ALAMEDA -- The day after the season finale always feels like the last day of school, what with so many players cleaning out their lockers, attending exit meetings and hitting the bricks for home.And so it was Monday in the heart of Silver and Blackdom, less than 24 hours after the Raiders fell on their faces against San Diego, losing 38-26, when a victory would have garnered Oakland first place in the AFC West and a home playoff game against Pittsburgh next week.A sampling, then, of players in the final media availability session in the Raiders locker room on Monday morning...
Shane Lechler, on how much of a disappointment Sunday's loss was: "That one hurt, man. Its been a long time, though, since we had anything to play for around here. We just let a great opportunity go.Tyvon Branch, on how he'd feel if defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan was fired: "I mean, I understand it's a business at the end of the day. Some things are out of our control. I'm a player. I stay on the players' page."Cooper Carlisle, on if this 8-8 finish feels different than last season's 8-8: "Yeah, it definitely had a different feel but, at the end of the year, we're in the same position as far as being out of the playoffs. You can look to a lot of things. You lose your starting quarterback, you lose arguably the best guy on your team for most of the year. But, at the same time, that happens throughout the NFL."Quentin Groves, on his relationship with the fans: "First off I just want to say thank you. Thank them for eight sellouts. Not heard of in this league. But I just wants to say thank you to them for all the love and the gracious support they showed us. I love them to death. I might sign to another team next year but at the end of the day, I'm still a Raider. Deep down in my heart I'm still a Raider."Richard Seymour, on if the Raiders need an "attitude adjustment," as claimed by coach Hue Jackson: "I just think we need to pay more attention to detail. Everyone has to be on the same page, there has to be one voice and obviously, given where we are at this point we didn't get that done. So, I am sure we have people in the right places to make the decisions to get this team better, and we're going to need that."Lechler, on the season filled with distractions: "Yeah, we had a lot of things go (on), but it's the Raiders. There's always stuff. It's part of it."Branch, on if the Raiders would have had different results if the team had stayed healthy: "Yeah, definitely. We've got to go back to the drawing board and, obviously, discipline is a big factor that we have to work on this offseason. I think that's our main thing, is our discipline, so we can execute better."Carlisle, on if he thinks the Raiders are good enough to compete as currently constructed: "I do. This team could be really good next year. The basic building blocks are in place. The team has a chance to be good. That being said, you have to win games."Groves, on losing his starting job to Aaron Curry: "I have no hard feeling toward the organization for what they did. They went out and searched and found a better player, who's a more natural hitter, put him in that spot and he did great so, I have no doubts, no regrets, nothing sad to say about that."Seymour, on if Coach Jackson had the players' ears: "Yeah, I think we all follow Coach Jackson from Day 1, from building a bully to, you know, being consistent and getting our job done. We let him down in that fashion. Like I said, it's frustrating, it's disappointing for sure. But when it came down to it, we still had an opportunity to win and we didn't get it done."Lechler, on where Jackson is taking the team: "I'm confident in the direction we're going. There's going to be changes, I'm sure, like there always is, every year, no matter what. But I'm pretty sure there will be some personnel changes that need to be made. We'll see."Branch, on how the Raiders might fix their penalty issues: "I don't know. Just getting smarter, man, go back out and watch the film and seeing how we was making our mistakes -- the offsides and the P.I.s and the personal fouls. You know, try to eliminate those things out of the game and go back to the drawing board, like I said, and start from scratch, and work on the discipline factor."Carlisle, on the finality of it all: "Yeah, it's definitely tough to swallow. We didn't know the exact scenario would play out, but it turns out if we win that game, we're preparing for Pittsburgh. Instead, I'm cleaning shoes out of the locker."Groves, on if he could say where the season slipped away for the Raiders, who lost four of their last five games: You can't. You actually, you can't because you don't know. So this offseason willGod has a way of making you sit down and think, so this offseason you have to take a long, hard look at yourself and say 'What didn't I do?'"Seymour, on if there needs to be changes to personnel: "I'm not sure, I don't make those decisions. You have to talk to the people who make those decisions. As a player, you know, you always want to prepare yourself in the offseason to be the best you know you can be and, you know, everyone take on that same mindset. We have a lot of time now to kind of sit back, and you know, I definitely won't be watching the other teams finish it off, but it is what it is."Lechler, on the fan support shown this season: "I think they believed in us. Any time you've got eight sellouts, hell, the year we went to the Super Bowl we didnt sell out (every) game. It just shows that they believe in us and I feel bad for them, for not giving them what they want or need or deserve., But I'll be here next year."
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