Beautiful and bittersweet; Raiders win their Oakland finale

  OAKLAND, Calif.—It was wet and wild, beautiful and bittersweet, a last hurrah for the Raiders in the city that with its characters and character has been as much a part of their psyche and history as the wins and losses.

  Such sweet sorrow on this  Christmas Eve Monday of rain and reverie, when the fans, Raider Nation if you will, showed their loyalty and, like their team did with a stunning 27-14 win  over the Denver Broncos, their resiliency.

  Big time sports is built on caring,  by the athletes of course, but no less by the fans, who, as on this damp evening, turned the Oakland Coliseum parking lot into the international festival of food and music, and not surprisingly when the alcohol flowed, perhaps with some tears, turned the stands into a raucous arena.

  Yes, a few brawls, as some in the celebratory crowd of 53,850 lost control. More significant were the cheers, as fans—even knowing this probably was their final appearance in Oakland, maybe in California—stayed to what was the end of the game and could be the end of an era.

  They were given what they were owed, a victory that was set off five minutes after the opening kickoff on a 99-yard yard punt return for a touchdown by Dwayne Harris.

  The Raiders because of a disgraceful money-grabbing, egotistical move by owner Mark Davis are moving to Las Vegas where in 2020 a multi-billion pleasure dome of a stadium will be ready. But until then they are without a definite place to play, and whether they set up camp in San Francisco or Nevada or—heaven help us, London—it won’t be the same.

    Won’t be the festivities and tacos and joyful greetings that have preceded every game, including Monday night’s, in the big parking lots off 66^th Avenue.

  Won’t be the same without the Black Hole, the fanatics—and that’s meant in the highest regard—who stand and yell in the sections directly behind the south goal posts.

   “I am thankful for  our fans,” said Jon Gruden, who in his return as Raiders coach this season now has a 4-11 record, with one game left, at Kansas City

“They were there every game for us. I really appreciate the support. Our fans really fueled us.”

  But the Raiders are leaving those fans, leaving the Coliseum, leaving Oakland—maybe something can be worked out for 2019, but all that does is extend the pain of waiting—departing at the whim and greed of their owner.

  Asked his thoughts on the idea this was the ultimate game in the Coliseum, Gruden, who coached the Raiders some 20 years ago, said, “I don’t like it. It’s too sentimental tonight. It’s for other people to decide. The love affair for the fans here goes way back, and when we get this result like we did tonight, it is a Merry Christmas for everybody.”

  The Raiders performed the way they were supposed —or at least Gruden and management  planned —making big plays, grabbing the momentum, playing superb defense.

   The sad thing for these Raider partisans, the guys in the skull masks, and the shoulder pads, the playful attire, is the team, with all those first-round draft picks (including those from the trade of the team’s best player, Khalil Mack, and one of its most exciting players, Amari Cooper) should be a champion by the time it gets to Vegas.

  The Broncos had more total net yards, 300 to 273 for Oakland—yeah, thought I’d throw in the city’s name once more—but that doesn’t include the 99-yard punt return.

   Quarterback Derek Carr who took a victory lap at game’s end, waving to fans from whom he doesn’t wish to be separated, completed 19 of 26 passes for 167 yards. Doug Martin ran 21 times for 107 yards, including a 24-yarder for the Raiders second touchdown.

  “This was different,”  Carr could be heard saying to backup AJ McCarron. “Last year we were on the road. Two years ago I broke my ankle. This was great.”

  In front of the media, Carr, being asked what it was like the last two minutes with a big lead, said, “I can’t wait to not have to win a game with two minutes left. Can we please just enjoy one? . . .What a perfect way to do it on Christmas Eve. This might possibly be the last game in Oakland,  at the Coliseum. It was really nice. It was different. I love Oakland. This is home. We have the best fans the world. They were on fire.”

  A fire even a rainstorm couldn’t put out.

Chiefs made plays when needed; Raiders made mistakes

OAKLAND, Calif.—Never mind the glass is half-full optimism, the ifs and the might-haves. The Oakland Raiders are not a very good football team. And that’s the reason they couldn’t beat a team that is very good, Kansas City, even thought the Chiefs on Sunday were playing their first game without running back Kareem Hunt, cut for attacking a woman.

  Whether the Chiefs were affected by the incident, caught on videotape, or by the loss of Hunt, is uncertain. But for sure they have enough quality players, including young quarterback Patrick Mahomes, to overcome the situation—which is always the case of winning teams.    Maybe the Raiders, who were 2-9 entering the game and two touchdown underdogs, were courageous. Maybe the Raiders showed resilience after their own mistakes, fumbles and penalties, seemingly gave them no chance. Maybe head coach Jon Gruden said, “We are playing good football.”

  But this season at least they are not on the same level as Chiefs. In the end, despite the loud support from a Coliseum crowd listed at 55,255; despite one of Derek Carr’s better games (passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns) the Chiefs were, 40-33, winners.

    KC is 10-2, leading the AFC. It makes plays when needed, as opposed to the Raiders, who in this one made mistakes when they weren’t needed, losing three fumbles and early on being called for a holding penalty which negated a first down and forced a punt.

   “Three fumbles and a fourth and one conversion call,” said Gruden. “Against the Kansas City Chiefs that’s going to be tough to overcome.”

  No impossible to overcome, especially when you add a 22-yard first quarter punt by Johnny Townsend.

  Mahomes, who is having a brilliant season, and tight end Travis Kelce, hurt the Raiders. “Travis and Patrick (Mahomes) made some incredible plays. They must live together or something. Give credit to those guys. You can’t do anything sometimes but tip your cap.”

  Carr did something. With the Raiders in the hole from the start he helped them climb back.

    “And that brings the Raiders to within 10 points,” public address announcer Gary Williams shouted to the crowd after a Carr to Jared Cook touchdown pass made it 26-16 in the third period. Exciting but not fulfilling.

   Possibility evolved into disappointment.

