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Callahan won't be sitting on any lead
[i:e636df3ade]Callahan won't be sitting on any lead
Raiders coach says weekend comebacks reinforce importance of remaining aggressive
By Jerry McDonald STAFF WRITER
ALAMEDA -- Better safe than sorry? [/i:e636df3ade]
Raiders coach says weekend comebacks reinforce importance of remaining aggressive
Not where the Oakland Raiders are concerned.
Oakland has bowed out of the NFL postseason in each of the last two Januarys by playing essentially risk-free football, and Sunday's come-from-behind playoff wins by Pittsburgh and San Francisco reinforced a philosophy Bill Callahan has espoused since becoming head coach this year.
The best way to make sure a lead holds up is to keep adding to it.
While Callahan had too much respect for fellow coaches to come out and say it, his inference Monday was clear -- Cleveland and the New York Giants helped in their own demise with conservative play-calling.
"It just goes to illustrate that you need to continue to throw the ball and be aggressive," Callahan said. "What I'm trying to say is there's no lead that's safe anymore in this league."
Pittsburgh trailed Cleveland 24-7 in the third quarter and 33-21 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The 49ers were behind 38-14 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Both teams got help from opposition that began to work the clock too early, getting away from the freewheeling offenses that built big leads.
Although popular as Raiders head coach, Jon Gruden had his critics concerning his team's reluctance to attack in the postseason.
In the 2000 AFC Championship Game, the Raiders continued to try to establish a ground game against dominating Baltimore Ravens defense and lost 16-3.
In fairness, the Raiders lost quarterback Rich Gannon to a shoulder injury that day and were playing with Bobby Hoying, limiting the potential for creativity, and Oakland failed to score on red-zone opportunities that could have made the game a tossup.
Last season, the Raiders beat the New York Jets 38-24 in a wild-card game with a beautifully conceived game plan, but came up empty when they attempted to sit on a 13-3 lead against the New England Patriots in the divisional playoff.
Again, Oakland -- had it not been for Tom Brady's non-fumble on the "tuck rule" -- could have won. But because the Raiders didn't add to their lead, they were susceptible to a comeback and a freak play.
Starting with Week 2, Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman brought a fresh approach, continuing to attack with the pass well into fourth quarter in situations where Gruden might have begun working the clock and managing the game.
Gannon said Trestman's influence has been crucial in keeping the Raiders from going into a shell.
"The thing I like most about Marc is his aggressiveness," Gannon said. "I feel like he's always in the attack mode. He's not a conservative guy by nature, and I think that it's been very beneficial to our offense as a whole."
Jets coach Herman Edwards doesn't expect the Raiders to play it safe.
"If they get a lead, they are not going to sit on it," Edwards said. "They are going to keep going. That's how they play, and I think they are playing with a lot of confidence."
The Raiders went more to the run in the last two weeks of the season. Against Denver, Oakland took advantage of a defense retreating into pass defense with extra defensive backs. Rain and mud contributed to 60 rushes against the Chiefs.
New York Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett admitted going conservative to protect a lead is a temptation all play-callers face.
"As you begin to get a handle on the game, you begin to say to yourself, 'Hmm, maybe I won't be quite as daring,'" Hackett said. "But I have an inner ear that is hooked to a headset that keeps clicking on and saying, 'Keep going after them.'
"But it's human nature to say, get time off the clock, let's get this game. But there is a time in football to be conservative because the end product is all that matters."
FRANKLY SPEAKING: A host of reporters already in the Bay Area after covering the 49ers-Giants game were treated to a session with Frank Middleton, Oakland's talkative and entertaining left guard.
A few of his observations should hit the tabloids today.
On the Jets' 41-0 win over Indianapolis: "We watched the Colts last week, and they play different on grass than on turf. I'm not impressed with what they did to the Colts. I don't think the Colts should have been in the playoffs."
On defensive tackle Josh Evans' charge that Middleton and Mo Collins were cut-blocking in Oakland's 26-20 regular-season win: "I remember all that. I'll be there Sunday. He's got to come back on Sunday. And if he didn't like it then, he's sure not going to like it now."
On how much he loved the wet field against Kansas City and the possibility of another one: "I got my Indian friend with me to do the rain dance on Saturday. I'm not giving up yet. I might go wet it Sunday morning. I will be out there with a water hose trying to get the whole thing wet."
TIMING IT RIGHT: A quote from New York Jets guard Dave Szott, talking about Oakland's 26-20 win Dec. 2, was posted in the Oakland locker room. It read: "I think if you look at that game, we just ran out of time. It's not like they clearly beat us."
To which Oakland wide receiver Jerry Porter replied: "A game is 15 minutes per quarter for four quarters. If you don't get it done in that amount of time, you lost. You didn't run out of time."
HONORS ROLLING IN: Gannon was the winner of the Bert Bell Award, given annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the NFL's Player of the Year.
Gannon has already been named as the starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl, won the Associated Press Most Valuable Player award and was named first team quarterback on the AP All-Pro team.
RESTED AND READY: Tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who has suffered through a chronic shoulder injury, a groin pull, a concussion and recurring migraine headaches this season, looked refreshed after the bye week.
"Sat in cold tubs. Hot tubs. Ice tubs," Kennedy said. "It was a godsend. Had a chance to relax to get ready for this last push."
EXTRA POINTS: TE Roland Williams, who hopes to play with a severe right knee injury and torn tendons in his right toe, is "making progress that's not as fast as we would like right now but he is still progressing," Callahan said. Callahan hopes Williams can practice by the end of the week. Callahan is expecting to see CB Charles Woodson on the practice field Wednesday. Whether Woodson starts or is used as an extra defensive back will be determined by how he practices and his level of conditioning. ... Assistant coaches are again off-limits to the media. A restriction prohibiting reporters from talking to assistants was lifted last week. No reason was given for reinstating the silent treatment.
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