Raiders- Chargers Week 16

In order to crash and burn, you have to get off the launching pad, which the Raiders never did. You can't even say that this was a season that started out with promise and ended badly... it started badly with the Raiders winless during the pre-season and continued on through the remainder of the schedule.   Oakland won back to back games just once this year and Carson Palmer, while putting up some decent numbers... never took command of the offense or clicked with his receivers.

The weakest link in the armor was the defense, they ran out of gas in the second half of the season opener and didn't find their second wind until the return match-up against Kansas City. Jason Tarver's defensive unit hit a stretch where they gave up 42, 55, 38 & 34 points in succession. Then, in the midst of a close loss to the Cleveland Browns... the defense suddenly started to gel. Somehow or another, Tarver's rotating roster of waiver wire stiffs, malcontents and retreads actually started playing with pride and poise.

It was too little, too late and the burden of a predictable  misfiring offense was too much to overcome. The same goes for the plague of injuries that forced Oakland to go with a revolving cast of corners & safeties. Two major factors emerged that can't be overlooked. 1.)The defense got better once Rolando McClain was suspended and then demoted. 2.) Richard Seymour is done. McClain's melt down and lack of production, spells a hasty exit for the former high draft pick. Excise the tumor, kill the cancer.

The concept of keeping it simple must be beyond Greg Knapp's grasp. His offensive (pun intended) zone blocking schemes, stifled the Raiders running game.  Darren McFadden, who at least finished the season still on the field, produced 707 rushing yards for an anemic 3.3  yard per carry average. The Raiders finished 28th in the NFL, averaging just 89 rushing yards per game.  The big play all but disappeared from the Raider playbook and having Carson Palmer nickel and dime his way down the field ultimately led to a bevy of Palmer interceptions.

The Raiders kept Al Saunders around as the Senior offensive assistant, though his total contribution may have been limited to collecting a paycheck. The Raiders had no trouble scoring with Saunders as Offensive Coordinator in 2011 (Hue Jackson called the plays) The fact that both Knapp and Allen were incapable of thinking outside the box, is puzzling. For all his whiz kid aura, Allen is an old guard coach, unwilling to shake things up. This, in an era where teams are taking bold gambles and young (even rookie) quarterbacks are stepping in, taking charge and changing the face of the NFL.

Dennis Allen was reluctant to work Terrelle Pryor into the offense. Both Allen & Knapp stuck with Carson Palmer the way Vince Lombardi stuck with Bart Starr, except that Starr was a proven leader and a winner. You have to wonder if Palmer has a clause in his contract that says he must play every minute of every game, unless he's injured. When finally given a real chance in the season finale, Pryor performed effectively. He didn't dazzle us with his brilliance or abilities, but it was a competent outing that showed that he's matured and matriculated on the sidelines.

Oakland Raiders  21    San Diego Chargers  24

Terrelle Pryor got his first start of the season and performed well enough to rally the Raiders from a 24-7 deficit late in the game to close within three points. Throughout the game, Coach Allen who seemed dead set against playing Pryor, had to be thinking "Why haven't we tried this before?" Pryor finished 13-28 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He did however, throw an interception in the endzone in the third quarter. That aborted drive, had it been successful would have made all the difference... as it turned out. 

For the third straight game, the defense played with determination, allowing San Diego just 210 yards of total offense and shutting down the Chargers running game (31 carries, 70 yards) Once more the lack of balance between offense and defense torpedoed the Raiders chance. When the defense had its lapses (a sustained drive that netted the Chargers an 11 yd. td. pass to Antonio Gates and a 34 yd. td. strike to Danorio Alexander) the offense failed to respond in kind. Oakland's erratic special teams unit also came into play.

Mike Spurlock took the opening kickoff, 99 yards for a Charger touchdown to start the game. Then with just under two minutes left, Coye Francis blocked a San Diego punt which was recovered by Kaelin Burnett at the Charger eleven yard line. Terrelle Pryor connected with Denarius Moore on a five yard td pass to pull within three points. Sebastian Janikowski attempted an onside kick which bounced San Diego's way and allowed the Chargers to run the clock down. The loss dropped Oakland to 4-12 on the season, giving them a favourable position in the draft order. 

Mike Goodson who had one carry for nine yards, was ejected from the game following a skirmish Charger LB, Takeo Spikes. It didn't turn into a bench clearing brawl, though Terrelle Pryor did jump in and pry Goodson away from Spikes. It was a good show of leadership by Pryor, though Goodson didn't seem to appreciate it at the time. Spikes furious at being ejected then went off on Referee John Parry and had to be restrained by his teammates, he then flung his helmet towards Melvin Ingram before being escorted to the tunnel by Randy McMichael, where the two Chargers hugged it out.... bitches.

The Raiders finished 4-12 overall, 0-2 vs. Denver, 0-2 vs. San Diego, 2-0 vs. Kansas City, for a dismal 2-4 division record. Once again, they failed to win a game played in the Eastern time zone and the highlight of the season was easily their unexpected win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The revamped Denver Broncos led by Peyton Manning are the best team in the AFC, as well as the only AFC West team to finish with a winning record. The Broncos seem to make the right moves, going with Tim Tebow got them into the 2011 playoffs and signing Manning has them pegged as a favorite to make the Super Bowl.

