What Can We Say During Times Like These: IMPROVE, OAKLAND RAIDERS!

One of the Bleacher writers said something like this: "Why are we writing on here (Bleacher Report's Oakland Raiders' page) since there is so little that can be said?"

I thought, "We can IMPROVE!"

I am not the only one who is struggling with the repeated losses of the Oakland Raiders. In fact, last night I dreamed I made a presentation before the team, giving them a pep talk and strategy to get out of this rut they have been wallowing in.

Only in my dreams did I shake them up, and they went out there and started toughening up and playing football like they meant it.

Reality says something different. So, since there is little or no chance of me getting into the front office of the Raiders' camp and presenting my powerful "sermon" on how to start winning, we will have to tolerate "the dry bones" era in the Oakland Raiders' history.

Can these bones live again? Yes they can. When will they begin to move, rise up, and get in position? When the young men truly commit to excellence?

How do you define excellence? Well, I visited a bookstore and selected a book by Joe Gibbs (with Jerry B. Jenkins). It is titled, Game Plan for Life , with a foreword by Tony Dungy.

Might these men be right? Is it possible that many people are missing the point of what it means to commit to excellence? Has anyone asked the coach, Tom Cable, and the trainers in the Oakland Raiders' franchise how they define excellence?

Now, if you read books, you may have noticed Game Plan for Life . Gibbs' resume includes three-time Super Bowl Champion, and three-time NASCAR Champion.

Dungy said in the foreword, "I watched him (Gibbs), studied him, and talked to many people who knew him. I wanted to know how he did things, how he was able to get his players to perform with such precision and togetherness—how he was able to get them focused to function so well under pressure and in times of adversity."

Dungy surmised Gibbs in this quote:

"Coach Gibbs governed his life that way and led the team that way—with Christian principles learned from the Bible."

Since I am a researcher, you can be sure that I am searching for answers to the Oakland Raiders' problem. And if you are a researcher who looks at all angles, all dimensions, and all sides of an issue, you only come to a conclusion after a complete and exhaustive search for answers.

The final question is: Is the Oakland Raiders' current definition of excellence accurate and complete, in establishing the gameplan for the success of the franchise in the 21st century?

What do you think? After all, several years have passed, and the Oakland Raiders have not pulled up and out of their slump, yet.

Will Week 12 be different? I hope so.

So, what can we say during times like these? The answer is: Improve your definition of "commitment to excellence" and be certain you have a complete and exhaustive definition of excellence.

Has Tom Cable studied a successful NFL coach, as, for example, Tony Dungy studied Joe Gibbs, and embraced an improved definition of "commitment to excellence"?