- Danica Patrick was caught speeding…away from the race track. (SPORTSbyBROOKS.com)

- Here’s a story of a Raider fan who was unfairly thrown out of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, just for cheering on his team! Well, maybe that’s not the whole story… (Deadspin)

- Apparently the Red Sox offered Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz to the Marlins for Hanley Ramirez, but one of the clubs bulked. (Sox Addict.org)

- There’s nothing that says 0-16 better than a photo gallery. (The World of Isaac)

- The Dallas Cowboys reportedly were laughing and “acting like it was the last day of school� on the trip back from Philadelphia on Sunday. And the Dallas papers claim the Cowboys have no heart… (Dallas Sports Fans)

With their 31-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially completed the worst second half collapse of the 2008 NFL Season. And with their loss, the 2007 NFC South Champions were eliminated from postseason contention.

So what happened? How did this team fall from 9-3 to 9-7 in the blink of an eye? Well, it would be impossible to point to just one thing because several factors contributed to the Bucs’ freefall. But there seems to be three main factors that contributed in their collapse.

One of the biggest reasons for their demise was injuries along the defensive line. As soon as the team lost defensive tackles Jovan Haye and Chris Hovan three weeks ago, the Bucs were gashed by opponents’ running games. In their four game losing streak to close out the season, Tampa gave up a total of 710 rushing yards, or an average of 177.5 yards per game.

Another huge factor was losing Earnest Graham for the rest of the season after he was injured in a Week 11 win over Minnesota. Graham provided Tampa with a power running game to help balance what Warrick Dunn and Cadillac Williams brought to the table in terms of speed. Graham was also an unselfish player and a solid leader, willing to play any position (including fullback) to help his team win.

The nail in the coffin for this team seemed to be when defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin’s son was hired at the University of Tennessee. As soon as Lane Kiffin was hired, speculation grew that Monte would join him, which he eventually announced that he would following the season. Even though Monte is the ultimate professional and wouldn’t skate on his responsibilities as Tampa’s DC, there’s no denying that his announcement to leave at the end of the year created a distraction. In fact, the Bucs didn’t win one game following Tennessee’s decision to hire Monte’s son.

When you throw all three of those ingredients into a pot and mix them up, you’ve got the makings of bad stew. The writing has been on the wall for weeks, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that the Bucs couldn’t even muster a victory at home against the hapless Raiders with the playoffs on the line.

It’s time to look ahead to 2009 and play a little Nostradamus.

Last year, we predicted that God would anoint the “Devil-free� Rays World Series Champions (ding!), that Brett Favre would play another year or two (ding! – sort of), that Isiah Thomas would be canned (ding!), and that Kobe would be playing for a new team by the trade deadline…

Granted, that last one didn’t come true, but how were we supposed to know that the Grizzlies would trade Pau Gasol to the Lakers for an unproven rookie and a bag of peanuts? Our occasional inaccuracy isn’t going to keep us from rolling out another set of predictions – some serious and some farcical – for 2009 and beyond, including President Obama’s plan for a college football playoff, Donovan McNabb’s new home and the baseball club most likely to be 2009’s version of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Read on, and in a year, we guarantee* you’ll be amazed.

*This is not an actual guarantee, mind you.

Don’t miss the other two parts of our 2008 Year-End Sports Review: “What We Learnedâ€� and “What We Already Knew.â€�

Michael Vick will play for the Oakland Raiders next season.

Once NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell allows suspended quarterback Michael Vick to re-enter the league, let’s be honest, there’s really only one team that will take a shot on the convict: the Oakland Raiders. Sure, the Raiders would have to possibly give up a draft pick because Vick will still technically be property of the Falcons, but with Matt Ryan on board, Atlanta would probably be willing to give Mikey up for a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos…snack size. With Vick on board, JaMarcus Russell could shift to tight end or full back or offensive tackle or something. Or, Vick could play wide receiver! Or running back! Think of the possibilities! The Oakland Raiders will be the most unstoppable team in the league! That is, of course, until Vick gets the itch for his old hobby. – Anthony Stalter

The Nationals and Pirates become the official AAAA teams of their respective divisions.

