THE MARSHALL PLAN MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

All that I wanted was some pride, for my team t0 play as a team and some under achieving players to finally give a damn.I didn't really expect a win against the Eagles either, but it just goes to show what can happen when a group of players finally grow a pair and decide that enough is enough.It's only one game, but its a start.The difference from the team that played the Giants and Texans was night and day.

The biggest difference in the game was the DEFENSIVE PRESSURE!!!!

The RAIDERS were blitzing from the Eagles first series and kept it coming, and what a breath of fresh air it was.Maybe , just maybe Al has allowed John Marshall to do his thing, lets hope it continues for the rest of the year, we shall see.It was noticeable too, in a week when there were questions about the RAIDERS having any leaders out there, Ellis and Seymour were vocal and led by example, which sparked other players on the defensive unit.The loss of Nnamdi Asomugha in the early part of the game could have affected them, but the much maligned Stanford Routt came in and played well, and should have had an interception return TD to his name, chalk up another TD wiped off for the RAIDERS that would have stood for any other team in the NFL, Maclin tripped over his own feet and we get interference called?, and tag on a 15 yarder thrown on an irate Tom Cable and the NFL lackeys were doing their bosses proud.

The play of the defense also seemed to stop any panic spreading to either the offense or into the stands, and it helped that the inability of the RAIDERS offense to get anything going was for a change not on JaMarcus Russell, but more to do with those young receivers and missed blocks.The players heads didn't go down, and it was noticeable from the off that something was different around the team.Antonio Pierce could have done us the biggest favour in the world with his comments last week, and as a fellow RAIDER fan maybe that's what he intended.



That spark from the defense was seized upon on the Russell to Miller TD.The hustle shown by Louis Murphy on that play to throw two blocks made up for his earlier culpability in the Asanti Samuel interception, Murphy is football player, and that is what the RAIDERS need to start to change the mentality in Alameda.I think that there are players who deserve mention this week, who made a difference, who set an example to be followed.

Justin Fargas is not the best running back in football, he's not the best back on the roster, but he is a warrior, and he is a RAIDER.

JaMarcus Russell showed us something this week,it wasn't mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination but it was better.Whether that stems from the criticism he has had the last couple of weeks is hard to say, I even saw him pump fake for gods sake!He still likes to throw high or into coverage but he played with more focus than he has shown so far.

Richard Seymour is a beast.He and Greg Ellis seem to have decided that they are going to be the leaders of that defense and possibly the team.Someone had to step up and these two guys aren't used to being the butt of jokes around the NFL and it showed this week, long may it continue.

Zach Miller is basically the RAIDERS passing game, and it is to his credit that he still gets open so often.

Gary Russell may be a difference maker in the passing game, giving his namesake another option in getting the ball off quicker.

The keys to this win were simple really.The defense played with intensity, the O-line played well enough to give us a run game, and Russell was a serviceable QB this week.That basic formula took us past the Eagles, it may be enough to give us a chance in a few more games down the line.
Kudos to Tom Cable too, in a week when things were at an all time low, somehow he got his team together and turned all the negative energy around.
It's only one week, but in a season that was deteriorating into farce, it's something for the RAIDER NATION to savour.The challenge now for Cable is to maintain the momentum, and for the Marshall defense to play to the benchmark set this week.
No one is laughing at the OAKLAND RAIDERS this week, and it feels good.

"I do not like knocking teams," . "But right now, they're struggling. We're playing that game the other day and, honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice. It felt like we were going against our offense [in a controlled setting] as far as the tempo.
"There was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint against their offense. We're getting three-and-outs. You don't hear nobody [saying], 'Hey, let's go!' trying to pick the guys up, rallying them, getting guys fired up. There was nothing. It was quiet. A guy gets sacked or somebody gets beat, they just get up. It's not like there's yelling or no kind of [emotion] about the way they were playing.
"It was shocking to be out there in that game and get that kind of feeling.""It's sad because I grew up a Raiders fan," . "That organization right now, they need some guidance. They need somebody to pick them up."


(Giants LB Antonio Pierce. )

Tom Cable insists that the RAIDERS players are putting in the effort.I know who I believe.

Sad, very sad.

