Stop The Timidity

What is with all of the soft-pedaling of our recent first-round draft picks? If you listen to some folks, you'd think that JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden and Darrius Heyward-Bey are fragile little eggs instead of first-round draft picks in their athletic primes.

JaMarcus Russell, he needs time, doesn't he? A: He's had two years, his time is now.

How should we use Darren McFadden in the backfield? A: Ummm...give him the freakin' ball...a lot.

Let's not expect too much from Darrius Heyward-Bey in his first year, okay? A: Why not?

Honestly, what's up with the aura of timidity and fragility that surrounds our young skill players? Listening to some fans, you'd think we had all the time in the world to coddle these guys instead of expecting big things, right now.

Sure, these guys need time to hone their games. But in the meantime, why shouldn't we expect them to set off some fireworks and show vivid signs of their potential? Why shouldn't we expect them to take firm control of their respective positions? After all, each was drafted no lower than seventh in their respective drafts, right?

Where's our Matt Ryan, Adrian Peterson or Calvin Johnson? Who coddled those guys? Who set low expectations for them? Remember how much was made of the Chargers "sitting" Philip Rivers for "years" before turning him loose? Well, they actually turned him loose in his third year, the same year that JaMarcus Russell is in right now, and he promptly racked up a 92-percent passer rating. So there you go, JaMarcus. You don't need to be Matt Ryan. But can you at least start kicking ass in your third year like 'Lil Phil? Is that too much to ask?

Whenever I give examples like this, folks remind me that I'm focusing on the success stories in the NFL, not the failures. Well, why shouldn't I focus on the success stories? Why should I expect failure over success? These guys were drafted as the studs of their draft classes, each being the first taken at their respective positions. They should be ready to rock the house. Not tomorrow. Today.

So take off the velvet gloves, Raider Nation. Let's play some football. Let's turn the young studs loose and expect big things. Heck, let's demand big things.

P.S. I don't want to hear about this not really being Russell's third year due to his holdout. Many of those who are making excuses for him now were telling me back then that the holdout wasn't a big deal, and you can't have it both ways. The fact is that he was drafted as the very first pick in the 2007 draft and it's now 2009. Time for big things.

The Great 2009 NFL Helmet-Off

Talk about the dog days of summer. Our biggest news right now is old news: Darrius Heyward-Bey needs a cane to walk. Michael Huff is on the hot seat. JaMarcus Russell needs to prove himself. We need to figure out how to stop the run. Blah, blah, blah...

So to help cure our collective boredom, I have devised The Great 2009 NFL Helmet-Off, a blow-by-blow divisional ranking of team helmets followed by exciting postseason action.

Below is my take on the sartorial splendor of NFL lids. What's your take? Where have I gone wrong? Remember, this is for helmets only, so you can't dock, say, the Titans for their Transformers-style jerseys or the Broncos for their pajama pants.

(If you are on Twitter, please re-tweet my tweet on this @RaiderTake with the tag #helmetoff)

Let the games begin...

AFC West
Oakland Raiders - Hands down, the best. Epic.
San Diego Chargers - Gotta love the return to the white helmets
Kansas City Chiefs - Classic and true, no complaints.
Denver Broncos - Awful and childish...like many Broncos fans

AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers - Tough and traditional, love it.
Baltimore Ravens - This division sucks for helmets, grading on a curve.
Cleveland Browns - No, no logo is not cool, sorry.
Cincinnati Bengals - An abomination, someone should be held accountable.

AFC South
Indianapolis Colts - Clean and simple, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Tennesse Titans - Eccentric in a hip sort of way.
Houston Texans - Close to a winner, but something's just not right.
Jacksonville Jaguars - Can't name a single color on that helmet.

AFC East
New York Jets - Sort of ugly, but yet...cool.
Miami Dolphins - A bit wimpy, but classic and unique.
New England Patriots - An update gone horribly wrong.
Buffalo Bills - See Patriots.

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals - Always loved it, and the recent update was sensible enough.
San Francisco 49ers - Pains me to say it, but it's a strong look.
St. Louis Rams - Go back to the blue and white, or even yellow, and you trump the Niners
Seattle Seahawks - My eyes, my eyes!

