Week 9 recap: The case of the missing defense

After two wins in a row, the Raiders were brought back to Earth on Sunday, courtesy of a rookie running back.  Doug Martin and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gashed the Raiders and escaped from the Black Hole with a 42-32 victory.  the Raiders tried to make a comeback, but ultimately it failed.  More on that in a bit.

The story of the day was Oakland’s defense forgetting to show up.  They were nonexistent in the second half, allowing Doug Martin to run all over them.  I don’t care if Oakland’s offense was led by Joe Montana and Tampa’s defense was a Pee-Wee football team, allowing Doug Martin to score at will made it next to impossible for Oakland to come back.  The front four were pushed around by Tampa’s line, and the linebackers were nowhere to be found when Martin went running by.

On offense, Carson Palmer did his best to keep the Raiders in the game.  He and Denarius Moore looked out of sync all game, though.  Something was seriously not connecting with the two, and it needs to, as it looks like Oakland’s already pass-heavy offense will become more so with Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson suffering high ankle sprains.  Big thumbs up to Rod Streater, though.  He needs a lot of work, but he made a great veteran play by smacking a ball down that he couldn’t catch.  Rather than giving up on the play and letting it possibly be an interception, Streater decided if he wasn’t getting it, nobody was.  He was rewarded on the next play with a touchdown.

Yes, Palmer threw three picks and two of them were crucial, occurring late in the game.  However, at that point the Raiders were down to their third-string running back.  It was painfully obvious they were going to pass the ball.  Palmer had a helluva game, but ultimately came up short.  Again, his defense offered zero help in the second half.

Oakland now has to prepare for an East Coast trip to Baltimore (of course the East Coast Raider and Hook will be there!) and has some injury questions that must be answered.  Let’s not forget Aaron Curry, too.  The Raiders have two days to figure out what to do with him.  We should see Ron Bartell back soon too, which will mean questions regarding the shuffling of the secondary.

Speaking of secondaries, there’s someone looking for a job right now, and his name is Stanford Routt.  I want to mock Routt for getting cut, but seriously, the guy got fired twice in one year and walks away with $10 million.  I don’t think he minds that much.

 

Raiders win again at the Midwest Coliseum…I mean Arrowhead

The Raiders took another one in Arrowhead on Sunday. (Photo credit: imikeh)

For the sixth straight time, the Oakland Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Chief’s home stadium.  To be fair, the Chiefs have done pretty well in Oakland lately, but Oakland may be on the rise, and Kansas City is sitting in the gutter.  The Chiefs are pretty bad.  They had a bye week to prepare for this game.  It’s against the rival Raiders.  And yet, when the clock struck zero, it was Oakland 26, Kansas City, 16.
The Raiders had a lot to be pleased with, and some work to do.  The story in this game was the Raider defense.  They played extremely well, quieting (former) NFL rushing leader Jamaal Charles and his backup, Peyton Hillis.  In addition, Dwayne Boye was held to only three catches, though one was for a substantial gain.  Still, the Raider defense showed up.  The lineman put pressure on the quarterback all day, the linebackers played smart and fast, and the secondary was in sync.  Seriously, Pat Lee and Michael Huff have improved by leaps and bounds over the past month.  Matt Giordano, starting at safety due to Huff’s transition, read Brady Quinn perfectly for a nice interception early on.  Toward the end of the game, Richard Seymour received a roughing the passer penalty.  It wasn’t an overly severe foul.  He may get a fine for it, but I’d be amazed if he had to sit out a game for it.

On offense, there was good and bad, as there usually is.  On the first play from scrimmage, Carson Palmer went after Stanford Routt, the former Raider.  He went deep for Darrius Heyward-Bey.  However, Routt came up with the pick.  There may have been some contact by Routt, but it wasn’t overly flagrant, and the refs didn’t call anything.  Heyward-Bey would get his revenge on Routt, though, breaking a Routt tackle en route to a 35+ yard touchdown.  According to Mike Mitchell, who had a locker next to Routts for a few years, he didn’t really seem in the mood to talk to his former teammates after the game.

Oakland’s #1 receiver, Denarius Moore, nearly cracked the 100 yard mark again this week.  He also had a nice leaping touchdown near the end of the second quarter.  However, Moore had two balls get away from him, including one that would have been a sure touchdown.  The Raiders dropped at least four passes on Sunday.

But, let’s focus on the good here.  Moore scored a touchdown for the third straight game.  He’s the first Raider wide receiver to do that since Johnnie Lee Higgins (I love to make a Johnnie Lee reference whenever I can).  Also, Palmer recorded yet another 200+ yard game.  In 17 games as a Raider, he has over 4,700 passing yards.

Saving some of my big props for this week’s studs & duds… Not too many duds come to mind!  I may have to focus on groups or individuals plays this week.  That’s not a bad thing.  If the Raiders are playing at a level where I have to get creative to find things wrong, I’ll take it!