The State of the Raiders Address: Part I

At an extremely bleak 1-4, the historic and once respected Oakland Raiders find themselves once again the laughing stock of the National Football League. Lane Kiffin is out after his back-to-back tough losses to Buffalo and San Diego (two playoff-caliber teams, might I add), and after last Sunday's 34-3 embarrassment at New Orleans, new head coach Tom Cable finds himself off to a bad start.

This Sunday, Oakland welcomes Brett Favre's New York Jets, in what may be the most crucial game of Oakland's young season.

Though Kiffin was 1-3, he was able to do something in three of those four games that Cable didn't do this past Sunday and wasn't very present before the Kiffin era began: the Raiders were actually competitive. Just think about how different this team would be if Buffalo hadn't hit a game-winning FG or if San Diego didn't get that fourth-quarter magic—the team would have headed into New Orleans last Sunday with a 3-1 record and Kiffin still as their coach.

Nevertheless, things have played out differently, and if this past game is any indication of what fans can expect from Oakland this season, then we may very well be hyping the Raiders getting the No. 1 draft pick.

Do I really think this team is bad enough for a 1-15 or 2-14 season? No. There's just too much talent on this team (especially once Justin Fargas rejoins the team), and there will be games that the Raiders' talent will override bad coaching. Despite their defensive laps against New Orleans and San Diego (really only the fourth quarter), Oakland is still a great defensive team.

As for offense, this is JaMarcus Russell's "growing pains" year, and I do see him continuing to improve. He only has two interceptions thrown on the season, both of those coming recently, so it's a great sign to see Russell taking care of the ball.

The running game, though inconsistent, will prove to be the bright spot on the offense, as the combination of Fargas and McFadden is one of the deadliest in the league. Let's not forget about Michael Bush, either.

The Raiders' offense, however, will continue to be lackluster if the wide-receiving corps doesn't improve (Ronald Curry hasn't lived up to potential this year). Despite the coaching issues and disappointing losses, I still see this team worthy of a .500 record if they can continue to improve on both sides of the ball.

That brings me to this week's upcoming game against the New York Jets. The Raiders have home-field advantage, and the Jets, though they're coming off a big win, probably aren't as good as a Brett Favre team would appear to be. This game is certainly winnable, and it's what I believe to be the most crucial game of the Raiders' season thus far.

If Oakland lays another egg and gets embarrassed at home, the fans may very well riot. However, an upset over the New York "Bretts" would be just what this franchise needs in these uneasy times.

If DeAngelo Hall can keep his head on his shoulders and prevent the big play from Favre's arm, the Oakland run-D should be able to prevent scoring opportunities. The Jets' defense isn't too impressive, so a balanced attack of McFadden's legs and Russell's arm (maybe even Janikowski's foot) should lead to an Oakland upset.

Whether you like Al Davis or not, he is and will continue to be the owner of the Oakland Raiders. Whether you agree or disagree with the firing of Lane Kiffin (I particularly disagree), Tom Cable is the coach. These two things about the Raiders' staff may be a "sad, but true" case, but I don't think it'll prevent the team's improvement in the long run.

Let's all just try to be optimistic about this team and hold our panicking until after the result of the Jets game; for a 1-5 start would be tragic to this team and its fans.

-MM

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