NFC North
Chicago Bears - The strongest in a strong division.
Green Bay Packers - A bit gaudy, but distinctive and oddly dignified.
Minnesota Vikings - The new sheen knocks them down a notch.
Detroit Lions - Not bad, but last as always.

NFC South
New Orleans Saints - Crisp and classic.
Atlanta Falcons - Helped by a weak division, old helmets were better.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Not great, but better than the original.
Carolina Panthers - Teal should be banned. The lame semi-stripe doesn't help.

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys - Undeniably sweet.
Washington Redskins - It's not pretty, but it delivers the goods.
Philadelphia Eagles - I want to like it more, but I can't.
New York Giants - That's all they can come up with?

Wild Card Weekend
Chargers upset the Colts
Jets beat the Titans
Packers upset the Saints
Bears beat the 49ers

Divisional Playoffs
Raiders trounce the Jets
Steelers beat the Chargers
Cowboys beat the Cardinals
Bears beat the Packers

Championships
Raiders beat the Steelers
Cowboys beat the Bears

Super Bowl
Raiders steamroll the Cowboys

Just Wondering, Baby

1. Rob Ryan says that he will incorporate the 46 Defense in Cleveland, in which up to eight players may rush the quarterback. So now he's aggressive? Remember when he dropped 11 guys into coverage against his new team a few years ago and still gave up yardage?

2. What's up with Andrew Walter? Is he a total bust? I liked the guy coming out of college. To me, he looked the part, but he has since struck me as a bit sheepish and uninvolved (of course, that's just from afar, I really have no idea what he's like). Now he's clearly on the outs. What's missing? Ability? Attitude? Opportunity?

3. It's no secret that I have opted not to renew my Raiders season tickets this year. My take is that Lane Kiffin was retained heading into the 2008 season partly for money reasons and partly for stubborness reasons, and certainly not for long-term reasons related to building a winner. At the same time, the team had no problem taking my money after sending me glossy renewal literature talking about the "commitment to excellence," which in retrospect was a sham. I personally witnessed some of the most inept, eyeball-burning "football" in my life last year as a result of the inexcusable upheaval early in the season.

I'm no less of a Raiders fan this year, but I'll be damned if I'm going to write them a check for $1,200 for me and Cousin of Raider Take. My trust needs to be earned back before I write them a big check again.

Anyhow, I thought it was interesting that a sales representative from the Oakland A's called me a month ago, trying to talk me into attending a game. I haven't been to an A's game in a few years, and here was this guy working hard to get me to spend $40 for a ticket. Meanwhile, the Raiders have only sent me two form letters regarding my lapsing season tickets. No phone calls, no one asking me why I'm not renewing or trying to convince me to reconsider. Just two letters telling me that "as a result of high demand for quality seats like yours, we can no longer continue to hold your seats without payment." Okey-dokey.

I guess with all that high demand, they don't really need to work hard at retaining customers and selling packages. Could season ticket sales be on the rise this summer?

Playoffs or Bust

If we don't make the playoffs this year, we have failed again, in my opinion.

That may be an unpopular opinion, but so be it.

We're in an awfully weak division, and numerous teams have gone from losers to contenders within the span of a year. We see it all the time in the NFL.

We've had plenty of years (and high draft picks) to figure out how to do it ourselves, and there's no excuse for not finally doing it.

Cable said we'd get to the playoffs this year. Now it's time to hold him and the organization accountable. Who here has a problem with accountability?

Playoffs or bust, amigos. Raise your standards, raise your expectations. Too many Raiders fans have become accustomed to enabling, excusing and accepting. No more.

That's not a lion on our helmet. That's a Raider. Time to play like it.

Join me in raising the bar and please spread the word. Let's light a fire and keep it burning.

Michael Huff Haiku

Seventh pick in the
draft, now the invisible
man, time to man up.

Raider Take Now on Twitter

Just a note to let everyone know that Raider Take is now on Twitter. Check it out at www.twitter.com/raidertake and please spread the word.

I may be lagging on takes these days, but mini takes come easier, hence my new passion for Tweeting. Sometimes I'm not up for cooking an entree, but I'm always game for an appetizer.

