Post by TheShadow on Dec 2, 2003 19:29:21 GMT -5
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Oakland coach Callahan vents after turnovers, penalties aid Denver win
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
OAKLAND -- Bill Callahan, normally as inscrutable as a mannequin, finally boiled over Sunday afternoon. After watching his Raiders match the Broncos in muscle and speed, only to lose, 22-8, thanks to three turnovers and multiple penalties, Callahan lost it in the post-game press room.
"I strongly felt that if we don't learn how not to beat ourselves, we won't win again," he said, his voice rising in anger. "We've got to be the dumbest team in America, in terms of playing the game. We give games away. We give 'em away. And I represent that."
If Callahan was the representative, he had plenty of aides.
The Raiders looked to be Denver's equal at the line of scrimmage as they were outgained only 287-262 on a rainy, sloppy day at the Oakland Coliseum. They also provided several big plays, including a 45-yard run by Tyrone Wheatley, an interception at the 2-yard line by Phillip Buchanon and a blocked punt -- resulting in a safety -- by O.J. Santiago.
But every time the Raiders appeared ready to take the lead or, later in the game, climb back into contention, they foiled themselves with a turnover or an ill-timed flag.
Both of the Broncos' first-half touchdowns were abetted by Oakland infractions.
The Raiders were up 5-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. Denver began to drive, but soon faced third-and-14 from the Oakland 32. With nobody open, quarterback Jake Plummer took off running toward the left sideline and, hemmed in by cornerback Charles Woodson and linebacker Eric Barton, headed out of bounds well short of the first down. But Barton dove and hit Plummer -- however mildly -- and the Broncos received an automatic first down at the Raiders' 12.
Four plays later, Plummer rolled to his left and found that no one was covering tight end Shannon Sharpe. He hit Sharpe with a 4-yard touchdown pass, giving Denver its first lead.
Oakland got a 48-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski (his second of the game) on its next possession, retaking the lead at 8-7.
Denver quickly stalled, and Micah Knorr came onto the field to punt. But Santiago encroached, and the 5-yard penalty gave the Broncos a first down. With renewed momentum, they marched down the field and finished the drive on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Clinton Portis, going up 14-8.
That's where the score remained until 6:04 of the fourth quarter. In the intervening quarter-and-a-half, the Raiders twice coughed up the ball.
First Wheatley took a hit from Denver safety Nick Ferguson and lost the football; it was recovered by Donnie Spragan at the Raiders' 46. Then, in the fourth quarter, Jerry Porter hauled in a pass over the middle from Rick Mirer on third-and-8 and attempted to make greater yardage out of it. Cornerback Lenny Walls stripped him and, after a mad scramble, corner Kelly Herndon came up with it.
The Raiders wanted to challenge, insisting tight end Teyo Johnson had possession of the loose ball. But fumble recoveries are not reviewable.
"He got a good piece of the ball," Porter said. "I tried to get upfield, and he got a hand on the ball. It was a hell of a play, a hell of a call, a hell of a pass."
It was also the beginning of the end for the Raiders. The Broncos proceeded to mount the longest drive of the game, 68 yards on 10 carries, eating 6:04 before Portis finished it with another 1-yard touchdown. Portis had all but 6 yards on the drive, and all 68 came on the ground.
After calling time out to discuss it, Denver coach Mike Shanahan ordered a two-point conversion attempt, and Portis found the end zone again to make it 22-8.
The Raiders' last real chance ended nearly four minutes later. Facing fourth-and-13 from the Oakland 40, Mirer dropped back and found himself under heavy pressure. He threw to Porter at the left sideline, but officials ruled the receiver out of bounds. Callahan challenged the call and lost.
"You know what? The way it was painted, you really couldn't tell," Porter said. "It had been raining all day. I thought I was in. I work on that play a lot in practice, and I'm usually able to get my feet down. But on further review ..."
Almost on cue, the clouds opened and dumped water on the participants just as the referee announced the ruling.
Compared with the 31-10 loss at Denver in Week 3, Oakland did a much better job against Plummer's play fakes and bootlegs. He completed 11 of 20 passes for a measly 105 yards, and picked up only 8 yards with his feet.
