Post by TheShadow on Dec 8, 2003 19:19:26 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
Steelers exploit usual miscues in rout
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER
PITTSBURGH -- The beat, not to mention the beatings, go on.
In Sunday's dreary 27-7 Raiders' loss to the Steelers, dumb was not an issue nor even a topic. But, again, the usual allotment of mistakes were.
In dropping to 3-10 on the season and into a tie for last place in the AFC West, three turnovers, spotty special teams play and a near total failure to convert third downs led to yet another debacle.
"We suck, that's all you need to know," said Raiders defensive tackle Rod Coleman. "That's it. That's all I'm going to say. I don't care what you say to me, I'm going to keep saying that."
So he said it -- seven times -- and wheeled out of the losers' locker room in a huff.
All that was left was to view the carnage.
"We just have to see how we want to do this," said defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield. "Guys have got to decide how they want to go out."
The Raiders have lost eight times in their last nine games with three left. There isn't much left to salvage for a team buried in poor play. One more and they will equal the worst record by a Super Bowl team the following year.
"You saw it out there -- mistakes were made, the same mistakes," Stubblefield said. "Missed communication on the defensive side of the ball. These are mistakes we should have taken care of back in training camp."
After the furor a week ago over their head coach's com- ment about dumb play, the world was watching to see how the Raiders would respond. Would they quit?
Then, to proceed to lose by 20 points -- and it could have been more had the Steelers tried to rub it in by scoring inside the Raiders 10 in the closing two minutes -- the signs were not good.
Yet, to a man, the Raiders insisted that no one on the team has run up the white flag.
"No question, I thought they did an excellent job in terms of effort," said Raiders coach Bill Callahan.
When a team gives it a nice try but loses 27-7, it is a frightening indictment of its ability.
But there was more. This was a statistical debacle, too.
Pittsburgh outgained the Raiders 399 yards to 161. Oakland had just 53 yards and three first downs in the second half. The Steelers finished with 21, Oakland nine.
The Raiders were 1-for-12 on third-down conversions.
Special teams allowed Steelers return specialist Antwaan Randle El four punt returns for 149 yards and a kickoff return for 34 more.
Sick, then injured, quarterback Rick Mirer passed 29 times and got nowhere -- a net of 39 yards, or 1.3 yards per attempt. He also threw two interceptions, his first in five starts, and lost a fumble.
"I feel bad for the guys calling plays," Mirer said. "We didn't make too many plays look good today."
The Raiders started well. Using a bruising running game, they took a 7-0 lead on Tyrone Wheatley's 22-yard touchdown run. Wheatley pounded four times for 39 yards on the 63-yard drive, Charlie Garner twisted and turned three times for 24 more. There were no passes.
But there would be no more feel-good moments.
The Steelers proceeded to make a field goal and two touchdowns in the second quarter -- a Mirer interception leading to a 14-yard Tommy Maddox to Plaxico Burress touchdown that made the score 17-7 two minutes before the half.
Still, the Raiders had reason to retain faith. They finished the first half with 101 yards rushing, good for 6.4 yards a carry.
"We had developed a strength," said Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown. "Our objective was to come out, get the ball back and still try to run the ball because we were still only two scores out. We had time to get back in it."
As it turned out, they also had the opportunity. But in the end it was an opportunity lost.
Pittsburgh would receive the second half kickoff. The Raiders had to stop the Steelers' attack that had accounted for 225 first-half yards.
They did just that. Two plays into the third quarter, Maddox obliged. He threw an interception directly to safety Derrick Gibson, and the Raiders were in business at the Steelers' 38.
They went nowhere. Wheatley ran for 1, and Mirer threw two incompletions. The Raiders punted from the Pittsburgh 37 -- into the end zone.
Again, Pittsburgh tempted fate. Two plays later, Jerome Bettis -- who became the first Steelers running back this year to rush for 100 yards (106) -- fumbled when tackled by Phillip Buchanon. Chris Cooper recovered on the Steelers' 45.
