A chant of "Denver lost, Denver lost, Denver lost" filled the stadium, the Silver and Black fanatics suddenly saw a ray of light in the Black Hole. Denver had just been throttled by Kansas City 7-3 and there was hope that The Raiders could work some magic. The mantra rose in volume and number, the fans trying to instill their will on the sagging Raider defense.
In Oakland, with almost seven minutes left on the clock, down by five points there was a narrow window of opportunity. It quickly closed, following a mishandled kickoff return by Richard Goodman that forced San Diego to start from their 1 yd. line. The Chargers needed just four plays to drive 99 yards. The game breaker came in the form of a 43 yd. td. strike from Phillip Rivers to Malcom Floyd, sealing a 38-26 victory for the Chargers.
"If you can't stop a team with everything on the line, you don't deserve to be a playoff team," said Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour. The win over Kansas City was a fluke that fostered false hope and prolonged the disappointment for another week. It was the bi-product of an abomination that occurs at least once during the course of an NFL season. The Sunday when all the teams that should win, somehow find a way to lose.
"To say I'm pissed off is an understatement," said Hue Jackson, "It didn't look like a football team that was hungry enough to go out and win the AFC West title." Ultimately the offense did enough to win, but their efforts were for naught due to the shortcomings of a defense that just couldn't get the job done. As poorly as the defense performed, (from the exhibition season to that soul crushing final game), not one defensive coach should feel his job is safe.
Raider Notes:
We can only wonder at what direction the season would have taken if Jason Campbell had stayed healthy. Although, it's highly unlikely that Campbell could have squeezed anymore points out of the offense than Carson Palmer did. Some may say that Carson didn't live up to the hype. I say that he stepped in and salvaged an almost hopeless situation (Kyle Boller, backed up by Terrelle Pryor)
Given the circumstances it was a gamble that paid off, and now we're left with the question: Will Carson's ascendancy leave Jason Campbell out of the loop? With all that The Raiders gave up to get Palmer, there won't be a battle for the Qb. job come training camp. Carson is Hue's man and he will be the starter in 2012. The Raiders must re-up Campbell (who will be a free agent) and it's unlikely that he'll happy in a back-up role.
The Raiders set an NFL single season records for penalties and yards penalized. 163 penalties for 1,358 yards, breaking a record previously held by the Kansas City Chiefs. Michael Bush finished the season with 977 rushing yards, Darrius Heyward-Bey had 975 receiving yards on 64 receptions for the season. Tommy Kelly led the defense with 7.5 sacks and Matt Giordano (who was cut in training camp) led the defense in interceptions with 5. Denver, Oakland & San Diego all finished at 8-8 with The Broncos holding the tie breaker.
Season in Review:
Back to back 8-8 seasons would indicate that The Raiders have gone from being bottom feeders to also-rans. That can only be seen as a positive step in the right direction. In retrospect the 2011 season was a bust, an onslaught of injuries wiped out Oakland's backfield and receiving corps. The defense failed at crucial times, in crucial games. The old bugaboo of penalties and giving up big plays on third down cost Oakland like never before.
The 2011 season was also marked by the death of Al Davis. It's hard to say how things would have gone with Al around, but I think he would have vetoed the Carson Palmer trade. Al Davis and his archaic way of the running the club was the primary reason The Raiders took so long to rebuild. The time has come to move ahead and hire a G.M. to make those all important football decisions.
Hue Jackson will be back, an 8-8 record at least affords him an opportunity to say the team didn't regress under his watch. The consensus is still out on Hue's first season as head coach, although some fans are already calling for his dismissal. Hue's constant spin doctoring failed to convince or win over the hardcore believers of Raider Nation. He gets another chance in 2012 to lead us to the promised land, and if he does all will be forgotten.
