oh yes, FANNY misses nothing.

Don't get me wrong, there is often no smoke without fire.I can believe that Davis and Kiffin had a difference of opinion on the future of Rob Ryan, after all the media had decided after the San Diego game that he was gone so it was obvious when the Ryan firing didn't happen, that there must be a story there.FANNY!

Lane Kiffin and Rob Ryan only spoke about the initial rumours once during the build up to the North South game.LK "Rob has a contract with the RAIDERS and he'll be back, he'll be our co-ordinator and we are excited about that".RR "Everything's been cool.Some reporters don't know shit, so they make up a story out of nothing.I'll be back absoloutely.If they want to win a championship, they need to keep us together."

But that didn't deter the intrepid newshounds.

FANNY had seen a letter of resignation.It was drafted by Al Davis, who then requested that it be delivered to Lane Kiffin, who refused to sign.Isn't that something that Al would pull?, after all we have been told of his vindictiveness many times before.FANNY confirmed its existence, in fact FANNY had delivered it herself and it wasn't in an envelope or anything.And who did FANNY decide to give this information to?That bastion of sporting journalism BS sorry ESPN.

Things were sort of dying down a bit in Kiffin-Ryan-Davisgate, it was becoming too quiet in fact.FANNY!

Out she came, to the rescue of Jerry McDonald once more, a reporter has to make a living you know.What could she have unearthed now?.Apparentley James Lofton, despite being interviewed by Lane Kiffin and Greg Knapp, had been hired by the RAIDERS but the hire was done by someone other than Kiffin.Really? You mean the HC interviewed Lofton to come on board as WR coach and then left it to the front office to come to a contract agreement?Thats a disgrace.Hang on that sounds like possibly the way a hire would come about.FANNY!

Oh yeah, well, no-one told Lane Kiffin that Lofton had been hired, he had to hear it from a third party who was not affiliated with the RAIDERS, said FANNY.

John Herrera responded by saying that Lane knew that if the organization could agree to terms that James would be on board," we haven't finalized an agreement. We hope to in the next few days." And why wouldn't Kiffin himself respond to all the great stuff that FANNY had leaked Mr Herrera? "He doesn't want to get in a situation where he is more caught up in responding to rumors than he is coaching the football team."

While the McDonald's, Miller's, Gay's, and Dickey's were either pulling their FANNY out at any given moment, or just using the opportunity to put another boot into Al Davis ( good old Nancy Gay re-writing the Randy Moss trade) there were some like Steve Corkran and Dave Del Grande who were reporting the facts from the only established information that had been given out by any of the parties involved.Del Grande even saying "Use common sense before before accepting as gospel everything you hear or read."

So where are we at?Well the facts are:-

1. Al Davis is still the ownwer of the RAIDERS

2. Lane Kiffin is still the Head Coach of the RAIDERS.

3. Rob Ryan is still the DC of the RAIDERS.

4. James Lofton is still to be confirmed as a member of the RAIDERS coaching staff.

5. Kiffin has hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Brad Roll( the front office again amazingly handled the contract details).And FANNY didn't come up with that name either, it really is true.Although my own FANNY tells me that the RAIDERS are currently scouring the nation for a coach named P. Soup to assist him.

During the many debates that have erupted within the NATION over the last few weeks the Anti-Al camp have used the term sheeple for those of us that have chosen to believe that maybe Davis wasn't as senile as some would have it.Who knows, I may indeed be a AD sheeple, BAAH.But at this point I prefer that to being a FANNY sheeple.As far as I can see, the facts listed above relate little to what the FANNY sheeple were led to believe, so at this point my flock is at least dealing in fact.

I don't like everthing that Al Davis does, if we get into a discussion on the merits of his drafting in recent years for instance, me and Al are going to fall out.I also don't agree with everything that the RAIDERS do, or how they do it.But the recent hysteria aimed at making Al, Lane Kiffin, and the RAIDERS in general look stupid, for me is starting to make those who have had their collective FANNY'S out look pretty stupid.If Al Davis goes and fires Lane Kiffin next week, which I doubt, then I will have to re-evaluate again, because it would then be fact.Until then....

Elsewhere............

It was such a shame that the New England Patriots could not complete a perfect season on Sunday.Not.
Do the Patriots now apply for a 19-0 trademark for next year?Some bandwagon jumping, Brady gameshirt wearing types may suggest that a fan of a 4-12 team should not be poking fun at a team that won eighteen straight games in the same season.But I haven't laughed so much since, well since San Diego lost a couple of weeks ago.
To the quitter that is Randy Moss, it was great to see you standing on the sideline realising that it had all been for nothing, that's Karma Mr Moss.
To the Patriots organisation, caught cheating but relatively un-punished, that's Karma Mr Belichick.
Roger Goodell looked as if he was going to be physically ill as he handed the Lombardi to the Giants.Shellshocked I think the word is.That wasn't supposed to happen.My golden boys were supposed to create history, who knows maybe Arlen Specter would have let it go in all the hoopla.That's Karma Mr Goodell.

