Just fall on to the Bart train tracks and end it all!

At least fall down a flight of stairs or something already!

How about a season ending, no even better, career ending sack! Ya, that would be just what this organization could use.

Plenty of these words, or some pretty much along these lines have spilled out of our mouths for most of the season. I can only imagine some of the more sinister ones that many of us have come up with that were all pointed in the direction of Jabusto Russell. Stop the bleeding of his so called "quarterbacking" so Gradkowski, Frye or even that kid that won the Madden Bowl last month could get a shot to salvage a shred of this teams pride.

Although we didn't exactly get that career ending sack to Jabusto, we did get something else that we wanted. Now hopefully this is the only time in our male lives that we wished for these, but we all were hoping for some balls. Yes those kind of balls! No not exactly for us, but for our so called coach Tom Cable.

Those balls made there presence felt (I got to admit, that was a good one) with the benching of Jabusto.

Gradkowski got his shot. He came in and displayed his leadership and desire to get the job done. Of course we weren't all making last minute reservation for a trip to Miami in February, but the future looked a little brighter for THE NATION. A big win at home against a strong Bengals team, and an exciting battle with the Super Bowl champions on the road had our hearts racing for the start of next year.

As Raider luck would have it though, that's just not the way the cookie crumbles.

Gradkowski ends up being the one to go down to a pair of knee injuries. Might be season ending, might not be. But I don't think you sign J.P. Losman, or a fourth qb to the roster, if you honestly think he might be back for this Sunday's match up with the Broncos. But that's another fanpost.

Yes we all cringed for what we knew would be next. With Gradkowski making his way back to the locker room and Frye a little dinged up, it meant only one thing. JaLardass would be "quarterbacking".

Now boys and girls, although I know this is something hard for us to do as THE RAIDER NATION, there's is a bright side to this tale. Let's take a look at the two scenarios here.

SCENARIO #1- Gradkowski doesn't go down to injury this year

Now had Gradkowski not had his own lineman roll up on him to cause this injury, he would have most definitely continued the rest of our year as the starting quarterback, further displaying that he wants to be here and lead this organization as the quarterback.

Unfortunately for us, it would leave the door open for Al to bring back JaDumbo next year to compete for the starting job and basically waste a roster spot for someone who could actually help us in some way.

SCENARIO #2- Gradkowski goes down with injuries to both knees. 

via static.nfl.com

This allowed JaDumbass to show us, if anything, what he had learned from his benching. Prior to this game, he had opened his big mouth, normally used for shoveling "six dollar burgers", Sizzler's all you can eat bar and such, to comment on his benching experience. He said something along the lines of he was embarrassed and that he felt it was unwarranted. Basically, that he felt like if he was given the chance, he would show the naysayers they were wrong. Well JaTubbo, here was your chance! 

2nd Verse, same as the 1st!

Absolutely no pocket presence. Horrible timing and footwork. Apparently, not much learned from his time riding the pine, or actually in this day and age aluminum. But we wouldn't have truely known this without the injury to Gradkowski. We now have an almost training camp or preseason of sorts now with the signing of J.P. Losman coming in and the chance to possibly have Frye get in there for a start. The only difference is this will be in real game time situations, which we all know is much different than taking snaps during practice or in preseason games. We can get a true evaluation of who we will want to bring into camp next season to compete with Gradkowski for the starting job.

And once and for all not have any reason or excuse for bringing JaWalrus back next year. Because he still doesn't have a clue as to what it takes to be a quarterback in the NFL.

Year after year, the Raiders have led the league or been at the top of the list in regards to penalties.

The Raiders have simply been described as an undisciplined team by announcers and analysts. This is what the franchise is known for.

Different players year after year. New coaches and personnel with new and different styles and philosiphies year after year.

For some strange reason though, the yellow flags are thrown against us, and the zebras score points for themselves. How many times can you remember converted 3rd downs called back for some sort of penalty? And on the flip side of that, how many times have you seen the Raiders kill a drive only to have it brought back to life by a ghost pass interfernce or defensive holding call? How many times have we had questionable calls against us? A few examples from this year alone would be the Murphy TD against the Chargers and the pick 6 for Route against the Eagles.

The infamous "TUCK RULE". Never heard of before that "SNOW JOB"  game, and never heard or seen since.

A great game, by two very good teams. Fovever known, not for the play on the field. Not even for the droves of snow that fell on the field throughout the game. Fovever etched in our minds for Charles Woodson forcing Tom Brady to FUMBLE the ball and the Raiders recovery. Only to be overturned for the bullshit "tuck rule".

That game was basically over when Greg Biekert fell on top of the ball. The zebras and the NFL couldn't allow it to end that way for the Patriots.

Can anyone remember any kind of major event that had happened only a few months before this game? Think for a second.

9/11

Many of us may easily be able to remember where we were and what we were doing when that all took place. We can also remember everyone coming together, waving their flags in show of their patriotism.

What better way, for america's game (no not baseball), to have this heart warming story of a "Patriots" team winning the Super Bowl. What better way to get America back on track than to have a story like this that everyone, young and old, football fan or not get behind and smile.

NFL'S PATRIOTS WIN SUPER BOWL XXXVI

So you can believe there was no way the Oakland Raiders were gonna be allowed the chance to ruin the NFL's grand scheme.

Sure it is well known that Super Bowl teams don't have the greatest season the following year. But for the Raiders to have the bottom complete fall out like this. Years of 11 plus losses. Can there really be more to this story?

Now try to stay with me on this one. When was the last time you read or heard some kind of national report of any kind of good news regarding the Oakland Raiders? Probably never.

No matter what moves the Raiders make, it's all bad. Even when we traded for Richard Seymour, it was portrayed as all bad. He was a Super Bowl Champ we acquired for his leadership and tremendous skills. Two things the media said this team lacked. We got traded away some draft picks, which the media said we don't use very well anyway. So we basically got something great for something we had that we didn't use great. Sounds like we did something good right?

Not by the media standards. It was basically a dumb move by Al Davis. He gave away to much. He was said to be the Patriots idiot step brother for continually giving the Patriots quality for close to nothing. The media jumped all over the fact that Richard didn't immediately report to camp. "Speculation" and spectulation only, had all the reports on ESPN and NFL Network saying he didn't want to come to Oakland, and who could blame him. When he finally did report to the Raiders, he came out and said he had family to worry about and their livelyhood to take care of first before he could just up and leave the east coast for the west coast. Of course the media wouldn't have anyone believe that though. These are the Raiders we're talking about here. Nothing can ever go right there.

So here we have a horrible name put out there in the media 24/7, whether it be tv, radio or the internet, which has everyone and there momma to believe this is the most dysfuntional franchise ever created.

We have ridiculous calls and penalties against us game after game that kills our offensive drives and prolongs opponents clock consumption.

You don't think these two things alone will kill a teams sense of family and self esteem.

Basically being called shit and the outcomes of the games coming out to look like shit.

How would you wake up every morning and put on your suit and tie, hard hat and boots, or whatever you wear to work with this image of yourself everywhere you look?

The sad part about it is now we, THE RAIDER NATION,  are now truely buying into this fucking bullshit!!!! Talks of rooting for our second favorite team the rest of the year. Talks of boycotting games. Even talks of going to JR's house to give him a piece of your mind.

WAKE UP and don't let the shit you read,hear, and see continue to pollute your minds. Do any of you bale on your kids when they bring some failing grades home from school?

Here's an article I came across that got me to write this fanpost. Lots to open your eyes to here.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272717-why-raider-hatred-and-why-they-want-raiders-to-lose

Stay strong RAIDER NATION. Don't be lost by the chaos and confusion the media force feeds you.

