Raiders Recap-- Week 13: Cowboys

A Thanksgiving Game with One Extra Turkey

The Seat Grows Hotter. (AP Photo, Bob Leverone)

The game started about as well as you could have hoped.

Terrance Willams fumbled the game's opening kickoff and the Raiders were able to scoop and score, establishing a 7-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys in only twelve seconds. This year, the Raiders have made a habit of getting off to quick starts, but this opening sequence happened so abruptly that it surprised even those aware of the trend.

It seemed too good to be true, and it was.

The Raiders extended their lead to 21-7 with less than 2 minutes to go in the second quarter before surrendering yet another late touchdown drive that allowed Dallas to half their deficit heading into the break. The Cowboys would then go on to score 17 unanswered points on their way to victory.

Oakland's only second-half points came on a Janikowski FG-- a curious attempt on second down with less than a minute to go in the game, down ten.

(Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

In other words, it was hardly redeeming.

Still, the Raiders had many opportunities to win the game.

Oakland drove the ball deep into Dallas territory in the 4th quarter, and, down only 7 points, found themselves in the red zone with a chance to tie the game late. QB Matt McGloin could not complete the drive, and inexplicably threw a jump ball to the shortest guy on the field. Jacoby Ford had no chance, and the pass was intercepted in the end zone for a touchback.

"Their guy gets paid too. He made a good play," said McGloin on the pass. "It was an opportunity ball."

Debatable. An opportunity for an interception, perhaps, but definitely not what might be known as a "50-50" ball.

"I mean, if it was a touchdown, nobody would have thought anything about it," he shrugged.

These words make me cringe.

Somewhere, RG3 is applauding, for he too recently denied responsibility for throwing a terrible interception with the game on the line. Instead of standing up and using the magic words "me" or "I", Griffen accused his coaches of developing a simplistic game-plan that the Eagles were able to dissect with ease. This led to much criticism from commentators and even from his own teammates.

But when you are the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year with an NFC East banner sitting in your trophy case next to your Heisman, you might be able to get away with these type of shots. Meanwhile, McGloin has nothing comprable under his belt. The only other commonality he shares with RG3 is a winning percentage of .333 and a tenuous grasp on the position for the remainder of a doomed season.

Say what you want about Pryor and his mechanics, at least he knew when to take responsibility for his mistakes. Hell, he took responsibility for the entire team's mistakes.

So as the QB controversy continues in Oakland, fans are left to ask themselves: "Do we want a passer? Or a leader?"

Apparently, you just can't have both.

IF McGloin doesn't throw that interception, and the Raiders are able to punch it in, we are potentially looking at a different outcome to that game. IF Oakland's defense was able to stop Romo and the Cowboys just before the half, the momentum changes completely before the third quarter. IF the Raiders do not allow DeMarco Murray to scamper into the end zone, untouched, on three separate occasions, perhaps they settle for 3, 6, 9 instead of 7, 14, 21.

If... If... If...

Untouched. Thrice. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, the focus cannot be on what might have been. Instead, we must look at what HAS been, and speculate on what lies ahead for the 4-8 Oakland Raiders.

So, what HAS been?

At 4-8, the Raiders have competed in very game except 2, and in those oh-so-fleeting moments, have looked much better than anyone expected with a team of replacements and one-year contracts.

Credit is due to Dennis Allen for turning this team into something no one thought possible, if only for one of the two halves of each game. However, these flashes of potential have only increased the expectations that the fans have for their team, making each return to earth more painful than the last.

It wasn't until the kickoff against Tennessee that anyone realized how close the Raiders were to wildcard contention, and a win against the Titans would have allowed Oakland to control its own destiny. 60 minutes later, they were back at the bottom.

Flashes of Brilliance? Or Gaps in Idiocy?
(Elsa/Getty Images)

Say what you want, the talent to win games IS there. Reggie McKenzie has put good players in place, if only temporarily, and given Dennis Allen enough tools to compete this year. Their shortcomings, then, must fall at the feet of the head coach, and his inability to get his team to play when it needs to play.

The Raiders are not a "first half team". There is no such thing. Their ability to jump out to early leads continues to surprise me, and though they have benefitted from early turnovers, they still have made enough plays to dispel the notion that this is pure luck. I'd call it about 50-50. (Not sure how McGloin would evaluate it.)

