The Frye guy steals Russell's job.

Tom Cable has spoken.

Charlie Frye will replace the injured Bruce Gradkowski for the Oakland Raiders this Sunday in Denver.

The Frye guy becomes the second journeyman signal caller to move ahead of JaMarcus Russell on the depth chart this season.

Coach Cable is making quite a statement not only to Russell but also to owner Al Davis. If Davis is still holding to his “JaMarcus is going to be a great player, get over it” routine then he must be fuming at the thought of $60-million going the way of DeAngelo Hall, Javon Walker and Gibril Wilson to name a few of Al’s misspent fortune.

Russell is unwilling to restructure his deal in order to remain in the East Bay. One can hardly blame the youngster for wanting to take the money and run. That’s exactly what most of Al’s pampered projects seem to do these days.

He undoubtedly has a terrible work ethic. Still, the blame ultimately falls squarely on the shoulders of the front office for this entire debacle. How did they not know of his less-than-stellar approach to his craft prior to selecting him number one overall in 2007? Why was he simply handed the job when clearly he wasn’t ready for it? If Russell was two more years away then sit him down, rebuild the roster and let the process occur.

Russell was given excuse after excuse by the owner who then in turn did little to surround his franchise QB with stability of any kind and clearly did not have a plan for his development. In addition, Russell was simply handed the starting job and continued to hold onto it while the team took a nose dive in the first half of the season.

Thanks to the stubborn devotion to Russell, an entire season has gone down the drain and all in the name of giving JaMarcus a big pat on the back.

That’s Al Davis working hard for you, Raider Nation.

After three years of unfulfilled promise, JaMarcus and the Raider organization have reached the crossroads.

This might not be the end of days for Russell but it certainly would indicate the end of his 2009 campaign.

The moment Al Davis should regret.

For anybody who thinks Russell could rebound in Vince Young fashion, I offer this: Young was a proven winner with a hunger to be the best. He actually led his team to the playoffs prior to losing his job in part due to injury. JaMarcus, on the other hand, doesn’t show any competitive fire and would appear incapable of leading his team to the playoffs on Madden 10. Not to mention Russell has twice lost his job – without injury – to the second and third string quarterbacks on the roster respectively.

Russell now has a choice.

He can roll over and beg for his release, hoping to catch on with another team at a highly reduced rate. Or he can step up to the challenge and stick it to doubters like me by making the most of what could be his final three weeks in Oakland.

Either way, this is the final call for JaMarcus Russell.

From what we know of young JaMarcus, he’ll take this as more of an insult than a challenge and will point the blame at others instead of looking inward to diagnose the issue. Therein lies the problem. He’s been enabled by Davis from day one.

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It doesn't matter who has worn the Silver and Black the last six years. None can stop the run.

It was déjà vu all over again for Raider fans on Saturday night. Never mind that 49er third round selection Glen Coffee ran for 129-yards in the first half alone. Forget the fact that former Penn State quarterback turned running back Michael Robinson tallied 97-yards on the ground and some rookie trying to make the 9er 53-man roster named Kory Sheets got half way to the century mark as well on the Raiders and their non-existent run defense.

The names don’t really matter at this point.

The sight is all too familiar. It is a sight that has been seen every Sunday in the fall for the past six years.

The scene usually goes something like this: An opposing running back is handed the ball, he cuts outside off tackle to find a hole Jabba the Hut could slither through untouched. The runner then proceeds to walk past Raider defenders with ease. Repeat again on first down until said opponent reaches the end zone.

Glen Coffee sports an old school Roger Craig facemask. He also showed the world that Craig, who hasn’t played in nearly two decades, could suit up in 2009 and run through the Raider run defense.

There was a hole in the roof and the Raiders changed the rug.

When help was available in the draft, Al Davis selected a receiver.

When free agents were available in the offseason, Tom Cable signed offensive linemen.

When the whole world knew the Raiders couldn’t stop the run, John Marshall decided to implement blitz packages against the pass.

Now, it would appear that it is back to basics…again.

Never mind that Trevor Scott can’t seem to shed blocks. Forget the fact that Thomas Howard, Kirk Morrison, Ricky Brown and Jon Alston frequently over pursue. It doesn’t matter that Hiram Eugene and Tyvon Branch are going to rack up tackles in the same fashion that Gibril Wilson did one year ago.

