Sinking fast, with little to hang on to
Scott Ostler: This team must find its swagger
Maybe it’s not yet panic time in Oakland, after the Raiders lost their third game in a row Sunday. But it seems like a good time for fans and players to sit down and give some serious, thoughtful consideration to exploring the panic option.
Each of the three losses has had its own distinct ugliness and defining moments. In this one, the bitter takeaway moment might be head coach Jack Del Rio’s decision to punt the ball away with 8:50 left in the game, with the Raiders down 27-17 and facing 4th-and-3 at the Ravens’ 44.
Time for Gamblin’ Jack to pull a card
out of his sleeve? Not this time. The punt netted 24 yards after a touchback and the Ravens put the game out of reach with a gut-busting, run-run, 13-play drive that ended with a field goal.
That decision to punt was not Del Rio’s favorite talking point after the game. Asked whether it was an easy call, Del Rio gritted his teeth and said, “Nah, not easy. Hindsight’s always 20-20 on things like that. You’re thinking you’re going to pin them inside the 10, we didn’t. You’re thinking the defense is going to stop (them) and give us the ball back. It didn’t.”
Del Rio’s final thought on that little play:
“You know, a fourth-down call with nine minutes left in the game, 10 minutes left in the game (8:50), is that the difference today? I don’t think so.”
But certainly debate-worthy. For the stat freaks, here’s one from Pro Football Reference: The Raiders are the first team since Arizona in 2012 to punt on 4th-and-3 (or shorter) in the opponent’s territory in the fourth quarter when down two scores.
We know the Raiders lost their quarterback for at least this one game. Their star receiver is nowhere to be found. Their defense is looking very shaky. That’s all stuff that can happen.
But if the Raiders under Del Rio have lost their signature swashbuckle and swagger, that’s cause for concern. That’s been a trademark of this team.
That punt decision seemed to be the team’s last gasp on a day when they did nothing well but still were clinging to a chance. Maybe that’s one reason that the overriding emotion in the locker room after the game wasn’t gloom as much as it was seething anger. I’m not saying the players were mad at their coach for that punt decision, although I’m pretty sure I know how they would have voted. But right now almost nothing is clicking, and frustration is running high.
“Coming into the year, y’all was telling us how good we was, how good we was,” linebacker Bruce Irvin said. “I don’t know if we believed it or not, but it be like this (2-3). It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation. It’s the fifth game. We’ve got 11 more games. We’ve got time to turn it around, but it’s all about if we want it. We have to want it, we have to come into work and we have to take this s— seriously, or we’re going to continue to lose.”
That’s a sobering thought: that a team picked to win about 12 games has used up almost its full quota of losses this early.
Raiders owner Mark Davis’ game plan of continuing to pack the Coliseum for the next two or three seasons, before the move to Las Vegas, is dependent on the team winning. The Coliseum was fairly full Sunday (technically a sellout), but the boos started raining down well before halftime after a couple of really ugly three-and-outs.
“They’re pounding on us, man,” tweeted former running back Napoleon Kaufman, who took time out from his pastoral duties to bemoan the state of his Raiders.
This one was painful from the get-go. A 52-yard Joe Flacco pass and a ball fumbled by Raiders tight end Jared Cook put the Raiders in an instant 14-0 hole.
A reporter asked Del Rio whether those two huge early plays were just kind of things that happen. Del Rio sighed, paused, took a drink from his water bottle and, after a hang time of about 15 seconds, said, “Clearly not what we wanted there.”
Fortunately for team unity, the blame can be shared by the offense and defense. The offense, you expected to take a dip Sunday, with Derek Carr sidelined, star wide receiver Amari Cooper in a deep slump (one reception Sunday, two targets), and the offensive line and Marshawn Lynch unable to unleash the Beast (12 carries, 43 yards).
The defense, now that’s a serious concern. Flacco has been having a tough season, averaging just over 5 yards per pass. Sunday he averaged 8.5, rediscovered the long ball and went sack-free on 26 pass attempts.
When the Ravens needed to run down the clock after Del Rio’s punt call, they busted out nine consecutive up-the-gut runs for 40 yards and three first downs, then kicked a field goal.
The Raiders have set themselves up for a dramatic season comeback, if they can scrap and gamble their way out of this mess.