By Paul Wexler
RaiderBeat.com Staff Writer
The Raiders hoped to get back wide receiver Chaz Schilens against the New York Jets on Sunday. Once again, Schilens was a no-go, and we turn our longing eyes for Schilens toward this Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers.
“We’ll see,” Cable said of Schilens, who hasn’t played all season because of a broken bone in his left foot. “He’s still pretty sore today.”
Schilens can’t return anytime too soon. It’s obvious that Javon Walker isn’t a viable option. On Monday, Cable said that Johnnie Lee Higgins isn’t much of an option for now, either.
Cable had this to say about why he continues to start rookies Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
“I guess probably what happened to us last year,” Cable said, “by playing Johnnie Lee and Chaz there at the end, they were able to have their breakthrough, and it kind of happened about the same time JaMarcus (Russell) had his, in terms of improvement.
“So, you know, that’s where your future is and you want to go at it with the same mentality. That’s where we came from, we just went through that and it worked in that manner. But this one, I believe, will do the same thing.”
Heyward-Bey had his most productive game as a pro by catching two passes for 28 yards against the Jets.
“I thought Darrius had the best week of preparation,” Cable said. “It showed. If he had caught the fade there at the end, it would have been a heck of a game for him. Blocked very, very well, caught the opportunities that were there for him to make.
“So, there’s some real progress in terms of his individual position. At the same time, you want the other guy to catch more balls and get lined up right and those kind of things. So it goes back and forth.
“It’s seven weeks into the season, there’s a lot of football left. I still know that this team’s going to succeed this year. To what degree, that will be decided in the next nine weeks, 10 weeks. And I’m not gonna lose faith in it. I haven’t. And so we’ll just keep moving forward. And I just think the biggest issue for us right now is making sure we take care of each other on this football team.”
Beleaguered quarterback Russell pretty much scoffed at a suggestion by a reporter after Sunday’s game that he is part of the problem.
Russell turned the table on the reporter by asking, “Do you?” think I’m part of the problem.
When the reporter said, “At times,” Russell ended the interview by saying “Thank you.”
No surprise, then, that Russell avoided the media during locker-room access Monday, leaving many of his teammates to answer the tough questions about what happened Sunday against the Jets.
Cable didn’t sound as if he was surprised by Russell’s decision to dodge reporters at a time when fans want to know what Russell is thinking on the heels of being benched for the first time in his career and having had a day to think about things.
“When he’s comfortable enough to do that, mature enough to do that, he feels good about where he’s at as a quarterback, I think that will happen,” Cable said. “I think it comes with the development at that position.
“Probably being scrutinized isn’t anybody’s favorite thing to do but it’s part of our job. You can’t run away from it necessarily but I think you have t be at a place where you can handle it.”
Russell told reporters after Sunday’s game that he was comfortable with his decision-making and reads. Cable certainly wasn’t satisfied with that part of Russell’s game, and he made sure Russell understood why he was benched.
Cable said it’s a concern that Russell felt as if his performance was acceptable against the Jets.
“Well, sure, but I think today in talking with him, he’s pretty clear on what went on,” Cable said. “It’s just something that you have to have a little bit better control and it’s not something that you like to do, in terms of pulling him and all that. I’ve been pretty strong against it.
“I want to push him to give him every opportunity to succeed but now looking at the tape it’s pretty clear what went on.”
One encouraging sign is the Cable and Russell have a strong relationship and keep open the lines of communication, whether things are going well or not.
“He and I talk all the time,” Cable said. “One thing, you’ve heard him say this, two people who take it when they should and when they shouldn’t and that’s the quarterback and the head coach.
“He’s a strong young man, and I applaud him for that, and I want to keep him that way. I want to help him where he can get to where he has more success as a quarterback and I think that’s my goal. In terms of how he handles it and all that, I think he’s trying to bear it and be strong with it.”
All last week, the Jets made it clear that they intended to keep things simple for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, given he was coming off a five-interception game, and rely upon their running game.
It made perfect sense for a Jets team that amassed 318 yards rushing against the Buffalo Bills. And the Raiders made it clear that they expected the Jets to run the ball as often as possible.
