In a country that feeds off other people's dirty laundry,
the Oakland Raiders have been a lightning rod for train-wreck headlines.
The media vultures were out in full swing this weekend, with ESPN's "Outside
the Lines" program presenting a feature on Raiders head coach Tom Cable
portraying him as the evil villain. Cable had already just wiped the sweat
from his brow upon learning that charges will not be filed against him for
allegedly breaking the jaw of former assistant Randy Hanson in an altercation
over the summer, but now disturbing allegations of his personal life have come
to light.
According to the excerpt on ESPN, Cable was accused of hitting an ex-wife
and former girlfriend during a physically and verbally abusive past. Cable is
not a small guy by any stretch of the imagination and can pass as a local
bouncer, but it's sad if these assertions against the women are true. Cable
issued a statement in which he admitted to making a mistake during his first
marriage, but noted the recent claims were false. Either way, his current
existence in Oakland is already in limbo with a stickler of an owner in Al
Davis and a pitiful 2-6 squad. The Raiders lost to San Diego for the second
time this season this past Sunday, when they dropped a 24-16 road decision,
and Davis has proven to possess little patience with coaches (i.e. Lane
Kiffin).
Cable said in not so many words that being on the field for a few hours Sunday
was like a safe haven from all of the insinuations. It's hard enough to
establish a game plan for the miserable Raiders when your life is put under
the media microscope.
Oakland came out flat again on Sunday and now sits 4 1/2 games behind the AFC
West-leading Denver Broncos. The Raiders have lost 13 straight against San
Diego and last beat the Chargers on September 28, 2003.
"There's so much belief in this team from each other," said Cable. "If we just
keep pounding the rock, pretty soon we'll get to where we want to get. It's
disappointing. We felt we could come in here and win this game today. We had
our opportunity, but we didn't take it."
Oakland couldn't take it because JaMarcus Russell is still starting at
quarterback. Russell, who was benched in a 38-0 home loss to the New York Jets
a week earlier, passed for only 109 yards and was picked off for a third
straight week, with five total over that span. The cannon-armed quarterback
has thrown for a touchdown just once in his last seven games and owns only two
in 2009 for a Raiders team still fixed at the bottom in most offensive
categories. Oakland is 25th in rushing offense, 30th in points per game (9.8
ppg), 31st in passing yards (122.1 ypg) and last in total yards (215.8).
Russell hasn't received much support from the offensive line and was sacked
five times on Sunday, totaling 14 in the past four weeks.
The season is pretty much over for the Raiders, and so could be the brief
coaching career of Cable. It's not as if they actually have a chance at
catching the Broncos in the AFC West, but stranger things have happened before
in this league. Just ask San Diego, which overcame a huge early deficit to
overtake Denver for the division crown last season.
Cable and company have the bye week to think about their poor offensive play
before hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in the opener of a two-game homestand.
The Raiders could bolster their offense a bit with the pending return of
starting guard Robert Gallery and second-year running back Darren McFadden.
Justin Fargas has carried the ball-carrying load for the Raiders, who are
averaging only 93.6 rushing yards per game. Now is Fargas' chance to make an
impression on the coaching staff with McFadden banged up, but so far he's yet
to grab the attention of the coaching staff.
Cable could use anything right now to give his defense a lengthy rest. In the
meantime, the organization said it plans to have a "serious evaluation" into
allegations that Cable assaulted women during past relationships.
BRONCOS: The honeymoon is over for the Denver Broncos, who got their first
taste of defeat in the Josh McDaniels era Sunday in Baltimore.
McDaniels was off to a hot 6-0 start and had more than enough time to prepare
for a Ravens team that dismantled Denver's game plan like a Special Forces
member defusing a bomb. That bomb arrived early in the form of an Orange and
Blue blur, but it was the Purple and Black Ravens who ignited the turf to the
tune of a 30-7 beating. The score was close at halftime, with Baltimore
holding a slim 6-0 lead, then a second-half eruption by the Ravens blew the
hinges off the Denver doors that usually closed after 30 minutes of play.
The Broncos had surrendered just 10 points in the second half during their
unbeaten run, but allowed 24 on Sunday. Mike Nolan's dominant defense was
exposed by the physical Baltimore offense, most notably through running back
Ray Rice, who grinded out 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and caught
five passes for 24 yards.
