How a game that was 17-13 entering the 4^th quarter ended in a 34-13 loss is what makes the Raiders the most unfortunate and uninspired franchise in the NFL.

On the unfortunate end of the spectrum, phantom fouls kept the sparse crowd at Oakland Coliseum frustrated as they sang a familiar refrain bemoaning the officiating. Then came the game ending injury to Bruce Gradkowski. Enter JaMarcus Russell and kiss any chance at victory goodbye.  

On the uninspired effort that was put forth today, the Silver and Black rolled over for a team that entered the game with nothing to play for expect their first road victory of the season.

The Skins got their road win and Tom Cable got a reminder of just how close he is to never being a head coach in the NFL again.

Cable’s inability to get his team motivated for lesser opposition will be his death knell. After an inspiring win in Pittsburgh, Cable again has failed to keep his team focused with yet another blowout loss.

Cable is not alone in failing his team.

Defensive coordinator John Marshall still hasn’t solved the problems that plague his unit. The Raiders continue to yield big plays at the worst time while simultaneously committing the same errors when attempting to defend against the run. It doesn’t really matter who runs on the Raiders, all find success of some kind. This time around it was Bay Area native Quinton Ganther who exposed the porous tackling of the Raiders with a two TD, 93-total yard effort in his first professional start.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel still hasn’t found a way to justify his employment beyond this season. His unit has underperformed all year long and his costly personal foul helped to gift the Redskins a touchdown in the closing moments of the first half. Fassel was correct for calling the officials out on a terrible call against Hiram Eugene on punt coverage. However, his reaction proved too costly for a team fighting for respectability.

Once Gradkowski was ruled out for the second half, the result was academic.

Brian Orakpo terrorized the Raiders all afternoon. The rookie pass rusher was responsible for four of the eight sacks the Redskins tallied against an over matched Oakland offensive line.

JaMarcus Russell didn’t give his team much of a shot at victory. Then again, his line didn’t give him much of a chance to even try. Russell was sacked six times in just two quarters of action.

Nothing much changes in Oakland.

A great win is followed up one week later by an equally awful loss.

An incapable officiating crew awoke the ghosts of Tuck Rule’s past with bad call after bad call. (See Santana Moss slipping on the rain soaked field, falling without so much as a finger being put on him by Stanford Routt and a P.I. being called as Exhibit A for the cries of foul play.)

No matter the circumstances that led to yet another listless loss, the record book is all that matters.

The record states that the Oakland Raiders have lost nine games thus far. Those nine losses assure a 7^th straight losing season.

With three contests left on the schedule, two of which are on the road, this season is rounding into 11-loss form once again.

For Gradkowski, this could be the end of his season.

For Cable, these could be the final three games of his head coaching career.

For Raider Nation, this could be the last straw.

The pride and passion of football’s most infamous fans will always remain no matter the circumstances. What is unclear is just how many of them will be receptive to again purchasing season tickets for a team facing nearly a full decade of ineptitude and instability.

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Perhaps you’ve seen those commercials for Dos Equis beer that feature The Most Interesting Man in the World. Think of the music for those ads and read the following paragraph… 

An NFL head coach has compared him to Jack Tautm and Ronnie Lott. When his name was announced in the second round of the draft, it caused more of a commotion than the selection the Oakland Raiders made in the first round. If you think Darrius Heyward-Bey was the biggest surprise of day one, then you most also think that Godfather III is the best film Francis Ford Coppola ever directed. He is…the most infamous man in the 2009 NFL draft…

Michael Mitchell is the name that brought the live broadcasts of the draft to a halt. When the Raiders grabbed a strong safety from Ohio University with the 47^th pick, a legend was born and a line was drawn. 

That line that which was drawn was meant to keep Mitchell away from every wide receiver in the AFC West.

Mitchell’s highlight reel is the stuff that urban legends are made of and the reason why the people paid to evaluate talent collect checks for their services.

Simply put, the only reason why Mitchell was not on the radar of the main stream media was because they are always fishing with dynamite in shallow lagoons instead of daring to hunt big game in dangerous waters.

A total of 13 NFL teams requested a visit from Mitchell after his pro day workout in which the 6’1″, 220-pound safety ran a 4.43 second 40-yard dash, recorded a 37.5″ vertical leap and did 22 reps of 225 pounds on bench press.