Please rec this fanpost to keep it at the top for all that enjoy this great Silver and Black Pride blog will read and realize what's really going on.

Now I wrote up a little fanpost a few days ago, DRAFTING ANOTHER QB, NOT A GOOD IDEA, and I came across this article that adds a little more light to the debate.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091026/NEWS/910269934?Title=Raiders-could-learn-from-49ers-about-handling-QBs

This article talks about how Mike Singletary played it right by starting the season with Shaun Hill  and has now shifted over to Alex Smith. It talks about him learning and shaping his game from what he saw on the sidelines of the veteran in the game.

That was one thing that we were all excited about this offseason. The signing of Jeff Garcia who was without a doubt a proven veteran. He was going to come in and help mold our "Qb of the future".

Obviously he saw that he was more there as an insurance policy for injury and not there to compete for the starting job. It was made clear to him, no matter what, Jamarcus was going to be the starter. A tough pill to swallow for any proven vet, later in his football years, with limited time left in the NFL.

This should have been a red flag waving that Garcia still had the drive to lead a team. He displayed he still had the ability in training camp. He definately had the tract record of leading the Bucs and Eagles before.

Not sure whether Gradko just had some regular season rust or what. He didn't have much more than JR in the Jets game. I will give him high marks for his enthusiasm and displays of leadership.

So I gotta ask you NATION, should the Raiders look into trying to get Garcia for the remainder of the season? I'm sure we could get him for pretty cheap. Cable has shown a glimpse of balls, maybe just the left nut, that he may be willing to bench JR. Hopefully with another subpar performance against SD, he might bench him again headed into the bye week.

Wouldn't this be a great time to come out of the bye week with a new life and a new leader at the QB position? Show JR that he is expendable and let him learn by example.

Well, some of the talk resurfacing here on the Silver and Black Pride is which qb we should draft next year? Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, etc. All bad ideas.

With the recent success of Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and early success this year of Mark Sanchez, everyone seems to think it's really that easy to find a starting quarterback in the draft. These early picks had a few things in common. Ryan had a great RB attack of Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, a go to receiver in Roddy White, and a pretty good defense. Joe Flacco also had a damn good RB core of Willis McGahee, Le'Ron McClain, and Ray Rice. Great veteran WRs in Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason. Not to mention a pretty vicious defense. This year Mark Sanchez has been put in the driver's seat of a NY Jets team with a well equipped defense, great running backs Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, and Shonn Greene. Decent WRs in Jerricho Cotchery and newly acquired Braylon Edwards.

So I think it's safe to say these three early draft picks had a pretty good safety cushion to help with their learning curve. Unfortunately, this isn't always available to most quarterbacks who are drafted as early as they were. I mean look at poor Matthew Stafford. Sorry buddy.

1) Drafting the big name guys early from the big name schools, doesn't really work out all that often.Of course there are a few exceptions to this.

Peyton Manning-1st overall, 1998 out of Tennessee

Carson Palmer-1st overall, 2003 out of USC

----------------------------------------------Obvious examples of big name and no game----------------------------------------------

Vince Young-3rd overall, 2006 riding off the coat tails of his Rose Bowl victory and BCS National Title from Texas

Matt Leinart-10th overall, 2006 more so for the teams he won with after back to back BCS Titles in '03 and '04.

Brady Quinn-22nd overall, 2007 more for his record breaking ability at the fabled Notre Dame University

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2) The real success comes from the quarterbacks from the smaller schools who have a great work ethic and leadership. These are guys who didn't really have much television time and are happy to get a shot in the NFL.

Ben Roethlisberger-11th overall, 2004 from Miami, Ohio. 2 time Super Bowl Champ.

Donovan McNabb-2nd overall, 1999 from Syracuse. 5 NFC championship games and 1 Super Bowl appearances

Drew Brees-33rd overall, 2001 from Purdue. led his team to the best aerial attack the past 2 yrs, Super Bowl XLIV?

Jay Cutler-11th overall, from Vanderbilt. Almost 10,000 yards passing and 62 TDs in 3 and a half years.

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3) If you're gonna take a chance on a guy, you can take a quarterback in the later rounds.

Tom Brady-199th overall, 2000 from Michigan. umm....oh ya 3 time Super Bowl Champion.

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4) You can not, I repeat you can not, draft a quarterback when you need a quarterback. You have to draft a quarterback when you have a quarterback.

2005-Aaron Rodgers 24th overall pick from Cal

2007-Kevin Kolb 36th overall from Houston

2008-Dennis Dixon 156th from Oregan

2008-Kevin O'Connell 94th from San Diego State

But why would Green Bay, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and New England draft a QB when they already had Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger, and Tom Brady already leading your team? Because you bring in a fresh youngster in to learn the game behind your star and leader of the team. Get their feet wet in some garbage time of games to learn the speed of the NFL.

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5) One of the best ways to get a quality quarterback is a free agent who has been around the block a time or two.

Rich Gannon-led us to almost back to back Super Bowls, but at least our last one, Super Bowl XXXVII . Drafted 98th overall (late round) in 1998 out of Delaware (small school) by the Patriots. He was later traded to the Vikings. He also had stints with the Redskins and Chiefs where he learned the NFL game and helped lead us to our last taste of victory.

Kurt Warner-led "the greatest show on turf" in St. Louis to Super Bowl XXXIV victory. Led the Arizona Cardinals to last years Super Bowl as well. Was undrafted in 1994 but was invited to tryout for the Packers. Next went to arena league success with the Iowa Barnstormers. Sent out to NFL Europe before ending up with St. Louis. So he definately earned his keep before getting his shot.

So let's not buy into the great idea of getting a big name quarterback in the draft to change the luck of this team.

Late rounder, small school, with leadership and a good work ethic. Of course we would need to have good scouts to pull that off. But I guess that's a whole new fanpost in itself.

Now how many of you have seen the classic movie "Pulp Fiction"? I'm sure those of us who have could go on and on about this movie and the many memorable scenes and quotes.

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, welcome to planet earth.

Can you think back to the time in the movie when Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) is explaining to Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) how he's gonna go down in the fifth round of the boxing match. "Now the night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting, that's pride fuckin' wit ya. Fuck pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps. Fight through that shit."

Unfortunately, this Raiders organization has felt the swift downward strike of one side of this blade for many years now. The blow has left a deep cut that has bled Silver & Black. Still a faint pulse beats through this Raider Family of fans, players and coaches.

You may ask yourself what exactly is cause of the sharp edge inflicting damage and pain. That's definately PRIDE. So for this side of PRIDE, it needs to be said, "Fuck PRIDE! PRIDE only hurts, it never helps. Fight through that shit."

Now this quote needs to be directed at the man with this side of PRIDE: Mr. Al Davis.

We all witnessed, or actually some may not have physically witnessed, a completely different Oakland Raiders football team take down a playoff contending Philadelphia Eagles team last Sunday.

There was blitzing and zone defense. There were dinks and dumps for small and medium yardage to the RBs and TE.

Not the usual man up coverage on every down that opponents were used to seeing against the Raiders game after game.

Not the usual long bombs or down field air attack that just doesn't seem to be very successful.

There was alot of credit thrown to the coaching staff for the game plan that was drawn up for this eagles game. McNabb said there were alot of things on the field that they didn't see in game film or prepare for. And it paid off as there was clearly timing issues and many overthrows by McNabb.

Now I'm sure we might all imagine coach John Marshall getting an earfull for this. Or did he? Was this all done without Big Al's knowledge, or did he finally give the green light to mix it up????????

