Oakland Raiders: Lane Kiffin - "Hey Mister, Have You Seen a Football Team Around Here?"

I had high hopes for Lane Kiffin. After the complete carnage USC wrought the last year he was with the Trojans, I thought, "Oh boy, with the No. 3 defense and Lanes' offensive skills, the Raiders are going to pwn the AFC West!" As you all know... Didn't happen that way. The play I remember most is from the game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders had the ball on the 28-yard line and faced a fourth down and inches. But instead of taking what would have been an easy kick for Janikowski, they went for it and failed. They wound up losing that game by 2 points. Bad play was not as much of a factor in the loss as bad decision making. All the great coaches say that you never chase points unless you have to. That means when you're down 6-0 in the first quarter and you have a chance to kick a field goal, you do it. I don't know if Lane is rattled by the dominant ego of Al Davis, or if being a head coach in the NFL is too great a burden for him. Lord knows it's humbled even the ... [link]