And the Raiders are definitely, astoundingly, 100% NOT a "second half team". Check the box score.

In their past 6 losses, the Raiders have been outscored in the second half by a combined score of 96-23. Even in their wins, they have been beaten in the second half: San Diego put up 17 to Oakland's 3, while Pittsburgh put up 15 and shut out the Raiders in the third and fourth quarters. Add those into the equation and the ratio becomes 128 to 26-- a difference of over one-hundred points.

What is going on at halftime? Are the players switching jerseys with the opposing team? Are the opponents chugging bottles of MJ's "Secret Stuff"? On Thanksgiving, did the Raiders sit down for a tryptophan-laced meal in between the 2nd and 3rd quarters and return to the field sluggish and half-asleep?

It's much simpler than that. At halftime, coaches are doing what they are supposed to do: making adjustments.

And that is where Dennis Allen is proving woefully inadequate.

How else can you explain such a disturbing trend? The Raiders have blown halftime leads in their each of their last three losses. Eight times they have been outscored in the second half, and eight times they have ended up on the wrong side of the scorecard.

The team has a lot of problems, but perhaps the issue is much simpler.

Factor in Dennis Allen's abysmal 2-12 road record (2-16 if you include preseason) and you have a trend that is simply too hard to ignore. His record at home is not stellar, but his continual inability to prepare his team to compete on the road is a glaring mark on a resume in desperate need of some bright spots.

The Raiders have 4 games to go in their 2013 season (unless... never mind). They face the Jets next week before finishing out against the AFC West, aka the best division in the NFL. With the playoffs likely out of reach, the focus will shift from this year to next, and Reggie McKenzie will be watching his team very closely. Make no mistake, jobs and contracts will be won and lost over the next four weeks, including that of the head coach. A respectable finish will solidify some positions and may help save Dennis Allen's job.

A loss on the road to the train-wreck Jets will certainly not.

Misspelling aside, the point is clear.

Is Dennis Allen officially on the hot seat? Can he save his job? If so, what does he have to do to keep it? Comment below!

Raiders Recap-- Week 12: Titans

After another home loss to a beatable team, plenty of blame is left to pass around.

Janikowski is as dumbfounded as the rest of Raider Nation

What is going on with SeaBass?

That is the first question Oakland fans are left to ask after watching their team blow a late lead to the visiting Titans. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals on the day-- a 32- and a 48-yarder-- and the Raiders lost by 4 after allowing a late-TD pass with 10 seconds to go.

The loss is especially frustrating for a number of reasons. By the time the game started, most of the early games had ended, and the Raiders were well aware of the implications of the outcome of their game: the winner would move into 6th place-- via tiebreaker-- and seize the last remaining AFC playoff spot.

Tennessee knew it as well as Oakland did, and when the cards were down, one team simply wanted it more.

"That would have been a big, big loss for us in terms of what the rest of the season was going to look like," Titans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said. The second-stringer was starting in just his second game for Tennessee, but was able to deliver the victory on his 31st birthday.

Fitzpatrick found his team down by 3 with 80 yards to go and 6 minutes on the clock. "We knew this was a 'gotta-have-it' drive at the end of the game and the guys really stepped up," he said. He found WR Kendall Wright on a 3rd and goal from the 10 for the go-ahead score with only 10 seconds left in the ballgame.

The loss dropped the Raiders to a meager 3-3 at home, but was their third home-loss to a team with a losing record. Previously they lost by 10 to an 0-3 Washington team, and of course there was the blowout to the New Slim Shady and the 3-5 Eagles. The loss to the 4-6 Titans team continued the disturbing trend.

Oakland has also dropped away games to losing teams this season. However, for a team that has been abysmal on the road (2-11 under Coach Dennis Allen in his two seasons; Hue Jackson went 5-3) home games provide a much-needed opportunity to win. Thus far, the Raiders have failed to take advantage of it.

