Overall the Raiders Changes Look Pretty Good

 I was pretty upset with the firing of head coach Tom Cable, and thought long and hard about renewing my four season tickets.  I've lost faith in Al Davis to really do the right thing.  Do I keep them all, dump two, or just drop them all together and buy single game seats when I really want to go?

Ah, hell.  I'm too much a Raider fan.

Renew 'em all.

I've watched the changes being made this off-season with more that just some interest.  For the most part, Hue Jackson appears to be in charge.

Player changes:

• Keeping Rock Cartwright - good
• Franchise tag on Kamerion Wimbley - sound good
• Resigned Stanford Routt - 3 years, $31 million . . . this is what I'm talking about Al.  I'd throw at him all day long.  Sheesh.  Maybe he'll really impress me this year.  He certainly doesn't lack confidence, and he did have a lot of balls to defend . . . whatever.  It's not my money - directly.  Dump him and do everything to keep Nnamdi.  Who would replace his leadership back there?  
• Adios Robert Gallery - "The only thing that was mutually agreed upon is his numbers were way out of line with ours," said Raiders senior executive John Herrera.  Gallery wanted $8 million per year.  Hmm . . . less than Routt.  Big thing here will be who they replace him with.  I wouldn't say he is at the top of league linemen, but I thought his game has improved the past few years.  An upgrade of the line is needed, especially with pass defense.
• Keeping Richard Seymour - Very good.  Worth the $30 million?  Probably.  He is a leader and a force to be reckoned with.
• Keeping John Henderson - Good.  That puts the D-line in good shape.
• Contracts offers to Zach Miller and Michael Bush - Very good.  They want to be able to match any offer made by another club.  Loosing either of these two guys would be a hit for the Raiders.

Coaching changes:
I'm not going to focus on who has left, other than John Marshall, but more on who has joined the Raiders.

• Staying: Hue Jackson - It really looks like he is in charge of the Raiders.  I know he had a very positive impact on our offensive play last year, and am very hopeful he will have the same level of commitment from his players that we saw them give Cable.  Good.
• Gone: John Marshall - I liked what he did with the defense this year.  There were games that we just looked incredible (San Diego, Kansas City, Denver, Seattle), but then there were games where I just couldn't understand what was going on with the defense (Colts, Jaguars, Miami, 49ers).  Will the Raiders take the progress and improve, or will we look like the past seven years?  Only the play will tell.
• Staying: John Fassel - At times special teams looked outstanding, and at times, horrible.  It is hard to understand why you can't get more consistency out of special teams play - other teams get it.  Is it the smarts of the players?  He has two years as the head guy on special teams.  This time better be the charm . . . Disappointed.
• Staying: Greg Biekert - I thought he might be gone, but he was specifically announced as staying, and since the improvement in LB play was visible, and he joined in 2010, I'm thinking this is good.
• Joined: Chuck Bresnahan - He did a good job for us under Jon Gruden, and I'm hopeful he will be a solid replacement for Marshall.  Good.
• Staying: Sanjay Lal - I saw some improvements in routes that were run by the young receiver core of the Raiders, but still not where it should be.  Disappointed.
• Staying: Brad Roll - As strengthening and conditioning coach, I wonder . . . it seems the Raiders have had a lot of hamstring problems last couple of years . . . I'd look around.
• Staying: Kevin Ross - There were a lot of young guys in the backfield this year, and for the most part they performed rather well.  Good.
• Joined: Al Saunders - He's got a pretty darn good resume, and has worked with Hue Jackson in the past - that's a definite positive for the team.  Very good.
• Staying: Kelly Skipper - Two young running backs who can start, and both performing really well this year.  The past two years he's been the running backs coach.  Very good.
• Staying: Mike Waffle - The defensive line has made great stride in both talent and play. Very good.
• Joined: Steve Wisniewski - Can he still play?  Just kidding.  Honestly, who knows about this.  They brought him in as an assistant so that's good.  Good players can't always coach, but boy, I'd love to see him succeed!  Very good.
• Joined: Rod Woodson - I LOVED this guy on the field.  I also have felt his commentary on TV was good - he certainly sees the game.  Like Wisniewski, I'd love to see him succeed.  He is an assistant.  Very good.
• Joined: Bob Wylie - I'm not really that impressed with his recent resume - sharing OL duties with the Broncos, CFL (three years & two teams) assistant with the Cardinals & Bucs.  A critical area needing improvement, and I don't feel he is the guy, but maybe he is all we could get . . .  Disappointed.