After finishing at or near the bottom of the division since the franchise’s move from Montreal, Major League Baseball executives analyze the entire Washington Nationals player system and conclude that they have no chance of fielding a competitive team in the near future. In the boldest decision of his tenure, Commissioner Bud Selig demotes the team’s Major League roster to AAAA status, a phrase long used by baseball personnel to describe players that are too good for the minors but not good enough for the majors. In an added twist, Selig designates that the team’s assets are fair game for all four remaining teams in the National League East, as a means of creating parity. In order to keep the number of teams even in each league, Selig also downgrades the Pittsburgh Pirates, losers of 94 or more games since 2005, to AAAA status as well. It will be six weeks into the regular season before an NL East team claims any of these former Pirates or Nationals. – David Medsker

Barack Obama will have a plan in place for a college football playoff by 2016.

He has already spoken out twice in favor of an eight-team playoff format for college football. Granted, there are more pressing concerns for the President-elect – the economy, the war in Iraq and a forward-thinking energy policy, just to name a few – but there’s no reason that Obama can’t appoint a “Playoff Czar� to get the conference presidents and the bowl organizers together to hash out a system that works for everyone. Are the bowls worried about losing money? Rotate the semifinals and the final amongst the four bowl cities. Are the conferences worried about losing money? They shouldn’t be – the ratings for an eight-team playoff would dwarf the ratings the current system is getting. And better ratings means more money. This is something that 85%-90% of the population can agree on, and that doesn’t happen often. Mark our words – President Obama will make it happen, especially if he gets a second term. – John Paulsen

Here are snapshot previews of the early games with playoff implications on Sunday.

Panthers (11-4) at Saints (8-7), 1:00PM ET FOX
The Panthers’ playoff seeding rests solely in their own hands. If they beat the Saints, they’ll win the NFC South and clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC. If they lose, they’ll need the Rams to beat the Falcons in order to win the division and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. This is a dangerous game for the Panthers because it’ll be the second straight road game for them and they’re coming off a stinging overtime loss to the Giants. The Saints are also incredibly tough to beat at home and Drew Brees is attempting to break Dan Marino’s record for most passing yards in a single season. With a chance for Brees to break the record and his team to finish with a winning season, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton isn’t going to take it easy on a division foe. But can the Saints stop the run? The Panthers have relied on their running game all season and they’re not going to change their philosophy now. The Saints are going to score points, but if Carolina can keep the ball moving on the ground and keep Brees and Co. on the sidelines, the Panthers should come away with a win and a NFC South title. One damning stat that goes against Carolina, however, is the one that reads that NFC South teams are 0-11 on the road this year against NFC South opponents. Ouch.

Rams (2-13) at Falcons (10-5), 1:00PM ET FOX
With their 24-17 win over the Vikings last Sunday, the Falcons secured a spot in the playoffs but their seeding is still undetermined at this point. With a victory over the Rams coupled with a Panthers’ loss to the Saints, Atlanta will win the NFC South and clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC. If both the Falcons and Panthers win, Atlanta clinches the fifth seed in the NFC and will play at Arizona Wild Card weekend. A loss to the Rams would drop the Falcons to the sixth seed, which means they would have to play on the road throughout the playoffs. St. Louis played San Francisco to the wire last week, but they’ve got to be mentally checked out at this point. And the Falcons don’t seem like a team to be caught looking ahead – especially considering nobody expected them to be in this position at the start of the season. They should soundly beat the Rams, but their seeding fate is in the hands of the Saints.

