Fans applaud decision to finally play Culpepper
Backup QB gets on field for injured McCown and completes eight passes
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
OAKLAND -- It didn't play out exactly as Raiders fans had been hoping it would, and there's no guarantee it will happen again next week. But Daunte Culpepper finally got behind center for the Silver and Black.
Starter Josh McCown again was booed by the home crowd. Even more telling -- some would say embarrassing -- many cheered when McCown came up limping after running for two yards in the first quarter. Culpepper entered the game to thunderous applause and threw a five-yard dump-off to LaMont Jordan, well short of the first down on 3rd-and-13.
The next series, McCown was back. But he came out of the tunnel with an exaggerated limp after halftime, and Culpepper played the rest of the game. The veteran didn't look particularly rusty, considering he hadn't played in three weeks. "My motto is, 'I stay ready, so I never have to get ready,'" Culpepper said.
Their numbers weren't much of a contrast. McCown completed 6-of-12 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown; Culpepper hit 8-of-14 for 118 yards. Each was sacked once. McCown led the Raiders to 16 points, Culpepper to 10.
Raiders' coach Lane Kiffin, predictably, said he won't name a starter for next Sunday's game at Miami until he sees an X-ray of McCown's left foot (not the one he hurt against the Lions in Week 1) and watches film of this game. He did note that this week's opponent will not affect his decision, though the Dolphins cut Culpepper on July 17 after one season.
"No, it doesn't matter," Kiffin said. "Just like Josh playing Detroit in the opener. . . . (But) I know Daunte's pointing to that game for a long time. He knew where it was on the schedule."
As for Culpepper, his outlook hasn't changed. He wants to start. He's ready to start. But he knows it's out of his hands. "That's not my decision," he said. "If I'm called on, I'll be ready. I feel like a starter in this league."
DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS
After consecutive disappointing efforts on defense, coordinator Rob Ryan shook things up this week. Two defenders lost their starting roles, Fabian Washington giving way to Stanford Routt at left cornerback and Terdell Sands losing out to Gerard Warren at defensive tackle. The moves happened early last week at practice, but weren't apparent to reporters until Sunday.
"Both those guys had not had very good games the week before," Kiffin said. "But it's not a wholesale change, it's not that they'll sit on the bench. That's not what we do. We alternated every couple series with 'em. . . . So we'll go back and evaluate and see how they played."
Washington and Sands both played against the Browns, Washington in nickel packages (where he played the corner and Routt moved inside to slot coverage). But neither Routt nor Warren did much to lose the jobs they recently gained.
That was especially true of Warren, who has been something of a revelation for the Raiders since they signed him Aug. 21. Sunday, he forced a fumble on a sack and it rolled backward for a 24-yard loss.
"Monster," was how fellow defensive tackle Warren Sapp described Warren. "He got a sack for 20 yards today? That's big. The big fella's been in there wheeling and dealing and doing everything we've asked him to do. . . . I thought it was a daunting task for him to make the team. But since he's got here, he's done nothing but work his (butt), and he's been a standout."
B.J. Ward replaced Stuart Schweigert at safety for one possession as the first quarter melted into the second.
GALLERY OUT . . . THEN IN
Left guard Robert Gallery hurt his left shoulder while making a cut block early in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Chris Morris. Kiffin said he didn't expect Gallery to return, but the former No. 1 pick got a painkiller injection and came back late in the game.
"If they can do the thing so I don't feel it, and it's not gonna hurt me, I'll go back in," Gallery said. "That's what anybody would do. The stuff that tore isn't a major deal. It's just being able to deal with the pain. . . . Ready for next week."
EXTRA POINTS
The Raiders cut WR Travis Taylor on Saturday night, signing LB Jon Alston to take his place. The move left Oakland with only four receivers. Alston played Sunday on special teams.
The Raiders' 26 points were their most in 28 games, since a 34-25 win at Tennessee on Oct. 30, 2005.
Sebastian Janikowski hit all four of his field-goal attempts after making only 1-of-5 in the first two games.
RT Cornell Green was flagged for three false starts.
Former Raiders great Jim Otto, who had his right leg amputated below the knee in late July, attended the game.
