John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Forget what you’ve heard. The Madden Curse is real. That is why it’s a really good thing that Sebastian Janikowski’s bid to grace the cover of football’s best video game ended as soon as it started. Seabass was eliminated in the first round of voting for the cover, losing out to Maurice Jones-Drew in a none-too-close vote.

MJD got 64% of the vote so Jacksonville’s odds of returning to Los Angeles increased with the potential to lose their best player remaining very much alive.

Over the years, men such as Eddie George, Barry Sanders, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk and Vince Young have all fallen victim to the curse in some form. Last season Peyton Hillis became the latest entry on video gaming’s most infamous list.

Hopefully becoming a perennial Pro Bowler will be a more welcome reward for Jano than becoming the first kicker to grace the Madden Cover.  It’s a curse both he and the Raiders don’t need.

The best moments from the worst years of Raider Football

Yesterday, I put together a list of the 10 worst moments of the last six years of Raider football.

Not one to dwell on the negative and in attempts to send out some good vibes as another season approaches. Here are the 10 best moments of the last six years of Raider football.

10. The 2007 Draft Class – Yes, it is still pretty early for Al Davis and his scouts to take a victory lap on this one. However, if the way some of the members of this class ended 2008 continues in 2009, then we’re looking at one of the best draft classes a team has had in any decade. JaMarcus Russell’s success will likely define this class since he was the number one overall pick. Beyond Russell you’ll find a future Pro Bowl tight in second round pick Zach Miller, in round three the Raiders found emerging left tackle Mario Henderson at #91 and nabbed return ace Johnnie Lee Higgins with the 99^th pick of the draft. In round four, Mr. Davis rolled the dice on Louisville running back Michael Bush with the 100^th pick. Mix in defensive end Jay Richardson  who was drafted in the 5^th and fullback Oren O’Neal in the 6^th and you’ve got a bright future.

Culepper got his revenge as a Raider

9. Daunte Culepper’s redemption – The Raider organization has long been a landing ground for players cast off by other teams. On September 30^th, 2007, Daunte Culepper etched his name into the book of Raiders who got their revenge by taking apart a Miami Dolphin team that cut him the previous year. Of course, bragging about beating a 1-15 team is a little like boasting of having been with J-LO – everybody’s done it. But none the less it was the last great moment of Daunte Culpepper’s career as he accounted for all five Raider touchdowns that day by running for three and throwing two others.

8. Tom Cable hired as head coach – Time will tell on the hiring of Tom Cable, but after a masterful cleanup job of the ’08 mess, he’s earned the respect of Raider Nation. Cable inherited a team that had a nasty Lane Kiffin hangover yet was able to get the locker room behind him as he led the team to three victories in the final six games including raining on the playoff hopes of Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If history is any indicator, then the best omen possible is that on February 4^th, 2009, Cable was named head coach of the Oakland Raiders exactly 40 years to the exact date John Madden was introduced as head coach in Oakland.

7. Beating the Cowgirls with a stop on 4^th and Goal – One of the best rivalries in all of football takes place on Thanksgiving Day in 2009 as the Raiders travel to Dallas. The last time these two met was on October 2^nd, 2005, with the Raiders getting a hard earned 19-13 victory by stopping the Drew Bledsoe led Cowboys on 4^th and goal. It was among the rarest of all rarities as both LaMont Jordan and Randy Moss eclipsed the 100-yard barrier on the same afternoon as members of the silver and black. Toss in two sacks by Derrick Burgess, a Charles Woodson interception and a Warren Sapp sack – that netted a 15-yard roughing penalty to boot – and you get one of the better team efforts of the last six years.

