ALAMEDA — Fired Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan did a passable job of hiding their disdain toward each other. Yet, every now and then, the enmity surfaced.
For instance, Kiffin distanced himself from his defense's poor performance in a season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos by saying Ryan and managing general partner Al Davis conspired on the defensive game plans.
Ryan, for the most part, has taken the proverbial high road. On Wednesday, Ryan spoke of life after Kiffin, who was fired Sept. 29.
"It's a great breath of fresh air having Tom Cable come in," Ryan said of Kiffin's replacement. "We've got a ... good leader in front of the group now, and everything's fine."
Kiffin fired Ryan soon after last season ended. Davis intervened, reinstated Ryan and instructed Kiffin to live with the decision or resign.
Even then, Ryan felt as if Kiffin singled him out for more than his share of the blame when things went awry.
"I felt a lot of stuff was pointed at the defense that I wasn't necessarily agreeing with," Ryan said. "It seemed like every different game was the defense's fault."
Kiffin could not be reached for comment.
Thomas for AlstonThe injury sustained by special-teamer Jon Alston on Sunday against the New York Jets turned out to be more serious than the Raiders envisioned.
Tests conducted Monday revealed a sprained left foot that necessitated Alston's missing practice Wednesday. Cable said he is in a "wait-and-see" mode as far as determining Alston's availability for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens.
As a result, the Raiders re-signed Robert Thomas as a means of replacing Alston on special teams. Thomas spent the past two seasons with the Raiders. He was released — Thomas and the Raiders reached an injury settlement — the week before the regular-season opener because of a knee injury he sustained in practice.
"I'm happy to be back," Thomas said.
Fullback Justin Griffith practiced in Alston's personal protector spot on punt plays.
Janikowski honoredRaiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his three field goal effort against the Jets. His strong showing was punctuated by a game-winning 57-yard field goal in overtime. That set the franchise record and the league mark for longest field goal in overtime.
Extra pointsDefensive end Derrick Burgess (triceps) and defensive tackle Gerard Warren (foot) missed practice. Warren is expected back at practice today, Cable said. Burgess' status for Sunday is uncertain. He has missed Oakland's past two games. "... Thomas' No. 55 was taken by Alston once Thomas was removed from the 53-man roster. Therefore, Thomas switched to No. 94.
— Steve Corkran
http://www.contracostatimes.com/raiders/ci_10788511