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

Sometimes there are choices put before you that are hard to choose from.You could be given the option of a kick in the nuts or a crowbar around the head.You could be faced with having to listen to Justin Timberlake or whale music, or you could have to select from crimpelene slacks or brown cords (cords every time).Either way you are choosing something that is particularly offensive.

And so we get to the AFC Championship this Sunday.Could it be any worse?Well it could be but it's hard to imagine how, our hated divisional rivals versus the Westworld Patriots.

I do like to watch the Championship games, but then the Colts went and ruined it, at least I had a team to cheer on if they had beat the Chargers.But oh no, lets have the AFC Champs game that we all didn't want.Cheers NFL.Now what?
I don't like Tom Brady, I don't like the Patriots and their World League uniforms, I don't like Big Bad Bill and his cronies.
But I really hate Philip Rivers, what a classless cretin that bloke is.LT is a crybaby and a girl, at least Rivers went back into the game ,LaDainian you great ponse.
So here's the scenario folks, this is how it goes down in the land of the Pond.
The AFC Championship game is horrendously one sided.The Chargers are humiliated by the Westworlders in every aspect of the game, Rivers is pummelled into the ground, and he tries to jaw it with the fans but the oxygen mask interferes with that, game over NE 38 SD 7.
Bye Bye San Diego for another year, and the cheating tarts advance.Great.
At this point the Gods of all that is good and fair descend upon Arizona and curse the very ground that the New England Cheatriots walk upon making sure that the winners of the NFC Championship game become Superbowl Champs and rightly so.I am an AFC guy but come on what can we do?
So at this point I have to nail my SB colours to the mast, and they shall be Green and Yellow.Thats a bad combination, it looks bad and there is no getting away from it.But the Green Bay fans are to me, the closest to the RAIDER NATION out there,as much as I have tied to dis-like Brett Favre and his ever-present wife I can't, sorry.
But how can Roboteam be beaten I hear you ask.I'll tell you how, by us all really concentrating hard and picturing all good things in a green and yellow hue, go on its a good thing.God bless the Brett or for that matter Eli, we as the RAIDER NATION love you all, sort it out chaps, you know it's right.
Lets face it the cheats getting to the SB and losing is a great option, 1 game shy of the perfect sesson, ideal.

COMMITMENT TO VIOLENCE.

One of my favourite commentary moments from this season was when Justin Fargas was described as a man who ran with violence.Body on the line every carry, full commitment.
No surprise that he is the recipient of the 2007 Commitment To Excellence Award.RAIDERS teammates realise the extent of the effort put in by him, as do the RAIDER NATION.Hopefully Fargas is back in 2008 and some of that work ethic rubs off on those around him.
The award is richly deserved, and his performances during this season have represented the type of pride and skill that we want to see back as a regular sight at the McAfee Coliseum.Congratulations to Justin and may the violence continue....

Sunday night's season finale at home to the Chargers brought a few things into sharper focus here at the Pond.

1. JaMarcus Russell is raw, in some respects he's really raw, but the flashes of talent were there too, and after the worst possible start he had some good moments, notably that TD pass to Jerry Porter.While watching the first ( just win ) baby steps of Russell's career, it is obvious that the package that the coaches have designed for the big man is very limited, and couple with that the fact that his surrounding cast are very limited too, then it becomes intriguing as to what the 2008 Raiders offense will look like with JR having had a full pre-season under his belt, and a full playbook at his disposal.

2. That surrounding cast has to get a lot better this off season.We need some real impact players, some weapons for Russell, a WR that gives a bonafide deep threat is a must, the running back position needs sorting out, much of which will be dependant on Jusin Fargas' decision about where he will be next year.A couple more free agent linemen of the quality of Cooper Carlisle wouldn't go amiss either.

3. Phillip Rivers looks like a big girls blouse, he also acts like one.Following on from the previous weeks my dads bigger than your dad session with that other tart from Denver, Sunday saw Philip getting upset because the OAKLAND fans were cheering when he hit the turf under the frame of Tyler Brayton.What does he want the opposing fans to do? Watch the big screen nervously until brave soldier Philip gets up, then sportingly applaud him from the field?Philip dear, you were in OAKLAND in a Chargers jersey, on the floor.Only way that gets any better is if your arm breaks, get the picture?

4. I am rarely more nervous than when Johnnie Lee Higgins is stood looking skyward.

5. Important decisions need to be made on Defense.The line needs to be added to, we need something done at the safety position, Nnamdi needs to be signed asap.It was understandable that Lane Kiffin trusted the D going into the season, and equally understandable that he is disappointed by this years showing.It remains to be seen how much that disappointment reflects on Rob Ryan.

6. The change of direction and attitude within the OAKLAND RAIDERS organisation has started.The team played hard until the last game regardless of the fact that they came up short more often than not, indicative that the players have stayed "In", and judging by the crowd at the Coliseum the Nation is well and truly "In" too.

7. As the RAIDERS completed a 4-12 season last weekend, the New England Patriots completed a 16-0 one.That means that next season a storied franchise has every chance to continue it's rise back to winning ways, and one soul-less westworld commissioners pet will have only downhill to go in 2008.Good news, Happy New Year.