Patriots (10-5) at Bills (7-8), 1:00PM ET CBS
New England has looked absolutely dominant the past two weeks, scoring over 40 points in two impressive wins over the Raiders and Cardinals. The Bills have been a major disappointment after getting off to a hot start, but they’re coming off a huge upset win over the Broncos in Denver and have a chance to finish a respectable 8-8. In other words, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park for the Patriots, even though this is a game they should win. The Pats need a victory in Buffalo, coupled with a Dolphins’ loss to the Jets in order to win the AFC East title. The key will be whether or not the Bills can slow down Matt Cassel and the New England offense, which has lit up the scoreboard in bad weather the past two weeks. Buffalo might be a tough place to play, but the Pats won big in a driving rainstorm two weeks ago and then again in a blizzard last Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the New England defense can keep Marshawn Lynch in check, though. Denver could last week and it opened things up for Trent Edwards in the passing game. If the Pats load up against the run and force Edwards to beat them through the air, they should be successful. But unfortunately for them, everything rides on the Jets beating the Dolphins at the Meadowlands.

Giants (12-3) at Vikings (9-6), 1:00PM ET FOX
Even though they can still win the division with a Bears loss in Houston, the Vikings put themselves in an inopportune situation by losing to the Falcons last week – a game in which they lost four fumbles in an otherwise dominant performance. The Giants will start their regulars, although Eli Manning and company will be pulled early in order to avoid injury. Even though they’ll have the pressure to win on their shoulders, this is a great situation for the Vikings. Since there’s a possibility they might face Minnesota again in the playoffs, the Giants are likely to dramatically scale back their game plan in efforts not to show the Vikings too much film. So not only will Minnesota play a bunch of scrubs for three and a half quarters, but they’ll also play a bunch of scrubs with a thin game plan. Unless they’re feeling ultra gracious again like they were last week, there’s no excuse for the Vikings to lose this game and thus, the NFC North crown.

Raiders (4-11) at Buccaneers (9-6), 1:00PM ET FOX
Although a win would go a long way in helping them clinch a Wild Card berth, the Buccaneers are heading in the wrong direction this time of year. Tampa has lost three in a row and outside of an overtime loss to the Falcons two weeks ago, the Bucs have looked as bad as a team could look in the midst of a losing streak. They’re having major issues stopping the run, although they might be getting healthy again along the defensive line, which would help. The Raiders haven’t been able to do much offensively this season, but they’ve had success running the ball. They’re averaging close to 120 yards per game on the ground this year and if they can get the run game working, they could pull off a huge upset. But chances are, Monte Kiffin is going to figure things out and put a defensive plan together to stifle a Raiders’ offense that is barely averaging over 15 points per game this season. I doubt Tampa loses two in a row at home, but anything can happen when a team is in the middle of a losing streak. They need a win over the Raiders, coupled with a Dallas loss at Philadelphia in order to secure the sixth and final playoff spot.

Bears (9-6) at Texans (7-8), 1:00PM ET FOX
The Bears’ playoff fate rests in the hands of the Vikings, who must lose at home against the Giants in order for Chicago to win the NFC North and clinch a postseason berth. The Bears still need to take care of their own business in Houston, or else Minnesota gets in via tiebreakers. Chicago is lucky its still in the race after having to rally late to beat Green Bay on Monday night, although it’s better to be lucky than good this time of year. The Bears need to figure out a way slow down Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson, two players that have played a major role in Houston’s resurgence over the past month. It would help if quarterback Kyle Orton could limit all the mistakes he’s been making, too. Orton has thrown eight interceptions in his last four games, but the Bears have somehow been able to overcome those mistakes and win three of those contests. Best-case scenario for the Bears this Sunday is to get a lead and rely on their defense and special teams to eek out a victory. But in order to do that, Orton better play mistake-free or else it won’t matter what the Vikings do on Sunday against the Giants.

Thanks to Abram Elam, Shaun Ellis and a lot of J.P. Losman’s crap play, the Jets hung onto their first place grasp of the AFC East in Week 15. But the Dolphins also beat the 49ers (albeit in unconvincing fashion) and the Patriots topped the Raiders (in convincing fashion) to stay right in the mix. All three teams currently sit at 9-5 on the season.

Here’s what the three teams have left on their schedule:

Jets: at Seahawks, vs. Dolphins
Dolphins: at Chiefs, at Jets
Patriots: vs. Cardinals, at Bills

If you’re a Jets fan you can’t be feeling to good about things. Not only have the J.E.T.S dropped two of their last three games, but they’re also 0-3 on the West Coast this year and heading to Seattle on Sunday.

