Stanny
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By LOWELL COHN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If we were living in a fairy tale, the Raiders would have won on Sunday. After missing seven games, quarterback Aaron Brooks returned against the Chiefs, and he was good, better than we’ve ever seen him.
If this were a fairy tale, Brooks would have been the hero. He would have taken the Raiders on his back and led them to thrilling victory.
The heroic moment was obvious. Forty-seven seconds remained and the Raiders were trailing, 17-13, and Brooks, who had been out with cramping, ran back on the field — cue up the trumpets. He drove the Raiders down to the Chiefs’ 8. He lined up behind center.
You could imagine today’s sports sections, articles chronicling Brooks’ gallant deeds, headlines calling him Superman and the savior.
And then he threw the interception that ended the game. No, Virginia, life really isn’t a fairy tale.
Brooks blamed himself for making a crummy play. But he’s wrong to blame himself and here’s why. He had the misfortune to throw the final, devastating pass to Randy
Moss — to the Randy Moss who said he’s not having a good time and wants to leave Oakland. On the play, free safety Jarrad Page cut in front of Moss and picked off the ball. How can anyone blame Moss for that?
Here’s how. According to Brooks, Moss had a choice on that route. Either swing behind Page or cut in front of him. Which option did Moss take? Well, get serious. Naturally, he snuck behind the safety. Why? Because he doesn’t like getting hit. If he went behind and tiptoed near the end line, he could make a leaping catch with minimum risk to his body. It’s just that Brooks assumed he’d go the other way, the tougher way, thought he’d fight for the ball.
How silly of Brooks. Even when it was clear Page would intercept the pass, Moss might have hit him, tried to knock the ball away. He didn’t do that, either. It would have required effort, and Randy Moss doesn’t do effort.
For the record, Moss finished the day with no receptions.
In case you’ve forgotten, he’s the highest-paid player on the team. Only three passes went his way.
Asked about that, coach Art Shell said: “The quarterback makes the decision about where to go with the ball. He’s trying to find open guys.”
Asked to comment on Shell’s comment, Brooks said: “That’s a fair assessment. The guys that are going to get the balls are the guys that are open.”
Moss isn’t open because he doesn’t try to get open. On television, former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon criticized Moss. Gannon was a hardnosed, hard-playing quarterback, and he expressed utter contempt for Moss. He said Moss is “destructive” and subverts the “team’s values.”
ESPN’s Tom Jackson said: “As long as Randy Moss is the captain of the football team, they will be not successful.”
Until the Raiders get rid of Moss, Brooks never will be a hero.
There’s another reason Brooks can’t be a hero. Now, we’re talking big picture. Let’s start with safety Stuart Schweigert.
“Really, the offensive production I’d say was 85 percent (Brooks) — him getting out of the pocket, running,” Schweigert said.
This sounds like standard praise, right? And it was well-deserved.
Brooks was terrific, sprinting out, calling audibles, connecting on long passes, bringing hope to that forlorn huddle.
But there’s something else. Schweigert’s quote means Brooks was the only new thing the Raiders had to offer. Offensive coordinator Tom Walsh was, as usual, clueless. The only difference in the game plan was Brooks’ ability to improvise.
You could see Walsh’s cluelessness in the second half when the Raiders didn’t score. Listen to running back Justin Fargas on that subject.
“They (the Chiefs) made adjustments at halftime. We just let it get away from us.”
It’s true. The Chiefs figured out how to stop the Raiders, who amazingly scored 13 first-half points. Walsh could not respond to the Chiefs’ adjustments. That’s because Walsh has no intellectual capability as an offensive coordinator.
Shell himself is no genius, either. He had this explanation for why the Raiders went scoreless the second half: “I don’t know what it is.”
Thanks for the insight, Art.