The Kentucky native played his high school ball in Fort Thomas, a small blue grass town located a stone’s throw across the Ohio border, only a few miles from Cincinnati. Despite playing on a team that won the state title in 2004, Mitchell went unnoticed by the Big 10 schools and chose to play in the Mid-American Conference for former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich.

Five Ohio Bobcats made either the second or third team of the MAC and Mitchell was not one of them. His senior season was spent on a team that won only four of twelve games in 2008.

Michael Mitchell is either the football equivalent of Neon Bodeaux as played by Shaquille O’Neal in the 1994 film Blue Chips or he’s the biggest workout warrior to hit the NFL since Dan Wilkinson.

As fate would have it, Mitchell crossed paths with the ’09 draft’s workout warrior – Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo. The two potential draftees met at the Cleveland Browns’ head quarters back in April. Orako, selected 13^th overall by the Washington Redskins, was visiting his seventh team. Mitchell was making his eighth of thirteen stops in route to becoming an Oakland Raider.

The word was out and Al Davis caught wind that the Chicago Bears were eyeing Mitchell with the 49th pick. Oakland had already traded back in round two after swapping picks with the New England Patriots. Head coach Tom Cable saw in Mitchell the mentality that reminded him of the Raider players of yore. A vicious hitter with a chip on his shoulder, Michael is out to prove all the doubters wrong again.

He put a hurting on Ohio State just to remind Jim Tressel what he missed in his own backyard. If his form stays true in the NFL,  then Dwayne Bowe, Vincet Jackson and Brandon Marshall had better be wearing Kevlar in 2009.

There is a long road ahead before any talk of walking the path that Lott and Tatum paved can be taken seriously. Certainly, he’ll have to prove he can be an asset in pass coverage. The truth is not every receiver in the NFL will be as easy to knock flat as the talent he saw in college. But the message is clear; Tom Cable is an old school coach who likes old school players.

If Mitchell is a throw back, he’ll start his NFL career by knocking Michael Crabtree back a few weeks in time when the Raiders face their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, in the preseason. Michael Mitchell is poised to supply fireworks on Saturday, August 22nd, provided Tom Cable picks up his tab when the commissioner’s office sends a bill for the damage he inflicts.

With just over a week  remaining until the NFL draft is underway, the picture is as clear as a foggy morning in the East Bay. If the rumors of the Detroit Lions opening contract talks with Matthew Stafford have any legs to them, then they’d better go from a motivated walk to a full on sprint sooner than later. For the sake of our sanity – and to save my man Daniel Evans over at NFLMocks.com from having to anticipate another 100,000 different scenarios – Detroit needs to get the 2009 draft party started and put the Rams on the clock.

Depending on your view, the Oakland Raiders are in either a precarious or an auspicious position at number seven. With a multitude of options floating around out there, I’d like to whittle down the top 10 scenarios for the Oakland Raiders and present a conspiracy theory for selecting Michael Oher of Ole Miss.

 1) Michael Crabtree will be gone by the time Al Davis is on the clock: Forget about it Nation. This was wishful thinking from the start. That screw in Carbtree’s foot was only a tease. I don’t see him lasting past Seattle or even Kansas City for that matter. However, this writer doesn’t see that as a bad thing. I’m in the minority here, but I’m not buying the Crabtree hype. I think Crabtree will be a solid pro, but so is Antonio Bryant who was a second round pick. Brian Robiskie anybody?

2) There will be no swapping of first round picks: I am a subscriber in the “trade out of the top 10″ movement. Unfortunately, I think I’m the only one keeping that scenario in circulation. When asked about trading down on draft day, Tom Cable said, “It has to be an option.” Don’t get too anxious though, Cable followed with, “I don’t think there’s a lot of history to that [in Oakland].”

3)  Darrius Heyward-Bey is not “top 10″ material: Many have hoped the Raiders would stay true to form and select the fastest receiver in the draft . To me, the “Heyward-Bey to the Bay” movement is all posturing by the Raider brass. He’s got a lot of potential, but economics play into this and at this point in time he’s not worth the $20 million in guaranteed cash. More on why the Raiders worked out Heyward-Bey later.

4) Andre Smith is still a gamble: Despite Tom Cable’s glowing review of the dominating Alabama tackle, Andre Smith is still very much a question mark. Some have compared his skill level to that of Orlando Pace when he was pancakeing Big 10 defenders at will. However, none have stepped forward and defended Andre’s work ethic after the Bobby Petrino disappearing act he pulled off at the combine. Wait, that last statement is not exactly true. Nick Saban, his former head coach, came to Smith’s rescue. If you trust a single word that Saban utters, then you might want to dial anybody in the 305 and ask them about what Nick the Slick’s word is truly worth.

