Raiders re-sign Lechler and Asomugha to big $

The Raiders threw out some big time money this off-season. Making Shane Lechler the highest paid punter of all time and giving Nnamdi Asomugha enough money he can start his own religion. The only good news about these deals are that they are for proven players. Usually the Raiders start throwing money out at anyone with a big name. I’m surprised they haven’t traded for Vick yet. I’m about 90% sure, that if something happens with JaMarcus Russell, they will get Vick.

Back to work Cable!

The Raiders announced that they will be retaining Tom Cable as the head coach. There was speculation last week that this would be announced soon and it finally has. Cable, who has been in Hawaii with his girlfriend was very pleased with the news. Besides Cable, I’m pretty sure no one else is very thrilled. The only reason the kept Mr. Tom Cable wasn’t because he is a pimp ass coach, or because he is 300lb+, I think its more likely because no one else in their right mind would want to coach the Raiders and work for Al Davis. Thus, Cable was his only choice and only one dumb enough to take the job.

Last year Cable got off to a rough start. After taking over the helm of the team the Raiders looked even worse than they were before. However, as the season went on they actually had a couple of wins that were almost impressive. Not that they won a lot, finishing the year 5-11 but they did beat the Buc’s on the last game of the season to deny them from making the playoffs, which was pretty cool.

Raiders finish season with upset win at Tampa

The Raiders were 13 point underdogs going into their season finale against the Tampa Bay Bucs, who were playing for a spot in the playoffs. Anyone with a brain knew that the Raiders were going to get their asses kicked in Tampa. I guess I don’t have a brain because the Raiders pulled off a major upset by beating the Bucs 31-24 in Tampa to knock Tampa out of the playoffs and send them home for the season.

QB JaMarcus Russell completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for 148 yards and 2 TDs, RB Michael Bush carried the ball 27 times for 178 yards and 2 TDs. 

By not turning the ball over and effectively rushing the ball, the Raiders finished the season with 2 straight wins over good opponents. Maybe there is hope in the ghetto after all.

Raiders shock the world!

Just when you and everyone else are about to leave the Raiders for dead, they up and play a game like this.

The Raiders’ all-around impressive 27-16 victory over the red hot Houston Texans on Sunday had those who braved the cold and rain at the Coliseum roaring their approval and likely wondering if this was a one game aberration or a harbinger of things to come.

 

“Obviously, it lends itself toward a more positive vibe heading into next year,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said, “but, at the same time, we want to go in to Tampa (on Sunday) and put a great effort on the field so we can back it up. As I mentioned before, we have struggled to do that. So this would be very important for us.”

 

The Raiders snapped a 3 game losing streak and won for only the second time in 2 months. They improved to 4-11 and assured themselves a third-place finish in the AFC West.

Perhaps more important, the Raiders showed they are capable of beating a good team and playing well in all phases of the game from start to finish, regardless of who is on the field.

The Raiders played without their top 4 wide receivers against a Texans team riding a four-game winning streak on the strength of the league’s 3rd ranked offense.

Second-year wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins almost single-handedly turned a close game into a one-sided affair. He scored on a 29-yard touchdown reception and an 80-yard punt return within 4 minutes, 19 seconds of each other midway through the third quarter.

“I feel like I’m explosive,” Higgins said. “Like, you never know what can happen. ‘It looks like he’s tackled, it looks like he’s down. Oh, he’s gone. It looks like he can’t catch it, like he can’t do this. There he goes.’ So, I always look at myself as a playmaker.”

The Raiders wrap up the season at Tampa Bay on Sunday.

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