Perspective

My good friend Charity traveled back from visiting family in Michigan for Christmas and brought me a copy of the Detroit Free Press. On the front page of the sports section, columnist Michael Rosenberg is busily tracking the Lions' "Road to XVI" losses. His only partly sarcastic Christmas installment? "Oh, for the glory days of Fontes."

Ouch.

Thankfully, the Raider glory days were actually glorious - and some of them occurred recently enough to remember. In recent years, things often have been more spectacularly bad, but at least there are seemingly promising moments to give us false hope. One such moment came this past Sunday during perhaps the Raiders' finest effort of the 2008 season.

There are poetic possibilities this week. Back-to-back wins to head into the offseason. A changing of the guard with young team leaders emerging all over the offense. JaMarcus figuratively stepping up in the pocket to begin to avoid the oncoming rush of "bust" tags. Gruden. Kiffin. Memories of Super Bowl XXXVII.

Despite being probably the only NFL franchise with a team poem, the Raiders have offered anything but poetic results in recent years. Odds are, the Houston game was nothing but another head fake from a team still looking for its nadir.

But at least Sunday's game is worth watching, and Johnny and I plan to give it the live blog treatment. As a Christmas present, Jerry does nice job of outlining the positives with today's Raiders. I think the Gallery comment was about the nicest to read.

It could be worse.