Raiders Blog and Q&A: Cable is their guy

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Raiders Blog and Q&A

News, observations and reader questions about the Oakland Raiders

November 3, 2008

Cable is their guy

OAKLAND - Tom Cable's tenure as interim head coach has done little to make it look as if he's got a grasp of the team.

In Cable's three losses, the Raiders have been outscored 87-13 after the Atlanta Falcons dumped the Raiders, 24-0 on Sunday.

Players continue to say the change to Cable was good for the team with Nnamdi Asomugha noting Cable has brought a new intensity while acknowledging based on recent performance, no one would ever notice.

Safety Gibril Wilson said the players are to blame for the Raiders woes.

"Cable's a good coach for this team," Wilson said. "The guy brings is an attitude that I think is good for us. It's not him. It's none of the coaches. It's us. We're the ones that have got to catch the ball. We're the ones that have to make tackles. We're the ones that have to get sacks. All of that stuff is just a cop out. I think we've just got to play."

JaMarcus Russell has been sacked eight times in the last two games. At least one Raider offensive linemen wouldn't blame a distracted Cable for that.

Cable said he knows how to manage a game while still handling his duties over the offensive line.

"He's still in there with us for the meetings," said tackle Kwame Harris. "Sometimes he has to go hang out with (the media) for a little bit. But it's not a noticeable absence. His presence is still there. He's the O-line coach."

Following the numbers

*In two home games under Cable (one being an overtime win), the Raiders have given up 494 rushing yards.

*By giving up 252 yards to the Falcons, the Raiders allowed Atlanta to take over the NFL lead for team rushing (163.4 yards a game).

*The Raiders are now 30th against the run (157.6 yards a game) and 28th in total defense, allowing an average 373.9 yards.

*The Raiders average 13.4 points. A few more games like Sunday's and they'll approach the 10.5 average of the dismal 2006 season.

The Raiders had 16 touchdowns that season, four coming from the defense.

The Raiders have nine touchdowns this season.

--Jason Jones

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Paul was born in Barstow and attended Barstow Community College before transferring to UNLV, sadly, after Ickey Woods, Randall Cunningham, Keenan McCardell and Suge Knight had made the Rebels a football, um, powerhouse. Paul has worked for Sports Illustrated, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Los Angeles Times and The Bee. While stringing for the Barstow Desert Dispatch, Paul was about 10 yards away from Bo Jackson when he suffered his career-ending hip injury in a 1991 playoff game at the L.A. Coliseum against the Cincinnati Bengals.