  “Somebody said earlier,” Gruden offered, “we haven’t fumbled the ball all year. They (the Raiders) are making good runs. I think one was on first and 10, the other on second and two and another after a long run. Sometimes when you’re in traffic you have to put the ball away.”

   Gruden made a smart move in the closing minute, something those decades earlier John Madden did against the Steelers in a playoff—trailing by 10, kicking a field goal rather than trying for a touchdown and then a field goal. But the Raiders couldn’t come up with the ball on the onside kick with 28 seconds to play.

 “We had them backed up,” said Gruden, “and thought we could kick and cover. (Daniel) Carlson made a great onside kick. Maybe it didn’t go the exact 10 yards, but it was hell of a kick.”

  That quote sort of reflected the Raider performance. They didn’t go the full distance, but they played a hell of a game. Then again, the NFL gets down to wins and losses, and the Raiders in 2018 have far too many losses.

  The stats were decent, 442 net yards compared to 469 for KC. The result was not. Mahomes was one reason (23 of 38 for 295 yards and four TDs). The turnovers were another reason.

  “Mahomes made a third and 15 play that was right on my sideline,” said Gruden. “I was so outside of myself I was upset. He made so many plays today. I was proud of our quarterback too. It was a shootout of two great young quarterbacks.”

  The other, Carr, said, “There was no doubt we were going to win. But give credit to the Chiefs. They are really good.”

  And at this moment in time the Raiders are not.

At least with the Raiders no reason to blame QB or coach

  ALAMEDA—In New York, they’re blaming the quarterback, Eli Manning, which is understandable it not necessarily justified since it’s New York and the quarterback is the easiest to blame.

   It you don’t find fault with the coach, who, in Green Bay, Mike McCarthy, is accused of failing to take advantage of Aaron Rodgers’ talent.

  But here in the territory of reality, resignation and 2-9 NFL franchises, no one is upset with anybody in particular. Not particularly happy either, but it’s been a long while since either the 49ers or Raiders played what might be called a meaningful game—other than the one against each other.

   At Raider Central, where as always on Mondays Jon Gruden acts remarkably upbeat after downbeat Sundays, the issues were less caustic than some 30 miles down I-880, where Reuben Foster’s assault charge was the topic of the day.

    No one among the 20 or so Raider media had the temerity to ask Gruden if he were pleased that with all the other problems in this season of return to coaching and to the Raiders at least he didn’t have to deal with something or someone like Foster.

    There was an inquiry about the Raiders run defense, or lack of same, Baltimore Ravens rookie Gus Edwards  rushing for 118 yards on 33 carries and quarterback Lamar Jackson another 71 yards on 11 carries. Of course, Oakland hasn’t stopped the run in any game this season, which is as reason the Raiders are 2-9.

  “It’s a unique way of doing business right now in Baltimore,” said Gruden. “It’s a 250-pound back. (Edwards is listed at a mere 238). It’s an electrifying 4-3 quarterback. (One who uses his feet as well as his arm)  One’s going one way, and the other is going the other way. The young man can throw the football, so you have to defend a lot of different things.

 “There were times we made some mistakes up front. You really have to credit the Raven front for being physical.”

  In other words for having bigger, stronger or in the case of Jackson, speedier, players. The race may not always be to the swift or the battle to the strong, but that’s a pretty smart way to bet.

  The times the Raiders weren’t shoved aside they were run around.

    The Raiders overall simply don’t have the talent. This in part may be corrected by the 2019 draft, since Oakland has numerous first-round picks, but selections don’t always develop as hoped.

   When he was in full control of the Raiders and a step ahead of other teams, Al Davis went first after offensive linemen—think Gene Upshaw, Art Shell and Dave Dalby for a start—then after defensive backs.  You’d knock people around when you had the ball and knock passes down when they had it.

  Oakland did use its overall top pick in the 2018 draft on offensive tackle Kolton Miller, but he’s still gaining experience.

   “It went pretty good,” Gruden said about Miller against the Ravens. “Last week (Arizona) it was Chandler Jones. This week it was Terrell Suggs and Matthew Judon. It’s never perfect, but the last two weeks he’s played pretty good football for us.”

  Raider quarterback Derek Carr was sacked only three times by the Raven defense. But he’s been sacked 35 times total in the 11 games, for a loss of 200 yards, Hard to go forward when in effect you’re going backward.

  At times Carr had been reluctant to throw because he couldn’t find an open receiver. Other times he just got buried by the pass rush. Gruden was critical the first few games but no longer.

  “I think he’s a heck of a quarterback,” Gruden insisted. “I’ll leave it at that. I look forward to someday when we have all the pieces in place, and we have some continuity, and everybody is used to play with one another. I just think this guy has a real high ceiling, and he has a lot or pride in his performance.”

  All the pieces in place. Anybody have an idea when that will be?

Gruden on debates with QB: ‘We don’t have a ‘No Yelling’ sign on sideline

  ALAMEDA, Calif.—The coach and the quarterback had words. “I don’t have a ‘No yelling’ sign on the sideline,” said Jon Gruden. So he yelled at Derek Carr, and Derek Carr yelled back.

     “We get excited down there,” said the Raiders coach. In full view of the stands and television cameras.

 Great theater. “To be or not to be.” Not that kind of theater; not Shakespeare. More the Rockne kind. The Lombardi kind. Improv while the defense tries to improve.

  “What the hell is going on out here?” bellows Vince Lombardi on an old NFL Films segment,

  What was going on with the Oakland Raiders was an attempt Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals to win a game; it was successful, 23-21, on a last-second field goal.

   Some 24 hours after only his second victory in 10 games, Gruden, seated behind a desk at Raiders Central, was asked, “Is it a different Monday after a win?” His answer was personal and professional. “It’s been a tough year,” he said.

   A year of injuries. A year of on field mistakes. A year many of us decided was reflected in a coach and his QB jawing on the sideline, even if that’s common in the NFL, whether Bill Walsh with Joe Montana or Bill Belichick  with Tom Brady. 

