Culpepper, still not the starter, was en-lightning
Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The Raiders' next game is 12 days away. Based on their first two road games, you might guess that the weather forecast for the greater San Diego area that day is for a lightning storm.
You also might guess that Daunte Culpepper will start at quarterback against the Chargers. But coach Lane Kiffin, staying true to form, wouldn't anoint Culpepper as the No. 1 man Monday despite his sterling work in Sunday's 35-17 win over the Dolphins in Miami.
Kiffin did say, "If we played tomorrow, he'd start." Asked what more Culpepper has to do for him to get the nod over Josh McCown, who's still recovering from a sprained foot, Kiffin said, "I'm not going into the San Diego game yet; that's the only reason. If I was, then I'd made that decision. But I don't need to make it."
Oakland has played two road games in the Kiffin era, and Mother Nature has disrupted both of them. The Denver game was interrupted for 24 minutes by a lightning storm. The start of the Miami game was delayed 30 minutes, again by lightning.
Some Raiders fans who tuned in Sunday, only to see the Jets-Bills game unfolding, might have fretted momentarily that for the first time, a Raiders game actually was being blacked out on the road.
The storm passed and the game aired on CBS, but pretty soon, Culpepper and others, notably the running tandem of LaMont Jordan and Justin Fargas, were punishing the Dolphins to the tune of 299 yards behind the rugged blocking of coach Tom Cable's rejuvenated line.
Jordan, however, reinjured his back late in the first half and didn't return. Kiffin said X-rays were negative, but Jordan underwent further tests Monday.
He had rushed for 74 yards to that point on 15 carries, and with 424 yards, he trails only Denver's Travis Henry (433) in the NFL in that category. He was hurt while catching his only pass of the game, when Miami linebacker Donnie Spragan tackled him on a 7-yard screen pass.
The bye week comes at a good time for the Raiders, although practically every NFL team has early injury problems. Defensive end Derrick Burgess (calf) might be back for the San Diego game.
If Jordan can't play, Fargas and free-agent acquisition Dominic Rhodes, now eligible after a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug rules, very well might share the rushing duties.
"If you know anything about his business," Fargas said after piling up 179 yards on 22 carries in a relief role against the Dolphins, "you know you are one play away from being the guy who has to go in there and carry the load."
As for Rhodes, a key player in the Colts' Super Bowl victory, Kiffin said, "We're going to throw him in there and see what he looks like this week in practice."
In two weeks, another highly regarded running back will be added to the mix. Michael Bush, a fourth-round draft pick from Louisville, was considered a Heisman Trophy hopeful until he broke his leg in last year's opener for the Cardinals. He can come off injured reserve for the Oct. 28 game at Tennessee.
Another rookie, tight end Zach Miller, "had a great day" as a blocker, Kiffin said. Just nine months removed from college ball, he more than held his own against linebacker Joey Porter and defensive end Jason Taylor, both Pro Bowl veterans.
Center Jeremy Newberry "played really well," Kiffin said, in his return to the starting lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury in the opener. The game was a difficult test for him, Kiffin said, because of the sloppy conditions on the field, then the heat and long periods of being on the field during sustained drives.
Culpepper not only scored three touchdowns and threw for two against the team that had cut him adrift, but he didn't commit a turnover. The closest he came to an interception was a play late in the first half on which Ronald Curry outwrestled cornerback Will Allen for the ball.
The Raiders have won as many games as they did all of last year. "That means nothing to me," Kiffin said.
Nor is he impressed with their 2-2 record, even though nobody has a better mark in the AFC West. "I'm not pleased where we're at," he said. "We should be 4-0."
He said the Raiders have held the lead with less than nine minutes left in all four games and would be unbeaten if they knew how to finish better.
Actually, they came closer than nine minutes to beating both Detroit and Denver. They led the Lions 21-20 with less than five minutes left and led the Broncos 20-17 with less than three minutes left, and when the game went into overtime, could have won it on a 52-yard field-goal attempt that hit the left upright. They lost both games.
Kiffin said his main job "from Day 1" has been to restore the players' confidence. With that comes an ability to weather adversity and to finish the close games.
Briefly: The Raiders don't have to make a roster move immediately to accommodate Rhodes, Kiffin said. They can delay that decision until next week. ... The coaches aren't going through Chargers tape yet; Kiffin wants them, at least early in the bye week, concentrating on assessing the Raiders' progress. ... McCown is still wearing a protective boot. ... Some fans pelted the Raiders' buses with rocks and bottles outside Dolphin Stadium after the game. A bottle reportedly broke a window on one of the buses, but apparently no one was hurt.
E-mail Tom FitzGerald at [email protected].
