Lies, Myths, and Tom Cable: When Are Allegations Considered The Truth?

In the media age, almost anyone can accuse anyone of anything. Politicians can be accused of bribery, lawyers of falsifying information, and even the guy at the local burger joint for spitting on your food.

But only in this odd mindset does the world like to accuse someone, take it for granted, and then expect the accused to be guilty, without a judge and jury.

Welcome to Tom Cable’s world, thanks to ESPN.

Tom, if you remember far enough back, had been told the DA in Napa would not press charges regarding an incident from back in August. By the DA, there was different stories given both to the police, to the media and then to the DA himself.

Wasn’t too much of a stretch to see what was going on as Randy Hanson wanted both to be back with the team and when he couldn’t, he wanted Cable to pay for it.

Now, in comes the basket of dirty laundry.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines decided to parade Tom’s past loves in a show, trying to commit character assassination against him. The first case, that he acknowledged stemmed from the mid to late 80’s, resulting from his learning of her infidelity. Sandy Cable denied this, but at the same time she has the same problem that he has. It’s a classic game of he said-she said.

After all, was anyone else in the room? ESPN, was Chris Berman giving a play by play?

No, Sandy’s only defense is the same one that Tom has. Convincing other groups what happened. Now, it seems Sandy and Marie Lutz, another woman claiming Tom has a violent past has found a group to attack him with.

Enter the NOW. The National Organization for Women, who are calling for Tom to be suspended for his actions.

The question I have is on what grounds? In the divorce that Glenda Cable has, she claimed he was “physically and verbally abusive”. Then, during the ESPN segment, she stated, “Tom was never violent to me or the children.”

From reading on the case of Marie Lutz, it sounds like Marie was looking for a fight or at least trying to cause trouble, due to her showing up at the early hours one morning and starting to pound on the door. If a person came to my door at 5:00 A.M. and started to cause a ruckus, throwing them out would be a good solution to the whole matter.

In this day and age, groups like the NOW like to crucify for any altercation, no matter the case, no matter how long ago it was. They are on a witch hunt, spurred on by allegations that are not proven in any court in the country.

And we have ESPN to thank for all of this.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Oakland Raiders: If The Unorthodox Works, Why Not Run With It?

The Raiders have never been like the rest of the NFL.

No kidding…I can hear a few fans already saying that, or something cuter.

But realize it, for all it’s fun, it has worked better for this team to embrace the unorthodox.

Take a look at the team in 1980. If you were a fan back then, weren’t you a little shocked when Ken Stabler was sent packing? Or Jack Tatum? Earlier in the past, John Madden left, for medical reasons, Fred Biletnikoff was gone and Al Davis had a solution for Stabler….Dan Pastorini!

Who?

Dan Pastorini, for the uninformed, was the third quarterback taken back in 1971, third player overall that year. He had the ability to air it out, something Al Davis loves. Yes, another ‘no kidding’ statement is warranted.

So the team goes into 1980 with a retread QB, most of the critics had us pegged for third or fourth in the division. Through the first four games, Oakland would go 2-2, until a game against Kansas City would alter our fortunes.

Dan Pastorini would go down injured, and up would step Jim Plunkett.

Right about now, how many fans out there were wondering again, what does this guy have left in the tank? Pastorini was the number three pick in the draft….Plunkett was the number one pick that year. He had won the Heisman back at Stanford. He struggled with the Patriots and then fumbled with the 49ers. He was active in four games during 1979 and was hoping for a chance to start.

During that game against Kansas City, he took over the game and threw five interceptions.

Still loyal?

At this point, the Raiders are 2-3, have lost their starting QB for the season, a rookie named Marc Wilson is deemed too young to start for the Raiders and Jim Plunkett starts the following week against the San Diego Chargers, running a high-powered offense.

Oakland would win the game, 38-24, go to .500, and then wouldn’t lose another game until week 12.

As a side note, Dave Casper would go on to leave the team after the Chargers game, moving over with Stabler and Tatum with the Houston Oilers.

Somehow through all of this, the Raiders would go onto the playoffs, beat the Oilers, and win the Super Bowl over the Eagles.

Now, compare this team to the modern-day Raiders…how do you think Al Davis would handle the chaos that exists? Or for that matter, any modern day team?