The Dolphins are in pretty good shape this week as they face a Chiefs team that is trying to run out the clock on the rest of the season, but their finale in New York is a doozy – especially if the Jets lose this weekend in Seattle. Miami has won just once in its last six trips to the Meadowlands. And while the Dolphin defense has been outstanding of late, the offense has struggled to put up points on against weaker opponents the past three weeks.

Which leads us to the Patriots. A little over a week ago I predicted New England to win the AFC East and I won’t back down now – especially not after they just gorilla-smacked the hapless Raiders in a rainstorm on Sunday. There’s no way Arizona goes into Foxboro this weekend and beats the Patriots. Zero chance. Will not happen. The Cardinals haven’t beaten a quality opponent on the road this year and their defense just allowed Tarvaris Jackson to throw four touchdowns on them at home last week. Believe it or not, Buffalo might turn out to be a tougher game than ‘Zona, only because of the elements. And considering the Pats will likely be playing for the division (and the Bills will still be starting J.P. Losman), I wouldn’t bet against them.

So here is my official prediction: Jets lose in Seattle, Dolphins beat the Chiefs, Patriots beat the Cardinals. Jets beat Miami, but Patriots beat the Bills and claim the AFC East.

Comment fodder: Who do you have winning the AFC East?

Don Banks of SI.com decided to re-do the 2008 NFL Draft after what we know now. (I.e. Matt Ryan is a freak.)

1. Miami Dolphins (Original Pick: Jake Long, OT, Michigan)
RE-DO PICK: MATT RYAN, QB, BOSTON COLLEGE
Chad Pennington has been superb, and Chad Henne is locked and loaded as the Dolphins quarterback of the future. But Ryan is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons ever by a rookie quarterback, and you don’t pass on that given a second chance. Just like Ben Roethlisberger in our inaugural re-draft of 2004, Ryan shoots to the top of the heap.

2. St. Louis Rams (Original Pick: Chris Long, DE, Virginia)
RE-DO PICK: JOE FLACCO, QB, DELAWARE
You think Flacco lingers to No. 18 on the board this time around? Uh, no. It’s a quarterbacks league, and while I’m not sure anyone could win in St. Louis about now, Marc Bulger sure isn’t getting it done. The list of teams that wished it had believed in Flacco last spring is getting longer all the time.

3. Atlanta Falcons (Original Pick: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College)
RE-DO PICK: JAKE LONG, OT, MICHIGAN
Without the Falcons getting their quarterback in this slot, they would turn to their need at left offensive tackle, where they took USC’s Sam Baker after trading back into the first round at No. 21. Long, Ryan Clady and Duane Brown have all excelled at LT this year, but the ex-Wolverine has been a solid pro.

4. Oakland Raiders (Original Pick: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas)
RE-DO PICK: CHRIS JOHNSON, RB, EAST CAROLINA
We all know Al Davis loves speed, but in Johnson he gets speed that has actually produced as a rookie. McFadden has just one 100-yard rushing game, and that came in Week 2. Johnson has been a spectacular season-long contributor to Tennessee’s overwhelmingly successful running game.

5. Kansas City Chiefs (Original Pick: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU)
RE-DO PICK: CHRIS LONG, DE, VIRGINIA
The Chiefs have gotten virtually zero impact out of Dorsey, and they sure could have used some defensive line help to offset the loss of the traded Jared Allen. Long has modest statistics, but his four sacks are a good first step in the right direction. Don’t forget it took Mario Williams until year two to find his groove.

It’s always interesting to look back at the draft every year after most of the regular season has been played out. In April, Glenn Dorsey was arguably the best defender in the draft but as Banks points out, he’s made no impact for the Chiefs. Granted, these players are just 14 weeks into their young careers so a lot could change, but how wrong was everybody (myself included) who suggested the Falcons should have taken Dorsey over Matt Ryan? It would have looked like one of the biggest draft blunders of the year, assuming of course Dorsey was equally ineffective for Atlanta.