   “I’m a big cheerleader sometimes,” Gruden explained. “I’m very positive a lot of the time. Every once in a while you have to make your points in some different ways. Sometimes raising your voice. I look ridiculous to some people, but I want urgency . . . I want to get things right.

  “I doesn’t mean I’m always right either. Derek pointed that out to me Sunday.”

   Football is a collaboration of calls, skills and fortunes. “Marshawn Lynch was here and running really well for us and then Marshawn went away,” was Gruden cut-to-the-chase phrasing of the injury that forced a change in the running game. “Doug Martin has been doing good things; Jalen Richard might be the MVP of our team.”

  Richard rushed 11 times for 61 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards. Carr completed 19 of 32 overall for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Whatever he and Gruden argued about may not have had much effect on the end result.

  “I think cameras can catch things that maybe look a little bit peculiar,” said Gruden, who, of course, before rejoining the Raiders this season was an analyst for ESPN for nine years.

   Peculiar could be the word for the Raiders’ season, for anyone who hesitates to use awful or disagreeable.

   Everything went south when Khalil Mack went east to the Chicago Bears. (What a game he had against the Vikings on Sunday night). There are numerous other reasons for going 2-8, mainly injuries to the offensive line, but the Mack trade seemed to trigger all misery.

   “These guys have played great,” said Gruden about a team he said has not come apart—which is a reflection of both players and coach.

“These guys played hard Sunday. I’m really proud of the effort. I know we’re not where we want to be, but the attitude and the effort and the camaraderie is a big part of establishing a program. For that I’m really proud.”

  The negative, as far as Oakland is concerned, is when the program is established the Raiders will be in Las Vegas.

  Gruden was asked what a lone victory can do for a team that, along with San Francisco and Arizona shares worst record in the NFL

    “We’ve had a lot of good practices,” said Gruden. “Guys have been putting forth a tremendous effort. They’ve been preparing hard. Winning is a great motivator. It’s a great cure. It builds momentum.

  “We’re missing a lot of players. Our injury list is unfortunate. Look at Drew Brees. I don’t know how many receivers have come and gone through New Orleans. Derek Carr has done well. That’s what every great quarterback has to do in this league.

   “Aaron Rodgers is going through it. Tom Brady has gone through it. That’s what comes with being a C.E.O.quarterback, and (Carr) has handled it extremely well. And that’s a credit to him.”

   As is handling the sideline disputes with Gruden.

Newsday (N.Y.): Raiders show respect for Eli Manning as they prepare to host Giants

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

ALAMEDA, Calif. — His brother, David, was the backup to Eli Manning on the Giants who rarely played. Now, as fate and fable would have it, Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders will be the first to play quarterback against the Giants since Manning was replaced as starter.

“I know this about Eli,” Carr said. “He’s a great person. I was able to learn from him a couple of years ago at the Pro Bowl. I was fortunate and blessed to be on that same team as him. Just learn from him, ask questions, all of those things.”

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2017 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Raiders' defense hasn’t been good for a month

By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — The season is coming apart, shredding, disintegrating. To think a month ago they — we — were talking about the Raiders going to the Super Bowl. What a laugh. What a mistake.

Four losses in a row now for Oakland. On Thursday they play the Kansas City Chiefs, who finally lost their first game Sunday, the same day the Raiders dropped their fourth in a row. Nobody this side of the ’72 Dolphins wins them all — and K.C. usually owns Oakland.

What the Raiders own is a 2-4 record. Which is exactly that of the Los Angeles (yes, I keep wanting to refer to them as San Diego) Chargers, who edged Oakland 17-16 on Sunday, on a field goal by Nick Novak with 0:00 on the clock at the Coliseum.

The time remaining is irrelevant. The Raiders' inability to move the ball when necessary, or to halt the Chargers when necessary, is very relevant.

The Raider locker room was full of platitudes. You’ve heard them all. We’re going to keep fighting. We just to correct the little things. We need to take care of the details. We’re better than that.

Derek Carr, starting once more at quarterback, made that last observation. Then after a moment, he suggested, “Maybe we’re not.”

Never mind the qualification. They’re not.

The Raiders have gone from the top, all the preseason predictions, the early season self-assurance, to the bottom. They started out making plays. Now they’re making errors.

Now they can’t get the first down on third and short. Now they can’t stop the other team on third and short. Or long.

Carr, who missed the last two games with a lower back injury, wants to take the blame, and a couple times he was at fault, overthrowing a ball that was intercepted two minutes into the game and then missing Marshawn Lynch early in the third quarter, the ball bouncing off Lynch’s outstretched hands and being picked off by Hayes Pullard on the San Diego 11-yard-line early in the third quarter.

Still, how to do you stick it to one man, if the most important man, when you have the ball almost 11 minutes of the third quarter and score zero points? Or when the Chargers move 78 yards on 11 plays in four minutes for that final, painful field goal?

The Raiders' defense hasn’t been any good for a month now. “Comes down to the end,” said Oakland coach Jack Del Rio. “Which team makes the plays. We had our chances.”

And squandered them, which is what losing teams do, or they wouldn’t be losing teams.

The best player on the field for the Raiders was the punter, Marquette King. He kicked four times and averaged 55 yards. Fantastic. And of little consequence when you can’t keep the other guys from running or passing.         

Well, make that passing. The Chargers rushed for only 80 yards. They threw for 268. Philip Rivers, their quarterback, kept connecting on third and short. And third and not-so-short. Rivers sure is over the hill, isn’t he?

“You get them pinned back,” said Del Rio of King’s punting effectiveness, "we have to get a stop. We didn’t get it done. They milked it.

“They won the game. They earned it. So we’re on a short week.”

Up next are the Chiefs on Thursday night, three days after a defeat. The Chiefs, who inevitably find a way to beat Oakland. Or is it Oakland that beats Oakland?

Hard to knock Del Rio for going for it on fourth and two on the Chargers 41 in the fourth quarter, even if the Raiders couldn’t get the two yards. All that great punting wasn’t worth much, so might as well gamble.

