Darren McFadden Has Carroll Sleepless in Seattle, Cable Tries for 2 Straight

You've heard it a million times: The Oakland Raiders haven't won back to back games since 2008.  I'm no mathematician, but given this fact, it means that the silver and black typically plan on achieving an 8-8 record at best.  In the Rich Gannon era, circa 1999-2002, Oakland boasted the winning-est record in football, as the PA announcer would commonly reiterate to a once packed house in the East Bay.  Times have changed, as Oakland now deals with having one of the worst records of this decade.  But can Run DMC change all that?

The Raiders sit at a decent 3-4 within a battered AFC West division, excluding Kansas City.  As the Seahawks come to town under the Pete Carroll college trust system, (meaning taking a chance with former USC wide-out Mike Williams, and reeling in one time USC opponent Marshawn Lynch), Oakland looks to establish the dual threat run game with Michael Bush and D-Mac against a dominant Seattle run defense, sitting at #2 in the NFL, and only allowing about 78 yards a game.  Something has to give, and the Black Hole faithful are hoping it's not McFadden's hamstring...again.

Never mind the fact Oakland posted a franchise record 59 points in Denver last week.  Forget that Jason Campbell seemed to bounce back from a passer rating lower then JaMarcus Russell's IQ (which was a 10.7 two weeks ago in San Francisco).  The Raiders simply need consistency, as Tom Cable has stressed in his post game chats with the team after a big win against San Diego, and recently Denver.

This means Michael Huff, yes the unheralded worst tackler in the game, Michael Huff, must learn to wrap up.  Chris Johnson has to follow up his pick-6 performance with solid play on the opposite side of Nnamdi, and most importantly, Tom Cable and offensive coordinator, Hue Jackson, have to be consistent in their play calling.  I'd throw in the idea of playing mistake free, penalty absent football, but come on, this is a Raiders article.

It seems trivial that we are talking about winning two in a row as a major stepping stone for a team in the National Football League, but Oakland must take baby steps in order to gain their early 2000's swagger back.  

Oakland takes on division leader Kansas City next week, and a win over Seattle would set the stage for an early division deciding game.  Maybe if Oakland follows suit and loses to Seattle, they could keep their ping pong like winning percentage in tack, and defeat KC at home to move to 3-0 in the division.