Raider Perspectives: It Can’t Get Any Worse in Oakland, Can It?

For those who have read my articles in the past, you know that I usually try to look at things with a glass-half-full perspective. It’s good for the blood pressure, good for morale and the Raider Nation seems to enjoy having some hope to look forward to.

What does the other side of the table look like, has been a question thrown around, a lot, recently with the demotion of JaMarcus Russell.

Well, yes, things could be a whole lot worse for the Raiders, in many different ways.

For one, every offseason, Al Davis goes out and tries to find players to fill in the gaps when free agents or disgruntled players leave.

Granted, if Al is causing the gaps, at least he is filling them in. Can you imagine what our defense would be like if Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour had declined to join the Raiders?

In a word, possibly we would be without three wins.

Another degree to look at, what if we never drafted Nnamdi Asomugha? We decided to go in another direction and picked up say, Drayton Florence? There goes a threat we have on on half of the playing field.

How about if the Raiders had elected to not sign Jim Plunkett, or decided that instead of going with Jim, they stuck Marc Wilson out in his rookie season? Another logistic nightmare for sure, but I doubt there would have been a Super Bowl victory.

What if the Raiders declined to draft Howie Long, taken a shot on some guy named Lyle Alzado, or thought that John Matuszak was too wild to coach?

Our past, and present could have been radically altered, with a few different selections.

How about the present and future Raiders?

Well, for one aspect, do we want to see another Raider coach? The team has replaced several coaches in the last eight years…do we want to spin the door again and hope it fixes the existing problems?

In all honesty, dropping in another coach only delays fixing the problems. It would be akin to having a painter start a project, fire him or her, and have another painter come in. The end result, is a mess that no one wants to see.

As for the current team the Raiders have, something does have to be done regarding JaMarcus Russell. The team has to decide on either leaving him on the bench, or setting him on the street to be picked up.

The worst possible thing? Starting him again. I would rather have Charlie Frye start.

Now for a topic i’m sure you’ll all love, Al Davis.

What could possibly be worse than Al Davis and his management of the club?

How about having no Oakland Raiders? Imagine if Al Davis got fed up by the lack of production, or an inevitable demise, he dies and his son decides to sell the team off.

The new owner, wishing to separate himself from the former ownership, familiarity and customs…moves the team, and changes the name.

Then, you could say that IS the worst it could get.

You could say things could get better in Oakland, I would agree to that statement.

But trust me, it could also be a lot worse, both for and with the Raiders right now.

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Can and Will Al Davis Change His Ways?

Uncle Al, your house is a mess.

For years, your cherished team was considered one of the finest teams to play on the gridiron. Teams feared playing the Raiders for their ability to punish teams either by a dominating defense or an overpowering offensive tandem, rushing and the long bomb.

Now seasons are spent by fans watching a mere shell of the team trying to play out the games. In the last six years, the fans have had to endure inept coaches, questionable drafts, and even the mockery of the media.

Al has and always will be Al. He knows what is right or wrong for this team. He tried to believe the hype, thinking that Robert Gallery was the right choice, only to have it blow up in his face. He thought returning to the old guard would help—Art Shell was a disaster. He thought going to a younger coach would be the solution, instead his selection was determined to leave the team early, and when he couldn’t, he was determined to destroy the number one pick of the draft, teaching a mobile quarterback to act like a tree.

Now the one supporting fact that has kept the Raiders functioning and vital is starting to turn its back. The Raider Nation that has stood with the Raiders through good times and bad is starting to fracture.

While it is not in black and white, the message is starting to be more clear: the fans want something tangible in change, not just a simple switching of coaches, not the annual free agency pickups. They want the pain to end.

No more double-digit losses.

No more free agents who looked good five years ago but won’t fit into the team system.

No more defenses that are simple copycat patterns, but actual defensive plans that work.

Right now as it stands, Al has a near monopoly of control. He hires, fires, directs, and depending on who you ask, calls the plays. About the only thing he doesn’t control, is the ability to print money.

Even then, Al is still comfortable to a point.

As mentioned in the media, there are rumors of him looking to sell 10 percent of the club. The most likely method for this is a cash injection for the offseason, so the Raiders can continue to pay players that will be free agents in the offseason. The dropping ticket sales haven’t worried Al as much as it was expected that sales would be down.

But a billboard?

You have to admit, it is a wonder if Al will even pay it any mind. Or if he does, will it send the wrong message?

Al Davis may say those fans have a good idea; maybe I need someone that knows this game in its modern form better than I do.