Asked what’s missing from the offense, Del Rio wouldn’t deal in specifics. “Just productivity,” he answered. Well, no kidding. If you can’t gain two yards on fourth down, can’t score a point when you’re controlling the ball most of the third quarter, you definitely are not productive.

On the last offensive series, before King punted 58 yards (whoopee), the Raiders had an illegal formation penalty followed by three go-nowhere plays, including the hook and lateral.

“We’re working hard,” said Del Rio. Our team is a proud team.”

Right now, however, it is not a very good team.

S.F. Examiner: Stars without home vs. home devoid of stars

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

This is pro football at the moment in the Bay Area: The 49ers are looking for a quarterback while the Raiders — like that song about the boll weevil — are looking for a home.

You hesitate to predict which team has a greater chance of success, although that billion-dollar-plus figure being tossed around for a new Raiders facility across the state border certainly grabs your attention.

Read the full story here.

©2017 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Raiders reflect on bittersweet season

By Art Spander
San Francisco Exaimner

It’s the toughest day in any sport, the one after a season ends with a defeat. There’s satisfaction, of course, of what was accomplished — and for the Raiders that was considerable — and anticipation, of possibilities in the future. There also is regret.

So it was at Raiders Central in Alameda on Sunday. Outside, the rain fell — as if nature had to add to the gloom. Inside, the locker area, the media room, at different times a head coach and some of his players offered words both from the heart and head.

Read the full story here.

©2017 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Raiders trudge forward into playoffs

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

You’re a Raiders fan, and you wonder what else can happen. The team finally gets out of its decade-deep hole, one that’s silver as much as black, and the owner wants to sneak it over the border.

It has a quarterback worthy of the chant, “MVP, MVP,” and not only does he get hurt, a broken leg no less, but so does his backup.

Read the full story here.

©2017 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Matt McGloin inherits Raiders’ starting gig again

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

A little bit of a chip on his shoulder.

That was Jack Del Rio’s succinct description of the man who, unexpectedly — and because of the situation, unfortunately — is now the Raiders’ starting quarterback: Matt McGloin.

Read the full story here.

©2016 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Raiders continue to soar when they need to

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

The decibels were building, 16, 17, 18, according to numbers on the scoreboard, the fans trying to emulate a jet engine, lifting off a runway, soaring.

The momentum was building, one touchdown, another touchdown, another touchdown, a ringing of the Raider bell — bong, bong — a football team lifting off, soaring.

Read the full story here.

©2016 The San Francisco Examiner

Like Kobe and Steph, Raiders find a way

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — He grew up a Kobe fan, and while that may not be what people in Northern California want to hear, the background is understood and acceptable. Derek Carr figures anything is possible in sports.

That the way Kobe Bryant brought the Lakers from behind, well, why couldn’t Carr and his teammates do the same?

Even after blowing a big lead. Even after Carr, the Raiders quarterback, the Raiders leader, injured his throwing hand and was unable to take snaps from the center in the old T-formation but had to play out of the shotgun.

Yes, the Raiders won another one on Sunday at the Coliseum, going way ahead, falling behind and then, just when you wondered if a season that so far has been magical and almost mythical was about to come apart, wondered if the Raiders were to revert to the bad old days, did their Kobe.

Or, making it more appealing, their Steph and Klay. Or more accurately, their Derek and Khalil Mack.

Oakland beat the Carolina Panthers, 35-32, a fifth straight win. They beat the Panthers after flying home Monday night from Mexico City, where Oakland defeated Houston. They beat the Panthers after building a 24-7 lead and then falling behind 32-24 — meaning Carolina scored 25 points in succession.

They beat the Panthers after proving that indeed the Raiders will offer no excuses, only persistence.

“What a great victory here at home against a really good football team,” said head coach Jack Del Rio, who sounded very much like one of the sellout crowd at the Coliseum. “Just proud of our guys for hanging in there and finding a way. That’s been a theme for us this year.”

A theme and a pattern. Five comeback victories. The team that once was unable to win, now, Kobe-like, Steph-like, Derek Carr-like, will not lose. The words of Al Davis float in the breeze, to wit, “Just win, baby.” And in nine of their 11 games this season, they’ve just won. Baby.

Such a bizarre game. Such a typical NFL game. Carolina couldn’t do anything in the first half, gaining just 89 yards total. Awful. Then the Raiders couldn’t do anything to stop Carolina.

“The third quarter was really tough,” agreed Del Rio, “and then we came back and finished.”

Carolina has been a mystery team. In the Super Bowl last season, a bust this season at 4-7, losing games but with Cam Newton at quarterback and other stars loaded with talent. The Panthers suddenly came together, with Newton throwing to Ted Ginn for a touchdown on an 88-yard play and to Kelvin Benjamin for a TD on a 44-yard play. Fortunately, the Raiders did not come apart.

“I thought there was a stretch where things were kind of unraveling a bit,” said Del Rio. “I actually tried to make sure to say, ‘Hey, let’s remember, if we keep fighting and keep believing, we’ll go from there. Then whatever happens, we can deal with it.’ I thought we snapped out of that and got our energy back.”

And got their quarterback back.

And never were without defensive end Khalil Mack, who had an interception and then a sack and recovered a fumble on the fourth-down play that, with a minute to go, would close it out for the Panthers — and thus for the Raiders.

Mack became the first player with a sack, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery and a touchdown since Charles Woodson in 2009. And digressing, the TD off the interception was oh-so-similar to that of Jack Squirek, picking Joe Theisman, in Super Bowl XVIII in January 1984.

Asked if he knew Mack was that agile, Del Rio insisted, “Yeah, he’s got good hands. He can throw it too. He can do just about anything he really wants.”

What Carr wanted was to get back in the game after the snap on the second play of the third quarter bruised the baby finger on his throwing hand and the subsequent fumble was recovered by the Panthers.

“A lot of pain,” said Carr. “Something happened with the snap. I don’t know what. I’ll have to see the replay. Something was different from normal.”

