Usually one of the more entertaining preseason games, we've got the annual Raiders-Whiners Bay Area Derby now to close out my Sunday quintupleheader. (though Texans-Saints is on at midnight - hey, what do you expect when I gotta work tomorrow?)The Whiners kick off and Oakland will start from its 23. Sounds like we've got the Whiner crew announcing. Darren McFadden off right tackle for 2. Darius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy starting at WR with Chaz Schilens injured, I believe out for the season with a broken foot. McFadden gets nothing around left end on 2nd down and a Whiner blitz forces a bad Russell pass on 3rd down. Raiders punt.
"Don't even think about throwing down with ME, Cable."
Frisco from its 22 with Tim Couch, ER, Alex Smith at QB. He throws away the SFNBTE pass. (Stupid freaking naked bootleg tight end pass - I need an abbreviation). Frank Gore and Isaac Bruce are both getting their first preseason action tonight. Gore gets 3 on 2nd down. Smith hits Vernon Davis over the middle at the 40 for a first down. Bruce can't come up with a pass behind him at midfield. How dare the moron doing color for the Whiners blame Bruce for this incompletion. The pass was barely within his reach! Four for Gore. Davis muffs a pass through his hands on third down to force a punt. Now THAT was a catchable ball.
Screen pass over a blitzer to McFadden gets 5. Jamarcus Russell to Tony Stewart for 20 to the 45. Stewart gets bump-drafted on the catch and lands on his head but goes off the field without help. McFadden can manage only 4 on a couple of runs to set up 3rd-and-6 at midfield. Manny Lawson gets good pressure from RDE and capitalizes for a sack when Russell trips over his own feet on his dropback. We have a punting war underway at Candlestick.
Glen Coffee pours up the middle for a couple as the Whiners start at their 16. Pitch left to Coffee gets 19 to the 35. Smith tries to make the best of what looks like a broken play and throws a dying quail after getting whacked by two Raiders. Two up the middle for Coffee. First down pass to Arnaz Battle at the 45. Alex Smith's as good as Marc Bulger if you get him time. Battle loses a bunch on a reverse, but it wasn't Smith's fault, as he DESTROYED Greg Ellis in the backfield with a big block. Put the DE on his back. Best block of the preseason. Battle still lost 6. Pass to Coffee at the 46 leaves 3rd-and-9. They go four wide, and Smith throws too high for Josh Morgan, it goes through his hands, and Ricky Brown picks up the rebound for an Oakland INT. He returns it down to the 7 yard line. Morgan was clearly worried about the hit we was about to take, I think from Chris Johnson, and he got a little case of alligator arms. Bad throw by Smith but the results were a lot worse than he probably deserved.
First and goal. Quick out to Zach Miller at the 3. 2nd-and-goal. Justin Fargas runs right into 53 at the 3 and gets nowhere. Third and goal. Cable better be going for it if there's 4th and goal or I will punch him out. Pass for Murphy in the end zone broken up. 4th and goal. While Steve Spagnuolo scoffs at those crazy Raiders, they go for it on 4th goal from the 3. Russell has Murphy open running to the
back of the end zone but overthrows him. Raiders turn it over on downs.
Still beats a FG in preseason for me. They'll learn more from that play than they would from a Janikowski FG. Plus they've got the Whiners backed up inside their 5. So what do the Raiders do? Jump offsides to get the Whiners off their goal line. Ball at the 9. Coffee gets grounded for a yard. Way too much Coffee up the middle; they should be getting him into open space. He gets 7 off right tackle for a first down. Smith sprints right to escape a sack and throws the ball away. On the last play of the first quarter, Coffee percolates over right tackle for 19.
End of first quarter: no score. I think that's my first scoreless first quarter this postseason.
The San Francisco cheerleaders are clearly taking costuming cues from the San Diego cheerleaders.
And I approve.
The laughable Shaun Hill enters the game as Whiners QB. Coffee bounces off a jam around right end
and pops off ANOTHER 18 yards for a first down across midfield. 7 rushes for 65 yards for Coffee
already. Bomb for Arnaz Battle incomplete. I'm surprised Hill could throw it that far. He does barely get a pass to Davis in the flat for little gain. 3rd-and-9. Hill escapes the Raider rush and gets away
with a spaz pass to Josh Morgan that should have been intercepted. Steve Spagnuolo can't believe the Whiners would go for it here, 4th-and-2 near midfield in such an important preseason game, but they do. And fail when the Raiders knock down Hill's pass.
So now it's the Raiders' ball near midfield. Russell misses DHB over the middle under pressure. I don't know why the Whiner announcers are giving Dre Bly any credit on the play; DHB had him smoked. The blitz rushed Russell's pass. Fargas slips a couple of tackles with a screen pass and gets 11. Ridiculous holding by Nate Clements against Johnnie Lee Higgins on a deep route sets the Raiders up at the 13-yard line. Shocker, back-to-back penalties move the Raiders back to the 28. Murphy can't get much out of an end-around. Timeout, Oakland on 3rd-22. To the Raiders' credit, they go into the end zone instead of running a stupid damn screen, and Murphy exploits a blown coverage by Clements for a TD catch. Bravo Raiders. As for the Whiners, snicker, that's a lot of money you're paying Clements to make a boneheaded play like that.