On the first play, Steelers left end Aaron Smith broke past right tackle Lincoln Kennedy and sacked Mirer, who fumbled. Kendrell Bell recovered and another opportunity flew down the Ohio River.
"I feel bad about that," Kennedy said. "It was my fault. I had a missed communication, and it cost us another turnover. I am really upset with myself on that one."
"Two gifts," Raiders center Adam Treu said, "and we weren't able to do anything with them. It's very disappointing."
"Really that is the extent of the game right there," Callahan said of the 17-point second quarter stumble and the third quarter failures to capitalize.
There was one nail left to be driven into the Raiders' coffin. It came midway through the third quarter on a line drive punt by Shane Lechler that stayed in the air only 2.75 seconds.
Randle El fielded it at his 30, made a good cut and suddenly was loose on a 51-yard return. At the Raiders 19, Tim Johnson tackled him by the facemask. Ten more yards were tacked on, and the Steelers started at the 9.
It took just three running plays for fullback Dan Kreider to score from the 1, and the Raiders were down 24-7. Down and out.
Although his punt traveled 43 yards, the low trajectory foiled the Raiders coverage. A minuts?
"You've seen me punt all year," Lechler said. "Call it what you want to. I just had a bad day."
Things weren't working for Mirer either. He came into the game with a queasy stomach, then Steelers' defensive end Kimo von OelHoffen sacked him three times. One in the second quarter was especially costly. Von Oelhoffen fell on Mirer's left foot, spraining Mirer's ankle.
The Raiders led at the time of the injury 7-3. Mirer played the rest of the game but never looked the same.
"I couldn't run. I couldn't land on my foot to throw," Mirer said. "I was playing on one leg. I tried to fight through it. It didn't really get a lot worse, I just couldn't move too well."
Nor could the Raiders, who have scored just one touchdown in their last eight quarters. Afterward in a glum locker room, sorting it out was difficult.
"It's rough," Stubblefield said. "It's hard. You see the frustration in everybody's faces. You see it out there in the game and in the locker room."
The beat goes on.
Steelers exploit usual miscues in rout
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER
PITTSBURGH -- The beat, not to mention the beatings, go on.
In Sunday's dreary 27-7 Raiders' loss to the Steelers, dumb was not an issue nor even a topic. But, again, the usual allotment of mistakes were.
In dropping to 3-10 on the season and into a tie for last place in the AFC West, three turnovers, spotty special teams play and a near total failure to convert third downs led to yet another debacle.
"We suck, that's all you need to know," said Raiders defensive tackle Rod Coleman. "That's it. That's all I'm going to say. I don't care what you say to me, I'm going to keep saying that."
So he said it -- seven times -- and wheeled out of the losers' locker room in a huff.
All that was left was to view the carnage.
"We just have to see how we want to do this," said defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield. "Guys have got to decide how they want to go out."
The Raiders have lost eight times in their last nine games with three left. There isn't much left to salvage for a team buried in poor play. One more and they will equal the worst record by a Super Bowl team the following year.
"You saw it out there -- mistakes were made, the same mistakes," Stubblefield said. "Missed communication on the defensive side of the ball. These are mistakes we should have taken care of back in training camp."
After the furor a week ago over their head coach's com- ment about dumb play, the world was watching to see how the Raiders would respond. Would they quit?
Then, to proceed to lose by 20 points -- and it could have been more had the Steelers tried to rub it in by scoring inside the Raiders 10 in the closing two minutes -- the signs were not good.
Yet, to a man, the Raiders insisted that no one on the team has run up the white flag.
"No question, I thought they did an excellent job in terms of effort," said Raiders coach Bill Callahan.
When a team gives it a nice try but loses 27-7, it is a frightening indictment of its ability.
But there was more. This was a statistical debacle, too.
Pittsburgh outgained the Raiders 399 yards to 161. Oakland had just 53 yards and three first downs in the second half. The Steelers finished with 21, Oakland nine.
The Raiders were 1-for-12 on third-down conversions.
