The recent trade rumors suggesting that the Raiders are basically searching for places to dump their players, no matter how high profile, instigate immediate thoughts of insanity from a franchise whose recent roster moves have been impudent enough without dumping their best talent off for beans and rice.

The Raiders are at an advantage this off season. It is an advantage they are becoming all to used to. Being in the bottom eight.

That means that they are not restricted to what free agents they can sign, nor do they have to wait until one of their unrestricted free agents signs with another team, as do the top eight teams in the league due to the rules imposed by the “uncapped salary year.”

It also means that every draft pick they have in each round will be in the first eight picks of that round. Granted, they have not done well recently on their top draft picks, but they have found some talent in the latter rounds, like Kirk Morrison, Tyvon Branch, Louis Murphy, and Trevor Scott just to name a few.

They have already made the coaching moves they will make before the start of the season, aside from replacing recently departed Clancy Pendergast, who was assigned to replace former Raider great Willie Brown as defensive backs coach.

The position may be filled internally though as they still have Lionel Washington on staff, as well as former DB assistant Randy Hanson.

The mention of Hanson is a nice segway into another Raiders topic, which is the recent civil suit filed by Hanson against head coach Tom Cable, and get this…the organization…alleging that Hanson suffered a broken jaw and teeth at the hands of Cable, and evidently on the teams discretion. Hanson is seeking unspecified damages for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

It’s a ludacris lawsuit at this point. The criminal case was dismissed because Hanson could not get his story straight, and nobody who was there would co-oberate it for him.

The NFL decided that they will not pursue any type of punishment against Tom Cable after recently concluding their investigation into the matter.

Hanson is now saying once again that Cable grabbed him and threw him against the wall, despite the fact that the Napa County D.A. determined that Cable never laid a hand on Hanson, stating that Cable went towards Hanson, but was stepped in front of by an assistant coach who bumped into a desk which Hanson had his legs upon, like your teachers always told you not to do.

At that point in time, Randy Hanson fell backwards in his chair, like your teachers said you would, and struck a table with a lamp on it, which fell and struck him in the face causing the damage to his physical well being.

Was it due to Cable’s negligence? Yes. Will he get money? Probably. But in my opinion, he is still a liar.

In other news, the Raiders have slapped the franchise tag on DE Richard Seymour as many people suspected they would.

It boggles my mind that they could not get him signed to a long term deal. Something along the lines of 4 years $48 millions with twenty something million guaranteed would have been logical to me.

Being that this is an most likely an uncapped year, they could have put big money in this type of contract up front, ie. signing bonus and big base salary this year.

I don’t get it, but with Al Davis, anything is possible, so I would not be the least surprised if the Raiders end up doing a contract with Seymour later on this year. Odds are they just did not want him to hit the open market during free agency.

There are still a lot of loose ends to be sewn up if this team is expected to compete this coming season. And as I stated in the beginning of this article, you’d better know exactly who you want to be a part of this team, and that starts with not trading away any of the heart that currently exists on this team.

But that’s just my opinion, and I could be wrong. One thing I know is that they had better get good value in return for Nnamdi if they do trade him.

Like a collection of draft picks (a 1, a 3, and a 5), or a collection of up and coming players like Kerry Rhodes, Eric Ainge, Dwight Lowery and Vernon Gholsten might be fair. If you throw in the potential free agent siging of Lito Sheppard, then you might have succesfully replaced one guy with players from the Jets.

The 2010 Oakland Raiders draft should be only as predictable as its predecessor’s. That is to say that if anyone can predict it they must be crazier than the man behind the pirate patch.

It could go several ways, as could their free agency period. But based on recent team futility, the odds are any big names headed to Oakland this year will most likely come through the draft.

Recently, the question was posed, “Are any of the top rated Offensive lineman worth a top ten pick.”

To that I must ask the question, “What are you stoned?”

Of course there is a lineman who is worthy of being a top ten choice this year. Are there four, now that is a good question.

If there is, odds are the Raiders would not draft him. They just want the biggest fastest guy they can find. This year, it might be Bruce Campbell, who will probably not be the best available lineman when and if they do draft him.

So you see, way one that the Raiders could go is to draft an offensive lineman. Of the four in the “experts” top ten, the Raiders will most likely look at afore mentioned Campbell and the tackle from Iowa Brian Bulaga, as those two will  most likely run the fastest forty times at the combine next week.