For those who haven't experienced Twitter, here's the scoop: Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that limits your entries (takes in my world, also known as Tweets) to 140 characters. You can view the entries on the Twitter page of each participant. If you join Twitter (it's easy, non invasive and free), you can then choose to "follow" others, with their updates sent directly to your Twitter page or mobile device. The brilliance of Twitter is its simplicity. Best of all, it's haiku-friendly.

Here's a sampling of recent Raider Take Tweets:

Welcome Greg Ellis...As long as you don't turn Burgess into trade bait!

Keith Davis: "I think Garcia is better prepared to get us that win right now. Now, that’s no knock against JaMarcus at all." Uhh...Yes it is

Lamenting the fate of Andrew Walter. He looks the part, he arrived with promise, but just doesn't seem to have "it." Is he a total bust?

Old: Commitment to Excellence. New: Time to Stop Playing Like There's a Lion on Our Helmet.

Can we start being aggressive on defense again? I sure hope that Marshall is installing some blitz packages. Prevent the prevent!

By the way, what's with Keith Davis saying Garcia gives us a better chance to win right now? Does he know something we don't? If so, what does that say about Russell? If Russell is even remotely living up to his promise, he should trump the aging castoff Garcia now that he's in his third year in the NFL, right?

Return to Glory via Murphy's Law

My takes are so few and far between these days that they all have to begin with an apology. At this point, of course, I understand if my apologies fall on deaf ears.

All I can say is that life has lately taken me on some detours from the well travelled roads of Raider Land.

Still, I really doubt that I’ve missed much. After all, Barrett Robbins is today's headline. Heck, maybe I can say that I’ve just been waiting for Darrius Heyward-Bey to return to practice. If he gets to take an extended break, why can’t Raider Take? I sprained by typing finger. Yeah, that’s it…

Anyhow, this is the time of year when I buy all the NFL season preview guides and get my skivvies in a twist because they’re all predicting the Raiders to finish last in the AFC West. I scream about the injustice of it all, and I declare that I will be having the last laugh come December.

Well, this year is different—and not because anyone is predicting the Raiders to do well.

Rather, it’s different because I’m resigned to the fact that we suck until we prove that we don’t.

The Raider Haters have been right for five straight years now. For five straight years, I’ve fired back at their unjust predictions of yet another lost season ahead. And now I’m all out of bullets. It’s hard for me to talk tough when we’ve been playing like there’s a lion on our helmet for the past five years.

Of course, this actually bodes well for the Raiders. Now that I’m not sticking my neck out for them, they’ll surely turn things around. It’s called Murphy’s Law, and it’s now in their favor.

On a side note, we know that some in the sports media wield an unprofessional agenda against the Raiders, as proven in my pioneering (and now much-imitated) “News You Can’t Use” series.

I do not paint the sports media with a broad brush. Most do their job well. However, it’s a demonstrated fact there are several prominent voices at both the national and local level who play loose with the facts and even lie to advance their agenda against the Raiders. Sports Irritating and ESPN have proven to be two safe havens for the Raider Haters.

So it was refreshing to read the following assessment of the Raiders by Sports Irritating’s Don Banks in a recent piece ranking the NFL teams of this decade:

What are the sad-sack Raiders and their sub-.400 winning percentage doing above four other clubs at .406 or better? None of those teams went to a Super Bowl earlier this decade. None of those teams were seeded second, third and first respectively in the AFC playoffs of 2000-02. So while I know the memory of the Raiders going 33-15 to start this decade is distant and ever-fading, it did happen. And let's be honest: Oakland got jobbed in the Snow Bowl. You know it, and I know it. It was a fumble.

Wow, he actually acknowledges the Super Bowl appearance and the fact that we got screwed in the snow. Usually, we get a bunch of Jedi mind tricks: The Raiders were never good. The Super Bowl never happened. It wasn't a fumble. Tom Brady cures cancer...

So kudos to Don Banks for sticking to the facts and, to borrow his own word, being honest. The fact that he has to state "let's be honest" tells you all you need to know about some of his peers.

Raiders Draft Day Autopsy

I am shocked—shocked!—that folks are shocked—shocked!—that I might be disappointed in our draft. 

