Crossbones
The Savior is on his way!
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2005
- Messages
- 92,838
- Reaction score
- 105,529
(11-04) 21:13 PST Oakland - -- Coach Lane Kiffin gave a concession speech of sorts Sunday, and it wasn't even halftime yet.
His Raiders offense faced a 4th-and-9 at the Texans' 46 with 1:15 left in the second quarter. Kiffin could have punted, but that's no way to end a seven-quarter touchdown drought. He could have gone for it, but the passing game was anything but trustworthy.
Kiffin did what any coach would do in the most desperate of times: He went for the desperation field goal. And, when a 64-yard stab at the NFL record book becomes the most viable option on the table, that's all anyone needs to know about Oakland's midseason state of affairs.
Sebastian Janikowski's swing hit the right post, the crowd went "ugh," and the inevitable arrived right on schedule as the Raiders went down 24-17 to the Texans at the good-seats-available Coliseum.
That makes Oakland just as 2-6 as last year, and winner of 23.6 percent of its games since 2003, for those who thought anything would change in a jiffy.
"Felt that would have been a spark for us going in there at halftime," said Kiffin, who has lost six of his first eight games in Oakland, just like his two predecessors, Art Shell and Norv Turner.
Felt, hoped, prayed, whatever. Kiffin coached like a wins-starved man Sunday, and came away famished for the fourth straight week.
He switched his starting quarterback, hoping a healed Josh McCown would bring mobility and completions to an incoherent passing game. Instead, McCown mingled three interceptions, with the potential for five, within a 13-of-28 passing day for 158 yards.
"I have to play better than that," McCown said.
Kiffin promoted Justin Fargas to starting running back, at the risk of alienating LaMont Jordan, or even little-used Dominic Rhodes. Fargas responded with 23 carries for 104 yards with nine first downs. Jordan averaged 2.5 yards on four courtesy carries.
"I am not into moral victories or personal victories when we don't win," Fargas said. "It just comes down to wins and losses, really."
True to form, the Raiders have far more of the latter than the former, which explains a postgame locker room that cleared out in two-minute-offense speed.
It's not like they could have provided applicable solutions to the team's ongoing problems (can't pass, can't score, can't stop the run). It was this way all of last year, and all that led to was a 2-14 path to the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
"I am surprised because this team is so much better than what we've shown out there," left tackle Barry Sims said. "It's frustrating when we're not putting it together and not winning."
When trying to pass, McCown could not find a consistently reliable receiver. He tried bootlegs, play-action rollouts, shotguns ... all to no avail. When he tried to make something happen, turnovers happened.
Drive 2 lasted 10 plays before McCown's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by former Raiders linebacker Danny Clark inside Houston territory.
McCown's other two interceptions were badly underthrown under pressure, the first setting up Ron Dayne's 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the second ending a fourth-quarter drive at the Texans' 6.
McCown showed great agility with five runs for 31 yards, including two just past the first-down marker, and he was sacked only once. Still, none of that mattered. The mistakes dog-piled whatever good he wrought.
"We're just not all pulling our weight," said McCown, who replaced Daunte Culpepper (1-3 as a starter) after being out four weeks with a broken big toe. "Everybody has a mistake at the wrong time."
Maybe so, but the Texans proved success can be wrung out of the worst of situations.
Their first drive was Raider- esque with a fumble, a 3rd-and-18, a failed third-down conversion and a false start inside the opponents' 5. Houston scored a touchdown, anyway, with Ahman Green bursting free on an 8-yard run.
The Raiders, well, they needed all the help they could get to breach the goal line.
They scored a touchdown for the first time in nine quarters, with Fargas diving over the goal line from 1-yard out to cut Houston's lead to 17-10 with 11:22 in the game. The drive was sustained, not by Raiders persistence, but by two Houston personal fouls on 3rd-and-long.
That was a perfect time for Oakland's defense to make a stand. Instead, the Raiders let the Texans roll up 80 yards in six plays, with wide receiver Andre Davis rolling into the end zone on a 42-yard touchdown pass.
Throw in Ron Dayne's 122-yard rushing game, and the missed tackles that made it possible, and the Raiders had more than enough blame to share.
"You can't single one person out," middle linebacker Kirk Morrison said, and he couldn't be more right.