Russell Okung will most likely be gone by the time the Raiders pick, but is widely considered to be the best available OT.

Do the Raiders need an offensive tackle?

Yes, they could use a new face to replace the oft-penalized Cornell Green. And the fact that Cooper Carlisle is not getting any more effective in his old age helps add credence to the fact that the offensive line is in need of help.

However the bigger question should be, “Do the Raiders need a franchise Offensive tackle?”

My answer to that question is, not necessarily. Mario Henderson played very well when he had Raiders talented guard Robert Gallery to his interior. But they could draft a good OT, and move Henderson over to the right side.

There is no doubting there are holes along the line, but I’m not convinced that they need on right up front in the draft. Tom Cable is a very good line coach, and he will be able to focus more of his attention to the line with the addition of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who is a skill player specialist.

Another way the Raiders could go is to trade up and try to get one of those stellar defensive tackles who will likely go in the top five of the draft.

Ndamukong Suh could be the best DT to enter the draft in many years. The woeful Raiders run defense would be immediately upgraded with the addition of such a talent. Tommy Kelly and the rest of his defensive line teammates could be immediately upgraded by Suh’s presence, as well as the Raiders linebackers, especially middle linebacker Kirk Morrison.

Not far behind Suh on most draft boards is a player who is a very close second to creating the buzz of Suh, and that is Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy, known by some as “the Real McCoy” as a reference to rival Texas QB Colt McCoy. Either one of these players would be an upgrade in the middle of a 4-3 defense that has failed to have the same impact as the Raiders 3-4 that brought them three championships in the 70’s and 80’s.

The last way, and certainly not the least, is the move that I am in favor of, and that is pulling the trigger on Alabama middle linebacker Rolando McClain.

Drafting McClain would allow the Raiders to move Kirk Morrison to the outside which is thought by many fans to be his more natural position.

In my opinion, McClain will be the best player on the board if he is available at seven. He is a smart, hard working, and hard-nosed middle linebacker who helped Alabama be the best rush defense in the county last year, giving up an average of only 68 yards per game on the ground, playing in the best conference in college football, the Southeastern Conference.

The good news for all the Raiders fans is that this year, it will be hard to go wrong with almost any pick. The coupling of many of last year’s best junior classmen staying for their senior years in school and the fact that many of this year’s best juniors will not be returning to school due to the fact that there is an impending strike coming for the 2011 season makes this one of the best draft classes in the last decade.

It will be hard not to find first round talent in the second round in this draft.

       Clancy Pendergast                       Mike Waufle                          Hue Jackson

The Oakland Raiders started their offseason early, along with 20 other NFL teams this year after a valiant effort against the playoff bound Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens would eventually lose in the playoffs to the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts. The Raiders lost the game that day, but they impressed a former California resident on the Ravens coaching staff named Hue Jackson.

Hue Jackson must have liked the potential he saw that day in the Oakland offense. Jackson was soon after contacted by Al Davis about a new position opening in Oakland; as the offensive coordinator. It was a position that was bound to come about for the Raiders as they struggled to move the ball under head coach Tom Cable’s play calling.

Cables said at his end of the season press conference that he may have took on too much responsibility as a first time head coach, and implied that the time he took creating game plans for his team may have taken away from his other obligations like his offensive line that took a drastic hit this season falling from the top ten in rushing offense to the lower 20’s.

Jackson is a good fit, a former coaching mate of Cable’s, and a skill position specialist. Serving time as running backs coach for the Washington Redskins under coach Steve Spurrier, as well as stints with Atlanta and as the Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers coach; where he was credited with the emergence of Chad Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Jackson also coached Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer during his time at USC. During his time with the Ravens, Jackson was the quarterbacks coach; helping young QB Joe Flacco become a face of the Ravens offense and playoff winning quarterback.

Hue Jackson and Cable worked together on the staff at Cal-State Fullerton in 1990 and at the University of California in 1996.

“I felt very comfortable at work with Tom, and we have very similar thoughts,” Jackson said. “Every job you’re working against the clock, you never know if you’re going to be there from one year to the next. We’ve had great conversations about what we would like to accomplish as we continue to move forward,” Jackson said of the Raiders head coach.

Hue Jackson will assume primary play calling duties for the Oakland Raiders. He has previous experience as O.C. in Washington and Atlanta respectively.

