Cable: Without Russell, we're in playoffs

Cable began his news conference with a requisite reliving of Sunday's 23-9 loss in Cleveland, then said he expected Charlie Frye to start at quarterback again when Baltimore visits the Coliseum in the season finale Sunday.

If Jamarcus Russell has something to prove, he probably won't get a chance until next season. Cable and the Raiders can't sacrifice the meager dignity of finishing at 6-10, which would be the team's best record since 2002, to the lost cause of cultivating a No. 1 draft pick who did little but regress when he held the starting job.

"I think this is a big game for this team," Cable said, "and as I said when I made this switch (away from Russell) initially, (it gives) us the best chance to win."

Asked whether the Raiders would be playoff-bound if they had received an average or better performance from their quarterback, Cable quietly and succinctly made the strongest statement of the afternoon: "Without even asking that question, you know that we would have."

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