Maybe Al Davis would say, “Heck with the fans. They don’t know what it takes to run this team—only I do!”

And maybe the absolute worst idea will come to Al Davis.

He’ll pick up his happy team, find another city, and move it out.

Al Davis, fix the team. With or without help, it’s been a long six years.

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Lessons Learned: JaMarcus Russell, The Failed Experiment

As Oakland’s season now is simply running out the clock, one has to look back at all that has gone wrong.

Injuries piled up, play-calling was shoddy, players underperformed. Sure, some players did perform well, on occasion.

One of these players, JaMarcus Russell, wasn’t among the better performers.

Russell, due to the condition of the team was facing long odds. A first round pick, was thrown a ton of money after holding out through training camp. Then he didn’t see any activity until late in the season.

Come the next year, the head coach was replaced early, other coaches were swapped out and the cycle kept degrading from there.

Questions had come up time and again, about his weight, his work ethic and his dedication to the team. It looked like the Raiders had picked up the traits of rebel but forgot if the football player was attached.

As it is, the team has a history of problems with quarterbacks that are drafted. Todd Marinovich, who was supposed to bring some stability to the Raiders lasted all of two years. Marc Wilson couldn’t beat out Jim Plunkett, who was about 10 years his senior.

Ken Stabler was our lone good selection, and helped the Raiders during the 70’s to multiple championship games plus our first title.

Right now, JaMarcus might be lucky to find employment in organized football.

The two problems that Russell now presents to the Raiders, is what to do with an overpaid, under-performing player. And what do we do for a replacement?

First, Russell is either going to kick around on the roster for another season, soaking up money. His number one fan, is Al Davis. Odds are good, Al will find another coach in the off-season to try and babysit his project for another year. The problem is, changing coaches will not help a player who needs to mature and grow up on the bench.

The second problem, fits in with the first problem. Who is going to QB the Raiders? The Raiders do have the advantage of a good history with replacements. Guys like Daryle Lamonica, Jim Plunkett, Jeff Hostetler and Rich Gannon all came to us from other clubs.

Right now we have Bruce Gradkowski who is two games into his starting stint with the club. Honestly, at least Bruce is getting yards. Going into the draft and trying to land Tebow or another high end pick isn’t the answer.

As it is, questions on Tebow abound, size-wise, or ability to transfer his skills to pro football, make that idea dangerous. Right now, a safe course of action would be building up the defense, working on the offensive line, and leave the QB duties to Gradkowski.

Maybe if it is possible, trading Russell off, or last resort….drop him like a bad habit.

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Thoughts From The Zone: One Step Forward, One Step Back

One step forward, one step back.

Oakland came into the game had reasons for hope, considering the team has been good pulling off wins against the Bengals and the Eagles.

As it was, after Oakland had pulled to within 10 in the third quarter there was still some hope the team could repeat last week’s comeback.

A touchdown by Tony Romo to Roy Williams sealed the Raiders fate early in the fourth quarter.

So, what did the Raiders learn from this game?

For one, the Raiders do have some offense now. It’s only anyone’s guess as to where this team would have been had we dropped JaMarcus Russell early in the season and had Bruce Gradkowski starting from game one. For the team, the Raiders had 305 yards of offense, and 14 first downs. When Russell was playing quarterback, some games they would have seven first downs and manage only 124 yards.

Not for the first quarter, not for the first half. The whole game.

We learned, that Darrius Heyward-Bey can catch the ball and score a touchdown at the same time. To be honest, if you put a guy in crutches out there and stood him up, he could catch the ball, too. Darrius was hit right between the numbers. Pure and simple, it doesn’t excuse all the throws the Raiders make in his general direction that he doesn’t catch.

We also have a running game that is coming along nicely. Now someone needs to tell Tom Cable to go ahead and let the running game control the outcome. It’s obvious that the running backs the Raiders have will carry the team.

However, we did learn several things about the team that were unsettling.

We learned that our tackling is regressing and that several times the Raiders had golden opportunities to change the game. On one play, the Raiders had the ball tipped up, two players ran into each other, and a fourth player just missed the interception. This was deep in Dallas territory.

Other cases when a tackle early on was needed, the Raiders failed to wrap up the player, allowing Felix Jones to go for a long run. It’s also starting to show that Chris Johnson is not near the player he was last year on terms of coverage, as he was picked apart constantly.

