Another Missed Opportunity: Raiders' Future Is Bleak Following Loss

It was back to business as usual for the Oakland Raiders.

A week after upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles, 13-9, the Raiders suffered their worst home loss in franchise history, falling to the New York Jets, 38-0.

When this season comes to an end, and Raider fans have a moment to reflect on what will be yet another disturbingly poor season, Week Seven's loss might be viewed as a missed opportunity.

If there ever was a time when the Raiders could have changed their fortunes and reinvigorated a despondent fan base, then this certainly was the time.

Not only were the Raiders coming off of a spirited win over a quality opponent, the team received some good news when it was announced that the Napa District Attorney's office would not be filing criminal charges against head coach Tom Cable for his alleged assault against former assistant Randy Hanson.

In addition, defensive end Richard Seymour was audaciously bold during a radio interview with 1530 Homer in Cincinnati, stating, "You can mark it down. The Raiders will be in the playoffs."

So with a possible win streak looming, a tiresome off-field distraction finally squashed, and a very publicized show of confidence, there was an unusual glimmer of hope in Oakland during the days leading up to Sunday's matchup against the Jets.

But just as quickly as the Raiders built some positive momentum, they lost it all from the get go.

Jonathan Holland's 13-yard return of the game's opening kickoff was taken back ten yards after backup tight end Brandon Myers was flagged for a block in the back.

And then, in what must have felt like a Greek comedy or tragedy to the Raiders' home crowd, the Raiders relinquished possession deep in their own territory.

On the first play from scrimmage at the Raiders' 10-yard line, Jets linebacker Calvin Pace easily managed to get by tackle Khalif Barnes, leaving JaMarcus Russell as an open target.

Comedy? Tragedy? Probably a little bit of both, but whichever genre, the Raiders' opening folly played out with a sack, a fumble, a turnover, and 1-yard touchdown run by Thomas Jones to give the Jets the early lead.

The Jets would go on to score five more times, twice more on Raiders turnovers, en route to a 38-0 victory that featured two 100-yard rushing performances from the Jets' backfield of Jones (121) and backup Shonn Green (144 yards and two touchdowns on only 19 carries).

In stark contrast, against the Eagles in the week prior, the Raiders allowed only 67 total yards rushing and held the Eagles' duo of Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy to only 50 and 13 yards, respectively.

So far in the season, the Raiders' winning formula on defense has been predicated on two tried-and-true factors: stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback.

Against the Eagles, the Raiders got to Donovan McNabb six times, forcing a paltry 47.8 percent completion rate on his passes.

Against rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, the Raiders only managed one sack, and despite only making 15 pass attempts in the game, Sanchez completed nine of them (60 percent), averaging 9.5 yards per completion, and had no turnovers in the game.

And just to further illustrate how inept the Raiders were on defense, the leading tackler for the game was safety Tyvon Branch with seven.

And while the defense's inconsistency is infuriating, the offense's season-long struggles have been downright despicable.

Again, the Raiders had issues simply sustaining an offensive drive.

The longest offensive possession the Raiders held was a meaningless 12-play drive in the game's waning minutes. The Raiders' next two longest drives each resulted in turnovers.

In total, the Raiders only ran 52 offensive plays, 18 less than the Jets and held onto the ball for only 24:03.

In the past few weeks, quarterback JaMarcus Russell's struggles have been a point of discussion for the NFL pundits and the dreaded "bust" label has been thrown around more frequently.

The reports have been somewhat conflicting.

During the offseason, it was reported that Russell had taken some steps in asserting himself as a team leader, best evidenced by his decision to fly his receivers, on his own expense, to his home in Alabama to get some one-on-one time with them.

In the preseason, Russell was not overly impressive, but played nearly error free and he appeared more confident on the field and in the sidelines.

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