PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Shell Says Bye for the Weekend

After having a short week of practice due to the bye Sunday, the Raiders will not practice this weekend.

Coach Art Shell hopes that the Raiders will be able to regroup for the second half of the season beginning Nov. 8 at Philadelphia.

“We wanted to give the guys some time off and relax a little bit,” Shell said. “But I know that I’ll probably have some withdrawal fever Sunday from not coaching.”

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With a 3-5 record, the Raiders will need to make a strong second-half run in order to make the playoffs.

For the last two seasons, Shell has been able to motivate the Raiders with mini-season slogans and they responded with late-season winning streaks.

In 1990, the Raiders won six of their last seven games to finish 12-4. Last season, they won four in a row after their midseason bye. However, Shell is not using any rallying cry this year.

“No, there won’t be anything like that,” Shell said. “We have to get even first, to get to .500 and then we can go from there.”

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While the Raiders will be enjoying a weekend off, Philadelphia has an important NFC East showdown at Dallas Sunday.

The Raiders hope that it will be to their advantage in having an extra week to prepare for Philadelphia, but Shell has a another idea for Eagle quarterback Randall Cunningham.

“I hope he gets the flu,” Shell said. “A flu that lasts 10 to 12 days.”