#2.IF THE NUMBER FITS.

The hiatus is over here at the pond, sorry to the five readers and my dog but times they were a changing.So here goes.............

During last nights game commentary, as the discussion turned to JaMarcus Russell, it was stated that Tom Cable had said that last year the coaching staff gave their QB only 40% of the playbook to worry about, and this year they had doubled it to 80%.

That is a truly remarkable statement.Our head coach is saying that our No1 pick quarterback, with a full season of starting behind him, and another full training camp, is still not able to grasp all of the playbook.I doubt that there is another starting QB in the league that is less than 100% familiar with his teams playbook, or put another way, I doubt that there is another coaching staff in the NFL that has to restrict their options by 20% based on the ability of their own starting quarterback.



The difference that Richard Seymour made to the RAIDERS defensive line, after only a couple of days in town, showed the effect that one player can have on a unit, and there is no doubt that through three quarters last night the defense played some great football, good enough to give a team a chance in most games.I believe that had the RAIDERS started the game with a serviceable NFL QB, nothing special, you know someone who has the playbook down, who doesn't continually lock onto a primary receiver, or have ongoing accuracy problems, that we would have had that game won.The addition of Seymour on the defensive side of the ball will make people better around him, his play and attitude will instill confidence in team-mates, it seems to have happened already.At no point during yesterday's game did I feel that Russell could have a similar effect on offense and for a No.1 pick that is worrying.Add to the admission that 20% of the playbook is still being kept away from Russell that Steve Young thought that the coaches should make it simpler still.


It may seem harsh to level so much at Russell after one game of a new season, he had a couple of rookie receivers out there which won't have helped but a lot of the eighteen passes that were not completed were way off target.The problem too for me is that he is making the same types of mistakes that he was making as a rookie, there doesn't seem to be a progression.We all know what a capable NFL calibre quarterback looks like, not everyone can be a Brady or Manning but they can run an offense.There are rookies who come in and do well like Flacco and Ryan and look the part immediately, while we are babying a third year guy.If things had gone differently and Al could have resisted the Russell factor, we may have now had Calvin Johnson and Trent Edwards rather than #2, and after watching Edwards operate the Bills no-huddle offense this week oh how I would take that scenario right now, in fact the development of Edwards up to this point only highlights where Russell should be.Edwards was by no means perfect but he lead a more sophisticated offense than the RAIDERS do, and he did it well.



I'm not saying that all the other players in a RAIDER uniform were blameless .There were drops and missed opportunities, some iffy looking kick coverage, some far too soft defensive playcalling in the fourth quarter, and lets not get onto the Murphy TD that then wasn't, maybe you need to hold onto a ball till you get home after the game these days, who knows.DHB wasn't a factor at all, and there are still issues with the linebacking corps, but none of this is as important as Russell.There could be a case to level criticism at the coaches for our franchise QB's lack of improvement, but the RAIDERS did get an experienced quarterback guy in Paul Hackett to help, and that is why I was looking for the difference in Russell this pre-season and especially last night, but didn't see it.I want Russell to do well, I want him to win, he's the quarterback of the OAKLAND RAIDERS, I just don't see him becoming what a No.1 overall pick with those physical attributes should.

There were reasons for great optimism.Seymour and Ellis, Mario Henderson looking the real thing at LT and doing a job on Merriman ( lose the Mohawk, how old are you?), the Bush and McFadden combination, and to see a real intensity on Defense in general, those fellas went and knocked SD around, it was a beautiful thing to see so many Chargers staying on the ground after contact, jesus even McFadden was laying people out.We have Schilens to come back who looks a real player, and Barnes to maybe upgrade the RT position, and we didn't get blown out this year in week one.But all this optimism seems misguided if our supposed franchise QB is a liability, an average QB would give us a chance in the AFC West this year so lets see if he can become average but consistently average, I don't have a good feeling about him though.