MR DAVIS I HAVE OTHER THINGS I CAN BE DOING.

IT WAS EITHER A HALF EMPTY COLISEUM OR THE VIEW ABOVE....ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD.

I am usually preparing flights and tickets for a trip to Oakland by now, having worked all year to save the money to go and watch some football.This year the country of Jamaica is getting my money due to the lack of anything resembling football coming from the RAIDERS.

Sunday's game brought back dark memories of the AFC Championship game in 1990, and I mean the scoreline predominantly.That 1990 team was after all a game away from a Superbowl, had gone 12-4 in the regular season and had just lost Bo Jackson to injury.That team also had players on the roster such as Howie Long, Steve Wizniewski, Greg Townsend, Eddie Anderson, Tim Brown, Marcus Allen etc etc.Good players, some great players, football players.I'm not sure if that 51 - 3 drubbing by the Bills back then is the heaviest defeat suffered by a RAIDERS team ever, but it must be up there.If there wasn't a fortunate replay call, negating a fumble return TD for the Giants, the score could have been 51 - 0.I would rather have this team remembered in the context of all time RAIDER low points than some of the ex-players from that 1990 team who wore the Silver and Black with pride.

It's hard to keep coming up with words to describe the state of this present team and organisation.This team would get it's backside kicked by College teams.At the moment we have the worst starting QB in the NFL, we have a further reduced playbook as a consequence, we can't run the ball due to opponents stacking the box and a depleted O-line that wasn't great to start with, atrocious special teams play, and a defense that looks disheartened knowing that whatever they do they will be back out there on the field very soon.

There doesn't seem to be a coherent coaching philosophy on offense and the defense rarely puts pressure on anyone.This is as bad as anything that I can remember, the bed and breakfast offense was better than this wasn't it?

This team has collectively quit, the organisation is a laughing stock, and there is deafening silence from the top.Tom Cable keeps telling us how well practice went during the week.Unfortunately come Sunday we aren't playing ourselves.I was of the opinion that the only game that we can win now is the return match with the Chiefs, I am having my doubts about that one now.

This never ending downward spiral has been ongoing for the best part of a decade, and every time it looks like it can't get any worse, it does.The organisation is in complete meltdown, and something needs to be done, something drastic.I would hope that there are enough ex RAIDERS who still care, and that have the nuts to tell Al some home truths, they need to be people who Davis regards as loyal RAIDERS and they need to make him see sense.We need a Parcells like GM in there to change the course, from the bottom up, it's hard to see Parcells leaving Miami to take on the car crash that is the RAIDERS, but we need someone of that stature first, because no Head Coach worth his salt is going to go to Oakland without the signs of a clear plan.

So Howie, Wiz, Tim, John Madden, Rod Martin, round up a posse that Al can't ignore and help the RAIDERNATION.If he won't listen to you, then we are well and truly ****** until the inevitable hand of time intervenes.This is becoming a sad state of affairs for a man that should be remembered for what he has done for football, unfortunately he will probably be remembered as much for overseeing the decline of the organisation that he built.

I will still be watching the back to back home games in November, but there will be no dodging the seagull shit in an empty Coliseum for me this year.And it feels like a relief. Ya Mon!!

NO HELP REQUIRED THANKS.

I used to have doubts about whether it was possible for the NFL to have an agenda or strategy when it came to dealing with the OAKLAND RAIDERS.They couldn't possibly treat one team differently to all of the others could they.The tuck game put it beyond doubt.

It is a fact, a fact I tell you, that there is nothing that the NFL likes more than screwing the RAIDERS.

Sticking it to Al at every possible opportunity obviously gives them a great deal of pleasure, whatever floats their boat.When the RAIDERS have had success, going to the playoffs, going to five Superbowls, there was only so much they could get away with, good teams will win through the bad calls and bullshit.

During last nights game it was easy to be angry as a RAIDER fan.It's easy to be angry when watching this present team, to witness the ongoing futility of it all.The game is hardly worth mentioning from a football standpoint, actually it's not worth mentioning at all.What made me angrier than my teams inability to produce anything vaguely resembling football, was the performance of the officials.



