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The Raiders took the field for the first time in 2011. Missing were key free agents Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller and Michael Huff and restricted free agents Michael Bush and Marcel Reece. Missing also were the slow tempo learning-intensive practices deployed by Hue Jackson's predecessor Tom Cable. Training Camp Report Hue Jackson is taking a different approach. Jackson's practice was high tempo and he wants it even faster. With practices shortened an an abbreviated offseason, Jackson must install the playbook in significantly less time. Higher tempo means more learning in less amount of time. It's simple, the Raiders should have high tempo practices to get as much done as possible before the season. Stefen Wisniewski probably had the most interesting media session when he mentioned the new playbook. He mentioned how the Raiders are going to use a lot of misdirection and motion to utilize the Raiders excellent offensive speed. It's something worth keeping your eye on. -...

Who is Bob Wylie and is he qualified to turn around one of the most important positions on the roster? After examining Bob Wylie's resume, the man can clearly coach. He had previous stops in Tampa Bay, Chicago and Arizona and worked  under Sam Wyche, Dick Jauron and Dennis Green. Below is Bob Wylie's resume, complete with offensive line statistics for each year. 2010 Offensive Line Coach Denver Broncos 2009 Offensive Line Coach Saskatchewan Roughriders   2007 Offensive Line Coach Winnipeg Blue Bombers   2005-06 Offensive Line Coach Syracuse   2004 Offensive Line Coach Arizona Cardinals   1999-2003 Offensive Line Coach Chicago Bears   1997-98 Tight Ends Coach Cincinnati Bengals   1996 Offensive Line Coach University of Cincinnati   1992-95 Offensive Line Coach Tampa Bay Buccaneers   1990-91 Tight Ends Coach New York Jets   1988-89 Offensive Line Coach Colorado State   1985-87 Offensive Coordinator Ohio University   1983-84 Offen...

Al Davis decided not to pickup Tom Cable’s two-year guaranteed option. Two years, fully guaranteed. Think about that for one second. It isn’t something to brush past in a rush to retain a coach that the players like. Tom Cable brought the team from five wins to eight wins. He was given two years and the only improvement was the offense, for which you can give Hue Jackson a lot of the credit. Tom Cable turned around a locker room. Tom Cable is a pretty good coach. He was well-liked as a blue collar ex-offensive line coach. A hard-working guy and respected by most his players. This wasn’t your typical Al Davis firing. He didn’t use an overhead projector or try to recoup money paid to Cable. Davis didn’t even string out the process. The team thanked Tom Cable and gave him ample time to find a job. The reality is that Tom Cable and Al Davis didn’t agree on things. The relationship was only likely to devolve further had Davis kept Cable around. At least Al Davis respected Cable enough ...

Why are so many teams hot for Jim Harbaugh? Why do I like him so much? There is a pretty simple answer. Harbaugh is a good leader of men, he can develop quarterbacks, and he has instant credibility. Those might be the most coveted qualities in any head coach. He can lead, he is credible with players making millions of dollars and he can develop a quarterback to lead your organization. Josh McDaniels was given the job in Denver largely because of his good work with Matt Cassel. Charlie Weis developed Tom Brady in New England and became the head guy at Notre Dame. Mike Singletary got the job because he had instant credibility and was a good leader. You could say Tom Cable got the job because of his leadership qualities. None of those guys have all the qualities of Jim Harbaugh. It doesn't mean Harbaugh will be a success, but it does increase the likelihood. The biggest characteristic organizations are looker for is the ability to develop a good quarterback. It is only getting more im...

The looming question headed into the off season is if Tom Cable will be retained as head coach. Cable's contract expires January 18 unless owner Al Davis picks up a one-year, $2.5 million-dollar option. That means Al Davis will have a couple weeks to evaluate his team and its performance this season. Davis convinces himself every year that his team is primed for a Super Bowl run. This is why there is a vast difference between 7-9 and 8-8 in the eyes of Davis. At 7-9, the team had a losing record and wasn't a real threat to challenge for the playoffs. At 8-8, you are close and just need to catch a break and win a couple close games to be in the playoffs. Going 8-8 also means 6-0 in the division and owning the division is a good springboard into the next season and something Cable can sell to Davis as reason to keep him around. Players almost always say they want a coach to return when asked. It isn't what players say, it is how they play. When players play hard and fight for...

Steve Corkan of the Contra Costa Times is reporting, according to several sources, that Al Davis has expressed his desire for Jason Campbell to remain the starting quarterback. This was one of the possible scenarios I presented this morning for Tom Cable's stunning change of heart. To be fair to the organization, Davis may not be forcing the issue, but rather making his desire known to Tom Cable and Hue Jackson. Tom Cable would have to be very confident in Bruce Gradkowski's play and health to consider going against his bosses' wishes. Al Davis could keep his opinions to himself, but why would he? He owns the team and operates the football side, why wouldn't he? That's a better question.

Bruce Gradkowski is the Raiders new starting quarterback. The majority of fans get what they wanted. There is no denying Gradkowski deserves to start based on his play in the second half of last Sunday’s win against St. Louis and his production last season. If Jason Campbell wasn’t the answer, why name him the starter before training camp and not give Gradkowski a shot at the job? Why bring in Jason Campbell for a fourth-round pick and extend his contract? If it was only because Gradkowski is injury prone it seems like a steep price to pay when Kyle Boller costs basically nothing. Switching quarterbacks just six quarters into the season undermines what the coaches have been selling all offseason. The sell was that Campbell is the guy that can take the team back to the playoffs. By making the switch, the Raiders are basically passing the blame to Campbell and it encourages the players to do it, intentionally or subconsciously. That makes it nearly impossible Campbell will be able ...

