(Sound of referee whistle)

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, October 21, 2008  |  Comments( 36 )

Oakland Raiders
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A funny thing happened in the writing of this column.

(Sound of referee whistle.)

“Offside, number 98, defense. Five-yard penalty, repeat first down.”

Every time I’d try to build up a head of steam on analyzing the Oakland Raiders’ mistakes in Sunday’s 16-13 win over the New York Jets, the voice of the zebra seeped into the edges of my consciousness; you know, kinda like Kevin Costner’s character in "Field of Dreams."

(Whistle.)

“Offside, number 58, defense. Five-yard penalty, repeat second down.”

In a nearly five-quarter game that surely felt like six to players and edge-sitting fans, the Raiders ran up a whopping 14 penalties – a bloated figure made even more impressive by dint of Oakland having won the game.

“False start, number 76, offense ... holding, number 77, offense ... five-yard penalty ... ten-yard penalty ...”

The propensity for mental errors – and let’s just forget the whole icing-the-kicker misfire thing – uglied up the game, as they say, dragging out the agony of millions expecting another fourth-quarter choke by the silver and black.

However, though enlightening to the general NFL fans watching the game, those following the Raiders thus far in 2008 know that the penalty-after-penalty style of non-play versus the Jets is nothing unusual: Heading into the game, the Raiders had averaged seven calls against them per game, "good" for bottom 10 status in the category. After Sunday’s game, the Raiders now stand at sixth in the NFL in overall penalties amassed; the Cleveland Browns are the sole team that has played six games with more.

This is not to say that the team, certain to be energized after a clutch win, cannot pile up the victories in spite of giving away the yardage on penalties. After all, among the tops in penalties are the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, competitive teams all. (OK, maybe not the Cowboys.)

“False start, number 77, offense. Five-yard penalty, repeat third down ... false start, number 77, offense. Five-yard penalty, repeat ... repeat ... repeat...”

All well and good it is that interim head coach Tom Cable has his guys fired up, but the false starts and offsides have been dogging the team since the Lane Kiffin era began; these are mental errors that require some addressing before too long. Truth is, if the Jets’ well-executed 64-yard drive in the second quarter hadn’t been a single yard longer, the Raiders would have dug themselves an early grave with, as one enthusiast had it, “stupid things like ‘Not Lining Up Properly.’”

Cable’s next short-term assignment: Help correct mental errors. Best of luck, really; there are glimmerings of greatness in this team.

“Delay of game, punting team, five-yard penalty ... Personal foul, number 20, offense. Fifteen-yard penalty...”

And hey, on the positive side, DeAngelo Hall managed to stay penalty-free. Maybe things are looking up in this area ...

(Sound of referee whistle. Starting gun fires.)
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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