PRO FOOTBALL / WEEK 13 : Raiders More Concerned With Letdown Than Hapless Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons, on a stretch run to nowhere, get the Raiders today after having just tried the Chicago Bears and Rams. For a team with a 2-10 record, this is a dubious honor known in the sports pages as the chance to be a spoiler.

For a team with an 8-4 record, as the Raiders are, it’s a chance to let down. The Rams showed how it could be done here two weeks ago, donating the football until the Falcons felt ready to compete.

Ron Brown fumbled in Ram territory on the first possession, resulting in a Falcon field goal. Charles White fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, producing a touchdown and a 10-0 Atlanta lead. After that, the Falcons started feeling good about themselves.

Falcon Assistant Coach Larry Beightol was asked afterward about what adjustments were made. “We didn’t make any,” he said. “You know what we adjusted? Our chin straps.”

With the Falcons due next in Chicago, the kid quarterback, David Archer, said he hoped the Bears had won that day’s game in Dallas, since the Falcons wanted to be the first team to beat them.

The Bears probably didn’t even bother to put it up on the bulletin board. They won, 36-0, the worst Falcon defeat since the Rams pinned them, 59-0, in 1976.

Archer went 2 for 15 and was benched early in the third period. You’ve got to watch out for reality, it’s always lurking out there somewhere.

Oh yeah, the Falcons have trouble, starting with:

--Quarterback. Steve Bartkowski was the NFC’s top-rated passer when Coach Dan Henning became the last to sack him, giving the job to Archer, a former free agent from Iowa State. Bartkowski was getting carried off game after game. Archer is a terrific scrambler. His problem is everything else. In the last five games, he has completed 40% of his passes to his guys, and another 6.7% to everyone else’s.

--Secondary. The Falcons are trying to run a system of all-out blitzes similar to the Bears, forcing their young, beat-up secondary into man-to-man coverage, when they can remember to each take a man. Once, cornerback Bobby Butler forgot to report, leaving the 49ers’ Dwight Clark completely uncovered. Joe Montana saw it, threw him the ball and Clark ran into the end zone untouched. The Falcons have allowed 24 touchdown passes and are 27th in passing defense.

--Offensive line. Center Jeff Van Note is the only man who’s been there all season, and, as Henning noted delicately, “He’s 39 years old.” Sieve city. Falcon quarterbacks have been sacked 53 times.

The Falcons have a carload of blue-chippers: tackle Bill Fralic, called awesome by an Atlanta beat writer, who gets Howie Long today; defensive end Rick Bryan; Gerald Riggs, the NFL’s top rusher who goes against No. 2 Marcus Allen.

They also have two No. 1 picks in the next draft. A good, er, bad break and they could win the Bo Jackson Bowl, or trade the pick for even more No. 1s.

The question is, who’s going to get to coach them?

Henning, who still has the job?

Or might there be a front-office shake-up instead, as someone close to Rankin Smith suggested privately? Is Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer (whew) Eddie LeBaron in trouble along with General Manager Tom Braatz?

Or is Smith going to sell the team? NBC’s Larry King said he might because of bad attendance, so at least you can be sure of one thing--Smith is staying.

Attendance is, indeed, going through the cellar. Three years ago, the Falcons sold 56,500 season tickets. This year, it was 31,000.

For the Ram game, the Falcons’ traditional big seller, they got a crowd of 29,960. They’ve had 10 straight crowds under 45,000. For the Raiders, who are used to being everyone’s rallying point, it’ll be a day off on the villains’ circuit.

To let down is human nature, and in no humans’ natures more than the Raiders’. Their history is rife with big-game successes--their Monday night record--and little-game walkabouts.

They’re coming off an emotional victory over the Denver Broncos, and headed back into Denver next week. Say what one might to oneself, there is no way that walking onto the field in Atlanta Stadium will feel like walking into Mile High Stadium.

Tom Flores said: “It’s most important that we not take this game lightly. I mentioned it to our players. It’s almost natural that you have a little letdown but we can’t. You can’t look beyond anyone at this point. You just can’t.”

Raider Notes The Raiders are not exactly strangers to the big turnover, themselves. Marcus Allen has lost only one fumble all season, but Marc Wilson has thrown 10 interceptions in the last four games. The Raiders, who were plus-3 after six games, are minus-10 after 12. Tom Flores, wearily: “I know.” . . . Allen is 12 yards behind Gerald Riggs, an old Pac-10 foe from Arizona State, who was drafted one choice ahead of him. Allen is closing. After three weeks, which was when the Raiders went to Ground Marcus, Riggs led by 107. . . . Raider tackle Bruce Davis, on what would make nice gifts for one’s offensive line: “We might get Rolexes. We’ve done some quiet--and not so quiet--lobbying.” . . . Riggs is the only man to get 100 yards against the Cowboys, the only one to get 100 against the Bears and was the first to get 100 against the Washingto Redskins. The Raiders hadn’t allowed more than 70 until Denver’s Gerald Willhite got 85 last week. . . . Flores on Jim Plunkett: “We have to start getting him ready in case we decide to do something there (activate him). If something happens to Marc (Wilson), obviously, we’d activate Jim. If nothing happens, there is a chance we would not.” . . . The Raiders have won the last two games with the Falcons, in 1979 and 1982, by scores of 50-19 and 38-14, respectively.