-- Scott Ostler: Fans want Russell. Is that such a bad idea?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/05/SPPMT6EQU.DTL
__________________________________________
Lots of issues with this team Raider Nation.
His Raiders offense faced a 4th-and-9 at the Texans' 46 with 1:15 left in the second quarter. Kiffin could have punted, but that's no way to end a seven-quarter touchdown drought. He could have gone for it, but the passing game was anything but trustworthy.
Kiffin did what any coach would do in the most desperate of times: He went for the desperation field goal. And, when a 64-yard stab at the NFL record book becomes the most viable option on the table, that's all anyone needs to know about Oakland's midseason state of affairs.
Sebastian Janikowski's swing hit the right post, the crowd went "ugh," and the inevitable arrived right on schedule as the Raiders went down 24-17 to the Texans at the good-seats-available Coliseum.
That makes Oakland just as 2-6 as last year, and winner of 23.6 percent of its games since 2003, for those who thought anything would change in a jiffy.
"Felt that would have been a spark for us going in there at halftime," said Kiffin, who has lost six of his first eight games in Oakland, just like his two predecessors, Art Shell and Norv Turner.
Felt, hoped, prayed, whatever. Kiffin coached like a wins-starved man Sunday, and came away famished for the fourth straight week.
He switched his starting quarterback, hoping a healed Josh McCown would bring mobility and completions to an incoherent passing game. Instead, McCown mingled three interceptions, with the potential for five, within a 13-of-28 passing day for 158 yards.
"I have to play better than that," McCown said.
Kiffin promoted Justin Fargas to starting running back, at the risk of alienating LaMont Jordan, or even little-used Dominic Rhodes. Fargas responded with 23 carries for 104 yards with nine first downs. Jordan averaged 2.5 yards on four courtesy carries.
"I am not into moral victories or personal victories when we don't win," Fargas said. "It just comes down to wins and losses, really."
True to form, the Raiders have far more of the latter than the former, which explains a postgame locker room that cleared out in two-minute-offense speed.
It's not like they could have provided applicable solutions to the team's ongoing problems (can't pass, can't score, can't stop the run). It was this way all of last year, and all that led to was a 2-14 path to the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
"I am surprised because this team is so much better than what we've shown out there," left tackle Barry Sims said. "It's frustrating when we're not putting it together and not winning."
When trying to pass, McCown could not find a consistently reliable receiver. He tried bootlegs, play-action rollouts, shotguns ... all to no avail. When he tried to make something happen, turnovers happened.
Drive 2 lasted 10 plays before McCown's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by former Raiders linebacker Danny Clark inside Houston territory.
McCown's other two interceptions were badly underthrown under pressure, the first setting up Ron Dayne's 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the second ending a fourth-quarter drive at the Texans' 6.
McCown showed great agility with five runs for 31 yards, including two just past the first-down marker, and he was sacked only once. Still, none of that mattered. The mistakes dog-piled whatever good he wrought.
"We're just not all pulling our weight," said McCown, who replaced Daunte Culpepper (1-3 as a starter) after being out four weeks with a broken big toe. "Everybody has a mistake at the wrong time."
Maybe so, but the Texans proved success can be wrung out of the worst of situations.
Their first drive was Raider- esque with a fumble, a 3rd-and-18, a failed third-down conversion and a false start inside the opponents' 5. Houston scored a touchdown, anyway, with Ahman Green bursting free on an 8-yard run.
The Raiders, well, they needed all the help they could get to breach the goal line.
They scored a touchdown for the first time in nine quarters, with Fargas diving over the goal line from 1-yard out to cut Houston's lead to 17-10 with 11:22 in the game. The drive was sustained, not by Raiders persistence, but by two Houston personal fouls on 3rd-and-long.
That was a perfect time for Oakland's defense to make a stand. Instead, the Raiders let the Texans roll up 80 yards in six plays, with wide receiver Andre Davis rolling into the end zone on a 42-yard touchdown pass.
Throw in Ron Dayne's 122-yard rushing game, and the missed tackles that made it possible, and the Raiders had more than enough blame to share.
"You can't single one person out," middle linebacker Kirk Morrison said, and he couldn't be more right.
-- Scott Ostler: Fans want Russell. Is that such a bad idea?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/05/SPPMT6EQU.DTL
__________________________________________
Lots of issues with this team Raider Nation.