I'm standing on the sideline in Napa during Raiders practice talking with a team official.  I  see a ballboy running around and replacing the ball as the team works on its two-minute drill.

Suddenly I realize: That's not a ballboy, It's the head coach!

Yeah , first-time head coach Lane Kiffin is 32 years old, but I'd be shocked if he doesn't get carded going into R-rated movies, because he looks about 16.

Kiffin was running around, keeping the tempo up at a spirited team practice on a cloudy, cool morning in wine country. He's the latest in a long line of coaches charged with bringing back "the greatness of the Raiders". That's a huge task.

Kiffin's the Raiders' fifth different head coach in the last seven seasons.  It's been four years since the Silver and Black appeared in the Super Bowl. In that span, the team is 15-49.

As the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons would say, "WORST. RECORD. EVER."

Maybe not ever, but certainly over the last four years.  

That 15-49 mark is worse than the Detroit Lions. Worse than the Arizona Cardinals.

Well, at least, it can't get any worse. But can it get any better?

How can it not?

With a defense that finished ranked third overall at the end of the season, all the Raiders need is just a little help from the offense.

JaMarcus Russell won't be providing that help anytime soon, as he and the Raiders still seem to be far apart on contract talks. And after watching the other QBs at camp, it's easy to see why Daunte Culpepper was brought in.

To be kind, let's just say that both Josh McCown and Andrew Walter ... uhh...well ... let's just say they struggled.

The hope is that Culpepper can pick up the offense quickly enough and that his knee is healthy enough after two surgeries for two different injuries to take over before Week 1.

Lamont Jordan has to be more durable than he has been since the Raiders paid him the big free-agent money to become "the man" rather than splitting time as he did with the Jets.

Robert Gallery has to prove he was worthy of being the No. 2 pick.

The thing is, these are all problems that Oakland knew it had regardless of who was hired to be the new head coach. They're Kiffin's problems now.

It's early in the process, not even a full week into training camp, so it's hard to judge whether or not those issues have been corrected. Heck, we won't truly know until games are being played.

But I will say that after watching the team at work, I saw nothing to convince me that they have been .... at least not yet.

Next Stop: Seattle

I'm sitting here in my hotel room in Santa Clara. Almost Famous (an underrated movie, btw) is on T.V. right now. The kid who plays the Rolling Stone writer just told Kate Hudson "... I like Russell (lead singer of the band Stillwater), but you can't say anything because I'm a journalist!"

That's kinda how I feel after a day with the San Francisco 49ers. I like this team, but don't tell anyone.

I like head coach Mike Nolan, a lot. I think he's finally put together a very good staff. The players are now the "right kind of guys." None of that was the case when he took over a 49er franchise that was a mess three seasons ago.

They had a defacto GM in Terry Donahue, who spent more time relaxing in flip-flops in San Diego than he did in San Fran. They had a head coach in Dennis Erickson, who just couldn't cut it at this level. And don't even get me started on the players they had here -- a number of whom didn't belong in the NFL, and who never signed anywhere else after being let go.

A positive change, indeed. A definite upgrade in all aspects. But does any of that mean that they are a team to be optimistic about in 2007?

As Shakespeare said, "that is the question."

Coming off a 7-9 season (which followed a 4-12 year in Nolan's first season), the 49ers try to take that so-called next step into the playoffs. But they're going to try to do it with a new offensive coordinator for the third straight season; a new defensive coordinator, and a new special teams coordinator.

Special teams guru Al Everest is a proven NFL veteran. The other two coordinators are untested.

Hey, that's not always a bad thing, it simply means that as we sit here on the first of August, it's an unknown.

The bad news concerning new OC Jim Hostler is that not only is it his first job as a pro coordinator, he hasn't called plays in a game since 1999 when he coached at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The good is that despite being the 3rd OC in three years for young QB Alex Smith, Hostler is actually the one constant he's had.

If Bill Walsh had a coaching tree, Mike Nolan says he himself has developed "a bush."

Hostler was the QB coach for the 49ers under Mike McCarthy in 2005. When McCarthy left to become head coach of the Packers, Norv Turner took over as OC in 2006, and Hostler remained as QB coach. Now that Turner is the head coach of the Chargers, Hostler is the man on offense in San Fran.

Smith told me that he and Hostler are simpatico, in sync, they-finish-each-other's-football -sentences, kind of close.

Another reason the 49ers believe he's ready, is that even though Hostler has been a postion coach in the NFL for the last five years with the Jets and Niners, he's always secretly prepared his own game plan to compare with the way the team's OC did his.

Hostler may be ready, but I'm not sure he really has the weapons to compete on offense just yet.

I like Smith at quarterback. I think he's a young Matt Hasselbeck in the making. A guy who will be consistent once he gets good pieces around him, and win games on a regular basis. He'll probably never be in that debate over the 2-or-3 best QBs in the league at that time, but he'll be solid.

That time isn't just yet.

The Niners still lack that number one wide receiver. Yes, the offensive line has improved, and look for first round pick Joe Staley to overtake Kwame Harris at any moment, but it's still a step away.

Frank Gore is a beast , but in a day in which many teams are going with two solid RBs, he's the Niners "one-and-only." If he goes down with anything more serious during the regular season than the small broken bone in his hand he suffered this week, San Fran is in DEEP trouble.

Defensively, the 49ers are coming off a 3rd straight season of allowing 400-plus points,  so it's probably good news that of the 38 players in camp. 20 were not with the team at all last year. Then again, neither was the defensive coordinator.

The bad news is that new coordinator Greg Manusky is also a first timer.

Manusky has been a solid LB coach with both the Redskins and Chargers producing four different pro bowl linebackers in six years.

"He's smart, he gets it," said Nolan.

The hope is that with Manusky, who also played linebacker for 12 years in the NFL, now in charge, Nolan is able to spend more time with the entire team, and less time having to correct defensive issues.

Manusky has tools to work with, starting with last year's first rounder Manny Lawson at outside LB, and this year's top pick Patrick WIllis at inside. After I watched them up close, here's all you need to know about the two: Lawson is speedy, WIllis will be STUDLY.

When asked about WIllis, none other than the legendary Mike Singletary put it best: "he works hard, and somehow just knows how to be around the ball." Something tells me to trust Singletary's judgment on linebackers.

It may not be Week 1, because they want to bring Willis along patiently, but at some point, he will be one of what might be as many as six new starters on defense. That many changes take time to develop.

However, the Saints proved last year that sometimes it can all come together quickly.

The reality is that the Niners still have a lot of questions, playing in what suddenly has become a competitive division.

What fans have to feel good about is that for the first time in a long time, the Niners actually have more answers than questions. But:is it enough?

Next stop, Raider Nation.

Well, here we are ... another football season is upon us, and it's time for me to hit the road again. This year, in an entirely new capacity, of course.

After nine seasons on the road as a play-by-play guy for FOX, and last season sharing studio hosting duties on the NFL on FOX pregame show with Joe Buck, I am the full-time host this year.

Not only do I look forward to more time hanging out with the best in the business, the legendary Terry, Howie and Jimmy, but I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you from time to time.

Feel free to let me know what you're thinking as well.

As part of my preparation for the upcoming season, I hit as many training camps as possible. I've done it for years now, upping the ante each season.

Two years ago I made it to 15 camps, last year 22. This year, I plan to see 27 teams in 29 days. I'll send you a couple of thoughts from each along the way.

I just began my travels by visiting the San Diego Chargers, so let's start there. 

In camp with the Super Chargers