jatfly
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Pfft! Defense does disappearing act
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 11/19/2007 02:59:10 AM PST
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7504760?source=most_viewed
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Suspense hung in the Metrodome's bubble-wrapped air Sunday as the Raiders closed out their sixth consecutive loss, a 29-22 decision to the Minnesota Vikings.
No, we weren't expecting quarterback JaMarcus Russell to dash off the bench for his debut (and thus contradict ESPN's pregame report that he'll be formally unveiled Dec. 2 against the Denver Broncos).
Nor was the suspense whether Daunte Culpepper's Hail Mary pass would deliver a tying touchdown as time expired.
What really had press row on the edge of its blue-cushioned seats was this number: 500.
Could the Minnesota Vikings offense really hit the 500-yard mark?
Could the Vikings do so despite turning the ball over four times before halftime? Could they do it without rookie running sensation Adrian Peterson?
They didn't do it, settling for a mere 478 yards, the most the Raiders have allowed since the 2004 Norv Turner Administration.
In related news, the Raiders had 478 missed tackles Sunday. Credit plenty of them to safeties Stuart "The Turnstile" Schweigert and Michael "The Missing Man" Huff. They weren't so much a last line of defense as they were a punch line to a joke, the one played on them by Chester Taylor, who ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
"We couldn't stop the run. That was the main problem," Huff said. "He's a great back, and we missed a few tackles, and we were in different gaps sometimes."
Yeah, like The Gap a few blocks down on 8th Street. How often was Huff on the field?
"I played every snap," Huff replied.
He fooled us. He's been far too invisible for a 2006 first-round draft pick.
Schweigert was much more noticeable. He missed Taylor at the 6-yard line on Taylor's first touchdown, and he missed him at the 30 on Taylor's second touchdown run. Huff, meanwhile, missed a shot at Taylor in the backfield on touchdown No. 3.
"There were some opportunities where it was just me and him in the hole, and I didn't get him down," said Schweigert, noting that he was hampered by a leg injury he sustained on the Vikings' first play.
Chalk up other missed tackles to a linebacker corps that looked far too soft and out of position, and thus drew the frequent wrath of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
"We were very aggressive and missed a couple plays," linebacker Kirk Morrison said. "... We just missed tackles. When you play a team like that, you can't miss tackles."
As for the Raiders defensive linemen, they were joking around when the media entered the locker room. Well, not all of them, not grizzled veteran Warren Sapp, who's seen so much bad football that he had to vent about it.
"We're just an undisciplined unit as a whole. The whole (expletive) team, from top to bottom," Sapp said. "There's no doubt about it. It's indicative when you jump offside with 12 seconds left on the clock and get 10 of those 12 seconds run off the clock (because the penalty occurred within the final two minutes of the game). We just do undisciplined stuff all the time."
While wide receiver Tim Dwight's false-start penalty at the 12-second mark sped up the Raiders' unhappy ending, let's not pick too much on the Raiders offense. Sure, the offense had its red-zone shortcomings, but it did rack up 372 yards in Culpepper's homecoming here.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said: "It's a story of a lot of points left out there (by the Raiders offense) and a lot of missed tackles and a lot of what-ifs."
As in, what if the Raiders weren't caught off-guard on the game's first snap? The Vikings lined up with an empty backfield, then next thing you know, they're running a reverse and rookie wide receiver Sidney Rice is launching his first NFL pass 55 yards on the fly to wide-open tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, whom Schweigert dragged down at the 5-yard line for a 79-yard wake-up call.
"People run plays like that because you're undisciplined," Sapp said. "A double-reverse pass? That's because you're undisciplined. That's why people run plays like that."
Morrison claimed the Vikings ran trick plays "because they felt they couldn't run the ball on us."
Huh? What game was he watching? Was he shopping at The Gap, too?
"Even with our losses, teams don't put up a lot of yards," Schweigert said. "Today they had a good game plan and executed it well."
As for the Raiders, they gave new meaning to the term: "Tackling dummies."
Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 11/19/2007 02:59:10 AM PST
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7504760?source=most_viewed
«
MINNEAPOLIS -- Suspense hung in the Metrodome's bubble-wrapped air Sunday as the Raiders closed out their sixth consecutive loss, a 29-22 decision to the Minnesota Vikings.
No, we weren't expecting quarterback JaMarcus Russell to dash off the bench for his debut (and thus contradict ESPN's pregame report that he'll be formally unveiled Dec. 2 against the Denver Broncos).
Nor was the suspense whether Daunte Culpepper's Hail Mary pass would deliver a tying touchdown as time expired.
What really had press row on the edge of its blue-cushioned seats was this number: 500.
Could the Minnesota Vikings offense really hit the 500-yard mark?
Could the Vikings do so despite turning the ball over four times before halftime? Could they do it without rookie running sensation Adrian Peterson?
They didn't do it, settling for a mere 478 yards, the most the Raiders have allowed since the 2004 Norv Turner Administration.
In related news, the Raiders had 478 missed tackles Sunday. Credit plenty of them to safeties Stuart "The Turnstile" Schweigert and Michael "The Missing Man" Huff. They weren't so much a last line of defense as they were a punch line to a joke, the one played on them by Chester Taylor, who ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
"We couldn't stop the run. That was the main problem," Huff said. "He's a great back, and we missed a few tackles, and we were in different gaps sometimes."
Yeah, like The Gap a few blocks down on 8th Street. How often was Huff on the field?
"I played every snap," Huff replied.
He fooled us. He's been far too invisible for a 2006 first-round draft pick.
Schweigert was much more noticeable. He missed Taylor at the 6-yard line on Taylor's first touchdown, and he missed him at the 30 on Taylor's second touchdown run. Huff, meanwhile, missed a shot at Taylor in the backfield on touchdown No. 3.
"There were some opportunities where it was just me and him in the hole, and I didn't get him down," said Schweigert, noting that he was hampered by a leg injury he sustained on the Vikings' first play.
Chalk up other missed tackles to a linebacker corps that looked far too soft and out of position, and thus drew the frequent wrath of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
"We were very aggressive and missed a couple plays," linebacker Kirk Morrison said. "... We just missed tackles. When you play a team like that, you can't miss tackles."
As for the Raiders defensive linemen, they were joking around when the media entered the locker room. Well, not all of them, not grizzled veteran Warren Sapp, who's seen so much bad football that he had to vent about it.
"We're just an undisciplined unit as a whole. The whole (expletive) team, from top to bottom," Sapp said. "There's no doubt about it. It's indicative when you jump offside with 12 seconds left on the clock and get 10 of those 12 seconds run off the clock (because the penalty occurred within the final two minutes of the game). We just do undisciplined stuff all the time."
While wide receiver Tim Dwight's false-start penalty at the 12-second mark sped up the Raiders' unhappy ending, let's not pick too much on the Raiders offense. Sure, the offense had its red-zone shortcomings, but it did rack up 372 yards in Culpepper's homecoming here.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said: "It's a story of a lot of points left out there (by the Raiders offense) and a lot of missed tackles and a lot of what-ifs."
As in, what if the Raiders weren't caught off-guard on the game's first snap? The Vikings lined up with an empty backfield, then next thing you know, they're running a reverse and rookie wide receiver Sidney Rice is launching his first NFL pass 55 yards on the fly to wide-open tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, whom Schweigert dragged down at the 5-yard line for a 79-yard wake-up call.
"People run plays like that because you're undisciplined," Sapp said. "A double-reverse pass? That's because you're undisciplined. That's why people run plays like that."
Morrison claimed the Vikings ran trick plays "because they felt they couldn't run the ball on us."
Huh? What game was he watching? Was he shopping at The Gap, too?
"Even with our losses, teams don't put up a lot of yards," Schweigert said. "Today they had a good game plan and executed it well."
As for the Raiders, they gave new meaning to the term: "Tackling dummies."
Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
