Silver & Black
Season-Ending Thoughts

"I’d be out of a job for two minutes. Man! Who are we kidding. I'm not worried about it.  I love the Raiders, and if that happens, so be it.”--Rob Ryan

12-29-07

By Larry Garcia-Raiderdrive &
Bay Area Sports Drive & Entertainment Magazine
 

 Do the Raiders have any incentive to play another season-ending game due to being in last place, with obviously no playoff hopes?  At first thought, the answer might seem to be no, but yet again, the team has a chance at another run for first-round draft picks. Déjà vu?  Nnamdi Asomugha has been through this before. “You never know how it’s going to go.  I went through this in college once when we were coming off a 3-8 year.  We had all the talent in the world. And we thought next year would be great, and then we ended up going one and ten.  Last year, we were third in the league on defense.  So you come back like us and think you’re going to play better, but that’s not how it goes sometimes.  You just never know, and it’s definitely a disappointment.  The expectation level we had coming into this year was high.”

Maybe so, but each year we all hope that the draft will make a difference for the upcoming season and that we will be playoff bound. With that hope in mind, the team might want to make a statement before the season ends, and making that statement against the division-leading Chargers would be a fitting climax to the season and would set all hopes high for next year.  Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin tries to keep his team motivated for next year. "I think it's a very difficult thing in this league to keep a team (motivated) that has not won many games. Especially when you’re playing a team (San Diego Chargers) that is in the same frame of mind. It is a daily battle.  I just continue to try and keep them motivated and we need to come out and play really well.” 

In the Raiders locker room, all looked the norm. For the team, it was just another day on the job, as we all have each day. Get up, get dressed and off to work.  The players are no different from us fans who set our alarm clocks every morning to get up for a hard day’s work.  However, not most of us sweat, putting our bodies through agonizing exercises and drills, thus needing a hot tub the next day before we go back to our jobs.  However, every task that we have will come to an end, yet we must pursue with every ounce of professionalism left in our bodies to achieve our goals.  The Raiders are no different.  Even though their task—a season-ending game—will soon be over, all players must continue to display pride and poise right up to the final whistle.  "It would be great to finish here with a win and sweep the division in the second half of the season.  Something that we haven't done since the Super Bowl year,” said Kiffin.  “It will kind of get us going in the right direction for next year to play teams we have to play twice around. It would be very satisfying for us, so hopefully we can do that.  The last three games we have not played very well, so our goal is to play very well."

A commitment to excellence, no matter how seemingly unimportant a task or game may appear, is still expected within the organization.  Al Davis has worked to instill this dedication in the franchise from its very inception, and he will accept no less from his coaches and players of the Silver & Black.

Raiders Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan believes in his players but didn’t expect this season to go as it has. “I think this year overall and in general, we used to lead in the league as fewest big plays. We've given up a lot of big plays.  Whatever the case may be, whether it be tackling or whatever; but it's unfortunate and a little bit stunning to me. But that's the way it is.  Last year, that [having a great defense] didn't happen by accident.  We got great players here with the Raiders and a great organization.  Whatever happens next year is next year.  One year we’re great, and the next one we’re not so great.  That's the way it is.  Hell, I've seen this happen before.  This is not the first time on my watch that this has happened.  We won a Super Bowl in New England, and we felt really good going in the next year. We came in and stunk up the joint with the same players, and the next year, we followed up by winning a Super Bowl with a great defense.”

If coaching changes are dealt within the Raiders organization, will Ryan be one of those changes, and is he a little concerned?  “I'd be out of a job in two minutes. I’d be out of a job for two minutes. Man! Who are we kidding. I'm not worried about it.  I love the Raiders, and if that happens, so be it.”