Back in October I questioned whether or not former first overall pick JaMarcus Russell was a bust after the Saints’ routed his Raiders 34-3 in Week 6. And after the San Diego Chargers blasted Oakland 34-7 on Thursday night, I’m proposing the question again.

Russell completed 9 of 13 passes, but he two of his three incompletions were interceptions and he threw for just 68 yards. On top of his poor numbers, he was also carted off the field at halftime with an ankle injury. Andrew Walter replaced him in the second half and was equally atrocious, throwing for 61 yards and a pick himself.

In 12 games (he missed one due to injury), Russell has compiled a 70.1 passing rating, 1,797 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions. His completion percentage is a paltry 51.4% and he’s thrown for over 250 yards once this season (Week 4). But perhaps a more telling stat is that he’s been sacked 27 times this year, or 2.25 times a game.

No quarterback, not Brett Favre, Joe Montana or Tom Brady, can do it by himself. I’m not excusing Russell’s play because he has looked absolutely brutal at this season, but how can the Raiders expect this kid to win if they don’t protect him? Furthermore, he doesn’t play in an environment conducive to winning and neither Tom Cable nor Greg Knapp are very good play callers/offensive coordinators. Knapp’s offenses will put you to sleep with their predictability.

Russell needs to show dramatic improvements, but the Raiders front office also has to help him out. Instead of going out and getting a flashy, high-priced free agent wide receiver or drafting another running back, they need to start building an offensive line. Russell will never survive without the big bodies up front to protect him, I don’t care how strong his arm is how or how big he is.

But that’s not Al Davis’s style is it? He wants flash over substance. And that’s why this team is forever doomed with him at the helm. It’s likely Russell will never get a fair shot before being labeled a bust and ushered out of Oakland.

So I’m here to take my medicine after calling the Denver Broncos frauds last week. Not only did the beat the New York Jets 34-17 on Sunday, but they did so in absolutely convincing fashion.

The NFL is an amazing thing. The hapless Oakland Raiders (who lost to the even more hapless Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday) drilled the Broncos last week, while the Jets beat the previously unbeaten Tennessee Titans. This week, the Jets are an 8-point favorite at home and Denver comes out like world-beaters. The Broncos dominated every aspect of this game.

So now what? Are the Broncos for real? Are the Jets a one-hit wonder? Or is this just another case of parity in the NFL? I’ll take Option C. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see opposite performances out of the Jets and Broncos again next week, although I won’t make the same mistake twice in calling Denver frauds. (My deepest apologies, Broncos Nation.)

With San Diego’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday, the Broncos are essentially a lock to win the AFC West. And if Denver’s run defense could play as well as they did against the Jets, they could definitely surprise in the postseason. They just haven’t been consistent this season.

Good thing for the Jets is that the Patriots were waxed by Pittsburgh in Foxboro, so they remain a game above the Patsies and Dolphins in the AFC North. But maybe after this upset, we can all relax on the all-New York Super Bowl.

ESPN.com is reporting that former Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee.

Kiffin, 33, will be making his college head coaching debut in succeeding Phillip Fulmer, who will coach his last game for the Vols on Saturday.

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton denied reports on Wednesday that Kiffin had been offered a contract. But Kiffin has been at the forefront of the Vols’ search for some time.

Part of the holdup is that Tennessee didn’t want to do anything officially this week that would take away from Fulmer’s final game Saturday against Kentucky. Fulmer was fired by Hamilton on Nov. 2 and allowed to finish out the season. He’s been at Tennessee as a player, assistant coach and head coach for 35 years.

The university has dubbed Saturday’s game “Phillip Fulmer Appreciation Day” at Neyland Stadium in celebration of his 17-year tenure.

One of the big draws with Kiffin was the staff that he’ll potentially be able to put together. He’s talked with his father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, about joining him at Tennessee. The elder Kiffin is considered one of the foremost defensive minds in football.

Outside of drawing recruits with his NFL resume, I’m not sure Kiffin is a great fit at Tennessee. But the Vols are in major need of an offensive facelift, which is supposed to be (read: supposed to be) Kiffin’s specialty.

