Oakland Raiders: Commitment to Failure?

A friend of mine in Blythe, Calif. is surrounded by Oakland Raiders fans (fortunately, he’s not one of them.)

He says that most Raiders fans say the team will be good again only when Al Davis leaves the scene.

The Raiders once had a “Commitment to Excellence.” These days, they appear to have a “Commitment to Failure.”

How else do you explain the Raiders arguably being the worst team in the NFL since they last played in a Super Bowl seven seasons ago?

It all starts on the field with JaMarcus Russell, the worst/laziest starting quarterback in the NFL today. (Yes, he was Al Davis’ choice to be a No. 1 draft pick.)

It doesn’t help that he’s working with his third offensive coordinator in three years, two rookie wide receivers and a horrible offensive line. (Heck, the Raiders are averaging a whopping 8.9 points per game.)

Richard Seymour has brought solidarity to the defense up front, but don’t you think he would rather be back in New England where another Super Bowl is a real possibility this season?

The Raiders have lost 12 straight to Sunday’s opponent, the San Diego Chargers. At one time, the Raiders used to beat the Chargers with their collective eyes closed.

Oakland only had 39,354 home fans for last week’s 38-0 loss to the New York Jets, the smallest home crowd since 1968. Yes, people in the Bay Area have caught on.

The Chargers? They aren’t exactly a juggernaut yet this season, but playing the Raiders is always a way to cure what ails them.

Prediction:
Chargers 27, Raiders 14

Al Davis: The root of Raiders' evil

Sometimes, it’s interesting to know what the average fan is saying.

Last weekend, a visitor from Blythe, Calif., told me what the numerous Oakland Raiders’ fans in his hometown are thinking.

“They’re just waiting for Al Davis to die,” he said.

As cruel as that is, Raider fans have come to realize that the game has long-since passed Davis by. He may be able to outline “wrongdoings” by fired coach Lane Kiffin in an attempt not to pay Kiffin, but the evil starts with Davis.

(Can you imagine how long it would take for someone to outline Davis’ wrongs over the past six years; such as Davis did with Kiffin yesterday?)

To start with, Davis has had five coaches over the past six seasons. Kiffin has the second “winningest” percentage among them with his 5-15 record. (Would you believe the “best” Raiders coach during that time was Norv Turner at 9-23?)

Heck, new Raiders interim coach Tom Cable had a worse winning percentage at the University of Idaho than Kiffin did with the Raiders.

Perhaps Terrell Davis put it best on the NFL Network.

“I don’t think anybody in his right mind would want to coach the Raiders,” the former Denver Broncos star said.

Speaking of, Davis still owes current Broncos coach Mike Shanahan money from when Shanahan (like Kiffin) was supposedly fired with cause in the mid -1990s by Davis.

As Davis continues to seek what is ailing the Raiders, the best advice is for him to take a long, long look in the mirror.

Chargers' LT loves 'Raider Week'

If you’re looking for LaDainian Tomlinson to have his first breakout game of 2008 for the Chargers, this could very well be the week.

As former coach Marty Schottenheimer used to say: “It’s Raider Week.”

And few – if any – Charger players have performed better over the years against the hated Oakland Raiders than LT.

In fact, three of his top eight career rushing games came vs. Oakland:

Dec. 28, 2003: Career-high 243 yards
Oct. 14, 2007: Both 198 yards and four touchdowns
Sept. 28, 2003: Best game at Oakland with 187 yards

Based on this, we should find out this week if LT is just off to another slow start or hurt worse than some are letting on with his toe injury.

There are a couple of significant notes this week.

First of all, with a win, the Chargers will become the first team ever to beat the Raiders 10 straight times.

And most of all for Oakland, it will likely be the last game for head coach Lane Kiffin; who is expected to be fired the following week when the Raiders have a bye.

Either the Raiders will go all out for Kiffin this week, or they will just lie down because they are tired of interference from owner Al Davis.

Prediction: Chargers 38, Raiders 23
College prediction: San Diego State 31, Idaho 20