The Raiders were a bunch of zeros. I never thought I'd say this: I feel sorry for the Raiders. Not sorry enough, of course, to ROOT for them to beat anybody. But sorry for the few quality players still on the team. And after Thursday's loss, the long laundry list of problems was hung out to dry.

Players laughed in the locker room after the embarrassment. Other players criticized the laughers. The coach sided with the criticizers, thus pitting one group of players against another. On Wednesday, QB JaMarcus Russell had blown off an interview with the NFL Network announcers, so they chewed him out on TV during the game.

On the field, the Raiders will be the only team to lose at least 11 games in six consecutive seasons when they fall to the Patriots on Dec. 14. And this is a team that went to the Super Bowl in 2002. The Raiders make the up-and-down Eagles look downright impressive.

Go west There is no doubt that Toronto lured the Bills with big bucks to play Sunday's game against the Dolphins north of the border to showcase the city's viability for an NFL expansion team. There is also speculation that Toronto might not mind taking over the Bills if the team is sold when 90-year-old owner Ralph Wilson dies.

The NFL insists that Los Angeles is its first target for a new team. But what about Oakland? Don't the long-suffering fans there deserve a pro team?

Contact staff writer Gary Miles

at 215-854-4487 or gmiles@phillynews.com.