How huge would it be if Lane could convince papa Monte to come up from Tampa and join him? Monte Kiffin’s defenses are always so underrated and he’s easily one of the best schemers in the NFL. It’s doubtful he would leave the Bucs, but one would have to imagine that the temptation to join his son would be strong.

The most fraudulent team in the NFL right now has to be the Denver Broncos. After a comeback victory over the Browns two weeks ago and an impressive win last Sunday in Atlanta, the Broncos got stomped by Oakland 31-10…they lost…to the Raiders…at home.

Somehow the Denver defense limited the Falcons to 20 points last week, but surrendered 31 to a previously two-win Raider team. Not only that, but JaMarcus Russell only attempted 11 passes and completed 10 of those attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown. How does Oakland only attempt 11 passes and win 31-10? Better yet, how do you only score 10 points against the Raiders when you average 24.8 points per game? It’s mind-boggling.

Hey, maybe the Broncos just had an off day. But 31-10 to the Raiders? That’s just embarrassing. I realize that the Raiders do have some talented players and Denver’s defense has been atrocious this season, but how does this happen? The Broncos had zero interest in trying to tackle Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden.

For the Broncos to lose to the Raiders and fall to 6-5 on the season but still lead their division shows you how absolutely brutal the AFC West is this season. It’s a shame that a team like the Colts, Ravens, Patriots or hell, even the Dolphins might miss the playoffs this season, yet this crap Denver team gets in because they play in a joke of a division.

Related Articles: I eat my words after the Broncos beat the Jets in Week 13.

THE LOVE OF SPORTS dedicates one of their latest columns to helping people interpret what their sports dreams mean.

My brother told me about this nightmare he had where Al Davis was chasing him while shouting weird phrases in Latin. He wakes up before he can catch him.
-Dan, CA

Well, there’s an important distinction you failed to mention in your description. Was he chasing him on foot or on a Segway? They mean two different things. If Davis was chasing your brother on foot it could simply mean he has a minor financial matter that’s troubling him. If he was chasing him on a Segway, however, there’s much cause for concern. Is there a history of ‘antichrist’ in your family? You might want to look into it.

I once had a dream I was Tim Kurkjian’s personal masseuse. Am I weird?
-B.

Yes.

I had a dream last night where I was trapped in a hot tub with these girls from Florida State University:

Now take out the words “dreamâ€� and “was trappedâ€� and replace them with “fantasyâ€� and “wishing I was trapped” and you’ll have a more accurate sentence.

The 2008 NFL Season has entered its second half and while some teams are rejoicing over the moves they made this past summer in either signing or trading for players, others are wondering what the hell they were thinking.

Below are five of the best acquisitions from the 2008 NFL offseason, as well as five of the worst. Granted, these moves might look differently at the end of the season or in a year or two, but for now, these are the best of the best and the worst of the worst from the 2008 offseason.

Five Best Offseason Acquisitions:

1. Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons handed “The Burner� a six-year, $34.5 million contract in early March and while some pundits loved the move, others thought it was too much for the unproven Turner, who had spent his entire career backing up LaDainian Tomlinson. But the signing has paid huge dividends for a Falcons team that ranks second in the league in rushing thanks to his bruising running style. He’s formed a nice “Thunder and Lighting� combo with Jerious Norwood and more importantly, has taken a lot of pressure off rookie Matt Ryan by demanding opponents to focus on taking away the run. He hasn’t fared well against top defenses this season, which is a concern, but outside of that he’s been everything Atlanta had hoped for. He has rushed for 890 yards on 203 carries and has scored seven times.

2. Asante Samuel, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
There was a lot of talk last offseason that Samuel would never live up to the hype that surrounded him in New England. But through 10 games this season, it’s hard to argue that the former Patriot hasn’t lived up to his big play billing. Samuel has recorded three interceptions on the year and has fit into Jim Johnson’s defense better than most expected. He’s not a shutdown corner, but he plays well in zone and rarely gets burned deep. He has also helped the Eagles rank sixth in the league in pass defense and ninth overall in yardage allowed. He was pricey at just over $57 million for six years, but so far Samuel has been worth the money.