The draft this year will be interesting for the Raiders.  Let's all hope to see a class like 2010!

What do you think?  Let me know!

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Photo Credits:
All photos from the Raiders website

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Cable Gone Instead of Al!

I'm in shock!  Al has engineered 7 loosing seasons in a row, finally gets a guy who turns it around, and look what he does?  Al did it with Gruden as well, you may remember.  Who's the looser here?  I've got some pretty telling stats that the Raiders have performed poorly over a nearly 20 year period.  For example, the Raiders rank 24th out of 28 in wins among teams who have played every season from 1990 thru 2009 (144 wins for a 7.2 average wins per season).  In case you didn't notice - that's a long term loosing team.  Painful.

The point is that it is NOT the head coach that's the problem . . .


I thought Cable was growing into the job really well, and he obviously had most of the players and fans behind him.  WE all saw the quality he brought.  He was animated, excitable on the sideline, and certainly I thought he very much looked in charge during the game.  I was beginning to feel like he would be our next John Madden!  A REAL Raider coach.  I thought it appeared that he had found a way to coach the team, and work with Davis.

Apparently not.

Hugh Jackson was both a positive and a negative - responsible for giving the offensive game plans - some really great ones! BUT - why did he not run McFadden or Bush against Miami (9 times),  Indianapolis (14 times), key games where he didn't exploit weak running defenses?  Instead he put the ball and the game into Jason Campbell's hands.

Remember how Cable pulled Campbell early in the season, and then Jackson came out later and said HE was the guy that pulled Campbell . . . maybe Hugh was bucking for the job all along . . . maybe - dare I say it - he was undermining Cable?  I can see a couple of losses being setup by Jackson - maybe he even found a way to blame Cable based on something Cable said to him; "Hey Tom, I just did what you said to do!"  I can see Jackson telling Davis; "I want to be a head coach, and I would be willing to stay here if I'm made head coach.  Otherwise I'll definitely be gone because that's what I want to do."

I am VERY disappointed with this decision.

Yes, Jackson doubled the output of the offense.  But last year the Raiders had to rely on JaMarcus Russell!  Al's guy!  How hard was that even with a mediocre QB?  We got the answer - not very hard!

Did Al not see how the defense improved as well?  Again, the important losses against Miami and Indianapolis, (and Jacksonville for that matter) saw the defense having to stay out there, and they did not get the pressure on the quarterback throughout the game.  Maybe it was just man-on-man play and we weren't good enough, but I didn't see the kind of defensive attack against those guys like we did against KC.

Was that Cable's responsibility?

On most teams, probably so, but on the Raiders those guys really report to Al Davis.  He makes the decisions about the head and assistant coaches.  They know the head coach can't fire them.  So, they work together, but when push comes to shove, they don't HAVE to go with the head coach.

It's dysfunctional.  Where else does someone keep their job after such long term poor performance?

And to think I stood by Al's decisions through thick and thin for so many years . . .

I'll stop now.  I have to get over my disappointment with this decision.

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Photo Credits:
All photos from the Raiders website

Raiders Set to Challenge Payton

Right there – in a nutshell – is the game.  It’s the Raiders against Payton Manning.  It’s not about the Indianapolis Colts.  It’s not that you worry the Colt’s will beat you.  It’s what Payton Manning will do against your team.

The Colts go the way of Manning.  If he has a great game, the Colts are uplifted, and they can be a dangerous team. 

Manning has two wins in a row (Tennessee, and Jacksonville), and in those two games he has thrown 4 touchdowns with 548 yards, and most importantly, had no interceptions.  Prior to those two games, Manning had three losses, and it’s easy to point to the fact that he threw 10 interceptions in those games as being the central reason for those losses.