That makes if even more confounding how the Jets could run the ball 54 times for 316 yards when the Raiders knew exactly what was coming, and the Jets lost No. 2 back Leon Washington to a broken leg the first time he touched ball against the Raiders.
“Really, that many missed tackles and alignment issues, it’s pretty easy to see why,” Cable said of why the Jets were so successful. “When you’re playing a single-gap defense, that’s like you sitting in that chair. That’s all you have to do right now, just keep your butt in that chair and everything will be fine. And we just didn’t do a very good job of that.
“It’s not like we’re a two-gap scheme or anything like that where you can get knocked out of it and can’t respond and can’t get back into it. You’ve got one to line up and play so it’s up to each man to do his job and do that and we didn’t do a very good of it.”
The Raiders now are 30th in the league against the run and one more poor showing away from being last.
The announced attendance at Sunday’s game was the lowest since they returned to Oakland in 1995. The Raiders were more than 20,000 shy of a sellout. Cable has an idea of what it takes to bridge the considerable gap.
“We need to find some consistency in our play where we can win a game, a big game like Philadelphia, and come back the next week and do it again,” Cable said. “If we want the fans to be here, don’t have such an up-and-down flow. Have some more consistency and they’ll come.
“Certainly with the economic times the way they are, that has part of it to do with it, too. When it comes down to being a fan, a loyal fan and all that, you want to see a good team.”
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Cable is in more denial than Russell. He’s a joke.
FUCK YOU TOM “PUPPET” CABLE! Im sick and tired of listing to your bullshit! I rather watch a shitty ass kings game in person than to watch our raiders play LIVE!. ITS SAD WHEN YOUR BEST PLAYER IS A FUCKING PUNTER! COMMITMENT TO EXALENCE MY FUCKING ASS. COMMITMENT TO BEING THE LAUGHING STOCK OF ALL OF SPORTS OVER THE LAST 7 YEARS.
WOW..just WOW. Either Al beat Tommy boy with his cane, or Tommy boy hasn’t a clue…..God help us Raider fans
20,000 people who didn’t show were because they are sick and tired of this shit ! ENOUGH ! I hope you have crickets at the next blow out. Maybe then Al will wise the fuck up…..
why does this idiot have a job and why are people in Oakland too afraid to tell Russell that he is the NUMBER 1 cause of this terrible season and he is a pathetic, fat, talentless, peice of shit.
The good thing is that Cable and JWuss appear to be on the same page
The bad thing is that I seriously doubt that either one can read the page…
They need to keep JWuss’ fat, fumbling, interception-throwing, Twinkie-eating ass on the bench for the rest of the year and give Grad the practice time with the first unit to see if something can be salvaged out of this sorry fucking season.
One question - If a 300 pound pussy fumbles in an empty stadium, can Al Davis hear it???
“The good thing is that Cable and JWuss appear to be on the same page
The bad thing is that I seriously doubt that either one can read the page…”
That’s hilarious Otis60. Unfortunately, it may actually be true. I guess that’s part of Al’s decision making process in hiring these days…bringing in people dumber than him. Yikes! Hellova way to build an organization…with people having less of an IQ than the senile one.
Oh, but for the old days when the Raiders actually had glory. Those days are long past.
There could be hope, though. Al may wake up and fire cable for cause. Not that he’d recall what that cause was. But, there is hope that he’d do it.
Funny thing is something Al said when he fired Kiffin for cause. Al said “Lane didn’t like nor want to draft JaMarcus Russell.” Al then said, “he’s a great player. get over it.”
