Raiders Revenge... Pats Lose 20 - 27

Sunday night out at the "Black Hole," and the Oakland Raiders delivered their idea of revenge by downing the Pats 27-20 in a game that, once again, I had predicted the Pats would lose because of the emotional ramifications that were attached to it from last season.

All of the drama was there, and I have to give the Raider Nation fans credit. They brought the Silver and Black one hell of a 12th man last night, and it disrupted the Pats O-line for the whole game, with QB Tom Brady (18 of 30 for 172 yds.) being assaulted from the corners all night long and getting sacked four times for a loss of 25 yards.

T-Ends Matt Light and Greg Robinson Randall were visibly outplayed giving Brady no time to look the field over.

While the interior of the O-line might have given Brady the time, the sacks can't fall solely on the two guys mentioned above either. Brady made some poor decisions, like trying to hit a double-covered wide receiver Troy Brown, while fullback Marc Edwards was wide open on the opposite side of the field.

And, once again, Brady could not hit the long ball when needed. In the first half, Brady had the chance to hit wide open receivers, David Patten (2 for 16 yds.) and Deion Branch (3 for 11 yds.), on two key plays. These plays were sure TD's that would have taken the Raiders crowd out of the game and given the Pats some serious momentum.

But, the offense's problems didn't end there. At times, running back Antowain Smith (15 for 49 yds.) showed that he may have success running against the Raiders D, but once the score became 24-6 early in the third quarter, you knew that the passing attack was on.

As for the Patriots defense, once again the pass rush was nonexistent, while Oakland QB Rich Gannon (26 of 38 for 297 yds. and 1 rushing TD) baked cakes in the pocket all night long. Running back Charlie Garner (15 for 57 yds.) wasn't much of a threat, but supporting players Tyrone Wheatley and Zack Crockett combined for 10 carries over 24 yards. But it was Crockett who did the most damage with his two TD's.

The high point of the Patriots defense came when a Gannon pass tipped off strong safety Lawyer Milloy's foot, and into the hands of linebacker Tedy Bruschi who ran 48 yards for the TD. The play was reviewed and stood, making the game 24-13, and swinging the momentum the Patriots way.

On the next drive, the Pats D held the Raiders to a field goal, leaving 59 seconds on the clock. Then, just when it seemed the Pats had run out of time, running back Kevin Faulk returned the kick 87 yards for the TD, which put the game in reach with a needed successful onside kick.

"Ok, let's stop right there and get into the coaching aspect of this game."

Last week head coach Bill Belichick and his staff out coached the Bears for a comeback victory, but for some reason the coaching staff stumbled many times throughout the game.

On one drive, the Pats were in a third down and one yard situation, which might have been a first down if they had taken the time to ask for a measurement. It would also have given them some time to get a play together.

Instead, they opted to run a draw, which got stuffed and left them to face a fourth down and (true) one yard situation. They decided to run Smith out of the backfield, but he also got stuffed because everyone knew he was going to get the ball, including the people working concessions.

This turned the ball over allowing the Raiders to score on the opposite end.

In another play, with one time out and 58 seconds on the clock, the Pats tried an onside kick. Now, instead of kicking it into the group and trying to muscle out the possession, the coaching staff decided to go with a two on one situation in the Raiders favor, and hope that the bounce would go their way.

After the game, this is what coach BB said they were hoping for when they tried it. Why would you hope for a good bounce on a two on one situation? I say kick it into the crowd and put the tall guys in to pull it down. Also, where the heck was tight end Daniel Graham?

So, in my opinion, it was the coaching staff that let the Patriot Nation down this week. But, there is a bright side to the loss...

Sportswriters and radio hosts are calling yesterday "Black Sunday," and as I breathe a sigh of relief, I'm happy that Brady was able to bounce back from the four sacks after seeing the injury list.

The Broncos lost QB Brian Griese, the Steelers lost QB Tommy Maddox, and NFC hopefuls, the Philadelphia Eagles, lost QB Donovan McNabb for the season. They will be putting their hopes in the hands of Koy Detmer, because RB Duce Staley isn't a Marshall Faulk or Priest Holmes. For their sake, they better pray Campbell's Chunky Soup has some miraculous healing qualities.

Comments? Email them to the Sinista1@msn.com.