The names don’t matter. They haven’t mattered for the last six miserable years and they’re not going to matter in 2009 unless John Marshall can pull off a miracle.

Marshall’s defense looked good against the pass on Saturday. Greg Ellis was in the face of Alex Smith like an angry Niner fan demanding a do-over for selecting the second string thrower first overall in 2005. That pressure helped Ricky Brown to his first interception of 2009.

But when it came time to stop the second, third and fourth string runners for the Raiders’ Bay Area rivals, it was a comedy of errors over and over again. The San Francisco scout team was licking their chops to get in on the buffet the Raider front seven was serving.

In total, the 49ers racked up 275 yards on the ground in route to a 21-20 victory. With better execution in the red zone, the Raiders could have put this game to bed in the first half. However, when your defense couldn’t stop a paraplegic from running the ball, no lead is safe. Not even the 14-3 advantage the Raiders took into the fourth quarter.

There is no doubt the Raiders are in the best scenario possible to turn things around in a hurry. They play in a weakened AFC West where the Denver Broncos, who couldn’t stop anybody from running or passing on them in ’08, were in the hunt for the divisional title. It is now or never for Tom Cable.

Unfortunately, now looks a lot like the last six years and never seems like the mantra preached by Al Davis when it comes to getting players in the front seven who can defend the run.

Even Jeff Garcia, with his myopic Favre-like delusions, has finally accepted the fact that he is destined to finish his career holding a clipboard. Now it is time for Al Davis to accept the fact that the vertical game alone cannot win titles in this era.

Garcia might not want to spend his final days with the best seat to watch JaMarcus Russell throwing bullets to Louis Murphy in the end zone, but it is fact and he’s just got to accept it.

Al Davis might not want to watch every running back in the NFL romp through the Raider run defense again, but it is also fact and he too must accept it.

Raider fans have already accepted it. We’ve had six years to become the most educated fan base in the NFL when it comes to horrible run defense.

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Six years of miserable football boiled down to 10 horrible moments

Since that tragic loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Oakland Raiders have been a franchise in free fall.

In the six seasons since Chucky exacted his revenge on Al Davis, the Raiders have won just 24 games while losing 72 contests along the way.

Here are the 10 worst moments of those last six years.

Huff's reign was short lived

10. Drafting Michael Huff –While the jury is still out on JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden and now Darrius Heyward-Bey, it would appear that the ruling on Michael Huff is a unanimous choice to give his Raider career the death penalty. Huff Daddy was the 7^th pick in the 2006 draft, a draft that might go down as the biggest collection of busts this side of Dolly Parton and a pre-op Soliel Moon Frye. After being benched halfway through his third year in the NFL, the Raiders drafted a virtual unknown safety by the name of Michael Mitchell to replace him. Huff has recorded just one interception, one sack and one safety in 39 career starts.

9. Joe Flacco’s Demolition of Oakland – In week 8 of the 2008 season, the Baltimore Ravens took apart the Raiders to the tune of 29-10. That afternoon, the Raider defense made rookie Joe Flacco look like Joe Montana. Flacco threw a 70-yard TD in the first quarter, ran for a TD from 12 yards out in the fourth quarter and to add insult to injury, Flacco burned linebacker Ricky Brown for a 43-yard reception as well.

8. The 2008 Raider Free Agency Class – Few franchises have shown such poor personnel decisions in a decade as the Raiders did in just one summer. Last year, Al Davis committed $70 million to DeAngelo Hall, $55 million to Javon Walker, $39 million to Gibril Wilson and $16 million to Kwame Harris. Hall played opposite Nnamdi Asomugha and got undressed more often than Vida Guerra. The Raiders severed ties with MeAngelo just 8 games into a 7-year deal. Wilson and Harris were both let go just one year after signing multiyear contracts. Meanwhile, Walker caught a grand total of 15 passes in ’08 then needed season ending ankle surgery and is now attempting to comeback from a secret knee surgery he had during the offseason.

Janikowski runs like a three legged bear

7. Sebastian Janikowski’s Fake Field Goal – If you met Sebastian Janikowski on the street, you most likely would think he’s either a construction worker or a bouncer for a Ukrainian night club. As Tom Cable learned the hard way, it just won’t end well when you try to give the ball to a 260 pound kicker who runs a 7.5 second 40-yard dash. A winnable game against the Kansas City Chiefs became a 20-13 loss thanks in large part to Cable’s gutsy yet misguided effort to fool everyone in the stadium including his own team.

