Raiders crush Raiders; Jags lend a hand

By Anthony Carroll  |   Monday, December 24, 2007  |  Comments( 29 )

Oakland Raiders
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Here's some common sense for the Oakland Raiders: If you can barely beat your opponents, you'd better not beat yourself.

In a 49-11 thrashing at the hand of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp was flagged for more yardage than some entire teams were in Week 16. The 35-year-old veteran (he didn't look like one Sunday) was flagged three consecutive times late in the second quarter -- all for unsportsmanlike conduct -- and was ejected from the game before halftime.

During the meltdown, which lasted three-plus minutes, Sapp, along with fellow lineman Derrick Burgess, earned the Raiders four personal fouls. The series of events moved the Jacksonville offense from a third-and-20 situation at the Raiders' 35-yard line to a first-and-goal at the 2. Not to mention, by that time, the Jags had already established a 28-3 lead.

"I'm not happy at all or pleased at all. That represents our team," head coach Lane Kiffin told the Mercury News following the game. "We've talked about whether this guy did this or that, but the bottom line is, that represents us, what we're doing, and that falls on me."

He can't be any more right. The catastrophe late in the first half represented the Raiders perfectly. It was one act of self-destruction after the next, with seemingly no end in sight.

Oakland finished the day with double-digit penalties (11) for 88 yards. At one point in the second quarter, Burgess and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha were penalized on back-to-back plays, both for lining up offsides. The first negated a Gerard Warren sack on Jaguars quarterback David Garrard.

On another occasion, rookie QB JaMarcus Russell, who was under constant pressure all day long, managed to break off a 22-yard run. Little did he know a yellow flag already hit the turf behind him; it was a holding penalty on center Jeremy Newberry.

The first overall draft pick from LSU finished the game with just seven completions on 23 attempts for 83 yards. He also threw three picks; however, the 22-year-old did manage to connect on his first NFL touchdown pass, a 2-yard sling to fellow rookie Zach Miller. On the next play, he connected with wideout Ronald Curry to tack another two points on the board.

Russell also lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, adding a fourth turnover to a list that already included 11 penalties, four sacks allowed and one ejection.

Jacksonville's offense didn't help matters. The Garrard-led unit totaled 437 yards (201 rushing) and gained 26 first downs. Oakland looked helpless on defense, allowing halfbacks Fred Taylor to gain 111 yards on just seven carries and Maurice Jones-Drew to catch six passes for 96 yards.

"The whole game was out of control, from the second play on defense, when he (Taylor) took that run in," Asomugha said after the loss. "It wasn't embarrassing, it was mortifying. That was probably the most disappointing loss I've had."

Keep in mind, that was Asomugha's 76th game with the Raiders, and 57 of those have been losses.

You can almost count this one as two losses.

One mental loss to the Raiders and one physical loss to the Jaguars.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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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...
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CommentsComments: 29  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
The Shape		05:48 AM
12/24/2007
Again we mover closer to a top pick in the draft. We need to trim the fat from this roster after the season is over and it should...
No.2
Nick		06:31 AM
12/24/2007
Maybe if the Ref's weren't playing favorites this year there wouldn't be so many melt downs!! This has got to be the worst year...
No.3
timbrown4ever		08:17 AM
12/24/2007
I've been a Raider fan my whole life. I am halfway across the world and still watching the games live. I woke up at 2 am to...
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