Angry Pope
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Inside Slant
Have the Oakland Raiders set themselves up to fail by putting too much faith in an offensive line that is not up to the task?
That's the way it looked in a 27-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers to open the season on Monday Night Football.
Oakland's plan since training camp was to get back to basics. A revamped offensive line would provide the push for a power running game and wall off pass rushers for vertical, play-action passing from quarterback Aaron Brooks.
The Chargers laid waste to that plan of attack, choking off the run and then chasing Brooks to the bench in favor of Andrew Walter because coach Art Shell thought his quarterback had taken enough of a beating for one night.
Running back LaMont Jordan had just 20 yards on 10 carries and had a long gain of 4 yards. Oakland's 87-yard rushing total was deceiving because Justin Fargas gained 35 yards late in the game when the Chargers were safely in charge.
Brooks and Andrew Walter were sacked nine times, with Shawne Merriman getting three of them and using left tackle Robert Gallery as a swinging gate to the quarterback.
The day after the defeat, Shell was still at a loss to explain how his line allowed itself to be dominated.
"We didn't meet the challenge that was there," Shell said. "We didn't understand for whatever reason it's not just a game. It's bigger than that. You have to come out prepared for the speed, the tempo. It's much higher than it is during pre-season and practice. And our guys didn't understand that, for whatever reason. And we talked bout it, preached it to them all week long."
The Raiders had little in the way of explanation except the obvious.
"We got our asses kicked," left guard Barry Sims said. "In the second half, I don't know if we even gained any yards."
Only a late flurry of yardage got the Raiders to 129 yards of total offense _ their lowest output in the last three seasons in which they have compiled a 13-36 record.
Shell declined to single out a particular culprit along the line, although Gallery was the most conspicuous figure. He had a false start early in the game and never could get a handle on Merriman, who admittedly is one of the NFL's best pass rushers.
"All we can do is work on our mistakes and go from here," Gallery said. "We knew they were fast. It was just little things here and there. Little technique things, little scheme things. I'm sure we're going to be the worst line in the world tomorrow."
Oakland's problem was not all the work of the offensive line. It's insistence on a passing attack featuring five- and seven-step drops essentially put Chargers pass rushers in starting blocks. There was little in the way of short and intermediate passing routes or screen passes to take off some of the pressure.
A surprise start by center Jake Grove, out since Aug. 22 with a shoulder injury and who was listed as doubtful all week, did little to stem the tide.
"I thought we were ready to play. It kind of got away from us," Grove said. "We've got 15 more of these."
NOTES, QUOTES
—Jerry Porter, the Raiders leading receiver last season with 76 receptions, was inactive. Porter has been exiled on the depth chart since arguing with Shell over his off-season training regimen and then demanding a trade.
"I went with the guys I wanted to play with," Shell said. "I went with the guys I thought we could win with. Jerry Porter might be active at some point in time, but tonight I went in different direction."
Porter spent the sideline talking with teammates, and at one point was seen laughing after a Chargers sack in the third quarter.
Shell said he was unaware of any inappropriate behavior by Porter on the sideline, saying he would be disturbed if it were true.
—Aaron Brooks was lifted in the third quarter after completing 6 of 14 passes for 68 yards, with backup Andrew Walter replacing him. Walter completed 2 of 5 passes for 28 yards and got the Raiders to the 3 as time expired.
Shell, however, said he did not expect to change quarterbacks and that Walter's removal was to spare him more of a beating.
—Oakland's 129-yard effort in total offense was the fourth time since the 2003 season the Raiders have been under 200 yards for a game. The others were 141 yards Chargers 21, Raiders 14, Dec. 28, 2003), 145 yards (Denver 31, Raiders 3 on Oct. 10, 2004), 161 yards (Steelers 27, Raiders 7 on Dec. 7, 2003) and 195 yards (Broncos 31, Raiders 10 on Sept. 22, 2003).
—Wide receiver Randy Moss, who said in a Fox Sports radio interview last week that things were "fishy" and that people were "walking on egg shells" with the Raiders, repeated some of those comments in an ESPN interview.
Some of his criticism regarding the organization had to do with Shell's supposedly tight reign.
"Coach Shell just has a tight grasp on us," Moss told ESPN. "We're walking on eggshells. It's funny, but at the same time, as a grown man, it messes with your manhood a ltitle bit. Knowing that you're a man, you're a certain age and this man is treating you like kids or a boy or whatnot."
Moss declined comment to the local media afterward.
Shell said he spoke with Moss and that he was fine with the interview, noting that the entire interview was positive, and that smaller parts were taken out of context.
—Oakland's defense has talked as much about stopping the run as its offense has talked about being able to run it. In Week 1, the Chargers rushed for 194 yards. Halfback LaDainian Tomlinson had his fifth consecutive 100-plus hard game in Oakland, and he did it by halftime.
Tomlinson finished with 131 yards on 30 carries, getting 101 yards on 16 attempts in the first half.
"That's the easiest thing to do in this league is turn around and hand the ball off, and if we can't stop people from running, it's going to be a long year," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "They weren't even thinking about throwing the ball once they got up."
cont'd...
