Radiers' rumors and a very interesting Atlanta Falcons' rumor

Interesting rumors from around the net. The one about the Falcons is very interesting but I just do not see it happening.

Tom Cable stuck in Raiders limbo

Stuck in the limbo of all this is Raiders interim head coach Tom Cable and most his coaching staff. Wide-receivers coach James Lofton is the only one under contract next season. All the others, including the three coordinators, are out of a contract after Jan. 13. Cable speaks with Davis on a regular basis but has yet to be given an interview for the permanent position. His assistants were given a week off and won't return to work until Wednesday. They're all waiting to hear what Davis is going to do with them, or see if the next head coach will retain them. Davis has the final say in all such matters, but he let Lane Kiffin replace the entire offensive staff when he was hired in 2007. So, when can they expect an answer? Recent history suggests sometime after the weekend of the conference title games - in this year's case, Jan. 18. -- SF Chronicle

Raiders not moving back to LA?
Raiders CEO Amy Trask said there are "no financial constraints or issues" and that fans need not worry about the team being moved back to Los Angeles. "That's the danger of unethical reporting," Trask said. That said, the Raiders aren't raking in cash, even though last year's offseason spending spree might indicate otherwise. The Raiders are one of the lowest-revenue teams in the NFL. Forbes reported the Raiders' 2007 revenue at $205 million, better than only seven teams. The Raiders also play in one of the NFL's oldest stadiums, which doesn't help the revenue situation. The Oakland Coliseum opened in 1966. -- Sac Bee

Falcons Robiskie up for Raiders job?
Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie is the latest potential candidate making his way around league circles. Al Davis drafted Robiskie as a running back in 1977 and gave him his first coaching job in 1982. Robiskie climbed from assistant running backs coach to offensive coordinator before leaving after 12 seasons. His departure from the organization in 1994 did not necessarily go over well with Davis, which makes any return to the fold an interesting notion at best. A team official said the Raiders have not been in contact with Robiskie. -- SF Chronicle

Falcons might dump fan favorite Brooking?
A similar scenario could unfold this season with several longtime Falcons veterans and key players being let go or not re-signed. Safety Lawyer Milloy, linebacker Keith Brooking, defensive tackle Grady Jackson and linebacker Michael Boley could all be jettisoned. "There are a number of free agents," Dimitroff said. "It's going to be a busy time, mainly on the defensive side of the ball because they are up. There are going to be some well thought-out decisions there. They won't be emotionally driven." Brooking may be the toughest. He's played locally in high school and college and is a fan favorite. -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Raiders needs for the offseason.

Offseason checklist

This according to insidebayarea.com. Updates to come.

1. Decide on Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler: Both are Pro Bowlers and prospective free agents. Are the Raiders going to commit millions to re-signing one or both of them or should they use that money on new players?

2. Find a big-play receiver: Javon Walker was a collosal failure, Drew Carter suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp and none of the other wide receivers caught more then 22 passes. This team needs a No. 1 wide receiver in a BIG way, either by free agency, trade, or the draft.

3. Bolster the offensive line: Kwame Harris was a failure, Cornell Green's is nearing retirment. Word out of Oakland is that Raiders second-year man Mario Henderson appears to have secured the starting spot at left tackle heading into next season. After replacing the much-maligned Kwame Harris, Henderson impressed interim head coach Tom Cable in a three-game starting stint to close the campaign. Barring the drafting of a tackle in the first round or the signing of a big-name free agent, the job will be Henderson's to lose (Pro Football Weekly).

4. Assemble a coaching staff: Wide receivers coach James Lofton is the only coach under contract beyond Jan. 13. Al needs to hire a new coach or give Tom Cable the job ASAP. The Raiders need to get started on next season now!

5. Improving defense: The Raiders need to add more game-changing players to a defense that gave up too many big plays this year.