6.  The AFC West losing steak comes to an end in Arrowhead – Things haven’t been too enjoyable in Kansas City lately. The Raiders were more than happy to add to the misery of Chief fans by snapping a 17-game losing streak against AFC West opponents with a 20-17 victory in Arrowhead on November 25^th, 2007. If there was ever a sign of the apocalypse, it was Michael Huff recording the only interception of his thus far disappointing Raider career that day. Combine Huff’s crowing achievement with 139 yards on the ground from Justin Fargas and the Chiefs never stood a chance. Ok, so maybe starting Brodie Croyle was truly the first sign of impeding doom for Chief fans that afternoon, but the Raiders got the monkey off their back and I got drunk off microbrews in honor.

Carr went the length of the field in '06

5. Chris Carr goes 100 yards to pay dirt – The 2006 Raiders will forever be remembered as the worst offense in NFL history. Things were so bad that when the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers came to the East Bay on October 29^th, 2006, it seemed impossible that the Raiders could win without scoring a single offensive touchdown. Proof that miracles are not confined to 34^th street, the Raider defense picked off Ben Roethlisberger four times, returning two for touchdowns. Nnamdi Asomugha took one back 24 yards in the first quarter and Chris Carr went the length of the field in the fourth quarter to seal a 20-13 win.  

4. Beathing the Chargers – This is just sad. It has been nearly six years, five head coaches and five different starting quarterbacks since last time the Raiders beat the Chargers. One can hardly even call it a rivalry anymore – if it ever really was one to begin with.  You’ve got to roll back the calendar to September 28th, 2003, to find the last victory over the Dolts. It was one of the last great games for anybody who happened to own any Raiders for fantasy football. Rich Gannon led a second half comback as he threw for 348 yards on the day and 3 touchdowns. Both Tim Brown and Jerry Rice eclipsed the 100-yard barrier while Sebastian Janikowski booted a 46-yarder to win the game. Ahhh, memories…

3. Sebastian Janikowski Stands alone – When the Raiders selected Sebastian Janikowski with the 17^th pick in the 2000 draft, the collective football world laughed that an NFL team would select a kicker in the first round. While Seabass has had his issues both on and off the field, he accomplished a remarkable feat in 2008. During the fourth quarter of a boring 17-6 loss at home to the Carolina Panthers, Janikowski hit a 45-yard field goal. The kick would push Sebastian past former Raider great George Blanda as the highest scoring Raider in franchise history.

2. Ronald Curry’s one handed grab and Langston Walker’s best block ever – Before the Raiders embarked on their odyssey of dropping 17 straight to AFC West foes, they won a dramatic game in Denver. It was a Sunday Night game that was straight out of the NFL Films library. Cue John Facenda: On November 28^th, 2004, as the snow blanketed the mile high field in Denver, it would be the Raiders who would emerge victorious from the depths of the blizzard. Cue The Autumn Wind: Trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, Kerry Collins would march the Raiders through the blinding snow as he pillaged the Bronco secondary for two of his four touchdown passes that stormy night. The first of his two fourth quarter TDs was a moment that will forever live in Raider lore. Collins fired a bullet to the back of the Denver end zone and found a leaping Ronald Curry who managed to pull in the frozen pigskin with one hand. Collins again led the Raiders down field, this time hitting Jerry Porter for his third receiving touchdown of the night. Later, with the game on the line, the Broncos’ Jason Elam lined up a kick that would have been the game winner. As the ball left his feet, it was met by  the mammoth 6’8” frame of Langston Walker who emerged from the pile to block the kick. Game over! Raiders win by the score of 25-24!

