OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Even in the depths of the Michael Vick- and Bobby
Petrino-inspired despair last year in Atlanta, the Falcons never sank as
low as they sent the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Matt Ryan threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Michael Jenkins
and the Falcons held the Raiders to negative yards and no first downs in
the first half and their lowest yards total in 47 years in a 24-0 victory.
In a six-year stretch of losing, embarrassment and new lows in Oakland,
Al Davis' once-proud franchise might have reached a new nadir this week
in front of a half-filled stadium of fans who began booing the Raiders
(2-6) just minutes in. Oakland finished with just 77 yards for its worst
total since getting 58 in 1961 against the Chargers, when Davis was an
assistant in San Diego.
The Falcons (5-3) scored on their first four possessions as Ryan had
open receivers to pick from almost every time he dropped back, while
Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood had big holes to run through.
Atlanta also posted its first shutout since 2002, preserving it with an
interception in the end zone by Erik Coleman midway through the fourth
quarter.
Ryan finished 17-of-22 for 220 yards, outplaying JaMarcus Russell in a
matchup of the first quarterbacks taken in the past two drafts. Turner
added 139 yards on 31 carries.
After suffering through the misery of 2007 that started with Vick's
guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges and ended when Petrino fled
town with three games remaining in his first season as coach is quickly
becoming a distant memory.
Led by a rookie quarterback in Ryan and rookie coach Mike Smith, the
Falcons have already surpassed last season's victory total by one at
just the halfway point and are in the thick of the race in the NFC.
Though it doesn't figure to be quite this easy the rest of the way.
Ryan beat former Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall with a 37-yard
touchdown pass to Jenkins to cap the first drive. The two beat Stanford
Routt with a corner route for a 27-yard touchdown on the third drive.
Norwood added a 12-yard touchdown run and Jason Elam kicked a 48-yard
field goal for Atlanta's other first-half scores that made it 24-0.
The Raiders finally got a stop in the final seconds of the half when
Gerard Warren sacked Ryan and forced a fumble that was recovered at the
Oakland 23 with 16 seconds remaining. But John Abraham brought down
Russell with his third sack to end the half. The Raiders finished the
half with minus-2 yards of offense, compared to 309 to Atlanta.
Even attempts at trickery didn't work for the Raiders, who sent in
receiver Ronald Curry at quarterback on the first play of their fourth
drive. Before they could even run a play, Robert Gallery was called for
a false start and Russell returned.
Justin Fargas' 13-yard run with 9:26 to play in the third quarter gave
the Raiders their initial first down of the game and led to mock
applause from the frustrated crowd. The boos quickly returned when
Russell lost a fumble three plays later.
Russell doubled Oakland's yardage total with a 24-yard scramble in the
opening minute of the fourth quarter for the second first down of the game.
The loss was the third blowout in four games under interim coach Tom
Cable, whose only win came in overtime at home two weeks ago against the
New York Jets. Cable now has the same record that Lane Kiffin had when
he was fired after four games.
Notes:@ The Falcons shut out Carolina twice in the '02 season. ...
Oakland was last shut out by St. Louis in 2006, one of three that
season. ... Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski remained stuck on 859 career
points, four shy of tying George Blanda's franchise scoring record.
Great! The Raiders are finally bringing some clarity to this season.
Because now that the polls are closed — although the pass-rush lane to
JaMarcus Russell remains open at all times — we can make the official
declaration:
This is the worst Raiders team of the century.
True, that covers only eight-plus years. But considering that the
Raiders have a 21-67 record since their Super Bowl appearance in January
2003, there is much room for debate.
Yet I defy anyone who saw Sunday's 24-0 stink-bomb loss to Atlanta to
disagree.
See, it isn't just that the Raiders are getting worse — way worse —
rather than getting better.
And it isn't just that on Sunday, the Raiders' offense accumulated only
77 yards, the fewest of any NFL team in a single game since 2004.
And it isn't just that the game was so awful to watch, federal
legislation to reinstitute the home television blackout for all Raiders
games must be considered.
And it isn't just that the Raiders didn't make a first down until 9:26
remained in the third quarter, drawing a round of sarcastic cheering
from the Coliseum crowd.
And it isn't even that the Raiders' defense allowed Atlanta rookie
quarterback Matt Ryan to slice and dice so effectively that he finished
the game with a QB rating of 138.4 — which was more than seven times
better than the 19.0 rating posted by the Raiders' JaMarcus Russell.
It is this:
When you go into the Raiders' locker room and interview the players,
when you sit and listen to the coach in his postgame session, you do not
get the impression anyone has any idea what to do next. (Not that you
would trust them to do it, even if they did.)
Bless them all for being honest about it, though. Pro Bowl cornerback
Nnamdi Asomugha was lobbed a hopeful question about how he could keep
the Raiders' 2-6 record at midseason from "snowballing" even farther
downhill.
"I don't know," Asomugha said. "Is that a fair answer? I don't know."
And running back Justin Fargas, who carried the ball on the run that
gained that precious initial first down of the day, was definitely not
happy when asked if he had heard the mocking cheers.
"I heard cheers," Fargas said. "I didn't hear mocking."
He should listen a little harder. The Raiders are being mocked all over
the league these days, not just at the Coliseum. That has happened
before, of course. But it is difficult to remember the depression
reaching this low a level.
Tom Cable, the team's interim head coach, tried to be as upbeat as
possible — but his remarks only inspired more depression.
"We know the issue," Cable said. "It's us. We've got to take care of us."
Then he said that Sunday's performance fooled him, because he thought
the Raiders came into the game after "an amazing week" of practice and
"our best week of preparation."
So to review: The Raiders were as bad as it gets. Their best player has
no idea how to stop them from getting worse. And the head coach totally
misjudged the team's intensity and passion before kickoff — so how on
earth will he ever know if the players are truly ready?
So that settles it. These guys are worse than the Art Shell Raiders of
2006 — because when that team lost its season opener at home to San
Diego 27-0, the Chargers were a really good team. And these guys are
worse than the 4-12 team of 2003, because when those Raiders lost a home
game to Green Bay 41-7, you could write it off to Brett Favre's
inspirational night after his father's death.
Sunday's opponent, by contrast, was an Atlanta team that a year ago
finished with the same 4-12 record as the Raiders. This season, the
Falcons have a new coach (Mike Smith) and new quarterback (young Ryan)
and are allegedly just finding their way. Atlanta is not a team that is
supposed to show up in Oakland and roll up 30 first downs to the
Raiders' three.
And what of Russell, the Raiders quarterback who seems to be regressing
rather than progressing? Never was that more obvious than when he was on
the same field as Ryan, who has one fewer year of NFL experience than
Russell but performed far more coolly and effectively. Russell was
sacked four times, threw an end-zone interception and completed six
passes for 31 yards.
Russell's analysis: "'Every possible thing that could go bad today, did
go bad."
And what is the offense lacking, in his opinion?
"From today," Russell said, "everything."
We know this much: The past few weeks have proved positively,
definitely, that fired head coach Lane Kiffin was not the problem. There
are many other problems. But when owner Al Davis had his news conference
that showcased his obsession with documenting Kiffin's insubordination —
instead of giving full attention to bettering the team — how could the
players not be bummed and distracted?
Yes, players are paid to play hard. Coaches are paid to coach hard. But
at a certain point ... well, why spend an extra couple of hours watching
video or working on throw-catch timing for an owner who pretty much
admitted that he spent the first month of the season worrying more about
a personal grudge against your previous coach?
Some people wonder if any of that stuff really shows up on the field.
Wonder no more.
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Sunday's magnificent performance. The
worst of the century.