 Over the years, many bad decisions from this side of the sword have led this Raiders organization down the path of losing seasons and somewhat of a loser mentality in the eyes of many of the "experts" across the country. Some of this loser mentality may have been on display during some points in losses to Den, Hou, and NYG.

Reports of sluggish practices, a certain player missing meetings, etc had come out. Of course we had the quote from Antonio Pierce come out about how the game basically felt like a scrimmage. We also had former Raider Jarrod Cooper come out on a local radio station that same week saying how there wasn't any kind of vocal leader on this team. Many other things of a battering nature about this team.

So whether it was just time for this to happen, whether it was some the quotes and comments out there in medialand, IT GOT PERSONAL!!!! Enough was basically enough.

As many had expected, the eagles were a sure thing victory and were given a 14 point spread on last Sunday's game. But it was PERSONAL!!!!

The other side of the sword had cut deep enough for this team to feel the attack on each and everyone of their football PRIDE. IT GOT PERSONAL!!!!

As we all know now, this team does have it's limit on when enough is enough.

So now the real question for this Sunday's game is, which side of the sword will strike this Oakland Raiders team come gametime?

Does Al feel "a slight sting"? Does he drop the hammer and go back to the man coverage and demand we throw the ball 44 times and run 14 times?

Does it remain PERSONAL for this team? Does Seymour continue to challenge this team and remain a vocal leader on and off the field? Does it  just burn inside of each and everyone of these guys who will take the field in the Silver & Black this Sunday to get out there and show the doubters that IT GOT PERSONAL?

Let's hope RAIDER NATION, the edge of the sword this organization  wields is more of a single edge samurai sword. You know, the kind Butch Coolidge came across when he was in the pawn shop. The one he used to save Marsellus from the unmentionable torture ( if you don't know, buy the movie).

As a NATION fan, is it personal for all of us?

Whether your in front of your TV, at your local bar, in front of your computer here on Silver and Black Pride, or at the game, MAKE IT PERSONAL!!!!  Wear your colors with PRIDE. Display your tattoos, banners and flags with the one and only RAIDER NATION PRIDE!!!!

I'll see you guys on the other side of an Oakland Raider Victory.

Originally being from the bay area, and still living close enough (modesto, ca) to get plenty of local sports news, I feel alot of responsibility for providing as much of this stuff to this blog as possible.

I regularly listen to a bay area sports talk radio staion, KNBR 680. Some locals may have heard of it and/ or listen to it. One of the regular guests of the show is Jarrod Cooper, former safety and team captain of the Oakland Raiders.

He had plenty to say about almost all possible topics concerning the Raiders. But before we get to that, how about a little more info about our man Jarrod Cooper.

Jarrod Cooper was drafted in 2001 by the Carolina Panthers out of Kansas State. He was part of the 2004 Super Bowl team that was defeated by the New England Patriots.

As like the rest of us, he was no saint in his younger adult years. After a few run ins with the law, including 2 DUI's (been there myself, so for all you youngsters out there, NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE! YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND A SOBER DRIVER. NOT WORTH THE FINES AND/OR JAIL TIME!) and providing false information to a police officer, he was waived in later that year by the Panthers in October of 2004.

The Raiders almost immediately claimed him off waivers. He was named one of the team captains in 2006.

Unfortunately, trouble caught up with him again as he failed a league mandated drug test prior to the 2007 drug test. He was re-signed after serving his suspension.  His days with the Raiders basically ended when he was placed on season ending injured reserve with a torn ACL. He was then released in August of 2007.

On another note though, he won the Ed Block Courage Award, which is a player chosen by teammates as a source of inspiration and courage. This is heralded as one of the most pretigious awards in the NFL. He has also been a big part of the Oakland Animal Shelter since coming over to Oakland. He has dedicated plenty of his time volunteering and donating money for the shelter. I myself have served my AWP (alternative work program for my DUIs) at a dog shelter, and take it from me, it's not a walk in the park cleaning up after all these dogs and cats.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=25528232

Now although I did get alot of my general information from wikipedia, I myself have met Jarrod at many local autograph events as well as some local charity events. Let me tell you first hand, he is a straight up real dude. Although he is not presently playing for the Raiders, he is still a very big figure in the Oakland community. And like I said above with his awards and community services, he's not some punk chump like some others who have done the Silver and Black colors wrong.

Now on to some of the contents of this podcast.

YOU HAVE GOT TO LISTEN TO THIS THING FROM BEGINNING TO END. HE PULLS NO PUNCHES!!!!

The show he was on is know as "The Razor and Mr. T." Mr. T being Tom Tolbert who some may remember from his days with the Golden State Warriors. The Razor, I don't really know who he is. Just some guy with a really funny voice I guess. During the broadcast, Mr. T is not there because he's attending his son's high school football game so it's only The Razor and Jarrod Cooper.

They get right into it about how this Raider squad is not a team by any means of the word. He goes into some of the words provided by an unnamed Giants player who had some comments about how playing the Raiders was basically an extra bye week.

He them digs on Javon Walker and how he's lazy and a terrible player. "I don't want him over Thanksgiving! He'd probably end up dropping the turkey on the kitchen floor! And we'll all be going out to Mexican food!"

He reveals that "a certain owner of a certain Oakland Raiders football team by the name of Al Davis told Randy Moss in front of the whole team to, 'Shut up and catch footballs, that's the only reason I brought you here.' " He also mentions how Moss purposely fumled a ball during a Monday Night Football game.

Jamarcus becomes the next target and how he comes off the field and isn't talking to the coaches or wide receivers and how he waits for people to come to him. He asks where Cable is as the head coach and why he isn't talking to his quarterback who just fumbled the ball 5 times. "NO BIG SURPRISE HE SUCKS!"

One thing that he mentions that is very relevant to some of the recent fanposts is about the time when there was a billboard put up for Jon Gruden on the side of a local highway in regards to his charity work. Of course Al Davis went crazy with jealously because of this. So it might almost hurt the cause if in someway there was to be a billboard in regards to the fans being so disappointed with Al and his dealings of the Raiders.

This is just some of the stuff within this podcast. So listen for yourself

 http://www.knbr.com/common/global_audio/201/13358.mp3

I was always taught that a mistake really isn't a bad thing as long as you can learn from it, make it right if you have the chance, and not make that same mistake again. If you can do that it turns out to be more of a valuable lesson than a mistake.

Needless to say, since making it to the Super Bowl, the organization has made many mistakes, has not done what needs to be done to right the mistakes after being given several chances(see recent draft selections), and has obviously continued to make the same mistake over and over again.

If we take a look at some of the games from this past week 5, we can see the things that need to be changed in order to get this team from being one of the biggest jokes in the NFL, back to the iconic status of old.

We can actually go ahead and start with our very own game against the NY Giants. No need to really look at what the Raiders did, or actually didn't do on offense and defense because it's the same old rehashed crap we've been writing about.

I think we can all agree on one thing, the Giants could have beaten us even if David Carr had been the starter of this game. He looked good in the pocket, managed the already out of reach game very well, and didn't really have any mistakes. David Carr was once a #1 overall pick who was put in the driver's seat of a brand new franchise in the Houston Texans. A team very comparable to our current team with many young talented players mixed with some castaway veterans who needed the right coaching. But we'll get to coaching a little later on.

He was considered to some to be a bust. He also had an ineffective O-line which limited the rushing and passing attack. They also allowed Carr to be sacked a league record 76 time in one season and a total of 249 times in his 5 seasons there.

