some people might look at this as an "are thay that bad or are they that good" type of situation but i think it was a combo of both. while oaklands defense didn't live up to its billing in any aspect. denver's young QB Jay Cutler is clearly a high level player as well as eddie royals, who used deangelo hall badly,. the raider fron four was overmatched by the denver oline. Our bright spot i would say was our offense the runnng game looks to be our strong suit and Jamarcus Russell barring a few "rookie" mistakes was very solid, but i fear he will be limited by our lack of talent at the WR position. if Russell can find a nice deep target which i don't think ashlie lelei is then he will be fine. he already has great chemistry with zach miller, whom i see as a future pro bowler. i think we can get 6-7 wins this year but it will be tough. we need the defense to hold teams. if Jamarcus can get us 14-21 point a night i am happy but the defense has to hold.

I noticed a few "KIFFIN MUST GO SIGNS" this is Shanahan all over again, why are the fingers pointed at a man who can't choose his own staff. Clearly the talent development and evaluation staff as whole and Davis individually deserve the 'Lion's share' of the blame. This was a very good team about 5 years ago.

Kiffin has the worst job in the NFL. Davis once was a great football mind, but until he retires/dies, Oakland will be where players go to disappear, a literal "Black Hole." There is talent on the team, but each year players seem to regress as ridiculous front office decisions regarding coaches and overpriced, under-talented free agent acquisitions continue to break apart the roster and locker room. How is Kiffin supposed to do his job when Al Davis and JaMarcus Russell's agent sit him down and tell him he's not allowed to "play my client until we (agent & Davis) decide he's ready? This happened last season. This year Kiffin wasn't allowed to fire Rex Ryan, was asked to quit (so Davis wouldn't have to pay him), refused and now must coach again with Ryan and an owner who doesn't respect him.

I thought Kiffin did a great job last year, and this is how he's treated? Sorry Raider fans, better get used to losing. From what I saw last night, you're bucking for the first pick in the draft.

I think the Raiders problem is Rob Ryan. Kiffin is a good coach and has impressed me with the offense just by what he has to work with. Ryan on the other hand has one of the best assemblies of defensive talent in the NL and what does he do? run base defenses and zones. no blitzing no stunts. he needs to be gone immediatley. Al wants to win but he is enamored with ryan and until that alliance is broken we aren't going anywhere. i mean who runs a base defense anymore? it looked like a junior varsity team. you got burgess if he isn't effective then move him around. i used to like that old vikings defense with john randle how they would line him up at every spot on the line until he created a mismatch and thats what you have to do. also they need to run more nickle stanford rout can be a playmaker he has to see the field

Stanford Routt's a great example, a potential stud but VERY raw with a somewhat iffy football IQ, in the right hands, say those of another of Buddy's son's he'd see lots of special situation duty and be assigned to McCalister as well as other vets to provide him with guidance over and above what coaches have time to do. That in around 3 years gives you a near All-Pro caliber CB. Now the Raider model, scorched earth approach to potential mentors, Hall is talented but not a 'hey kid follow me for some extra film study' kind of guy either. Sapp's gone, who's the leader of the team? Not the coach, Davis is no longer at full capacity. This is a rudderless pirate ship with a captain whose hands are tied. If Kiffin gets this team to 6-10 he's coach of the year in my book!

I totally agree. its sad to see players that would thrive under good coaching get screwed because they have an idiot with a clip board. i am glad Lane is there so that won't flow over to mcfadden and russell. i look at the past few drafts and see alot f wasted talent either by being put in bad postions or bad coaching. David Carr is probably at the top o the list because he had a bad combination of horrible team and non innovative play calling. a good coach can put players in a postion to win. even though i am no bellichek fan look at what he did with brady. i look at a coach like jim mora who took mike vick and transformed the playbook and the player to match. i know alot of people don't like vick or his playng style but for about three years more had vick playing at a very high level. and i think thats what coachs have to do is play to there team strengths. If kiffin gets us to 6-10 it would be a fine example of great coaching overcoming the odds

Hey, thasavage1...I told you Hall was nothing more than a glorified return man. Without their best WR, Denver exposed him for the non-talent he is as a CB. He should be running back KOs and punts, and playing nickel/dime back. I'll almost bet any team on the Oakland schedule is going to pump out play after play against Hall until he breaks. With nothing above the neck, he consistently loses his cool, so he'll fit right in, maybe even turning out to be MVP material by adding valuable yardage in your annual battle to defend your most penalized team title.

don't the chargers and the raiders have the same record? more jones trash talking with nothing from his tem to back it up. you could'nt even wait to weeks till the game. well let the rider hate begin.

Hall is not a bad CB, but he is one who has an over-inflated sense of his skills. The scheme did him no favors as well. I have seen him since he was at HS in Cheapeake, he is VERY talented and that in part has made him prone to HUGE lapses in technique. Please don't forget how good Eddie Royal is, he was clowning many of the top CBs in the nation in Senior Bowl practices, the inconsistent VPI passing game was the only thing that kept him from being an All-American. I promise you he'll make other guys look bad this year.