First off, quoting Nancy Gay as a reputable source is about the dumbest thing PFT does when referencing the Raiders. The woman wears gold & red underwear for cryin’ out loud. She reports on the bay area – but in reality, the only team she ever gets valuable info from is the 9ers. The rest of her work is merely speculative at best.

Second off, as much as I think it would be a mistake to change head coaches AGAIN, after reading Al’s lips during the Colts game (you could visably see him spouting obscenities from his pursed lips and clenched teeth) & seeing his disgust with our losses against the Colts & the Jags after we had decent score leads against both teams, not to mention the supposed “easy wins” we should have had against the fish and the 9ers, I think he feels (correctly) that 8-8 is not nearly good enough – sweeping the division or not. He wants one more super bowl win before he dies. Unfortunately, shaking up the coaching scheme for the 7th time in a decade isn’t going to make it happen – it’s going to be counterproductive at best.

Is Tom Cable the hope of the future? I kinda doubt it. He did improve our record this season to the best record we’ve had in nearly a decade, (albeit only .500) but at the end of the day, that wasn’t good enough for a playoff birth. Al is right about one thing – we have all the tools at this point to have a playoff contending team, but we need a coach who will get us there. For the first time in years, Al stood back and let Tom & his team do the work. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out as well as everyone hoped. I have a feeling it had a lot more to do with the head coach and a lot less to do with the players.

We still have a desperate need at WR. Heyward Bey is not a great reciever, and probably never will be. Shillenz is fantastic when he’s healthy (which was only about 2 games the entire season), and Ford is shaping up to be one of the next “breakout of the late rounds” star. Higgins does what he can, which isn’t much, and Murphy is really improving, but not really quickly. By my count, that’s only one (2 if Chaz can stay healthy) threat(s) on the pass. With as many 3rd down conversions as we face, we need more weapons in the pass game.

The run is monsterous, the D is amazing, and the O line has improved (but still not where it needs to be). Campbell is doing his job. He’s no Tom Brady by a L O N G shot, but he’s a damn sight better than Russell, or even Collins was when he was in silver & black. And I don’t think anything needs to be said about our kicking game. Most teams’ head coaches have wet dreams about a kicker who can nail 61 yard field goals (but he does need to work on his clutch kicking – it cost us one game this year)

Bottom line is we have a pretty solid team. We just need a solid coach to make that team great. Could Cable get us to the post season with another off season and another year on the field? I think maybe he could, if he can retain all the key players we have. Is he the best option we have? Kinda unlikely with all the coaching shake ups in the off season. Will Al give him the chance to prove he can be a great coach? I kinda doubt it, but we’ll see.

They literally GAVE away games against Arizona, San Fran, & the Jags. They didn’t even show up, at home, against a weak dolphins team, & the texans (whom everyone could score on). Not to mention the lack of discipline & leading the NFL in penalties.

That’s ALL on the Head Coach.

“Look for Raiders threads and then open that dumb pie hole of yours?”

What a life, lol.

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Remove “Raiders threads” and insert any other team and you just described yourself perfectly. Your boyfriend must be proud.

Cable always cites in his press conferences after a loss that we are getting there, we just need to stay the course, clean up some things, etc. Then week after week, false starts, holding penalities, the dumb stuff keeps happening. There always seems to be a dig at his offense too, not doing this or that. I am convinced that the QB’s fiasco was due of his love for Grads, as well as keeping DHB as a starter when he can’t catch jack. If we give him credit for convincing Al to dump JMR then how come we blame Al when Cable starts DHB? He continues to say our MO is running the ball yet gives up running the ball early in games when we need to pound the rock. I believe he has the ultimate decision when it comes to game planning, I just don’t think he has the mentality to be the HC leader we need. Good, but not good enough to get us over the hump.

A lot of you say that its Al doing this, I don’t buy that. He gave him the talent this year, they executed well, but the discipline (full time discipline) wasn’t always existant. Talented yes, disciplined no. Accountable and Consistent -NOPE!

If Hue would stay another year, a defensive minded HC would be my choice. Hue’s offense is fine.

Raiders should keep Cable. They swept the Division!! What more do you want?

I want a team that makes the playoffs. How can we go about that? How about winning a game on the road against a team outside the division. We were 3-5 on the road. We were 3-0 against the division on the road. That tells me that we were 0-5 against everyone else in the league on the road.

We weren’t much better at home against everyone else either. A 5-3 home record. Again 3-0 against our division. That leaves a 2-3 record at home against non-division opponents. That may sound good to Dolphins fans, but not a fan who wants to see their team in the playoffs.

I think Cable is a good fallback plan, but if we could get a head coach that is more innovative and more of a disciplinarian, then we will not only win our division games, but also more against those teams outside our division.

The only team since the AFL-NFL merger to sweep their division and NOT make the playoffs. You don’t get stats like that under just any coach, it takes a special guy to get that kind of record for you.

Cable is definitely the best man for the job. Are you listening Al?