Before the draft, I said that I didn’t think the Raiders should use their first pick on a receiver. I wanted a tackle. I felt that we should get aggressive about bolstering our lines with young talent. That was my take.

Therefore, it goes without saying that I didn’t think the Raiders should have picked Darrius Heyward-Bey with their first pick, let alone Crabtree or Maclin. 

Does that mean I’m convinced DHB will be a bust? No. It means that I think from the standpoints of value (seventh pick in the draft) and positional priority (wide receiver over, say, offensive line), we got the pick wrong. Naturally, this leads to disappointment.  

That’s my TAKE. Need I remind folks that this place is called Raider Take, not Raider Wait and See? 

Saying that I shouldn’t be disappointed because the draft is ultimately a crapshoot and because know one really knows how DHB will turn out…that’s not a take. That’s avoiding having a take. 

If you think that focusing on wide receiver in the first round was a great idea, and that prioritizing speed as the top attribute at the wide receiver position is brilliant, then have a take and say that you, too, would have chosen DHB with the seventh pick in the draft.

If that’s not your take, then what is it?

I hope I’m proven wrong, and that DHB is lights out. Until then, I’ll have a take. I’ve been wrong before. I’ve been right, too. That's because I have takes, and you know where I stand, and you can look them up after the fact. 

As for Mike Mitchell in the second round, well, I like the way he hits, but I think we reached in that instance, too. Again, it doesn’t mean he’s a bust. It means that I question the value we got out of that pick in the draft. We most likely could have grabbed him with our next pick. 

Did I miss something? Are we not the NFL equivalent of paupers? Are we in a position to squander value? 

As for the subsequent rounds, well, I'm still waiting for an offensive lineman. We did get another receiver and tight end, though, speaking of pressing needs (not). 

When asked if the Raiders has considered trading down and getting DHB later in the first round, Cable said: “No, that was never the plan. We knew what we wanted to do the whole time. This was the choice that we thought we had to have to move this team to the next step.”

Now, he could be saying that because he wants to keep the kid pumped up, but he said it nonetheless. That just doesn’t sound too wise to me. Wouldn’t you at least consider it? 

Anyhow, I could be wrong about all of this. I hope I am. But that’s my take as of today. 

And The Raiders Select...

I've decided that I'm not too keen on taking a wide receiver with our first pick today. Crabtree is starting to sound like a diva-in-training. I like Maclin, but not this early in the draft. 

I think it's easy to overvalue the wide receiver position, and our track record in that arena isn't very good lately. Randy (Alligator Arms) Moss, Jerry (Can't Find A Job) Porter, Alvis (Old Man) Whitted, Javon (Vegas) Walker, Ashley Lelie...Think about those names for a second. Honestly, I don't trust us to make the right choice if we go after a wide receiver in the first round. 

If I'm hell bent on upgrading our receiving corps, I'd rather throw the Cardinals a pick or two for a proven commodity like Anquan Boldin. Sure, he's become a bit of a complainer in Arizona, but I think it's circumstantial rather than chronic. The dude is tough as nails and his effort is unquestioned. 

If not that, then look for a diamond in the rough in the later rounds. We found Higgins in the third round. He's not only a great return man, but he's become a solid long-ball and quick-strike threat as well. 

Which brings me to our first pick today. It's time to test the tackle waters again, on either the offensive or defensive side. I can't say who it should or will be, except that it should be the best available player at either of those positions once we're on the clock. 

Put down the scissors and back away from the receivers, safteties and cornerbacks. Let's tighten up and toughen up our lines and get back to establishing hard-nosed fronts that will allow our skill positions to truly shine. 

The Stick'Em Pick'Em Draft Challenge

Okay, so now we know: We open the season at home on Monday night against the Chargers. Last time that happened, I was there, and it was akin to washing my eyes out with Clorox and garlic salt. 

The  season opener on Monday night against the Broncos two years later was equally scandalous and embarassing. Can we finally bring it on an opening Monday night against an AFC West rival? Well, we'll know sooner rather than later.

