Raiders at Redskins: Another Swashbuckling Adventure

Oakland Raiders (3-6) at Washington Redskins (5-4)
1:00 p.m. FedEx Field
There are plenty of story of lines coming into this game. The Redskins need to ignore all of them and get on track with the first of back-to-back home games. After a crushing loss to the Buccaneers last week, the Oakland Raiders come to town to try and become the first road team to take one at FedEx Field this season. The Skins simply end up trading one pirate team for another. Seriously, what’s with all the pirates? I haven’t seen this many pirates since vacationing off the coast of Somalia. (How has this story been ignored by the mainstream media? Why do we still have to deal with pirates? This is 2005. The biggest oceanic threats shouldn’t be tsunamis, hurricanes and pirates. This story brings up so many questions. How many pirates are there left? What secret cove do these pirates hang out at? Are parrots still the animal of choice? How does one become a pirate? Could I become a pirate? What kinds of qualifications are necessary? Is a high school degree good enough, or do I need a bachelors in piracy with a minor in plunder and pillaging? Can 3 to 5 years of pirating experience be substituted for a degree? Does Keira Knightly hang out on the boats in skimpy clothing?)

Pirates not withstanding, the big story line is the return of Norv Turner. You know, that coach who replaced Joe Gibbs here in Washington after he up and left for NASCAR (Yes, I realize that technically Richie Petitbon was the coach who replaced Gibbs. But no one counts that season, not even Petitbon). For awhile, it actually looked like Turner, who inherited a horrible team in 1994, was making progress. After a 3-13 season, the team went 6-10, then 9-7. Not only that, Turner exceeded at beating his former team and Redskins arch-rival Dallas.

Then came the 1997 season. It was the most mystifying season since I’ve been following the team. The Redskins were expected to take the next step. Instead, the Skins lost a bunch of games they shouldn’t have, and their quarterback missed the second half of the season after purposely banging his head against a concrete wall to celebrate a touchdown. The Redskins ended 8-7-1 that year under Turner. Most fans blamed him for the close loses, and rightly so. The Skins were out coached, not outplayed, down the stretch in several key games.

The 1998 season was a disaster (another 6-10 finish). Dan Snyder was officially given control of the team after ’98, but he kept Norv in place. Turner and the Skins had their best season since the first Gibbs era, going 10-6. After crushing the Lions in the first round of the playoffs, the Skins missed a spot in the NFC Championship game because of one ill-advised Brad Johnson pass and one miraculous Shaun King pass in a 14-13 loss to Tampa.

That’s when Snyder decided to pull out the New York Yankees approach and buy a championship in 2000. We all know how that story ended. After a promising 6-2 start, the Skins tanked in the second half of the season and Turner was fired with three games left to go. This was followed by the coaching carousel of Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer (more on Marty next week), Steve Spurrier and finally Joe Gibbs for the second time.

Turner was given a horrible team in his first three seasons, and he overachieved with them. He was then given every chance to win in his last four years, and failed miserably. So, what to make of the Norv Turner era? His overall record speaks for itself (50-58-1). He only had one playoff appearance in seven tries. One could argue that three or four of his teams could have made the playoffs (along with the ’99 team, the ’96, ’97 and ’00 team should have been in). Basically, Turner was a failure during his tenure here. He never really had a horrible season, but he never inspired any hope with the fans either.

It looks like Norv is up to his old tricks in Oakland. He coaches for an owner who is giving him all the chances to succeed. Yet, Turner has had two sub par years. And like in Washington, the problem with Turner’s team is the defense. With the Skins, his defenses routinely ranked in the bottom half of the league. This year in Oakland, his defense is giving up 335 yards a game and is 24th overall. That includes 116 yards per game on the ground. Most importantly, they give up 24 points a game.

Like all those Redskins teams, no one really knows what to make of the 2005 Raiders. Their offense is very good. They equal the defenses 335 yards per game. They score nearly 23 points per game. The Raiders have Randy Moss, Joey Porter and Lamont Jordan as their offensive weapons. They have played several close games. They have lost two heartbreakers to the Chiefs, one to Dallas and one to the Eagles. The players are doing everything they can. It seems, that for some reason, the Raiders have been out-coached in the fourth quarter. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

The Redskins have seen a team like this before…the Giants. When the Skins played the Giants, no one knew what to really make of them. Their offense was good, but their defense was 31st in the league. But everyone around the league had an inkling that the Giants defense wasn’t that bad. And they proved it against Washington. I have a feeling that the Raiders defense isn’t as bad as the stats show.

The main difference between the Giants and the Raiders? Coaching. While I don’t think that Tom Coughlin is much of a coach, when it comes down between him and Turner, the choice is obvious.

To add to the intrigue this week, Randy Moss didn’t exactly give his coach a vote of confidence in an interview earlier this week (how many malcontent receivers are the Redskins going to run into…first it was the T.O. saga, last week it was Joey Galloway complaining about his lack of catches, now it’s Moss). While Randy Moss didn’t pull a T.O. and throw his teammates and coaching staff under a bus, the way he talked left much to be desired.

On paper, this should be a win for the Redskins. The Raiders are basically done in the AFC West, and the AFC in general. They’re playing a team that they have an overwhelming coaching advantage over. They get Oakland at home. West coast teams rarely travel across the country and play well. Sean Taylor is back from injury, which will help considerably when it comes to covering Moss. Everything is aligned for the Redskins to keep pace in the NFC East while the two teams ahead of them get easy wins this week.

So why am I so nervous about this one? As I said before, the Fightin’ Norvs play a lot of close games. They have lost just about every close game. The more close games you play, the better chance you have to win one. The Raiders are going to hang with the Redskins. Cornelius Griffin will miss his third straight game. Without him, the Skins are struggling to get pressure on the quarterback. If you give Kerry Collins time to throw to Moss and Porter, it is going to be a long day for your secondary. Plus, the Redskins will be looking ahead to next week’s game against a tough San Diego team. They can't afford to overlook the Raiders.

Offensively, the Redskins need to run the ball (I know, I say that every week). But against a team giving up 116 yards a game on the ground, it is really important that they establish the running game early. They also need to run to keep possession of the ball and keep the Raiders offense off the field. Defensively, the Redskins have to throw away the delay-blitzing scheme. Take the reigns off of Lavar and Marcus Washington and let them go after Collins. No more stunts, no more switches, no more delays. Just straight out blitzes. The more time Collins has to throw, the more likely it is that he will find Moss. If the Redskins accomplish these two objectives, hold on to the football and avoid the general area around the East Coast of Africa, this should be a victory. Turn the ball over and give the Raiders a short field with Moss and Company, it will result in a .500 record.