Louis Murphy must think that he has done something wrong in a previous life.Following on from his wiped out TD from week one, we now have the no you didn't catch that pass even though you caught the ball and got both feet down in bounds kind of call.Everyone watching including the CBS commentators saw the catch made which would have kept a drive alive in a season where RAIDER drives are hard to come by, but somehow superslowmo with zoom option wasn't enough to spot it.

And Chris Johnson, what were you thinking.Ok so you made a nice interception in your own end zone, that doesn't give you any right to be happy with yourself.And that going down on one knee holding your arms out thing is clearly unsportsmanlike.I have watched two other games from Sunday and in both players were guilty of more extravagant celebrations, for things like making a special teams tackle or knocking a ball down on third down, not a fifteen yard penalty to be seen, but then they don't play for the RAIDERS do they?

The outlawing of making contact with a quarterbacks head is probably a good idea, I mean the NFL wants to protect them at all costs.So when a defensive lineman comes through and smacks the QB around the head as he releases the football, that will be a personal foul and a fifteen yard penalty, that is of course unless you happen to be a QB for the OAKLAND RAIDERS, then, as an official despite being only a few yards away you are allowed to totally ignore the infringement.Happy Days.



You see NFL, even if your employees hadn't screwed the RAIDERS again, we would still have lost the game.We are a terrible football team, we are quite capable of screwing ourselves at the moment thank you very much.So how about you let us get hammered by teams every week without adding to the scoreline in your own little way.It must be hard to resist putting the boot in when the RAIDERS are down, but what goes around comes around and when we can play football again, hopefully while I am of an age where I can still dress and feed myself, we as RAIDER fans will take great delight in raising a collective middle finger in your direction.

It's not easy to see where the whole organisation can start to turn this around, the start of this season seemed to offer a glimpse of something, but that has faded pretty quickly and that feeling of deja vu has returned.Barring a miracle of biblical proportions another season is effectively written off already.It's a sad state of affairs, and looking at the imminent fixtures it isn't going to improve anytime soon.One thing that will endure is the RAIDER NATION, there is no choice for us, we have to ride out the storm, a bloody long and ugly storm, and hope that there is better to come.But soon, very soon the man at the top and those around him have got to realise that drastic measures are required to right the ship, it has already drifted aimlessly for too many years.

" ITS ABOUT BEING A GOOD DECISION MAKER "

"They are making easy throws look hard"



"This is poor by JaMarcus Russell"



"This has been ugly so far"



"His fundamentals and mechanics need working on"



"It's about being a good decision maker"



"JaMarcus Russell could learn a lot watching Kyle Orton today"



"Thats why I'm having trouble figuring out why the QB is having his struggles, they have one of the best coaches in the game at that position in Paul Hackett here in Oakland"



"Oh no!"



"The big question was if the running game didn't work, did JaMarcus Russell have the ability to take over?And its clear that he doesn't"



"This is a step back for the RAIDERS".............



RICH GANNON, CBS, 27th September 2009.



Well John Herrera, I can't disagree with any of the above, and whether you stick your fingers in your ears or your head in the sand, he is still right.Lets face it shall we the happiest of happy clappers couldn't find a positive spin for the dross that went on in the Coliseum on Sunday.Here's some numbers for you Mr Herrera :



JaMarcus Russell so far in 2009 :


31 OF 75 FOR 378 YARDS AND A 41% COMP RATE.



The only QB in the NFL below 50%.Russell wasn't the whole story by any means but he is a major talking point for RAIDER fans, and probably a good laugh for fans of everyone else.The Broncos only had to move the ball 27 yards to get a ten point lead following those two horrible interceptions.



Only one RAIDERS receiver registered a catch - Louis Murphy with two.



The defense reverted to the bad old ways and allowed 215 rushing yards.



The offense managed a paltry 137 net yards.



Darren McFadden fumbled three times.It's official McFadden IS a fumbler.

THREE points at home.



