For Raiders, the more things change, the more they stay the same

By MikeBullock  |   Monday, November 02, 2009  |  Comments( 5 )

Oakland Raiders
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As expected, LaDainian Tomlinson was able to pad his Hall of Fame resume once again when facing the hapless Oakland Raiders. Tomlinson visited the end zone twice, which brings his season total to three touchdowns, all of which came while running through Silver and Black arm tackles.

It’s debatable whether or not LT’s best days are behind him, but if the lighting charged tailback could face the Raiders every week, he’d certainly put up records that are truly unattainable by anyone attempting to follow in his footsteps.

But this loss wasn’t all about the inability to stop LT, as the Raiders’ defense did hold him to only 56-yards, the longest run of which only brought with it 13-yards. No, the longest active win streak one team has over another continued due to far more than that.

What does a once feared sack master do when faced with a sackless season? Find JaMarcus Russell twice. Then do his spasmodic, epilepsy dance to celebrate. Just ask Shawn Merriman, as that’s exactly what he did.

But, it takes more than two touchdowns and two sacks to sweep a division rival for the sixth straight season, doesn’t it? Well, how about two other sacks from Shaun Phillips? If that’s not enough, lets toss in one more for good measure. It’s not often that a team wins when the QB hits the turf five times in his own backfield.

After that, let’s consider the Raiders’ complete inability to score touchdowns on offense. If you have a set of triplets, all drafted in the top ten (and at least two were highly sought after by teams not run by a former mad scientist), then toss in a former ‘best in league’ wide receiver and an o-line under the tutelage of a head coach many believed was one of the smartest o-line coaches in the game then certainly you should be able to put some points on the board?

Or not.

Maybe Tom Cable was too busy worrying about the two new assault allegations that surfaced recently, brought by a former girlfriend and an ex-wife. While these are merely allegations, and Cable is innocent until proven guilty, having three such accusations arise in one season seems to fall under the “where there’s smoke…” rule.

Maybe Cable should teach his players how to hit somebody, since it’s legal on the football field.

Either way, two things are currently undeniable in Oakland. One, the team is loaded with underachieving talent and two, the team loses like it’s cool.

Add those to the stack of accusations Cable is under and for once, maybe Al Davis would be justified in firing a coach midseason. Not that anyone else wants the job, but at least Davis could break out the overhead projector and put himself in the limelight for another fifteen minutes before he has to embrace the fact his team has now been on the losing end of a record for seven straight years.
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