Let's compare the records

Nice post, Josh, but I just wanted to post some stats for you here so you will shut up about your (18-1) Patriots. These are all-time win-loss records for the playoffs for our 3 favorite teams, the Raiders, the Patriots and the Falcons. Also I included over all records for the 3 teams against each other. Now I am not trying to brag, mainly because I have nothing to brag about, especially since both the Patriots and the Falcons beat my Raiders this year. And the Raiders will be back, just wait and see. And this does not prove my team is better than yours, I just like researching stats. And neither Josh nor I can say anything this year because neither the Raiders nor the Patriots made the playoffs. But the Falcons sure did and I am a bandwagon fan now. Go Falcons!!!!!

Raiders
25 wins 18 losses (including Super Bowls)
5 Super Bowls
3 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Patriots 14 wins 14 losses 1 tie
All-time against Falcons 7 wins 5 losses

Patriots
21 wins 13 losses (including Super Bowls)
6 Super Bowls
3 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Raiders 14 wins 14 losses 1 tie
All-time against Falcons 5 wins 6 losses

Falcons
6 wins 8 losses (includes Super Bowl)
1 Super Bowl
0 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Raiders 5 wins 7 losses
All-time against Patriots 6 wins 5 losses

Raiders run all over the Bucs playoff chances

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-24 Sunday in Tampa to close out the 2008 season. The game was highlighted with RB Michael Bush rushing for 2 TDs and 177 yards on 27 carries. Johnnie Lee Higgins made his presence know with another great game. He finished with 6 catches for 52 yards and a score and he caught a TD pass for the third straight game and he proved he can do the Carlton. My man-crush (Zach Miller) had a quite game only catching 2 passes for 34 yards. He finished the season with a team high in catches, 56 and yards, 778 but he only scored 1 TD.

With this loss, the Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs. Tampa Bay fell to 1-6 all-time against Oakland in the regular season. I love it, it does not make up for the loss to the Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVII but it does help. And it does give Raider Nation a little bit of satisfaction to end the 2008 season and hope heading into the 2009 season. This was the first year since the 2002 Super Bowl season that the Raiders won their season finale. The Raiders finished with a 2 game winning streak and a 5-11 record, winning the most games since 2004 when they also finished 5-11. An improvement over last year, even if it is only by a game. I predicted that they won win 6 or more games this year, so I was off by 1.

Now let’s get ready for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets upcoming beat down of the LSU Tigers in the Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl at 7:30 PM on New Year’s Eve.

Oh, and on a bandwagon note, I am now on the Falcons bandwagon and pulling for them in the playoffs. The first game against the Arizona Cardinals should be a cakewalk, especially with the way the Cards have been playing lately, losing 4 out of the last 6 games. Go Falcons!!!! (This should make you happy, Lindsay, Right?)

Raider Nation is proud once again! (At least until next Sunday)

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Texans 27-16 Sunday in front of a nearly empty Oakland Coliseum. This was by far the best performance by the team this year and we, as fans, needed it. I have been ready to give up on this team for years now but for some reason I just keep holding on and I don’t know why. Well, I do know why but after years of losing you can easily forget why you love a team. But enough about that, I could go on for days about how many bad choices the Raiders and Al Davis have made over the last few years, but this is about the great game they had yesterday.

This was a fantastic game by the youngsters with rookie wide receiver Chaz Schilens, rookie running back Darren McFadden and rookie-like quarterback JaMarcus Russell all contributing to the win. But the real story of the game was wide receiver/punt returner Johnnie Lee Higgins.

He caught a beautiful 29 yard laser from Jamarcus for a TD to start the 3rd quarter. The second year WR from UTEP finished the game with 3 catches for 59 yards and a TD. He also had a record setting 80 yard punt return for a TD. He now holds the Raiders team record for punt returns in a season with 3.

He now has 16 receptions for 314 yards and 3 TDs. Modest, I know but I believe that he will earn himself a starting position at WR. And his punt return stats are looking good too, 40 returns for 503 yards and 3 TDs. Nice. If you keep this up you might have me rethinking my man crush on TE Zach Miller (I Love This Guy, 94 Recs, 1118 yards and 4 TDs in 30 games). You have been warned.

So, Johnnie Lee, thank you for reminding me why I am a Raiders fan. Now let’s hand Jon “Chucky” Gruden and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers a loss next Sunday and finish the season on a high note.

Go Raiders!!