But now in his 8th season, with some experience, behind a great O-line with an exceptional RB tandem, and a good core or WRs, he can and should actually be a starting QB on an NFL team.

2 MISTAKES/LESSONS HERE:

    1)  Don't try to find diamond in the rough for a QB via the 1st round of the draft.

    2) Get some real talent on the O-line or it doesn't matter who you have at QB, RB, or WR.

QBs like Ryan, Flacco, and Sanchez are a rare find that will come in and lead your team to success in their rookie seasons. And even if you do find one, you have to have the right type of coaching and personnel along with the right scheme for success. Let's face it, we don't have that kind of QB nor the coaching or sheme. We do have many young and talented players. But behind this O-line, I don't think you could have the same success with either of those 3 QBs. You probably couldn't put Manning or Brady back their and have much to cheer for with this O-line.

A few years back we had Kerry Collins. Boy did that go horrible. 7-21 with him after 2 seasons. Somehow though, he went on to the Titans and had a 13-3 record with them last year. What did the Titans have that we didn't? How about a good O-line and coach Jeff Fisher. Like them, we also have a great RB duo. Somewhere amongst our crew of WRs is an at least average group. I would say our D can be great at times. But like I said, no O-line and a lack of good coaching.

Our next game to look at would be the New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins. I don't think many of us expected this game to go the way it ended up playing out.

There have been many who have said how a great defense would be able to shut down the "Wildcat Offense". It's safe to say coach Rex Ryan has a damn good defense, but I only saw Ricky Williams and Co leaving them looking a little confused at times. Who's gonna rush it or hand it off or pass it or rush it then pass it? Gotta give it up to coach Tony Sparano and his staff for the gameplan they put together for this game.

NEXT MISTAKE/LESSON HERE:

    You can't run the same vanilla offense or defense game after game.

Is there anything considered more plain than vanilla? Would french vanilla be more plain? Regardless, to whom does it makes sense to not really have any kind of blitzing packages in our arsenal? We are so predictable on offense and defense. Why should anyone respect our D when we run the same man up D game after game? Not only does no one consider us to even have a passing game because of the horrible play of JR, but we must have a playbook you can find at any varsity high school team locker room.Am I saying we need the "Wildcat"? Not exactly. But I'm sure it couldn't hurt. Almost anything is better than what we have right now.

Final game to look at, New England Gaytriots vs Denver Donkeys. You had the genius Belichick against his once apprentice in McDaniels. I'm sure many predicted the Gaytriots to take this one, but that wasn't the case.

Now many of us were probably all in agreement with many of the experts on this one. They donkeys were gonna have a horrible year and be cellar dwellars with us in the AFC West. I mean these guys got a rookie head coach after they fired a genius of their own in Mike Shannahan. They traded away their star QB Jay Cutler for an average Kyle Ortan. Their star receiver is having a hissy fit during the off season demanding a trade. They had one of the worst defenses last year. This had disaster written all over it right?

5-0, defeated the evil empire of the Gaytriots, and have the #2 defense in the league matched with the #6 offense in the league. ----head scratch---- Are you seriou?

FINAL MISTAKE/LESSON HERE

    Hire a fuckin GM already to bring in the right coaching staff!!!!

The Donkeys brought in Scott Pioli from the Gaytriots. He in turn brought McDaniels.  He got rid of what he thought was the problem in Jay Cutler and got an average previous 4th round pick to run his offense in Kyle Orton. He had the balls to stand up to crybaby Marshall and got him to shut the fuck up and just play ball. They also brought Mike Nolan in to get this defense back on track.

Al, we all know you had some great years leading this team to greatness back in your day. You also found a young man by the name of John Madden who continued the "commitment to excellence". We know you took a chance bringing in the first black head coach in Art Shell. You nailed it when you brought in "Chucky", Jon Gruden. Since then though it has been a merry-go-round at the head coaching position. You probably thought you had done it again when you plucked Lane Kiffin from USC.

We need a hard nose take no crap kind of guy to come in here and be one thing. A Leader!!!! We can take a look across the bay and look at what they've done as well. Mike Singletary sent Vernon Davis to the showers during a game. We need somebody to get these guys to get their minds focused on football week after week.

So really, until we get these four things lined up, it's gonna look like this for a long time. Quick recap

          1) Hire a fuckin GM already to bring in the right coaching staff!!!!

          2) Stop running the same vanilla offense and defense.

          3) Don't try to find a diamond in the rough for a QB via the 1st round of the draft

          4) Get some real talent on the O-line or it doesn't matter who you have at QB, RB, or WR

I think it's safe to say that with Al Davis as the mad scientist to this frankenstein of a team, none of these things are going to happen until he's out of the picture.

man, we need trade Michael Huff and get whatever we can get for him while he still has some value. While we're at it, we can ship Robert Gallery to whoever is willing to take him. These guys haven't lived up to their potential or to their place that they were drafted.

Oh wait a minute.........my bad! All that talk is actually past us now. That was only about a month or so ago when everyone was praying that we get rid of Huff while he still had some value or questioned if he even had any value on the trading block. And I would say it was about the beginning of last year or possibly the year before everyone swore Gallery was a huge bust and needed to be on the first plane out to" who gives a PHUK".

Wow how things change during the bad times and the good. Boy, Gallery sure did get drafted with high hopes that he was going to be a great benefit to the attrocious O-line. It definately didn't pan out that way, or at least at first. He was labeled a major bust. Boos were heard and talks of getting rid of him were definately out there. Then he was moved, made a difference late last season and had some good showing this preseason. Our run game was looking like it was on point during the Chargers game. He had some key down field blocking in the Chiefs game. And now that he's injured, word is it's gonna be a big loss to the O-line and the running game without him. Man if that's not what i call a 180 flip of events and attitudes over time.

And if we take it back to this off season, there were plenty out there who said we needed to send Huff packing, whether it was via trade or flat out waiving him. But 3 games and 3 ints later, I'm not seeing anything about that anymore. I'm sure many of us can't imagine our D right now without him back there for us. But now after 3 full years within the same system, and going into his 4th, he definately fits in and is here to contribute. Again though, that also took time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iByBO8aZ0g

whatever you do...................please check out the whole link above.

ya plenty of you will say "yeah that's all great, but that was last year". Which yes, that is true. But can any of us really deny the fact that JR has real talent there? No! There shouldn't be a single one of you out there that should or would be able to say he doesn't have the talent to get the job done. If you watch those highlights closely, there is a constant there. Many of these were throws to Javon Walker, Chaz Schilens, and Zach Miller. Javon being a well polished veteran and route runner. Chaz being the other WR Russell has always had good chemistry with as well as his other go to man over the middle THEE Z. MILLER. All guys he had confidence in to throw the rock to. Which is a whole different story than the rookies he has out there right now.

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not putting all the blame on the WRs. But i'm sure if any of us were QBs and were given the choice of having Javon, Chaz, and Miller to throw to, or the rookie tandem and unpolished route runners in Murphy, DHB, and also Miller, we would be picking the first option everytime. Murphy has definately done his fair share to contribute when given the chance, where unfortunately we have seen the questionable hands of DHB come into play game after game. I'm not exactly sure how many drops DHB has so far, but I do know there are clearly passes thrown to him that have been on the money that he has dropped in each of the first 3 games. And yes there have also been a fair share of throws that have sailed high, low and everywhere in between. And as it has been stated before, it comes down to timing between a QB and his WRs. Without the timing, and definately without the confidence that your receiver will be at the spot you're gonna throw to, you're gonna be a little hesitant and apprehensive with your throws. And without being able to throw with confidence = throws that sail 5 and 10 yards of target.