Some other factors, which are minor can’t be helped—missed calls, an illegal chop block against Gallery for one—makes you wonder how many creative calls can be made.

As it goes, the home team automatically gets 10 points. The Raiders now can get the yardage. But until they can put more points on the board, they will lose those games.

Next up for the Raiders, a trip to Pittsburgh.

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Luck, Skill, or Is It Our Time: Three Questions for the Oakland Raiders

Going into the Bengals game, it seemed like the task for Bruce Gradkowski was impossible.

They would be playing at home, sure. But against a 7-3 team that had beaten both the Steelers and Ravens, twice?

If you had tried to place a bet on this contest, the bookie might have looked at you like you were crazy. No one bets on the Raiders.

Sure, they beat the Eagles. But that was a fluke with an ineffective quarterback and a good defensive effort.

Come Sunday’s start, that was the prevailing opinion around football. The numbers, via Yahoo, had the odds of us winning at 4 percent.

When the Bengals had the ball through the first half of play, it looked as though the Raiders were going to have a long day. Every time the Bengals ran a play, they made first downs and built up a 14-0 lead.

Then, something with the Raiders clicked, as if the entire team said, “Not Today.”

After having little success in moving the ball for much of the first half, the Raiders started a drive on their own 29 with less than four minutes remaining. Seventy-one yards later, Zach Miller had both hands on the ball and spiked it.

That gave Oakland had their first touchdown of the game, and Gradkowski his first since 2006.

For Oakland, though, this momentum seemed to carry over to the defense. With 59 seconds left, the Bengals were held to a single yard and punted the ball back to the Raiders, who then got into position for at least a try.

No good. But Oakland seemed to have built a fire for this game.

The second half showcased some tough plays, some strong defense, and some luck. The defense would only give up a single field goal after a fumble by Michael Bush put the Bengals in good range.

The Bengals also had a golden chance to score earlier when Carson Palmer moved them down to the one-yard line, but then on a third down was sacked by Stanford Routt.

If the irony is to be believed, Stanford was called for roughing the passer, setting up the 1st-and-goal series that ended with a missed field goal.

In the fourth quarter, the Raiders, down by seven, had their golden chance to choke. After stopping the Bengals at their own three with a drive that netted -7 yards, Bruce tossed a flutter ball.

This pass, which was picked off and run to the 21-yard line, in essence gave the Bengals another chance to end the game.

With only six minutes left, the Raiders would need two things to go their way: a drive-stopping set of downs, and a touchdown to even think about overtime.

The first one came almost four minutes downfield, when the Bengals just got over midfield and seemed to hit their version of kryptonite.

They would get no further than the 48-yard line and punted back to Oakland, giving the Raiders the ball back with two minutes and 12 seconds left on the clock.

Bruce had botched his last attempt. But, on this drive, the fans who stayed saw him put together his second great drive of the game.

While marching the team downfield, Bruce proceeded to throw a little bit of everything. When he needed a first down on 3rd-and-1, he even handed it off to McFadden. When he had a 4th-and-10, he found Chaz Schilens—and moved the chains again.

When the next pass was attempted, Louis Murphy, draped by a player, was short of the goal line. Twisting and pulling, he fought his way to paydirt, scoring six. With the extra point, the Raiders were tied.

As it was, the Raiders were back in the game. Some would say, “Let’s wait until halftime; just stop Palmer from getting a field goal.”

With 33 seconds and some great special teams work, Brandon Myers himself made sure they wouldn’t be able to.

With a classic stripping move, Caldwell could only watch the ball go free, and the Bengals looked on in shock as the stadium got loud.

Could the Raiders actually win? How?

Three plays later, Janikowski would punch the ball through from 33 yards out, taking the lead and leaving the Bengals with 15 seconds to work with.

On the kickoff, the visitors could only muster two plays, reaching the 43-yard line before a last ditch throw was picked off by Asomugha to end the game.

Now, come those fun questions.

Were the Raiders lucky? Sure, but luck will beat skill every time. We were lucky the Bengals had a case of the fumbles, that Cedric Benson was out, that Caldwell had gotten stripped.

The Raiders are lucky that their own fumbles weren’t converted into more points, that the Bengals made it to the Oakland one-yard line and couldn’t get any points for it.

Did the Raiders have a measure of skill in this game? To a degree, it looked like the Raiders were slowly trying to set their timing up. They were butchered for most of the first half. But once they found their direction, the entire team was ready for some retribution.

The Bengals had the unlucky task of standing in front of them. Bruce, who had waited for his turn, rewarded Tom Cable with a good win in front of the loyal fans.

