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Things went from bad to worse for the Raiders on Sunday at a time when they expected a turnaround in the second half of their season.
Instead, they are all but officially out of playoff contention for the seventh straight season after a 16-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders also are at a crossroads with quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Raiders coach Tom Cable yanked Russell, the supposed franchise savior, for the second time in three games in favor of Bruce Gradkowski. Russell played inconsistently and failed to generate much production as the leader of the offense.
"I'm just looking for the guy who gives us the best chance to win, and the same (goes) at every position.
The Chiefs made far more positive plays Sunday in winning for only the second time in nine games. The Raiders dropped to 2-7 and into a last-place tie with the Chiefs in the AFC West.
Cable was hopeful, if not certain, that his team's fortunes would change with the return of left guard Robert Gallery, right offensive tackle Cornell Green, wide receiver Chaz Schilens and running back Darren McFadden.
The good times lasted for all of one drive. The Raiders marched 70 yards on four plays, culminating with Justin Fargas' 1-yard run and a 7-0 lead. Then, they spent the rest of the game chasing the franchise record for punts in a
In the end, they succeeded in protecting punter Leo Araguz's record (16 punts against San Diego on Oct. 11,1998). But they hardly moved the ball. The Raiders recorded 10 three-and-outs, including eight in nine possessions during one stretch with Russell calling the plays. Through it all, the Raiders trailed only 13-10 late in the third quarter.
By that time, Cable had seen enough and summoned Gradkowski.
"Bruce did some good things," Cable said. "Obviously, we have to hold onto the football. "... So, he went in and did what he needed to do, but we just didn't make the plays."
With the score 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, Gradkowski drove the Raiders from their own 20-yard line to the Chiefs 26 in five plays. With 38 seconds left, Gradkowski delivered a well-thrown pass to rookie receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at the 9.
Heyward-Bey bobbled the ball several times before it sailed over his head and into the arms of safety Mike Brown for a game-clinching interception.
"I said, 'Look, it just stinks it happened then, but it shouldn't came down to the end like that, and we had plays earlier in the game we needed to make,'" Gradkowski said of his postgame conversation with Heyward-Bey.
Heyward-Bey bolted the locker room before the media were allowed access.
Earlier, Heyward-Bey let a 52-yard pass from Russell slip through his hands at the Chiefs 5.
Heyward-Bey wasn't the only one guilty of the dropsies; Raiders receivers dropped eight catchable passes by Cable's count.
Schilens said the team-wide problem won't go away until players place more importance on catching the ball.
"I just tell myself if ... I don't catch this, then they're not going to trust me, and I can't help the team win," Schilens said. "Until you focus on that ball like it's more important than anything else in the world, then you might not be where your mind needs to be at."
Cable has plenty of huge issues on his plate. First and foremost, what to do with Russell?
Cable declared Russell the starter for the following game the day he benched him against the New York Jets on Oct. 25. He refused to make such a declarative Sunday.
"I'm going to look at it," Cable said in reference to turning over the reins to Gradkowski or Charlie Frye. "I'll have something more to say on that (today) after I look at the film."
Gradkowski is a legitimate candidate to start against the Cincinnati Bengals this coming Sunday, Cable admitted.
"If that's the right thing to do and it gives us the best chance to win, yes," Cable said.
Russell said after the game that Cable's decision caught him off guard.
"Totally," Russell said. "Really can't explain it. I really don't know what to say about it, but that was his decision, and just move on from it. Things were going OK, toward the end."
Russell completed his first three passes Sunday but missed on 15 of his final 20. He has completed only 46.8 percent of his passes and had only two passes go for touchdowns in nine starts.
For his part, Russell said he supports Cable in every way, even if he doesn't understand why he was benched Sunday. He said he still views himself as the starter.
"I wasn't told any different," Russell said. "Whatever Coach comes up with, I'm going to go with, but I'm going to keep preparing like I am going to start."
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