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Talk about a sour taste. Losing to a one win team. Nasty taste. Losing a one win Chiefs, tastes like rotting, spoiled, sat in the sun on a hot summer day, chunky, vomit. Well, it wasn't all bad. The defense gave up just 13 points (7 was the fumbled fake FG). That gives the Raiders defense something to be proud of. The loss, doesn't hurt us that badly, because Denver won in New York and put us in too large of a hole to climb out of. I don't think anyone really expected us to make a run, but mathematically, it wasn't the longest of shots. Now it is and we can put that thought to bed. Last four games in pts allowed: 17, 17, 10, 13 This kind of defensive performance is more than enough to win most of the time. Unfortunately, the offense hasn't shown up in any game except in Denver. People need to stop whining about Ron Ryan. When we are able to consistently play man, we are an above average defense that flashes greatness. Fargas fumble hurt, because it came a crucial t...

After touting how competitive the Raiders were last season and how close we were to turning it around coming into the year, I couldn't help try to compare this season to last, to see if we indeed were making any progress. I will be breaking this down into three categories. 1 score games = 7 pt margin or less and + or - 1 competitive pt, 2 score game 8-14 pt margins, and 3 score games, 15+ pt margins. 1,2, or 3 competitive pts plus or minus depending on win or lose. The reason I decided to do this was because record isn't always the best indicator of how good a team is. Certainly it is a good indicator, but I am just trying to figure out if the team is progressing or regressing. I wish it were obvious, but among fans there is quite a disagreement. 2008 -3 +3 -1 -2 -3 +1 -3 -3 -2 -1 +3 11 Games = -11 (record 3-8) 2007 -2 -1 +1 +3 -2 -1 -1 -1 -2 -1 +1 11 games = -9 (record 3-8) +2 -3 -1 -3 -3 16 games = -17 In conclusion, we were more competitive last season through 12 weeks, but ...

Some major homers think it is possible to make the playoffs this season. Some not so crazies think maybe next year. These things can be difficult to project, but I'm going to take a look at ten team needs. Fill these needs and playoffs aren't just a mirage. 1. Give Nnamdi a long term deal. 2. LT 3. RT 4. WR 5. WR 6. FS 7. OLB 8. DT 9. DE 10. LB 1. No brainer 2 & 3. Obviously, one of the glaring weaknesses is the OT spot. Finding replacements via draft and free agency will be important. Perhaps moving Kwame to RT could fill one of the holes. I don't like it, but you aren't going to fill all ten holes with a great or even good player. So finding a better protector for Russell's backside might be the best we can do. 4 & 5. There will be WR available in free agency and adding one in the draft could be a good idea, but not likely to make an immediate impact. We need this position to become a strength before the offense can become a juggernaut. 6. FS is going to b...

It was a satisfying win. Sweet revenge after the week one debacle. As has been my practice recently, instead of tell you what you should think or what happened, which undoubtedly you watched it yourself or already know. I will just give you some of my observations. Feel free to add your own in the comments. I will post any good ones that I happened to miss. - The defense has been very good three weeks in a row. Against teams that have different strengths and weaknesses. No Hall, No zone, No joke. - Russell is looking very crisp with his reads and throws. The stats are reflecting the improvement. HE still hasn't been allowed to throw it a ton, but I do like that he takes care of the ball and has been able to get it deep into the secondary. - The lack of creativity on offense is bothersome. I don't think I am the only one who noticed that once the playbook was opened up, the offense started to roll. Hopefully we can keep the diversity in playcalling going into future weeks. - If ...

Anyone should be able to understand Bush's feelings about being a fullback. Fullbacks are disappearing in the NFL. They are second class citizens as far as some personnel men are concerned. Most teams don't even use a fullback these days and are opting to spend the money on a third good receiver to spread things out. The last thing Bush wants is to get stuck playing fullback and be out of a job. In his mind, this is what a fullback is. However, getting Bush onto the field as a fullback could potentially put all three of our runningbacks on the field at the same time. Which is putting our best weapons out there together. McFadden in the slot and Bush and Fargas in the backfield, would be one running formation they might be able to use. Another would be the Wildcat formation with McFadden as the QB and Bush and Fargas behind him. Bush could potentially run some wildcat as well with Fargas and McFadden lined up on the field. There are a variety of ways Bush can get involved as a f...

I think we learned a couple things from last game. I just hope the team learned more than we did. We witnessed some improvement, but it wasn't even in line with the improvement we saw under Kiffin. I wasn't a huge fan of Kiffin, but I am a fan of consistency. Instead of a long boring post me telling you why I am God and my opinions mean more than yours (like the beat writers) I will instead just bullet some obvious, yet somewhat ignored facts. - Since releasing Hall,  we have almost played exclusively man coverage, and the defense has been much better for it. - Except at the end of games, and look what happens. Stop it Ryan! - Russell will be fine given offensive pieces to succeed. - Curry being deactivated doesn't make any sense. He can play. I am pretty sure it is Curry's attitude that kept him off the field. - Harris and Henderson are HORRIBLE, anybody can see that, this is priority #1 this offseason. - We are still a better team than we have shown, on any giv...

We found out some important things about this team today. Instead of writing long tedious paragraphs, that frankly no one wants to read because it was another loss, I will instead just use some bullet points. - The defense can still play well. - The defense didn't use an inkling of zone. Chalk that up to Hall being gone. - The offensive line is one of the biggest weaknesses of this team. Obviously. - The other weakness is, we have no playmakers at wide receiver. Obviously. - Russell is far from a bust, few QBs if any could succeed with the kind of talent he has to deal with. - Fargas still runs hard. - Walter might be a solid QB if he is ever put in the right situation. - This team didn't give up, which is an improvement over the past few weeks. - OTs are terrible, Harris and Green awful. - Henderson outplayed Harris, yet got less playing time. He drove Peppers into the ground on at least two plays. Which is saying something. - Peppers is the best defensive lineman in the leagu...