Al Davis would go out, find an assortment of pieces and as the season goes on, if pieces don’t work, go down with injuries, etc, the players picked up should be able to step up.

There are some teams where if a key player is lost the team would suddenly be in trouble. Do you think the Indianapolis Colts are as dangerous with Jim Sorgi as they are with Peyton Manning? Or the Seahawks, now that we’ve seen what happens without Matt Hasselbeck?

For the Raiders, some unorthodox thinking works quite well.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Raiders-Chargers: Oakland Looks To Right The Ship

For the Raiders, Sunday represents another game for the team to decide on being Jekyll, or Hyde.

For the Chargers, it’s a chance to kick a little more dirt on Al Davis’s team, who have had a horrible streak.

The Raiders have given their fans a trick-or-treat season, looking good in the first game, barely losing to the Chargers, then rebounding with an ugly win against the Chiefs.

Then several ugly losses later, the Raiders beat the Eagles in Oakland, shocking many in the football world. A week later, they reverted to form and were clocked by the Jets, 38-0, their worst loss at home ever.

For the Chargers, it has been a season of question marks. Thought by many to be going to the Super Bowl, they came out of the gate with a win against Oakland but then went 2-3 in the next five games.

Their last game matched them up with the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that is truly wondering which way is up. The result was to be expected, a 37-7 thrashing that was equal parts Chiefs ineptness as it was the Chargers letting loose against a division rival.

For the Raiders, some simple things need to happen for the team to get the win against the Chargers this week.

First, the team needs to find it’s offensive skills. Russell needs to be accurate, with good timing. Fargas and Bush need to rip into the Chargers line often and keep them off-balance. The wide receivers need to make the catches to keep the team moving downfield.

Second, we need the second coming of the Legion of Doom. Greg Ellis, Richard Seymour, and company need to bring the Chargers to a standstill.

Odds are good the Chargers will use their running game and the Raiders need to stop it early and often.

Against the Eagles, if the opponent tried something creative, it looked like the Raiders read it and responded. A sweep was stopped behind the line. Heavy blitzing broke through often, finding Donovan McNabb holding the ball. If we can use this heavy blitz package, our game gets easier.

Lastly, the team has to play smart. Last week the Raiders made a number of missed tackles, even Tom Cable was pointing this out, but it goes beyond that. Players being out of position, not having enough guys on the field, guys unsure of what play is going to be used—these are textbook things that are learned on day one.

Hopefully, the upcoming practice will give a good snapshot if the players are listening. Or if it’s possible, to weed out the dead weight.

Oakland does have some players possibly coming back into the huddle this week. Tackle Robert Gallery has been practicing, which can only help this team. As the offensive line works back into their area of comfort, JaMarcus Russell may get his time needed to work with the receivers.

A win Sunday, would be considered a miracle.

We’ve already seen one, this year. Anyone up for another?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

DA’s Office Declines to Go After Tom Cable: Several Problems Existed

After two and a half months, Tom Cable can breath a little easier now.

The Napa District Attorney elected to not pursue felony assault charges against Tom Cable, citing several key items that had come to light since the August 5th incident.

For one, was the timing involved in such a case. For the police to properly do their job, the party seeking legal action should have cooperated completely with the police department. Randy Hanson, as it was noted went to a hospital for treatment and was hesitant to help the police department.

Part of this seems to play to the belief that he tried to blackmail the Raiders into giving him his old job back…when this fell through, then he became very “helpful” with the Napa police department.

Second, was the widely circulated interview he gave with Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports. Within this interview he gave a larger story with more details, noting coaches and actions that took place. The problem came to light though, that this wasn’t the exact same story that he had told the Police, once he started to cooperate with the authorities.

Once it was out in the media and the inconsistent facts couldn’t be fixed, the DA had no choice but to drop this case, simply because he didn’t want to waste the people’s time.

A nice transcript of this entire case can be found, from David White’s online column:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/raiders/detail?blogid=11&entry_id=50146

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Oakland and The Next Task: Can They Run The String To Two Wins?

For Oakland, last week’s win was a nice change of pace. Strong defense, aided by timely scoring by Zach Miller and Sebastian Janikowski.

For Tom Cable, his basic statement on the matter said a lot.

“Do it again.”

The Raiders have had issues in the past, having a good win, then sliding back into the ways that frustrates coaches.

