The line that separates champs from chumps isn't so wide the Raiders can't cross into Giant territory. (Photo: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE)

The New York Giants are far from a perfect football team. Their flaws were on display for much of the regular season as they rode a weekly rollercoaster. Tom Coughlin’s team seemed to shift focus from week to week looking like champs one week and chumps the next.

What made the New York Giants world champions was more than a drop by Wes Welker, a poor decision by Tom Brady or a great throw by Eli Manning. All of those factors contributed to the Giants’ 21-17 Super Bowl stunner against the previously invincible Pats.

What gave the Giants a chance to be champs and eventually got them a second ring in four years was the ability to dig deep when it matters most.

If the Oakland Raiders ever want to see another Lombardi added to the cabinet then they’ve got to take a page from the Giants’ formula. Not much separated the Giants from the Raiders this past season. Both teams needed help to make it into the postseason. Both were teetering on the brink of an early vacation. Both controlled their own fate down the stretch.

The difference between the two is simple.

When the Giants saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the horns, they went forward without hesitation, possessing supreme confidence in their talents and perfect execution of their game plan.

When the Raiders saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the tail, they cowered into a corner, rolled over in the clutch and lost all faith in what had put them in position to win their division and go forward into the NFL’s championship tournament.

On paper these teams aren’t that different.

Both teams have the ability to give you different looks in the running game with two unique running backs. The Raiders just so happen to have an elite game breaker in Darren McFadden when healthy. In fact, the Raiders ran the rock infinitely better than the Giants with Michael Bush carrying the load.

Both teams boast of a talented receiving corp. The Raiders receivers are slowly coming into their own while the Giants’ group is clearly ready for primetime.

Both teams view their defensive line as the foundation upon which titles are built. The Raiders just wish they could get the consistent and clutch performance from their unit similar to what New York got from theirs during the biggest moments of the season.

Where the two teams greatly differ are in some of the most important areas.
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Here in Los Angeles, mid-way through the third quarter, CBS took the Raider game off the air in favor of the Detroit Lions.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Oakland Raiders do not deserve to play in the NFL.

Sad efforts like the pathetic 44-7 loss to the New York Giants today barely merit membership in the UFL.

Ahmad Bradshaw had more total yards by himself than the Raiders, out gaining the Silver and Black 165 to 124. The most crushing of his large gains was a 55-yard reception when Bradshaw converted a 3^rd and 24 on a screen pass thanks in part to outside linebacker Ricky Brown going down injured.

How can we add insult to injury?

That is now four consecutive games in which Tom Cable’s play calling has produced less than 200 yards of total offense. Nothing is working. The running game is non-existent. The passing game is laughable. The play calling is unimaginative. The opponents can see what’s coming from a mile away.

The injuries along the offensive line haven’t helped any but neither has the coaching staff. The only adjustment the coaching staff is making right about now is updating their resumes. Cable shoulders the blame as the man who sits atop the pile of toxic waste that is Raider football in 2009. However, the head coach is not alone.

JaMarcus Russell’s work ethic would only impress Kevin Federline. Not cutting Russell any slack, but I don’t think working with Paul Hackett is something that would motivate anybody to clock in early and stay late. Hackett is quarterback kryptonite.

Hackett nearly pissed away a Heisman trophy winner in Carson Palmer at USC. Were it not for Norm Chow, Palmer would be playing in Canada.

The good news is that JaMarcus won round one of the Bust Bowl as he bested former number one oveall selection David Carr. Carr entered the game in the second quarter in relief of Eli Manning who was forced to be benched thanks to Tom Coughlin honoring the mercy rule.

Carr had a victory clearly in hand until he had a moment of madness and actually scrambled for a touchdown. Plays like that are the reason why Carr will never be able to take down Ryan Leaf as the greatest bust to ever play quarterback. Carr needs to carefully study Russell’s three fumbles today if he wants pointers on how to be epically awful.

Fixing JaMarcus Russell seems as futile as expecting the Raiders to beat the Eagles in Oakland next Sunday; not that it is impossible, it’s just that the coaching staff has no clue how to do it.  

It would seem that Al Davis has finally taken control of Cable’s mind. The scary thought is that Davis might have unknowingly created a monster. Cable appears to have gone rogue like that jet in the classic Jamie Foxx film Stealth (What can I say? A crappy analogy about a crappy movie for a crappy team). Even if Davis phoned in the benching of Russell, Cable would continue to roll the dice on his young QB, leaving him in the game to fumble like an amputee trying to catch a golf ball coated in Crisco. The head coach’s tunnel vision has the top pick in 2010 clearly in sight.

Bruce Gradkowski might not be the answer to the offensive woes, but the Raiders should feel obligated to find out.

If there is a way for this team to become even worse, it can be found in the dark thoughts that flood the mind of Paul Hackett. Hackett has what it takes to make the firing of Tom Walsh look controversial.

With the possibility of Cable being either fired, jailed or suspended, it would seem only a matter of time until Hackett is the newest marionette on the Oakland sideline.  

Get your stale popcorn ready, we’re just over ¼ of the way through the season.

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Cable and the Raiders are at the crossroads.

The likelihood of the Oakland Raiders beating the New York Giants this Sunday seems about as plausible as Norv Turner winning coach of the year.

There is really no reason to think the Raiders have any chance against the Giants with or out without Eli Manning.

The O-line is turning into a MASH unit being held together by bubble wrap. The running game couldn’t even reach the half century mark in yardage against the NFL’s worst run defense. JaMarcus Russell’s completion percentage is only flattering when compared to three-point percentages in the NBA. Oh and Tom Cable could be either arrested, suspend or fired at any moment.

With injuries mounting, concerns rising and hopes fading, the Raiders are in prime position to sucker punch the Giants.

There are so few moments in the NFL season that provide for jaw dropping results. Last year, it was the Dolphins rolling into Foxboro and giving the Hoddie a lesson in humility. That win helped propel the Phins to an amazing 11-5 season, completely reversing the 1-15 debacle of the previous year.

While it’s not in Tom Coughlin’s nature to overlook an opponent, you’d better believe that there is a lot of confidence in the East Rutherford locker room this week. In fact, Giant receiver Steve Smith has gone as far as to call out Nnamdi Asomugha.

While it would be inspirational for the Silver and Black to dig deep and do their part to beat the 16-point spread odds makers are predicting, it would do little to help quell anxiety. A loss to the Giants would drop the Raiders to 1-4 with the Eagles, Jets and Chargers next in line to officially end this season at the midpoint.

Anything short of a victory is a failure. This is the NFL, a results driven business where moral victories only happen on the practice field.

After blowing a late lead against the Chargers on opening night, the Raiders have slept walked through their last three games including snoozing for three and a half quarters in Kansas City during their only win of the season thus far.

Cable could be on his last legs as his regime has gone a Raider-esque 5-11 including his 4-8 record as interim coach last year. Cable’s offense has produced less than 15-points per game and his positive outlook is surely beginning to dim given all the turmoil.

For Oakland, it is now or never. A loss drops the Raiders firmly to the bottom of the AFC West with only the Cheifs to break their fall. Any hopes of salvaging this season are out the door with another uninspired effort this weekend. 

When Cable was introduced as the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders, he proclaimed that “the Raiders are back”. Right now, his back is to the wall and about the only thing he’s brought back is the Raider way of the last six years.

If Cable is serious about keeping his word then only one result will do.

Just win baby!

Anything short of that could be another invite for Al Davis to turn the keys over to Paul Hackett who will surely drive this season head-first into the NFL basement.  

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