As for the rest of the schedule, when did the Texans join the AFC West? We play them every year now. I'm sure someone will bark at me about how this makes perfect sense according to the NFL's Pythagorean scheduling theorem. Thanks, but I don't want to hear it. Oh, and the Browns are back, too. At least we had a year off from them. 

Meanwhile, when recently asked to compare John Marshall's defense to Rob Ryan's, Cable replied: "There will be a lot of similarity. Hopefully, we'll just be maybe a little more fundamentally sound, a little more structured."

Umm..."Similarity" isn't the word I'm looking for, Tom. We ranked 27th in total defense last year. Can we shoot for dissimilar? And what's with "little more" fundamentally sound? When we last saw your defense, it looked like toddler soccer, so a "little more structured" doesn't quite cut it. How about "a lot more structured?" Is that too much to ask? I didn't think so. 

Anyhow, the draft is upon us, and I don't have a clue how it will shake out, which at least puts me on par with the experts in the mainstream media. 

To be honest, I don't like college sports that much. March Madness is my annual nightmare, a place where sports talk goes to die for three weeks. In the fall, I'm too busy watching the Raiders during football season to care much about college football. 

Then, before I know it, here comes April and the NFL draft and I'm supposed to watch YouTube videos of guys from Boston College and Texas Tech and start figuring out the draft order and predicting how it will unfold right up to the point that Mr. Davis grabs the phone. 

Which brings me to my old pal Stick'Em, who sure knew how to Pick'Em. Back in 2006, he not only pegged Michael Huff as the seventh round pick going to the Raiders. He pegged the six picks leading up to the Raiders. I'm not kidding. He even had Mario Williams going to the Texans instead of Reggie Bush. His picks are immortalized in the comments section of this Take, three days before the 2006 draft. 

So here we are, with the seventh pick in the draft again...Alas, Stick'Em is on an extended moratorium, so someone else will have to pick up the draft prognosticating slack. 

Hence, the honorary Stick'Em Pick'Em draft challenge. Who will the Raiders pick, and how will it happen up to that point? Remember, whom you want the Raiders to pick may be immaterial to whom they will actually pick, as six preceding teams have some say in the matter. 

Who will nail the first seven picks in the 2009 Draft? Will it be you? Let your picks rip and we shall see...

Ahoy, Mateys!

Well, two things shook me out of my two-month stupor today: the signing of Jeff Garcia and a slap upside the head from PantyRaider via email.

First off, I like the Jeff Garcia signing. Even as a backup, he’s better than several of our recent "starting" quarterbacks, including Aaron Brooks, Josh McCown and Andrew Walter. That’s called progress and depth, two things that have been in short supply in recent years.  

Ever since the hiring of Coach Cable, I hardly recognize the Raiders from a behavioral standpoint—and that’s a good thing. They seem to have finally resisted Einstein’s definition of insanity: repeating the same thing over and over while expecting different results. 

We didn’t re-sign Jerry Porter but we did sign Jeff Garcia? We’re not holding out for Michael Vick instead? We didn’t deliver gold bricks to the doorstep of Ray Lewis? We didn’t give Kwame Harris a raise? We overpaid for guys who at least have earned their rewards, such as Lechler and Nnamdi? What in tarnation is going on here? Surely we're going to offer Rickey Dudley a contract any day now, right?

Then there’s the Marquis Cooper tragedy. I was actually going to post something about that, but it was just too depressing. By all accounts, he was a good young man, which only amplified the sense of loss. Did you see that he was honored by the Arizona Diamondbacks today, who had his father throw out the first pitch? 

I’ve never liked the phrase, “At least he was doing what he loved when he died.” I don’t want something I love to be my cause of death. I’d rather have it be something I hate, like heart disease, natural catastrophe or the Broncos. 

Beyond that, I’m not going to pretend that I have a lot to offer right now. This recent break has been good for me, despite the fact that I’m now apparently flirting with blog mutiny, and understandably so. Quite frankly, I can’t blame anyone for jumping ship. Every ship needs a captain, and this captain has let the ship drift for far too long.

Welcome Tom! Please Prove Me Wrong

Welcome Tom Cable! Please prove me wrong.

I am on the record as not being overjoyed with Cable as the choice for head coach, especially in light of the fact that very few qualified head coaching candidates were explored over the past five weeks.