Right there Al and the Raiders should lose the lawsuit vs. Lane Kiffin…for cause. Cause they don’t have a frikkin clue. At least Lane did.
if fargas doesnt start against the chargers, thats an absolute crime agaisnt humanity
Hate to say this but, our team is laughing stock of all of sports, just not the NFL, 38,000 fans for a home game? 2 years from now this could be 24,000, blackouts 90% of the time, a senile owner,
Al Davis is losing money guys, he could be bankrupt very soon, USC had 94,000 fans against Oregon State, the only team that we have beaten in attendance the last 4 years is Jacksonville, let’s stay together guys, because things will get worse before they get better, the worst football stadium in the league? WTF, we are the RAIDAZ, I hate to say it but i see something cooking in L.A, as an Angelino myself, I think Oakland Raiders sounds better, but, nothing is forever, war L.A Raiders,
said it before, and I”ll say it again, us the fans are the ones that keep the nation going………
I fully expect Al to jump the team to LA as soon as the offer is made to move into the new stadium. I think that it’s been his plan for several years, as soon as it became obviuos that he wouldn’t get a new, football-only stadium in the Oakland area. I believe that is one of the reasons that he’s put such a sorry product on the field year after year, so that attendance would drop to a level that would justify the move. He doesn’t care about the Nation, only about his ego and his profits.
As a RAIDER fan from ‘way up north by the Oregon border, I can only make it to a few games per year as it is, he packs the team up and moves to SoCal, I’ll never go to another. And maybe he needs to remember something - when the team was in LA before, he didn’t draw dick - he had a 90,000+ stadium that was usually only half full - and that was with a 2-time Super Bowl champion…Just more of his backward-ass, 1975 thinking in action.
You said it! otis60, I thought about the same thing, is he doing it on purpose?
im all for the new stadium. what other team plays at a worse venue then the Raiders???? NONE. I thought this was the Raiders not the Pheonix Lumberjacks. The fans deserve nice shit too. I dont like the L.A. Raiders, but who cares…its the Raiders. Give the players something to play for and maybe the fans something to cheer for. It sure as hell worked for the Cardinals.
So you guys actually think Angelinos will pay to see this crap…more than 34,000 of them? You’re dreaming. They got SC, Lakers, Dodgers, Angels..and you think they’re the ones who are going to pay to go to a game? That’s the JOKE. No one in America wants to see this mess. Unless it’s for laughs. You gotta have a product people want to watch, and that is NOT the Raiders. If Al can’t sell out in Oakland, the Raiders’ home turf, no way in hell is he going to sell out in LA…no way. I hope he dies first.
I thought the benching in the 2nd qtr was poor timing of JR..Why not wait until halftime? Gradowski didnt do anything special and the defense was horrible.Jr must of said the magic word to somebody to be pulled so early……pc
u guys arent real raider fans….as dissapointed as i am i dont wish death to an owner who made us good or bad…
We neeed a new play caller i think……pc
Maybe if Davis moves the team to L.A the Raiders will start winning like the rest of their sports teams….and maybe someone in the city of L.A would have the balls to tell Al to stop breathing down the coach’s neck our “you” can get the hell out of my town.Give him the same medicine he gave to every coach we’ve had the past ten years…That’s what happens when just don’t cut it anymore Al.
I’m looking for two morons masquerading as Raiders fans. Back before the season, when the pictures of a fat, out of shape, bling-ladden JaMarcus acting like a moron surfaced, I was critical on this board, mentioning that he and many others in today’s team were unworthy of being Oakland Raiders, given the greatness of players past. These two morons berated me, a 35-year Raider fan, as a hater and worse. I’d like to get their take on Russell now, and ask them how’s it going with their #2 jerseys.
If Al Davis had given the keys to the teams roster and personel decisions to Lane Kiffin the Raiders would be alot better team right now and probably contenders with at least a .500 record in my opinion. Im not saying that because Im a Lane Kiffin fan or anything just that anybody with a brain could build a better roster than Al Davis can and at least implement decent play calling on offense,draft wisely on the first round and use modern defensive schemes. Everything I recall Lane Kiffin saying has turned out to be true. As far as Russell he doesnt have mentally what it takes to be a QB in the NFL today and its time to look for a decent vet to bring in but with Alzheimer Al picking the QB hahaha…never mind it wouldnt work anyways. Al would just look for some bozo with a cannon arm and yell at DHB to “run under it Darrius” run under the long passed ball..haha…straight from the 70s.