Oakland 7, San Francisco 0.
Glen Coffee continues the process of making the rest of the NFC West crap their pants with a 35-yard run right off the start of the next drive. Big hole for him again on the left side. Hill misses Morgan on a near sideline go route. Not much for Coffee up the middle on 2nd down. USE HIM ON THE EDGE! 3rd-and-7 draw for Coffee is good for 8. He's having a super night, but I can't believe Coffee is going to get all these yawning gaps of space during the regular season. The Raider LBs have to be screwing up to repeatedly give up all this space. 5 more for Coffee, then a slant to Battle inside the 20 for a first down. Mr. Coffee filters his way down to the 12. Whiner booth talks about Oakland's ongoing struggles stopping the run, so we have, as I thought, part of the reason Coffee's running wild. 3rd and inches after another Coffee run to the 7, then down to the 4 to make it first-and-goal. Coffee up the middle for 2. Raiders need a timeout on 2nd-and-goal, and as it's getting late, I need soda #14 of the 2009 Challenge. Tommy Kelly hits Coffee behind the line and the Raiders drop him at the 4. That's one thing about all of Coffee's other runs, the Raiders haven't even been competitive on the line of scrimmage for them. 3rd-goal, Raiders take Coffee out and go 4-wide. Hill rolls right and tries to hit Davis in the back of the end zone but he hits a Raider DB in the back instead. Joe Nedney hits the chippie at the 2:00 warning.
Oakland 7, San Francisco 3.
What a stupid thing to do; the kickoff goes out of bounds and sets Oakland up at the 40 with 2:00 to go. Oakland counters with a Robert Gallery false start. Jeff Garcia has entered the game to the strains of boos from his old home fans. He throws a couple of dumpoffs and scrambles for 9 across midfield to keep the drive alive. Timeout, Oakland at the Whiner 48. 1:06 left in the half. Garcia to Murphy, who gets out of bounds at the 38. Boy does Garcia have nowhere near as strong an arm as Russell. Raiders pick up the blitz but Garcia throws it away deep. Had the TE open over that way, too. Draw to Michael Bush appears to get 10. Garcia spikes with 0:39 left. Garcia dodges pressure but throws high and behind Higgins on a crossing pattern. It goes off his hands and to Allen Rossum for an INT. The Whiners let what's left of the clock run out with a couple of handoffs.
Halftime score: Oakland 7, San Francisco 3.
Whiners open the second half at the 20. Nate Davis and Michael Robinson are your new Whiner backfield. Robinson hits a big hole on the right side for 12. Who's the assistant coach Tom Cable punched out last week? I hope it was the defensive line coach. Robinson's out to the 50 with another first down after three more runs. He gets ANOTHER big hole on the left side and gets 8. Hand it off to me, San Francisco, I want to gain 100 yards tonight too. Robinson delays and cuts back for another 7 yards. Who does he think he is, Omar Cuff? Whiners finally let Nate Davis throw one and he fires it too low and incomplete. Robinson rips off 7 more around left end. The Raiders aren't getting off blocks and they're tackling poorly. False start sets up 3rd-and-7. RICKY MANNING JUNIOR makes a nice play and trips up Robinson in the backfield. Mike Singletary sends Nedney in for a 51-yard attempt but he hooks it pretty badly right.
Raiders at the 41 after the missed FG. I guess it was just a cameo tonight for Garcia; Bruce Gradkowski is at the con now. He starts with an 8-yard scramble around right end. Bush gets the first down up the middle. Gradkowski finds Brandon Myers wide open down the middle of the field for 34. Raiders at the 12. Bush spins for 3. Gradkowski fires over the middle again to Myers again, down to the 2. Reggie Nelson gets blamed for the big completion earlier. 3rd and inches. Gradkowski takes a sneak inside the 1. Louis Rankin can't get in on first-and-goal, but the Raiders score off klutzy-looking
play action, with Gradkowski finding Myers over the middle one more time, for a TD.
Oakland 14, San Francisco 3.
Whiners start at their 20 again. Sweet juggling catch by TE J.J. Finley for 9, and Robinson gets the first down up the middle. Jay Richardson gets pressure on Davis and forces a throwaway. Nice grab by Jason Hill in a crowd for 11. Davis scrambles away from another blitz and hits Delanie Walker at the 35 for a first down, and he runs another 8 after the catch to make it a 26-yard play. Robinson blasts off left tackle for 25 more. 1st-goal at the 5. Robinson cruises down to the 1. The 49ers should be in a lot better shape on the scoreboard, they way they're dominating the line of scrimmage tonight.
End of third quarter: Oakland 14, San Francisco 3.
Davis hits Walker off play-action for the TD. Walker was open in the end zone by yards. Frisco evilly goes for two and gets it. Why are you playing for the tie, Mike Singletary?
Oakland 14, San Francisco 11.
Even though that was a 49er TD, it's still my favorite play in all creation. Goal line play-action,
throw to the TE. Works every time.