But as they did the first time around, the Raiders found it nearly impossible to bottle up Portis, Denver's shifty back. Gaining strength as the game progressed, he wound up with 170 yards on 34 carries. As a team, Denver had 193 on the ground.
"I felt we had to stop to run," Callahan said. "And we failed in that objective. I think they've had about 400 yards (he's close: 383) in the last two games."
Meanwhile, the Raiders had 120 yards on 23 carries, with Wheatley picking up 85 on eight attempts. But after falling behind in the second half, Oakland was unable to stick with the ground attack that has been so impressive in recent weeks.
"Today started to shape up to be an ugly bad-weather game," Porter said. "We didn't want to throw the ball, with it being so slick and everything. But we had to."
In the end, it wasn't a matter of who had the more dominant running game, but who would be buried by mistakes. The Raiders were whistled 11 times for 89 yards, and most of them were pure mental errors, including a pair of defensive offside calls and a pair of false starts. Cornerback Charles Woodson was hit with back-to-back penalties -- roughing the passer, then pass interference -- for 34 yards in the fourth quarter.
On the bright side, Buchanon didn't once remove his helmet on the field.
After the game, some Raiders questioned the impartiality of the officiating crew, a fairly common refrain in Oakland.
"You have to make sure you don't criticize the officials," safety Anthony Dorsett said. "As soon as you do, you get fined. But a lot of these guys are in their upper 50s or upper 60s, and they're officiating a game played by 21-year-old guys. I don't know if they're seeing everything they're supposed to be seeing."
Other players, however, were less willing to look beyond the locker room for explanations. "You can't blame nothing on a penalty but the person who made the penalty," linebacker Tim Johnson said. "You've got to be accountable. If I get a penalty, it's my fault, I did it."
The playoffs are now a fable for the 3-9 Raiders, who have been swept by both Kansas City and Denver. And once again they must live with the feeling that they lost to a team that was their equal, or even their lesser.
"It's hard to swallow a loss, period," Dorsett said. "But we swallowed quite a few of them this year."
Oakland coach Callahan vents after turnovers, penalties aid Denver win
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
OAKLAND -- Bill Callahan, normally as inscrutable as a mannequin, finally boiled over Sunday afternoon. After watching his Raiders match the Broncos in muscle and speed, only to lose, 22-8, thanks to three turnovers and multiple penalties, Callahan lost it in the post-game press room.
"I strongly felt that if we don't learn how not to beat ourselves, we won't win again," he said, his voice rising in anger. "We've got to be the dumbest team in America, in terms of playing the game. We give games away. We give 'em away. And I represent that."
If Callahan was the representative, he had plenty of aides.
The Raiders looked to be Denver's equal at the line of scrimmage as they were outgained only 287-262 on a rainy, sloppy day at the Oakland Coliseum. They also provided several big plays, including a 45-yard run by Tyrone Wheatley, an interception at the 2-yard line by Phillip Buchanon and a blocked punt -- resulting in a safety -- by O.J. Santiago.
But every time the Raiders appeared ready to take the lead or, later in the game, climb back into contention, they foiled themselves with a turnover or an ill-timed flag.
Both of the Broncos' first-half touchdowns were abetted by Oakland infractions.
The Raiders were up 5-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. Denver began to drive, but soon faced third-and-14 from the Oakland 32. With nobody open, quarterback Jake Plummer took off running toward the left sideline and, hemmed in by cornerback Charles Woodson and linebacker Eric Barton, headed out of bounds well short of the first down. But Barton dove and hit Plummer -- however mildly -- and the Broncos received an automatic first down at the Raiders' 12.
Four plays later, Plummer rolled to his left and found that no one was covering tight end Shannon Sharpe. He hit Sharpe with a 4-yard touchdown pass, giving Denver its first lead.
Oakland got a 48-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski (his second of the game) on its next possession, retaking the lead at 8-7.
Denver quickly stalled, and Micah Knorr came onto the field to punt. But Santiago encroached, and the 5-yard penalty gave the Broncos a first down. With renewed momentum, they marched down the field and finished the drive on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Clinton Portis, going up 14-8.