You want fans to show up, how about making changes so at least it appears you care. No Walker,JLH,even more Watkins instead of DHB. How about altering the tempo of the game. We always play as though we are killing the clock and ahead, no sense of urgency. How about showing that you are making in game adjustments to show the crowd you have a grasp of the current situation and you understand that what you are trying is not working. You have good communication with JR? I never see anyone talking to him after his consistant three and outs- it’s as if Al has layed down the law, leave my golden boy alone, don’t mess with his head. Tom, I know your hands are tied, but don’t you know you’re gone anyway if you don’t have a good showing, because we all know it’s never Al’s fault.
I guess they did release the 3 stooges movie early! Cable,Al and Jbust! Thought that jim carey was gonna star in it though.
WOW….sooo I get the equation now….we get ANY OTHER WR besides Chaz Schillins and we lose. We can ONLY use Chaz cause he is the only good reciever to play the game!!!
To me it makes more sense to look at the equation this way…the QB is garbage and Chaz is that AWESOME that he can even make a POS like russell look good. But don’t ask Russell that…every WR makes HIM look bad. HOW F’n STUPID!!!!!!!
I often thought is Al Davis doing all this on purpose too. And it would not surprise me one bit. Let him go to LA cause im sick of this shit ! It’s a hard thing to deal with but i love this team less and less every day. And letting them go is getting easier to deal with.
Guys, there is no conspiracy to shaft the team and drive fans away so Al can “justify” a move to LA - he’s never needed to justify anything in the past - he’ll just get the lawyers to find a loop and do what the f*** he wants.
Its a young team which has a real issue with depth and experience carring some key injuries on offence. Their confidence is fragile (for good reason) and they have the WORST QB I’ve ever ever seen. A great QB would struggle to get more than 8-8 out of this offence this year. In a couple of seasons, if the O’line is addressed and the WR’s make even modest progress, the framework will exist for any functional QB to make this unit work and work well. With a good play caller they will be real contenders.
The D are not that much better - our linebacker have had an easy ride so far because the offence suck so spectaculally no one is really looking past the three hundred pound dungheap the O-line pull along behind them. Marshall is a proven guy - Al needs to let him play his game and get the players he needs to make that work.
Give DHB a break and ride Sanjay Lai ass for a while - sure we drafted DHB too high - sure he has issues catching - but we still have a guy with real assets who is slowly improving dispite being thrown to the lions once a week. Stick with him and see what we have in three years time. Be nice if he didn’t have to start, but we don’t actually have anyone better!
Its always darkest just before the Dawn!
Go Raiders (but probably not until next year…..)
Oh and one more thing…..
LA? F***ing LA? Are you all on drugs?
It’s not a football town. They didn’t come in droves to watch us in our glory days (which is why they have had and lost three franchises). Now I became a fan while they were the LA Raiders (1983) and cheered the move back to Oakland because LA doesnt care about football enough to fill a stadium.
LA will come to see a team who are 16-0 but lose interest when they dip to 12-4. It may not be the best place for us…….
Apologies to all the Nation who reside or hail from the fine town of LA - I don’t mean to call your support into question - but you have to call it how you see it!
“Really, that many missed tackles and alignment issues, it’s pretty easy to see why,” Cable said…
This is professional football. How is it possible to still have these ‘issues’ week after week after week? What the hell are these ‘players’ doing all week in the filmroom & practoce field? I like the addition of Seymour, & Ellis. I think that Kelly has played better, & so has Warren. We got rid of the $4M guaranteed Terd, so that was addition by subtraction. The DBs are above the NFL average, as a whole. With #21 locking down, & #24 playing better. I have seen Mitchell lay the wood against the run. How is it possible to give up 300+? It’s gotta be those dummy LBs. Ever since Morrison has been a starter, the run D has sucked. I have personally seen him overpursue to the point that he was soooo far out of his gap that he ended up putting a great block on Howard, so Howard can’t make the tackle, either. That’s about as bad as it gets for a MLB. Last week, after the Eagles upset, #52 exclaims “Stick with us Raider Nation!!”. This week, the NY Jets come in (without a QB), we KNOW they are going to run, & they STILL hang 300+ on us, & the team suffers it’s worst home defeat in history. F* off, Morrison. Your D STILL can’t even get aligned correctly, OR tackle. Even after 5 years.