Can we all remember the vibe we had goin on here after the Monday night game against the Chargers? Was the sky not the limit with this team? Weren't we all amped up at the ferocious D that was a reminder of the RAIDERS of old? The ones that were feared by all who faced us. Were we not running the ball up the gut with Bush and DMC with great success? Seymour and the D-line putting on the much needed pressure with him meeting us from on top of the QB as he promised? Jamarcus leading us to the final TD drive to put us ahead?

How many times in the past has the clock ticked down to the last 3 or 4 minutes in the game with the crowd in Oakland heading for the aisles to avoid the crowds of the BART TRAIN cuz we had no chance of pulling it off in the end? Well shit, I think it was Jamarcus who LEAD this team twice down the field at the end of the game to give us the game winning TD. Unfortunately one of the TDs was overshadowed by the chargers and game winning drive of their own. But let's not forget, the other was against the chiefs, IN ARROWHEAD. So had we actually been 2-1 instead, would the tune of some of you guys been different? Maybe not. But are we really ready to bail on JR?

Are we really ready to throw in the towel on him after his 2nd season in the NFL? Yes, his second season because he didn't even play in the first season after he was drafted. And let's not forget about last season either. Wasn't anything to really get excited about. We had all the Al Davis/Lane Kiffen dramatics that lasted and thankfully ended about halfway through the season. So then of course things got switched up on JR and the rest of the RAIDERS. Man, but the phukn craziest thing happened. It seemed like the team came together and got behind the interim coach Cable and pulled out some victories and got us all excited for this season. We were ready to turn some heads and prove the "experts" wrong.

Now by no means were any of us expecting to ride this season all the way to the Super Bowl. But for some reason, we are all on here talking as if after 3 PHUKN games, JR is actually costing us that shot we had at the Super Bowl. And by making the decision to switch up the QB situation, after one full season and 3 games, maybe Gradkowski, Frye or Garcia might put us back on the track of the Super Bowl. Let's start making some real sense hear RAIDER NATION!!!!

What we need to do is deal with the cards we were dealt! Establish the RUN,---EARLY---AND---OFTEN. Get some pressure on the QB and STOP THE RUN!!!! Without question, these things weren't really there in the game against the chiefs, and damn sure weren't there in the game against the Donkeys. So before we continue to point the finger at JR for all of the problems we are having here, lets go ahead and really put a complete game together in order to make a real evaluation.

Let's not 4get people, this RAIDER NATION is something bigger than being a fan. THIS IS A FAMILY!!!! When the chips are down, do you really look for the closest exit? From my experiences, those are the times you come together, just like this same team did last year with all the Davis/Kiffin soap opera.

Now our next game is a very winnable one against the Texans who we put a hurtn on b4 and there isn't any reason we can't do the same this year with the way their D has been playing. And it will be just the positive momentum we will need going into the next part of the season that has some of our biggest opponents ahead.

So let's try to keep that glass half full, at least for another game RAIDER NATION!!!!

this is what we have all been waiting for RAIDER faithful. this is the start of a brand new season. time for us to shut up all the haters who have tried to shit on us during the off season, during preseason and will continue to do so throughout the season. the same ones who haven't given us our props for making some moves to propel us to the next level.

are we goin' to the Super Bowl this year? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. are we gonna have a good year? Does the pope wear a funny lookn' hat? does a fag sweat while he eats a corndog? your damn right!!!! so you can bet the ranch we're gonna open some eyes this year and solute the non-believers with 2 middle fingers in the air.

I haven't anticipated an opening game like this in God knows how long. Monday night, opening up the season with one of our hated rivals? if your not there 2maro, you better be watchn' at home, at the bar, or listening to this on the radio, cuz it's about to jump off.

I will be there 2maro, live and in the flesh. if anyone is gonna be there, I will be there at the RV parking in the southside parking section C right there in the front row by the white concrete barricades. It will be the silver and black RV. for those of you who are regular tailgators, you know which one i'm talking about. come by so we can have some shots, drink some beers, or whatever. i'm even gonna give my # for you to call me if you can't find it (209)968-9117. you will know its my by my AZTEC RAIDER tattoo on my left arm. my name is Cid

ALL DAY...........TOUCHDOWN................RRRRRAAIIIDERSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Now i'm sure many of you were all surprised about the news of Brett Favre signing with the Vikings today pending a physical. Hopefully even more of you saw this coming a mile away as I did. We actually took a poll a while back and it was actually 50/50 on whether he would stay retired or change his mind...again.

There was no way in the world Brett was going to pass up on exactly what he wanted last year but didn't get, which was to play for the Vikings in the hopes of beating the Packers. He was instead left only to choose the Jets where he figured to make a big splash in a big city. Ya they started off well and everybody started sippin' the Kool-Aid (grape is my favorite), and the "experts" started gettin' on the bandwagon predicting the Jets for the Super Bowl. We all know how the story ends though with the bottom falling out, the Jets losing 4 of their last 5 games with Brett throwing 7 ints in the last 3 games. And this caused the Jets to miss the playoffs completely.

This definately was not the famed storyline Brett was supposed to end his career on. He was supposed to take the Jets into the playoffs and hopefully to the Super Bowl. And win or lose he would be able to say "Ha Packers, see what you passed up on! You should've never let me go." You know the same kind of line the sour ex-girlfriend gives you after you dump her for the girl from your work with perkier tits and DSL's. (and for those of you who don't know about DSL's...you better ask somebody)

Now when the prospect of Brett getting a chance to play this year with the Vikings came about, you had to know he wouldn't pass it up for anything. Of course he had to do it on his terms. He didn't want to go to mini-camps or training camps. He's Brett phukn Favre. He's run this style offense for 16 years before. He just wants to show up for the games people.

The worst thing about all of this is that this whole story has been an ongoing thing all summer on BSpn, which has basically turned into the TMZ of the sportsworld. And guess what Brett, that would make you the Paris Hilton of the football world. But that exactly what you wanted now wasn't it?

i'm sitting here watching Monday Night Countdown (yes, on Thursday) before the preseason super bowl rematch enjoying my beer and nearly fell off my couch. The question was asked of the panel of Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Cris Carter, "dumb" jackson, and Steve Young, Who would be the surprise super bowl contender of the season like the Arizona Cardinals of last season?

Ditka went with it being one of the teams out of the NFC North and finally chose Green Bay.

Keyshawn said NY Jets because of the tough Rex Ryan and young Mark Sanchez leading the team. and this is where i started to scratch my head.

Carter went with Houston, who is a stretch, but actually could fit that same mold of high powered offense with Slaton and Andre Johnson both coming off big seasons last year. big question mark on there defense similar to the Cardinals last year.

Next of course was Tom "R8R Hater" Jackson, who surprisingly chose. . .the denver donkeys!!!! he figured after their difficult offseason, they were gonna pull it all together in training camp and "get some stability out of Kyle Ortan." this even made Cris Carter adjust in his seat and say "C'mon Man!" it was followed by Steve Young saying it was no surprise to hear him pick the donkeys

is there a petition or something to sign to request getting tom jackson off of espn? is anyone else tired of his continuous haterizm of the RAIDERS and total bias towards the donkeys? his idiotic comments make Keyshawn look like a football czar. is there anything we can do to make him vanish from the face of the earth? or at least get him to be an intelligent analyst? 

i mean really, even with all of us being die hard OAKLAND RAIDER fans, could any of us really sat up there on the panel and said "Well you know guys, i would really compare the Raiders out in Oakland to last years Cardinals and really give New England, Pittsburgh or Indy a run for their money to represent the AFC in this years Super Bowl."

now all the reports are coming in that Brett Favre has told the Vikings he will remain retired from the NFL because he feels his body will not be able to hold up mentally and physically to the daily grind required to play at a high caliber. We have all been here before with Brett and his decisions to retire and unretire...then retire and possibly unretire again. But is this really the last we hear in this Favre soap opera saga that is his retirement? Can he possibly change his mind yet again in a few weeks? Could this all be a load of crap?

