Things went from bad to worse for the Raiders on Sunday at a time when
they expected a turnaround in the second half of their season.
Instead, they are all but officially out of playoff contention for the
seventh straight season after a 16-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
at the Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders also are at a crossroads with
quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Raiders coach Tom Cable yanked Russell, the supposed franchise savior,
for the second time in three games in favor of Bruce Gradkowski.
Russell played inconsistently and failed to generate much production
as the leader of the offense.
"I'm just looking for the guy who gives us the best chance to win, and
the same (goes) at every position.
Who gives us a chance to win by making the plays that are there for us
to make?" Cable said.
The Chiefs made far more positive plays Sunday in winning for only the
second time in nine games. The Raiders dropped to 2-7 and into a last-
place tie with the Chiefs in the AFC West.
Cable was hopeful, if not certain, that his team's fortunes would
change with the return of left guard Robert Gallery, right offensive
tackle Cornell Green, wide receiver Chaz Schilens and running back
Darren McFadden.
The good times lasted for all of one drive. The Raiders marched 70
yards on four plays, culminating with Justin Fargas' 1-yard run and a
7-0 lead. Then, they spent the rest of the game chasing the franchise
record for punts in a game.
In the end, they succeeded in protecting punter Leo Araguz's record
(16 punts against San Diego on Oct. 11,1998). But they hardly moved
the ball. The Raiders recorded 10 three-and-outs, including eight in
nine possessions during one stretch with Russell calling the plays.
Through it all, the Raiders trailed only 13-10 late in the third
quarter.
By that time, Cable had seen enough and summoned Gradkowski.
"Bruce did some good things," Cable said. "Obviously, we have to hold
onto the football. "... So, he went in and did what he needed to do,
but we just didn't make the plays."
With the score 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, Gradkowski drove the
Raiders from their own 20-yard line to the Chiefs 26 in five plays.
With 38 seconds left, Gradkowski delivered a well-thrown pass to
rookie receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at the 9.
Heyward-Bey bobbled the ball several times before it sailed over his
head and into the arms of safety Mike Brown for a game-clinching
interception.
"I said, 'Look, it just stinks it happened then, but it shouldn't came
down to the end like that, and we had plays earlier in the game we
needed to make,'" Gradkowski said of his postgame conversation with
Heyward-Bey.
Heyward-Bey bolted the locker room before the media were allowed
access.
Earlier, Heyward-Bey let a 52-yard pass from Russell slip through his
hands at the Chiefs 5.
Heyward-Bey wasn't the only one guilty of the dropsies; Raiders
receivers dropped eight catchable passes by Cable's count.
Schilens said the team-wide problem won't go away until players place
more importance on catching the ball.
"I just tell myself if ... I don't catch this, then they're not going
to trust me, and I can't help the team win," Schilens said. "Until you
focus on that ball like it's more important than anything else in the
world, then you might not be where your mind needs to be at."
Cable has plenty of huge issues on his plate. First and foremost, what
to do with Russell?
Cable declared Russell the starter for the following game the day he
benched him against the New York Jets on Oct. 25. He refused to make
such a declarative Sunday.
"I'm going to look at it," Cable said in reference to turning over the
reins to Gradkowski or Charlie Frye. "I'll have something more to say
on that (today) after I look at the film."
Gradkowski is a legitimate candidate to start against the Cincinnati
Bengals this coming Sunday, Cable admitted.
"If that's the right thing to do and it gives us the best chance to
win, yes," Cable said.
Russell said after the game that Cable's decision caught him off
guard.
"Totally," Russell said. "Really can't explain it. I really don't know
what to say about it, but that was his decision, and just move on from
it. Things were going OK, toward the end."
Russell completed his first three passes Sunday but missed on 15 of
his final 20. He has completed only 46.8 percent of his passes and had
only two passes go for touchdowns in nine starts.
For his part, Russell said he supports Cable in every way, even if he
doesn't understand why he was benched Sunday. He said he still views
himself as the starter.
"I wasn't told any different," Russell said. "Whatever Coach comes up
with, I'm going to go with, but I'm going to keep preparing like I am
going to start."