They should have traded that rockhead when they had the chance. STOP DRAFTING DUMB PLAYERS! Week 7, & they still have alignment issues & missed tackles??!! That should rarely happen at this level. Garcia was right. There are too many ‘players’ just cashing gamechecks. Garcia would rather be unemployed, than have those idiots as his teammates…(as if old man Garcia could help lol)
Russell has once and for all shown he is and never will be a leader. He takes no blame and throws his guys under the bus. Heyward Bey a total bust, no hands no confidence. Whenever he drops a pass he points at the ref as if it is pass interference because he can’t catch a friggin cold.
Our interior d line sucks, Tommy Kelly only plays when he feels like it. Warren hustles. Seymour will bolt after this year.
There is no consistency unfortunately, lots of talent and then there are the underachievers and guys who don’t care. (Hiram Eugene) talentless
We need to douche the team like Denver did and keep the guys that take losses serious and want to win and earn their money. Not Jamarcuss’s and Tommy Kelly’s that are there just to get that huge paycheck. I am pissed and am tired of this shitty performance, we are the silver and black, pride and poise- let’s get back there again dam it………….
LA is a real discussion point
It was the 35,000 at the coliseum that forced Al to search new revenues back in Oakland.
They ruined there image in LA so i do not know if they work there but at 35,000 pe game they are losing 20 - 30 million in revenues per year
Other owners will see only about 200,000 loss in rev sharing so Raiders take the BIG hit.
Raider tickets are not coveted anymore.
No discussion on contract with oakland coliseum - hint
Now I wonder where the conspiracy lies - New York or Alameda
How many of you thought when DHB dropped that pass on the fade route…”Crabtree would have caught that” I know I’m thinking that everytime I see DHB, Crabtree would be better, but noooooooooooo Al Davis wants speed!
You know what I’m done with the crap, Al Davis is not going to bring back the this team if he is in control. He needs to hire a GM, that can do whatever he wants to do, from hiring coaches and picking in the draft. Until this happens I am not going to support the team. I’m done, Raider Nation I will see yall later, keep ya head up, I can’t anymore. Peace!!!!!!!!!!!
I am boycotting the BS. I am still a Raider Fan and will hold on the glory days when we ran shit, but this crap I cannot back up anymore, even the damn Dolt fans can talk crap cuz we have beat them in forever. This really sux!!!!!! FUCK YOU Al Davis you drove this proud organzation straight to ground. You’re a crazy ass old man that needs to retire or die already. Again FUCK YOU Al Davis!!!!!
yadada, doesn’t have a clue. NO way I’d watch the Kings unless it was against the Warriors. Cable says nothing as to not give the media or the haters, or the so called “loyal Raider fans” any extra ammo….. Yadada doesn’t have much of a vocabulary does he. I guess its all his parents knew or able to teach him as he was growing up……Shows you the class they are. Pretty pathetic.
I’m sorry Cable but if you want to be friends with JR, you two run off together and be friends, please leave us alone. I want Grad or Frye to be our qb so we can maybe move the ball longer than JR does, with his many three and outs or fumbles or picks keeps our defense on the field more than any other team in the nfl. It’s no wonder why we can’t tackle or stop the run or any other thing because every guy on the field is dead tired by halftime. The hell with his confidence, if he can’t man up and admit he is a huge problem JR doesn’t deserve to be a pro qb. I admit we don’t have the talent most think we do on the defense, if we at least get some first downs in the first half against the dolts, maybe even score a td, the defense plays better because of the simple fact that they will be fresher. I want them to remember week one when they couldn’t stop the run and lost that close one that could have changed the entire face of this season, maybe that will fire them up. If JR starts, they don’t deserve to win. At least give Grad an entire game to prove himself better than Don Knotts, who we all know will be the dolts mvp.
