ESPN starting to side with Raiders on Snow Job Officiating

[SoCalRaider]

Sunday, November 17

Raiders get by without love from the refs

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By John Clayton
ESPN.com


OAKLAND -- Oakland Raiders defensive end Trace Armstrong rushed around the corner and had a clean shot on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady near his goal line. Brady's arm was ****ed, but Armstrong was ready to deliver the shot.

With memories of last year's 'Tuck Rule' on everyone's minds at Network Associates Coliseum, a stunned group of 53 Raiders watched what could be called 'The Duck.' The ball fell from Brady's right hand. Painted Raiders fans reached for their "It's a fumble'' signs. But referee Ed Hochuli waved off the play as an incompletion to the disbelief of everyone. On the next play, halfback Antowain Smith appeared to fumble before he hit the ground but Smith was ruled down by contact and Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson lost a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

"It was de ja vu all over again,'' Raiders receiver Tim Brown said. "That hadn't happened all year, but it would happen against the Patriots. You can't help but to think about last year as much as you try.''

But there was a difference -- besides the fact this wasn't a playoff game. It was in Oakland this time, and the Raiders won, 27-20.

Don't misunderstand. The Raiders' inability to win an officiating call almost cost them another game. Raiders coach Bill Callahan had run out of replay challenges by the 1:27 mark of the third quarter. He was defenseless against 'The Tuck' and 'The Duck.' One of his challenges was lost on a weird play in which a pass by Rich Gannon hit the ground and Jerry Porter's foot at the same time. The ball bounced into the hand of Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who ran 48 yards for a touchdown that cut the Raiders lead to 27-13.

"Sure, the Brady play looked like a fumble, but what can you do?'' linebacker Bill Romanowski said. "You just play the next play.''

Maybe there is a maturity coming from the league's second oldest team. A four-game losing streak woke them up. They've dominated two potential playoff teams -- the Broncos and Patroits -- in the past six days. Gannon is playing with unprecedented accuracy. The defense has allowed only one touchdown in two games and seems to be putting on blinders to distractions, such as the questionable officiating calls.

At 6-4, the Raiders trail the Broncos and Chargers (who are tied for first) in the ridiculously tough AFC West, but they are getting on a roll. "The Patriots got on a roll around this time last year, and they got a ring and I don't,'' Woodson said.

Raiders offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy almost sounded angry after Sunday's huge victory. He knows that the past six days have been good, but it still isn't enough. He can't forget the four-game losing streak and the tough position it put the team in for making the playoffs.

"There is no more complaining and bitching like there was earlier,'' Kennedy said. "What we need to do is win. What happened to us is that we started to lose and we took it on the chin. To hell with the pride. We got to show up on the field and get back to doing what we do.''

This was going to be a game of part finesse, part power. Each team entered with a philosophy of passing the ball and using the no-huddle. It worked for the Raiders. The no-huddle worked for the Patriots last year, but there was one difference. This wasn't Foxboro. All you had to do is look at the fans who painted their faces and bodies with black and silver to realize that this wasn't anywhere near New England.

When it comes to a battle of no-huddles, always favor the home team.

"It's different for a team on the road, you've got crowd noise,'' Brown said. "It's difficult. The Patriots got arm bands so they only had to call numbers, but you can't do hard counts on the road. You can't do the things you normally can do at home.''

No-huddling in a hostile environment proved impossible for Brady. On the opening drive, Brady completed his first seven passes, but the Patriots had to settle for a field goal. After that, Brady was pressured into making only 11 of the next 23. He was sacked four times. Twice, he missed wide open receivers deep downfield.

"They thought they were going to wear us down with the no-huddle,'' Raiders defensive tackle Sam Adams said. "They tried screens and quick passes, but they didn't put points on the scoreboard. After a while, they got impatient. He had two touchdown passes that he overthrew. That was bad. He wasn't on.''

Gannon was. These days he's almost unstoppable. Gannon completed 26 of 38 for 297 yards. After the first Patriots possession, Gannon controlled the football 36 1/2 out of the next 54 minutes. The Raiders ran off 70 plays to the Patriots' 41 over the final 54 minutes. They outgained the Patriots 386-195 for the game. In the battle of the no-huddles, the Patriots needed to huddle.

"It wasn't communication problems,'' Brady said. "I think it was bad execution. That was the biggest factor. We were not making enough plays. I had Deion Branch on a post wide open for a 70-yard touchdown that I missed. You can't afford to miss that.''

True to last Monday's victory over the Broncos, the Raiders' offense did what it does best -- work the short throws. Gannon had 24 passing plays in the first half to seven runs, but the Raiders led, 17-6. Unlike their failures during their four-game losing streak, Gannon produced in the red zone. Zack Crockett scored twice on 2-yard touchdown runs. Gannon scored another.

Perhaps the most impressive effort came at the beginning of the second half. Given the 11-point halftime lead, Gannon called a few more running plays during a 15-play, 85-yard drive that ate up 9:42 of the third quarter. Crockett's second-touchdown opened a 24-6 lead.

"I thought we had a pretty good game plan and we are getting back to the things that we do best,'' Gannon said. "I felt like we moved the ball well. All the guys played well.''

But this was the Raiders and the Patriots, so you expected controversy. And got it.

Controversy No. 1 came with 1:27 left in the third quarter. Gannon was trying to throw a ball away when he saw Jerry Porter 5 yards downfield. He threw at his feet, and it appeared the ball hit the ground and Porter's foot at the same time. Officials called an interception that Bruschi carried in for a touchdown.

"I was trying to throw the ball away,'' Gannon said. "To give them a garbage play like that, a touchdown, kind of swings the momentum. I was trying to throw it to the ground. But I felt like we responded well and put together a couple of good drives.''

Early in the fourth, Armstrong hit Brady as he tried to throw. Instead of ruling it a fumble, it was called an incompletion. And the inability to get a fumble call on Antowain Smith's apparent fumble afterward caused more panic in the stands.

"Too bad we lost our challenges, but the Smith fumble should have been our ball,'' Brown said.

Brady drove the Pats to the Raiders 43 but he missed David Patten on a fourth-and-1. "We just didn't convert,'' Brady said. "That was the story of the day.''

The Raiders gave the Patriots a little life when Sebastian Janikowski had a 49-yard field goal blocked. He made a 28-yarder, but the kickoff coverage teammate gave up an 86-yard kickoff return by Kevin Faulk to cut the margin to 27-20.

Tory James recovered the onside kick and the game, pardon the pun, was safely tucked away.

"In this league, there is a very small margin of error,'' Armstrong said. "You got enough things to worry about as a team. So you can't have the defense worrying about the referees. I thought we had our best pressure in this game. We got them on their heels.''

Just don't count on getting those fumble calls.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[BK]

Once again, there were a few calls that should of either been called or went in our favor. The hell with it though, lets continue to dominate games so a game wont be decided on one call. Keep it up guys!

[Bleed]

NEVER! On anything. :roll:

[RaiderBlitz]

We have had some calls go our way. It's just a ionic that we would have close calls on two of Brady passes and a Smith fumble. You just got to go with what is thrown at you and thats what we did. We didn't come apart and kept playing well. I like what I've seen the past two weeks.

[b:f658a69a3e]RIADERS THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFL[/b:f658a69a3e]