But this is sports and all of the ugly stuff tends to get glossed over when a team shows resolve and the scoreboard tips in their favor.
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On Sunday, the Raiders defenders seemed mystified every time the Atlanta offense faked going one way and then countered the other direction.
“Black Jack” Del Rio was at it again on Sunday afternoon, as the Oakland Raiders head coach made a decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter for a chance to tie their Week 2 matchuo with the Atlanta Falcons at 21 points apiece.
Some of it was brilliance. Part of this was because Matt Ryan would drop back deep, in some cases 15 yards.
Julio Jones caught five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, tight end Jacob Tamme had five receptions for 75 yards and a score for Atlanta (1-1), which defeated Oakland for the fourth straight time.
Some of it was luck. Ryan had a solid performance, but the lack of a running game and a creaky defense that gave up four touchdown passes to Winston doomed Atlanta.
Ryan’s one costly blemish of the day was an interception thrown in the end zone, but he more than made up for that mistake by gashing Oakland’s defense on a regular basis.
They’re comfortable now, especially after Del Rio said starting safety Keith McGill struggled against Atlanta. They were fortunate to be down only 13-7. With just two games in the record books, there is still a great chance that the Raiders can turn things around and become the dominant team that they were expected to be. How about running a no-huddle offense on six consecutive plays, which consequently resulted in a touchdown over eight plays? They’re possibly the most entertaining Raiders team ever, and certainly since moving back north from the depths of California’s armpit.
So, yes, please: a little credit to the world’s most maligned offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan. “Matt mixed up cadences, Kyle mixed it up with tempo”. “We’ll make sure that he gets in the game going forward. They didn’t know what was coming”. He will be limited in practice Thursday, and they will try to work him up to full participation by Saturday.
Cornerback Robert Alford intercepted a pass in the end zone, but the play was negated because he pushed off the receiver. Dashon Goldson was tagged with the penalty but Hardy actually should have been on the sideline, not on the field. It was also the first allowed by Oakland this season. But the ball popped up in the air and went right to Justin Hardy in the end zone for 8-yard score that gave the Falcons the lead for good.
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Quinn: “Coaches’ mistake. Miscommunication”. “It will get corrected”.
