Fans so vulnerable and anxious that they fall in love with a journeyman who occasionally completes a third-down pass, wide receivers coming and going without leaving an imprint, running on third-and-long.
And, of course, the owner's eternal but mostly futile search for an arm capable of flicking long spirals that reach the end zone.
These are symptoms, indicators of an ongoing problem but hardly the root, and beyond them is an ugly truth about the Raiders: In an NFL where passing is the key to a prosperous offense, they are profoundly ill-equipped. It wouldn't matter if Bill Belichick replaced Tom Cable as head coach, probably wouldn't matter if Tom Brady and Peyton Manning replaced Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback. The talent shortage on offense explains part of Cable's inconsistency, much of his indecision and practically all of his insecurity.
Oakland's offensive line is appreciably better at run-blocking than pass-blocking -- it excels at neither -- so Cable turns to an offensive line coach's comfort food, the run. The lack of playmakers at wideout has offensive coordinator Hue Jackson devising schemes that lean on running backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.
Because NFL coaches and scouts eventually find every strength and weakness, shortcomings can't hide for long. That's why today's game at San Diego poses a perhaps insurmountable challenge -- even though the Raiders eight weeks ago waxed the Chargers at the Coliseum.
The Chargers are deeper, stronger, more confident -- and more aware of what Oakland has -- than they were in early October. Making their typical second-half run and coming off a 36-14 torching of the Colts in Indianapolis, the Chargers appear to be on a speed rail to the playoffs.
The Raiders, by contrast, are careening toward the unknown. The coaches and at least some of the players realize the team is too talent-deficient to sustain the momentum generated a month ago.
They're not deep enough to play consistently strong defense. Defensive end Trevor Scott is out for the season, and an assortment of injuries -- Nnamdi Asomugha, Richard Seymour, Chris Johnson and Rolando McClain to name four of the afflicted -- have stripped the unit of its chemistry and swagger. A defense with nine- or 10-win potential has slipped to such a degree that it's more likely to lose that many games.
Yet it's Oakland's offensive limitations that sabotage actual growth. The Raiders simply don't have the goods required to move the ball through the air. They know it, and so does the rest of the league.
Cable's over-reliance on Gradkowski, which often gave the appearance of twisted loyalty, was really about survival. Gradkowski was the preferred starter because he operated better amid the chaos of constant pressure. Campbell runs to stay upright. "Bruuuce" runs because extending the play is his greatest asset.
Creating offense, no matter the quarterback, was Cable's only chance to keep his job. I say "was" because Tom's prospects for returning in 2011 have taken a sharp turn for the worse. His job at the moment is no more secure than that of embattled 49ers coach Mike Singletary.
Cable surely realizes he's working with the same handicap as his predecessor, Lane Kiffin, who inherited from Art Shell. All three were handed some of the sorriest pass-game personnel in NFL history.
The Raiders this season rank 27th in passing yardage. They were 29th last season, last in 2008 and next-to-last in each of the two seasons before that.
The last time there was the slightest rumor of a passing game in Oakland, Norv Turner was coaching Kerry Collins, who was throwing to the likes of Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry and Randy Moss.
As pass offenses around the league have opened up, Oakland's search for a reliable QB has gone through no fewer than a dozen quarterbacks since 2005. The search for productive wideouts has resulted in more than 20 different receivers.
And the searches continue.
That's how, in a league with Brady and Manning and Drew Brees and Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers, fans drop their standards low enough to buy the mirage offered by a modest talent like "Bruuuce."
The Raiders hope Campbell can be the quarterback, but they know he's miscast behind such a leaky O-line. They hope Louis Murphy will become consistent but wonder if he can. They hope Jacoby Ford can be the deep threat Darrius Heyward-Bey hasn't been, but they don't know if Campbell -- or any other QB -- will have time to deliver those pretty spirals desired by boss Al Davis.
So they turn to the run. Cable on Friday conceded they have no chance to win unless they can run effectively.
He's right. In today's NFL, where offenses are driven by quarterbacks and game-breaking wideouts, that a searing indictment of his roster.
