Roped by the Texans

September 10th I said the Raiders would go 8-8 and after I looked at the schedule and the 1st week of games, we easily had the talent to go 11-5. Yeah I said it. 11-5. Then week 2 hits and even though we won, I could see that JaMarcus Russell had not developed into the QB we needed him to be and we had to do something about it or it was going to get real bad, real fast. Week 3 it did. I took a look at our upcoming schedule and while I still believe were capable of being 8-8 at the worst, 11-5 at our best, if the coaching staff doesn’t come to its senses, JaMarcus doesn’t get hurt or Al Davis is hospitalized were going to end up 3-13 with our next two wins coming in weeks 10 and 16 courtesy of the Chiefs and the Browns.

We enter week 4 with a QB that has more INT (4) than TDs (1). We enter week 4 with a QB that has 378 total yards and a quarterback rating of 39.8. We face a QB with 7 TDs & 2 INT, 823 total yards with a quarterback rating of 101.9. By looking at these numbers you never would have guessed that the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans are tied for 3rd in their respective division. Denver and San Diego are ahead and (Denver record is unbelievable) bringing in last is KC at 0-3. I sat down and hoped that in week 4 we’d have a new game plan. I sat down hoping to see JaMarcus had benched himself. I sat down in hopes that we had made changes to become the team I know we are. I sat down to see one thing….None of that happen. Once again Coach Cable failed at benching JaMarcus and JaMarcus failed at benching himself. This game makes our 2nd game in a row with a terrible performance. 8 first downs, QB is 12/33 3.6ypp. We had 0-1 Red Zone attempts made. 9 penalties for 60 yards and 3 lost fumbles. What the Eff?! All I could do Sunday as I watched the Texans pick us apart was shake my head as our leaders continue to let us crumble. Our defense, yet again, I can’t be mad at. Texans receive, go 7 plays and then we come up with a 3 and out. Texans go 5 plays and we give another 3 and out, defense is back on…you see where I’m going with this? The defense is TIRED! They come out to ball every Sunday and I love them for it, for every effort they give; Huff, Morrison, Nnamdi; Ellis and Seymore. I can’t call their names out enough. Shaughnessy, Ricky Brown and Chris Johnson even showed up Sunday. They just can’t do it alone. They’re robbing my guy Murphy of his catches, Hayward-Bey has to catch balls damn near thrown to the dirt and Watkins is just trying to make it happen. McFadden needs a break.

This is his second week on some bull! We need offensive help, adjustments need to be made and responsibility assumed! It’s no excuse for the Raiders to continue to allow JaMarcus to play. It’s no excuse for JaMarcus not to have discipline on the field. The Quarterback position should be played with a determination, a focus and a drive that makes you just want to get better so your team gets better and also played unselfishly. He doesn’t have the fire and lacks all of the above. He has Raider greats at his disposal and won’t use them. He should be the first one there and the last to leave. Garcia took the words out of my mouth “It’s just right now he’s still young, he has a lot of growth that needs to take place within him from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint.” You hear that Russell? Did you read it? It’s within you! While I didn’t want Garcia to take Russell’s place because I believe he can be a good QB, I must come to grips with the fact that a good QB is not what we need. We need a great quarterback. Russell is failing mightily. I asked myself last night is this dude trying to be the next Ryan Leaf? Funny because as I read the reports on Russell, he’s already being compared…At this point, it’s up to him. Get ya mind right or get out the lime light!