And you thought the Cleveland Browns were a mess? With the over-bearing coach who fines players a thousand bucks for not paying for water bottles and the imploding quarterbacks and a roster dotted with whiners and malingerers?
OK, fine. But did you get a load of what's happening with the Oakland Raiders, the Ravens opponent Sunday? The Raiders make the Browns look like the Von Trapps, they're so miserable.
Forget the fact that their coach, Tom Cable, apparently slugged an assistant coach earlier in the year and broke his jaw. Forget the fact that Cable's been accused of violence toward women in his past. Forget the fact he might be fired any day now because of the Raiders dreary 5-10 record.
With one game left in the season, Cable's still making friends and influencing people all around the Raiders locker room.
At his news conference Monday after the Raiders 23-9 loss to Cleveland a day earlier, Cable was asked if the team would have made the playoffs if quarterback JaMarcus Russell had turned in an average or better performance this year.
"Without even asking that question, you know that we would have," he answered, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sure, Cable went on to call Russell "a really, really classy kid" and later added "I'm convinced he has the tools" to become a great quarterback.
But the damage was already done. JaMarcus Russell was thrown under the bus. Then Cable backed the bus up and ran over him again.
Charlie Frye will probably start at quarterback for the Raiders against the Ravens.
JaMarcus Russell will probably be dialing a shrink.
The Raiders motto used to be: Just win, baby.
Now it's apparently: "Just point fingers."
What a team.