Raiders at their 22. Marques Harris knocks down a Gradkowski pass attempt on the blitz. Gradkowski wishes his next pass was knocked down; he throws an awful ball right to Scott McKillop for an INT. I think a rushing Whiner hit his arm. Golden opportunity handed to Frisco to take the lead or tie.
Yes, Kentwan Ballmer tipped the Gradkowski pass that was intercepted. SF from the Raider 30. Kory Sheets blows off right tackle for 16, down to the 11. 49ers have run for 232 yards tonight. They have 3rd-and-4 at the 5 after two more runs by Sheets. Make it 3rd-and-9 after Jacob Bender
false starts badly. Davis flushes right and has to throw the pass away. Alex Romero TIES THE GAME
from 28. We don't need no stinking ties in preseason, Singletary.
Oakland 14, San Francisco 14.
New QB for Oakland gets intercepted before we can even find out who he is. He overthrows nick Miller by a foot, one 49er tips it and it goes to Carlos Thomas for the INT. He returns it to the Raider 25.
Davis hits Jason Hill at the 10. Brian Boschetti slows the tide by tripping Sheets up in the backfield for -2. Sheets gets down to the 5 on a pitch left. 3rd and goal, Sheets walks into the end zone over the right side. He gets a big block from former Illini linebacker Brit Miller, who it sounds like has a serious chance of making the 49er roster as a fullback. 49ers take their first lead of the night.
San Francisco 21, Oakland 14.
The Whiners have 18 points here in the 4th quarter. Charlie Frye's the culprit who threw the INT earlier. He starts now from the 32. Gary Russell sweeps right for 4. The 49ers jump way offsides on 2nd down yet the crowd still goes nuts when they scoop up a loose ball and return in into the end zone. Make it 2nd-and-1 for Oakland. Russell squirts out to the 48 with a first down. Frye next launches a pass that Myers amazingly beats double coverage to come up with at the 22. Frye overthrows everybody on the field on first down. Frye rolls right and hits Nick Miller, who scrambles down to the 7. Go figure, a flag on Oakland. 1st-goal at the 12 now. Wonder who Cable's gonna punch out for that. Raiders rerun the play they just ran but it's only good to 19 for a couple. Frye's tripped up trying to scramble and goes down at the 8. Shocking, another Raider penalty. 3rd-goal at the 13. Plenty of time to throw for Frye, but he escapes the pocket and eventually winds his way down to the 1, unable to dive and extend the ball inside the pylon. Cable challenges the call, believing Frye did score. Tough to tell if Cable is right, but it was certainly worth the challenge from the replays we can see at home. Especially when Oakland wins the challenge.
Does Cable go for two here?
Yes he does, and God bless him for not settling for the tie with 3:30 left. I smell QB draw. No, they roll Frye right and he runs smack into a CB blitz by Terrail Lambert, inspiring a wild throw that drops incomplete. Cable still deserves good karma for the gamble; maybe the Oakland fuzz will get off his back.
San Francisco 21, Oakland 20.
Sheets gains a couple with the Whiners starting at their 25. He goes around right end for 3 more.
Raiders call timeout at 2:36. They still have two to burn. Davis scrambles and hits Hill on 3rd down,
but he's not only a couple of yards short, he goes out of bounds and stops the clock. TERRIBLE PATTERN! Whiners punt it back. The first punt comes back on a 49er penalty, then Nick Miller fumbles the return for Oakland on the re-kick. The Raiders wish Miller luck in his future endeavors.
Sheets gains a couple around left end at the 2:00 warning. He gets stuffed for a loss at the Raider
28 and Oakland calls timeout at 1:56. Futilely, because Sheets goes off left end for 12 and the Whiners should be able to kneel it out. No, the replay official wants to review God-knows-what. Sheets did in fact achieve the first down, so the Whiners are cleared for 1:11 worth of victory formation.
Final score: San Francisco 21, Oakland 20.
MVP: Glen Coffee, whose 129 yards rushing can't be ignored no matter how bad Oakland's defense is.
What did we learn: Shades of the Rams Friday night, the Raiders couldn't run the ball (69 yards, with Frye the leading rusher) or stop the run on defense, allowing 275 yards. With Schilens out, they need receivers to step up and have to be happy with Myers' 4-75 and Murphy's 2-34, each with a TD. Maybe not so happy, though, with Heyward-Bey's 0-0. Hiram Eugene had 5 tackles and his name was called repeatedly on the broadcast. The Whiners will obviously be happy with Coffee's brewing success, but how much of that game was him and how much was it poor Raider defense? Whiner Nation doesn't need to hear that question after its "top two" QBs combined to go 6-16-50 with a pick. The passing game was as wretched as the running game was good. I still think Alex Smith is the better of the QBs there, but he certainly hasn't taken any kind of firm hold on the QB1 job.
Up next: good question. I was hoping to backtrack to Redskins-Ravens from week 1, but I'm done for
tonight and have a very full schedule tomorrow night. We'll see. The way things are going, either
that will be the next game, or it'll be Week 3 Rams-Bengals Thursday night.
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