Something else that bothered me about MNF :

I get the whole AFL Legacy thing, it's an anniversary and all that, and the throwback jerseys are a nice idea, well if your a Denver or Jets fan that may not be the case, I'm sure those yellow and brown shirts are going down a storm in Colorado!But the RAIDERS in white at home, come on thats just not right, I haven't seen a good explanation for this yet, all I can come up with is that the away shirt looks more obviously retro with the silver numbers and more likely to stimulate sales.Thats all well and good but we play in black, NFL.BLACK.

Onwards and upwards RAIDER NATION, two divisional games on the horizon and an opportunity to feel better after smacking around some Chiefs and Donkeys, and speaking of Donkeys how is it fair that they play that poorly and still win in that manner, they were playing the bloody Bengals for gods sake, you shouldn't need that sort of luck to do that, they lost more games than we did last year!The division is there to be taken if JaMarcus can turn the babying into Just Win Babying.


AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE RAIDER NATION......................

Saturday Sept 19th 2009 is International Talk Like A Pirate day.SHIVER ME TIMBERS.
All self respecting RAIDER fans need to pop a parrot on a shoulder of choice, break out the full pirate regalia and do someting to a mainbrace.AHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Carrying a cutlass is generally frowned upon by most police forces though, so do be careful.

IN CABLE WE TRUST ?

OAKLAND RAIDERS 27 HOUSTON TEXANS 16

We've had some bloody miserable weekends once again this year RAIDER NATION.So it was a pleasant change on Sunday to see a fourth win, it doesn't excuse some of the other things that have gone on and it doesn't make the bogeyman go away but the OAKLAND RAIDERS played with some swagger whilst resembling a real life NFL team, following a three week hiatus from that distinction since the win over Denver.
We used McFadden effectively, Johnnie Lee Higgins seems set to be a star, our QB looked poised and made some nice throws down the field to a young set of receivers who looked to be revelling in the responsibility, it helped that the offensive line boosted by Mario Henderson's performance at LT gave Russell time and the Defense knocked some people around and made some plays.Both teams had little to play for other than pride, but the RAIDERS did just that, and it begged the question as to whether these players' are simply trying to salvage that pride personally or are still playing hard for Tom Cable.
If, and it is a big if, the RAIDERS can get a win against the fakey brakey pirates in Tampa next week, Cable's record as interim coach will be 4-8.Not brilliant.No not brilliant, and there have been some real pastings taken in those eight losses.But when you look at who the losses were against, there are four 10-5 teams, one 11-4 team, and an 8-7 saints team that is tough in the Superdome.Eight of the teams played under Cable are already going to the playoffs or still have a chance to, and we beat two of them.Once the season was underway, the schedule that was supposed to look a little kinder to this years RAIDERS suddenly didn't, especially on the road in N.O., Baltimore, Miami, Denver, San Diego, and Tampa.What I am trying to get around to saying is that I think that Tom Cable, in fact any incoming Head Coach interim or otherwise had a hard time getting a winning record from those games.
There have been some glaring errors along the way, but I think he has done what he can to keep the team together under difficult circumstances.There is of course that imminent fixture in the land where Pastafarians deny the legality of the pirateness, which will tell us a lot more about whether Tom Cable has still got the players' motivated, Tampa Bay need a win to get into the post season and there more than enough reasons to want to stop them doing it.
If the RAIDERS get the win Cable must be in with a shot at the Head Coach position on a permanent basis, to be honest I hope he gets that shot, overall I like the guy, he wants to be the Head Coach of the OAKLAND RAIDERS and views that as something special, and we need some continuity at some point.If the team and our young QB have to start again with another coaching staff, it could set us back again.Obviously Al's frame of mind will be what ultimately decides Cable's fate, but back to back wins to close out the season, with a lockeroom behind the Head Coach can't do any harm.Add to that a new GM with the experience to be given enough control over the footballing operations and we just might be getting somewhere.

YOU CAN'T BEAT BEATING DONKEY'S..

