Not even the most ardent Art Shell supporters could have been too enthused about the returning coach's answer regarding Kerry Collins upon his hiring. "All I can say is Kerry Collins has been an outstanding quarterback," Shell said at his introductory press conference last Saturday. "Matter of fact I just spoke to Kerry before I came down here. He is excited about moving forward next year. He is an exciting quarterback. I think he has a chance to be great for us. But those issues will be addressed down the road." If Shell's already getting on the phone with the guy and talking him up, this sure sounds like a coach counting on Collins to be his QB in 2006. In fact, quite frankly, the Raiders have done nothing to suggest they aren't still completely in love with Collins, as revolting a thought as that might be to 97.9 percent of the fans out there.