Hard for Raiders fans to get charged up for this one

By MikeBullock  |   Friday, October 30, 2009  |  Comments( 5 )

Oakland Raiders
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“The season is over.” How many times has that phrase been uttered by Raider fans since the fall of 2003? Far more times than the Chargers have beaten Oakland. Why is it simply okay to allow the air of hopelessness to hang around like a San Francisco fog?

The Raiders are currently on the wrong end of a thirteen game skid against a division opponent they should be beating every time. However, the taste of victory has long since worn off – having last been savored on September 28th, 2003. In his career, Oakland has given up an amazing 1961 yards and 23 touchdowns to LaDainian Tomlinson alone. Those are decent career numbers for any average running back.

Currently, the Chargers are a mind numbing 31st in the league in rushing yards per game, averaging a lowly 70.5, which factors in LT and Darren Sproles. These two men must be salivating at the idea of facing the Raider defense that just coughed up 316 rushing yards, the bulk of which was split between two 100+ yard rushers who, arguably, aren’t nearly as good as the Chargers’ pair.

And, that’s just normal football worries. How does a porous defense stop two great running backs? For those of you who would rather shy away from pain, stay with that thought and don’t read any further.

The real insult to injury to insult back to injury came from Jamarcus Russell and Tom Cable this week. First, after single-handedly giving the Jets game to the opponents last week, Russell was rightfully benched by coach Cable. After the game, Russell was quoted as saying thing such as he was trying to give receiver Todd Watkins a chance to “make a play.” Russell does realize Watkins isn’t a cornerback, right?-

There’s the insult after the first injury. But wait, there’s more.

Coach Cable spoke publicly earlier in the week regarding the decision and stated, unequivocally, that Russell remains the starter in Oakland.

So, to clarify for the cheap seats: Russell plays horrendously, takes no responsibility for his terrible play after being benched and is then, rewarded by remaining the starter.

If Jeff Garcia’s phone is ringing with the type of begging Brad Childress employed on Brett Favre in the preseason, it should be.

If a team cannot manage to beat each of its division opponents at least once every few years, what hope does that team have of ever becoming competitive? If you’ve given notice to your customers (re: fans) that you could care less what product you place before them, why are you wondering that you can’t sell enough tickets? If your team gives up because the Quarterback is totally inept, how can you expect them to win a game? And, if you can’t expect them to win a game, how can you expect the fans to enjoy their experience, one they pay dearly for?

The answer is simple: You can’t. Which begs the next question: if you can’t, why are you bothering at all?
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