There wasn't much to react to on a positive note at all.The defense played well in the red zone with some tough stops, but the Bronco's O-line pushed them around all day and even Richard Seymour is now officially a RAIDER, committing a stupid and costly penalty, I can't remember the last time I saw a penalty for hair pulling!
Last weeks win came despite a horrific offensive showing, this week was as bad if not worse, and something has to change.The quarterback is playing badly enough to be benched by any other team, the embarrassment of having our franchise QB holding a clipboard is nothing to the humiliation of him actually playing every week.Plus I want to see just how much the inexperience of the RAIDERS receiving corps is contributing to all this.I said last week that a serviceable QB would be enough to make us better and Kyle Orton's stats are nothing to write home about but he sort of proves a point.I just want to watch a decent game of football and not be worried every time our offense steps onto a field.At least if Russell starts for the next two weeks he'll get booed less in Houston and New York than he does in Oakland.
It looks at the moment that DHB was a reach, Murphy has made a few rookie mistakes but at least looks a player, and we need Walker, Higgins and Schilens to get back and contribute.The upcoming schedule based on what we have seen from the RAIDERS so far makes for a frightening read.
We did a good job against the run in the first two games, and then the wheels fall off all of a sudden.Maybe that Denver O-line is just really good and things will improve again, you have to cling to some hope right?The defense had a bad day no doubt about it, but they weren't the reason we lost that game for me.Denver scored 23 points, 10 of which were basically gifted to them, without those gifts it would have been closer, but when you score one FG in a game at home you are going to lose.I still have a lot of time for Tom Cable too, he is coaching with half a playbook it seems.

Sunday was just not good enough.Maybe everyone in Alameda can start worrying about the present players rather than the ones that went before.

GANNON NOT THE ENEMY

Al Davis is old school.He puts great emphasis on loyalty.Loyalty to the RAIDERS from ex players is something that he expects.Obviously it isn't something he will always get, Warren Sapp is making a new career of having a pop at the whole organisation for instance.I didn't have Rich Gannon down as in the Sapp bracket, he has said some critical things about the RAIDERS since his retirement, but I have always believed that he wanted the team to get better and turn around.
John Herrera's latest outburst, directed at Gannon, just looks bad.He would hardly do something like this unless it came from Al, and regardless of whether Al feels that Gannon has been dis-loyal, trying to ban someone from the team facility,or from broadcasting the game looks silly and petty.Al and the RAIDERS maverick nature, and us against the world mentality is one of the reasons that I'm a RAIDER fan, but sometimes they just get it wrong.Just when the team starts to show a little promise, the owner and his inner sanctum are worrying themselves with things other than football.Rich Gannon is not the enemy.His work ethic and professionalism whilst a RAIDER was part of the success story that the team enjoyed under John Gruden, Al himself has said so.And Herrera's cheap shot remarks about the five interceptions and worst Superbowl performance in history etc do nothing for the RAIDERS image whatsoever.We all know what went on around that game and to put the blame at the feet of Gannon is just uncalled for.
Maybe Herrera is a loose cannon, his confrontation with Tim Kawakami last season was comical but showed that he has little self control, but this whole thing with Gannon is a case of him delivering the party line, and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.Maybe everyone in the RAIDER organisation should just get back to making sure that there is little room for anyone to criticise them, especially former players.Lets keep the hatred for the donkeys this week shall we?

A WIN IS A WIN.

Thanks to the wonderful new service provided by NFL Gamepass and their ongoing Sunday night server problems, I had to watch the RAIDERS vs Chiefs game on Monday.

By the way NFL, you need to do something about the company whose service is so far not a service, who have now ruined two consecutive weekends for people who are investing hard earned money into your product, rather than watching un-authorised streams.The European fan base for your sport is particularly loyal and have been shabbily treated.

Anyway back to the game.

First up, the RAIDERS are 1 - 1, and I am pretty happy about that fact and will take it thanks very much.The main emotion I had after the game was one of relief.Lady luck seemed to be in our favour for a change, in a big way.There were so many moments that could have gone against us, but didn't.I am thinking about the the ball stripped from Michael Bush that dropped right back to him, the three of four times that JaMarcus Russell threw the ball straight to a defender who should have taken it back the other way for six points, the roughing the passer call late in the game which seemed marginal, but maybe that makes us even for the Louis Murphy TD that never was last week.

