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.

EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM.

Firstly, did that feel good or what?

For the second year running the RAIDERS went to Arrowhead and came away with a win, a win that had plenty of positives.

Darren McFadden looked the real deal, so did Micheal Bush.Mario Henderson was more Super Mario than Donkey Kong, and Rob Ryan's ass kicking materialised with the defense putting pressure on the Chiefs quarterbacks, while shutting down LJ and Dwayne Bowe.

It felt good alright, especially considering the circumstances that surrounded the team all week.Anytime you can go to a divisional rival and beat them on their turf is a sweet feeling, and it was enjoyable viewing to say the least.

BUT....

And for me there is a but.I don't want to get too excited by a win over this Chiefs team.While it was great for morale, and a little belief could go a long way for the RAIDERS right now, it must be said that Sunday's opponent's were plain bad.I accept that we looked just as bad in week one, but looking at the two teams coming into the game the RAIDERS still had the better talent, and it was down to whether the coaching staff could use that talent in the right way.

Rob Ryan did his bit, after the no blitz zone of week one, we blitzed early and often and with Damon Huard knocked out of the game early, it would have been criminal to lose that game to a Tyler Thigpen lead offense.And despite a convincing looking scoreboard, the game was still in the balance after the Bush fumble that gave the Chiefs the ball back and down by a score.Thankfully Cpt. Kirk held onto that interception and Bush atoned for his mistake with a great TD run to kill it off once and for all.

Kiffin's playcalling was better than week one, but still I wasn't convinced.Tyvon Branch's interception in the first half gave us the ball at the nine, and we had to settle for a field goal after Kiffin had called two passes and one McFadden run up the middle.Where was Bush?Russell's stats aren't pretty either, 6 / 17 for 55yds going into Buffalo who are allowing only 91 rushing YPG is a worry.

Trust me I am over the moon with a win in Kansas City, I just don't want to go from thinking that we are terrible, to all of a sudden we are great, because the truth will be somewhere in between and the visit to Buffalo will answer many more questions than the Chiefs game did, and the 0-2 Chargers (oh that sounds good) have played better than their record suggests.The RAIDERS ground game will give us a chance in Buffalo, although they have been stingy against the run, San Diego on the other hand are 25th against the run and no doubt Kiffin will put the ball in the hands of McFadden and Bush again in Oakland.If that D turns up again for the next two weeks who knows....

So some optimism, but very very cautious optimism.

EMBARRASSING.

I set my alarm clock for that.I got out of my bed at 2:30 a.m., and ran the risk of waking the wife and kids.I could have recorded it and watched it at a less un-godly hour.But no, I wanted to watch the start of a new season live, that'll teach me won't it?

I couldn't remember being more angry after a football game, probably after the tuck game, but that was anger at an injustice served on a talented RAIDER team.Last nights ( or early this mornings ) anger was aimed directly at the RAIDERS in general, whether that be Al, Kiffin and his staff, or the players.To be perfectly honest I am still trying to see the wood from the trees on where the lions share of blame should be placed for what was a truly embarrassing night in front of the fans of all the other NFL teams.

Al Davis has his detractors from within the Nation, and last night will only increase their calls for him to relinquish his position.As a long time supporter of Mr Davis, I cannot honestly think of too much of a defense that he may have against those opinions this morning, and it pains me to say it.Regardless of how much truth there was to all the summer stories relating to Al and and his young Head Coach, it would seem from the demeanour of Kiffin and the way in which he has bemoaned the depth of talent on this team that all is far from rosy in Alameda.Kiffin, as far as I can see, has been making sure that he is seen to be in a position where final decisions on players are taken from him.If this is the case, then the buck stops with Al, he and his yes men within the organisation have to take responsibility for what was, outside of Darren McFadden, a pretty un-inspiring draft.He also has to take responsibility for the contracts given to players if his head coach did not believe they were what the team required,although it must be said that Javon Walkers' subsequent problems and Drew Carters injury are out of even Al's control.If indeed owner and coach had got to a point where the only reason for them to still be together was a reluctance to pay the guy off, then this season is well and truly doomed, and so is the position of Lane Kiffin.

Lane Kiffin is far from blameless in all this though.The gameplan that was set out last night for the whole football watching public to see was, in the words of Jay Schroeder who was working on the U.K. broadcast "pathetic".During that first half the DC of the Donkeys must have popped out for a beer and a hot dog, he must have thought that Christmas had come early, such was the limited array of plays called by Kiffin/Knapp.The passing game was severely hindered by the losses of Walker and Carter, but as a coaching staff the offensive plan had to be better than just run, until we are behind then just pass.

Regardless of injuries on the night and Kiffin's apparent displeasure with what he has at his disposal, that was possibly the worst coached, most ill-prepared team I can remember seeing in Silver and Black, the much and rightly maligned Shell/Walsh team of a couple of years ago met it's match in every way.Little creativity on Offense, stupid penalties, players seemingly unsure of formations, and the inability of Rob Ryan's defence to stop an opponent.The D was disappointing with absoloutely no push up front, and a promising backfield made to look very ordinary (DeAngelo Hall particularly), mainly by a rookie reciever, although Cutler looked like he was running through a no contact practice at times with that lack of pressure.Russell on the other hand was hurried and pressured repeatedly all night.In fact Russell did have quite a few good throws in the second half considering the general meltdown going on all around him.The lack of plays designed to get the ball to McFadden in the open field to use his speed, and his abscense from the field for prolonged periods were maddening, the lack of Bush when the Offense got inside the ten yard line was mystifying to me as a fan, all this together with the seeming reluctance to let our No1 overall QB take a couple of shots early have all but removed any confidence I had in Kiffin/Knapp.The Kiffin offence just seemed at odds with the skillset that his starting quarterback posesses.

