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It is easy enough to blame Chuck Bresnahan for the Raiders second half collapses this season. He was never Hue Jackson's guy and his performance this season means there will likely be turnover in that area unless the Raiders defense turns into the 1985 Bears the last two weeks and the team squeaks into the playoffs and continues to dominate defensively. That's not going to happen. Jackson will likely get a pass for his rookie season. Dealing with the loss of legendary owner Al Davis and assuming the General Manager duties, losing his starting quarterback, his star running back, and having some of his best players miss time will all be excuses to give Hue Jackson another chance. That's probably how it should be, that's a lot to bite off for any first time head coach. Add to it the Jackson-created hype and expectations and you have a dangerous mix that has a segment of the Raider Nation upset. Playing the blame game Let's take a look at the two phases of the game. Let...

Anyone who is a Raiders fan or works writing about football is beyond frustrated with the Raiders organization right now. Not because of the way they're playing, which is bipolar to say the least, experiencing glimpses of an untouchable championship team, then flashes of a scrappy high school squad. The frustration comes from within, with regard to injuries. Call it self-serving, but many people need to know what to expect on Sunday, and with these obscure, clearly false injury reports, fans are getting restless. A key component to the Silver and Black's mystique is an air of secrecy. Up until the time of his death, the team and family never let on how truly sick Mr. Davis was. This would take attention away from the team on the field, which no one inside the walls of the facility in Alameda wanted. This same tactic is being employed with the Raiders current injured players. Darren McFadden has been out for weeks with a foot injury that they've played down from the beginnin...

A game like the one last Sunday against the Dolphins would cause any fan to start second guessing their team. It doesn't mean you're any less of a fan, it just means you expected a different result and are having a hard time figuring out what went wrong. What if I told you that loss wasn't far off the beaten path? It's very easy to get caught up in the "now" when evaluating a team. Even though the season seems very short, for most teams there are many high and low points along the way.  In the end it's how you finish that really matters. Most tend to look at schedules and mentally fill in wins and losses as if they are almost a sure thing, but one phrase will always remain true in the NFL, "Any Given Sunday." The Raiders have been a tough team to gauge this season and depending on what week I ask you, your answer would probably vary. However, one thing that is hard to argue is that this team is very dangerous. Most teams would tell you that they ...

It was such a painful football game to watch a second time that it took three days to get entirely through it. Searching for answers to what happened in Miami, I put some extra focus on finding the performers and pretenders this week, so let's take a look. STUDS Darrius Heyward-Bey Magnificent day from the Raiders' breakout receiver. No he didn't have great yardage numbers or multiple touchdowns, but he was the only offensive weapon the Raiders had on Sunday. He had 21 yards taken away from him via holding penalty on the offensive line and made a highlight one-handed touchdown grab. Knowing how far his team was behind, Heyward-Bey flipped the ball to the official. There would be no celebration of his second touchdown catch of the season. Stefen Wisniewski The rookie has a rough game last week and although the rest of the offensive line crumbled around him he stayed strong. It wasn't a great performance, but no other Raiders seems to qualify for studs this week. Stanford...

The Raiders land in Miami to face a rejuvenated Dolphins team. It was a few short weeks ago Tony Sparano was on the chopping block. Now, after winning three of the last four, Sparano's team looks to play spoiler in the AFC. The Dolphins are finding out what they have in quarterback Matt Moore, the defense is playing well and Reggie Bush may be relevant once again. It was a week full of distraction for the 7-4 Raiders and perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. The focus could have been on how the Raiders are still unable to get three offensive playmakers on the field. Jacoby Ford Denarius Moore and Darren McFadden remain out of action. Tommy Kelly did not participate in practice and is questionable with toe injury. There is good news for the Raiders, they get back veteran corner Chris Johnson and Richard Seymour is getting healthy. The offense has been able to manage without Ford, Moore and McFadden, but the defense has been patchy and can use all the help they can get. The Dolphins a...