A case in point, last year was when the Raiders beat the New York Jets for Cable’s first win in 2008.

This year, things have changed a bit. For the Jets, a new quarterback by the name of Mark Sanchez earlier was doing well, leading the Jets to a 3-0 record for the season, prompting some to think of Joe Namath.

Then the wheels came off, and losses to the Saints, Dolphins and the Bills, has the Jets looking for solutions to what has happened. Sanchez, wound up tossing 5 interceptions, while Thomas Jones rushed for 210 yards. The Jets also learned they would be without the services of Kris Jenkins, who is now out for the year with an ACL injury.

Even with this, Oakland is going to face a very dangerous opponent.

It is well known Oakland has problems in stopping the run. Oakland’s win last week was done in part thanks to the Eagles and their failure to rush a lot. Leaving Donovan McNabb to try and pass his way to victory, John Marshall and his defense kept McNabb from getting into a comfort zone. The result was a lot of mistakes, sacks and a game where the Eagles failed to score a touchdown.

Oakland, meanwhile has to count their blessings, they did not need a lot of points. On offense, they managed 13 points, a touchdown and two field goals. Then they relied on the defense to hold it as Oakland milked the clock to win.

Looking at this matchup, Oakland has to do three things to win this game.

First off, they need to maintain their control on defense. By asserting themselves early and keeping McNabb from getting comfortable, it forced the Eagles into a game of catchup. This won’t be easy, if Oakland is unable to stop the running game. Hopefully the Raiders defense can count on Nnamdi Asomugha to stop the passing game and let the Raiders fill the box.

Hey, if the Raiders can get an early lead, then Oakland can release the hounds on Sanchez. It worked against McNabb.

Secondly, all the Oakland offense needs is a breakout game. This has a stronger possibility with Chaz Schilens getting healthy at the right time. While Oakland’s running game is still struggling to assert their control, the passing game needs to step up. Everyone knows Zach Miller is a walking weapon, so expect him to be covered.

And yes, Darrius Heyward-Bey is fooling no one.

Lastly, the simple fundamentals of football. Making tackles as needed, avoiding dumb penalties and finding a way to win can help the Raiders. Oakland’s defense was a good example, as sacks were spread around, stopping the Eagles either at the line or catching the running back before he could accelerate all helped limit the team. Probably the biggest example of this was by Louis Murphy and his heads up play with Zach Miller.

If Oakland can capitalize on last week’s win, the boo birds may fly south for the winter.

But keep that pigeon handy.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

How Do The Raiders Fix This? Part Three: Coaching Needs to Change Speeds

Oakland’s offseason coaching changes were to be expected, difficult. When we played well against the Chargers, the belief is that we had started to find a proper course. After a number of games, the coaching is starting to look regressive. The fans have watched the team go from a close loss in week one, to three straight blowouts. What started in the preseason as a practice of fundamental football sessions of learning have degraded into a media circus every sunday, as the fans are ridiculed for loyalty.

The coaching, for what it is worth has been dealt a hard hand, both by the players and by the owner, Al Davis. The players, some truly want to play, are also working out the deadweight, such as Stanford Routt. Other players are slowly becoming player/coaches, teammates that want to see the Raiders return to the glory days.

Al Davis, as much as he wants to win and win now, is willing to throw away draft picks in what he believes is a one or two player gap from being there. The coaches, meanwhile are forced to work with common play systems, while others would love to use more sacks, more pressure and above all, find a way to bring back some tough defense.

As for the offense, Davis and his loyalty to the JaMarcus Russell project has forced Tom Cable to walk a dangerous tightrope between loyalty and winning. Everything would be solved with wins, but can this squad win? In today’s NFL?

For the coaching to succeed, this is what needs to be done:

First of all, working without fear. If Al Davis wants to fire someone, let it be because they didn’t worry about the owner. Firing a coach for winning will ensure a better chance at a job elsewhere…or maybe Al Davis will be forced to keep a coach who stood up to the Master.

Secondly, start playing some modern, original football. Start using the players we have in the proper perspective. When the Raiders  won in 1983, they had a defense that could scare anyone…right now Oakland’s defense wouldn’t scare kids at Halloween.

