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TMCNet: Raiders amazed how Cable copes, giving them hope

[December 19, 2009]

Raiders amazed how Cable copes, giving them hope

Dec 19, 2009 (Contra Costa Times - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- Time and again, Raiders players wondered if the day had arrived when coach Tom Cable just couldn't withstand any more.

Had the latest news-making incident pushed their leader over the edge and in search of a way out? Would managing general partner Al Davis or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell intervene? What was Cable's breaking point? Four months later, no one yet knows just how much Cable can shoulder, but his players are amazed at the way he has comported himself in the face of so much scrutiny.

"A lesser man would have cracked under the kind of pressure he's been under this year for different reasons," defensive end Jay Richardson said, shaking his head. "There's been a lot of different episodes, especially early on in the year. He never let it distract us. Whether it got to him or not, we'll never know, because he keeps a cool head and he just does his job." There were those who didn't think Cable would make it out of training camp, typically the time when only players have such a concern.

What was supposed to be Cable's golden year, his first full season as an NFL coach, unraveled well before the first game was played.

Cable wound up the focus of a national story less than three weeks into camp once news broke of defensive assistant Randy Hanson being treated at a Napa hospital for a broken jaw, he alleged, from of a punch by Cable.

The Napa Police Department and the NFL investigated, while Cable maintained his innocence. The Napa County District Attorney's Office reviewed the findings of the Napa Police investigation and opted against filing any charges.

On Nov. 1, ESPN aired a report that featured Cable's first wife, Sandy, and a former girlfriend, Marie Lutz, telling a national audience that Cable was physically abusive toward them.

Again, the league and the Raiders found no grounds for disciplining Cable after investigating the claims.

Punter Shane Lechler said he and his teammates often wondered when the never-ending barrage of questions, probing and criticism would get to Cable.

"There was a time when you're, like, 'Man, we'll see how he rebounds from this or what his mood is like,' ". Lechler said.

Cable fielded question after question without raising his voice, losing his temper or straying from the task.

"Every morning, he's the same guy," Lechler said. "Going to the team meeting every morning, he's the same guy. He's talking about football, what we need to do to win the game, how we can win the game and why we should win the game. Never one time did he waver." Through it all, Cable has kept his focus on the Raiders and doing everything he can to get them out of a six-year funk. They are 4-9 entering Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos but still have a chance to win more games than any of the previous six Raiders teams.

"I'm here to be the Oakland Raiders football coach and get this team to win and turn it around," Cable said. "That needed to be my focus, and it was. ... We have a job to do, and you stay the course." Cable's current high-wire act demonstrates enough progress this season to return for another season.

Davis can't say Cable hasn't worked hard enough. Cable oversees the personnel department, calls the offensive plays and has a heavy say in coaching the offensive line, in addition to all his other responsibilities.

"If you look at what's going on in his personal life and what has happened and as far as not getting off to a good start, that guy has really, really kept his eye on the bull's eye," Lechler said.

"He had a quarterback change, and that can go either way, especially with Al. It has worked out for him. My hat's off to the guy." ___ (c) 2009, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

Visit the Contra Costa Times on the Web at http://www.contracostatimes.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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