Joey Brownlee - It's not the players; it's the coaches

My sister, who can’t tell the difference between a football and baseball, knew the moment Lane Kiffin was fired, we’d begin to look more like the Raiders of 2006 than the competitive team we’ve been over the duration of Kiffin’s coaching duty.

The Raiders BK (before Kiffin) couldn’t give the Texas Tech Red Raiders a good game. And four games AK (after Kiffin) they can’t give the Toronto Argonauts a run for their money.

In short, Kiffin has what every person desires to attain: “IT”.Whatever “IT” is, he has it. All the great ones do and it showed in the 20 or so months he was here.

Kiffin knew the weaknesses of this team and stayed away from them like the plague. He passed the ball when the opportunity presented itself and used the running game –the strength- to the fullest. When you have Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas, why not run the ball and wear down defenses.

It doesn’t make sense to pass the ball 30+ times a game when the offensive line couldn’t pass protect if their life depended on it; much less for a franchise QB. His best wide receiver is his tight end, Zach Miller.

Seventh round pick Chaz Schilens, can become another Marcus Colston (also a seventh round pick) but he needs to get the ball more. That won’t happen, however, because the ball distributor gets more pressure than middle school teenagers and a tap at a keg party COMBINED.

I thought a fresh start in the zone-blocking scheme would benefit left tackle, Kwame Harris. The former first-round pick play has proved me wrong. Ricky Clark told me back in February he and Deangelo Hall were overrated and would vacillate in Oakland.

He was wrong. They’ve been a disaster. They shouldn’t be in pro football, much less the NFL, the way they fall to show up on game day.

And I don’t think Tom Cable merits blame for this atrocity. I’d blame him for not standing up for what he believes in and placating to each and every desire of the owner.

The few times Russell has had time to throw, he’s proved to be inaccurate with the football. At times, it looks like he couldn’t hit the ocean standing on the beach.

Al Davis doesn’t care, wants him to throw more because “he’s a great player.” Those are his words, not mine.

The thing I most admired about Lane Kiffin, from a fans perspective, was he was his own man and wanted to do things his way (which was working) and wasn’t intimidated by Davis when, Bugel, Callahan, Turner and Shell were.

Kiffin changed the mentality of the locker room and got the players to play inspired football; something he predecessors (besides Jon Gruden) failed to do.

He was developing Russell, grooming the offense and using what worked. It was all part of the plan, a plan terminated because of Davis’ jealousy of Lane.

Aside from one season (five total), Rob Ryan has done a horrible job of imitating a defensive coordinator and should be kick-out of the acting futurity for life. It’s good a thing he hasn’t been fired, then we’d really be screwed.

Had Kiffin been giving the liberty to run the show –draft and signed the free agents of his choice- the Raiders would be a first-place team looking to do serious damage in the postseason.

Now all the ESPN TV shows are changing their opinion on whether is was the right move to fire Kiffin. After these last for games, where the offensive put up a total of 29 points (7.25 per game) and were held to -2 yards in the first-half vs. Atlanta, didn’t record a first down until the third quarter and totaled 77 yards…enough said.