Raiders Loss Hurts Like An Arrowhead To The Heart
LAST MINUTE TURN OF EVENTS UNEXPLAINABLE
Larry Johnson's Marcus Allen-type leap into the endzone as time ran out was the definition of the "kick the chair in your living room" moment.
What happened?
Football doesn't have a literally narrative that baseball does, but usually the ebb and flow of the final minutes of an NFL game is predicatable. Even CBS Sports' Randy Cross mentioned the liklihood of a Raider touchdown when the score was 20-9. He was completely correct. Then, what occured in the last 29 seconds was improvisation from the typical script.
Not only did the Raiders take the lead with 1:45 left, they made the comeback on Randy Moss' first catch of the game--a fitting lead to every article written about the game. The Raiders even converted the two-point conversion which should have cemented the liklihood of a probable Chiefs rally to tie the game with a field goal.
On cue, the Chiefs rumbled down field and were in field goal range with 19 seconds and a timeout in hand. What occurred next, quite possibly, broke the emotional back of the Raiders for the 2005 season.
Why was Johnson sowide open? The Chiefs were already on the outer reaches of Lawrence Tyne's field goal range. Why was the Raider defense stretched when there was high risk for the Chiefs to try for the endzone?
K.C. has a good offense but doesn't have many effective options at wideout. How could Johnson be left open and how was he able to traverse the entire last third of the football field without a white Raider jersey in sight?
The obvious explaination is the injuries to Derrick Gibson and Charles Woodson two weeks ago finallly showed the void in the Raiders secondary. Rookie Fabian Washington and the hard-hitting Jerrod Cooper played very well last week in Tennessee, but the big player in the secondary weren't there to stop the Chiefs.
MOSS: READY EXPLODE T.O.-STYLE?
Don't worry, there hasn't been any reports of Moss being upset with his paltry numbers this season, but the question is: "How long until his lips start flapping?"
Given his reputation, it's easy to be skeptical over his effort the last two weeks. It's a fact that he hasn't been healthy since the first quarter against San Diego three weeks ago, but he looked spry in catching a TD against Buffalo and followed it with a lackadaisacal performance last week in Nashville. There were times when it looked like Moss was merely jogging his routes downfield.
Today in Kansas City, Moss again looked like the quick and lithe receiver that everybody expects, but caught only one of eight passes thrown his way. Most of the incomplete passes were not his fault at all.
If the Raiders' season continues along these lines--devoid of playoff contention--how long will it be until Moss piggybacks the growing criticism of the Norv Turner era in Oakland? If Moss doesn't become the gamebreaker that Al Davis foresaw in the spring, it may only take a pointed jab at Turner's coaching by Moss to bring his ouster.
PERFECT WEEKEND
The T had a perfect weekend against the spread for only the second time this season. The 6:1 odds netted $120 and raised the season's winnings to $80.
Larry Johnson's Marcus Allen-type leap into the endzone as time ran out was the definition of the "kick the chair in your living room" moment.
What happened?
Football doesn't have a literally narrative that baseball does, but usually the ebb and flow of the final minutes of an NFL game is predicatable. Even CBS Sports' Randy Cross mentioned the liklihood of a Raider touchdown when the score was 20-9. He was completely correct. Then, what occured in the last 29 seconds was improvisation from the typical script.
Not only did the Raiders take the lead with 1:45 left, they made the comeback on Randy Moss' first catch of the game--a fitting lead to every article written about the game. The Raiders even converted the two-point conversion which should have cemented the liklihood of a probable Chiefs rally to tie the game with a field goal.
On cue, the Chiefs rumbled down field and were in field goal range with 19 seconds and a timeout in hand. What occurred next, quite possibly, broke the emotional back of the Raiders for the 2005 season.
Why was Johnson sowide open? The Chiefs were already on the outer reaches of Lawrence Tyne's field goal range. Why was the Raider defense stretched when there was high risk for the Chiefs to try for the endzone?
K.C. has a good offense but doesn't have many effective options at wideout. How could Johnson be left open and how was he able to traverse the entire last third of the football field without a white Raider jersey in sight?
The obvious explaination is the injuries to Derrick Gibson and Charles Woodson two weeks ago finallly showed the void in the Raiders secondary. Rookie Fabian Washington and the hard-hitting Jerrod Cooper played very well last week in Tennessee, but the big player in the secondary weren't there to stop the Chiefs.
MOSS: READY EXPLODE T.O.-STYLE?
Don't worry, there hasn't been any reports of Moss being upset with his paltry numbers this season, but the question is: "How long until his lips start flapping?"
Given his reputation, it's easy to be skeptical over his effort the last two weeks. It's a fact that he hasn't been healthy since the first quarter against San Diego three weeks ago, but he looked spry in catching a TD against Buffalo and followed it with a lackadaisacal performance last week in Nashville. There were times when it looked like Moss was merely jogging his routes downfield.
Today in Kansas City, Moss again looked like the quick and lithe receiver that everybody expects, but caught only one of eight passes thrown his way. Most of the incomplete passes were not his fault at all.
If the Raiders' season continues along these lines--devoid of playoff contention--how long will it be until Moss piggybacks the growing criticism of the Norv Turner era in Oakland? If Moss doesn't become the gamebreaker that Al Davis foresaw in the spring, it may only take a pointed jab at Turner's coaching by Moss to bring his ouster.
PERFECT WEEKEND
The T had a perfect weekend against the spread for only the second time this season. The 6:1 odds netted $120 and raised the season's winnings to $80.
