Honeymoon lasts all of one half
OAKLAND >> It was the waning moments of a 33-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and what was left of the home crowd was letting the Raiders have it.
There were boos and catcalls. “Hey, D.C., you stink!” … “Way to move the rock, Chucky!”
A promising first half disintegrated before a national audience on “Monday Night Football.” A local fan base that has seen one winning season in 14 years awaits a pending departure to Las Vegas. The best defensive player was shipped to the Chicago Bears for draft picks. Patience is in short supply.
It’s only natural that quarterback Derek Carr and head coach Jon Gruden would catch the worst of it.
With one-sixteenth of the precincts reporting, the Raiders are projected for another losing season. Carr and Gruden, of course, don’t look at it that way.
In the first half, despite 10 penalties for 145 yards, the Carr-Gruden partnership showed flashes of what it can be.
The Raiders did some power running. Carr piled up completions (20 of 24 for 199 yards) and the
Raiders led 13-10 against the defending NFC West champions, a team that spent its offseason adding big-named talent to its defense.
Then it all came apart. Carr under-threw a firsthalf interception in the end zone toward Jared Cook, which was a good decision with a bad result. In the second half, Carr had two more picks — bad ones. Gone was the calculating CEO Gruden wanted and in his place was the overanxious quarterback who seemed to have confidence issues in 2017.
The Raiders were able to keep the Rams at bay in the first half by controlling the ball and giving their defense fewer snaps. In the second half, the threeand-outs and turnovers reversed the momentum.
“To be honest we did some of the same stuff, we just executed it better in the first half,” Carr said.
“They tried to do some things a little bit different, but it didn’t matter, really. Nothing we didn’t prepare for. Some of the things we did are going to be overlooked by the bad stuff and that sucks. We did a lot of good things. The score didn’t indicate what the game was.”
Carr’s second interception to linebacker Cory Littleton came when he started to force a pass, thought better of it, then let it go anyway. Carr found it difficult to explain and he’s the one who threw it.
“I tried to pull it back with my hand and obviously that’s why it looked so terrible,” Carr said. “It just floated in there and landed in the guy’s lap. You sit there and say it’s one of the dumbest plays you could ever have.”
Marcus Peters ended all doubt when he took a Carr pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with 1:59 to play.
Gruden admitted his disappointment, which had to be crushing considering
how good the Raiders looked on a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game. A conservative third-and-goal draw from the 10-yard line ended up a touchdown with Marshawn Lynch dragging half of the Rams defense into the end zone.
The Raiders had the ball 10 more times and did not score another touchdown. Understandably, Gruden wasn’t inclined to talk about how great it felt to be coaching the Raiders again in a regular-season game at the Coliseum.
“It was great … it’s not time for that any more,” Gruden said. “I want to get this football team better and it wasn’t good enough tonight.”
Gruden wasn’t sure exactly where it all went wrong.
“We moved the ball I thought exceptionally in the first half against a very talented defense with a lot of highly talented players,” Gruden said. “Marshawn Lynch’s finish was vintage Marshawn Lynch. The crowd was in it. It was
electrifying, but unfortunately we could not bottle it and sustain it.”
The Raiders, as did the Rams and much of the rest of the NFL, made the calculated decision to sit most of their regulars throughout the exhibition season to keep them healthy and fresh. The Rams, at least, were playing the same systems of football.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever played wire to wire as an offense,” Gruden said. “We played against a very good defense and they got us tonight.”
Wide receiver Amari Cooper, so often invisible a year ago, was thrown the ball once. He caught it for a 9-yard gain. Carr said the Rams were taking wideouts away, hence a nine-catch, 180-yard explosion by tight end Jared Cook. Gruden said it’s up to him to find ways to get Cooper the ball, the same sentiment expressed by the previous staff.
Carr felt good about the communication with Gruden during the game, but said there were too many mistakes common to Week 1. As he has done consistently in bad times for four seasons, Carr took responsibility for mistakes. Even those that weren’t his. He knows the deal about being an NFL quarterback and being as good only as his last pass.
“I’ll take care of the ball better, make better throws, (better) decisions, and we’re going to be a good team,” Carr said.
Carr and Gruden are in it together, for better or worse.
“Losses with Coach Gruden feel a little bit different than I’ve ever felt before,” Carr said. “The positive coaching, the next step, demanding what he needs from me the next time. I just talked to him for 10 minutes, and I already feel like we’re going to be better next week.”
The fans who stuck it out until the bitter end Monday night want them to prove it.