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Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The Raiders' next game is 12 days away. Based on their first two road games, you might guess that the weather forecast for the greater San Diego area that day is for a lightning storm.
You also might guess that Daunte Culpepper will start at quarterback against the Chargers. But coach Lane Kiffin, staying true to form, wouldn't anoint Culpepper as the No. 1 man Monday despite his sterling work in Sunday's 35-17 win over the Dolphins in Miami.
Kiffin did say, "If we played tomorrow, he'd start." Asked what more Culpepper has to do for him to get the nod over Josh McCown, who's still recovering from a sprained foot, Kiffin said, "I'm not going into the San Diego game yet; that's the only reason. If I was, then I'd made that decision. But I don't need to make it."
Oakland has played two road games in the Kiffin era, and Mother Nature has disrupted both of them. The Denver game was interrupted for 24 minutes by a lightning storm. The start of the Miami game was delayed 30 minutes, again by lightning.
Some Raiders fans who tuned in Sunday, only to see the Jets-Bills game unfolding, might have fretted momentarily that for the first time, a Raiders game actually was being blacked out on the road.
The storm passed and the game aired on CBS, but pretty soon, Culpepper and others, notably the running tandem of LaMont Jordan and Justin Fargas, were punishing the Dolphins to the tune of 299 yards behind the rugged blocking of coach Tom Cable's rejuvenated line.
Jordan, however, reinjured his back late in the first half and didn't return. Kiffin said X-rays were negative, but Jordan underwent further tests Monday.
He had rushed for 74 yards to that point on 15 carries, and with 424 yards, he trails only Denver's Travis Henry (433) in the NFL in that category. He was hurt while catching his only pass of the game, when Miami linebacker Donnie Spragan tackled him on a 7-yard screen pass.
The bye week comes at a good time for the Raiders, although practically every NFL team has early injury problems. Defensive end Derrick Burgess (calf) might be back for the San Diego game.
If Jordan can't play, Fargas and free-agent acquisition Dominic Rhodes, now eligible after a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug rules, very well might share the rushing duties.
"If you know anything about his business," Fargas said after piling up 179 yards on 22 carries in a relief role against the Dolphins, "you know you are one play away from being the guy who has to go in there and carry the load."
As for Rhodes, a key player in the Colts' Super Bowl victory, Kiffin said, "We're going to throw him in there and see what he looks like this week in practice."
In two weeks, another highly regarded running back will be added to the mix. Michael Bush, a fourth-round draft pick from Louisville, was considered a Heisman Trophy hopeful until he broke his leg in last year's opener for the Cardinals. He can come off injured reserve for the Oct. 28 game at Tennessee.
Another rookie, tight end Zach Miller, "had a great day" as a blocker, Kiffin said. Just nine months removed from college ball, he more than held his own against linebacker Joey Porter and defensive end Jason Taylor, both Pro Bowl veterans.
Center Jeremy Newberry "played really well," Kiffin said, in his return to the starting lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury in the opener. The game was a difficult test for him, Kiffin said, because of the sloppy conditions on the field, then the heat and long periods of being on the field during sustained drives.
Culpepper not only scored three touchdowns and threw for two against the team that had cut him adrift, but he didn't commit a turnover. The closest he came to an interception was a play late in the first half on which Ronald Curry outwrestled cornerback Will Allen for the ball.
The Raiders have won as many games as they did all of last year. "That means nothing to me," Kiffin said.
Nor is he impressed with their 2-2 record, even though nobody has a better mark in the AFC West. "I'm not pleased where we're at," he said. "We should be 4-0."
He said the Raiders have held the lead with less than nine minutes left in all four games and would be unbeaten if they knew how to finish better.
Actually, they came closer than nine minutes to beating both Detroit and Denver. They led the Lions 21-20 with less than five minutes left and led the Broncos 20-17 with less than three minutes left, and when the game went into overtime, could have won it on a 52-yard field-goal attempt that hit the left upright. They lost both games.
Kiffin said his main job "from Day 1" has been to restore the players' confidence. With that comes an ability to weather adversity and to finish the close games.
Briefly: The Raiders don't have to make a roster move immediately to accommodate Rhodes, Kiffin said. They can delay that decision until next week. ... The coaches aren't going through Chargers tape yet; Kiffin wants them, at least early in the bye week, concentrating on assessing the Raiders' progress. ... McCown is still wearing a protective boot. ... Some fans pelted the Raiders' buses with rocks and bottles outside Dolphin Stadium after the game. A bottle reportedly broke a window on one of the buses, but apparently no one was hurt.
E-mail Tom FitzGerald at [email protected].
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/02/SPA8SHQ0T.DTL
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/02/SPA8SHQ0T.DTL&type=printable
