BustedKnuckles
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But players and coaches say the team's offensive problems can't be blamed on play-calling.
By Jason Jones - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:03 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
ALAMEDA -- Before returning to the NFL as the Raiders' offensive coordinator, one of Tom Walsh's jobs was helping Sega with its football video game playbooks.
But in the competitive world of video games, Sega, and its Dreamcast game console, couldn't keep up with the Sony PlayStation 2 and eventually ceased production.
After three dismal performances by the Raiders' offense, now many are wondering if Walsh's playbook is stuck in a Dreamcast world as everyone clamors over the Xbox 360 and the upcoming PlayStation 3.
The Raiders' offense ranks last in passing (70.3 yards per game) and total offense (177 yards). It's also tied for last in scoring (nine points per game) with Tampa Bay. A lot of the criticism has been aimed at Walsh's offense and play-calling.
Some have blamed the "old school" and unimaginative plays for the Raiders' 0-3 start.
While players have been reluctant to comment on Walsh's play-calling, they also haven't expressed a problem with the style of play the Raiders want to implement. Execution has been the problem, not an ancient style of play.
"This league is so copycat, where if somebody does one thing, then everybody wants to do that," said running back Zack Crockett. "When you talk about old-school football, that's physical nature. That's going out there and hitting the person, knowing somebody's in front of you, just playing hard-nosed football."
But the question remains: Are the Raiders too basic to be successful? Not so, said coach Art Shell.
"This offense is not so much different from a lot of offenses in this league," Shell said. "But when you lose ... people have a tendency to pick on you and I understand that."
Receiver Ronald Curry said criticism of Walsh and Shell has more to do with their time away from the game. Walsh last coached in the NFL in 1994 with the Raiders, Shell's last head coaching job.
"If we were running the Indianapolis offense they would still have those comments because they feel like these coaches haven't coached in years," Curry said. " 'They haven't coached since '94, it's a blast from the past.' But I don't think that has nothing to do with what we're doing on the field."
Part of the criticism is that the Raiders are fixated on throwing the ball deep.
Shell believes the Raiders still need to establish the running game. He notes that the vertical passing game doesn't mean chuck the ball downfield with reckless abandon, especially behind an offensive line that has been inconsistent in pass blocking.
"Everybody gets the misconception about throwing the ball deep or vertical," Shell said. "You don't throw vertical all the time. You have situations where you take shots down the field, that's where the vertical game comes in."
Curry, one of the Raiders' most prepared players in terms of studying film and understanding the offense, says the offense is capable of success.
"Some teams run the West Coast offense with more short plays," Curry said. "We have some West Coast in our offense, but we don't use it like a true West Coast offense. It's not outdated, not at all.
"It's a new offense for (the Raiders). Everybody has to get accustomed to the play-calling and all that. And once it clicks, it's going to click."
The Raiders hope the light clicks on before the notion of a successful season is outdated along with the Dreamcast.
By Jason Jones - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:03 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
ALAMEDA -- Before returning to the NFL as the Raiders' offensive coordinator, one of Tom Walsh's jobs was helping Sega with its football video game playbooks.
But in the competitive world of video games, Sega, and its Dreamcast game console, couldn't keep up with the Sony PlayStation 2 and eventually ceased production.
After three dismal performances by the Raiders' offense, now many are wondering if Walsh's playbook is stuck in a Dreamcast world as everyone clamors over the Xbox 360 and the upcoming PlayStation 3.
The Raiders' offense ranks last in passing (70.3 yards per game) and total offense (177 yards). It's also tied for last in scoring (nine points per game) with Tampa Bay. A lot of the criticism has been aimed at Walsh's offense and play-calling.
Some have blamed the "old school" and unimaginative plays for the Raiders' 0-3 start.
While players have been reluctant to comment on Walsh's play-calling, they also haven't expressed a problem with the style of play the Raiders want to implement. Execution has been the problem, not an ancient style of play.
"This league is so copycat, where if somebody does one thing, then everybody wants to do that," said running back Zack Crockett. "When you talk about old-school football, that's physical nature. That's going out there and hitting the person, knowing somebody's in front of you, just playing hard-nosed football."
But the question remains: Are the Raiders too basic to be successful? Not so, said coach Art Shell.
"This offense is not so much different from a lot of offenses in this league," Shell said. "But when you lose ... people have a tendency to pick on you and I understand that."
Receiver Ronald Curry said criticism of Walsh and Shell has more to do with their time away from the game. Walsh last coached in the NFL in 1994 with the Raiders, Shell's last head coaching job.
"If we were running the Indianapolis offense they would still have those comments because they feel like these coaches haven't coached in years," Curry said. " 'They haven't coached since '94, it's a blast from the past.' But I don't think that has nothing to do with what we're doing on the field."
Part of the criticism is that the Raiders are fixated on throwing the ball deep.
Shell believes the Raiders still need to establish the running game. He notes that the vertical passing game doesn't mean chuck the ball downfield with reckless abandon, especially behind an offensive line that has been inconsistent in pass blocking.
"Everybody gets the misconception about throwing the ball deep or vertical," Shell said. "You don't throw vertical all the time. You have situations where you take shots down the field, that's where the vertical game comes in."
Curry, one of the Raiders' most prepared players in terms of studying film and understanding the offense, says the offense is capable of success.
"Some teams run the West Coast offense with more short plays," Curry said. "We have some West Coast in our offense, but we don't use it like a true West Coast offense. It's not outdated, not at all.
"It's a new offense for (the Raiders). Everybody has to get accustomed to the play-calling and all that. And once it clicks, it's going to click."
The Raiders hope the light clicks on before the notion of a successful season is outdated along with the Dreamcast.