And on another note, does this whole retiring and unretiring completely ruin his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history?

it's now fall and summer has come to an end. back to school. time to see friends again. time for those nagging teachers and lame homework assignments. but also time for the high school football season. not only are the football players excited about their upcoming football season, but so are the prissy stuck up chicks who are so desperate for the spotlight of being called the homecoming queen of the school year. the prize of hearing your name called out and being in front of the crowd as they cheer for you. you've just been selected for being the prettiest, most popular girl at your school. you're the HOMECOMING QUEEN. people will always remember you throughout this year for it. there will be pictures in the year book for you to always look back at and remember this special day. you'll be able to show your kids and grandkids. you'll be able to brag to your girlfriends when you're all old and fat that "hey at least at some point in my life i was popular and hot in life."

now let's fall back to the NFC championship game of 2007. ny giants vs green bay packers. your brett favre, about to take your team to the super bowl to hopefully win and finish out your career with another SB ring. you will be remembered as the ironman who set the record for the most consecutive starts. you played with grit and tenacity. yet you had excitement and glee of a teenage boy living out his dream.

unfortunately for you brett favre, you just threw yet another haunting interception, that just cost your the game, the season, and the super bowl chance you all worked hard for. so now the last picture any nfl fan has of brett favre will be of him throwing an interception to corey webster of the ny giants on the second play of overtime that cost his team a chance at the super bowl. so now brett, your first ever pass as an nfl starter was thrown for an INT, which was returned for a toughdown, and now your last nfl pass was for an INT to cost you the game. not only that but you hold the record for the most career INTs.  kinda sounds like being the runner up in the homecoming vote there doesn't it brett.

after retiring, the first time, and stewing on what would be your legacy, you decided you didn't want that to be the way your fans and peers last remembered you. you're a DIVA and you want to be remembered for being the ironman and a champion. only problem is your boyfriend, or in this case the packers, have moved on to a younger better looking new thang, aaron rogers. so you throw a fit and figure how to get back at them.

you turn to the bright lights of the ny jets. you'll show those stupid packers you still got. your not old and washed up. only problem with that is...you are. sure you start out pretty good and the "experts" are predicting you guys could actually go all the way. except that arm of yours reminds you of you real age. gives out on you down the stretch. but hey lets look at it as a half full cup. you see i guess the positive that came out of this past season is you got a chance to pad that lead on the record for the most INTs in a career. bout 310 or so right brett? don't worry you'll forever be in the books for that one.

so here we are, mini-camps and such starting up. excitement of the training camps around the corner. and you wanna play again! except this time, YOUR GONNA GET WHAT YOU WANT!!!! you wanna play for the vikings so you get a chance to play green bay twice this year. only problem with coming back is the fact you're still and old man with an old throwing arm. the only reason you haven't come back out of retirement yet and officially signed with the vikings is BECAUSE YOU A HOMECOMING DIVA!!!! you don't want to go to mini-camps and things like that. you're brett freakin favre. so for now you'll practice "at high school" with the kids, when you want.

you get back at those stupid packers, or that girl who got more votes than you for homecoming queen. it's just a stupid crown and sash that you didn't want anyway. she's stupid and fat and ugly anyway. and so are the stupid packers. you'll show them brett. you bratty lil diva.

now first of all we all need to thank KA13R for swithchin it up for us and starting a post for my third most favorite thing in the world which is music. (first being family, which raider nation is included. second everything RAIDERS)  i saw plenty of artists that i love to listen to and also many which i hadn't heard before. shakari was one that i definately was glad to be turned to. a couple of the ones that i was dissappointed to not see in anybodys list were two of the late greats

JIMI HENDRIX

BOB MARLEY

maybe i just didn't see there names in there and i apologize. but if no one mentioned them...shame shame shame.

as more and more people became involved and chimed in on the post, it kind of switched over to a greatest hip hop/rap artists. reading through everyone's list, there were plenty of great great names on these lists. a few of the ones i think that were left off of these list were

BEASTIE BOYS-(mentioned on a few lists)my first rap cassette tape, yes cassette, i ever owned from the San Jose swap meet/flea market-"COOKYPUSS"

LUDACRIS

XZIBIT

RICK ROSS

TI

i truely feel sorry for my 3 young sons because i feel like the great days of hip hop/rap are behind us. Rick Ross and TI are the only ones out there right now that i can say are puttin out some serious music. Kanye came out with the college dropout which was a classic, but pretty much fell off and went way MTV for me. hip hop was the straight anthem of my life. from the first time i heard "walk this way" to the first time i heard "C.R.E.A.M",  you could just plug in a song and it would take you back to that time in your life when it was a hit. it would remind you of that first time you got to grab that girls booty at the school dance. or the first time you ditched school. and even the first time you got to dip into the cookie jar ;)~ i remember constantly saving up my money for every tuesday when the new cds would come out at the warehouse mucis store. ya...those were the days. now what kind of albums do my kids have to look forward, the next Flo rida or soulja boy hit? come on. Nas said it best when he said hip hop is dead. i don't even listen to the radio anymore cuz everything is so commercial, and they play it over and over.

the other thing that i noticed left out of the hip hop/rap list wasn't extremely troubling because i have seen it done millions and millions of times before. it has really become the norm when speaking of great artists in the game, past and present. BAY AREA ARTISTS left in the cold. now obviously some of you have not heard many bay area artists because they aren't mainstream and don't get any play on your local radio stations, so i can't fault you on that. but these artists are bigger than you can imagine in the YAY AREA, and were pioneers in this west coast rap game, they have just never been given their recognition. considering we are all part of the OAKLAND RAIDER NATION, i figure it was my duty to give you all an inside look into the music world ( and believe me, it is a completely different world out here in the bay area) that surrounds the town of your beloved RAIDERS. now don't get it twisted, i'm not just grabbin names off the internet or itunes for you to check out. i grew up in Richmond, Ca on 22nd street in the heart of the YAY. im giving you the music i grew up on from all the artists from OAKLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, VALLEJO, SACRAMENTO, AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. the bay has much love for eachother

now most of you definately recognize E-40  as a major bay representative. his newest albums starting getn play on MTV and BET and he did alot of collaborations with many other big name artist. most of you know him from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jksPAfD44Bg. so much of his early work was slept on though. he definately started alot of what is now YAY AREA hip hop. one of his must have albums is "grit & grind" with the track "why they don't fuck wit us" where he breaks it down on how he was left out of the SOURCES top artist list. some of his other must have tracks include: can't list them all though

"quarterbackin remix featuring the clipse"

"gouda"

"yee" which is the official call of the yay area

"captain save a hoe" which was his first classic track

 now another pioneer in the bay and the one who true PIMP PLAYA music was none other than Too $hort.  i remember the first time i saw him on HOME TURF and was like damn this cat is a  straight playa. he originally was selling his tapes out of the trunk of his car. he also had a thing called the "special request", which for a small fee, you could go to him with a topic, maybe your name, your girlfriends name, your city, whatever you wanted, and he would make a special rap just for you. most of you might know him from his latest cut with snoop dogg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai7ASY3HWCw some of you must have tracks are