As long as Shell and Walsh are around, the Raiders’ offense is dead on arrival. As long as those two saps are in charge, Brooks never can be a hero. As long as Al Davis tolerates those buffoons, fairy tales don’t stand a chance.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If we were living in a fairy tale, the Raiders would have won on Sunday. After missing seven games, quarterback Aaron Brooks returned against the Chiefs, and he was good, better than we’ve ever seen him.
If this were a fairy tale, Brooks would have been the hero. He would have taken the Raiders on his back and led them to thrilling victory.
The heroic moment was obvious. Forty-seven seconds remained and the Raiders were trailing, 17-13, and Brooks, who had been out with cramping, ran back on the field — cue up the trumpets. He drove the Raiders down to the Chiefs’ 8. He lined up behind center.
You could imagine today’s sports sections, articles chronicling Brooks’ gallant deeds, headlines calling him Superman and the savior.
And then he threw the interception that ended the game. No, Virginia, life really isn’t a fairy tale.
Brooks blamed himself for making a crummy play. But he’s wrong to blame himself and here’s why. He had the misfortune to throw the final, devastating pass to Randy
Moss — to the Randy Moss who said he’s not having a good time and wants to leave Oakland. On the play, free safety Jarrad Page cut in front of Moss and picked off the ball. How can anyone blame Moss for that?
Here’s how. According to Brooks, Moss had a choice on that route. Either swing behind Page or cut in front of him. Which option did Moss take? Well, get serious. Naturally, he snuck behind the safety. Why? Because he doesn’t like getting hit. If he went behind and tiptoed near the end line, he could make a leaping catch with minimum risk to his body. It’s just that Brooks assumed he’d go the other way, the tougher way, thought he’d fight for the ball.
How silly of Brooks. Even when it was clear Page would intercept the pass, Moss might have hit him, tried to knock the ball away. He didn’t do that, either. It would have required effort, and Randy Moss doesn’t do effort.
For the record, Moss finished the day with no receptions.
In case you’ve forgotten, he’s the highest-paid player on the team. Only three passes went his way.
Asked about that, coach Art Shell said: “The quarterback makes the decision about where to go with the ball. He’s trying to find open guys.”
Asked to comment on Shell’s comment, Brooks said: “That’s a fair assessment. The guys that are going to get the balls are the guys that are open.”
Moss isn’t open because he doesn’t try to get open. On television, former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon criticized Moss. Gannon was a hardnosed, hard-playing quarterback, and he expressed utter contempt for Moss. He said Moss is “destructive” and subverts the “team’s values.”
ESPN’s Tom Jackson said: “As long as Randy Moss is the captain of the football team, they will be not successful.”
Until the Raiders get rid of Moss, Brooks never will be a hero.
There’s another reason Brooks can’t be a hero. Now, we’re talking big picture. Let’s start with safety Stuart Schweigert.
“Really, the offensive production I’d say was 85 percent (Brooks) — him getting out of the pocket, running,” Schweigert said.
This sounds like standard praise, right? And it was well-deserved.
Brooks was terrific, sprinting out, calling audibles, connecting on long passes, bringing hope to that forlorn huddle.
But there’s something else. Schweigert’s quote means Brooks was the only new thing the Raiders had to offer. Offensive coordinator Tom Walsh was, as usual, clueless. The only difference in the game plan was Brooks’ ability to improvise.
You could see Walsh’s cluelessness in the second half when the Raiders didn’t score. Listen to running back Justin Fargas on that subject.
“They (the Chiefs) made adjustments at halftime. We just let it get away from us.”
It’s true. The Chiefs figured out how to stop the Raiders, who amazingly scored 13 first-half points. Walsh could not respond to the Chiefs’ adjustments. That’s because Walsh has no intellectual capability as an offensive coordinator.
Shell himself is no genius, either. He had this explanation for why the Raiders went scoreless the second half: “I don’t know what it is.”
Thanks for the insight, Art.
As long as Shell and Walsh are around, the Raiders’ offense is dead on arrival. As long as those two saps are in charge, Brooks never can be a hero. As long as Al Davis tolerates those buffoons, fairy tales don’t stand a chance.