CABLE NEEDS TO GIVE UP THE PLAY CALLING DUTIES!!!! WE COULD OF RAN FOR JUST AS MANY YARDS AS THEY DID !!!…BUT CABLE KEEPS GETTING IN THE WAY BY FORCE FEEDING US J.RUSSELL!!!
aar33178- I think one of those idiots is Diesel420 or something like that. After week 2 i was telling everyone how pathetic and talentless that tub of shit Russell was and boy did that guy have something to say about it. Anyway I havent seen him since week 3 so he must feel like the biggest idiot on earth. Anyway my take on Russell always has been the same.
When I heard we were drafting him I wondered why? I live in the South and being an SEC college guy I barely remember this clowns name getting uttered in college. Its quite obvious to some of you NOW that the guy is also a complete idiot, but what do you expect. He is a black kid from Alabama. He got to college b/c he could throw 90 yards not spell. Problem is he lacks the intellegence/awareness to mentally break down defenses. This isnt his fault, he’s just stupid. Vince Young is the same way. Total idiot, but unlike Russell he can scamper.
Any of you that claim to know football were either fooling yourselves or just don’t know squat to ACTUALLY believe that this guy was taking us to the promise land. I admire people being optimistic and all, but the numbers and facts don’t lie. It amuses me to see how many of you guys have turned when only a handful of us seen that we were doomed from the start. Too late to do anything now, either go for Vick next year ( who would be a back-up anyway, but come cheap ) or ride out the storm that is Russells contract. I just dont see us drafting another QB so soon.
RAIDER NATION!
sorry for writing so much, but Mrmres makes a great point. Our problems at stopping the run completely fall on the linebackers shoulders. They are absolutely awful against the run. They get pushed around like little girls and leave it up to the safeties and corners everytime to stop it. They NEVER step up in the gap to make plays. Morrison is the Russell of the defense. They have been terrible since he took over. Our defense was pretty damn solid with Beikert at MLB and now with the exception of 2 good players it is below average.
raidermomo64 you can get on your knees and suck on these nuts… in your mouth. I was brought up in east L.A. come through here and ill show you some vocabulary.
so no walker and no higgens hmm lets just stick with murph and dhb for the rest of the season no matter what ..and with jfat crap..at QB..wtf ..murpf ok but dhb he is sorry couldnt ctahc a td pass in the end zone bc his hands were fighting the ball..jfat blames everyone else but his fatass get rid of his sorry ass..pouting bc he got benched about fucken time ..if garcia was here he would have been benched games ago..isee us loseing by 30 plus points the rest of the season horrible…ranked #32 in offense sorry ass JFAT…
i think al davis is probably the one forcefeeding russel, and mrmres is right on about morrison overpersuing, i didn’t get to see last weeks game, but did watch the philly game and saw him abandon his lane only to get caught behind his own players, and watch westbrook cutback and go for about ten yds
i hate hearing people wish death on davis, although i wish his ways would.
as far as the benching hurting russells confidence, to hell wiht that maybe it will help him find his dedication, he has all the confidence and cockiness he needs, it shows in how little he thinkd he needs to prepare, why can’t davis fire him for actins detrimental to the team shitty attitude, lack of accepting responsibility, as well as not matianing his condition during the offseason.
i sear if i were al davis, nd that shit for brains went out and got messed up parting, and showed up for a game day out of sorts (pure speculation on my part) his ass wouldn’t only sit he’d be the waterboy, and be washing everbodys sweaty jocks by hand, and blowdrying them manually
cable needs to knock him out of a chair 30 howevermany million dollar meatball
and why the f**k don’t any of the coaches grab a binder of areals and make him look at whats going wrong,” g jamarcus what did you see for coverage presnap on this play”
instead they let him sit there and try to look cool, hasn’t anyone told him there is no way to look cool while taking a shit which is what he may as well be doing in between possesions, atleast them hed get that off his mind.