The NFL world is like an avalanche, and the troubles started to pile up for
Denver when Ravens return man Lardarius Webb legged out a 95-yard kickoff
return for a touchdown to open the scoring in the second half. Nolan's defense
never adjusted and Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco protected the football for
the entire 60 minutes to prevent a letdown.
Rice was able to make life easy on Flacco, since he was able to slice his way
through the defense and take pressure off of the second-year quarterback.
Nolan had to put an extra guy down low in order to prevent Rice from further
damaging the defensive scheme, but that only made it easier for Flacco to pick
apart a less-crowded defensive backfield. He was only sacked twice as well.
"I hope we remember this game for the rest of our season," Broncos defensive
end Vonnie Holliday said. "But certainly for the next eight days we have to
really key in and watch this film and get in the classroom and learn from it."
Holliday couldn't be more right, because the Broncos will most likely be
underdogs Monday night at home versus Big Ben Roethlisberger and the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Missed opportunities, blown assignments and poor tackling
will be revealed this week in the film room, something McDaniels feels will
force his players to take a good look at themselves and evaluate how good they
really are. Some say you're only as good as the last game. If that's true,
Denver may have trouble making it through the first half without shooting
itself in the foot somehow.
It's good for the Broncos to face some adversity, because now they understand
they're not where they want to be at this point. Denver is still good at most
things on the gridiron and also has some work to do in other areas.
Monday's showdown with Pittsburgh will be the second straight week in which
the Broncos are facing a rested team coming off the bye. Denver must set the
tone early and take momentum away from the defending champions, otherwise
Roethlisberger will have an efficient evening like Flacco did.
Denver can only hope its first loss of the season doesn't result in a series
of setbacks, much how winning becomes contagious among teammates. For
McDaniels' sake, he has enough coaches and veteran leaders in the locker room
to kill that notion.
"This is not the first time...everybody's locker room has lost games," Broncos
safety Brian Dawkins said. "I've lost games before. You learn from your
mistakes. You try not to make those mistakes. You practice whatever you need
to practice and you move on."
CHIEFS: Thanks to Larry Johnson's mouth and recent dysfunctional attitude,
Jamaal Charles, Kolby Smith and Dantrell Savage have kicked up some
encouraging news this week in Kansas City.
Johnson was suspended for this week's game at Jacksonville for using
inappropriate slurs regarding homosexuals and discrediting head coach Todd
Haley's practical know-how of the game. It's been discussed through several
media outlets and on many levels that Johnson has been known for having a
short fuse, but it still comes as a surprise for a player who's done little so
far this season to help resurrect a fading career and franchise. The
ineffective former Penn State star's long-term future with the team may also
be in question.
Haley stated that his offense is predicated on the run and gives the Chiefs
their best chance at winning, but he also knows that it's an area that needs
improvement. He didn't stray from Johnson when he took the job with a pass-
first history, but the one-time Pro Bowl back never got into a rhythm. A lot
of that has to do with a subpar offensive line, which has enabled Johnson to
rush for just 358 yards rushing and no touchdowns. Johnson's best output was
only 83 yards on 23 touches in a 14-6 win at Washington a few weeks ago.
Now enters the running back trio of Charles, Smith and Savage, which sounds
more like a law firm than a depth chart reading, Charles has the best chance
at starting against the Jaguars and possibly taking over as the No. 1 running
back if Johnson's tenure with the Chiefs has reached its end. He is a lighter,
faster and more elusive running back than the bruising Johnson. The 2008
third-round pick had his best output of the season in a Week 3 loss at
Philadelphia, as he compiled 36 yards on six carries. Charles also has good
hands out of the backfield and owns 14 catches for 120 yards in 2009. Kansas
City surely hopes the short work has given him enough experience.
The 5-11, 199-pound Texas product has been waiting patiently to get his shot
at being a full-time running back, and often draws comparisons to Tennessee
Titans running back Chris Johnson. The two young backs are home-run hitters
that predicate their game on making defenders miss in the open field. Chris
Johnson has established himself already as an NFL star, something Charles
hopes to do sooner than later.
Haley has had nothing but kind words to say about Charles and how much he has
learned under the staff.
"I think he's doing everything on his end to be ready to go," Haley said.
"He's probably our best pass protector as a back as far as understanding who's
he supposed to block. He's really improved at that and he's listened to Coach
Mo [Carthon], who's stayed on him pretty hard from the start. I think he's
getting better. We'll see how it goes, but it's an opportunity for Jamaal."
