Renaming the Hater of the Week Award

I was checking various reactions to the Nmamdi and Lechler signings, when I came across Nancy Gay's dispatch from the Scouting Combine about Tom Cable. It really is remarkable, and you should read the whole thing. Here are some money quotes:

Cable believes in building through the draft and not free agency. It just so happens that the Raiders' punter and cornerback who just won the NFL lottery this week were Oakland draft selections.

That's a nice change for the Raiders. They were bound to overspend in free agency anyway. At least now they did it with home-grown, known quantities.

And there's this:

As a former college coach and a longtime position coach, Cable always has enjoyed breaking down game film on players. It's a discipline that not all NFL head coaches employ. But the good ones - Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells - tend to relish doing it.

"For example, as an offensive-line coach, I've always made my own (video) cutups," Cable said. "One of the things that works for me in Oakland, I like to break down each kid over and over."

Like Belichick, Cable will even go back and look at how a potential draft pick performed in high school. For example, after a good or bad game, who did he seek out first: his parents or his posse?

"You put your stock in this: How they prepared themselves for this? Are they in shape? Did they improve themselves physically? You get a chance to talk to them face to face," Cable said of his combine experience this week.

The Raiders already knew what they had in Lechler and Asomugha. Now it's up to Cable to find the next slam dunk draft picks for the Raiders, and you get the sense he has a good idea how to do that.

I mean, wow. I know she's not saying, "Tom Cable is the next Bill Belichick." But this is a downright rosy assessment of the Raiders' offseason so far, and practically glowing prose about Coach Cable.

Dan always likes to say that the best time to be a Raiders fan is in the offseason. This year it's especially true.

And the Hater of the Week Award is no longer named after Nancy Gay.