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXEAv5yprSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYy8FOAVMsU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xewshBgvOuU

the originator of PIMP MUSIC BEEEOOOOTTTCH!

the next most recognizable name and face if the hyphy THIZZ NATION would be (R.I.P.) Mac Dre. he's the reason you might get stupid dumb in the club, in the streets, and at the sideshow. sideshow= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS85jXrq-9w the pak n save in the video is the one right next to the stadium. the definate album essential is "Ronald Dregon"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7GKzcQ225Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvEsWaCXHxQ

now who doesn't know 2pac? definately a worldwide hip hop icon. and some may or may not now of his beginnings with Digital Underground http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj9_yW8tZxs another bay legend connected with 2pac in his early years was Mac Mall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UTpuikhMGU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIQ0uW8Zih0

the most know group out there would be the Luniz with their classic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkAOLfi3R54 u need to check out the remix too. they also have an album dedicated to the OAKLAND RAIDERS called "Silver and Black" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LbH5o4dmHA. so they could actually lay claim to being the RAIDERS official hip hop group

here's some of the latest names and hits

KEAK DA SNEAK- "SUPER HYPHY"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi__dpsPv7o 

"THAT GO" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWgRGHvJ8b8 

"WHITE T SHIRT, BLUE JEANS, & NIKES" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOzQ-SKlH0

FEDERATION-  "GO DUMB"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a59eDKVmZoE and "HYPHY"

MISTAH F.A.B.- "N.E.W. OAKLAND"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJbNS9T5WWY

MESSY MARV & GUCE aka BULLYS WIT FULLYS- "ORANGE JUICE & A BLUNT" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSz30Cnqy0Y 

SAN QUINN- "HELL YEAH" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLDD9utP8Zc

that's just a lil taste of what they got. check em all out cuz they got plenty more. on to some of the OG classics

C-BO- "RIDE TIL WE DIE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuoW-GnV6ok and "357"

CELLY CEL- "GOIN DOWN 2NITE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg5qxy6_MA0

THE REMIX- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ZLQnPFqNc

RAPPIN' 4TAY- "PLAYAZ CLUB" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aktvOo5vj0E

SPICE 1-" 187 PROOF" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE10HgVCUtM

11/5-" I GOT BITCHES" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e5h4-dn3aQ

BROTHA LYNCH-"24 DEEP" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLYL1ojgvPI

"LOCC 2 DA BRAIN" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoDY3vKj-rg

B-LEGIT-"CITY TO CITY" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvmQ05JGnBE

3XKRAZY- "STACKIN CHIPS" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47VQh1VLeeE

RBL POSSE- "NO BAMMER WEED" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhRJnuCrAoM

"BOUNCE TO THIS" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxdwUEhw6UY

ANDRE NICKATINA-" AYO" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_EYkMFAcqA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jBgn5So3zQ

for you underground heads you need to get with, by my opinion, a cat at the top of the bay underground game KIRBY DOMINANT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAeS_RCKBgE that one is one of FACTORS cuts. but the album YOU HAVE TO GET IS..."RAPITALISM"...  i think you can only find this album on iTUNES. any way that you can get it...GET IT!!!! also check out LATYRX AND SOLESIDES.

hopefully to some of you i have opened up a whole new world of the hip hop game that isn't seen by many and now you know what the town sounds for your OAKLAND RAIDERS. to others i may have just taken you down memory lane with some of the old jams. either way let me know what you think. also drop me some links to any unheard of hip hop from your local area. i know that some of the best artists and hip hop comes straight from the streets and not from MTV. GET AT ME!

this is why we are RAIDERS FANS. this is why everyone loves to hate us. we do what the fuck we want when the fuck we want.

WE THROW OUR MIDDLE FINGERS UP TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE!!!!

all the "experts" were shaking their heads when we took DHB. chris berman and his "expert" panel tried to do nothing but make us look silly when we took MIKE MITCHELL from Ohio U. why would we take someone who the supposed draft god mel kiper had ranked to be picked in the 5th or 6th round? Mitchell spelled it out for everyone. the chicago bears called him and told him they were gonna take him with the 49th pick. you know what the funny thing is? had that gone down with the bears choosing Mithcell at #49, the "expert" panel would have been singing a different tune i'm sure about how this could turn out to be a major hidden gem or sum bull shit like that. but the fortunate thing is we got him before they did.

MICHAEL MITCHELL OHIO U PLAN B

go on youtube and type that in.

this video shows discipline, hitting ability, closeout speed, reading the QB, and leadership. he maintains his assignments and after the play develops he runs down the ball and delivers the heat.

espn made fun of how they didn't even have any film on Mitchell to show. obviously these jackasses didn't see this. thankfully our scouts saw plenty of this and thats why we got him!

Michael Mitchell is about to go retarded for the RAIDERS this year. for all the haters and doubters out there, like i said, all you get is to middle fingers.

now i'm sure that all of us can appreciate the most bang for our buck, whether you're talking about  our #7 pick this draft weekend or that flat screen you've been debating on buying from best buy. you want to feel that all the thoughts, evaluation and time you have put into your selection has paid of, in full, in the end.

right now, the OAKLAND RAIDERS are not a single pick or player away from getting to the super bowl. not even from getting to the playoffs to be exact. so whether you can agree that we need help on the D-line, the O-line or at WR, the bottom line here is that we all realize that no matter what player we pick at #7, they are not goin to be the savior and get us to the promise land. he won't even get us to the "pinky promise" land. we need help everywhere except for at QB and RB. i think that is the only thing all RAIDERS FANS can agree on. we have made a solid effort to select a QB for the future and put together a group of backs that can compete with any team in the NFL. the secondary, which was ranked in the top 10 last year, was very good with a little bit of improvement needed. namely at the safety position.

the only way we can get the most draft value with our #7 pick this year is to somehow trade down and get more picks so we CAN  in fact address issues at the O-line, D-line and even at WR. if we take a possible grade A player with the 7th pick  is that ultimately better than taking 2 possible grade B players with later picks? we are not the n.y. giants who are probably only a WR away from returning to the super bowl. there isn't a single player in this years draft who changes our team over night.

the one thing as RAIDERS FANS that we all have to come to grips with is that rebuilding this team will take time. we have to go through this very low time but keep our eyes on the prize. we have had improvements in our last few years with draft picks. our team has slowly improved the last two years. we can't fall in love with the thought that Rak, Crab, or anyone for that matter taken at #7 changes our team that drastically. it will take a few quality picks this year.

now everything leading up to now, from the expert analysis, to every blog and newspaper article you've read, to the talks with your buddies about draft picks have been nothing more than that. Talk. so let's discuss something that hasn't been talked about and look into the slightly possible scenario of Aaron Curry falling to the RAIDERS at #7.

have you heard anything like this anywhere else? any experts predicting this one? didn't think so, but now i got your antennas up and your interests sparked.

the closest thing to a for sure thing in this years draft is Detroit picking Matt Staff. other than that, i wouldn't say anything else is etched in stone. most mock draft boards are as followed

Detroit-Stafford, Georgia QB

St. Louis-Smith, Baylor OT

K.C.-Curry, Wake Forrest LB

Seattle-Sanchez, USC QB

Cleveland-Crabtree, Texas Tech WR

Cincinnati-Monroe, Virginia OT

Oakland-Maclin, Missouri WR

that would leave 6'1" 323lbs DT Raji, 6'4" 260lbs DE Orakpo, and 6'4" 245 lbs Maybin still available. well why does that mean anything? excellent questions my friend. let's take a look at our AFC West rival chiefs and what they did defensively last year.