Carr put a glove on the hand, and the team doctors gave him the OK to replace Matt McGloin, who had replaced Carr. When Carr emerged from the tunnel, the crowd bellowed approval. Carr, although desperate to play, only wanted to bellow.

“Probably the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.

He winced, he gritted, he and the Raiders triumphed. Oakland clinching its first winning season in 14 years.

“I’m happy for the fans,” said Carr, who as a Californian — he played at Fresno State — knows the team’s history. It’s been painful, if in a different way from that baby finger.

“We’re learning how to win. I really believe that our identity is just a team that works hard and believes in one another.”

After Sunday, it’s possible to believe the Raiders are an excellent team.

S.F. Examiner: Oakland Raiders submit vintage performance under Sunday night lights

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

“Raiddd-uhs, Raiddd-uhs.” The chant rolled through the Coliseum like it did in the in the days of Kenny Stabler, Gene Upshaw and Ted Hendricks, the days when the Raiders could roll through the NFL, irritating, intimidating, a silver and black version of the autumn wind that would knock opponents down just for fun.

The last few years haven’t been fun at all for the Raiders or their fans, the team tumbling from the upper levels of the game to places that were both embarrassing and tormenting. Then, Sunday night arrived with all its nationwide appeal, with Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth, with the opportunity to show once more this was a team, of pride, poise and most of all toughness.

Read the full story here.

©2016 The San Francisco Examiner

Raiders Carr just wants to win — like Al Davis

By Art Spander

NAPA — This was Al Davis talk, but from Derek Carr. Davis has been gone four and a half years now, and yet for the Raiders, for a player like Carr, it was as if Al still was parading around the field in training camp reminding us to just win, baby.

Carr wants nothing else, even in preseason games. “Anytime I put on a jersey,” said Carr, “my whole mindset is, ‘What do I need to do to win?’”

Most likely be on the field for more than a dozen plays, or something like that, to which most NFL starting quarterbacks are limited in the first or second week of what, in truth, are practice games.

No reason to take a chance with injuries, and conversely you’ve got to give a chance to the backups.

So for Carr, there’s impatience. Ten plays last weekend against Arizona, although with Matt McGloin throwing a couple of touchdown passes, an Oakland victory. Thursday night, it’s the Packers at Green Bay.

“There’s something where, like, if you lose,” said Carr, “it stings, because you’re a competitor.”

And unquestionably, in his third year, a leader — the leader. As a quarterback is supposed to be. Someone who understands the plan and people, and no less importantly himself. Someone as adept at dealing with the media as with a safety blitz.

The Raiders closed camp early Tuesday afternoon, not long after Carr, enthusiastic — as always — and reflective gave what would be the final session behind the podium for Napa 2016. And, according to some rumors, the final ever.

If the Oakland Raiders indeed are to become the Las Vegas Raiders, as Al’s son, Mark, is planning — scheming? — then, according to the predictions, training camp would be switched to Reno. Not that anyone associated with the Raiders would discuss it.

“Man, I’m just . . . I didn’t even think of that until you said that,” Carr offered. “That’s how focused we are on football. I love Napa. I love the Bay Area. If it is, I loved it. If it’s not, I look forward to coming back.”

It was the belief of the late Bill Walsh (whose first job in pro football was as an assistant to Davis in 1966, when Al was the Raiders' head coach) that a quarterback needs three years to develop: in the rookie year mostly watching, in the second year playing when he could succeed, in the third year becoming the starter.

Now rookies, such as Jared Goff with the Rams this season and Carr back in 2014, instantly are first-string, learning in the school of hard knocks and one-sided defeats. Peyton Manning himself endorsed the method with the man who succeeded him at Indianapolis, Andrew Luck.

“You’ve got to get out there and find out,” in effect is what Manning advised.

Carr definitely did. That first year, the Raiders lost their opening 10 games. For someone who prizes a win in preseason, the pain still lingers from the difficult beginning. Yet, Carr rarely gets down.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time,” he said of his attitude, “it’s real. It really is. I just love people, being around people. But there’s one percent of the time when you wake up and your body hurts or something bad happened with a friend or family member, and it bugs you. I’m human.”

But he recovers quickly enough.

“I just remind myself who I am,” said Carr, “my foundation, what I believe and who I am. That’s how I go about it, because I want to make sure I’m always the same for my teammates. Like when we were 0-10, it was hard. But I tried every single day to be the same guy. So, as they saw that when we were losing, when we started winning and I was the same guy, they knew it just wasn’t a game.”

He meant his behavior, not football, which is just a game — and more.

“When I came out of (Fresno State), I felt very prepared,” said Carr, “When I hit the NFL, there hasn’t been anything that was said to me that didn’t make sense. It’s all about experience, though. It’s just a matter of experiencing those things, those blitzes, those coverages.

“It made sense to me why they were doing it, but I had never seen it before so it wasn’t in my memory bank. Those two years of experience are what really gave me the most knowledge.”

We’ll find out whether, in his critical third year, they also give Carr the winning edge.

For Raiders, no success ‘without a Super Bowl’

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — Wait ’til next year. Or the year after that. Or the Twelfth of Never. The Raiders aren’t there yet, perhaps aren’t even close to being there, meaning the postseason, where they last played 13 years ago, a virtual lifetime in the NFL.

Are they better than last season? Their record would indicate as much. Even after getting beaten by the superior Green Bay Packers, 30-20, Sunday in the rain and chill at O.Co Coliseum, and being eliminated from the playoffs, the Raiders are 6-8. And wins in their final two games, unlikely since one is at Kansas City, would make them 8-8, which would be their best record since 2011.

They had a new coach this season, Jack Del Rio, and after defeating the Jets in early November had a 4-3 record. Where would they go from there? Nowhere, it turned out. At least figuratively. Progress, sure — from three wins a year ago, it was inevitable they would progress. Still, that doesn’t placate the fans, drenched and deflated, who toughed it out. Or the veteran defensive back Charles Woodson.