Oakland has six interceptions so far in 2007, and five of them belong to linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard. Morrison got his third against Cleveland, Thomas his second.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070924/SPORTS/709240399/1010/SPORT01
Backup QB gets on field for injured McCown and completes eight passes
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
OAKLAND -- It didn't play out exactly as Raiders fans had been hoping it would, and there's no guarantee it will happen again next week. But Daunte Culpepper finally got behind center for the Silver and Black.
Starter Josh McCown again was booed by the home crowd. Even more telling -- some would say embarrassing -- many cheered when McCown came up limping after running for two yards in the first quarter. Culpepper entered the game to thunderous applause and threw a five-yard dump-off to LaMont Jordan, well short of the first down on 3rd-and-13.
The next series, McCown was back. But he came out of the tunnel with an exaggerated limp after halftime, and Culpepper played the rest of the game. The veteran didn't look particularly rusty, considering he hadn't played in three weeks. "My motto is, 'I stay ready, so I never have to get ready,'" Culpepper said.
Their numbers weren't much of a contrast. McCown completed 6-of-12 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown; Culpepper hit 8-of-14 for 118 yards. Each was sacked once. McCown led the Raiders to 16 points, Culpepper to 10.
Raiders' coach Lane Kiffin, predictably, said he won't name a starter for next Sunday's game at Miami until he sees an X-ray of McCown's left foot (not the one he hurt against the Lions in Week 1) and watches film of this game. He did note that this week's opponent will not affect his decision, though the Dolphins cut Culpepper on July 17 after one season.
"No, it doesn't matter," Kiffin said. "Just like Josh playing Detroit in the opener. . . . (But) I know Daunte's pointing to that game for a long time. He knew where it was on the schedule."
As for Culpepper, his outlook hasn't changed. He wants to start. He's ready to start. But he knows it's out of his hands. "That's not my decision," he said. "If I'm called on, I'll be ready. I feel like a starter in this league."
DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS
After consecutive disappointing efforts on defense, coordinator Rob Ryan shook things up this week. Two defenders lost their starting roles, Fabian Washington giving way to Stanford Routt at left cornerback and Terdell Sands losing out to Gerard Warren at defensive tackle. The moves happened early last week at practice, but weren't apparent to reporters until Sunday.
"Both those guys had not had very good games the week before," Kiffin said. "But it's not a wholesale change, it's not that they'll sit on the bench. That's not what we do. We alternated every couple series with 'em. . . . So we'll go back and evaluate and see how they played."
Washington and Sands both played against the Browns, Washington in nickel packages (where he played the corner and Routt moved inside to slot coverage). But neither Routt nor Warren did much to lose the jobs they recently gained.
That was especially true of Warren, who has been something of a revelation for the Raiders since they signed him Aug. 21. Sunday, he forced a fumble on a sack and it rolled backward for a 24-yard loss.
"Monster," was how fellow defensive tackle Warren Sapp described Warren. "He got a sack for 20 yards today? That's big. The big fella's been in there wheeling and dealing and doing everything we've asked him to do. . . . I thought it was a daunting task for him to make the team. But since he's got here, he's done nothing but work his (butt), and he's been a standout."
B.J. Ward replaced Stuart Schweigert at safety for one possession as the first quarter melted into the second.
GALLERY OUT . . . THEN IN
Left guard Robert Gallery hurt his left shoulder while making a cut block early in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Chris Morris. Kiffin said he didn't expect Gallery to return, but the former No. 1 pick got a painkiller injection and came back late in the game.
"If they can do the thing so I don't feel it, and it's not gonna hurt me, I'll go back in," Gallery said. "That's what anybody would do. The stuff that tore isn't a major deal. It's just being able to deal with the pain. . . . Ready for next week."
EXTRA POINTS
The Raiders cut WR Travis Taylor on Saturday night, signing LB Jon Alston to take his place. The move left Oakland with only four receivers. Alston played Sunday on special teams.
The Raiders' 26 points were their most in 28 games, since a 34-25 win at Tennessee on Oct. 30, 2005.
Sebastian Janikowski hit all four of his field-goal attempts after making only 1-of-5 in the first two games.
RT Cornell Green was flagged for three false starts.
Former Raiders great Jim Otto, who had his right leg amputated below the knee in late July, attended the game.
Oakland has six interceptions so far in 2007, and five of them belong to linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard. Morrison got his third against Cleveland, Thomas his second.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070924/SPORTS/709240399/1010/SPORT01
