EMBARRASSMENT
Oakland in free fall as Atlanta romps
David White, Chronicle Staff Writer
(11-02) 20:43 PST -- Just when it seemed the Raiders had discovered rock bottom, they broke out the shovels and dug themselves ever deeper into the earth's crust. The offense was toothless. The defense masqueraded as a swinging gate. The coaches managed not to drop their pants, but the Falcons got the drop on them all day long, just the same.
It's tempting to say it doesn't get any worse than Sunday's 24-0 loss to Atlanta at the Coliseum, but that would underestimate the potential of the next eight games.
"It was crazy," Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell said. "It was like everything possible that could go bad went bad."
So ends half No. 1 of another lost season, and all those who insist the Raiders are just two games out of the AFC West lead, call it a night.
The Raiders aren't as bad under interim coach Tom Cable as they were under Lane Kiffin, who went 5-15 before his Sept. 30 firing. They're worse, as evidenced by three blowout losses -in four games.
The offense is gaining fewer yards by the week. The defense is handing out more runner's yards by the mile. All this has Cable looking more interim by the minute as his temporary team slips out of his loose grip.
"I've never been in a situation where it's been this bad," said strong safety Gibril Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Giants last season. "We've just got to buckle up, man."
The offense had ... three ... first ... downs. That's history, in a franchise-low sort of way. The Raiders were out-first downed by the Falcons, 20-zip - in the first half.
Their inaugural first down came with 9:26 left in the third quarter. The crowd tried to contain its excitement.
"Quite simply, we just did not do anything in terms of what we were trying to do offensively," Cable said. "We never got going."
They gained 77 total yards, the second-fewest in Raiders lore - and the least since Al Davis first became head coach in 1963. It ranks 27th in fewest yards since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.
Russell had more yards running than throwing, 46-31. And they remained stuck on one first-half touchdown, 48 possessions running.
"I don't know how it happens, but it happened," running back Justin Fargas said after rushing six times for 23 yards.
The saving grace of it all: At least the crowd only had to watch this lousy offense for 14 minutes, 45 seconds.
The Raiders three-and-outed their way through the first half, with the fans booing every failed third-down attempt. They got to halftime with minus-2 yards in total offense (minus-7 yards by air).
"We had the ball for 44 minutes, right?" Falcons receiver Michael Jenkins said (actually, it was 45:15). "In an NFL game, that's kind of unheard of."
Give the defense a hand for that prolonged exposure. It did virtually nothing to persuade the Falcons to leave the field.
Oakland's run defense has long missed tackles and assignments. This time, the Raiders outdid themselves.
Former Chargers backup Michael Turner had 31 carries for 139 yards. The Falcons hammered out 252 rushing yards in all.
That's the 16th-most rushing yards against a Raiders defense, and the fourth-most when Oakland was the home team, according to Stats, LLC. No word on whether Atlanta's plus-27 first down differential is a record, but it's got to be in the neighborhood.
Don't say that was all padded in the second half of a blowout - the Falcons ran for 135 yards on their merry way to a 24-0 halftime lead.
And don't even get started with Falcons rookie Matt Ryan, who threw two touchdown passes to Jenkins and completed 17 of 22 passes for 220 yards and a 138.4 passer's rating.
Just think, eight games to go.
"Everybody has to make plays and we're not making plays," Wilson said. "It's a total embarrassment to this whole Raider organization."
Play like champs in practice, chumps in game
So much for practice making perfect.
Interim head coach Tom Cable said the Raiders had their best week yet of practice and preparation. They apparently saved their worst for the game itself, losing 24-0 to the visiting Falcons on Sunday.
"During the week, we look like we're a Super Bowl team," strong safety Gibril Wilson said. "We come out there and we're damn near the laughingstock of the league, and it's ridiculous."
Everyone involved said the team seemed ready to play well. The practices were crisp, the game plan seemed solid, the players came to meetings on time.
Then the Raiders were shut out in the first half (24-0) for the first time since ... the previous Sunday, when they trailed the Ravens 19-0. Both times, they looked every bit the practice-squad part.
"We did have a good week of practice," cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said. "Everybody was excited about the opportunities that Atlanta was showing us on film. So it did kind of come out of nowhere."
-2
Net yards for the Raiders in the first half. Oakland produced 14 "positive" yards and lost 16 on three sacks.
3
First downs for the Raiders. They got their first of the game at 9:26 in the third quarter. They got none in the first half, so three in the second half is a considerable improvement.
10
Net passing yards for the Raiders. So much for the return of the downfield pass.
67
Total rushing yards for the Raiders. That's on 11 rushing attempts for an average of 6.1 yards a carry - but that's small consolation.
88