That's where the score remained until 6:04 of the fourth quarter. In the intervening quarter-and-a-half, the Raiders twice coughed up the ball.
First Wheatley took a hit from Denver safety Nick Ferguson and lost the football; it was recovered by Donnie Spragan at the Raiders' 46. Then, in the fourth quarter, Jerry Porter hauled in a pass over the middle from Rick Mirer on third-and-8 and attempted to make greater yardage out of it. Cornerback Lenny Walls stripped him and, after a mad scramble, corner Kelly Herndon came up with it.
The Raiders wanted to challenge, insisting tight end Teyo Johnson had possession of the loose ball. But fumble recoveries are not reviewable.
"He got a good piece of the ball," Porter said. "I tried to get upfield, and he got a hand on the ball. It was a hell of a play, a hell of a call, a hell of a pass."
It was also the beginning of the end for the Raiders. The Broncos proceeded to mount the longest drive of the game, 68 yards on 10 carries, eating 6:04 before Portis finished it with another 1-yard touchdown. Portis had all but 6 yards on the drive, and all 68 came on the ground.
After calling time out to discuss it, Denver coach Mike Shanahan ordered a two-point conversion attempt, and Portis found the end zone again to make it 22-8.
The Raiders' last real chance ended nearly four minutes later. Facing fourth-and-13 from the Oakland 40, Mirer dropped back and found himself under heavy pressure. He threw to Porter at the left sideline, but officials ruled the receiver out of bounds. Callahan challenged the call and lost.
"You know what? The way it was painted, you really couldn't tell," Porter said. "It had been raining all day. I thought I was in. I work on that play a lot in practice, and I'm usually able to get my feet down. But on further review ..."
Almost on cue, the clouds opened and dumped water on the participants just as the referee announced the ruling.
Compared with the 31-10 loss at Denver in Week 3, Oakland did a much better job against Plummer's play fakes and bootlegs. He completed 11 of 20 passes for a measly 105 yards, and picked up only 8 yards with his feet.
But as they did the first time around, the Raiders found it nearly impossible to bottle up Portis, Denver's shifty back. Gaining strength as the game progressed, he wound up with 170 yards on 34 carries. As a team, Denver had 193 on the ground.
"I felt we had to stop to run," Callahan said. "And we failed in that objective. I think they've had about 400 yards (he's close: 383) in the last two games."
Meanwhile, the Raiders had 120 yards on 23 carries, with Wheatley picking up 85 on eight attempts. But after falling behind in the second half, Oakland was unable to stick with the ground attack that has been so impressive in recent weeks.
"Today started to shape up to be an ugly bad-weather game," Porter said. "We didn't want to throw the ball, with it being so slick and everything. But we had to."
In the end, it wasn't a matter of who had the more dominant running game, but who would be buried by mistakes. The Raiders were whistled 11 times for 89 yards, and most of them were pure mental errors, including a pair of defensive offside calls and a pair of false starts. Cornerback Charles Woodson was hit with back-to-back penalties -- roughing the passer, then pass interference -- for 34 yards in the fourth quarter.
On the bright side, Buchanon didn't once remove his helmet on the field.
After the game, some Raiders questioned the impartiality of the officiating crew, a fairly common refrain in Oakland.
"You have to make sure you don't criticize the officials," safety Anthony Dorsett said. "As soon as you do, you get fined. But a lot of these guys are in their upper 50s or upper 60s, and they're officiating a game played by 21-year-old guys. I don't know if they're seeing everything they're supposed to be seeing."
Other players, however, were less willing to look beyond the locker room for explanations. "You can't blame nothing on a penalty but the person who made the penalty," linebacker Tim Johnson said. "You've got to be accountable. If I get a penalty, it's my fault, I did it."
The playoffs are now a fable for the 3-9 Raiders, who have been swept by both Kansas City and Denver. And once again they must live with the feeling that they lost to a team that was their equal, or even their lesser.
"It's hard to swallow a loss, period," Dorsett said. "But we swallowed quite a few of them this year."