ALAMEDA – When all Hades is breaking loose, when the very walls of the organization are crumbling, to whom do you think the young and impressionable denizens of Raider Nation turn a lonely eye?

The quarterback? Nah, JaMarcus Russell is too busy deflecting criticism and loosening up his throwing arm by tossing receivers under the bus.

The defensive ends who know what winning feels like after coming from New England and Dallas? Interesting, but who could blame free agent-to-be Richard Seymour if he was already packing up his three Super Bowl rings while Greg Ellis has already challenged his young charges?

When the first three tries fail, why not go to the punter? Yes, the guy you call on when all else goes wrong.

A position that has yet to gain acceptance by Canton represents the most level-headed, experience-laden sounding board on the Raiders' rocky ship. Talk about your strange dichotomies.

"I kind of embrace it," Shane Lechler said with a hushed voice Wednesday.

And, really, he should.

"I wish I had some answers for them when they do ask the questions," he added with a shrug. "I've been through a lot here, from playing in a Super Bowl to winning two games."

He also knew of the curse of Super Bowl-losing teams.

"But, my gosh, I didn't expect it to last this long," Lechler said with a weary laugh. "There's a lot of players searching for answers right now.

"We've got a great team; we've done it – twice already. We've done it in the Monday night opener, all but the last two minutes of the game. We dominated the Philly game. Just one of those deals where you wish you had the answers or you knew what to say to make that same team show up on Sundays."

All of which produces an environment that makes the punter the team MVP.

Being one of the two elder statesmen on the team – kicker Sebastian Janikowski was also drafted in 2000 – does not hurt, either. Nor does being a four-time All-Pro or being considered the greatest ever to play the position (sorry, Ray Guy).

"He's obviously earned it, and he's respected," coach Tom Cable said. "He doesn't just go out there and kick the ball and then go put his hat on and stand around and do nothing. He's into this team."

Lechler, 33, entered this season with the highest career punting average in NFL history at 46.8 yards, and his 45.0 yards net average leads the league.

No wonder Al Davis ponied up the reported four-year, $16 million contract, with $9 million guaranteed, to re-sign Lechler this offseason despite every indication he would walk.

The money hasn't changed him; he's still the same alternately gruff, amiable and dry-humored character that makes him so approachable.

And it doesn't keep him from approaching a struggling Russell and offering comfort, as strange as a punter doling out advice to a quarterback might seem.

" 'Don't feel like you have to score on every drive,' " Lechler has told Russell. " 'You win games on field position in this league – when it comes to fourth down, don't worry about it. I'll try to get the defense the best situation we can, and we'll go from there.'

"It's hard to tell them to grow up because everybody was a rookie. But it's time for some of them to step up and take forth the challenge, you know?"

Yes, Shane. We know.

Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556. Read his blog and more on the team at www.sacbee.com/raiders.