Add to all that the fact that the Chiefs were guilty of continually shooting themselves in the foot with dare I say it, RAIDER-esque penalties at critical times.K C had the better of us moving the ball, the offensive stats don't lie, but a combination of those badly timed penalties with brilliantly timed defensive plays ( take a bow Mr Huff and Mr Ellis ), meant that the superiority in yardage did not turn into points on the scoreboard.

Even after a positive outcome, the most glass half full amongst the RAIDER NATION know that we were just horrible on offense for the whole game, well up until the final three minutes or so.The sheer number of three and outs that the team is producing at the moment, apart from the obvious lack of points, means that a defense which is playing tough is also in danger of being exhausted in the fourth quarter of games when it could cost us dear.On Sunday Nnamdi Asomugah had to leave the field due to dehydration, Chris Johnson seemed to be cramping up and Mike Huff at the end of the game looked shattered.God bless them they kept it going and closed it out, but can they be expected to have to do that for the rest of the year?

On offense we were simply poor.JaMarcus Russell was probably more erratic than week one, and I don't want to continually get on the guys back ( couldn't reach anyway ), but lets not duck the issue, he has looked very very bad in both games so far.It didn't help that we seemed to go away from the run putting more pressure on Russell, it felt as though either Tom Cable tried to be too clever with the Chiefs and surprise them with a pass happy offense, or the Chiefs could key on the run due to our inability to complete passes consistently.

Of course, then to confound everyone with defeat seemingly upon us again, the guy who couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo suddenly starts to make good throws down the field, more than once in the same drive, and for a few seconds when he lets a pass go like they did, you get a glimpse of the potential that people saw when he entered the draft.Unfortunately those passes have been few and far between.People looking on the bright side will say he got it done when he needed to, and he did, all credit to him for that, but 19 of 54 over two games with a completion rate around 35% is woeful, and we may have been looking at a very different outcome on Sunday had the opponent been better than the Chiefs.

My props go out to this week to that whole defensive unit.Arrowhead is never easy to go to, and they bent but never broke, restricted Todd Haley's new offense and new QB to ten points in their own stadium, while being on the field for long periods.

[On a side note as Haley's name comes up.It was nice of him to reveal his hatred of the RAIDERS in the week before the game, due to his Steelers connections.Cheers Todd, it's all the sweeter to see you at 0 - 2, it must have hurt, a loss in your home opener to the old enemy, team meetings in KC will be a pleasant environment this week .]

Seymour and Ellis are a threat for any opposing QB, and the secondary combination of Asomugah, Huff, Johnson, Branch, Eugene, and Mitchell look confident and hungry.Thankfully the prevent didn't rear it's ugly head this week, and long may it continue.

As I said last week, I think with a serviceable QB the RAIDERS defense will give us a chance to be competitive and win games.Russell needs to become that and fast, Denver will offer more than the Chiefs this week, the injury to Robert Gallery is not helpful to Russell either, but a combination of Satele and Morris may be able to do a job in the short term.

And speaking of the coming week its Donkey week, hurrah.And what would Donkey week be without the obligatory picture of a knackered old ass................................................................

............................................................ and a list of things I don't like about the Donkey's :





Mike Shanahan and that wonky eye, John Elway, Shannon Sharpe and his planet sized face, Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis, Mike Shanahan again, Champ ( no longer the best shut down corner in the league ) Bailey, Jay Cutler and his fat head, John Lynch, Ricky Nattiel, Knowshon Moreno and his made up name, Oh and Mike Shanahan............................





and some Donkey facts, education is power..................................





1. The Donkey or Ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd toed ungulate.





2. Donkeys vary considerably in size, depending on breed and management.





3. Until recent times, the synonym, ass, was was commonly used to refer to Equus asinus


( e.g. as in jackass, meaning "male donkey".





4.


The term "donkey" in British English is used in horse racing to refer to unsuccessful horses.





5. To refer to someone as a jackass in modern slang provides a connotation of being obnoxious, rude, and thoughtless, with or without the added connotation of stupidity.This usage is also considered vulgar.A less vulgar substitute is donkey itself.





6. The donkey has long been a symbol of ignorance.





7. Donkey's have teeth that continually erupt or grow from the gum line, in fact they erupt at about 2mm per year, see below.......................................




......................................... Got to Love Donkey Week.