NY Raider,three times to Oakland might make you j...

2007-12-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

NY Raider,three times to Oakland might make you jealous mate,but we've seen the RAIDERS 6 times now and still no win,it's tough to bear at the moment ,but,better to see 6 losses than be a Donkey or Chef ..The futures bright,the futures BLACK...

didn't know that about this crew but after the sw ...

2007-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

didn't know that about this crew but after the sw interception the d looked like they were waiting to have it taken away

It was a totally phantom pass interference on Curr...

2007-12-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

It was a totally phantom pass interference on Curry. The replay confirmed it, he did not extend his hands to control the defendef.

H

Ok, folks I normally don't post during the games. ...

2007-12-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, folks I normally don't post during the games. But, as soon as I saw Ed "Wheres the Camera" Hochuli, I knew we were in for a long day.

His is one of the most anti-Raider crews in the NFL. Three very good plays lost because of him in the first half.

H

Forecast for game time temperatures around 20 degr...

2007-12-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

Forecast for game time temperatures around 20 degrees, with little or no wind and a slight chance of snow.

The weather should not be a factor for either team.

I've been reading your blog a li'l bit, LR, and it...

2007-12-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

I've been reading your blog a li'l bit, LR, and it's been enjoyable. Keep it goin', bro!

---Jeff

Raider fans spanning the globe. Three times to Oa...

2007-12-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Raider fans spanning the globe.

Three times to Oakland. I'm jealous! Ricky’s was a highlight of mine as well (season opener during the 2002 Superbowl run).

Welcome LR!

Q&A CONTINUED:RT: How easy or difficult is it to c...

2007-12-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

Q&A CONTINUED:

RT: How easy or difficult is it to catch Raiders games on television in England? When and how are they aired, and do you have any viewing rituals?

LR: We have really good satellite TV coverage these days. We get the choice of two of the early games, two late games and the Sunday and Monday night games. We get all the playoffs live through to the Superbowl, and get NFL Total Access every day which has worked pretty well so far. We even had the Chiefs road game via a link from El Salvador TV. Yahoo run a subscription service on the net too where you can watch any of the games, so I've taken that up for the remainder of the season now. You get to watch the games as much as you like until Tuesday or Wednesday, so I think I'm on my 3rd showing of the win over the Donkey's now, it gets better each time.

Our usual viewing ritual would be all sat in front of our respective computer screens armed with beer and an instant message chatroom open to talk about the game as it unfolds, although now that I have a definite good quality NFL licensed feed through Yahoo last week involved us all stting around my screen with beer, which most likely will be repeated until the end of the season.

CJ: Who is your all time favorite Raider? Who is your favorite player on this year’s squad?

LR: Tough to name just one favourite all time Raider. There would be Vann McElroy, Howie, Lyle, The Wiz, Steve Smith. We love some of the older players too but these were the ones that we sort of grew up with football-wise. Current squad favourites would be Kirk Morrison, Ron Curry, and I really like how Chris Clemons is progressing.

RT: Are you a novelty in your town/region as a Raiders and NFL fan, or would we be surprised at how many NFL fans there are in your neighborhood?

LR: We could definitely be classed as a novelty where we live. It's not a big town so there's only the six of us that we know of. Across the country there is still a real hardcore following for the NFL in general, which was reflected in the ticket requests for the recent Dolphins/Giants game, something like 500,000 applications which is incredible really. I wouldn't like to say what proportion of us are Raider fans but we have always been well represented.

CJ: What prompted you to start your own Raiders blog?

LR: The Blog started as a bit of a laugh really, with mates here reading it, well it's mostly still them now really! You guys should take a bow at this point .I read Sean's Blog first, sorry Chris you weren't far behind! I fancied a crack at it myself from a standpoint of being a fan over here.I used to read Deadspin quite a lot too, and a Blog falling somewhere between you guys and them would be the feel that I was going for.I got some good early feedback from a friend of mine, which was important, because if it had been really terrible he would have let me know, I think he was surprised that some of it made sense somewhere along the line.

RT: What's your take on JaMarcus Russell--should we continue to simply dip his toe in the water this season, or just dive in and give him some starts before the season is over?

LR: I think that Kiffin might be just about getting right with Russell. If this week was the blueprint for the remainder of the season, I see him getting valuable game time experience while not having any real pressure on his shoulders regarding the outcome of the game. He may get a start but I see the Coach taking it slowly for now, it worked out well against Denver, and we would all like to see a couple more wins at least. It's tempting to want to see more but he will hopefully be the Raiders QB for a long time to come.

CJ: Going forward, what are your expectations for the Raiders in 2008?

LR: My expectations for 2008 have been changing as the season has. After the last couple of weeks, and the debut of JaMarcus Russell, I think that things are looking pretty good. Lane Kiffin has kept the team "In" during that rough six week losing streak and I think that we have a good nucleus to build around next year. Free agency and the draft will have to fill some important spots on the team, as with any club, but I think that we are in capable hands for the first time since Gruden was in charge. I wouldn't like to say how much of an improvement we can make as far as making the post season is concerned but I think we are going to be competitive in the Division again, which is an important progression after the last few years.

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