Post by TheShadow on Dec 3, 2003 20:49:11 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
Last visit to Heinz Field set course for offense
By Jerry McDonald
THE LAST TIME the Oakland Raiders played in Pittsburgh, they found themselves but lost their legs.
The Raiders embarked on a passing fancy during the "Pittsburgh Air Strike" on Sept.16, 2002, a September-through-January assault that won an AFC championship but haunts them more than a year later.
Once Rich Gannon had succeeded in filling the cool night air with passes, beating the Steelers 30-17 at Heinz Field, Oakland's offensive personality had undergone a transformation.
Balance was for straddling a beam in gymnastics, not for playing in Pittsburgh. Running plays were mere breathers in between an endless string of slants, shovel passes, shallow crossing patterns and seam routes.
In the week preceding the Pittsburgh game, rookie coach Bill Callahan promised the same sort of attack the Raiders had in their opener against Seattle. In Week1, the Raiders built a 28-7 lead over Seattle with conventional balance, then ran it 27 times in the second half -- 40 in all -- protecting the lead and winning 31-17.
Week2 would be much the same, Callahan promised, although running a no-huddle was virtually out of the question with crowd noise on the road.
So what happened? Oakland opened in a no-huddle and by halftime had thrown 42 passes (41 by Gannon, one by Terry Kirby) in 47 plays.
By game's end, Gannon was 43-for-64 for 403 yards and a touchdown, the Raiders prevailed and there was much rejoicing. Wide receiver Tim Brown crowed that all those old men weren't supposed to run the no-huddle.
Callahan said the Pittsburgh air strike had been in the works since minicamp. He spoke of "putting the pedal to the metal" and never taking it off.
These were the new, bold Raiders. No more of that annoying Jon Gruden convservatism and insistence on running the ball and managing the clock. When sporadic attempts to run were met with resistance during a four-game losing streak, Oakland took flight in Denver and never looked back.
By season's end, Gannon set NFL records with 418 pass completions and 10 300-yard games en route to the Most Valuable Player Award. Club records were set for passing attempts, completions and yardage.
Gannon's 4,689 yards tied for seventh all-time. A monsoon in the final game against Kansas City kept Gannon from a chance at becoming the second man in NFL history to pass for 5,000 yards in a season.
Penalties were paid lip service and then disregarded the way Shaquille O'Neal shrugs off a few missed free throws. The Raiders had 14 penalties for 127 yards in the conference championship game against Tennessee and won by 17 points.
The Raiders were once again making their own rules and mocking convention all the way to their first AFC title since the 1983 season.
It was a clever diversion for one year, but should have been recognized for the gimmick it was.
The Raiders, who limp back into Heinz Field on Sunday, are 3-9 and still don't know who they are.
The humiliating 48-21 loss in Super Bowl XXXVII to Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have served as a tipoff that Oakland might want to reintroduce the run.
Instead, Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman spent much of the season changing and adding to the passing game. Their intentions were clear in Week 1 when a healthy Tyrone Wheatley wasn't even active, and Oakland fell 25-20.
Defenses caught on to the passing onslaught. Brown and Jerry Rice were a year older. Oakland's offensive line, which held up remarkably well serving as pass blocking punching bags down after down, began to show the strain.
Wide receiver Jerry Porter, one of the primary reasons for the Pittsburgh Air Strike in the first place, missed five games following hernia surgery. Gannon clearly wasn't himself, and the perfectly timed intricacies of the 2002 system were off kilter, either because of defensive recognition or offensive error.
Still, the Raiders resisted a run-oriented offensive makeover until both Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo went down and third-string quarterback Rick Mirer took over.
In three games against the Jets, Vikings and Chiefs, Oakland ran the ball on 65.3 percent of the snaps (130 out of 199) and played its best football of the season, but refused to stick with meat and potatoes.
In Sunday's 22-8 loss to Denver, Callahan maintained Oakland's plan was to run the ball, except that penalties and turnovers caused deviation from the game plan.
But he also talked of the need for balancing Oakland's attack and his concern for tendencies and matchups in the secondary.
Translation: Too much running. Not enough passing.
So there were a few more empty backfield sets and more passing. The Raiders were still in the game into the fourth quarter, even though Mirer was struggling. Wheatley, perhaps being punished for a lost fumble, carried only eight times for 85 yards.
Oakland ran well inside but was awful running outside on the slick field. The passing game was erratic. The Raiders, persistent with the pass last season, aren't nearly as stubborn with the inside run.
The architects of the Pittsburgh Air Strike can't seem to help themselves. Hope for a respectable finish may be no more than a passing thought.
