[Untitled]

First thing's first.......

Let's go back to Sunday, but I'm not even going to go over the stats. (If you want to relive those again or missed the game or numerous press rippings, you can take a look for yourself.) The team was, in one word, HORRIBLE.

Good. Now that's out of the way, let's start with the quarterback.

I'll admit I was advocating patience and waiting to see how JaMarcus Russell developed (you can see my first ever post for proof). I'll also admit that was before I saw him play as bad as he has the past couple games. There appeared to be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel for him in the first couple weeks of the season, but, now, I'm not so sure.

I'm also getting tired of the excuses and blaming his play on the holdout, receivers, O-line, etc. We all see that there are some soft spots. What I'm questioning is Russell's leadership (he is one of the offensive captains), confidence and ability to process the game and what's happening. I'll account for different personalities, but something has to change. He sits on the end of the bench after drives. His body language shows lack of confidence. He rarely is seen talking to the rest of his offensive teammates or trying to get them motivated. Personally, those things aren't leaders do.

People, pundits, whomever, talk about the greats having "it." Now, admittedly, I have no idea what the hell "it" even is, but I will say this.....You knew "it" when you watched Young, Montana, Stabler, Aikman, Kelly, Staubach and company. You know "it" when you watch Brady and Manning. You knew you didn't see "it" when you watched Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, Heath Shuler, Tim Couch, Cade McNown, Todd Marinovich (AHEM!!!!!) and...you get what I'm trying to say. When I watch, I'm not seeing "it" from Russell. Now, that's not saying he will never get "it," but I'm skeptical now. The guy sure has all the physical skills that one could possibly have. But is the leadership and moxy there? Right now, I'd have to answer that with a, "No."

I'll liken it to a story I heard on sports talk radio one afternoon. The host was invited to an NFL event with some current players. Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers were both there. The host explained that Alex Smith was very timid, very reserved. His handshake wasn't strong and he spent most of the time off to the side talking to only one or two people at a time. Rodgers, on the other hand, had a firm handshake and drew people to him. He commanded respect and commanded the room. He had a personality of strength and leadership that people took to. Now we see how Rodgers' and Smith's careers have gone in opposite directions, even though Smith was the higher draft pick.

I'm getting tired of the excuses people are making for Russell. If he is as great as people think he is, he'll pick himself and the rest of the team up by the chin strap and make the best out of a bad situation, work hard to improve himself and the team and learn and soak up what it takes to play the game and run the offense.

With Russell, I also question the mental aspect of the game. Can he process the defense? Can he maintain and remember and entire playbook for the week, plus hot routes, plus audibles, etc.? Based on what I heard from people that were close to the team when I was out in Oakland, the playbook is drastically limited for him. That can't happen. That's makes the offense predictable and too easy to defend because teams know what's coming or just plain don't care because we can't execute a pass play.

Let's not forget the standings in the AFC West, either. Currently they are as follows:

Denver 4-4
San Diego 3-5
Oakland 2-6
Kansas City 1-7

What's that have to do with anything, you ask? Chew on this.....The Raiders beat the Ravens and the Falcons (two very beatable teams, mind you) and we're tied for the division lead! I guess the best part is, even at 2-6 we're not out of it. We just have to stop losing!

Something needs to change on offense and change fast. We can still win the division! This whole, "we prepare like a Super Bowl team during the week" junk is getting old. To me, that means we have a team full of practice players. Let's see Michael Bush get on the field more. Here's some blasphemy coming your way, so get your delicate eyes ready.......let's see Andrew Walter get a shot! GASP! That's right, I said it. What's it going to hurt? Are we going to lose a game? Trent Dilfer and some others on ESPN will say it's not the fans' choice how teams use their players and develop them. I disagree. We're the ones that buy the tickets, pay the parking, buy the merchandise, buy the concessions, buy the Sunday Ticket to watch the team when we live in Ohio. If we want a change, our concerns should at least be heard.

I couldn't even think of a title for this, hence the lazy '[Untitled].' I know that what's going on with the Raiders is frustrating and so puzzling, it's like nothing I've ever seen as a fan. Is it the owner, the coaching staff, the players, the quarterback, injuries? We can clearly see that the quarterback is not good, right now. Let's hope that's temporary and let's hope the coaching staff gets things together and management can bring some cultural stability and get the team back on track.