Every team and coach dreams of having two great quarterbacks and being forced to decide between them. It isn’t unprecedented. The Falcons once had Michael Vick and Matt Schaub. The Falcons chose unwisely, but they still had two franchise signal callers on the roster. History seemingly repeats itself, now Kevin Kolb finds himself as the backup to Vick in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, seldom are quarterback changes a good thing. More often quarterbacks are changed early when the offense is struggling and the team isn’t performing. What kind of quarterback controversy does Al Davis and Tom Cable have on their hands? Prized acquisition Jason Campbell went from the quarterback that could lead the franchise to the playoffs to the backup in six quarters and Bruce Gradkowski went from backup to favorite to start in two. Did Campbell have enough time to prove himself as the starter? Did Gradkowski do anything more impressive he did last season? The answer to both questions is quite simply...

There is an elephant in the room and every other sports writer on the planet is going to want to talk about him. I will attempt to write an entire blog post without mentioning He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Minicamp can be the start of a magical season or the start of yet another disaster. For the Raiders, a winning record and/or a playoff appearance would be a magical season. Seven years of losing takes a toll on any fan base. California's economy aided the Raiders step backwards in 2009 in regards to television blackouts. Can the Raiders climb out of the basement and back into respectability? It all starts today with a non-contact minicamp. Last season minicamp was plagued by injuries, dropped passes and work ethic question. Not a very good way to start of a season; a season in which the Raiders won five games. This season feels different. There is a positive vibe coming from the Raiders organization, the fans and the media. There is one black eye on the Raiders organization., but no...

Lets see: It is Saturday. So now that you have probably hit the snooze a few times, allow me to quickly catch you up on the Raiders quest to maybe, kinda, sorta, probably, maybe not make a head coaching change. It's been a real snooze-fest in its own right. The Raiders announced last night the hiring of Mike Waufle as the D-Line coach. Seems like a solid hire for a needed area. The best nugget of the press-release was this gem, He and Coach Cable spent six years together at the University of California where they enjoyed working together.  So...as time goes on, it appears Cable is inching towards remaining as the Raiders head coach. If Cable does stay on, don't expect a formal announcement, the Raiders typically like to point the finger at the media for overreacting and "rumor-mongering." It could be that simply no high profile parties were interested in the job. Cable was and still is teetering ever so close to the edge of the head coaching carousel of horrors, but ...

The quarterback play can't get any worse and even a slight bump in production will lead to a more competitive team. Right? Chad Ochocinco may have said it best during his media conference call. What is on the field doesn't match production. Will Gradkowski cure the ills of the Raiders? Does he really give the Raiders the best chance to win? The stats say no. Lets compare Russell to Gradkowski. Gradkowski's career numbers: 22 games 53.1% completions 9 touchdowns 15 Interceptions 4.9 yards per attempt 19 passes over 20 yards 3 over 40 yards Russell career numbers: 28 games 51.6% completions 17 touchdowns 21 Interceptions 6.0 yards per attempt 49 passes over 20 yards 7 passes over 40 yards Russell in 09: 9 games 46.8% 2 TD 9 INT 5.2 yard per attempt Using those numbers: Approx 161 more passes will be thrown by a Raiders QB this season Gradkowski completes: 89 for 789 yards with 3 TD & 5 INTs Russell career completes: 83 for 966 yards with 4 TDs and 5 INTs Russell 09' v...

Three wives and various girlfriends. Three allegations: one refuted, one admitted, one cleared by the Alameda police. The Cable man does visit a lot of houses, although usually the cable man sticks to the living room, this particular Cable man likes to install his cable in the bedroom. Multiple wives are actually the norm for a lot of coaches. It is a tough life for the wives, with long hours and high stress. Cable admits to hitting his first wife Sandy after she admitted an affair. He says open handed, she says  it was a fist and it happened two times, one time in the face. Glenda, his second wife, said Cable was physically abusive in divorce papers. She has known Cable for 20 years and she released a statement that said Cable never hit her. Editorial Note: Divorce papers are designed to maximize payouts/asset splits. If Glenda knew of the previous incident with Sandy, here attorney likely would put that in the divorce documents to get more money out of Cable. Then comes this Lutz...

First thing I want to get out of the way. I am not sure how many of you caught the pregame chat between Greg Papa and Tom Cable, but here is the link to the archive. 4 - 5 PM at about 45 minutes . 1) "You know it's a shame," Cable said. "I can't really talk about the supposed incident. I am waiting and anxious to get the facts out so this can all be settled and put behind us." Adding emphasis on the word 'supposed.' "I know what happened or didn't happen and hopefully people do the right thing and I'm speaking directly to the media when I say that." "If anyone really knows who I am, knows that I wouldn't say those things or do those things." Something happened, but it sure sounds like Cable is implicating that it is nothing near what has been reported. Stay tuned on this one. Cable also said he isn't letting it effect the football team or his staff. I've said this before: No way Hanson wants to come back and co...

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