Tom Cable, Raider Nation Appreciates Your Efforts, We Really Do

I wrote an article yesterday: An open letter to Al Davis that I knew wasn't going to reach him, but I put it out there.

In that article, I asked Al Davis to retain Tom Cable for another year, as he earned it by turning the corner and having Oakland finish .500 instead of with a losing record.

As I watched Arkansas and Ohio State and finished off a little debate with fellow Raider Nation member Michael Bowman, I found out Davis was NOT going to pick up the final year of Cable's contract and it felt like I was hit in the face with a brick.

No, I don't know Tom Cable personally; I know him as well as any other fan does, but what I do know is that Tom Cable took a bunch of guys (sorta like how Moose'ifer said) that resembled "Major League's" Cleveland Indians, a few superstars, one big dead weight and made us serious again.

8-8 may not be the best, it's not even close, but it's a lot better than 6-10, is it not? I think the problem with Oakland fans who weren't happy with Cable's effort is that they expect overnight success.

This is the NFL, we get it. We support our favorite teams and want championships but this isn't FedEx—overnight shipping isn't included in the package.

In order to be a champion, a team must be built and chemistry must be there. You can't go out and sign random free agents, no matter how good they are, and expect the team to win.

This isn't the NBA, where one good shooter can decide the game.

Football is a completely different sport; Al Davis didn't learn when he got burnt by Randy Moss, Javon Walker and DeAngelo Hall.

He has it stuck in his mind that we're just one or two big free-agents away from being good.

Wrong.

We were reaching for the playoffs and it was ripped away from us the second Tennessee couldn't hand us a Christmas gift and sent the Chiefs back to Arrowhead, giving Oakland an opportunity to play the Colts with all they had and then have it possibly come down to the epic AFC West Showdown between the Raiders and Chiefs where the winner would take all.

But instead, we go into Arrowhead last Sunday knowing the only thing worth playing for was Cable's job and pride and we won. The players put on arguably the best performance of the season without McFadden and Seymour, finishing the season on a win against a fourth seed AFC West Champion Chiefs team that has everything going for them.

Cable lead us here—he maybe didn't call the plays, but he had major influence from reports that came out regarding how the players took to him.

They put it all on the line for him in Arrowhead and demolished the Chiefs, and now he's gone.

Imagine how this may effect Nnamdi's decision to come back? Or Seymour's? These guys aren't spring chickens, they're gradually climbing the age chart.

Nnamdi especially, who must be growing tired with Oakland's inability to keep a head coach and when we finally find one that works, he gets fired.

Nnamdi himself said he respects Tom Cable (last year on the Raider Channel in Cali). When the best player on the team says something like that, it should mean something.

Cable is gone though. Four words I thought I wouldn't be saying unless he blew it next year. As much as I like Hue Jackson and what he has done for Oakland, I think he was good where he was at, just as Cable was good where he was at.

In each of his coaching seasons, he earned more wins each time, he earned one more shot.

It's not about whats "protected," it's about showing some consideration. Cable could of been another Yes-Man, but much like Gruden and Kiffen, he spoke his mind; the only difference is Davis kept him and sent the other two packing.

Cable's efforts for the Raiders will be felt every time I see McClain, Houston and Veldeer (not so much Jacoby as that was probably a Davis pick), every time I look back at the seasons and remember the 2010-11 season where Oakland broke so many streaks.

Tom Cable will be remembered for a good reason because he helped put us where we're at.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you Tom Cable. I speak for a lot of Oakland Raider fans when I say you'll be missed as well as we appreciate what you have done for us. You never brought us a Super Bowl, but neither did Gruden and people still want him back.

You never brought us a AFC West or AFC Championship, but neither did Shanahan and look what he did with Denver.

What you did was create a new dimension for Oakland, a time where we aren't subjected to watching JaMarcus Russell overthrow Louis Murphy, but instead gave us the chance to enjoy our team and know that we'll be on the big stage some day.

Thanks Tom, thanks.

I sure hope you break even next year Mr. Jackson, this is (probably) your team now. I won't dwell on the San Francisco game with the flat calls, or against the Colts where McFadden touched the ball as much as Michael Bennett did.

I'll look forward to the future and get past the "Cable Outage" that's hit us. This is your team now, Cable has built it since Kiffen left, now do something productive and show why Cable wasn't given one more year to get there when you were.

And make sure to send Tom Cable a "Thank You Card" for planting the roots of this (soon to be) Oak Tree.