This years schedule up until yesterday was rightly viewed as a soft one.After last nights performance the next three games leading up to the bye week, at the Chiefs and Bills and home to the Chargers suddeneley look ominous.The Bills looked good in their win, and the Chiefs/Chargers although losers in week one will not see anything to fear from this RAIDERS team.That bye week could be an important week, if the record shows the RAIDERS at worse than 2-2, the end might just come for Lane Kiffin, and Al will have to suck it up and pay the man off.The lack of stability at head coach is one of the factors that have us where we are as a club right now, but as much as I wanted this head coach to be around for a few years, the way I feel right now, I wouldn't be too sad to see him go.Last night was unacceptable, we are the OAKLAND RAIDERS, not the Cardinals, the Bengals, the Lions, or the Chargers.This is a team that has a truly illustrious past and the slide has to be stopped now.

If the problems are all rooted with the man at the top then unfortunately the RAIDERS problems may not have completely bottomed out, and that is a scary prospect.If the standard of coaching that was displayed at the Coliseum last night is indicative of what Lane Kiffin's summer preparation has produced, then he needs to be doing something else, somewhere else.I can't believe I saved all year to travel out and watch the same shit happen again.Thankfully there is good company to distract from the football.In the words of The Stranglers, "Something better change".

STANDING ON THE EDGE.

This for me has been a weird pre-season, it has ebbed and flowed from a high one minute to a low the next.A chink of light here, a moment of true optimism there, followed by misfortune and the thud of my expectations hitting Terra firma once again.

There had been the early signs that JaMarcus had done his homework this summer and was ready to go, a QB that knew that he was expected to lead and had come to the camps looking sharp.We had a new star RB in McFadden and another in the wings in Bush, all ready to form a three headed rushing steam train with the Hugster.

The receiving corps had seen an upgrade, with what was really Miller, Curry, Porter and some bit parts becoming Javon Walker, Curry, Drew Carter and Miller, and a second chance for JLH backed by a couple of young guys in Schilens and Shields.

The defense had added DeAngelo Hall, and possibly as importantly brought in Gibril Wilson which allowed Mike Huff to move to FS where he could use the skills he had shown in college.

Some seemingly good signings on the D-line to add competition.

All that stuff was great as it seemed.

Then we got:

Walker auditioning for UFC in Vegas.

Coach Kiffin having a bigger than usual sulk in training camp.

The same coach Kiff throwing around thinly veiled acidic comments meant for certain ears in a certain office.

Russel looking less than a world beater in pre-season, although hampered by some safe almost reticent play calling.

Which was not helped by pass blocking of the bad kind.

Drew Carter being lost for the year.

Losing Oren O' Neal to another bad injury.

DeAngelo Hall seemingly not impressed by the RAIDERS prognosis of a hand injury ( although it must be said, he could just be a big girls' blouse ).

Nnamdi and his forced absence from most of pre-season.

The loss of Gene Upshaw.

More grumbling from Kiffin and the lack of talent he had at his disposure.

You see where I am going with this.......

As a RAIDER fan who usually has a Silver and Black optimism cloaking the glaringly obvious going into most of the past few seasons, even the one where we had an offensive co-ordinator that would have been handed his own you know what by me on any Madden version he cared to choose, this pre-season that had seemed to offer so much had suddenly gone as we say in jolly old blighty - " tits up ".

I don't remember being this worried this time last year.I was so sure that things would get better, despite the fall-out from , well, lets call it resignationletter-gate - snappy I know.

In some ways though it feels good to be a pessimist.There is not a great deal that could get me suicidal at this point, well, apart from a humiliating defeat by old crispy face and his orange brethren next Monday.Maybe , just maybe, Lance has been playing a blinder so far, keeping the rest of the AFC West believing that the RAIDERS are indeed a long way from challenging yet again.

We as the RAIDER faithfull can but only hope that something has changed, whether it be in the collective mindset of the players ( and who knows a rookie like Run DMC could give the whole team a belief ), or whether it be in the faith that a young head coach puts in his team, really puts in his team.And by that I mean come third and long at the whatever next Monday, lets put it into the hands of the black Elvis (Is it only me that thinks that Russell sounds just like the KING?) AND PLAY SOME RAIDER FOOTBALL, it's about time don't you think?

We are standing on the edge of a new season once again and I would love for my pre-season blues to be just that, I am a miserable tart after all.

After all is said and done I still can't wait for the new season, and look forward to seeing all of you over there on TV on Monday Night Football, only (ONLY!!!! ) eight weeks till we see the East Bay once again.

Keep the Guinness pump lubricated at Ricky's, keep Al at the Hilton Gardens Inn in a job ( God bless him ), and the eggs and soldiers are on us Southshield - see you soon.