The intrigue begins with JaMarcus close to signing. Will the Raiders release Daunte if JaMarcus signs saturday? It's possible as they will save $2.5M. I think we'll all be disappointed and think about what he could have done for us this season. Maybe they release or trade Walter. In the long run we know who the future QB is, even though he won't be ready for another year.

   So how will we measure improvement this season? Just win baby!

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_6825631

    This team can surprise the NFL this year. Hopefully the surprises will be good ones. I say bring on Indy and Chicago. It will test how far we've come. These barometers will give Kiffin the understanding as to what he will need to continue to address. For now, let's turn the lions into pussycats!

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_6804840?nclick_check=1

   Phil Barber of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat gives reference to our website. Hey, we may produce only 5 comments per story, but we're being watched. The "independant" nature of this web site is huge. We are Raider fans who don't necessarily take an unrealistic view of this teams history. We want the glory of this franchise restored...the right way. Enough preaching, we should be excited about the prospects of seeing this team improve in every facet.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070904/SPORTS/709040343/1010/SPORT01

Dump away!

   Many eastern european countries were known for decapitation as a deterant for other countries to invade their space. Vlade Tepes aka Vlad "the impaler" was known for using this practice when the Turks invaded Transylvania. I don't know if the Turks deserve the reputation of decapitation but you'll have to ask the Greeks and others from that region. With that said tomarrow we will know who will be "cut" from our Raiders.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/08/30/SP74RRJEC.DTL

   Whom do you think will be spared "the Turk" this time around?

   Alright, so when your visisting  a country and football means kicking a round ball into a net to score, the Oakland Raiders don't have much pull if you want to talk sports.
   WIth that, despite our 3 headed best at the QB position, Kiffin's offense will take away some of the inequities at that position until Culpepper learns the playbook.
   Now, what about JaMarcus. JaMarcus has a Jastupid agent who is preventing our future QB to be signed. I enjoyed Glenn Dickey's article today. Here's the link:

http://www.examiner.com/a-891681~Dickey__Give_Al_credit_for_taking_a_stand.html

   I too agree with Davis and I hope we win out b/c the bottom line is that JaMarcus will be rich either way.

   Jamarcus Russell is holding out for the assumed $30M or thereabouts which is what we all knew at draft time. There were rumors that the Raiders didn't have enough $$ to pay him. At this point it sounds like there's a 4-headed beast that's attempting to negotiate with him. Unfortunately those 4 heads aren't even talking with each even though they are attached to the same body.

   Some in the league call this "embarrassing" and state that the Raiders don't have the cash to pay him. With an initial offer of $26.5M are we to believe that they can't come up with $5M more? Somehow I don't completely believe it. The hype surrounding ticket sales and Russell's signing should excite the nation alone. So what is holding this up? I believe it has to be lack of leadership from the top. This may loosely implicate Mr. Davis but with the passing of our good friend Bill Walsh, maybe he can turn his attention to the future, namely Jamarcus' future.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/07/30/SPK1R9DKU1.DTL

   The Raiders and Kiffin continue to separate the wheat from the chaffe. Kiffin rightly identified TE as one of the problem areas of last years offense and went after one of the top TE's in the draft. While MIller is not signed neither is Russell as he wants to break the bank and collect $30M!

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/07/27/SPLSR861G2.DTL

   When will the NFL adopt the same policy as the NBA and implement a rookie cap for 1st round picks? This issue does affect lower revenue generating teasm such as our Raiders who have difficulty attracting corporate sponsorship due to their bad boy image which has remained ever since thier return form LA.  

  Today the players will start to trickle in. Still unsigned is Russell (Jarmarcus, that is). The "shocker"n was Kiffin dropping Bing. We had no idea but I think Al has allowed Kiffin the ability to develop the roster in his image and now we are seeing that.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070726/NEWS/707260391/1010/SPORT01

I just want to know who was the guy who ratted on Kffin for having the "full contact" practices in the spring.

  Who can ever forget Adam Treu during our last trip to the SuperBowl. We didn't necessarily want to see him in there but he filled in admirably under the difficult circumstances that surrounded Barrett Robbins. I expect Treu will get picked up given his proclivity at long snaps. A 10 year career in the NFL is nothing to sneeze at. Thanks Adam, we wish you well!

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070725/NEWS/707250360/1010/SPORT01

The Raiders are opening camp in a few days and here's a synopsis of some of the lingering questions that MUST be answered.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070724/NEWS/707240316/1010/SPORT01

   One point brought up was Kiffin's lack of coaching experience. I don't know how much Gruden had when he came in but I tend to believe that guidance will be offered by Darth Davis to his young apprentice. The other addage of, well, "when you don't know what you are doing, look busy", may be applied here. Really, I do think that Kiffin has a good understanding of structuring meaningful practices and the fact that one of our nameless lazy Raider players complained to the union shows that it's going to take work to convince the team to follow Lane.