The week before the addition of Jackson, the Oakland Raiders hired former New York Giants defensive line coach Mike Waufle. Waufle had a previous stay with Oakland from 1998-2003, after which he swapped coasts and helped the Giants and their head coach Tom Coughlin win Super Bowl XLII over the then undefeated New England Patriots.

Waufle was fired from the New York Giants at the end of this season, two years after coaching a group that led the NFL in sacks. Waufle has received endorsements from players like Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck- all of whom praised his teaching techniques.

The Giants defensive line totaled 127 sacks over the past three years under Waufle’s methods, and the hope for the Raiders coaching staff and fans is that Waufle can bring some of that teaching the Raiders young linemen like Desmond Bryant, Matt Shaughnessy, and Jay Richardson.

Waufle spent time at the University of California as the Bears Defensive Line Coach from 1992-1997with Raiders head coach Tom Cable, who oversaw the Bears offensive line from 1992-97.

The latest addition to the Raiders coaching staff was hired to replace long-time and now retired Raiders defensive backs coach Willie Brown. Clancy Pendergast is the former defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals from 2004-2008; where he helped the Cardinals reach Super Bowl XLII, and then for the Raiders rival K.C. Chiefs in 2009, following head coach Todd Haley from Arizona to K.C..

He recently became a victim of the Chiefs “coordinator overhaul” where they brought in Charlie Wies and Romeo Crennell. Prior to guiding the Cardinals defensive unit, Pendergast spent one season as the linebackers coach with Cleveland (2003) and he enjoyed a seven-year tenure with Dallas (’96-02). He began his NFL coaching career as a defensive assistant/quality control coach with the Houston Oilers (’95).

The Cardinals defense was opportunistic under Pendergast’s direction in 2008, leading the league by recovering 17 opponents’ fumbles. The club also tied for fifth in the league in 2007 with 30 total takeaways. That same year Arizona ranked ninth in the NFL in run defense by allowing 97.9 yards per game.

The hiring of well qualified assistant coaches is another good move on their way to regaining their status as one of the top teams in the league. The Raiders beat some quality opponents last season despite losing their final two games of the year. They will move forward and look to build off of that success in the upcoming season.

“We’ve got a couple of issues; one we have to score more points on offense, that’s number one. And number two, we’ve had a big issue in terms of the big play on defense,” said Cable. “I think those are two things that jump out at you as things we just have to do much, much better in 2010 to be a playoff team.”

Gather around Gentlemen, Coaches, Staff, Let my voice by heard.

For there is only one game left for us this year

Let us make our spirits beseen and heard.

Together we stand amongst the faces of doubt

Together we turn the Ravens playoff lights out.

Let us show the world that we are men and not mice

Show them we are all done with playing Mr. Nice.

Give them a reason to be sad soon after holiday cheer

Then we’ll go hit the bar and gather our beer.

One last time we must RISE and FIGHT!

We’ll let it be known that THIS IS OUR NIGHT!

Who will be our leader as we walk this unlaid path?

Who will lead us glory and make our pride last?

Let’s play for our coaches, Let’s play for oursleves!

Let’s play for our fans, and Disprove EVERYONE else!

Gather your gear my fellow warriors

For Toady We leave it all on the field and WE come out victorious!

Nothing left to play for, Put it all on the line

This field is not theirs, it is YOURS and it is MINE!

Leave nothing for chance, make not a mental mistake

Let’s bury these boys, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!

Gentlmen I believe in you, Follow my lead

Let us determine what tomorrows headlines read.

Go forth and fight with your best two feet

And tonight we shall have a more peaceful sleep.

FIGHT, You are MEN, WARRIORS, SOLDIERS of PIGSKIN

Now go and prove that you’re a TEAM once again!

In a tribute to top five lists everywhere, today I’ll give you five reasons Al Davis won’t step down in his role in the Oakland Raiders.

Number Five, 5, Cinco, V:

Al Davis doesn’t realize his mistakes.

He doesn’t see that his past three top five draft picks are not working out. He doesn’t get that changing head coaches constantly does nothing towards the benefit of his franchise.

If he did understand it then he would change the way he deals with his bussiness. He would hire a general manager.

Number 4, Four, Quatro, IV:

Al Davis won’t step down because he doesn’t realize the game has past him by. He looks at what other franchises are doing and thinks that it is only a variation of old styles.

He doesn’t grasp that there are new things occuring on a daily basis in football. Look at former Texas Tech’s head coach Mike Leach’s new treatment for concussions. It changes everyday.