How bad does a team have to be if the opposing quarterback can go 7 of 27 for 72 yards, throw four interceptions and still win?

That opposing quarterback was Jake Delhomme in the Panthers’ 17-6 win over the Raiders on Sunday. He was worst than the numbers indicate, but while Oakland moved the ball decently, they couldn’t put it in the end zone. They did rush for 147 yards, but Andrew Walter threw two interceptions and Da Raiders turned the ball over a total of three times.

Of course, Walter’s 143 passing yards were still better than JaMarcus Russell’s high of 31 passing yards in last Sunday’s loss against the Falcons. While Walter was far from even below average, he probably was more productive than Russell (who dressed, but sat out due to an injury) would have been.

This could very well be the worst Raiders team in the history of the franchise and Al Davis has nobody to blame but himself. Davis wanted to have his thumb on Lane Kiffin when he was head coach and when Lane didn’t abide, Al saw to it that he was replaced. Well as it turns out, the Raiders were actually still playing hard under Kiffin because they saw direction. There is no direction under interim head coach Tom Cable (not all his fault) and the players are quitting.

Davis won’t, but he needs to step aside. He needs to get a strong front office person in charge to do all the day-to-day operations or else the Raiders will sink further and further into oblivion. Al thinks that flashy draft picks and high priced free agents are what build a winning football team and he’s sadly mistaken.

Somewhere Lane Kiffin smiles and laughs from afar.

The Oakland Raiders officially parted ways with cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday.

Hall admittedly struggled to adapt to the Raiders’ style of man-coverage defense, enough so that Raiders owner Al Davis decided he’d seen enough. Hall is due $16.5 million next season in injury-guaranteed bonuses. Davis would rather take that money and load up a long-term contract offer for cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, according to a league source familiar with the situation.

The Raiders could have let Hall play out the season, but if he gets hurt, they could be on the hook for the injury-proof portion of his deal.

Will wide receiver Javon Walker be the next high-priced player to be waived?

Hall isn’t the only Raider under consideration for release. Wide receiver Javon Walker received an $11 million signing bonus and a $1 million base salary this year, but he has only 13 catches in his first seven games with the Raiders. The other players on Davis’ list are unknown.

This is shocking to say the least. Kind of ironic how Hall was considered by many to be one of the only true “cover corners� left in the league and he couldn’t hack it in man coverage.

Regardless, Al Davis has officially lost his mind. You don’t revive a sinking franchise by paying free agents gobs of money only to release them half way through the season in efforts to hit the reset button and start over. This is Madden 09.

The Raiders are going to be in cap hell for a long time and things only get worse when they have to add another top 5 pick to the roster.

In a surprising development, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that the Oakland Raiders could release cornerback DeAngelo Hall as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

If they do — and the team was planning on doing it Tuesday before it held off — Oakland will have paid Hall $8 million for eight games and Atlanta a second-round pick for the cornerback’s services.

Oakland is planning to waive him now so as to avoid paying Hall the $16 million worth of injury-guaranteed bonuses in his contract. It is too much of a risk for a Raiders team that still needs to do more rebuilding.

If Oakland follows through, Hall would be placed on waivers, leaving playoff contenders with the question of whether they should put in a claim for him. If Hall goes unclaimed, he would be free to sign with any team.

This is absolutely shocking. Schefter doesn’t say why Oakland would be parting with Hall, but one has to wonder if he’s become a distraction not worthy of his play and price tag. Word has it that he was running his mouth off on his former Atlanta teammates in the tunnel at halftime last Sunday, but he would have to have done more than that to deserve a release.

Hall was absolutely abused by Eddie Royal on Monday Night Football in Week 1 and rookie QB Matt Ryan and former teammate Michael Jenkins made him look silly on Sunday, too. But still, Hall is coming off his best year as a pro and it cost the Raiders millions of dollars and multiple draft picks to acquire him from Atlanta. Strange.

No team, not even the Jaguars or Rams, played worse than the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. No team.