Glenn Dickey chimes in from the Examiner on the direction of the offense. A long ways to go but it sounds like the "west coast offense" has returned to the bay area.

http://www.examiner.com/a-770205~Dickey__Big_Al_may_have_it_right_this_time.html

I predict McCown will start the season at QB just so that Russell isn't overwhelmed.

   In today's latest news, we see that QB Andrew Walter had arthrosopy on his knee. Let's hope for a speedy recovery and an opportunity to show his ability. Everyone will have to admit he didn't have all of the tools (including offensive scheme) to showcase what made him so successful in the Pac-10.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/06/07/SPG16QAB0F1.DTL

   If you have anything else to add, dump away!

   Wow! While we observed another loss in cruel fashion at the hands of the Squaws, we have to be optimistic.

   Aaron Brooks, while not "outstanding" which is how Shell desribed his performance, actually made the offense look competent. Flashbacks of Gannon running to keep a drive alive came back to my mind.

   HuggyBear had a pretty good game. The Raiders ran some counterplays and it appeared that the replacement of our version of LJ was an improvement. Depending upon the severity of the torn MCL we could see him back in 3-4 weeks. Yes, arthroscopy and post-op rehab is amazing these days.

   The defense didn't play poorly Larry Johnson just thrashes everybody. Kudos to Coach Herm for running on 4th down on his 29 yd line, that took cajones!

   Randy Moss, why don't you just "inactivate" yourself? We're not getting any production from you while you are dressed up.

   Gallery, nasty injury that may remove you from the rest of the season. Too bad, this will continue to slow your development as a tackle.

   Guys, how does this team possibly beat San Diego? I always have hope, but this would be the upset of the year!

   This team doesn't resemble the Raiders that I grew up watching. Now, we've all been patient, hoping to see the offense develop through the course of this season. But this offense is arguably worse than the 76'Buccaneers as far as I'm concerned.

    The offensive woes has something to do with personnel and something to do with staff. I'll let your discretion determine which has been of greater influence. First of all, watching Walter get pummelled remainds me of our previous great #16. No, not Blanda but Plunkett. Early in his career when mentioning the name New England Patriots was followed by the butt-end of a joke. That former Heismann trophy winner took his lumps as we are watching Walter currently take. Plunk may have been more diplomatic about it all but Walter,I conceed, is right to raise our awareness about the simplicity of the offense. Yesterday 2nd half debacle in which the Raiders had no answer for Denver defensive adjustments should have proved once and for all that Tom Walsh either catch up with the times or move back to Idaho. I'm sorry, but Brooks is not the answer. Let the kid learn, please.

   In terms of talent some of these guys have played in pro bowls, super bowls and for winning teams. Talent, or lack thereof, is not an excuse. Playing in a new system might be. But after our pre-season run at the Super Bowl with our gawdy 4-1 record, you'd think something would have stuck with these guys.

   It's embarrassing to see poor Art Shell give blind (literally) loyalty to a man that on one play figured out how to call a play for Walter to roll out of the pocket and hit an open Justin Fargas for a tidy gain, then never call the play again. The conspiracy theorist tells me that the play was NOT by design and that Walter was probably lambasted on the sideline for rolling out of the pocket. Of course, standing in there for the final two touches in the 4th quarter when he fumbled made more sense, right?

   Getting back to smash mouth football. It can work in the 4th quarter if your offensive line has been ramming the defense for the game, making them weary. There is no adjustment that needs to be made. Ah, but these aren't THOSE Raiders of yesteryear. These Raiders while not too untalented are being led by an offensive coordinator who hasn't learned yet about nuances of 21st century NFL football. Does it make sense to fire him and bring in somebody else? Or to promote from within? Not even Al Davis has that answer and I don't claim to be any more sophisticated than he is about the art of the vertical offense. But what is apparent is that we as fans just want to see a glimmer or a jsut a small smudge of hope that...somebody knows what they're doing.

   Over the next 4 weeks the Raiders play Seattle, Denver, Kansas City and at San Diego.
As it stands, 2-5 has us not far behind the running for the 6th playoff spot as mentioned in a previous post.

   With ANY semblanceof an offense we would be 4-3 right now. I think the record at this point does not bear much of a factor as it relates to what this team needs to do through November. Coach Gruden used to break up the season into 4 week blocks.

   So Silver and Black Pride, what will this team do over the next 4 weeks and does this stretch determine if were are in the playoffs or watching players make their vacation plans in January.