OAKLAND - To paraphrase a line from a famous philosopher, or maybe it
was Dennis Green, the Cardinals and Raiders are who we thought they were.
Neither team did anything Sunday at McAfee Coliseum to convince us they
are ready to hit the up button from the basement elevator of the NFL.
The Raiders committed five turnovers and they won 22-9, which tells you
something about the quality of the Cardinals' performance.
They committed a litany of mistakes. They couldn't pass, couldn't
protect quarterback Matt Leinart, couldn't run and couldn't stop the
Raiders from converting third downs in the first half.
It was the sixth straight loss for the Cardinals (1-6), who now own the
longest losing streak in the NFL, because Sunday was the first victory
of the year for the Raiders (1-5).
"Is it frustrating?" Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson said. "Hell, yes,
it's frustrating. That's six in a row."
Now, the questions about Green's job are hovering, like the gulls that
picked at the garbage left by the 61,595 who attended Sunday's game.
Green has won 12 games in 2 ½ seasons in Arizona, and the questions will
not easily be shooed away.
When asked about his job security, Green said he wasn't thinking about it.
"You know, that's a word I don't think in my whole life I've ever used:
security," Green said. "I was not raised that way. Now, if you're asking
me if I'm worried about getting fired or not, that's a totally different
issue, but as far as job security, I'm not that kind of guy. I've driven
trucks, I've done everything a guy could do in a lifetime of 57 years."
So, he was asked, are you worried about being fired?
"I don't worry about it," Green said, adding that he's sure owner Bill
Bidwill is disappointed.
"I just cannot believe we're sitting here at 1-6," Green said, "but we
are. I just can't believe it."
Neither Bidwill nor his son Michael, a team vice president, was
available for comment after the game.
The Cardinals earned their sixth loss by letting the worst offense in
the NFL score two touchdowns in the first quarter. They did it by
letting the Raiders convert on third and 11, 21 and 13 in the first
quarter. They did it by letting Leinart get pummeled, by converting just
one of 11 third downs, by rushing for 50 yards on 20 carries, by scoring
just three field goals despite having five turnovers.
The ultimate indignity came in the third quarter, when Leinart was
nearly sacked for a safety. On the next play, from the 1, running back
Marcel Shipp was stopped in the end zone. The two points gave the
Raiders a 22-3 lead.
"We can come up with all these excuses every week, but the bottom line
is we're not winning football games," said Leinart, who played like a
rookie, completing 13 of 32 passes for 203 yards and two interceptions.
"As a quarterback, I have to take the blame as a leader of this football
team. We have to get something going. . . . We can't seem to find the
answer."
It wasn't changing offensive coordinators. Green fired Keith Rowen as
offensive coordinator last week and promoted quarterbacks coach Mike
Kruczek, who said he wanted to bring passion, energy and a less
conservative approach.
If anything, the offense looked worse Sunday. Oakland defensive end
Derrick Burgess continually beat right tackle Oliver Ross and made quite
an impression on Leinart's back. Burgess finished with two sacks and
deflected a pass that resulted in an interception.
"We came up with a rush plan to single me up," Burgess said. "I was able
to break through and apply the pressure and get a couple of sacks."
The Cardinals couldn't even get the ball to their best offensive player,
Anquan Boldin, who touched it once in the first half (4 yards on a lateral).
"We were trying to run the football, but that didn't happen very well,"
Leinart said.
By the time the Cardinals defense stiffened, it was too late. Arizona
was down 17-3 at halftime, having "amassed" 75 yards of total offense.
For the sixth straight week, the Cardinals retreated to a quiet, sad
locker room, left to explain another loss.
"We're past soul searching time," defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said.
"I don't know what time it is right now."