Manning is always dangerous.  In two of the three losses the Colts scored 28 and 35 points.  The only game they were held to under 20 points in that streak was 17 points against San Diego.

There really is only one way to stop Payton Manning, and that is get in his face and harass him all day long. 

But that’s not so easy.

Manning is well known for his play calling at the line of scrimmage.  He waits to see what the defense is giving him, and has been known to call three plays at the line base on what adjustments he sees the defense make. 

In the end, what matters will be the Raiders beating the Colts offensive line to make Manning’s day a bad one, no matter what he does.

Keeping Manning off the field is helpful, but not a certain method to defeat the Colts.  Ask the Miami Dolphins about that. 

Last September the Dolphins kept the ball for 45 minutes against the Colts.  They had 15 first downs out of 21 chances, and ran the ball for 239 yards.   Manning had only 35 plays to work with against 85 for the Dolphins, but . . . that was all he needed.  Manning engineered a drive with 3:50 left in the game, and down 20-24.  Well, I guess you’d call it a drive.  It took him 32 seconds to score the winning touchdown.

The Raiders ought to be able to run the ball against the leagues 28th ranked defense against the run.   Indianapolis ranks 11th against the pass, but the Raiders managed to dominate the NFL’s number one ranked San Diego’s pass defense.

The result the Raiders had against San Diego is what should give all Raiders fans hope, because just a few weeks ago, the Chargers held the Colts to 17 points, while putting up 36 points against their defense.

Stick to the formula – rush and pressure Manning on defense, and run over the Colts defense –a good day from our defensive backs - and I think the Raiders pull of this win in the Oakland Coliseum tomorrow.

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Photo Credits:
All photos from the Raiders website

Raiders to Rebound Against Denver

Last week was a tough loss against a pretty good team. The Raiders had done what they needed to do in order to win, even after letting Jacksonville back in the game. Pulling out a tie with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter, it felt like they would get the ball back, and get the chance to put it away right at the end of the game.

Jason Campbell had a great day - his best yet for the Raiders. I mentioned last week that the audible seemed to be non-existent, but Campbell had three audibles in the game, and one was for a touchdown. Campbell showed true leadership throughout the game, and the comfort to override plays that came in from the coach, based on what he saw the defense doing.

It all speaks well for the future.

Today, the Raiders take on the Denver Broncos in Oakland. I hate to be a broken record - you may well take me to task for it - but . . . the Raiders can beat anybody - and I mean anybody - if they do what it takes to get the running game going and keep it going, and defensively put pressure on the quarterback on every play.

Tom Tebow will start for the Broncos today, and as a reasonably mobile quarterback he will likely be a challenge to contain. Expect at least one big gainer on a 3rd down.

Put pressure on him and frustrate him, and the Raiders should show him how this is not college. He still has a lot to learn.

Today is a great opportunity for the Raiders - an important game on a number of fronts.

• If they win the remaining three games they have a winning record at the end of the season
• Win today, and they are 5-0 in the division, with the chance to sweep against KC
• Keep alive the possibility that they get into the playoffs
• Establish they are in fact better than bad teams - and Denver is a bad team this year

It may be that you are holding your breath in anticipation of the Raiders getting into the playoffs.  That would be fantastic.

But on a realistic front, I would be happy at the end of the season with a winning record.

I would feel an 8-8 record is a solid statement that the Raiders are a team on the move, and are up out of the doldrums of the past seven years - a fantastic season.

But I would be thrilled to see the Raiders sweep the AFC West with a 6-0 record.  How long has it been since we did that?

The Raiders can win today.  I think the Colts Payton Manning can threaten the Raiders with his ability to throw the ball, but we can beat him with pressure.  The Chiefs will be tough, and will certainly be fighting us for a playoff spot, but there is no aspect of their game that we can't stop.

Keep the pressure on the quarterback, run the ball, and the Raiders win!

This has been the best season in years, and I'm lovin' it!

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Photo Credits:
Photo of Raiders vs Broncos from the Raiders website