Lastly, roll out some film from last year, look at the last two weeks we played, and try to figure out how that team, that went 2-0 was able to do it with almost the same team. If the Raiders can copy this method of playing, there is still a chance to save this season.

If not, by the end of the year we could be looking at a new Head Coach, with or without legal issues.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

How Do The Raiders Fix This? Part Two: Defense Needs Help

Looking at the Raiders, it is not a simple thing that needs to be done for the Raiders to come back to respectability, but a series of actions, just to turn the corner.

The Oakland Raider’ defense started the season with some promise. Against the San Diego Chargers, the Raiders almost squeezed out a win, until the defense went soft, causing a late-game TD that left some shaking their heads.

Although, some felt that the Raiders had a good defense, and if we could get some offense the Raiders might still have the makings for an 8-8 season. The game against Kansas City helped reinforce this because even though our defense was pushed, the team did enough to win the game, thanks to a late miracle drive by JaMarcus Russell.

The last three games though, there were no miracles, no positive points, and the team has looked progressively worse.

The last week against the Giants, when it looked like we had figured out Brandon Jacobs, the Giants switched him out and dropped in Bradshaw, who gutted our team for yardage. Looking at the game on tape, Bradshaw was simply faster than our players and Eil Manning was performing well, throwing out passes just to where the receiver could make the catch.

Four drives delivered a verdict that was both painful and obvious…the defense is in trouble.

What has changed from week one? Were the Chargers really that bad, and we didn’t change? Or has it been a slowly digressing skill set in our team?

Guys like Greg Ellis, Richard Seymour, Kirk Morrison, and others can line up week after week, but right now this defense won’t stop anyone. Part of it isn’t even their fault, as each week they have been playing more minutes than they expected to. With the offense being unable to mount lasting drives, the defense spends more time trying to stop a team that is fresh.

How does a team fix this problem?

For one, the team needs to fix the offense. The original idea was for the offense to help, by practicing ball control. With the running game bogged down and JaMarcus Russell unable to keep the ball moving, the defense is going to get tired. But if the team can find ways to buy more time, like devoting a drive to all running plays, it may give the defense the break they need.

Secondly, they need to bring in fresh players, so no one gets tired. The disadvantage of this option is that the Raiders are not overflowing in bench players.

Thirdly, the coaching field. John Marshall originally had plans and this coach comes highly recommended. It makes me question whether the Raiders are being sabotaged. Some have said that Randy Hanson, the exiled Raiders coach has been passing along notes to some opposing defensive players. If this is the case, then the Raiders need to plug this hole—the sooner the better.

Lastly, don’t mess with what works on the team. Right now, the one aspect that works on this team is Asomugha, who’s functioning well. We also had sacks coming from Seymour and Ellis. Huff was picking off passes. The team needs to build on these guys, keeping key players doing what they’ve been doing. Maybe the other players can learn by example.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

How Do The Raiders Fix This? Part One

Five weeks into a season that has gone from hopeful to chaotic, the Oakland Raiders have several options to look at regarding the team, what course of action to take, and hopefully salvage some wins.

Or things could go down in flames.

Looking at the team in the last few weeks, one key point that stands out is the lack of production from the quarterback, JaMarcus Russell (you may know him by any number of nicknames used to describe the hard-throwing, hard to catch passer).

One week he might overthrow a WR option by five yards, another time he’ll hit Todd Watkins and the player can’t pull it in. Sometimes he’ll throw a beautiful 29 yard pass to Zach Miller, and then overthrow a player breaking away from the defender.

A lot of the screaming has been calling for Russell to be removed and all of the Raiders problems will suddenly disappear. The team will score, our players will become healthy, the sun will shine, Tom Cable will be innocent…

Now wait. Back to reality for a second.

Sure, pulling the plug on JaMarcus Russell may sound like a wonderful idea at face value, if that was all that was wrong with the team at this time.

Right now the offensive line—you know, the one that needs to keep the quarterback alive—isn’t functioning well enough to keep anyone upright. Last Sunday against the Giants, Russell went down six times and lost more than 30 yards.

The wide receiver corps are still patching themselves back together with Chaz Schilens out two or three weeks. The running game, also hurting due to the offensive line, is still missing Darren McFadden.