(larrybrownsports.com)

QB Matt McGloin, also in his second start, threw for 260 yards, a touchdown, and a pic, but was unable to convert on crucial possessions throughout the game. The Raiders were 3-10 on 3rd down, and though they punted only twice on the day, they saw many drives stall and were forced to settle for field goal attempts. For the first time in a long time, these attempts are no longer "gimmes", further magnifying the importance of 3rd down conversions and of putting the ball in the endzone.

McGloin did lead a touchdown drive on what would be team's only real possession of the fourth quarter (the other came with under 10 seconds to go). The rookie completed 4 of 4 passes for 74 of the drive's 75 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown strike to Marcel Reece, and put his team up 3 points with 6 minutes to go. But the defense was unable to get the stop to secure the game for Oakland.

For the fourth time this season, the Raiders defense failed to force a single turnover. Of late, the offense has been highly dependent on the defense to create scoring opportunities, and over a quarter of Oakland's total points have come off turnovers. However, the loss was less about an inability to intercept the surgical Peyton Manning Ryan Fitzpatrick and more about the inability to get stops when they were needed, by any means necessary.

Oakland's defense surrendered 10 of 18 3rd down conversions and allowed the Titans to convert all three attempts on the game's final drive. Tennessee was able to sustain three separate drives of over 6 minutes, and held the ball for a whopping 12:08 of the game's final 15 minutes, while Oakland's longest drive took 4:44 off the clock and resulted in a missed FG. And on the first drive of the third quarter, a critical opportunity to gain momentum and dictate the final half of football, the Raiders blew a coverage and surrendered a 54-yard TD pass.

Torched by a QB that was cut from the Bills (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

So at the end of the day, many fans were left fuming, and for good reason.

Despite the season's miscues, the Raiders found themselves in a position to take command of a wildcard spot, but it seems like the whispers of "playoffs" function only as a curse, and they fell from potentially 6th to 12th in the AFC with the loss.

The defense continues to be plagued by big plays and by an inability to get much-needed stops. Somehow they pulled it off last week in Houston, but I'm not convinced. If Andre Johnson did not stop on his route, and was in position to even contend for the game-winning catch with Usama Young, well, you tell me who you think comes down with that ball.

The once reliable kicker is suffering the worst stretch of his storied career, and has missed more FGs this year than the past 2 combined.

Lastly, an inability to extend drives, coupled with an over-reliance on the kicking game, is not a formula for success, especially when that kicking game becomes inexplicably erratic. You cannot beat good teams without scoring touchdowns.

But the most frustrating part is that, this season, they cannot beat the bad teams, either.

Raiders Recap-- Week 11: Texans

Surprise!!

(Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)

Well, I sure didn't see that coming.

Yesterday's win over the Texans featured some surprising events, but it also featured many of the tendencies typical of this year's Raiders team.

Let me explain.

Yesterday in Houston the Raiders went up big to start the game. They scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the fifth time this season, tying them with Denver for most in the NFL (Elias). Then they went on to give up 17 unanswered points and fell behind heading into the half.

Once again, the Raiders relied on their defense to produce scoring opportunities. The offense inherited two red-zone opportunities in the first quarter: a fumble and a Nick Roach interception gave the Raiders the ball on Houston's 16-yard line twice, and all of the Raiders' 14 first-half points came off turnovers generated by their defense.

On the day, the offense mustered just one respectable scoring-drive-- a 73-yard sequence that took only 2:21 of time off the clock-- and went a dismal 5-18 on third-down conversions, including 7 three-and-outs. They punted the ball eleven times, and had 8 drives that failed to travel over 5 yards. One punt was returned for a touchdown.

And yet, after a narrow victory over a team that has now lost 8 straight games, I'm here to tell you that the Raiders played one of their best games of the season and have much to build on going forward.

I know, it shocked me too.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

One of the biggest surprises on the day was the performance of undrafted rookie QB Matt McGloin. The Penn State product threw for three touchdowns and led the team to its first road victory of the season. He took advantage of the short field provided by the defense and threw strikes of 16, 5, and 26 yards for scores, and did not turn the ball over once.

He threw accurately, he utilized a quick release, and most impressively, he demonstrated excellent pocket presence, a concept so foreign of late that I hardly remember how to spell it.

