Every cloud has a silver-and-black lining

Things look bleak on the ' horizon, with the team recently sinking to 2-7 after a terrible loss to the Chicago Bears. The fat lady's not singing yet, but right about now she's stretching her lungs in the wings while corpses litter the stage. Despite some uninspired play (most overwhelmingly by the offense), however, a few bright spots poked out from behind the cloud clover last Sunday. A silver-and-black lining, if you will. By the numbers, Raider positivity might include the following.Fourteen. The number of return yards to which the Steelers 6 Super Bowl Champions jersey
already immortal Devin Hester was held after head coach Lane Kiffin's announcement early last week that his guys would in fact punt to the special-teams stud. While pundits were shocked and affronted by Kiffin's suggestion, the manly men among us admired the brave chutzpah shown by the coach; Oakland's special teams delivered, keeping the machine down to just over a dozen yards on six punts.Six for 46, as in penalties and yardage. The Raiders are a bottom-10 team in terms of penalties incurred this season, but while the defense clamped down Sunday, it kept itself under control in terms of mental errors. And the biggest penalty of the day went against Chicago's ST unit: holding on a big Devin Hester return.Fifty-two. This writer can't let the opportunity pass to again praise the Sebastian "The Polish Hammer" Janikowski. Unfortunately, Janikowski's 52-yarder in the fourth quarter went for naught after the Rex Grossman-led comeback (!), but it was an admirable boot nevertheless. In accounting for all the Raider scoring for the second time in three weeks, Janikowski is solidifying his claim to status as the team's 2007 MVP.Seventy-eight. A number to exemplify the best performance the Oakland 'D' has put in this season against the run. The league worst against the run trimmed their average yards allowed nearly in half, and the Bears managed just 2.3 per carry against a Raider squad that typically allows a crazy 5.1. All in all, Cedric Benson's boastful implication that "the sun will be shining soon" for him was eclipsed by the silver and black.56:41. That's the amount of time Oakland spent leading or tied in the game, until a 59-yard Grossman (!) strike to Bernard Berrian with just over 3 minutes remaining ultimately provedSteelers 36 Bettis Jersey
enough to win a mostly offense-free game. At least the Raider 'D' can take pride in a good show.46.52 - Josh McCown's QB rating for the game (and that doesn't even account for the fourth-quarter fumble). Hey, at least the Raiders are a week closer to JaMarcus Russell's debut.Sunny and optimistic all year-round at