Last visit to Heinz Field set course for offense
By Jerry McDonald
THE LAST TIME the Oakland Raiders played in Pittsburgh, they found themselves but lost their legs.
The Raiders embarked on a passing fancy during the "Pittsburgh Air Strike" on Sept.16, 2002, a September-through-January assault that won an AFC championship but haunts them more than a year later.
Once Rich Gannon had succeeded in filling the cool night air with passes, beating the Steelers 30-17 at Heinz Field, Oakland's offensive personality had undergone a transformation.
Balance was for straddling a beam in gymnastics, not for playing in Pittsburgh. Running plays were mere breathers in between an endless string of slants, shovel passes, shallow crossing patterns and seam routes.
In the week preceding the Pittsburgh game, rookie coach Bill Callahan promised the same sort of attack the Raiders had in their opener against Seattle. In Week1, the Raiders built a 28-7 lead over Seattle with conventional balance, then ran it 27 times in the second half -- 40 in all -- protecting the lead and winning 31-17.
Week2 would be much the same, Callahan promised, although running a no-huddle was virtually out of the question with crowd noise on the road.
So what happened? Oakland opened in a no-huddle and by halftime had thrown 42 passes (41 by Gannon, one by Terry Kirby) in 47 plays.
By game's end, Gannon was 43-for-64 for 403 yards and a touchdown, the Raiders prevailed and there was much rejoicing. Wide receiver Tim Brown crowed that all those old men weren't supposed to run the no-huddle.
Callahan said the Pittsburgh air strike had been in the works since minicamp. He spoke of "putting the pedal to the metal" and never taking it off.
These were the new, bold Raiders. No more of that annoying Jon Gruden convservatism and insistence on running the ball and managing the clock. When sporadic attempts to run were met with resistance during a four-game losing streak, Oakland took flight in Denver and never looked back.
By season's end, Gannon set NFL records with 418 pass completions and 10 300-yard games en route to the Most Valuable Player Award. Club records were set for passing attempts, completions and yardage.
Gannon's 4,689 yards tied for seventh all-time. A monsoon in the final game against Kansas City kept Gannon from a chance at becoming the second man in NFL history to pass for 5,000 yards in a season.
Penalties were paid lip service and then disregarded the way Shaquille O'Neal shrugs off a few missed free throws. The Raiders had 14 penalties for 127 yards in the conference championship game against Tennessee and won by 17 points.
The Raiders were once again making their own rules and mocking convention all the way to their first AFC title since the 1983 season.
It was a clever diversion for one year, but should have been recognized for the gimmick it was.
The Raiders, who limp back into Heinz Field on Sunday, are 3-9 and still don't know who they are.
The humiliating 48-21 loss in Super Bowl XXXVII to Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have served as a tipoff that Oakland might want to reintroduce the run.
Instead, Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman spent much of the season changing and adding to the passing game. Their intentions were clear in Week 1 when a healthy Tyrone Wheatley wasn't even active, and Oakland fell 25-20.
Defenses caught on to the passing onslaught. Brown and Jerry Rice were a year older. Oakland's offensive line, which held up remarkably well serving as pass blocking punching bags down after down, began to show the strain.
Wide receiver Jerry Porter, one of the primary reasons for the Pittsburgh Air Strike in the first place, missed five games following hernia surgery. Gannon clearly wasn't himself, and the perfectly timed intricacies of the 2002 system were off kilter, either because of defensive recognition or offensive error.
Still, the Raiders resisted a run-oriented offensive makeover until both Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo went down and third-string quarterback Rick Mirer took over.
In three games against the Jets, Vikings and Chiefs, Oakland ran the ball on 65.3 percent of the snaps (130 out of 199) and played its best football of the season, but refused to stick with meat and potatoes.
In Sunday's 22-8 loss to Denver, Callahan maintained Oakland's plan was to run the ball, except that penalties and turnovers caused deviation from the game plan.
But he also talked of the need for balancing Oakland's attack and his concern for tendencies and matchups in the secondary.
Translation: Too much running. Not enough passing.
So there were a few more empty backfield sets and more passing. The Raiders were still in the game into the fourth quarter, even though Mirer was struggling. Wheatley, perhaps being punished for a lost fumble, carried only eight times for 85 yards.
Oakland ran well inside but was awful running outside on the slick field. The passing game was erratic. The Raiders, persistent with the pass last season, aren't nearly as stubborn with the inside run.
The architects of the Pittsburgh Air Strike can't seem to help themselves. Hope for a respectable finish may be no more than a passing thought.