JAN MICHEAL VINCENT, SHANNON SHARPE, JOHN DENVER, JOHN ELWAY, KARL ROVE, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, TOM JACKSON, MIKE SHANAHAN....CAN YOU HEAR ME, YOUR BOYS TOOK A HELL OF A BEATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a good weekend, a really good weekend.And I have disliked DONKEY'S since struggling to stay on one whist full of sangria in Ibiza some years ago.

OK so Bjorge Lillelien probably had more to to crow about as Norway beat England in Oslo in 1981, but his famous (in England) rant was the first thing that sprang to mind last night as the DONKEY'S were humiliated in their own stadium.So what if they did it to us in week one, that is irrelevant at this point in time.We have had to endure a lot as RAIDERS fans so far this season, so a victory like the one we saw this weekend, should be savoured, considering how much of an underdog we were.

Theres nothing quite like seeing the DONKEY faithfull with their bottom lips out having to take a beating from the hated RAIDERS, and nothing like seeing Jay Cutler begging the ref's after every play for another penalty.Come on Cutler they were doing their best with a couple of terrible roughing the passer calls and throwing a flag on Johnnie Lee Higgins for enjoying himself after another TD return.But we managed to play for four quarters and didn't really look like blowing it this time, although early in the second quarter after the RAIDERS had gone to what is now THE ZACH MILLER PLAY, where Russell fakes a hand-off and rolls out to his right to hit Miller deep, the offense managed to go from 1st and goal at the three yard line to settling for a FG, as has happened so many times this season.Tom Cable at least changed things in the second half this week and gave the ball to Darren McFadden down at the goal-line and 14 points came from those touches.

The thing that I really felt during the game though was confidence.The players looked confident in each other, even when the Donkey's drew level at 10-10, they stayed calm and got right back on the horse, pun fully intended.Wherever the confidence was drawn from it was evident in all phases of the game for the RAIDERS.The much maligned offensive line were able to give JaMarcus Russell more time to pass, and that combined with receivers making some plays made for Russell looking as composed as he has done all year.He only attempted eleven passes I know, but ten of them were completions with some really nice throws, including a dart to Ashley Lelie for his TD.Justin Fargas ran really hard for a 100+ yard day and Darren McFadden looked dangerous.Chris Johnson continues to impress as the new sidekick to Nnamdi, and looks far more comfortable in the RAIDERS system than his predecessor did.Add to that a little bit of razzmatazz from Johnnie Lee Higgins and a solid defensive display and suddenely there seems to be a team in there somewhere.Tom Cable has been getting a lot of criticism recently but should get a pat on the back for some improved play calling that had the RAIDERS looking poised and actually fun to watch for a change.

There will be those that will say that we beat a DONKEY team that were suffering from injuries, but this is the NFL and they come with the territory.We still had to beat a divisional rival in their own back yard and any way that happens for the RAIDERS at the moment is just fine.

The question now is can that confidence be carried into next week with another old enemy stopping by the Coliseum?Following the RAIDERS last win over the Jets, when it seemed that we may have some new momentum, we faced a tough trip to Baltimore.This time we are at home against a 1-10 team.If there was ever a time that the RAIDERS had a chance to put together back to back wins, surely this is it.

Sunday November 23rd 2008 could be a day to look back on when an OAKLAND RAIDERS team said enough is enough, when the worm turned.It could also just be a fluke result in a bad division.I hope that it is the former, but I intend to enjoy the warm glow of a successful DONKEY WEEK, and if it is followed by a successful CHIEFS WEEK, we could find ourselves with the same record as Norv's powder puffs.Whod'a thunk it?

GROUNDHOG DAY

When Johnnie Lee Higgins ran that punt back for a 93 yard TD with 4:48 left I did two things.

1) I ran around the house celebrating, and

2) I said "But we will still lose"

Thats where we are as a fan base.It was obvious that we would not be able to keep the Miami Dolphins from scoring.I wanted to believe but that nagging doubt was there and rightfully so.We are the kings of blowing everything right now, that game was there for the taking and once again we let it go.The 4th and 5 that would have effectively given us the win was so obviously not going to go in our favour it was untrue.We knew that Pennington would find an open receiver and that he did.Unfortunately that is the present day Oakland Raiders, we get in a position to win a game and then find a way to lose it.Even though I had forecast the outcome of that particular play it was still hard to swallow, and we can talk defensive schemes till they come out of our ears but a team that wins will find a way to stop that completion.From there on it was an inevitable finish with the FG all but killing us.