Is it our time? The next two opponents will be telling for the Raiders. The Cowboys managed just seven points against the Redskins on Sunday—and won.

The Raiders will be playing a short week, just like the Cowboys. The difference, I think, will be that the Raiders appear to be headed in the same direction for a change.

The second opponent, the Steelers, is wondering about concussions and who replaces Big Ben if he gets hurt again.

Both games are on the road. If Oakland manages a split, they are still going forward. And if they are 2-0, they could finish at 8-8.

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What Can Oakland Bring To The Game Sunday?

Tom, this is your show. You’ve made some choices, which are either going to help the team or create questions on your sanity.

First of all, swapping out JaMarcus Russell was long overdue. It’s good that he is on the bench, maybe he can stop using the playbook as a footrest. It’s a question on if Bruce Gradkowski will do any better with the same group of players, but there are some ideas that might actually help the Raiders win on Sunday.

First of all, plant Darrius Heyward-Bey on the bench next to Russell. Sure, he’s a rookie. Sure, he’s fast. Sure, he’s green. All the more reason for him to learn from others on how to catch the ball, get separation, and get into the end zone.

Secondly, Zach Miller is going to be Bruce Gradkowski’s best friend. As a Tight End, he is the perfect relief valve for blitz packages, and if Tom wants to make the Bengals defense sweat, set up some double tight end packages—or pull out the stops, and send four players on first down. Hey, we caught the Chiefs last week flat-footed on the first drive, why not keep them confused all day long?

Third, is bringing the defense. We had a good game against Larry Johnson in week two, maybe Richard Seymour and Greg Ellis can bring back that pattern of stoppage.

Fourth, if something works well, keep using it. Last week the Raiders had good momentum on the running game—and then they would switch to passing and be forced to punt. If Michael Bush, Justin Fargas, and Darren McFadden are able to keep punishing the line, go ahead and let them wear out the line. By the end of the game, one of the three will go for paydirt.

Lastly, remember the game against the Eagles? Little things, like good tackles and good blocking all came together for a great Sunday.

I’d like to see a replay of that game—duplicate it, against the Bengals.

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JaMarcus Russell: Can He Learn From This Experience?

Congratulations JaMarcus. You played yourself out of the starting rotation. Your coach made it plain, in saying that this benching isn’t a one game at a time deal. The team is turning its attention towards trying to work with Bruce Gradkowski as the starting quarterback in Oakland.

I can imagine it’s a bitter pill to swallow, considering that you were drafted to be the face of the franchise and return it to the glory days. Instead, your considered by many to be a bust, ranking in the rare air class, with Ryan Leaf.

Right now, the only realistic way that JaMarcus Russell comes off the bench is if Bruce Gradkowski goes down hurt in the game, Al Davis suddenly realizes he has a very expensive bench, or Russell learns to be a quarterback?

As hard to believe as it sounds, Russell needs to make use of this time—now that he has plenty of it to work with. He needs to find himself in better shape, having better communication with his teammates, and he needs to take a harder look at what he can do to help the team. He needs to learn that just because he is a No. 1 overall pick, that the world does not revolve around him. He still needs to work with those same players.

The one advantage that Russell still has, that Ryan Leaf didn’t, was he hasn’t alienated himself from his teammates. Several players still think he can play, but needs to get himself into the mindset of playing football.

Probably the most accurate critic, Rich Gannon sounded off that Russell’s biggest problem is the constant change of coaches. Could anyone function well with that much turnover?

Hopefully the next time we see Russell out throwing the football in a game, he will be completing passes to his own teammates…and not digging us a hole we’d like to throw him into.

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Raiders Playing Chiefs for Native American Heritage Month. Why?

Recently two pieces of news regarding the Raiders had come out, concerning the month of November. For one, the Raiders were going to have a celebration event at the home game to be played on Nov. 15.

From the Raiders website, this would be a large-scale event, including broadcasting the game in Navajo, and on-field ceremony honoring Peter MacDonald, who was a Code-Talker during world war II and the Leader of the Navajo Nation.

An entire breakdown of all events scheduled can be found here:

http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Celebrate-Native-American-Heritage/ab19127a-540b-4875-b2a8-7eb1546b62d5

Now for anyone who has visited the Raiders site, it is through no stretch of the imagination that the Raiders’ fanbase does go well beyond normal boundaries.