Number 3, Tres, Three, III:

Mark Davis is not ready to be the head honcho. Sure he’s been following his dad around for two or three years, whose counting, but he doesn’t have a grasp for the complexities of the league that he grew up being a part of.

Bottom line, Mark needs to learn more, and more, and more. He needs to keep going like the energizer bunny, until Al’s batteries die.

Number 2, II, Dos, Two:

Al worked too hard to steal this team to give it up. He snuck his way right into the ownership fair and square as he was about to be kicked out. Sure his two partners were as sick of his ways as the current Raider Nation and were about to vote him out when he convinced one of the partners to sell Al his shares while the other partner was out of the country on bussiness.

Al just has really good connections, who tipped him off to the scheme before it happened, that’s all that means. That makes the team his until he passes.

Number One, I, Uno, 1:

Al Davis will not step down as the Raiders owner/GM because everyone wants him too. One of the most hard-headed men you’ll ever meet, Al will not listen to anyone outside of his circle.

Al will purposely do the opposite of what he is being told to do just to prove people wrong. Al Davis was born on July 4th. That makes him a Cancer…seriously.

Perhaps Charlie Frye should go back to his old number in Cleveland, number 9, because number 3 isn’t cutting it in Oakland. In other words, he could do about three times better.

He has completed only 56 percent of his passes, while throwing for 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. To break that down, JaMarcus Russell has thrown more touchdowns and fewer interceptions in Frye starts for Oakland.

His rating for his two games is a measily 49.2 compared to Russell’s 49.6 rating this year. Is Tom Cable ready to throw JaMarcus Russell back into the fire, time will tell.

After all, Frye is a meticulous student of the game. He is known around the facility as the first one in and the last one out. He has a career completion percentage of 61.5 and a career rating of 68.4. In addition, he hasn’t had the nine starts that Russell had to gel with his teammates yet. 

Frye’s first pass on Sunday was intercepted deep in Raiders territory, and set the flat tone for the rest of the game against his former team. The interception lead to a touchdown on Cleveland’s first play from scrimmage.

It was said many times by announcers that Frye was trying to impress Mike Holmgren, who recently took a job in Cleveland’s front office, with what he had learned in Seattle under Holmgrens tootalage.

Maybe he and Holmgren talked before the game about him throwing it to the other team. If that’s the case, then Mike should be impressed, because Frye threw three very costly interceptions on Sunday.

The one on his opening pass of the day deep in Raiders territory, another early in the fourth quarter to Brandon McDonald at the Cleveland 10 yard line which McDonald returned to the Oakland 48, and another that sealed the loss late in the fourth quarter when the Raiders were threatening to cut the lead to seven points.

After the first pick Frye settled in a bit, however the lack of a suitable running threat may have made it more difficult for the offense. Oakland halfback Michael Bush averaged 5.2 yards per carry on ten carries, but saw very little field time in the second half despite only being down by 8 points.

The Raiders offense stumbled nearly every time they got into the redzone during this game. Head coach Tom Cable said they, “Missed too many opportunities in the redzone…way too many.”

He complained about how the offense may have had more opportunites to score than any other time during this season and came out of it with only 9 points.

Cable said the defense created opportunities for the offense, and gave them a good chance at scoring more points, but Cable was disturbed by the lack of execution.

Maybe the next time a running back is picking up 5.2 per clip in a close game you might give him the ball more than ten times Mr. Cable. Did you happen to notice that the young running back on the other side of the field got 39 carries. If you’d given Bush 39 carries instead of giving Frye 45 passes, Bush would’ve had around 203 yards for the day.

The call from Cleveland Browns radio network went a little something like this; “The Raiders kept getting down there, inside the twenty, but they could never score as Charlie Frye turned the ball over again. We will not run another play at Browns stadium today as the browns win their third game in a row.”

So just an after thought, ‘Either Bruce Gradkowski is really good, or JaMarcus Russell and Charlie Frye really suck…bad.’

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JaMarcus Russell must have had some sense knocked into him by the Denver Broncos’ Linebacker Darrell Reid. Before Reid knocked the wind out of J-Russ he had completed 1 of 7 passing attempts. JMR finished that drive with 4 out of 5 completions and a touchdown.

Russell’s play was so productive after that hit that it earned him a gameball. It might have also earned him another year with the Raiders and some respect back from his teammates.

