Throw Some Furniture, Norv!

I hate to kick the Raiders when they're down. I love the Raiders. But tough love is what they need right now. So I'm going to rant about the tackling. Specifically, the open field tackling. The Patriots game was 2004 all over again.

Did you see the Eagles and Falcons last night? That was an awesome display of crisp, disciplined tackling by both teams. This is in stark contrast to the Silver and Black, who just rarely seem to have the correct angle or timing (with apologies to Charles Woodson, who can definitely tackle, at least when he's in the mood).

I'm not talking about the initial separation that receivers are getting (and they're getting a lot, which is another big problem), but how the linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks execute after the catch. And it's not pretty.

Now, what are Norv Turner, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and the Raiders defensive backfield doing about this? Compared to the teams cited above, the backfield schemes and performance remain positively infantile.

Norv, it's time to stop being chagrined and start getting pissed off. Throw some furniture. Bench the underperformers. Bring in some hungry players from the practice squad. Anything besides subjecting us to more of the same.