Its getting really hard to find any excuses for this team and the way that they seem to lose games that are in the grasp.In the first half right at the death we had a chance to go in to the locker room level and thanks to two false start penalties on Kwame Harris and a completely busted play when Darren McFadden had no receiver ( unless it was the ghost ) to throw to, we blew it good style.A TD there would have put us level at the half having not played well at all.We had seven penalties in the game Sunday and all of them were pre-snap infractions, that is sloppy at best, dumb as shit at worst.We were once tagged the "Dumbest team in America" by our own head coach, and that passage of play from 1st and goal to 3rd and 19 summed this present RAIDERS offense up completely, Kwame Harris, who was the man who drew the two false starts could be the "Dumbest tackle in America", you heard it here first, or maybe second etc.

Unfortunately at the moment whatever the situation in a game, the RAIDERS still look likely to be crowned the LOSERS.We have forgotten how to win or avoid defeat, and I used to think that it was a cliche but we are the living proof that this can happen.I doubt that there was one RAIDER fan who believed that we could prevent the Dolphins from scoring at the end of the game, and as many that felt that JaMarcus Russell had the ability to get us to FG range with less than a minute left, and no timeouts remaining (although Seabass probably would have hit the upright ).

And I don't mean to be too tough on Russell, I thought that he showed us some really good throws into small windows during the game, with little time to throw thanks to the magnificent O-line, but he just lacked that composure at the end when most needed, hopefully that will come.I do though liken Russell's plight to that which many of us will have experienced, where we start a new job, possibly similar to the last one, where we have a lot of information to take on board quickly, and mistakes will happen when colleagues make us rush.I don't think that Russell will be a Brady or a Favre, but I don't think he will be a Marinovich or a Leaf either, in fact after seeing some of those throws on Sunday it gave me some hope that given a line and some quality receivers he could be a good NFL quarterback for some time, evading the pass rush and decision making will come.Lets face it as now this season is a bust.We have to get Darren McFadden more involved if he is, as he says, fully fit and ready to go.This last game he only touched the ball five times, which is unforgivable to me considering his speed and big play ability.Justin Fargas did his thing last year but there is a new stud in town and we need to give him the football, period.Otherwise what was the point in drafting him in the first place?

The coaching this last Sunday was too obvious to say the least, and if I think that I could call plays against it, we must be in bad shape.The Defense kept us in it once again till it mattered on that fourth and five, and the offense still couldn't produce a TD in the whole game.That lack of production on the offensive side of the ball is the big worry though.The Defense can keep us in in games as much as they want but until we pose a threat on the other side of the ball we are doomed to defeat, nil touchdowns equals nil wins.

It was good to see Ronald Curry catching passes again, and Zach Miller is a weapon who on any other team would probably be pushing for a pro-bowl berth, but it is hard to find many upsides to what's going on at the moment.The season has been lost for a long time now, let's at least see what we have with a few of the players that should still be around next year.Harris has to go, so let's put in Mario Henderson from the start and see if he has it or not, Fargas we know about, so lets see if McFadden can produce when he touches the ball 20-25 times.Let Micheal Bush take some hand offs too, if nothing else he may increase his trade value over the next few weeks, and god knows we will have to do some wheeling and dealing post season.Let's see what Chaz Schilens and Todd Watkins have got, and line them up with JLH from the start to determine if we have any true potential at all at wideout.All this might happen if Tom Cable was secure in the knowledge that he would be returning as Head Coach in 2009, but I think he will try to keep some games close as he did this week and hope that they turn into wins, but we have seen what happens when this group of players are asked to finish.So at Denver, on the RAIDERS first possession I fully expect to see the ball handed to Justin Fargas for two yards up the middle, another RAIDERS groundhog day.