But Russell was not the only guy who impressed in Denver. How about Michael Bush racking up 133 yards against that stingy Denver defense? The last three 100 yard rushing games from Oakland have been courtesy of Bush, perhaps the most under utilized of the young and talented trio.

Bush took the rushing yardage lead for the team away from the injured Justin Fargas. Bush is now averging five yards per carry and has 103 carries for 519 yards. He is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with three.

In contrast, the often used Justin Fargas has had almost an entire game’s worth more carries (129) and is only averaging 3.8 yards per carry with the same amount of touchdowns. Fargas has 26 more carries despite missing the first four games of the year.

Darren McFumbles…errrr…I mean McFadden had a productive game for Oakland as well, totalling just over 70 yards on twelve carries. And he also had a big fumble inside of the Raiders territory which led to the only touchdown for the Broncos on the day.

The Broncos came out hot in the first quarter while the Raiders struggled to overcome penalties and a weak start by quarterback Charlie Frye. However, in the second quarter, the Raiders running game began to take over the game.

The Raiders finished the game with 241 rushing yards on 34 carries, averaging 7.1 yards per carry against a defense that had only given up an average of 107.3 yards per game prior to Sunday.

Denvers passing defense was impressive on the day, giving up just over 100 yards to the Raiders throwers. Then their linebacker knocked the talent back into Russell, and he led a game winning TD drive. A drive that included a fourth-and-10 pass completion to tight end Tony Stewart, who was filling in for the concussed Zach Miller.

The Raiders have won three of their last five games. The wins have come against teams with a combined win total of 24. Their two losses have been to teams with a combined win total of 7, pending the Washington/Giants game this evening.

If the Broncos fail to reach the playoffs after this loss, they will have only themselves to blame after allowing a quarterback who almost everyone except for himself had lost faith in burn them for a game winning TD drive with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But they could blame 6′4″ 225 lb. WR Chaz Schilens too for running over their 2009 second round and 2010 first round pick, 5′9″ 190 lb. CB Alphonso Smith. Why they had that match-up on JaMarcus’ favorite target late in the game may always be a mystery.

One thing we know is that Oakland appears to be getting hot going down the stretch, while the Broncos are pulling the same act as last year.

While it appears evident that JaMarcus Russell’s status with the Oakland Raiders is in serious jeporady, the status of the coach in Oaklnad appears that it may not be in such dire straights.

Following the Oakland loss on Sunday, former Raiders coach Jon Gruden made a visit to his old favorite restraunt with fellow Monday Night Football commentators Mike Terico and Ron Jaworski.

He was greeted by an onslaught of fans shouting, “Come back Jon, Come back Jon,” and an announcer who said, “Please welcome back the former great Radiers head coach, Jon Gruden.”

It was said that Jon made his co-hosts wear Raiders’ jerseys to the event. Jon wore a throwback Bo Jackson jersey.

In spite of all that hoopla and grievences from countless fans including the folks at messagetoal.com, it appears that Tom Cable and Al davis continue to be on the same page regarding the future of the franchise.

Tom recently said that the next 24-48 hours would determine if the quarterback on Sunday’s game against Denver would be number 5, number 3, or number 2.

At the time, he was referencing the double knee injury to Bruce Gradkowski. He said the allotted time would give the doctors and the team a chance to see where Bruce was at.

Of course knowing who the Raiders are run by, unanimous concencus was that Bruce was out for that game and that the coach wanted to talk to Al Davis about not starting JaMarcus Russell on Sunday.

Cable said that he would, “Do what gives this team the best chance to succeed.”

Evidently that does not involve JaMarcus Russell. Not only will Charlie Frye start on Sunday in the absence of Gradkowski, but  the Raiders went out on Tuesday and added a fourth quarterback to the roster, J.P. Losman.

The Raiders have tried several different strategies to jumpstart Russell this year including bringing in Jeff Garcia to push him, coach Cable called him out to the media in March and eventually benched him, and now they are starting Frye over him and brought in a fourth quarterback.

A lot of things are turning around in Oakland this year. Many players are playing very well, including Tyvon Branch, Michael Huff, Justin Fargas, Zach Miller, and left tackle Mario Henderson.

The Raiders have all-pro defensive ends Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour. They have Nnamdi Asomugha to lock up half of the football field. The other cornerback, Chris Johnson, is having a decent year on the other side of him.

They had a good rookie class including Te Brandon Meyers, Mike Mitchell, Louis Murphy, and Matt Shaughnessy. A really exceptional undrafted rookie class as well which includes two players currently on the active 53-man roster and one on the practice squad.