Bush pushed Chucky into unemployment

1. Michael Bush runs Chucky out of the NFL – On the last Sunday of the 2008 regular season, the Oakland Raiders traveled to Tampa Bay to take on the Jon Gruden led Buccaneers. Tampa was in the driver’s seat. Win and they were in the playoffs. All they had to do was beat a downtrodden Raider team that had nothing to play for. Little did Gruden know, but his years of basking in the karma that brought him to Tampa and gave him a Super Bowl ring with Tony Dungy’s roster was about to return with a vengeance. Chucky, do you know what nemesis means? A righteous infliction of retribution personified, in this case, by a running back out to prove every team wrong that passed on him in the draft because of a broken leg. Michael Bush abused the defense of lame duck coordinator Monte Kiffin with a 177-yard and two touchdown effort, the last of which was a back breaking 67-yard scamper to the end zone that signaled the end of the Chucky era and may one day be seen as the demise of Tampa Bay. Cable got the team to dig deep and in the wake of the aftermath Jon Gruden was fired, Kiffin was given a rude farewell as he was off to coach with his son in Tennessee and the man who ended Rich Gannon’s career, Derrick Brooks, could only hobble after Bush. Brooks was cut at the season’s end and Al Davis, despite not being present at the game, had the last laugh as he had a hand in getting the entire Kiffin family out of the NFL in 2008. Raider fans had their best night of sleep in six years!

Yes, we’ve suffered though the six worst years in franchise history. After 2006, I felt that the worst was behind us. Three years later, I’m still hoping the best is yet to come.

Tom Cable proved he deserves the job, now its time for him to deliver on his promise of getting our team on the field in January.

RAAAAAIIIIIDERS!

RAAAAAIIIIIDERS!

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If Tom Cable wants to announce himself as the Harry Redknapp of the NFL, then he’ll pull a Houdini and show Raider fans something they haven’t seen since September 28^th, 2003: A victory over the San Diego Chargers.

The Raiders had to overcome a two touchdown deficit in the second half to defeat the Chargers by way of a 46-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal back in ’03. Since that 34-31 victory, the Chargers have taken the rivalry by the horns in Jim Tressel-like fashion.

The numbers are ugly and I suggest viewing them on an empty stomach. The Chargers have 11 straight victories over the Raiders. During that streak, LaDanian Tomlinson has out rushed the Oakland Raiders by himself with a sum of 1395 yards to 798. The Raiders have held LT below 100 yards 4 times out of the 11 meetings and have kept him out of the end zone just twice. Over the course of the streak, the Bolts have only started two quarterbacks (Drew Brees and Philip Rivers) while the Raiders have trotted out five different starters including Rich Gannon, Kerry Collins, Aaron Brooks, Daunte Culepper and JaMarcus Russell. Rivers has never lost to the Raiders; his record is currently 6-0. Al Davis has employed six head coaches while the Chargers have had just two, one of which was Norv Turner who jumped ship leaving Oakland for San Diego in an attempt to become the new Mike Shanahan.

Michael Mitchell, you’d better have Tomlinson’s face on your dart board.

Personally, I haven’t been able to bear attending these games any longer. The last Raider/Charger affair I saw in person was back in 2005. LT had a game right out of fantasy football geek’s wet dream as he ran for a touchdown, caught one and even threw for one. The pain was unbearable and I knew that I was at my breaking point. Getting heckled by bandwagon fans is as dumbfounding as being called a douche bag by Tony Romo.

The chargers have beaten the Raiders in every way possible. They’ve blown us out. Made epic comebacks like those twenty five 4^th quarter points they hung on the scoreboard  just this past season. They’ve even had help from the zebras. Remember that horrific “illegal forward pass” call in 2006 that resurrected the ghosts of the “tuck rule”?

Despite all the sorrow and angst, the Raiders could go another six years without a victory over the Chargers and the all-time series would only be at .500. One wonders why this has ever been called a rivalry. The Chargers have little to show for their recent domination over the Raiders. Each year the pundits pick the powder blue to represent the AFC in the big game and each year they find a new way to disappoint their front running fan base.

Coach Cable promised the Raiders would return to the playoffs on his watch. He also said that the Monday Night opener against the Chargers in 2009 is the “perfect way to start the season”.

There is no way to know if there will be a story book ending in Oakland this year, but the first chapter could be a perfectly written first act if Cable can pull a rabbit out of his hat. Raider fans won’t care if Cable’s magic is nothing more than slight of hand so long as it fools the non-rivals in San Diego.

Cable exorcised Chucky to conclude ’08. Beating San Diego would be a great way to top himself in ’09.