NOTES FROM A TRIP TO THE DARKSIDE

The debacle that was the RAIDERS' home game versus Atlanta was all the more painful to watch here at The Pond, as The Pond was, well, across the pond.Sat overlooking the Black Hole watching all the unmitigated horror unfold,it became all the more apparent in the flesh, that right now this is a terrible football team.A team looking longingly for the end of the season, so it can go away, far away and do anything else.Nnamdi Asomugah and Shane Lechler should be going far away too, to Hawaii, but gaining pro-bowl berths on this team is going to be tough.

With a few of these notable exceptions this looked like a group of players that can't be bothered, that simply don't care about the organisation or more importantly the fans .

Yes Raider players - THE FANS, REMEMBER THEM?

Thats right, THE RAIDERNATION.

THE RAIDERNATION that travels from far and wide, country-wide, worldwide, NATIONWIDE.

I don't say this because we were there from thousands of miles away, although believe me it was taken personally, but I say it for the fans that were there from Chicago, Ohio, Connecticut, Seattle, fellow Brit's one and all.This RAIDERNATION pilgrimage happens week after week, every year, different states and different countries, which becomes increasingly amazing considering the futility of the past six seasons, with a few false dawns thrown in for good measure.

More importantly Raider players, consider the RAIDERNATION from Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, Dublin, Walnut Creek, Richmond, San Jose, L.A., CALIFORNIA.Who share their love of the team and come together with a common pride in being Raider Fans.Consider them Raider players when you walk out onto a field in the first quarter of a game with already sloped shoulders.Imagine what some of these people have sacrificed to be there to see that.Imagine what effort these people have put into that day, what they do to make the experience around Alameda County Coliseum one of the greatest on the planet.

THE RAIDERNATION puts you to shame, in the existing financial shitstorm there are fans who are losing their jobs who are still coming to the game.They still show their loyalty and love both for their team, and for their extended Raider family.All this deserves some respect, all this demands that you, the Raider players give something back, something other than disappointment.

The problem with a game like the one against the Falcons is it sucks the rationale right out of some people, so much so that they start to chant TUI, TUI, TUI before half time.It also sucks the energy from everyone else in the stadium which is replaced largely by gallows humour, you know things are bad when fans can see the funny side of an arse-kicking.There's always next week though right?

There lies the next problem, when the next opponent looks better than the one that just shut you out at home.The performance in the Panthers game was better, there was an improvement across the board, the Defense picked Jake Delhomme four times, and the freshly cut DeAngelo Hall wasn't missed at all.If only Hall's future money that was saved could be used to convince a certain No.21 to stay, but sadly it seems from recent comments, that is starting to look unlikely.The other side of the ball though improved statistically, with what subsequently was revealed to be the Tom Cable called offense, still spluttered and failed to yield touchdowns.True the figures say that the team went from 77 total yards to 259, 3 first downs to 17, and 14 minutes T.O.P. to 37 as compared to the Greg Knapp inspired effort in the Atlanta game, but it only yielded two Seabass field goals.Six points in eight quarters in two back to back home games.

It's not good enough, not by a long way.To be fair to Cable though he has been given an almost impossible task of turning around an already struggling team, with a QB who is struggling to adapt to life in the NFL, an injured star potential RB, and an OC who couldn't put points on the board.Lets hope that his taking on of play calling duties together with the return of some of his injured players sparks some progress.The news that John Wade is due to step in at center is also a possible cause for optimism, as that terrible O-line needs a veteran leader, which Jake Grove doesn't seem to be.Let's see what the Tom Cable - Head Coach/Offensive Co-ordinator/Line coach combination brings us in Miami, the fear is that the more responsibilities that he takes could lead to his own downfall.

There could be that chink of light, we have Russell (lets face it Walter wasn't any better), McFadden, and Burgess involved in practice this week, and if two of those three play on Sunday it could make a difference, especially if McFadden's feet are healed sufficiently and he can go full speed.Miami is a stadium that we went into last year with a bad team and got a win, this years Dolphins are improved since then but still unpredictable and we are still a bad team so who knows.

