Must Post

It's happening again. I'm getting excited. Curse this Silver & Black disease! Ah, who am I kidding...I love the Raiders no matter how many 11-loss seasons they rack up. In fact absence is likely making my heart grow fonder for Raider victories.

How can one not be excited by Jerry's post today? There's reason for optimism:

• Mental mistakes are down. Wow!
• Tyvon Branch sounds like a quality safety.
• Mario Henderson suddenly belongs at LT, and because of his play!
• JaMarcus has looked sharp in more than one practice.
• Schilens!
• Jon Alston not only has grabbed onto the SLB position, he's also getting into skirmishes every day.

Another reason for excitement: Jerry's and David White's Twitter feeds. Revolutionary.

I also managed to get Jerry to reply to two of my questions during today's live chat:

1:16	[Comment From DH] The standard answer to how the Raiders will stop the run in 2009 is "better teaching." Do they look more disciplined in this regard, is the emphasis on run fits new, etc.? Or will it come down to personnel changes (e.g., Morrison/Brown, Tyvon Branch, Ellis)?

11:17

jerrymac: No way to know until they face a team that is bent on running them into the ground and they prove they can stop it. That doesn't happen in practice. They do seem to have cleaned things up in a lot of areas because of the `learning phase.' Maybe the run game will be one of those things as well.

12:01

[Comment From DH] Mario as LT seems to be a foregone conclusion, and we know Al's opinion carries weight. But it sounds like he's actually playing well. Has he locked onto the spot with his play?

12:02

jerrymac: The job is his, barring injury.