I'll be getting all over DeAngelo Hall being released (I'm kind of bummed I can't rip his play now) and whatever else may come between Wednesday night and Thursday night in tomorrow night's post. It is the Oakland Raiders, after all, so stay tuned. It'll probably be very interesting.

Can we just hit the snooze button?

It happens to everyone. That damn loud shriek, ringing, buzzing, radio. Seriously. Please, just five more minutes. Five more minutes of ecstacy, jubilation. Pretty please?

No such luck. Time to wake up, get back to work.

That was the feeling and thinking this week. Big win Sunday. New day and week on Monday. The Jets have left Oakland and the Raiders will be getting on a plane for Baltimore later this week. Tom Cable knew this and knew there was lots to be done.

First, the issue of penalties. Time to put a stop to that. It was good to hear Cable take responsibility for the penalty problem and address it. I realize players get jacked up and the raucous crowd helps that, but we need to maintain focus. Wade Phillips, earlier this season, said something to the affect that wins and losses aren't measure by penalties. True. But let's just put this out there now.....penalties can cost you games though. Just look at the game on Sunday. A penalty cost us a touchdown pass from JaMarcus Russell to Zach Miller. We wouldn't have even needed overtime to win that game, had it not been for Javon Walker not lining up on the line of scrimmage. Lack of focus. Simple as that. The penalties are ridiculous, to use the words of Cable. We are the Raiders. We should play hard and hit hard. We should not be proverbially shooting ourselves in the foot. That is not playing hard, that is not aggression. That is lack of discipline and lack of focus.

Second, it's time to use the positive team dynamic that came from last Sunday's game. No chaos, no dysfuntion. Just one team pulling together for the win. The offense managed the game better, the defense did not get frustrated with the offense, coaches collaborated on play calling and adjustements. That's how real teams face adversity and overcome it. Has the time finally come where we are seeing a true team? Not coaches being mad at coaches, defense being mad at the offense, the owner (woops....I mean managing general partner) not being mad at the head coach? That's not the Raiders' way, is it? Jay Richardson put it pretty well, "In previous times, if we had been in this situation, guys would have been pointing fingers, or saying why did this happen, what's going on, or here we go again. But no one had that attitude this time. Everyone was together. I think it's the first time since I've been here that I've seen the whole team have the same feel about something like that."

I think that is something we could all agree with. However, while Richardson hit the nail on the head, when one of the defensive captains speaks up and says something very similar, we know we need to listen. Nnamdi Asomugha said, “We believe now, whereas before, we would get in the fourth quarter and it would kind of fall apart on us. I think we needed this to spark our success.”

The third piece to this trifecta of hope that was three different Raiders players was what Justin Fargas had to say. “I wanted to be part of the Raider team that turns this thing around and gets things going in the right direction."

What? Really? Are these the same Raiders? They are, and I'm glad. This is what it's a about, this is what wins games. This is how you turn around seasons and franshises. This is how we start to improve. Players want to play with and for each other. Coaches want to coach with and for each other. Players and coaches want to be with the organization and they want to win.

I must ask though, is there a "Cable Factor?" I don't know what to call it, but it seems that even the players and coaches that were most embattled with and under Kiffin, seem to be buying into Cable and enjoying having him as the head coach. Even if they're not enjoying Cable as the head coach, at least they're not bickering in the media and airing the team's dirty laundry in public. It seems the coaching staff's focus has returned to coaching and improving the team. It's nice to see the media talking about what the Raiders do on the field rather than off. I hope that the team takes that and runs with it.

When the new stories began on Monday, they were about how the Raiders still had lots of work. I didn't want anything to take away the joy of the win, but the stories were true. I would've been totally happy with sitting back and enjoying the win from this past Sunday. All happy, fat and content all the way to Baltimore. But that's not how teams win and one win isn't what we fans shoudl be settling for. So, when the euphoria from this past Sunday was about to wear off and I didn't want it to, I fought it for a second. But, then I thought, it's time to move on and win in Baltimore and beat Atlanta at home and so on and so forth. This is a wake up call the Raiders and their fans haven't had in a while. Not the kind when your alarm goes off early Monday morning and you have to go to work. The kind where you are happy to wake up because you know that you have something to look forward to.......WINS.