The lifeboats are out once again in the first week of October as the Raider ship seems to be sinking again.
Rather than jump ship, sometimes it’s best to throw someone else off. Since the fans don’t play the game as Jacoby Ford so eloquently pointed out last week (before deleting it hours later), someone has to be blamed from within.
Like him or not, Al Davis has brought in players that should win games. He may not have a GM and maybe he has called in a play from the press box, but a team with this talent has no excuse.
Blame Al for the last six years and JaMarcus Russell, but not for this group of guys.
Unlike other years, the talent is finally there but the results are not.
Week 1 it was the quarterback and offensive line. Week 3 it was the special teams and red zone incompetence. Week 4 was all about effort and tackling.
Is there anything left for Week 5?
For years I’ve made the excuse that the defense was on the field too much to hold teams in the fourth quarter. This year the offense is moving the ball and yesterday the defense was as bad as it's ever been.
If the Raiders are truly bad at every facet of the game, as they have been at different times, then the problem is coaching.
Unless Tom Cable is actually teaching his team to chase and tackle from behind, the coaches are not demanding enough from the players.
Every aspect of the Raider disaster seems to point once again to discipline. The team has early round picks making mental lapses, which cost the team games.
We are all outsiders to the Raider empire. Very little information leaks from the Raider compound, so all there is to go by is Sunday a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