With the odd exception these will be the same players representing the RAIDERS on Sunday that have bailed on us the last two weeks, any level of forgiveness is far away at this moment in time.But without a hint of optimism the remainder of the season would seem pointless, and a 10,000 mile round trip to see two field goals puts me in the mood to see anything resembling a football team.

Down the line, in the aftermath of this year regardless of the coaching staff that is in place, the team is in need of major change.We need ballers plain and simple, ballers - not the fastest, not the best athletes, just plain ballers, and the turnover needs to be sweeping.The RAIDERS need to get a better standard of player in, we need more players on the roster that aren't stained by the recent festering wound of a team.Free agency aside, because look where that got us this year, we need some extra picks in the Draft collected via trades.We may have to let Aso go, because if we tag him again he walks away for nothing the year after, and whats the use of having the best corner in the game if we are falling to pieces around him?Bush or Fargas, Huff, and Burgess could also bring in picks.But all this would only be productive if we had someone within the organisation to find the right guys, a GM.Al Davis alluded to looking to make a move in the off season to bring someone in, it has to be done, we need to make changes that will help turn this around now, it has got bad enough, and maybe that penny has dropped with Al if the release of Hall is anything to go by.Time will soon tell.

During the water torture that was watching our eighth consecutive loss as paying customers at the Coliseum, the thought may have crossed our collective minds that maybe we could take a year off and go somewhere else next year, like Afghanistan.But somehow I see us back in California once again, because the team and it's failing does not diminish the bright light that is the RAIDERNATION, plus what if they started winning and we missed it.....

With that I need to say to Ricky and Tina Ricardo,the family Thurston, the Mighty South Shield, the Mighty Raiderhed, the Mighty Raiderfanradio, Steve, Chi-Chi, Rick and Misty, and all the RAIDERNATION that we shared a laugh and a beer with.We thankyou all for the welcome and the friendship, until next year GO RAIDERS.

ON THE BOATS AND ON THE PLANES, THEY'RE COMING TO AMERICA....

TODAY!!!

TODAY!!!

WELL THURSDAY.

God bless the Diamond.

Last week at home to the NY Jets the present OAKLAND RAIDERS players were treated to both the company and the wisdom of some of the great RAIDERS of the past.Players that wore the Silver & Black with pride and understood what it took to be a RAIDER.The rallying cries from Stabler, Villapiano, Madden et al hit a nerve somewhere, with the players of today hanging in there to win a game in OT to down the Brets. A smile must have crossed the face of the great George Blanda as Seabass boomed that 57 yard FG.

The response to their performance, along with the appearance of the legends, which by all accounts produced a special atmosphere at the Coliseum, should have revealed a glimpse of the love and appreciation that could be there for the 2008 RAIDERS if they too played hard every week for the RAIDER NATION.Unfortunately it seems, much of that RAIDER mentality left town with those legends if the first half of the game in Baltimore is anything to go by.The team did step up in the second half in terms of giving up points, but the damage was done in those 1st and 2nd quarters when you would have hoped that the words of the RAIDER alumni would still be ringing in the players ears.

Particularly disappointing was the way that the Defence that had harassed Brett Favre the week before couldn't do the same to Joe Flacco.The RAIDER Offence weree always going to have their hands full with the Ravens D, but it wasn't beyond the realms of reality to expect our own D to make some plays.As equally annoying as the inability to stop the Flacco-led offence are the reports of RAIDERS players behaviour during the game, with over zealous celebrations following individual defensive plays.Maybe some of that RAIDER attitude that had rubbed off on them the week before had been applied in the wrong way.Don't do it when you're 19-10 or 22-10 down in a game where the opposing rookie QB is catching passes down the sideline.Walk before you can run, let's smack some people around properly before we start all that stuff.I like Thomas Howard, and the guy usually puts in a shift, but his comments about enjoying his football whether up 30 or down 30 were misguided on a 2-5 team that has has as many issues as the RAIDERS have lately.

