Though the Oakland Raiders lost to the San Diego Chargers, quarterback JaMarcus Russell seems to think he did a good job and honestly looking at the Raiders at the moment, he certainly did.

Though he did not complete a touchdown pass and only threw one interception and also one fumble, Russell passed for 109 yards.

The major problem with the Raiders is not Russell, it’s the structure of the team.

When you examine the Raiders properly, the problems go beyond just the quarterback, it stems to the offensive line, the rushing game, the defense and not to forget the controversy surrounding coach Tom Cable and allegedly hitting his assistant and also his past alleged assault on women.

Set aside Cable for a minute and look deeper into the fabric that is the Raiders, they have averaged a measly and laughable 9.8 ppg this season. That number places Oakland as the 31st ranked team in the NFL; actually better than one franchise.

But when it comes to yards, they are dead last with 215.8 yards per game. It is pitiful because the Raiders once was a storied franchise, but now currently a shadow of it’s self. In eight starts so far this season, franchise quarterback Russell has thrown nine interceptions, fumbled the ball six times, but get this, he has been sacked 23 times and counting.

A quarterback can only do so much in the game, which includes evading tackles looking for open players and hoping the offensive line can block for him long enough for the quarterback to find an open target and move the chains forward.

Where was the Oakland defense that allowed Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson to rush for two touchdowns? That also meant the Chargers at home have defeated the Raiders seven straight times, but 13 straight times the Raiders have lost to the Chargers making it the longest active winning streak in the NFL as one team has the upper hand over the other.

Coach Cable also thinks Russell did a good job in that loss that extended the Chargers’ streak.

“I thought he did some really good things that way today,” Cable said. “Very much seemed to be in control today. A couple of throws he'd probably like to have over again but for the most part he gave us a chance to win today and that's what you ask your quarterback to do.”

Though the expectations should be higher in Oakland, you cannot but help to ask why Russell is throwing short passes rather than long. Maybe there is no one catching the long passes he’s thrown in the past. Maybe he needs more options and help overall for the team to get back to where it once was as a major factor in the NFL.

With a bye week this Sunday, the Raiders will need to focus on working with Russell; his wide receivers from Zach Miller, to Louis Murphy and Darius Heyward-Bey. Along with the defense which has not shown any drive especially after getting blown out 38-0 by the New York Jets.

This team needs to return to the same attitude that gave them a surprise win against the Philadelphia Eagles even if it the eventual score was 13-9, and also their close win against divisional foes the Kansas City Chiefs. Oakland has two wins this season and it is no fluke that if the team plays together as one, they can get more wins with Russell as their quarterback.

It might be too much to ask, but the fans deserve better from their players and reflection this bye week should help when they return and host a team they already beat this season; the Chiefs.