OAKLAND

Former Oakland coach Lane Kiffin took the high road when asked about the Raiders cutting quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

My take: Good for Kiffin. Here is a guy who is famous for taking shots and this is a situation where he could have taken some and few would have blamed him. When Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin, part of the verbal flogging he gave Kiffin revolved around Russell. Davis wanted to draft Russell. Kiffin didn’t. Kiffin, in the end, was right. Instead of gloating, he called Russell “a great kid” and said a change of scenery could serve him well. Give credit to Kiffin for not piling on.

SAN DIEGO

The Chargers are excited about their rookie class after holding rookie camp.

My take: It seems like San Diego may get contributions from several rookies. Key players to watch are Ryan Mathews, Cam Thomas, Donald Butler and Darrell Stuckey. This is an interesting time in San Diego. The Chargers have a great core of players who are in their prime. Still, after subtracting several players from the roster this offseason, the four-time defending AFC West champions need to reload some. It seems like they have.