I still think that there is more fight in this team than there was last year, that 19-0 H/T score would have got a lot uglier then I'm sure.These players need to make a decision to want to be the difference in this team getting better, they have to want more of the feelings that they experienced in the locker room after the Jets game.And that has to be earned by playing four quarters every week home and away and see where that takes the OAKLAND RAIDERS.This team stands at 2-5, and I believe that we should or could be at 3-4 heading into back to back home games.That has been with some important pieces missing at different times - McFadden, Burgess, Carter, Fargas, O Neal and now Griffiths, plus these two upcoming home games looked a lot easier before the season got under way, particularly regarding the Carolina Panthers.

All that being said, and with Across The Silver And Black Pond literally being across the pond for both games I have to believe for my own sanity that we have a chance to add to those two wins.Tom Cable has been preaching accountability, building of foundations, and above all else faith in each other.He has made himself directly responsible for change, whether that be sitting Curry and Huff, or promising to get on top of the stupid penalties that plagued the Jets game, going from 14-85 yards to 2-10 this week.Cable's promise this time around is to get to the bottom of the problems that the RAIDERS had on offence.I have to hope that he holds good on that too, because I like the guy, I see some action to go with the talk, which is more than I felt was happening with Lance around.Cable has had three games in charge, and already I have seen some message board crybabies calling for his head, give the guy a break, the same people will probably hail him as the second coming of John Madden if we beat the Falcons.

There has been much bemoaning of the talent on this RAIDER team, and there's no doubt that the receivers and both lines are not strong enough, but if C able can get a few results with these players then for me he would deserve his shot next year.I'm not saying that I have agreed with him 100% so far, but I believe that he believes in what he is doing and that he's sincere when he says that the players are starting to as well.

This week sees our fourth trip to Oakland which will put our quest to see a RAIDERS win in the 43,000 miles bracket.That's a lot of shit movies, and ropey airline meals.So to every RAIDER player please can we get some of the Jets game mojo back, go on I dare you.

To all of those in the NATION that we have had the pleasure of meeting in the past, we look forward to your company once again.I can almost smell those Coliseum portaloos.......

Oh and Mr John Elway is worried about JaMarcus Russell's future in the game as the present RAIDERS are just not the right environment for him.Isn't it weird how because the RAIDERS are going through testing times at the moment that people like Elway feel the need to fill their boots.Well enjoy yourselves while it lasts.You do realise that people like you will be at he top of the "where are they now" list when things have turned.So thamks for the concern Mr Ed, but you better hope that you're right for your precious Donkey's sake.

NOW BACK IN THE HOSEBOX AND STFU.

TOM CABLE : HEAD COACH OF THE OAKLAND RAIDERS

I purposely kept away from commenting on the San Diego game this week, for a couple of reasons.

1) I thought that Lane Kiffin would not see the week out as Head Coach of the RAIDERS, and so

2) It seemed pointless putting down my take on what I felt were the reasons for that.

It seems poignant though now to say that I was less than enamoured by Kiffins coaching during the game, either on offense in general or by strange decisions such as the Janikowski 76 yard FG attempt before the half.I thought that the defense that had played some great stuff was put back onto the field too many times due to the bad play calling from Kiffin, and regardless of being professional athletes in what should be their prime, this contributed to them giving up plays late in the game.For me Kiffin's offense had enough occasions to put that game away, and bad decisions on his part led to the collapse of the team to a fourth quarter loss, and I won't even get into the white jersey's at home.

That said, I think it is right to say that when Al Davis hired Kiffin as HC of the RAIDERS, I as many of the Nation were taken by the young man, regardless of a rather ( and understandably ) nervous first press conference .I bought into all that Lane asked us to, I was "in" as his training camp mantra became, I thought that the old man had seen something in Kiffin that maybe he had seen in himself a long time ago.I stayed in, realising we had a young HC, until the Bronco's game this season.It was becoming harder to find any sense of charisma from the guy, and I know if you liked the guy you would disagree, but although I wanted him to succeed and he was the RAIDERS HC, I just didn't feel it deep down from him, but you know what, that really didn't matter if he turned stuff around and we started to win in his second season.

