Raiders interim head coach Tom Cable held his first weekly news conference and was highly likable.

He wore a red t-shirt and jeans and seemed like the most regular guy and he predicted the Raiders will beat the Jets and he said the Raiders are a good team and he said he has good communication with Al Davis. And he was self-deprecating, which played very well to the sportswriters.

Here’s what I mean. He said he was disappointed in JaMarcus Russell, in how remedial the QB is, certainly expected more completions, certainly expected Russell to have better mechanics of foot placement, etc. Then he said, “It might be easy to say, ‘Well, why didn’t you know that before?’ Well, I’ll tell you why. Because I’m standing down there with a bunch of 300-pound guys – that’s what it is, coaching the offensive line and doing the job I was hired to do. This role obviously for me has expanded in terms of the big picture. Now I know a lot more about this football team.”

You sure hope Cable succeeds as head coach, can master the big picture. But the big picture at the Raiders is very weird and you wonder if he can succeed — if anyone can.

For my take on Cable’s chances, read my Tuesday column.

— Lowell