Tom Cable’s resume is rather incomplete at this point. In that context, I believe that more stones should have been turned during the head coaching search, if only to confirm that Cable was better than the rest.

With Turner, Shell and Kiffin, I fell into the party line. I figured that the Raiders knew something I didn’t about these guys. I assumed that the Raiders had discovered some untapped quality in Turner. I thought that Shell would be a great motivator. I accepted Kiffin as the Boy Wonder. In other words, I trusted that the Raiders did their due diligence with those hires.

So here I am, aching to be excited once again, but recent history has tempered my trust. My trust can’t be restored overnight. It will have to be earned back. I hope Tom Cable is up to the task. 

I will consider anything less than eight victories this year a huge disappointment. No more excuses. A .500 record shouldn’t be considered some epic achievement, not in the seventh consecutive year of trying. 

It’s time for me to get it wrong, and for the Raiders to get it right. I hope Tom Cable represents a firm step in that direction.

Explanations and Expectations

From today's news, regarding the current approach to assembling a coaching staff, which includes hiring assistants and interviewing coordinators without a head coach under contract: 

"We have very specific reasons for doing it this way," said senior executive John Herrera.

"When it's all done, there will be a very detailed explanation as to why we are moving the way we are. We're connecting the dots and we're doing things the right way.

"This is a very well-thought-out, reasoned game plan."

Well, I do look forward to the detailed explanation. I would consider it progress. I expect Herrera to keep his word. 

I was once told that to expect explanations from the Raiders was wrong and nasty and pointless, yet here they are, promising me an explanation. Guess it doesn't hurt to ask after all.

The Raider Way Gone Astray

The debate about the state of the Raiders has been boiling over here, and some think I’ve been too harsh in my assessment of the situation.

It seems to come down to what we all think it means to be a Raiders fan. For some, it seems to be matter of blind loyalty and optimism, which, from my vantage, often becomes a camouflage for excusing and enabling.

Personally, it does me no good to sit here in Football Chernobyl and pretend I’m at Disneyland. If that makes me less of a Raiders fan, so be it. I don't see it that way, but others apparently do.

Sure, my assessments have been brutal. News flash: that's what happens when your performance is brutal over a six-year span. Either get better or deal with it.

One of the reasons many of us became Raiders fans is the “Just Win, Baby” philosophy championed by Mr. Davis.

This meant win at all costs, and the Raiders did. It was beautiful and innovative and effective.

Today, it's not win at all costs, but rather win as long as it doesn't come at the cost of changing our ways by pursuing a strong general manager and giving him independent authority, interviewing elite head coaching candidates and paying more to attract such candidates, not running with scissors in free agency, etc.

The Raider Way has lost its way. At least until further notice. If serious change is afoot, I'm still waiting for evidence.

I'm in it for the long run. But lowering the bar doesn't help the fans, nor does it help Mr. Davis attain his stated goal of reaching the Super Bowl between now and blessed eternity.

If our goal is a slow climb to 8-8, then I think we're right on target. High fives for everybody. Just .500, baby.

Personally, I expect more than that, and that expectation comes from what Mr. Davis himself taught me about Raiders football.

My Raiders Seat Now Available

I will not renew my Oakland Raiders season ticket package for 2009. I can no longer pay for the privilege of watching biblically awful football, in the vein of the recent games against the Falcons and Chiefs, which were akin to washing my eyes out with Clorox.

I can handle losing. What I can’t handle is season after season of reckless organizational behavior that produces a sub NFL-level product. My trust has been broken. I will consider renewing my season tickets when my trust has been earned back. Here’s what it will take for me:

-Tangible, forceful change. The kind of change you can see and taste. There will nothing vague about it. I’m not sure how or when it will happen, but it will be evident when it does. You will see it on the field and sense it in the air, in the way that you knew 8-8 under Jon Gruden was different than 8-8 under Mike White. When a culture of losing changes, you know it. I believe that the quickest route to such change will come with the following:

-The hiring of a qualified general manager with the stated authority to have a say in the draft, free agency and football operations. I’ve heard some folks make excuses recently by noting that Mr. Davis is ailing. Well, that’s what 79 year olds do, they ail. All the more reason to have a strong supporting cast. To not have a competent football executive in place and available at this time is reckless, and it’s something that needs to be remedied immediately.

