Oakland Raiders Snap Judgement: 8-8 Again, Where Do We Go from Here?

Disgusting. Despicable. Deplorable. Dimwitted.

But enough about Chuck Bresnahan.

I am absolutely sick over the Raiders’ performance today. Calling it unforgivable is putting it lightly.

You entered the day needing a lot of help to make the postseason, and Houston and New York decided not to do their part. Most of your scenarios were squashed before kickoff: It came down to Oakland and Denver. Tim Tebow even got the ball back with a chance to win the game during “Tebow Time,” but the Chiefs shut him down. All you had to do was win.

So what did you do? You showed your most pathetic defensive performance of the season.

After an interception on their first series, the Chargers scored on six straight possessions and did so with ease. They would have scored on every possession after the interception, but the game was already over on their last drive, so they just took a knee.

Embarrassing.

I’ve been criticizing that miserable bum Bresnahan all season, but let me make this abundantly, undoubtedly and crystal clear right now: FIRE HIM. Fire him right now. Don’t wait until February, next week or even tomorrow. If he’s not fired before you’re done reading this article, then it has already been too long.
 
I have a message for Mark Davis, son of dearly departed Mr. Al Davis: Your dad had a short leash with coaches, it’s true. He didn’t do a good job with coaching changes the last few years, so take some lessons from his mistakes. However, this is not the time to buck the trend. Fire Bresnahan right now. Don’t wait. There are thousands of people out of work in California right now, it’s terrible—but I bet that almost all of them are more deserving of work than that awful, clueless defensive coordinator. Sack him now.

I wrote earlier this week that the Raiders’ season has been a success, playoffs or not. Despite my sadness and anger over this unforgivable loss, I still stand by that article. Even though Oakland finishes with the same record as least year, this was a season of growth. Young players have matured. Carson Palmer is getting more familiar with the offense and will continue to improve. The Raiders are headed in the right direction.

But the defense needs a lot of work. And it starts with Bresnahan.

Beyond him, the Raiders need secondary help. Badly. Stanford Routt is okay, but beyond him, they can all go. Michael Huff makes some big plays, but he gets beat too often. Matt Giordano is a nice player, but he should be a backup in this league. Since the Raiders have traded away almost every draft pick for next season, the help is going to have to come through free agency. So open up the checkbook, Mark Davis, because my goodness do the Raiders need some new cornerbacks.

As for the linebacking corps., it needs at least one new member. Aaron Curry is doing well enough, he deserves another season at least. Rolando McClain is an interesting problem—he has shown some promise in coverage, but he hasn’t been good enough stopping the run. Perhaps he should be moved to an outside linebacker spot. One thing is for sure: Hue Jackson should never let him go to Alabama again.

The defensive line was awful today and I’m starting to worry about Richard Seymour. He had a great game last week, but he’s been absent the last few games. His leadership is valuable, but at some point it will become too expensive. Next season will be a big year for Big Richard—if he doesn’t start making an impact in the pass rush again, it may be his last season in Oakland.

This team has flaws, but I am confident that most of them are easily remedied. If the Raiders get a new defensive coordinator and a couple of additions on defense, there’s no reason they can’t be 10-6 or better next year.

But seriously, fire Chuck Bresnahan. Right now.

For more foolish analysis, along with the occasional witty comment, Follow @fernandorgallo