Note To Tom Cable: Don't Play the Money, Play the Skills

It isn't rocket science to see that the Raiders function differently when Darrius Heyward-Bey is playing, is it?

Apparently, to Tom Cable it might seem like rocket science.

Bey was out of this last game due to a foot injury that is now housed in a protective boot. With him out of the game, Oakland's passing game was in rare form, with over 300 yards passing and the most passing touchdowns in a fourth quarter since 1979. That quarterback, was some guy with the nickname of "Snake."

From the sounds of it, Bey's foot, once healed, would mean Bey would be returned to his position of wide receiver. For the layman, this means more dropped passes, bad reads on plays, and questionable ability, instead of good catches and everyone on the same page.

If it seems that Darrius Heyward-Bey's performance this year has been less than acceptable, you couldn't be more right. Blown patterns, being out of position, even slipping down in coverage, are several factors all helped doom JaMarcus Russell's stint as a starter. While JaMarcus' own failure as a quarterback started Bey down the road, do you want to see four more games of Bey's sloppy attempts at imitating a wide receiver?

What should worry any fan of the "Silver and Black" is the mindset that Russell carried to the bench...that he was doing nothing wrong, that things will work themselves out, and that we're all trying to get on the same page. That sounds identical to Bey's excuses to his season long struggles at receiver.

Here is to hoping that Cable stops treating Bey with kid gloves and seriously considers letting Bey learn by studying how Murphy plays, how Higgins operates, and how Chaz recovered from his own injury.

The Raiders made a nice step forward against the Steelers. The Nation now hopes that Tom Cable doesn't put the next foot down on a landmine against the Redskins.