6. Tyler Brayton knees Jeremy Stevens in the “man region” – Losing 16-0 on Monday Night Football and allowing 9 sacks is embarrassing. Losing your cool and kneeing an opponent in the package – even if that opponent is as dirty as Borat’s bed sheets – is reason to stop watching football all together. It still amazes me that the Raiders won two games in 2006. That ’06 team will forever be remembered as the worst offense in NFL history and for Tyler Brayton giving Seahawk tight end Jeremy Stevens a friendly reminder of where the Raider stereotypes come from.

5. Opening Night Losses on National Television – The start of each season brings the hope of a new day. If you’re a Raider fan, the start of each of the last six seasons has been a reminder of just how much liquor you’ll need to make it to the New Year. Twice in the last three years the Raiders have opened the season in primetime on Monday Night and they’ve lost those two games by a combined score of 68-14. The Chargers rolled the Raiders in a Monday Night sack fest in 2006 to the tune of 27-0. Then Jay Cutler, rookie Eddie Royal and every player in a Bronco jersey picked on DeAngelo Hall in route to a 41-14 loss on the ’08 Monday Night debacle. History is against us, but the Raiders and Chargers will again be on Monday Night to open the 2009 season. Let’s hope that Tom Cable plants a few land mines on the Charger sideline for that night.

Art Shell: The look of futility

4. Rehiring Art Shell – Al Davis had an Uncle Rico moment in 2006 when he tried to relive his football past. Davis turned back the clock to 1990 and rehired Art Shell. Shell’s stoic sideline glare became the face of ineptitude. As if the Art Shell move wasn’t bad enough, the Raiders topped themselves by resurrecting the career of offensive coordinator Tom Walsh. Walsh was out of pro football for more than a decade and had been running a bed and breakfast in Idaho. Walsh’s dubious contribution to the NFL record books was to place Randy Moss in the annals as having played for not only the highest scoring offenses in football history but also as a member of one of the worst ever. Walsh’s offense tallied just 168 points in 2006, an average of 10.5 per game. If history holds to form, expect to see a Mike White rehiring in 2011.

3.  Trading Randy Moss to the Patriots – The Randy Moss era in Oakland will go down as one of the worst marriages in pro sports since Mike Ditka took the plunge with Ricky Williams. By the time the Raiders were ready to move Moss, his value had fallen so far that the Patriots were the only team willing to give up anything higher than a 5^th round pick. The Raiders got a fourth round pick and the Pats got a nearly perfect season out of the deal. While the arrogance of the Hoddie was squashed by an epic failure in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants, the Raiders cannot be excused from getting nothing out of the most dangerous weapon in the modern game. Moss has played for the highest scoring offenses in NFL history yet was only good for 6 wins in two years in the East Bay.

2. Brett Favre’s Defining Moment – Brett Favre will be remembered for many things. Among the Favre memories are his myopic attempts to stay in the spotlight and his destruction of the Oakland Raiders only one day after the passing of his father. Favre gave John Madden a Viagra free night on the evening of December 22^nd, 2003, by torching the Raiders with 4 first half TD passes in route to a 41-7 spanking on Monday Night. For the rest of the world it was heart warming and inspiring. For Raider Nation, it was sickening and painful.

The symbol of Raider football since 2003

1. The Painful End to Rich Gannon’s Career – Gannon was the last great offensive player to wear Silver and Black. He was a dedicated leader with a tireless work ethic and a hunger for perfection. The journeymen QB would lead the Raiders to three consecutive AFC West titles, a birth in the Super Bowl and was named the NFL’s most valuable player in 2002. As fate would have it, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jon Gruden were responsible for the decline of the Raider franchise in more ways than one. Gruden’s squad gave Gannon the two worst moments of his career in both the Super Bowl loss and the injury that would end his career. A helmet-to-helmet hit with Derrick Brooks left Gannon with a broken vertebra in his neck. With Gannon’s inevitable retirement, the Raiders have spun out of control and are now mired in the worst six year stretch in NFL history.  

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the 10 best moments of the last six years. Yes, there are actually 10 of them.

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