Fire Cable!

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, October 01, 2008  |  Comments( 71 )

Oakland Raiders
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In one of the most coherent bits of his public announcement on Tuesday, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis lamented that “It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy." Sure, Davis was referring to poor Lane Kiffin, but here’s to thinking that we’ll be hearing the same words in, what, another 582 to 616 days, max?

While this writer has successfully avoided snide remarks and speculative questioning about Davis’ state of mental health, the choice of Tom Cable to assume the position has me rethinking that path and thinking up jokes involving medication delivered in silky Montgomery Burnsesque tones.

Seriously, Raider Nation, Tom Cable? It was said that offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and advance scout/special consultant Paul Hackett were also given a shot to plead their case for the job (or maybe to beg against promotion), thereby giving Davis two employees perhaps better suited for the job. Sure, Hackett hasn’t been more than a quarterback coach since 2004, but he has held O-coordinator positions before and, truth be told, is a heck of a lot more qualified than Kiffin was. And as the current offensive coordinator, Knapp seems to be helping get the Raiders somewhat on track despite a generally subpar receiving corps.

Cable, meanwhile, has held the position of offensive line coach for just over two seasons in the NFL. In his first NFL bid in 2006, Cable was able to increase the Falcons’ sacks allowed total from 39 (33 on Michael Vick) in 2005 to 47 (45 on Vick) under his leadership, and was cleared out along with Jim Mora Jr. and that lot pretty much directly after the season.

In Oaktown, of course, Raiders fans have witnessed the improvement Cable has brought to the line – currently by far the weakest area on this Oakland squad, assuming JaMarcus Russell ultimately fulfills his promise, maybe after getting a viable target at WR or two. With the implementation of a new zone blocking scheme, Cable managed to trim sacks allowed from 72 to 41 in a single season. On the other hand, the Raiders are right on pace to allow 40 again in 2008 after an offseason that saw little improvement made to the line while Davis signed risky name players such as Javon Walker and expensive overkill like Gibril Wilson; was Cable’s willingness to be a 'yes' man ultimately what landed him the big chair? Nah, couldn’t be, right?

Claiming that Cable is Davis’ man for other reasons is more than a bit difficult to prove, however. Alongside Cable’s minimal NFL experience on the resume is his four-year stint as head coach, his sole attempt at such a position, which saw him bring the University of Idaho Vandals a cumulative 11-35 record in four seasons – 11 percentage points worse than Kiffin’s record with the Raiders.

Unnamed sources and dissatisfaction with Kiffin aside, all optimism for 2008’s hopes in the Raider Nation has to be officially shredded with this move, the least scintillating choice for a leadership position since Barack Obama took on Joe Biden. If your guy at the top is convinced a Robert Gallery is the future and Kwame Harris is a quality signing, what chance does positivity have?

But of course, Cable’s not at the top, right? Just ask Lane Kiffin ...

(The final message from the self-admittedly "too little, too late" KeepKiffin.com: "As loyal fans of the Oakland Raiders, we deserve better than the coaching carousel and inconsistency that the Oakland Raiders have gone through the past couple years. ... We are pushing for a boycott of Oakland Raiders merchandise/apparel, television broadcast of Oakland Raiders football games, and attendance to any Oakland Raiders football ... the movement is not dead. The Raider Nation's voice will be heard.)
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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