Kansas City is 21st in rushing this season, averaging 101.3 yards per game,
and could soon have a controversy in the backfield when Smith is activated
from the physically unable to perform list. Smith says he is fully recovered
from knee surgery and went through a tough process to get back to where he is
today. He had to learn how to walk, jog, make cuts and shift on the knee
again as he slowly returned to form. Smith was placed on injured reserve in
November of last season and underwent right knee surgery that caused him to
miss the final eight games. So far he's been back at practice for two weeks.
Smith, whose leg was in a cast for six weeks, set a Chiefs rookie record with
31 carries for 150 yards on November 25, 2007 against Oakland and had 100
yards and a touchdown on 35 carries a year ago.
Savage, meanwhile, has been relegated mostly to return duties and could see
limited action at running back. He has 41 yards on eight touches in two games
this season.
The Chiefs can't do any worse with the new ground attack, since their passing
offense ranks 30th in the 32-team NFL with an average of just 150.3 yards
through the air on a weekly basis. Quarterback Matt Cassel hasn't done much to
earn the big paycheck he received coming over via an offseason trade with New
England, and his last performance proves that. In the Chiefs' 30-point setback
to San Diego on October 25, Cassel passed for 97 yards with a touchdown and
three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 25.3. He must improve Sunday
in Jacksonville to save face.
CHARGERS: It's been more than five years since Eli Manning and Philip Rivers
were traded for each other on draft day, but now they finally get a chance to
go head-to-head on the gridiron.
Rivers was backing up Drew Brees when the Manning-led Giants visited San Diego
back in September of the 2005 campaign. Manning has led New York to a Super
Bowl victory in his relatively short career in the Big Apple, and was booed
heavily that day for spurning the Chargers, who took him No. 1 overall before
shipping him to the Giants in a package deal.
Sunday's matchup will also be a battle between two formidable passing
offenses, but San Diego is slightly better at this point with an average of
276.3 yards per game this season.
Rivers is second in the NFL with 297.8 passing yards a game and faces a New
York secondary that struggled on the road against Donovan McNabb and the
Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon. Rivers has to be licking his chops at
getting a chance to do the same thing but must not get too complacent, because
the Giants still have one of the top-rated defenses in the league. New York
will adjust, no doubt. The only question is if Rivers will be prepared for the
wrinkles Giants coordinator Bill Sheridan installed for his unit.
The Chargers (4-3) just scraped by the AFC West-rival Oakland Raiders with
last Sunday's 24-16 triumph, and pulled within two games of the division-
leading Denver Broncos, who suffered their first loss of the season at
Baltimore. San Diego, which has won the AFC West crown three straight years,
has picked up momentum after coming off consecutive victories over division
doormats Kansas City and Oakland. Now they will put their act to the test at
the Meadowlands.
"It's a tough place to go on the road in a game that I think will say a lot
about us," Rivers said. "We've put two (wins) together that many expected us
to win, as did we, but we've still had to go do it. This one will be the
toughest we've had in the last three weeks."
Head coach Norv Turner knows that Rivers has had this matchup on his mind for
quite some time, and hopes his defensive unit can put forth another solid
effort at Giants Stadium. Linebackers Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman each
had two sacks in San Diego's 13th straight win over the Raiders, and must keep
that pressure going this week. The Giants are too good to let Manning have
enough time in the pocket to dissect the defense.
Phillips has posted a pair of sacks in each of the last two games and Merriman
ended a nine-game sackless streak with a pair against Oakland. San Diego has
registered 10 sacks in the last two weeks, while Manning has been taken down
six times in the past three weeks after getting sacked just twice through the
team's first five contests.
"We're really coming together," Phillips said on the team's official site.
"We're creating pressure and that results in sacks. That's a great thing for
the team."
In other team news, wide receiver Chris Chambers was released by the Chargers
on Monday in a move that will further develop younger wideouts Malcom Floyd
and Legedu Naanee. Chambers caught nine passes for 122 yards and a touchdown
this season, and his departure could open a slot for a possible special teams
player who can help in the kicking game. Turner also stated that the Chargers
may go with four wide receivers in Sunday's battle with the Giants.
Chambers came to the Chargers via trade midway through Turner's first season
in 2007 and posted 35 receptions for 555 yards and four touchdown that year.
The following week doesn't get any easier for the Chargers, with Philadelphia
expected to pay a visit to Qualcomm Stadium.
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