-No unchecked rumblings of the head coach—whoever he is—being fired. I don’t care if we’re 2-6 by the halfway mark of the upcoming season, or 3-9 after that, I want to see a Raiders coach go a whole season without rampant unchecked speculation about his job security. If the Raiders can issue statements about Al Michaels’ comments on Monday Night Football, Rob Ryan’s job status or who they’re not interviewing for the head coaching position, they can sure enough give their head coach a public vote of confidence if rumors become rampant. Stability is vital right now. Commit to a coach and stick with that coach. Of course, it helps if you hire the right coach.

-No more overpaying overrated free agents with known character issues, such as Randy Moss, DeAngelo Hall and Javon Walker. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

-No more scholarships. Play to win using the best players. Anything less is a perpetuation of the culture of losing.

So there you have it—the things I need to see in 2009 for me to consider purchasing season tickets in 2010.

I can already hear the blood boiling among some of you. Every time I write something like this, I get a flood of comments such as: Al Davis doesn’t care what you think! He’s the owner and he can do what he wants! You have no right to make demands or have an opinion! Blah, blah, blah.

First off, if the Raiders don’t care what I think, then they should stop conducting expensive marketing surveys asking me, as a season ticket holder, what I think. Second, I have every right to decide how I spend my money, and to publish my opinion on my own blog.

Also, I am not making demands here. I am stating conditions, which is what consumers do every day. For example, I won’t buy a Blu-ray DVD player until the prices come down. I won’t purchase an iPhone until Apple demonstrates that the 3G networking bugs have been fixed. And I won’t buy Raiders season tickets again until I see the aforementioned problems addressed.

Note that I said nothing about having to win this or that amount of games, because I know that our record will improve if these conditions are met, be it this year or in the coming years. The record will take care of itself. Nor have I said that I won't be an ardent Raiders fan any longer. I will be as ardent as ever. I'm just cutting back on my investment, not my passion.

Before you get too excited about my conditions, consider what they boil down to: a smart, aggressive implementation of change to address what has become a record-setting culture of losing; the installation of general manager; a good head coach with at least one full year of organizational backing; sensible free agent signings; and a roster and depth chart chosen on the merits of performance, not scholarships.

These are not exotic or outrageous concepts. They are standard operating procedures for any successful franchise. Until then, I'm off to spend my $612 elsewhere.

Priceless

Seeing Jon Gruden's and Monte Kiffin's faces at the end of this game was priceless. Bravo to the Raiders offense, and even to Caveman Ryan and crew for a largely stout performance on defense. 

Perhaps Michael Bush will finally get some carries in 2009? Bush now has three touchdowns on 95 career carries, very few of which have come near the goal line. Meanwhile, Fargas has just seven touchdowns on 700 career carries. 

With a smart draft, solid executive and coaching hires, and an avoidance of boneheaded free agent signings (in the vein of DeAngelo Hall and Javon Walker), we just might be able to do something with this end-of-season momentum. 

Nice But Not Enough

Nice victory over the Texans. Suddenly it's rainbows over Oakland. 

But I'm sorry, I'm not expecting to find a pot of gold anytime soon. Don't be lulled into the warm cocoon of lowered expectations. A sixth-straight season of 11 or more losses is not a major sign of progress under any circumstances. 

Tom Cable needs to go, at least back down to the role of line coach (nothing personal here, I'm just not convinced he's head coach material and I'm no longer in a gambling mood at the head coach position). Rob Ryan has earned a one-way ticket. Clear the decks. Hire a capable GM and coach who have an existing relationship, give them the power to hire a staff and run the draft, get out of their way, and give them three years—no exceptions—to turn it around.

Tangible, forceful change is no longer an option, it's a requirement.

First Few Minutes Take

Not only do we mob the receiver for pass interference, he still catches it. Then Russell fumbles, and then L.T. shuffles untouched for a touchdown. It's already getting embarassing, and we've got 55 minutes to go. Time to man up, Raiders. 

Postgame Take: Clearly, Bill Callahan was right after all.