The Raiders broadcast in different languages, to other countries and have fan bases in every continent, with the exception of Antarctica….haven’t seen a penguin with a tattoo yet.

Then earlier this week a column circulated from Inside the Bay Area when a local contributing columnist wrote that the Raiders’ choice of opponents was done in bad taste.

This article can be found here: http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_13763248

Byron Williams, to his credit does have an interesting point. Why hold a celebration for Native American Heritage against a team that is considered derogatory and insensitive to the indigenous people of this land?

They could have just as easily had moved it back a week and held the event against the Bengals, one week later.

Looking at the situation from the team’s point of view, the Raiders can look at it this way. The Raiders already have a history of setting forth an example regarding minority players and executives.

We had the first African-American Coach, we had the first Hispanic Coach, in Tom Flores, we had the first female executive in the NFL, with Amy Trask.

Why not make an example of Native American Day and beat up the team that doesn’t recognize how offensive it is to others?

Maybe someone in Oakland did contemplate how useful it would be to play the Chiefs on Sunday.

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The Raider Nation: There’s Too Many of Them, Captain

One part of being with the Raider Nation is that you have brothers and sisters you never knew about.

Now, before someone starts asking questions at the family picnic, look at it this way.

I consider myself to be a good loyal supporter of the Raiders. I buy when I can, watch games, try to keep the locals faithful, and have a car decorated from the windows to the steering wheel cover.

On a recent trip to pay some bills, I was walking back to the car when someone I didn’t know mentioned “they may not be much right now….but they’re my team.”

This comment can bring a smile to anyone’s face, because it highlights two simple truths. They may be bad, but we haven’t abandoned this team.

As Raiders fans, we love this team. It hurts when they keep making the same mistakes. We scream like madmen when they win, and want to kick the cat when we lose.

But all in all, “they’re my team.”

Even this week, with the Raiders at 2-6, the Raiders will be well-represented.

The fans are still out there. Be it wearing a cap, a jacket, or a few logos on the car, thumping down the street. Even now, the fans don’t take anything from others, prideful of what the Raiders have…a loyalty that few can match.

Deep down, what makes this fan base loyal is the team. We may hate the owner, we may dislike the QB, and we might argue on who was the better coach, Madden or Flores, it still boils down to the same point. This is our team, for better or for worse.

So when the haters ask the grand question, “How can you follow the Raiders right now?” You can look at them and say it in simple terms.

They’re your team…and you have a lot of company.

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Oakland After The Bye: What Can Be Expected?

For the Oakland fans, they’ve seen this before.

2-6 for anyone has got to be frustrating, as other teams are jockeying for playoff spots, your team is either looking at playing spoiler or looking at the College Bowl games for the next draft pick.

With the Raiders, the bye week did provide some good news. Some players who were hurt are coming back, such as Darren McFadden, Cornell Green, Robert Gallery and Chaz Schilens.

As it stands, Cable needs to work five wins out of the Raiders to stand a chance at keeping his job. As for JaMarcus Russell, since his boss is Al Davis the odds are strong he’ll get one more year to play quarterback. As erratic as the Raiders have been playing, sometimes hanging tough, other times pathetic The Raiders do stand a chance to surprise but it comes down to the question of the teams they are playing.

Earlier in the season the Raiders proved this, when they upset the Eagles. The Raiders offense did not play well, but the Defense was dominant to the point the Eagles could not function either. Against San Diego, twice the Defense worked hard to keep the score close, but due to fourth quarter issues, the Raiders lost both games.

Looking at the last eight games, some guesswork is needed, but at the same time it also doesn’t take into consideration how teams will play out the second half of the year. What happens if Ben Roethlisberger goes down? What if Carson Palmer gets injured? No one really knows how these games will play out.

The Raiders, at 2-6, will probably not go 8-0. But at the same time, could they get back to .500 at the end of the year?

The games against the Chiefs, Browns and Redskins are the most obvious, best chance wins to work at. Cincinnati has been growing stronger every week. Pittsburgh already has wins against both the Chargers and the Broncos. The Raiders will also have another visit to Denver, and there’s the short week game when the Cowboys will host the Raiders.

And after all of this…the Baltimore Ravens finish the season in Oakland.

The way the schedule plays out, the Raiders need to go 4-0 at home, for the last half of the year, win in Cleveland will put the Raiders at 7-9.

If they can repeat the Denver game from last year, they could make 8-8.

The game to circle on the calendar?

Last one of the year, January 3rd against the Ravens. Possibly Tom Cable’s last game too.

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