Above all, you would somehow have to convince Al Davis that his project QB is a bust. Not an easy task, considering he wasn’t willing to give up on Marc Wilson…

On the other side of the coin, replacing Russell with a more dependable, accurate and skilled passer—say Gradkowski—Oakland could reap some benefits.

With shorter and more accurate throws, he might not need to spend that much time in the pocket. With the ball moving, the defense would be given a chance to actually rest between possessions. And if we can put points on the board—more than 16 points in three weeks—we might be able to compete.

Maybe the possibility of shaming Russell into performing would be a good thing. If Cable is going to be lost due to his recent legal issues, and there are going to be some changes anyway, maybe it would be for the good of the team for Russell to hear the Raider Nation cheer on another quarterback.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Memo to the Oakland Raiders: Surprise Us, Shock the NFL

For the Oakland fans, it hasn’t been an easy season…and it has only been four weeks.

We have watched a close loss at home, a late touchdown win on the road, a blowout loss at home, and then a disaster at Houston. We’ve seen a good game, a bad game, a sloppy game, and a horrid performance.

For a change, I think the Raider Nation would like to be shocked. The NFL and the fans would not expect it to happen.

After all, here’s a Raiders team that wouldn’t scare a high school team. Its starting quarterback has one touchdown. One. We are waiting for guys like Darren McFadden, Robery Gallery, Chaz Schilens, and Cornell Green to return from the injured ranks. And for some reason we’re still waiting for Tom Cable to use Javon Walker.

Sure, odds are long. Some are wondering if the game will get switched off at the first quarter or the second, or at halftime.

Thing is, anyone remember the last time people crowed about how badly the Raiders would be trounced?

Last year, Week 12…ring a bell for anyone?

At that time, Oakland came limping into a game against Denver, after losing to Miami at the last second by a field goal, dropping to 2-8. Denver, meanwhile, was coming into the game having dispatched Matt Ryan and the high-flying Falcons to be at 6-4.

The same point was made…this game would get ugly in a hurry…but how quickly would the network switch it to a more interesting game, with a larger crowd following?

As it turns out, the Raiders didn’t get the league memo, telling them to turn over and die this week. They proceeded to pull out all the stops and ran amok in Denver, exacting some revenge for a beating they had taken in Week One.

Now, in Oakland’s Week Five, the Raiders are looking at a similar situation. They are a game behind San Diego. The schedule isn’t looking any easier. Eli Manning may not start or play, period.

To win would call for a team effort; that hasn’t been seen since Week One.

All that we ask for is this: Surprise us. Go out and win one on the road. You’ve done it before…do it again.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Tom Cable and Shawne Merriman: Will Slanted Media Strike Again?

Before anyone jumps the gun, the question that disturbs people of the Raider Nation, should be easy.

Innocent or guilty?

So far all we know regarding the case at hand was Randy Hanson went to a hospital with a broken jaw. As the media pounced on a leaked source, rumors circulated that Tom Cable, coach for the Oakland Raiders delivered a sucker punch during a meeting to the young coach, who has been at the center of arguments in the past.

Later on, Randy Hanson put the deed on Tom Cable, claiming it was his actions that injured him, and with the help of his lawyer is seeking to have Cable arrested and charged with felony assault.

So far, the only one who is making a lot of talk, is Hanson’s lawyer. Talking to NFL.com, in the lawyer’s opinion it’s “a case of textbook case of felony assault”.

What is interesting, is that this lawyer wasn’t in the room. The only thing he has to go on, is the word of one coach who is obviously not going to be employed by the Raiders anymore. As well, he is hoping that one of the three coaches, who Hanson named will testify against Cable about the meeting, to give it credibility.

In the meantime, the Raiders season is spiraling downhill, with this getting dug up every week.

On the other hand, Shawne Merriman, who before the season had started had his own two minutes of fame originating from an altercation. As it was, his matter was cleared up in short order, DA heard the information and decided to not file charges. Quick, clean and fast.

Is there a reason that this case is being dragged on? More fuel for the media who don’t have enough dirt to throw on the Raiders? Recently the Yahoo Sports reported that an arrest was imminent, but this was later denied by the DA’s office.

Sounds like the muckrakers come in two flavors…lawyers and media.

I think if Cable is found innocent, he should demand letters of apology from  John McGuinn and other media icons who believe they are perfect. Dragging this through the season is robbing the fans of a season without distraction.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010