Have the Oakland Raiders set themselves up to fail by putting too much faith in an offensive line that is not up to the task?
That's the way it looked in a 27-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers to open the season on Monday Night Football.
Oakland's plan since training camp was to get back to basics. A revamped offensive line would provide the push for a power running game and wall off pass rushers for vertical, play-action passing from quarterback Aaron Brooks.
The Chargers laid waste to that plan of attack, choking off the run and then chasing Brooks to the bench in favor of Andrew Walter because coach Art Shell thought his quarterback had taken enough of a beating for one night.
Running back LaMont Jordan had just 20 yards on 10 carries and had a long gain of 4 yards. Oakland's 87-yard rushing total was deceiving because Justin Fargas gained 35 yards late in the game when the Chargers were safely in charge.
Brooks and Andrew Walter were sacked nine times, with Shawne Merriman getting three of them and using left tackle Robert Gallery as a swinging gate to the quarterback.
The day after the defeat, Shell was still at a loss to explain how his line allowed itself to be dominated.
"We didn't meet the challenge that was there," Shell said. "We didn't understand for whatever reason it's not just a game. It's bigger than that. You have to come out prepared for the speed, the tempo. It's much higher than it is during pre-season and practice. And our guys didn't understand that, for whatever reason. And we talked bout it, preached it to them all week long."
The Raiders had little in the way of explanation except the obvious.
"We got our asses kicked," left guard Barry Sims said. "In the second half, I don't know if we even gained any yards."
Only a late flurry of yardage got the Raiders to 129 yards of total offense _ their lowest output in the last three seasons in which they have compiled a 13-36 record.
Shell declined to single out a particular culprit along the line, although Gallery was the most conspicuous figure. He had a false start early in the game and never could get a handle on Merriman, who admittedly is one of the NFL's best pass rushers.
"All we can do is work on our mistakes and go from here," Gallery said. "We knew they were fast. It was just little things here and there. Little technique things, little scheme things. I'm sure we're going to be the worst line in the world tomorrow."
Oakland's problem was not all the work of the offensive line. It's insistence on a passing attack featuring five- and seven-step drops essentially put Chargers pass rushers in starting blocks. There was little in the way of short and intermediate passing routes or screen passes to take off some of the pressure.
A surprise start by center Jake Grove, out since Aug. 22 with a shoulder injury and who was listed as doubtful all week, did little to stem the tide.
"I thought we were ready to play. It kind of got away from us," Grove said. "We've got 15 more of these."
NOTES, QUOTES
—Jerry Porter, the Raiders leading receiver last season with 76 receptions, was inactive. Porter has been exiled on the depth chart since arguing with Shell over his off-season training regimen and then demanding a trade.
"I went with the guys I wanted to play with," Shell said. "I went with the guys I thought we could win with. Jerry Porter might be active at some point in time, but tonight I went in different direction."
Porter spent the sideline talking with teammates, and at one point was seen laughing after a Chargers sack in the third quarter.
Shell said he was unaware of any inappropriate behavior by Porter on the sideline, saying he would be disturbed if it were true.
—Aaron Brooks was lifted in the third quarter after completing 6 of 14 passes for 68 yards, with backup Andrew Walter replacing him. Walter completed 2 of 5 passes for 28 yards and got the Raiders to the 3 as time expired.
Shell, however, said he did not expect to change quarterbacks and that Walter's removal was to spare him more of a beating.
—Oakland's 129-yard effort in total offense was the fourth time since the 2003 season the Raiders have been under 200 yards for a game. The others were 141 yards Chargers 21, Raiders 14, Dec. 28, 2003), 145 yards (Denver 31, Raiders 3 on Oct. 10, 2004), 161 yards (Steelers 27, Raiders 7 on Dec. 7, 2003) and 195 yards (Broncos 31, Raiders 10 on Sept. 22, 2003).
—Wide receiver Randy Moss, who said in a Fox Sports radio interview last week that things were "fishy" and that people were "walking on egg shells" with the Raiders, repeated some of those comments in an ESPN interview.
Some of his criticism regarding the organization had to do with Shell's supposedly tight reign.
"Coach Shell just has a tight grasp on us," Moss told ESPN. "We're walking on eggshells. It's funny, but at the same time, as a grown man, it messes with your manhood a ltitle bit. Knowing that you're a man, you're a certain age and this man is treating you like kids or a boy or whatnot."
Moss declined comment to the local media afterward.
Shell said he spoke with Moss and that he was fine with the interview, noting that the entire interview was positive, and that smaller parts were taken out of context.
—Oakland's defense has talked as much about stopping the run as its offense has talked about being able to run it. In Week 1, the Chargers rushed for 194 yards. Halfback LaDainian Tomlinson had his fifth consecutive 100-plus hard game in Oakland, and he did it by halftime.
Tomlinson finished with 131 yards on 30 carries, getting 101 yards on 16 attempts in the first half.
"That's the easiest thing to do in this league is turn around and hand the ball off, and if we can't stop people from running, it's going to be a long year," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "They weren't even thinking about throwing the ball once they got up."
cont'd...