In the Falcons’ 24-0 win in Oakland, the Raiders managed just three first downs. Total. Three total first downs. They also mustered only 77 total yards, turned the ball over twice and held the ball for only 14 minutes and 45 seconds compared to the Falcons’ 45:15.

The Raiders finished with 10 passing yards. Ten passing yards…the entire game. At one point, JaMarcus Russell attempted a pass and threw the ball behind him like on those football follies videos.

This game was so bad that once Atlanta took a 24-0 lead with six minutes remaining in the second quarter, they ran out the rest of the game clock. Seriously, I don’t know if the Falcons felt bad for the Raiders or what, but they almost looked like they were purposely trying not to score.

Al Davis is getting what he deserves. He never allowed Lane Kiffin to run the team the way he wanted to and now he’s stuck with a team that clearly doesn’t want to play hard for Tom Cable.

- For the second straight day, Colts’ wideout Reggie Wayne missed practice due to a knee injury. If he doesn’t practice Friday, there’s a good chance he won’t play against New England Sunday night. (Rotoworld.com)

- Steven Jackson’s status for Week 9 is still up in the air after being “limited� in practice on Thursday. Jackson is battling a quad injury. (Belleville News-Democrat)

- Cowboys’ TE Jason Witten will be a game-time decision this Sunday in New York. He did not practice on Thursday as he continues to nurse a rib injury. (DallasCowboys.com)

- Rookie Darren McFadden apparently has turf toe on both of his feet and isn’t expected to play Sunday against the Falcons. (ESPN)

- It might not be this week, but the Lions are expected to give Drew Stanton a shot at quarterback sometime this season according to beat writer Tom Kowalski. (Mlive.com)

The NFL is mixed bag of emotions every week in terms of how teams play from Sunday to Sunday, but it’s fair to at least take an early look at the contenders and pretenders.

Below is a midseason power ranking of all 32 teams. Along with a ranking, each team gets slapped with a “contender,� “pretender,� or “What time does April’s draft start?� label as well.

We’re heading into Week 9. I fully expect that these rankings will mean absolutely nothing by Week 10, but screw it – let’s have some fun.

Midseason Power Rankings

1. Tennessee Titans (6-0)
It’s kind of hard not to rank the only undefeated team left in the NFL at the No. 1 spot, but the Titans also deserve it. Their offense isn’t flashy outside of Rookie of the Year Candidate RB Chris Johnson, but QB Kerry Collins has provided enough savvy veteran play to allow the defense to win ballgames. And speaking of the defense, it might be the most clutch unit in the NFL season.
Midseason Status: Contender

2. New York Giants (6-1)
What the hell happened in Cleveland two weeks ago? Eli Manning looked like…well…he looked like Eli Manning pre-postseason 2007 and the defense clearly had no idea how to stop Derek Anderson and that high-powered Browns’ offense (read the sarcasm please). Still, the defending champs have four things going for them right now that make them the best team in the NFL: A quarterback, a running game, a defense that gets after the quarterback and they can win on the road.
Midseason Status: Contender

3. New England Patriots (5-2)
People are just going to think I’m putting the Pats this high because they’re the Pats. But the reason why I’m putting the Pats this high is because Bill Belichick is on a mission to prove people wrong. And once he sets his sites on proving people wrong, nothing can stop him. Not even Tom Brady on the sideline.
Midseason Status: Contender

4. Carolina Panthers (6-2)
Their win against Arizona in Week 8 was unimpressive to say the least, but good teams find ways to win even when they don’t play that well. I think this team has a ton of fraud in them, but it’s hard to argue with how well the defense is playing and how much of a different team they are with Jake Delhomme under center. If they can keep running the ball as well as they have, Carolina will win the NFC South.
Midseason Status: Contender

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
The Steelers should have beaten the Giants last Sunday – plain and simple. They had control of the game but a botched snap and some failed protection for Ben Roethlisberger cost them a win. I still think the offensive line is going to be an issue all season, but every time you think Pittsburgh is going to take a step back and start stumbling, they prove that they can win tight games with key players on the sidelines.
Midseason Status: Contender