[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.

Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

For we Raiders fans, I think Milton summed it up pretty well. However, there are two things we need to keep in mind:

1.) There is some kind of light that the team and organization can get to
2.) At least we're not the Cincinnati Bengals

Let's be honest, after this circus, things probably can't get much worse, could they? After Sunday you do have to wonder.

13-35 passing. 6-16 on third down. 226 yards of total offense. 85 net yards rushing, with no back over 35 yards for the game. No sacks on defense until 3:26 left in the fourth quarter. 34 unanswered points.

By any estimation, that's miserable. Not a great start to Tom Cable's interim tenure (recent history would tell you that every Raiders coach is pretty much "interim") as head coach of the Raiders. I don't think there's a person that follows NFL football that would argue that. How could there be a light at the end of this tunnel?

Think (and hope) Troy Aikman. That's right. Troy Aikman. He went 0-11 as a starter in 1989 after coming out of UCLA as the number one overall pick in the 1989 draft. The rest is pretty much history and a Hall of Fame career. Can Russell be that type of QB? Can McFadden be our Emmitt Smith? Can any transformation happen as fast as it did from the 1989 to the 1990 Cowboys? It can. The questions we really need to ask are, can Russell fix the accuracy, can we get some real wide receivers and will Al Davis allow for just 10 minutes of consistency within the franchise for the future to begin to take shape?

Russell's going to be a work in progress, we all know that. Unfortunately, today's world of professional sports is not conducive with having patience. There's just too much at stake ($$$$$$$$). His baptism by fire started on Sunday. Knapp's first spin with the play sheet was of mixed results. There were definitely more pass plays and less running plays. McFadden saw the field less. Our offense was predictable, Russell and the receivers were out of synch and we couldn't convert a third down. Yet, I wasn't discouraged. We all can see the passing offense is predictable and Russell leaves a bit to be desired in picking up the offense, reading defenses and seeing the field. But let's remember, Dan Marino wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and that turned out ok. He just has to learn (and, hopefully, learn quickly). The physical skills are there. You could see them again on Sunday.

Now, I have to beg the question.....can we get some real receivers, please, Al? You're talking about Fargas and Bush being on the trading block to clear some cap room, you'd better be in the market for a receiver or some early round draft picks in the 2009 NFL draft to pick up a receiver (or to clear cap room to keep Asmougha). Javon Walker is not going to cut it, especially given where his head is and has been. The young guys (Higgins and Schillens) look ok, but we need a play maker, someone for Russell to be confident in and comfortable with. Lelie is not the answer. Higgins is yet unproven.

Now on to a word that has not been in the Oakland Raiders vocabulary for the past 6 years. Consistency. Please, Al. For the sake of all that's Silver and Black. For the love of The Ghost to the Post. Give the team and organization some consistency. Let Russell learn a system that will be in place for longer than 20 games. Cable has a great attitude and has a very good no-nonsense approach, but everyone can see he's not the longterm solution. Whatever's decided and whenever that may be (paging Jim Fassel), give it time to work. Russell needs time, McFadden needs time, the coaching staff needs time, the organization needs time. Not a decade. Just a couple years. At age 79, we know that time is at a premium, but the Raiders will endure long after Al. They will endure because of what Al has done for the organization. The past 6 years are working to undo all that, but I don't think it can or will happen. Al's son was in his suite with him at the Superdome on Sunday, so who knows what that may spell for the future, but with some consistency, we will win again.

It's just a question of how soon and how easy it will be to get to the light.


(Editors Note: I just wanted to give a quick shot out to Metsradamus and his brother for the inspiration for this. Be sure to pay Metsradamus' blog a visit to see a world class blog from a guy that shows what it means to be a true fan.)