The Oakland Raiders Need to Do a Self-Study to Get Out of a Rut

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Whatever I ask of you, I must ask of myself. If the Oakland Raiders are perceived as having fallen into a rut, then it is likely the Raider Nation is in a rut.

So, I initiated a self-study on Nov. 27. The self-study is only done to serve as a model for each and every member of the Oakland Raiders franchise.

Now, here is my humble submission of a self-study since I started writing for the Bleacher Report.

My first article was published in May 2009, which means I have been an active writer for about six months. I estimated the number of days I have been active, and it added up to 189 days.

This is the 200th article that I have published. Some may say this is cause to celebrate, but when I look at the study, I see where there is room for improvement.

I hope it does not surprise you that I admit that there is room for improvement, but the only way to reach a very high level of excellence is to be honest with yourself when you judge your own performance.

Is this type of self-study being conducted on a daily or weekly basis for the Oakland Raiders? I hope so. It would be an eye-opener.

Here are some statistics:

Am I pleased with this report of my Bleacher Report activities? Yes and No.

The daily discipline of reading and writing about sports is a positive activity. However, when I see that I have not written many comments when compared to the number of comments I have received, I am not happy.

What will I do? I will try to respond to more comments from my colleagues. If support is what I want, then I must give support to others.

Here is more data:

Based on this self-study, I have been either selfish or too busy to respond to other writers' articles and comments. I have got to do better.

Now, let's focus on my favorite team, the Oakland Raiders. Are you willing to be honest to assess your performance as of Nov. 27?

Please do so. It is your professional responsibility to look at your performance and design a strategy for improvement.

I was so dismayed at the loss on Nov. 26 that the numbers were scrambled in my brain. A 4-7 record is what I deeply desired, but instead we are 3-8.

Since I have written 200 articles in about 189 days, it means I am writing articles more than once per day. This means that the Oakland Raiders have been on my mind, not once, but sometimes twice per day. That should tell you something about the commitment many of us on the Bleacher Report have for our favorite teams.

Now, what is good for the fans is certainly good for the Oakland Raiders. A daily dose of discipline and attentiveness to the training and learning associated with transforming into a winning team is all that we, who are committed to writing about the Oakland Raider experience, expect of the team we so dearly love.

A few months ago, someone said that my growth in sports writing has advanced at an above average rate. If the growth of the writers is greater than the growth of the team, then how do you think the writers (and fans) feel?

Things will get out of sync. So, do your job and we must do our job. Together, we can learn from a regular self-study of our team and of ourselves.

Oakland Raiders, do your self-study and get yourself on a plan for improvement.

That's the lesson for Black Friday! Let's get out of the losing "rut" and get on a "yellow brick road" to success.

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