Special teams allowed Steelers return specialist Antwaan Randle El four punt returns for 149 yards and a kickoff return for 34 more.
Sick, then injured, quarterback Rick Mirer passed 29 times and got nowhere -- a net of 39 yards, or 1.3 yards per attempt. He also threw two interceptions, his first in five starts, and lost a fumble.
"I feel bad for the guys calling plays," Mirer said. "We didn't make too many plays look good today."
The Raiders started well. Using a bruising running game, they took a 7-0 lead on Tyrone Wheatley's 22-yard touchdown run. Wheatley pounded four times for 39 yards on the 63-yard drive, Charlie Garner twisted and turned three times for 24 more. There were no passes.
But there would be no more feel-good moments.
The Steelers proceeded to make a field goal and two touchdowns in the second quarter -- a Mirer interception leading to a 14-yard Tommy Maddox to Plaxico Burress touchdown that made the score 17-7 two minutes before the half.
Still, the Raiders had reason to retain faith. They finished the first half with 101 yards rushing, good for 6.4 yards a carry.
"We had developed a strength," said Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown. "Our objective was to come out, get the ball back and still try to run the ball because we were still only two scores out. We had time to get back in it."
As it turned out, they also had the opportunity. But in the end it was an opportunity lost.
Pittsburgh would receive the second half kickoff. The Raiders had to stop the Steelers' attack that had accounted for 225 first-half yards.
They did just that. Two plays into the third quarter, Maddox obliged. He threw an interception directly to safety Derrick Gibson, and the Raiders were in business at the Steelers' 38.
They went nowhere. Wheatley ran for 1, and Mirer threw two incompletions. The Raiders punted from the Pittsburgh 37 -- into the end zone.
Again, Pittsburgh tempted fate. Two plays later, Jerome Bettis -- who became the first Steelers running back this year to rush for 100 yards (106) -- fumbled when tackled by Phillip Buchanon. Chris Cooper recovered on the Steelers' 45.
On the first play, Steelers left end Aaron Smith broke past right tackle Lincoln Kennedy and sacked Mirer, who fumbled. Kendrell Bell recovered and another opportunity flew down the Ohio River.
"I feel bad about that," Kennedy said. "It was my fault. I had a missed communication, and it cost us another turnover. I am really upset with myself on that one."
"Two gifts," Raiders center Adam Treu said, "and we weren't able to do anything with them. It's very disappointing."
"Really that is the extent of the game right there," Callahan said of the 17-point second quarter stumble and the third quarter failures to capitalize.
There was one nail left to be driven into the Raiders' coffin. It came midway through the third quarter on a line drive punt by Shane Lechler that stayed in the air only 2.75 seconds.
Randle El fielded it at his 30, made a good cut and suddenly was loose on a 51-yard return. At the Raiders 19, Tim Johnson tackled him by the facemask. Ten more yards were tacked on, and the Steelers started at the 9.
It took just three running plays for fullback Dan Kreider to score from the 1, and the Raiders were down 24-7. Down and out.
Although his punt traveled 43 yards, the low trajectory foiled the Raiders coverage. A minuts?
"You've seen me punt all year," Lechler said. "Call it what you want to. I just had a bad day."
Things weren't working for Mirer either. He came into the game with a queasy stomach, then Steelers' defensive end Kimo von OelHoffen sacked him three times. One in the second quarter was especially costly. Von Oelhoffen fell on Mirer's left foot, spraining Mirer's ankle.
The Raiders led at the time of the injury 7-3. Mirer played the rest of the game but never looked the same.
"I couldn't run. I couldn't land on my foot to throw," Mirer said. "I was playing on one leg. I tried to fight through it. It didn't really get a lot worse, I just couldn't move too well."
Nor could the Raiders, who have scored just one touchdown in their last eight quarters. Afterward in a glum locker room, sorting it out was difficult.
"It's rough," Stubblefield said. "It's hard. You see the frustration in everybody's faces. You see it out there in the game and in the locker room."
The beat goes on.