” set, uh oh turtle head”
I completely agree with jsoz. JBust will never be a good qb for the Raiders. He does not have the heart, nor does he care about winning in the NFL. We will continue to play him because of the contract he signed. It is all about the money. Cable is a pupet, he does not have the courage to challenge Al, nor does he have what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL. When you suffer the worst home defeat ever, you need to make changes. DHB will be a complete bust. I have said this on this forum many times, he does not catch the ball cleanly. Meaning it does not come natural for him. DMac can’t stay on the field. It has been the terrible moves by the front office, the inability to recognize football talent. They continue to draft track athletes as opposed to football players. The 0-line is the worst in the NFL, and the D-line is not much better. For Cable to continue to say the BS that comes out of his mouth is an insult to the intelligence of Raider fans. I do not need to come on here and curse to get my message across, but I do feel the pain for fellow Raider fans. I will not continue to make it a point in watching Raider games until changes are made. JBust will never be a great Raider qb, he may be good somewhere else, but the more I watch this bum, he reminds me of Ryan Leaf. Non-dedicated, out of shape bum. I don’t even know what direction the Raiders take, I do believe they need to purge the roster such as the Broncos did. They need to get another qb in the next draft to hopefully come in more dedicated than JBust. DHB will never be a top receiver in the NFL, Murphy will be a much better pro, and he was drafted in the 4th round. Crabtree has more catches after one game than DHB has all season. Crabtree came right off the street. I just cannot believe how bad this team is, and how many problems there are to fix. This team is in a shambles, and I do not see it getting any better soon. In the offseason I really thought the Raiders were turning the corner, but it is the same dissapointment we have had over the last six seasons.
Fed up Raiders fan!!!
This is what I believe. Morrison & Howard bring their lunchpails everyday. They are fast as lightning. They can both run like the wind. Both are as strong as a horse. Both have the fire to hit like a truck. Both are as tough as nails.
Unfortunately, I think they are about as SMART as nails, too. I believe that opposing OCs have been having a fielday devising gameplans against the Oakland Raiders, based on the fact that they can exploit Howard AND Morrison’s lack of discipline. They already KNOW to get 52 moving laterally, that way he will usually overpursue at least 50% of the time. Thus, the RB merely cuts back (to where 52 SHOULD be), for an easy 1st down…IF the safety can make the stop. Otherwise, it ends up being a huge gain or a TD.
Against the Chargerls on MNF, both 52 & 53 showed HORRENDOUS discipline by literally giving away huge chunks of land underneath. They did not even dispute this territory. They gave it up willingly. So, the bolts marched right down the field & won, for the 12th time in a row.
I believe Philip Rivers LOVES 52 & 53. He is smarter than both of them combined, & knows how he will abuse them…even with 1 minute left in the game, the chargers needing a TD & 80 yds to go. Rivers NEVER panics as long as 52 & 53 are on the field. It seems like Rivers (who I hate) is always giving those 2 dumbells bad choices, & they always make the worst decisions, which Rivers already KNOWS they will do b/c he has watched hours of film on them & seen them implode every single game for the last 6 yrs.
Do you think it’s a mere coincidence that we have not beaten the chargirls since 52 & 53 have been the starters?
It makes sense to me Mrmres, you know youre football. Seems this Raider team has serious issues on both sides of the ball. Thats what you get when you draft for speed and not draft football players who understand the game. Al Davis is not only blind but cant hear anything or read either. What a joke.
I think Al Davis still knows football. I think his blueprint for building a winner is still viable. Also, it is obvious that there are few other owners who want to win more than him, & he is willing to put his $$ where his mouth is to accomplish his goal. In fact, he is willing to overpay to achieve it. Go ask Buffalo Bills fans (playing 1 game in Canada for a ‘home’ game. lol), or Jags fans, or Bucs fans, or chef fans et al. I read quite a few different blogs. Fans are always complaining how CHEAP the owners of their team(s) are.
The problem seems to be that Al has SEVERELY overestimated the mettle of today’s players. He seems to take for granted that the players he likes enough to pay are cut from the same cloth as his overachievers from the 70’s & 80’s. These KIDS today think of themselves as ‘business men’, yet they seem to have no problem behaving like ‘thugs’. (BTW, what is it with this baggy-pants thug culture???).
