Just flog the Dolphins, baby! (Photo: YardBarker.com)

There are many similarities shared between the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins. Both share the same 5-5 records. Both have serious concerns at quarterback. But most important of all is that both cannot afford a loss on Sunday.

What makes the situation different between these two is that the Raiders are still chasing a division title. Whereas Miami is trying to keep any wildcard hopes alive for another week.

Coming off a demoralizing loss in Pittsburgh hasn’t put a damper on these Raiders. That is the biggest difference seen under Tom Cable. Hardly anything seems to disturb the consistent demeanor of Cable and his team will need that calming influence. From here out the road to redemption only gets more difficult.
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As ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast.”

The Disney Sports Channel unveiled a report on Outside the Lines in which Cable was said to have a history of violence against women. Citing police reports and two different accusers, the story paints Cable as a batterer with anger management issues.

Cable has since responded to the report, telling ESPN that there was one incident in which he reacted violently to a situation with a woman.

All this coming on the heels of the assault investigation and mere hours before the Raiders and Chargers take the field in San Diego.

While the report could indeed be factual and perhaps is also filled with some inaccuracies, one can only wonder what the impetus was for ESPN to investigate the matter.

Those who frequent JBB know where I stand on the journalistic integrity of the four letter empire when it comes to anything Raider related. This is not to say that the network is intentionally trying to create a less than flattering image of Cable and the Raider organization. If any of what has been reported is true then there is no defense for Cable. Acts of this nature are cowardice. No human being should ever have to endure an abusive relationship and unfortunately, violence against women is an unspoken evil that occurs far too often in our country.

A similar repot surfaced months ago when OTL investigated Denver Bronco wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The difference in the Marshall story was that he had a significant history that was well known. In the case of Cable, this was a clear exposé that was given wings by the assault charges in Napa.

Cable cannot be forgiven for any acts of violence committed against women. That is his lot to bear and all the fallout that comes from it is his own fault.

However, at what point do we begin to question the merit of journalistic reporting on a network that is driven by ad sales and ratings. Are the same lengths being taken to delve into the past of all NFL head coaches?

The headlines will read that this is business as usual in Oakland. The Raiders are widely viewed as the NFL refuge for the criminal element therefore this report keeps right in step with the marching orders of national media.

In the end, this is about Cable and his past. Even if he had this team at the pinnacle of success, it would not super cede his character. Were it not for Randy Hanson’s broken jaw, there is a good chance none of this would have ever been made public.

You made this bed, Tom Cable. Time to sleep in it.

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Oakland paid tribute to Shell and the '06 Raiders on Sunday.

The Raiders rolled back the clock on Sunday. It was Retro-Raider day at the far-from-sold out Oakland Coliseum as the rival Denver Broncos blew into the Black Hole.

Denver left with a 23-3 victory, a perfect 3-0 record to start the season and first place all to themselves in the AFC West.

Raider Nation left having watched their team give an effort only Art Shell could admire.

The game had everything you’d expect from the ’06 version of the Silver and Black. JaMarcus Russell continues to find ways of making Aaron Brooks look like a franchise quarterback. Darren McFadden fumbles at the most inopportune moments as if his name was LaMont Jordan. The defense made no adjustments and was continuously beat by the same running and passing plays. Richard Seymour even checked in with his first personal foul as a Raider.

Al Davis must have been proud.

Tom Cable is executing Al’s plan to perfection. No thought is ever given to benching Russell no matter how loud the “boos” get. No change in defensive philosophy is made even if Kirk Morrison is getting burned by Brandon Marshall like a Southern California brushfire. No need to give your young quarterback veteran wide receivers if he can’t hit the target to begin with.

This is what Raider football has become. It is a stubborn belief in a losing system as opposed to a winning game plan based on talent.

Photo: Brant Ward / The Chronicle

JaMarcus Russell could develop into a franchise quarterback, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. In fact, it looks like he’ll be seeing a new playbook and a new set of coaches come 2010.

The Denver Broncos didn’t have to do much to win on Sunday. So long as they showed up, there was a good chance the Raiders and their stubborn game plan would be enough to gift victory.

Sure enough, the Raiders did their all to give Denver an easy win.

Penalties, poor decisions, bad coaching, horrendous execution, missed tackles, blown assignments, fumbles, interceptions, missed opportunities and that was just the first half.

The Raiders posted 137 yards of total offense on Sunday, a meaty average of 2.9 yards-per-play.

Ah, yes! A vintage ’06!

The defense gave up 217 yards on the ground to Denver at a clip of 4.8 yards-per-carry.

That stubborn formula did produce some good though. Staying true to form, Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson shutdown everything on the corners, Shane Lechler boomed four punts to the tune of 47.5 yards per-punt and Sebastin Janikowski nailed a 48-yard field goal with stunning power and accuracy.

About the only thing missing from this one was Mike Shanahan flipping Al Davis the bird once the clock hit 0:00 in the fourth quarter.

Where does Tom Cable go from here? How can he top this great homage to the 2006 Raiders?

One way of ensuring this continued and aimless approach to building a champion might be to do the exact same things again. That seems to be the best way of keeping Russell’s completion percentage just slightly above his quarterback rating. Not making any adjustments assures McFadden will have more trouble keeping his hands on the ball than Al Davis will have keeping his off the defense. Not changing a thing assures the ’09 Raiders a chance at matching the ’06 win total of 2 for the entire season.

Ah, yes! I can taste that ’06 now! It tastes like another miserable year of football topped with an off-season spent debating who should be taken with the number one overall pick.

Cheers to Art Shell! This one was for you!

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