Friday, October 05, 2007

Rushing to Judgement

What can I write that has not already been written regarding the work of Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable and the reworked Raider Offensive Line?

Nothing, except that perhaps our FB Justin Griffith and rookie TE Zach Miller are getting over-looked. Griffith has been pounding, absolutely pounding, enemy LBs, leading the way for Jordan and Fargas. On the outside, Miller has completely sealed off the backside pursuit. Miller has dominated the likes of Pro-Bowlers Jason Taylor and Joey Porter. The running game relies heavily on Griffith and Miller - they are difference makers in our run game.

Being a huge Raider fan, I over-state things from time-to-time and try to put a Raider spin on everything (thats why this blog is here!), but I’ve hesitated to write about Coach Kiffin because I don’t want to hyperbolize (my new word)...

..well, F-it, Kiffin must be the leader for Coach of the Year honours, and at the top of the Coaching Rookie class as well (even with Phillips and the Cowboys at 4-0 and Tomlin and the Steelers at 3-1).

Oline Coach Tom Cable is worthy of awards as well. Cable’s impact on our Oline cannot be overstated. I feel great for Grove, Sims and especially Gallery … after what they went through last year, they would run through brick walls for Cable this year.

The Raiders have equalled last year’s win total and almost equalled last years TD total after only 4 games, and are inches from 3-1, alone at the top of the AFC West, and lead the league in rushing, and have cut QB sacks in half, and have had a dramatic drop in penalties, and are learning a killer instinct, and so on and so on – Kiffin dismisses it all – Kiffin says he’s not happy at 2-2, the Raiders should be 4-0 and he and his coaches have to figure out what has gone wrong… This sounds like what Turner should be saying in San Diego...

Watch how the offense approaches the line of scrimmage, un-hurried, with lots of time on the play clock... watch how, even with the passing game not clicking yet, Kiffin calls plays that attack the enemy, tricking them with their own tendencies... watch how the Oakland Raiders are prepared to play… the change in only 8 months is worthy of Ripley’s

Kiffin gets grief in the press at times because of his “I’ll tell you when I’m ready to tell you” approach, but he is also getting tons of good press – and how can he not?

Kiffin's press conferences are a glimpse into the man’s incredible intelligence, football knowledge, saavy and communication skills. If you have not watched the Kiffin pressers on raiders.com, you really need to. He is an incredibly intelligent, driven and focussed man. Monte must be the proudest Dad in the NFL.

And hey, if your Canadian, have a great Thanksgiving Weekend, eh...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd agree that thus far Kiffin is not only in the running for rookie coach of the year, but would be leading. Dallas and Pittsburg were solid teams before the coaching change. Kiffin took over a team that had the first pick in the draft. He's made more of an impact.

Swifty

"The Tooz" said...

I was wrong for not mentioning Coach Knapp as well... obviously he and Cable work well together, something Kiffin foresaw... the game plans and play designs and imaginative and taught well... our execution has not been this good since Callahan's first year...

Anonymous said...

I've enjoyed the relative absence of penalties. That's a real contrast to most of the past seasons.

Anonymous said...

"and are inches from 3-1"

F 3-1. we should be 4-0 if not for mccown and janikowski!!!!!

"The Tooz" said...

yeah like Kiffin saying we were leading with under 9 minutes to go vs Detroit...

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more...yes its early but given that we have the same number of points one quarter through the season...Kiffin deserves some cudos.

Nice blog...and as a Canadian Raider fan...there is a lot to be "Thankful" for this Thanksgiving.

Go Raiders...Go Riders (CFL)

Anonymous said...

Tooz,
I think a few more names that don't get a lot of recognition in turning things around on our staff are the Offense Quality Control Coach, Sanjay Lal and Adam Henry; Assistant Offensive Line Coach James Cregg; and Running Backs Coach Tom Rathman.

Calico Jack said...

Good job Tooz. Kiffin and his entire staff deserve a ton of credit for getting our ship off the rocks and out into the deep blue ocean.

I have been very impressed with Kiffin's ability to impact the players' attitudes and competitiveness. Kiffin's leadership is responsible for instilling a sense of confidence in the players and fans alike that better days are ahead of us.

"The Tooz" said...

Thanks all for taking the time to leave comments... I do appreciate it