Al Davis seems transfixed on the fact (for example) that Rod Martin was a 2 time Pro Bowler with 2 SB rings…& he was drafted in the 12th rd! Martin was an overachiever, & Davis has seen this happen dozens of times with various other players from Otis Sistrunk to Bo Jackson. He loves to take chances, b/c he has seen the players whom he has taken a risk on in the past rise to the challenge. Football is still the same, albeit more complicated from a strategic/tactical POV. However, the players of today that have “Al Davis” written all over them, no longer have what Davis has always taken for granted INSIDE of them.
$$$ has changed the NFL. In my opinion, not for the better. The losses don’t hurt these children enough, IMO. They have their Escalades, rims, ipods, xbox, cell phones, Armani suits, over-sized homes, women, jewellery, etc to con$ole them. They are over-compen$ated. The Raiders from the 60s 70s & 80s HATED to lose! These guys of today give up in the 1st quarter! They let the Jets hang 300+ yrds on the ground, & 38 points on them…the worst home defeat in Raider history. Do you think they’re crying about that right now? pffft, they’re probably falling asleep in a meeting or the film room at this very moment.
As Madden once said “We may not have won every game, but I GUARANTEE you that the other team was NOT going out dancing after they beat us”.
Now, THAT is what I remember about those great Raider teams. Not “Hang with us, Raider Nation!”, then letting a team with a struggling ROOKIE QB run for 300 yds & put up 38 points. At HOME!
Don’t blame Al Davis. Yes, he collects these underachievers, but they are not living up to their part of the bargain. Maybe they are too pampered. Maybe they are overpaid. Maybe they are spoiled brats who don’t have enough heart. Or, maybe it’s something else which is much simpler as an explanation…only nobody ever seems to think of it. They could be STUPID…
agreed Mrmres!! the obvious fix to this issue on the SB’s…(not talking SuperBowls…more to the point of SPOILED BRATS!!!!!) is incentive laiden contracts to the point where they have to achieve to get paid! BUT….why would they want to sign one when other teams will just give them the money no matter how they play. It’s sad to see it like this but it is purchasing a product without looking at it before you bring it home. If you don’t get insurance or a return policy and it turns out to be garbage (AKA RUSSELL) you are screwed!!! If we were to pay these players right now like WR’s for TD’s or shit! FIRST DOWNS or getting over 500 yards!!! they’d all be F’n broke like an offensive game plan by the raiders! So what are we paying jbust? 3-6 million for a F’n touchdown per season???
How did half of these players make it past college? If you fail a test do you blame the instructor for making a hard test? If you failed 8 in a row? NO YOU GO OUT AND STUDY!!! Get a tutor!!! what has jbust done after horrible games??? SULK,BLAME, and come to the next game unprepaired! F he better have gotten HUGE contract cause with logic and brains like that GURANTE!! he’ll be broke 2 years after we cut his ass and noone picks his sorry ass up
I agree with others, Davis can’t seem to figure out that just because a guy is good in college doesn’t mean he’ll be good in the nfl. We don’t have the coaches with the ability to make a player better so they just take the big bucks and decline into a player that acts like he hasn’t played the game before. I also agree that our LB’s certainly fit into that picture quite well, as does DMac who if isn’t injured is fumbling too much. I wish we had at least a decent oline to see what he could do on the ground because his numbers before the injury aren’t good. DHB may have more heart than Crabtree but if Cable doesn’t at least throw him some screen type passes to see his speed at work, he’s not going to gain much confidence anytime soon. If Davis puts JR back in then he certainly isn’t going to overhaul all these crappy players like Denver did (which worked).
YEA i dont agree with teh death threats to the maverick. buti do agree linebackers are terrible never in right spot!!
and this comment “I guess probably what happened to us last year,” Cable said, “by playing Johnnie Lee and Chaz there at the end, they were able to have their breakthrough, and it kind of happened about the same time JaMarcus (Russell) had his, in terms of improvement” So what the hell happen to Johnnie Lee develop have we just said fuck him and we goin with Watkins, this is so contradictory(if i spelled dat right)!! i will never understand why we are not playn more veteran players Walker adn Johnnie and let theyoung wideouts come on at the end of the year, at least they will still have there confidence!! man this shit is krazy!! CABLE WILL YOU PLEASE GIVE WALKER AND JOHNNIE LEE A CHANCE FOR THE FREAKN TEAM SAKE AND FANS!!
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