DEFENSE: rush-30th. pass-28th. overall-31st. rushing TDs allowed, 25-29th. passing TDs allowed, 21-18th. sacks, 10-32nd

are you trying to tell me that kc couldn't use Raji to stuff the middle and help to stop allowing almost 2 rushing TDs per game? Orakpo or Maybin can help get some pressure on the opposing qb or help you get more than 10 measly sacks for the seaon?

for some reason, since the beginning of all of the draft talks have started, it has almost been a given that Curry would be in the top 3 picks. don't get me wrong here, Curry is an amazing athlete and well deserving of such a top pick. but like i've seen in many blogs and newspaper articles, some peoples way of thinking of selecting a draft pick is dependent upon your teams needs. why couldn't that thought process possibly be the same for some teams front office making the picks? based on the facts of the way the sad defense shaped up for kc compared to the rest of the league last year, i would say they are in need of some D-line help, wouldn't you? isn't it possible they take one of the other 3 guys with th 3rd pick? i don't see why not. but what about the next 3 teams, seattle, cleveland and cincinnati? won't they pick up Curry? you know, i like your style. just continuously shooting out those on point questions. once again, i'm glad you asked and here it goes.

with seattle, you have plenty to talk about here. originally it was said they had the hots for Crabtree. they got T.J. "whoseyourmomma", and talks shifted to them taking Sanchez to be the future. i would see that as more of a matt leinart thing ala arizona. i think they figured that out too since Hasselbeck is 33 and has a few more years of productivity. but now there are serious talks about washington wanting seattle to take him in a pick and trade draft day scenario. again, just talks that could fizzle out or really shake up a draft weekend.

now with cleveland, you have a team which would be out for a WR at the 5th spot if the Braylon Edwards deal goes down. word is they might be asking for more then what the giants want to give. i think even if they don't trade Edwards they still might be interested in Crabtree to start their own receiver duo. if they could get their QB situation figured out and get some consistency at that position it would get  Braylon back on track. also their run defense was ranked 28th. so it's not out of the question for them to take one of the 3 D-lineman

last we have cincinnati, who didn't have to bad of a defense last year, 12th overall. they are said to be going after monroe. i really don't see them changing their pick if Curry is still available because they are more in need of some O-line help to keep Carson Palmer off of his back and getting injured again.

and this is the part of the story boys and girls, where there Aaron Curry falls into the laps of the BIG BAD OAKLAND RAIDERS. the new question would then be would we take him, take him and trade him away or trade the 7th pick to another team who is drooling and amazed at the fact that he dropped to #7? is there even more value to us to dish him out, get more picks and grab more players to fit more of our needs? or would we keep an elite LB who could do some serious damage to the likes of LT and Sproles, Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez coming over the middle, and...well...the donkeys don't really have any running backs. oh well you get the picture.

marinate on that for a while. enjoy it. savor it. enjoy it some more. pray for it. and we can see if any of this talk pans out come saturday afternoon. let me know what you think. thanks.

first of all thanks for checking out my post. my first of many to come.

now i'm not really gonna play mock draft to much because there are just way to many variables that go into a nfl draft weekend. to many trade rumors and smoke screens that can change a teams draft decision in the blink of an eye. and with all the expert analysis in the world, which even the "experts" don't always agree or always get it right, its really hard to pinpoint who goes where.

what i would like to address are some of what i feel are the more important needs for the RAIDERS to become the SUPREME TEAM we are capable of being to get us back on track of being the greatest nfl franchise AGAIN!

now so much talk early has been about how we were wanting crabtree. then it became maclin. now heyward-bey is amongst the talks. either way, i don't feel WR is a major concern to be addressing at the #7 pick. with the exceptions of Andre Johnson, Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson (chosen 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd in their respective draft years), there are plenty of top notch receivers who weren't elite first round picks. Steve Smith (3rd in the league receiving) was drafted in the 3rd round in '01. Greg Jennings (6th) was drafted in the 2nd round in '06. Brandon Marshall (7th) was drafted in the 4th round in '06. i'm sure we would love to be able to pick up someone of that caliber in the later rounds which we do have that chance with Ramses Barden. if WR were our only position we had a concern at or was the missing link that would get us into immediate super bowl contentions, then by all means we should take crabtree. my spider sense tells me that someone is going to take him before us anyway.

on to our real needs and hopefully the new state of mind for the RAIDERS. now this year, unlike many past years, we haven't made any outrageous trades or signings for players who just aren't gonna pan out. (can you say Deangelo Hall) we have addressed sum issues at the O-line with sum free agency signings. we have a potentially great and young QB in JaRuss. an insane unit with our RBs with the veteran Fargas, a now healthy DMC, and a battering ram in Bush. with our receivers we have the great Zack Miller who was a huge dependable target all year, and JLH and Chaz who were starting to shine towards the end of the season. with last year really being Russell's first real season, we were starting to click on all cylinders. our offense was ranked 10th in the run, 32 in the pass and 29th overall. now i know what your saying and my ears are already ringing. we need to get a great receiver and our offense will be a monster. whoa, whoa, slow down turbo. let's go ahead and take a look at 3 of the top teams in the AFC last year and then lets see what you have to say

PITTSBURGH- super bowl champs-that's pretty good for a season's worth work wouldn't you say?

OFFENSE: run, 23rd. pass 17th. overall 22nd

DEFENSE: run, 2nd. pass, 1st. overall 1st

injuries during the regular season hampered their run game, but during their playoff run it was there when they needed it.

BALTIMORE-AFC runner-up last year. not to shabby

OFFENSE: run, 4th. pass 28th. overall 18th

DEFENSE: run, 3rd. pass 2nd. overall 2nd

TENNESEE-best record in the NFL last year. can't frown on that can you?

OFFENSE: run 7th. pass 27th. overall 21st

DEFENSE: run 6th. pass 9th. overall 7th

is anyone seeing any kind of pattern here. it's probably the oldest saying in the NFL. to be a super bowl champ, you have to be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run. all three of these teams are without a doubt the standard in the AFC. they have a great running game and bone crushing defenses. and that wins games. who are some of their elite receivers and where do they rank? well you know i'm glad you asked that. Ten- Justin Gage, 51st among receivers last year drafted 143rd in 2003. Bal-Derrick Mason, 17th, drafted 98th in 1997. Pit-Hines Ward, 15th, drafted 92nd in 1998.

so before you buy into all the hype of picking crabtree or maclin, i would say consider the fact it's all just some B.S. floating around the league. you know there's nothing Al Davis wouldn't love to do more than mess up everyone else picks, trade talks etc. if we were so desperate for a receiver, why aren't there any talks about us trying to get Boldin? are you trying to tell me he isn't a great receiver who can make a difference on any team he were to suit up for? But what kind of headlines and rumor talks do we get? the ridiculous ones that are "just our style". talks of how we are the front runner for signing TO or trading for ocho cinco. why,because those are the stories that sell papers or get hits for a website. these are the headlines that continue to make the RAIDERS look like fools. were there any real talks of the bills signing TO? not until just before he signed with them.

I honestly believe the RAIDERS front office is steering us on the right track. we have done everything to obtain a crazy run game. everyone looked at us like we were fools taking Bush a few years back and for signing Fargas to an extension. this is our year that we go with defense early and try to grab Ramses in the 3rd.

let me know what you think about all of this. looking forward to your responses

don't ever forget, those who can't BE a RAIDER only qualify to BE A HATER!!!!