Jim Harbaugh - College Record 37-17 He has a mature relationship with Al Davis. Will that be enough to turn anything around? I think the good news is he would be a lot like Kiffin, but without the super ego and selfish throwing Davis under the bus mentality. Jim Fassel - NFL Record 60-56-1 - Crazy enough to take the job. Al Davis has looked at him multiple times in the past. Probably a pretty good coach in relative terms. He would do anything to get another shot. He has probably done a lot of thinking about what he did wrong and right in the past. Might be a good gamble. James Lofton - NO HC EXPERIENCE - Davis hired him to coach WR. Cable was given the job over him mostly because of Knapp and the other coaches. Davis couldn't afford to have half of his coaches walk midseason. He merits another interview, but I think Davis will hesitate considering the lack of WR production this season. Dennis Green - NFL Record 117-102 - Has been on the Davis radar for sometime now. I get the f...

Something I speculated would happen two weeks ago has come true. No I am not Miss Cleo. In fact I think it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. It has become so painful to watch no one is going to buy tickets. Few people would even consider watching the game on TV. Just too painful. It is sad because even the most die hard Raider fans have gone from fanatic to apathetic recently. We can no longer watch such miserable football. What will it take for this thing to turn around? Sadly, I think Al Davis has lost it. It has been over 20 years since Davis was able to do it himself. He needs someone to help him an he needs to let go of the control. Then maybe he will live to see the Raiders win their fourth super bowl. Posted with LifeCast

The day Hall got his ticket out of town, Asomugha made sure every media member showed up at his locker after practice. He had something to say, and it wasn't pretty. Asomugha is a smart guy. He is one of those rare guys that will probably move on to bigger things after football. Asomugha didn't think Hall got enough time to prove himself. Asomugha didn't agree with the Huff and Curry benchings, or maybe more how it was handled than the benchings themselves. Curry and Huff were benched for poor play, but no one ever really talked to them about getting benched, they just simply were told they were no longer the starters by positional coaches. If Cable had any kind of control or influence in that locker room, the moves wouldn't have been questioned at all. However, the players know that Davis is in control. The evidence of this is that Asomugha is going to have a meeting with Al Davis and not Tom Cable. Cable also told the team captains that Hall was getting released, but ...

Hall - Obvious Walker - Obvious Curry - Obvious Kelly - Interesting, but not surprising Huff - I say put him at CB, but not surprising at all. Harris - Revolving Door Green - Backup material Lelie - Cut by the 49ers. Sands - Paid like a starter, but plays like a backup or worse. Eugene - Backup starting Warren - High pay, poor run D, inconsistent, but interesting Sam Williams - Scholarship runs out. I got 12, I am sure there are plenty of other guys that could be cut, but these are the only guys that really get on the field with any regularity. My bet is most of them would go after the season unless they are a problem in the clubhouse or their contract would make them better to let go now.

PFT , NFL Network , and our own hometown papers have reported that DeAngelo Hall could be gone as soon as tomorrow. Wow. Simply Wow. Good for Al Davis if this is true. He is is admitting mistakes. Call this the purge year. Purge Kiffin, purge all these guys that Kiffin wanted to bring in. That is how Davis is going to spin it anyways. Hall is a cover 2 guy, he isn't fit for this system, get him out while you still can. Pay Asomugha. That guy is gold. Curry should be cut, Walker also. Kelly maybe. Harris? Sands? 15 is a lot, but it may not be immediate, you have to field a team after all. Maybe Hall will be a message to some guys that you either play well or say farewell. I think Huff is somebody we aren't too happy with, but for some reason I think maybe a move to CB in this system could benefit him. Call it a hunch on my part, but I wouldn't be disappointed if he was cut as well. He always seemed to play better up on the line against Gates than anytime he had to sit back ...

- Wilson thinks we practice like a Super Bowl team and play like a laughingstock and doesn't understand it. We wish you could figure it out and tell us, we don't understand it either. Do something about that will you? - Asomugha isn't happy we can't stop the run. He dominates his side of the field only to have the rest of the defense sit on their hands, of course he is upset. Is he calling out his teammates? I hope so. First things first you need to call out Mr. Hall. - Hall had his ex-Atlanta teammates over to his house Saturday BEFORE the game. DeAngelo, you have to play against those guys the next day. Talk about sleeping with the enemy. Sunday night after we win, then you invite them over. Jackass. Oh, and you might want to learn to play a little cornerback too. Did you leave your playbook on the coffee table? -Kirk Morrison is a captain..."Captain Positive." At some point Kirk, you are going to have to call out some guys for not getting the ...

Often times the so called experts and others "grade" teams at the half way point. Although officially the half point for the Raiders comes next week, I thought it would be interesting to look at how we stack up against the NFL and "grade" the four major areas of the team for this week's preview. Before you stop reading, note that I wont do this based on any opinion. Simply put the grading will be A-F and split evenly based on ypg (which is a pretty standard statistic) in each area. To be conservative, six teams get an A, B and C and seven get a D and F. So that would be two A+, two A and two A- or two F+, three F, and two F- (I know there isn't technically an F+ or F-, but for the sake of these rankings there will be). I will do a more comprehensive analysis with other stats and position analysis next week after the Raiders officially reach the half way point. Also included is the Falcons rankings in each area to see how we stack up. OFFENSE Overall: F+ (ATL...