Oakland sleepwalks their way to fourth loss

By Anthony Carroll | Monday, October 17, 2005 | ( 0 )

Got something to say?

The Oakland Raiders' performance on Sunday can be characterized by a single word: ugly. The San Diego Chargers had their way with the Oakland defense for the entire game on Sunday. Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson rushed, caught, and threw a touchdown, as San Diego trampled Oakland 27-14.

With an extra week of practice at their side, the Oakland Raiders looked as if they had played a game just the day before. Kerry Collins threw his first interception of the 2005 season and had zero touchdowns to compensate for his mistake. Power runner LaMont Jordan had just 12 carries for 36 yards with two short goal line touchdowns. To make matters worse for Oakland, Randy Moss was injured late in the first quarter while leaping up for a deep ball between two defenders. As a result, Moss played only one play after the injury and had no receptions on the game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Oakland Raiders were run over-literally. LaDainian Tomlinson carried the ball 31 times for 140 yards and a touchdown, while backup Michael Turner also gained 50 yards on seven attempts. Drew Brees also had his way with the Oakland defense, as he carved through the secondary completing 16/20 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.

Oakland now drops to 1-4 on the season, while the San Diego Chargers improve to 3-3. In the midst of an ugly performance, Oakland wide receiver Doug Gabriel shined with 84 yards receiving, while defensive end Derrick Burgess had two drive-ending sacks. Besides these rare performances, owner Al Davis has nothing to be proud of heading into next week's matchup against the 3-3 Buffalo Bills.

As Kerry Collins was sacked on the final play of the game, Oakland's reaction to the play was a reflection of the entire game. With about 15 seconds left, the Oakland offensive line sluggishly moved backwards to the new line of scrimmage, the wide receivers jogged down the field, and LaMont Jordan knelt in the backfield with his helmet in hand. Although out of reach for Oakland, the lack of emotion the team showed to end the game was not far off from the emotion they showed throughout the entire game.

If the Oakland Raiders can't find an immediate way to gain some energy and rhythm, their season could end as early as next Sunday.

Got something to say?

	About Anthony Carroll Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
	read more