Raider Notes: 

Those who paid attention after Reggie McKenzie was hired, knew that even matching 2011's 8-8 record would be an uphill climb. A quick look at the roster when training camp started showed Oakland coming up short on both sides of the ball. It would have taken an extraordinary effort from the coaching staff to pull it all together.... we didn't get that. The 2012 season seemed to test the patience of Raider Nation unlike any other. The season was a wash almost from the time Hue Jackson was let go. Would we have done better with Hue and Al Saunders running the offense?.... I certainly think so, never underestimate the power of continuity.

Carson was Hue's man and was productive enough in 2011 given the circumstances. Hue also had a way of finding DMC some wiggle room to break off runs. Once it became apparent that Knapp's zone blocking scheme didn't mesh with McFadden's strengths, why not change it up? Greg Knapp held the course and spent the entire season forcing a square peg into a round hole. 

Terrelle Pryor proved his mettle on Sunday, firmly planting himself as the new back-up. Carson Palmer could well have some real competition for the starting spot in 2013. Matt Leinart who  was brought in due to his familiarity with Greg Knapp's offense is one and done.

Darren McFadden who up until now, has put up Justin Fargas type numbers, is coming up on a contract year and needs to have a break out season in 2013. Darrius Heyward-Bey and his $7 million plus salary is a burden that the Raiders need to jettison. The same with Richard Seymour and his $12 million salary, even Tommy Kelly who is due $9 million including bonuses could find himself playing for another team in 2013. "I know we have some guys that are going to be the core of what we want and the type of players we want," Allen said. "I also know we've got some work to do to get more of those types of players." 

McKenzie's goal is to clear up $121 million in cap money and go after some quality free agents, without exceeding the cap limit. Al Davis was notorious for doing so and we now reap the "rewards" of his way of thinking. McKenzie is on record as saying that "Oakland would be in position "to do some things" but lamented that he didn't see being able to bring aboard a big-ticket free agent" In the short run, Reggie's fiscal discipline will prove frustrating for fans. It is however, a sound strategy to build towards the future.  

Reggie also has the #3 pick overall in the NFL draft and he may use it to pick up more draft picks in later rounds. No word or speculation yet on who the Raiders would pick (assuming they hold on to the #3 pick) The needs on defense probably outweigh those on offense, Barkevious Mingo DE LSU,  Star Lotulelei D Utah, Damontre Moore DE Texas A&M, Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame, come to mind. CBS Sports' Mock NFL draft has Oakland picking  Jarvis Jones, OLB from Georgia  or Bjoern Werner, DE from Florida State in the first round. With the NFL combines coming up in late Feb., Reggie has time to evaluate the talent pool and pull a rabbit out of his hat. 

Black Monday was in full effect as the reaper mowed its way through the ranks of NFL coaching staffs. Romeo Crennel, Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur, Lovie Smith, Ken Whisenhunt, Andy Reid and Chan Gailey were all fired on Monday. Five GM's were let go, (Mike Tannenbaum, A.J. Smith, Rod Graves, Tom Heckert, Gene Smith) Reid's departure from Philadelphia had been rumored for weeks, Lovie Smith's caught some Chicago Bears fans off guard. Their reasoning being, How do you fire a coach after a ten win season?

Last year we were asking "how can you fire a coach after an 8-8 record?" Dennis Allen is still head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Reggie McKenzie is still the general manager... at least for the time being.  Keep in mind that at this time last year, Hue Jackson was a sure bet to return for another season. Defensive Coordinator, Jason Tarver's future with the club is still undecided, but Offensive Coordinator, Greg Knapp was fired on Monday. Citing the regression of the Raider running game, Coach Allen spoke at the season ending news conference "We weren't getting the production that we needed to, an I felt like we needed to make a change.

Raider faithful have felt that way about Greg Knapp and his offense since the pre-season. As the Raiders failed to score points, the outcry grew louder, the ranks of the boo birds and bag heads (gasp!) started to swell. Knapp was joined on the cut list by, Frank Pollack (offensive line coach) Johnny Holland (linebackers coach) and Steve Hoffman (special teams coordinator) You have to think that more heads will roll, this isn't over by a longshot. Rumors have Al Saunders stepping back into the offensive coordinator's spot, no other candidates for Knapp's job have yet surfaced. 

 

In retrospect, firing Hue Jackson was a mistake. Trying to implement new schemes to an offense that really wasn't broken was a mistake. Reggie is committed to Dennis Allen for another year. I had high hopes for Dennis Allen coming into the 2012 season, those hopes have diminished. Will 2013 be the big turn around year for the Raiders?... call me a glass is half empty kind of guy, but the answer is an emphatic  NO!   It would take a couple of big headline grabbing free agent signings to get the Raiders back on track and as McKenzie already stated, that's not likely to happen.  Go Raiders! 

The End