5) B.J. Raji alone cannot fix the run defense: Terdell Sands is not going to be confused with Albert Haynesworth anytime soon. But not even Fat Albert’s presence in Oakland could help with all the defensive issues. Perhaps Raji is a step in the right direction. But what good is Raji if Kirk Morrison is still out of position? How can Raji be a factor if the opposing QB is never blitzed? What good does it do to pay a defensive tackle more than $40 million if your scheme that has failed to stop the run for 6 years running doesn’t change? I’m not making a case against Raji. This is all about Al Davis, Tom Cable and John Marshall getting on the same page. Sorry B.J., you’re just collateral damage on this one.

6) Malcolm Jenkins cannot be an option for Oakland: After the combine, the top cornerback looked more like the top safety. To quote Brian Billick, “Corners who can’t run become safeties; safeties who can’t run become linebackers.” Jenkins might become a good NFL safety one day, but he does not have “Raider speed” and the last thing our roster needs is another money pit at the safety position. Forget about it!

7) Aaron Curry could be a Raider: Don’t laugh, this is a real scenario. Ignore all the hype out there surrounding the Wake Forest freak. There are some real questions that NFL general managers are mulling over. The biggest question surrounds Curry’s lack of a pass rushing prowess.  That  issue alone could spell a Brady Quinn-like moment on draft day for Curry as he falls out of the top 5. Hello Oakland! Maybe he’s not the answer, but I’m willing to guess that neither are Sam Williams or Ricky Brown. Oh, almost forgot to mention, I don’t think Brian Orakpo is either. I know I’ll get some heat for this, but I’m done with taking Longhorns in the top 10. Until one of these kids from Austin makes good on all that potential, I’d advise all NFL teams not to buy what Mack Brown is selling.  Also, if Curry slips then Eugene Monore and Jason Smith will be gone by the time Oakland’s clock starts, so go ahead and cross them off.

8 Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez aren’t even in the equation: There is a lot of JaMarcus Russell hatred out there, even among Raider Nation. No matter what your take is on J-Russ, it’s too early to tell. I don’t even want to list all the reasons why you can’t select quarterbacks in top 10 within three years of each other. Let’s just say that if you know your history, then you’ll understand that for young throwers it’s all about the second season as a full-time starter. But here is one great reason not to even think of going QB in the top 10 again: $ (cah-ching!).

9) Jeremy Maclin has no business being in anybody’s top 10: Yes, he’s going to make an immediate impact on special teams. Yes, he’s still got room for growth. Before you start to remind me of all your You Tube viewings of Maclin, keep in mind that he has been injury prone and has no clue how to run pro-style routes. Maclin is the kind of prospect that needs to prove he’s worth the top 10 price and not the kind who should be given an all-pro contract prior to his NFL debut. I’ll stick with Johnnie Lee Higgins if for no other reason than the fact that I’ve seen him play on Sundays and know what to expect.

10) Michael Oher could very well be the pick: I’m going out on my own on this one. No proof of anything, just a theory I’ve cooked up. Everyone has been so quick to talk of the big three (Jason Smith, Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe) yet it was Tom Cable who was very specific when he said “There’s four of them that are outstanding” when speaking of the offensive tackles in the draft. Here is my conspiracy theory. The Raiders worked out Heyward-Bey to put a little pressure on teams picking late in round one to trade up. Should there be no takers for the trade, Cable made sure to talk up Andre Smith, this time to pressure the teams picking ahead of Oakland. All the while the Raider coach was just hedging his bets to ensure Michael Oher is on the board no matter what when Oakland is on the clock. Stadning at 6’5″ and tipping the scales at 309 lbs, Oher has the ideal ZBS build. His upside is huge and he’s the kind of project Tom Cable would love to undertake.

So there you have it. I’m not advocating the selection of Oher. Heck, I’m not even saying it’s a real possibility. I’m just trying to connect the dots on a picture that’s changing every five minutes. For all I know, Eben Britton is the guy Tom Cable has been eyeing all along.

For what it’s worth, I see trading out of the top 10 as the best option in Oakland. There are too many needs and not enough help coming via free agency. Of course, I’ve already dispelled that happening, so take it for what it’s worth. Merely opinion sprinkled in with hopeful fanaticism. That’s about all we’ve got to hang our hat on in April.