The Bronco's game for me was the end of my affinity with Lane Kiffin.There was so much wrong with that game it was hard to find a starting point.But for me if, and I mean IF, Lane Kiffin had any serious intentions of remaining HC of the RAIDERS, he would have taken the blame squarely on his shoulders, but instead he chose to pass it to Rob Ryan and Al Davis as joint defensive co-ordinators.For me, regardless of whether those accusations were true it showed that he was only concerned with how Lane Kiffin came out of that game.

And we find ourselves at September 30th 2008, with Kiffin gone and a new interim HC in place, and I would like to make some observations of what went on in Alameda today.

Firstly, I as many other RAIDERS fans I'm sure , expected to see the usual Al Davis motto laden speech that we usually get at coach PC's ( he lapsed into a couple of "we will be back, we will wins").But we got to me something else entirely.Now as of writing, I have just seen the PC, and have not seen any other fans' responses but I knew how I felt after it and wanted to put down my reaction to it.He seemed to be giving us what he had on the matter, and for all those who had wanted a response from Al during this whole affair had one.It was extraordinary viewing, in NFL owner terms, and especially in Al Davis terms, triggerred by an extraordinary situation.Al is going to get it from the Al bashers regardless of what he said but he did give us the following:

A) Kiffin had not wanted JaMarcus Russell (which explains a lot).

B) He had not sent a resignation letter to Lane Kiffin.

C) Kiffin was shopping around for a college job, but was pipped to it.

D) Kiffin had wanted his dad to be DC at the RAIDERS, and although he just thought that it was straight forward to make it happen, Al knew the rules on tampering.

E) Kiffin did suspend, then request an assistant coach to see some doctors because he questioned the Kiffin gameplan.

I have always been a RAIDER fan who has stuck by Al admittedly, and I also could see why other fans were getting upset and restless in the light of information that was coming from Kiffin, but my overwhelming feeling at the sight of Kiffy disappearing over the horizon is one of relief, and we will soon be able to tell if he was or wasn't what he said he was.With regards to Al, I was surprised at his general appearance and oratory compared to previous appearances. ie. Kiffin's HC appointment, and the network shots of him in his private box, and taken at how much that this whole thing seemed to have affected him as an owner, a boss, and on a personal level.I really felt that Al had come to the end of his tether with the guy, which is exactly what I had been feeling since the Monday Night Game.I did cringe at the start of the whole letter reading scenario, but you know what, I think it was pertinent that we fans saw that in the circumstances.Whether Davis was on the level or not in your view, I can't remember a time when he gave us so much information, probably because he felt he had to, considering the popularity Kiffin has among the Raider Nation.

Q. "Do you think that Lane Kiffin was trying to get fired"?

AD. " I don't know what he was doing.But he got me to fire him"

It remains to be seen what Kiffin will fire back with tomorrow, especially since Al referred to him as a flat out liar.And I am sure that the stories will not match.But for now we have a new, albeit, interim Head Coach.

Tom Cable, has been a good guy since he arrived .He turned our O-Line around just as his CV suggested he would, and was popular with his players.He has now got to apply that to the team as a whole.But I will say one thing for him, that initial first PC as a Head Coach was handled calmly and with an authority that was lacking from the Kiffin acceptance speech.It didn't hurt that he made reference to "growing up as a RAIDER" either, and as a guy who grew up in California maybe there is truth in that statement.Whatever the circumstances, I wish him the best as he is now the HC of the Oakland Raiders.The question of whether Rob Ryan would have a problem with his appointment for me is not an issue right now, because the elevation of Cable meant the least upheaval to the team at this point.Hopefully he will show that this is the right choice.At this point in time coming in as a HC, his experience outweighs that of Lane Kiffin and he knows the players and the staff, so I am "IN" for the Cable era as of right now, lets hope that we can show the signs of reacting to this as a club and go forwards, God knows we need it.