Despite win, Raiders still must improve

October 19, 4:30 PMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

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Following the Raiders upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, Tom Cable chided the local media for reporting about the lack of leadership on offense and other negative issues surrounding the Raiders. However, in today's press conference Cable did admit that the Oakland Raiders still have a ways to go before they are the team they want to be.

Raiders defense brings down McNabb for one of their six sacks
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Cable summed up the Raiders win as a "Tremendous team effort by our football team," but more importantly to the long term health of the Raiders franchise he also was emphatic in saying, "The most important thing for us to do now is realize the fact that we still have to get better in some areas."

He pointed of Louis Murphy's downfield blocking on the Zach Miller touchdown as an example of the type of attitude that they need to fight for each other. "hopefully we'll take from it the how-to in terms of fighting for each other, playing for each other. The best example is the Zach Miller touchdown and the effort obviously by Louis Murphy I think really shows what we're trying to be as a football team and we'll just continue to harp on those things and keep building it in what we think is the right way."

Whilst, this game seemed like it was dominated by the Raiders, Cable did not see it that way. He took the win as a sign of a team scratching and fighting for every moment in order to bring home a win. "We just kept fighting and kept going back out. It didn't matter if it was a kicking situation or offense or defense."

Despite the fighting and clawing, Cable also reiterated that this one game does not suddenly mean the Raiders have arrived. They have proved that when they bring the fight they can win. Cable expects after this game that they will bring the fight every Sunday. "The most important thing, as I said, is for us to realize today after watching this film that we have many areas to get better as a football player and as a football team but an area in which I'm, and I told them this, I'm going to assume now that you will bring the fight every Sunday. I feel good about saying that and that's what I want to take from that football game."

Cable would not address the lack of production by the receivers when asked. Instead, he deflected back to the improvements as well as a need for further improvement, "We have a long way to go offensively to get where we want to be. Yesterday, we hung in there and battled the right way. We blocked a little bit better. We did throw some balls off target and all that but we made a couple of plays, we made one big play, we were able to use the backs throwing the football a little bit yesterday. It's all a concern, really. We have a long way to go. We have to get better."

Cable said that they were just able to pull it together on Sunday for the win. ""I think when you're trying to learn to win and you have issues going on- maybe it's youth, maybe this, maybe a lineman out, maybe it's someone wants to talk about your run defense - I think people tend to get kind of scatterbrained when you throw all those issues. They make too much out of all of that instead of just worrying about us, worrying about our purpose. Like I told 'em before, I know we have good players. Whether or not ya'll agree with me, it doesn't matter. That's what I believe and that's what it is. And I know we have enough scheme. And so in order to prove it, you have to go out and take a win. You have to go get it. You have to get it, reach for it with both hands and grab it And that's what we did yesterday. We fought for ourselves. That's the only way to look at it. This league is so even and so balanced when it really gets down to who's got what on paper, and it's the teams that will continue to improve fundamentally and the teams that will go out every Sunday and fight their rear ends off for each other, they're the best teams in this league. And when that happens enough, you gain confidence. And that's what we need to do, is to do it enough to gain confidence to be the kind of team we think we can be."

But despite the win, Cable cautioned that the team still had to go right back to work, "It's just we feel good about yesterday. You have to put them together. You have to put them together, you have to have consistency. So, today we feel good. We have to go back to work this afternoon."

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You can also find Patrick Patterson on Thoughts from the Dark Side.