Someone wondered if the season could be described as success, what with victories over the Jets and, a week ago, the Denver Broncos. Woodson had a ready response. “There is no success,” he said, “without a Super Bowl.”

This from a 37-year-old who entered the league in 1998, was drafted by and played with the Raiders, moved to the Green Bay Packers where he got that Super Bowl and then in 2013 returned to Oakland. This from a man who has battled and survived and, even Sunday, after another bruise to his sore right shoulder, missed only one scrimmage play before re-entering the game.

“But,” added Woodson, “progress has been made.”

The Raiders have fallen — or raised — themselves into the category called teasers. As opposed to finishers. The Raiders are out there making big runs, big receptions, big defensive stops — and big mistakes.

As in the first period Monday, when they — meaning quarterback Derek Carr — threw two interceptions and fell behind 14. After which they pulled ahead, 20-17. After which they gave up two touchdowns and a field goal.

Is it a lack of experience, of understanding how champions compete, or a lack of talent? Is it a failure in the coaching or a failure in comprehension? Is it bad breaks or bad play?

For seasons the Raiders have been heavily penalized, a legacy of the late owner Al Davis, who often said he didn’t care about discipline. And while there has been improvement in 2015, the penalties remain a major negative. Time after time Monday, the Raiders were called for pass interference, illegal use of hands or holding. In all, the Raiders had 10 penalties for 95 yards, the Packers six for 75 yards.

On a third and sixth, a pass is knocked down, a flag is thrown and the Packers — or the Chiefs, or the Steelers — have a first down. “Just play with better technique,” said Del Rio about the calls. “I saw a couple examples where guys were trailing and did not play with proper technique. That will be called every time. Wasn’t even close.”

Nor were the two quick interceptions by Carr, who, in his second year, has not attained a level of consistency needed by winners. In the middle of the first quarter, Micah Hyde picked off a Carr pass at the Oakland 36. Four plays later, the Pack led 7-0. One play later, a 43-yard interception return by Damarious Randall made it 14-0.

“The first interception,” said Carr, “I tried to sneak it in without the guy seeing me, and he turned his head around and caught it. The second just got high on me. It did. I wish I had the play over. I’d love to bring it down, obviously, but that’s where I wanted to throw it. It was just high.”

After the one-two punch, Del Rio brought Carr to his side, not to criticize but to reassure. “It was just, ‘Things like that are going to happen, I believe in you,’” Shaw said of the coach’s advice. “‘You already know these things. Just go out there and be yourself.’”

For now, Carr being himself is not good enough. He’s an individual on the verge. The Raiders are a team on the verge. But so far that’s not enough.

“In critical situations,” said Woodson, the wise and relatively old man, “you can’t beat yourself. It’s hard enough to go out there and play the other team. As this team grows, we’ll get better at those type of things.”

For that we must wait. ’Til next year, or well after that.

49ers' loss of Crabtree is Raiders' gain

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — Halfway across the country, his former team was losing another game and maybe, considering the dismay of 49ers fans, losing face. But Michael Crabtree seems unconcerned with any sort of retribution.

On his best day as an Oakland Raider, maybe his best day as a pro football receiver, 12 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, he spoke only of progress, the Raiders' progress — not his own.

Everything is going beautifully for the Raiders, who have escaped their seasons of agony. On Sunday, with Crabtree getting open and with second-year quarterback Derek Carr getting him and others the ball — and throwing four TD passes — the Raiders beat the New York Jets, 34-20.

Impressive stuff for a franchise so long trapped in misery, a franchise that no matter how successful it is in the Bay Area will always be the NFL stepchild to the Niners. Now the Raiders, still playing in the O.Co Coliseum while their future is debated, are flying high while the Niners, beaten 27-6 by the Rams at St. Louis, are by comparison a disgrace.

Crabtree, 28, is a link between the two franchises, in more than one way. Entering the 2009 draft early after setting records at Texas Tech, he was on the board when the Raiders instead opted for Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, another receiver. So the 49ers took him with the 10^th pick overall.

Then after years of mixed production, last spring he was a free agent. The Niners no longer wanted him, but the Raiders, who had blown the opportunity once, signed him. So far, so very good. He’s not only become a target, he’s become a mentor to super rookie Amari Cooper.

Preparing to leave the locker room after getting into his civilian clothes, Crabtree, wearing a backpack, was halted by a phalanx of media. He probably deserved a better location for a debriefing, but this is sport, not Hollywood or Washington. Informality is a constant.

“We have a lot of weapons,” said Crabtree, trying to spread the glory. Indeed, there’s Taiwan Jones, who caught a Carr pass near the sideline and slipped and sped by what is supposed to be a great Jets pass defense — hey, Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are the corners — for 59 yards and a TD. Andre Holmes caught two for touchdowns.

“The Jets' defense challenged us,” said Crabtree. “We have a lot of guys who want those extra yards. There’s a will to win. We try to make something happen.”

This was a second straight win in for the Raiders, who now have a 4-3 record. This was a chance to flummox a team that a week earlier had played competently against the best team in pro football, the Patriots, losing only 30-23.

“You see where we’re getting better,” said Carr. “I have to go back (to the video) and compare/contrast. But you see the growth, obviously.”

Carr said he told Crabtree, the vet, the family man, that he played with “daddy strength.” It was an interesting analogy.

“When you’re a father,” said Carr, “there’s an extra strength that you have, and he played with that today.”

When teams win, everybody is satisfied. Praise bounces around like, well, a football after a punt. Still, you sense a feeling of accomplishment and a degree of humility from the Raider players. They have accepted the principles of new head coach Jack Del Rio that it’s a team game, and as great as any individual might be, the group is what counts.

Crabtree, also schooled by Jim Harbaugh with the Niners, has bought into the concept. “It’s not just about one guy,” said Crabtree.

Del Rio said he likes what Crabtree has brought to the Raiders. “Michael has been a real pro,” said the coach. “We love having him. He’s come in from day one and really hit in our locker room. He’s been a great teammate, does everything we ask.”