McGloin started in place of injured QB Terrelle Pryor, who remained in Oakland to nurse a sprained knee and an unspecified "illness". That sickly feeling likely moved from his head to his stomach as Pryor watched his replacement flourish where he has faltered, giving rise to an interesting QB controversy in the East Bay.

Coach Dennis Allen refused to immediately comment on the starter moving forward. “Listen, here’s what I’m going to do – I’m going to enjoy this win," he said in the post-game conference. "We’re going to go back and we’ll evaluate, but (McGloin) definitely did a very good job today."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Houston was starting an undrafted QB of its own, Case Keenum. The hometown rookie had played well in his previous three starts and entered the game against Oakland having thrown 7 TDs and 0 interceptions. The Texans lost each of those games, but after losing RB Arian Foster, LB Brian Cushing, and Head Coach Gary Kubiak, you can hardly blame the quarterback for the team's inability to win games. Houston had already lost 4 straight before Keenum took over in Week Seven.

However, the biggest surprise of the day came when Coach Gary Kubiak decided to pull the rookie in favor of former starter Matt Schaub.

(AP Photo/Patric Schneider)

The embattled QB has struggled this season, setting an NFL record by throwing interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in 4 straight games before injuring his ankle at home against the Rams. The Houston fans cheered when he was knocked out of the game, only to see his replacement, TJ Yates, continue the notorious streak by throwing an interception on the 2-yard line that was returned 98 yards for a score.

The move puzzled many, as Keenum has brought the most life to the offense of all three Houston quarterbacks. He had thrown for 170 yards and a touchdown before being benched in the third quarter after three consecutive three-and-outs. Schaub entered the game and led the Texans to the red zone three times, each time stalling inside the 15 and resulting in zero touchdowns for Houston.

Matt Schaub finished the game with 155 yards, 0 TDs, and a whole lot of quackers. He completed less than half of his passes on the day, and when he had the Texans two yards from victory, failed again to score and nearly threw an interception in the end zone. The incompletion resulted in a turnover on downs anyway, but that was no consolation to WR Andre Johnson, who expressed his discontent to the veteran QB after the drive was over, and walked off the field with about a minute to go in the game.

On the season, Schaub has thrown more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8), while his rookie replacement has 8 TDs and just 1 interception, which was not even returned for a score. After an unbelievably disappointing season, I would believe that some big changes are in store for Houston.

(Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)

The Raiders defense played exceptionally well against the Texans and did everything they could to contribute to Houston's frustrations. Aside from the 2 turnovers in the first quarter, Oakland's defense forced 9 punts, 7 of which followed three-and-outs. Twelve Houston drives lasted 5 plays or less, and in the second half the Texans managed just six points on two field goals.

The Raiders also stopped Matt Schaub and the Texans when it counted most. Desperate for a comeback, Houston mounted three fourth-quarter drives that reached the red zone, only to be stopped at the  8-, the 12-, and the 2-yard line by a resilient Raiders defense.

Charles Woodson aka "Old Man Raider" was a fundamental contributor to the resounding defensive effort. The 37-year-old stripped TE Garrett Graham in the first quarter and stonewalled RB Ben Tate on the 2-yard-line on what would have been the game-wining drive. The blow was so forceful it jarred the ball loose and left Woodson dazed on the ground, but on the whole was less surprising than it was nostalgic; the 16-year veteran has led by example all season long and provided the figurative spark for his team on many occasions.

Woodson's hit prevented the go-ahead TD (George Bridges)

With the win, the Raiders have moved within one game of the final AFC wild-card spot. None of their next three opponents have winning records, and the Raiders will host the Titans next week with a lot of momentum on their side.

At 4-6, Oakland cannot afford many more losses if they hope to make the playoffs. Two of their last three games come against Kansas City and Denver, but both are to be played in Oakland.

So, after an impressive outing in Houston, the Oakland Raiders still have many questions unanswered.

Can the Raiders sustain their success and reach the playoffs for the first time since their 2002 Super Bowl campaign? After another strong performance, should Jennings supplant McFadden when (or rather, IF) he gets healthy again? Will a healthy offensive line transform an inconsistent offense?

And, oh yeah, about that starting quarterback...

Don't worry, Raiders fans, the answers are in store for us shortly. So too, I would guess, are a few more surprises.