The offensive line has shown dramatic improvements since Tom Cable took over their coaching in 2007. A lot of things have lined up right for Oakland. Unfortuneatly the quarterback, a key component, has not.

That is until Tom Cable got permission from Al Davis to pull the plug on what may ultimately be dubbed “The JaMarcus Russell experiment.”

Bruce Gradkowski came into the picture this offseason trying to earn a spot in a crowded quarterbacking field in Oakland. He ended up showing Oakland exactly what their problem was.

Coach Tom Cable convinced Al Davis not once, but twice, that JaMarcus was not yet prepared to lead this team.

His case was so convincing that Davis felt it was necessary to go out and sign J.P. Losman, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback.

Cable has said for the entire year that the relationship between he and Mr. Davis is very good. 

Many in the organization say that, in spite of Cable’s 8-17 record as a head coach, the relationship between owner and coach is the best they’ve sen since Jon Gruden.

The players have publicly praised coaches on Cable’s staff like Dwaine Board, Paul Hackett, and John Marshall.

Cable said that the team has not lost their sense of his “win today” philosophy. He says there is no evidence of the locker room splitting.

This was backed up soon after the loss to the Redskins when second string strong safety, Mike Mitchell, told a Redskins player that standing over top of injured tight end Zach Miller in celebration was unacceptable.

Mitchell said that he hoped to see this Redskins player in person so they could discuss the situation. He even went so far as to tell the player where he was located just in case he wanted to come and talk it over.

Personally, I think the staff in place is the best staff they’ve had since Gruden’s staff. It is chalk full of experienced guys who are highly capable of putting players in the best position to make plays. Heck, if given the chance to implement themselves, they may prove to be better than Grudens staff.

They are a great unit with a ton of potential. Very much like the team they coach.

Given all of the above, it is my opinion based on rational thinking that Tom Cable is not on the hot seat as the coach of the Oakland Raiders.

So, Radny Hanson is back in Oakland. He has been hired to assist the scouting deptartment. Actually, I’m not positive he was ever fired.

It’s a bit troubling for fans that Mr. Davis decided a good time to bring Hanson back into the mix would be after the Raiders most productive game since the 2002 Super Bowl appearance season.

Raiders head coach Tom Cable said he is more worried about his team right now. He will refuse to let Hanson become a distraction and claims the situation is, “Behind us.”

Left Guard Robert Gallery has ben declared out for the season and will need back sugery to correct an unspecified injury in his lower back. The injury is not considered to be career threatening.

In his absence, back-up Center/Guard Chris Morris will take his place. Morris received a game ball after the win at Pittsburgh for his performance in relief of starting center Samson Satelle.

Satelle is expected to start despite his “limited participation’ in practice this week. If Satelle can not play, Chris Morris would assume center responsibilities and Langston Walker would replace Robert Gallery.

Darrius Heyward-Bey will most likely miss his second straight game with a foot injury. Johnnie Lee Higgins, who has two more catches than DHB this year despite considerably less playing time, will get his second start of the year in relief of the rookie receiver.

JaMarcus Russell spoke to the media for the first time since being replaced by Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski was named AFC offensive player of the week after throwing for over 300 yards and three fourth quarter touchdowns.

Russell was not quick to give him credit, saying that players making plays around the QB are the reason for his success. Russell said that he will work his butt off to earn the starting job back during the offseason if that is the route path the Raiders choose to take.

He also said, “I worry about JaMarcus and JaMarcus only.”

Please, tell us something we don’t know.

He said he has learned some things from being benched and that the fans can expect to see a “totally different JaMarcus” the next time he takes the field.

He won’t be any lighter because he thinks his weight is not an issue. He won’t be poorer because he will not discuss his contract, as that is “over and done with” and he won’t work any harder because his work ethic is not a problem.

There are reports coming out of Alemeda, California that Randy Hanson has been re-employed by the Oakland Raiders in their scouting department.

Steve Corkran broke the story, and apparently has had it confirmed by an unnamed source.

Raiders blogger Jerry McDonald said, “Only in Oakland.”

I’ll give you more when I know more, but Oakland is keping this move under raps for now. Not surprising considering Hanson has been proven to be a bald-faced liar in the eyes of the Napa County D.A..

I wonder how this will play out. One thing is for sure, the Raiders sure know how to keep it interesting.