Crabtree had an Achilles injury in 2013 that kept him out of much of that season with the Niners. And in 2014 some said that he had lost his explosives, with only two 100-yard reception games after recovering. His highest single-game yardage total in 2014 was just 85.

But he had the 102 Sunday against the Jets, so it’s apparent the Raiders made a wise decision in signing Crabtree.

“He works his tail off,” said Del Rio. “He’s been a greater example for Coop. And he’s making plays. He’s doing more than just being a mentor. He’s having a nice year for us.”

Raiders control ball, Peyton — and still can’t win

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — This is what happens to teams that aren’t quite there, teams that show progress but often don’t show results, teams that are difficult to embrace but even more difficult to criticize.

You want terrible? Look at the Detroit Lions, getting booed at home, benching first-rounders for bench-warmers. The Lions are terrible and readily identified as much. In contrast to the Oakland Raiders, who as young teams with new coaches do so frequently, entice and tease and then trip over themselves. Clunk.

Not many boo. Instead, they gasp.

The Raiders on Sunday played arguably their best defensive game in years. They controlled the ball — having it for 34 minutes of the 60. For the most part they controlled the great Peyton Manning, who threw  two interceptions and no touchdowns passes for a mediocre passer rating of 62.3, compared to the appreciably better rating of 82.1 by Raiders second-year quarterback Derek Carr.

But as we’ve been told forever and a day, the only number that matters is the final score. The rest is eyewash, material for talk shows and feature stories. At an O.Co Coliseum filled with passion and hope, the final score was Broncos 16, Raiders 10.

That’s the fewest points the Broncos scored this season. No less importantly, after two missed field goals, a lost fumble and a killer interception, a pass returned 74 yards in the fourth quarter when the Broncos were in front only 9-7, that’s the fewest the Raiders scored this season.

Yes, could have, perhaps should have. But didn’t.

The Raiders, with mistakes small and large, so encouraging and then, wham, so disappointing, are not yet capable. “They were supposed to win,” said Carr. “We expected to win.” But they were not yet ready to win.

Sebastian Janikowski set a team record for the number of games played as a Raider, 241. But he had one field goal blocked and another go wide from 40 yards. “Sometimes it happens,” said Seabass.

And Carr lost a fumbled snap on Oakland’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, and then on a misread — “We didn’t execute,” Carr said in a statement that indicted nobody — with the ball on Denver 31, Carr’s throw was picked by Cliff Harris Jr. and returned 74 yards for a TD.

“I always take full accountability,” said Carr, who in his words and actions seems more mature than someone in only his second year as a pro — but in his football occasionally plays exactly like someone in only his second year as a pro.

The game is one of overcoming errors. The best, the veterans, have their problems but not very many when matched against others. In Green Bay on Sunday, Aaron Rodgers even threw an interception. But it was his first in a home game in three years. The longer you go the fewer mistakes you make, and so, the longer you go.

Manning has gone longer than most. He’s 39, the same age as Raiders safety Charles Woodson, who after seasons of facing him finally had his first interception off Manning. But Peyton wasn’t unnerved. Upset, yes, but not unnerved. He’s in his 16^th season. He learned long ago to soldier on. Learned how to win, or more directly learned how to enable his team to win.

Raiders coach Jack Del Rio knows about both losing and winning and, as the former Broncos defensive coordinator, knows all about Manning. Del Rio particularly coveted a victory over his former team yet understood why the Raiders couldn’t get it.

“I thought we gave ourselves a chance,” said Del Rio, which only sounds good. Oakland, after consecutive defeats, now is 2-3. The Broncos are 5-0, and that stat far outdoes Manning’s interceptions and lack of TD passes.

Woodson was asked in a game when the opposing offense, Denver, was held to three field goals — the touchdown, remember, was a pick six, or interception return — if he would expect a win.

“Yeah, I suppose,” he said, trying to be elusive. “Defensively, we came out. We felt like were prepared and could do some things against them. We were able to, limiting those guys, but we just weren’t able to do enough.”

That’s the inevitable summation from a team that falls short, a team that competes, that excites, that tempts and then, because for one reason or another, ends up losing.

A team like the Oakland Raiders.

One game may have changed it all for Raiders

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — One game. One game that ended differently. One game that for the Oakland Raiders may have washed away dozens of games. One game that changed the hopes and vibes of a football team that of late always found way to lose, but on a Sunday that could turn out to be seminal — as well as memorable — found a way to win.

For nearly 58 minutes, the Oakland Raiders had been ahead or tied. Then, after an interception, the mistake the Raiders always seem destined to make, they trailed by three points. And a still loyal but all too realistic crowd at O.co Coliseum knew it the same old Raiders.

But the kid who threw the interception, Derek Carr, was thinking these Raiders were different. “I was just thinking, man, just give us a chance,” he said. “Please, Lord, give us a chance.”

He got that chance. The Raiders got that chance. With 26 seconds left, Carr connected with Seth Roberts in the south end zone, the Black Hole end zone. The Raiders, the hard-luck, how-are-they-going-to-screw-up-this-time Raiders, were winners, 37-33.

Carr is the second-year quarterback in whom the Raiders have placed their future. The choice appears to be brilliant. We know his background: the younger brother of David Carr, also a quarterback, also from Fresno State, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft by Houston.

But lineage is only so important. What would Derek do when he had to pull off the winning drive, had to be another Joe Montana or Ken Stabler or Tom Brady?

After Sunday, after the Raiders, who looked so bad a week ago in the opening game, evened their record at 1-1, we have a very good idea. He moved the Raiders 80 yards. On a hot day — it was 90 degrees by the Bay — Carr was properly cool, as successful QBs must be.

This after leaving last week’s game with a hand injury and leaving journalists to ask numerous questions about his condition that went unanswered by head coach Jack Del Rio.

“One week of people thinking I’m hiding something, or whatever,” said Del Rio. “It was a normal week. He threw the ball well and prepared hard. There was just a lot because he couldn’t finish last week … It’s a testament to his desire and willingness to do the extra things to get his body to recover.”