A new coach will be just like the last coach. This team hasn’t had a winning season since 2003. They simply have no winning characteristics and a fan base that exalts a “criminal element”.
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Check your zipper, dude. Your ignorance is showing.

Second, Mr. Davis prefers a play-caller as his head coach. He said as much during the Kiffin debacle. Someone has to be held accountable. The first year and three quarters, Cable had that distinction. This year he did not. The process of replacing him had already begun last year. Hue Jackson was brought in to call the plays with an eye toward replacing Cable if he failed.

But has he failed. Maybe, maybe not. He inherited a young team with a number of distractions. It was said that he needed to change the culture. In a way he has, as his team has improved from 4 wins (in 12 games) to 5 and now 8 games. Yet the Raiders still led the league in penalties, which is an indication of a non-disciplined team. I think the job of the head coach is to inspire his team and hold them accountable. He has inspired them, yet the discipline issue still remains.

How many games would the Raiders have won if they would have averaged 3 less penalties a game? I watched them lose to Indy last week. The Colts sealed the game after the Raiders committed 3 defensive penalties on the deciding drive. I’ve watched Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour jump offside at least once a game and usually more. These are the DTs that are a foot from the ball. I’ve watched Stanford Routt hold WRs all over the field, usually on 3rd down giving the opponent a 1st down. How can the same players, make the same mistakes, game after game, and it not be corrected. I think this comes down to discipline and that is the responsibility of the head coach.

Third, what were Mr. Davis’ expectations? He has stated that he believed he had assembled a playoff team. If you look at the roster, I for one would agree. The Raiders have a young aggressive defense, that ranked in the upper half of the league and in the top 5 in sacks. They have the 2 best kickers in the game and a returner who took 3 kicks back for scores as a rookie. They have a top 5 rushing attack and an improved passing game. And they play in a division where San Diego underachieves, Denver was in turnover and Kansas City lacks talent. So why not think you have a playoff team. Mr. Davis had a great draft with 4 starters at premium positions (MLB, DE, LT & WR) and trades that brought starters at QB and both OLBs. This is a young team that needs an innovative, energetic coach to maximize their vast talents. That does not sound like the blue-collar Cable. So if a change is made, where do the Raiders go.

It was reported last year that Mr. Davis had an interest in Jim Harbaugh of Stanford. Harbaugh wasn’t interested in leaving there yet, as he saw a potential national championship with Andrew Luck as his QB. But a year later, it is reported that Harbaugh is open to leaving Stanford. He is the hot young coaching prospect that NFL owners are fighting over. So if Mr. Davis has to get into a bidding war for Harbaugh’s services, its unlikely he gets his first choice. He will then move to his backup plan. Fearing Hue Jackson will also be a hot commodity, he will promote his OC to be the innovative head coach he desires and thus keep the continuity that playoff teams need.

If you look at any teams record, you can always come up with “should have, would have” games in both directions. I am sure there were wins in there that could have been losses.

A team’s record is what it is. And if anyone thinks this team was significantly better than an 8-8 record, I think they were kidding themselves.

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OKAY…My point was that they HAD NOT overachieved this season at 8-8…Thanks very much for agreeing!

Happy New Year!

Cable has shown continuous improvement, has the team playing hard and they are now competitive. They should keep Cable because they won’t be able to do any better….because of Al’s presence….and retain continuity and resume what appears to be an improving team.

Is this what you live for, “zimmyman”?

Look for Raiders threads and then open that dumb pie hole of yours?

What a life, lol.

Just like always….Raiders are irrelevant…its playoff time. Suck it up
Nation and keep talking about your “undefeated AFC West record” and
moral victories.

Its okat Nation…”MAYBE NEXT YEAR”

“All your base is belong to us”

and yes they can get him for just one more year. oakland has the right to pick up a 1 year option on cables contract

The team has gotten better every year under Cable, and if dumb-ass Davis would have gone after a better QB than piece of crap Jason Campbell maybe the Raiders would have won an out-of-division game this year.

It’s time for this retarded old idiot to give up the keys and let someone else drive. He has done nothing but drive this team into the ground (seriously, DHB is one of the worst players in the NFL…they could have drafted an offensive lineman or a better WR at that poing in the draft) and it won’t stop until he either dies or steps down.

I’m sure he’s going to die before he steps down.

Who will they replace him with? Who wants to actually earn a paycheck from Mad Davis? Hue Jackson?? I can see the conversation now…. “Hue, I want you to be my next HC. And don’t stress over personnel, cause I make all those decisions. I’ll inform you of your draft choices the day before the draft. Don’t worry if a game gets out of reach, cause I may start calling the plays from my box. Oh, and I’ll be informing you who your coaching staff will be. Congrats and welcome aboard to Proud Raider Nation!!”

Raiders lost some very winnable games this year (i.e. losing to the Cards, Houston, SF, AND giving up 31 points in one half to the Jags).
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If you look at any teams record, you can always come up with “should have, would have” games in both directions. I am sure there were wins in there that could have been losses.

A team’s record is what it is. And if anyone thinks this team was significantly better than an 8-8 record, I think they were kidding themselves.