The Raiders, so steeped in nostalgia and, in the last decade, failure. The torch up on the plaza adjacent to the south stands is lighted each game — Sunday it was by the great lineman Art Thoms — to the memory of the late Al Davis. The frustrated fans who, declining in number, still show up at a stadium the team is threatening to desert. The thoughts of the way it used to be back in the 1970s and 80s, when the Raiders were the NFL’s bad guys, and Davis relished that concept.

Yet, sports are of the moment. The Raiders haven’t had a winning record in more than a decade, and after the 33-13 pummeling eight days earlier, you might have thought they never would have one. But the Del Rio influence cannot be underestimated. He came home, having grown up in neighboring Hayward, to restore the heart of a franchise he cheered for as a kid.

Now he has his first victory as a Raiders head coach, and although that was passed over because of the performance of Carr — 30 of 46 for 351 yards and three touchdowns, including the ultimate one — surely that meant something to contemplate.

“That was one heck of an effort,” said Del Rio, emphasizing the team rather than the individual. “I saw a lot of examples of guys really emptying their bucket, a phrase that says they really had given all they had — straining, not flinching in tough circumstances, finding a way.

“The head coach and the quarterback are the only two guys in the organization directly tied to wins and losses, and to see our young quarterback take our team down there to the end like that was special.”

Michael Crabtree, the receiver late of the 49ers, said “The quarterback stuck in their like everybody else. The offensive line did good. The running backs made extra plays. The wide receivers were out there doing all they can.”

Carr did what he had to do, especially after the interception with five minutes to play and the game tied, 30-30.

“I told the guys in the huddle to believe it,” said Carr. “We’ve done it a thousand times.”

In practice. Now they’ve done it a game. What a change.

Raiders' best game still not a winning game

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — He’s a kid, a rookie, a cornerback on an NFL team that five games into a painful season has changed coaches and even though winless well into October perhaps on Sunday finally changed direction.

“We all feel like we did something today,” said TJ Carrie.

What the Oakland Raiders did, at last, was compete, keep a game in doubt, show they are anything but hopeless.

What the Raiders didn’t do was win. As they haven’t won this season. The San Diego Chargers came from behind and beat Oakland 31-28 at O.co Coliseum. Even with professed Raider fan Tiger Woods in attendance.

It was the Raiders’ best game of the season, on offense. Quarterback Derek Carr, also a rookie, threw four touchdown passes. Darren McFadden ran for 80 yards. So encouraging.

But the Chargers, 5-1, as compared to the Raiders, 0-5, controlled the ball, had it 37 minutes of the total 60, gained 423 yards. It is a cliché that defense wins. In this case, for the Raiders, unable to halt Charger drives, especially the final one that climaxed with a Branden Oliver touchdown with 1:56 remaining.

A new coach for the Raiders, an interim coach, Tony Sparano, who was chosen to replace hard-luck Dennis Allen two weeks ago. An old result.

The players are the same. They seemed more spirited, more aggressive, more upbeat. But they were no more successful.

There are two requirements to create a winning football team, a defense and a quarterback. Without a defense, you virtually never get the ball — and when your time of possession is 15 fewer minutes, as it was for the Raiders, they virtually never had the ball. Without a quarterback, well, he touches the ball on every offensive play.

The Raiders appear to have the quarterback in Carr. He has started every game, and if Carrie, the cornerback, who got beat often enough, said he learned something, so did we about Carr. He’s poised. He’s aggressive. And he has a fantastic arm. Hey, on the third play from scrimmage he unloaded a 77-yard beauty to Andre Holmes for a touchdown. Shades of Peyton Manning.

“I thought our quarterback made some big plays,” said Sparano. He also made some mistakes, getting called for intentional grounding and then in the last minute, on a meticulous drive that seemed destined to produce a game-tying field goal, throwing a ball to the Charger 10 that was intercepted, ending not only a chance for victory but also a record.

Since the merger of the mid 1960s, the only rookies to throw four touchdown passes without an interception in a game were Robert Griffin III and Trent Edwards.

“He’s getting better and better,” said Sparano of Carr, who played collegiately at Fresno State. "On that first touchdown, they came with pressure, we expected the pressure, the guys handled it pretty well, but Derek kept through the progression and getting the ball to the right guy. That’s progress.

“The play at the end of the game, it’s second and very short (1 yard), we felt like we’d make the first down, took a shot and that kid (Jason Verrett, also a rookie, from Fairfield, about 35 miles from the Coliseum) made a great play.”

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, as expected, made a ton of great plays. He threw three touchdown passes and has 15 in six games, with only two interceptions.

“We thought about blitzing him,” Sparano said about Rivers. “We blitzed him a couple of times early. We got to him a couple of different ways, but with Philip, as I said earlier in the week, if you don’t tackle him he’s a guy that buys time. He’s going to hurt you in those situations, and he hurt us in one or two of those situations today. You have to pick your poison a little bit with him.”

They’ll find no antidote in Carson Palmer of Arizona, next week’s opponent. The Cardinals are 4-1, and Palmer, who was with the Raiders three years ago, has recovered from his injuries.

“That’s the best team in the league according to some,” Sparano said of the Cardinals, and then switching to San Diego, “That’s one of the best teams out there today, and our kids played hard. We have to be in these kind of football games and finally one of these kind of games. That’s how we turn this thing around.”

They turn it around by shutting down the opponent, by playing the sort of defense the Raiders have not displayed for years.

Carrie could be part of that renaissance.

“His impact,” Sparano said of Carrie, ”was in two areas. I felt him challenging the ball on defense. I felt him around the ball. And then on special teams, on kickoffs (3 for 85 yards) and the punt returns, he really did a nice job.

“Look at TJ. Look at (rookie linebacker) Khalil Mack flying around and Gabe Jackson and these kids. It’s a good place to be right now.”

Did he mean for the Raiders or, as was the case for the Chargers and their dominant time of possession, the opposition? For Oakland there weren’t enough stops. And at 0-5, there certainly aren’t enough wins.