Wilson Gets Most of Blame for This One

Let’s see. Who do we blame this one on?

The Raiders blow a 17-7 lead and lose to the New Improved England Patriots, 27-20.

I think we’re on pretty safe ground if we start by zeroing in on the Raiders’ offensive unit. Remember when the Raider offense was comprised of junkyard dogs and greyhounds? Now they’re the Raiders of the lost bark.

Wonder if Lester Hayes, esteemed spokesperson for the defensive unit, feels the Raider offense let the team down in this one, the game that could have earned the Raiders the right to ship the Miami Dolphins to Los Angeles next weekend.

“I’m not going to point a finger,” Hayes said.

He paused about half a beat and continued:

“It’s nothing new, it’s been going on since 1977. The defense has to stop the (other team’s) offense, cause turnovers, and score touchdowns. That’s just a silver-and-blackism.

“We still say we have a great offense. I think they are very, very good, but there’s so much heat on us (defense), stopping guys and scoring points and kicking butt. The offense has always had a tough time scoring points.”

So we’ve got the blame placed primarily on the offense, which seems fair enough, although the special teams’ kick-return men deserve dishonorable mention. Can we narrow it down any more?

You can’t pin too much blame on Marcus Allen, even though he did cough up the ball in the third quarter, setting up the Patriots for a field goal that tied the game, 20-20.

And nobody else on the Raider offense stands out as a candidate for goat of the game, even though a penalty against Mickey Marvin killed all hope at the end. Except . . . ah, I hate to do this. But what about Marc Wilson, the quarterback?

This could be our man. Wilson connected on 11-of-27 pass attempts for 135 yards and threw 3 interceptions. Maybe worst of all, he called two timeouts on the first drive of the third quarter, essentially meaningless time-outs that, come the end of the game and desperation time, Al Davis and Tom Flores would have paid a couple million bucks each to have back.

It’s a tossup who had a worse game this weekend--the Rams’ quarterback or the Raiders’ quarterback. At least Wilson didn’t threaten to emasculate onrushing defensive linemen with low, side- arm passes.

Both local pro quarterbacks led their team to the playoffs, although “led” might be a little misleading here. If anyone led the Raiders to all those wins, it was Marcus the Magnificant, maybe the toughest running back in the game. Or the defense.

Still, the Raiders won 11-of-14 games Wilson started. At one point it even seemed as if Wilson was beginning to earn the respect of his teammates, no easy feat. There was one notable moment in Cleveland, with the world screaming and foaming in Wilson’s face, where he cooly threw a game-winning touchdown pass.

But overall Wilson has shown no sign of being the next Kenny Stabler, or even the next Jim Plunkett.

Sunday, late in the first quarter, Wilson overthrew Todd Christensen. Christensen, not noted for his tact or compassion, turned and gave Wilson a gesture that seemed to say, “Who the hell you think I am, Manute Bol?”

There was another play where Wilson threw between Christensen and Dokie Williams, who both batted the ball, Christensen making the catch.

Which Raider was the pass intended for?

“I think it was designed for Dokie,” Christensen said, adding with subtle sarcasm. “Or maybe it wasn’t. It’s hard to say.”

Wilson later said: “It was intended for Dokie. Todd wasn’t supposed to be that deep. But he was.”

What about those two squandered timeouts?

“You’ll have to ask the quarterback,” Christensen said. “He called the timeouts.”

Wilson said he called the first timeout because he got the play signaled in late from the sideline. He called the second one because the Raiders were in the wrong formation and there wasn’t time to straighten everyone out.

“I probably should have let time run out, keep the timeout for the end of the game,” Wilson said. “In most cases you don’t want to take a five-yard penalty.”

In both cases, a five-yard penalty would have been a tiny, tiny price to pay to save the precious timeouts.

And Sunday’s performance added fuel to the speculation that solving the quarterback problem will be the No. 1 order of offseason business for the Raiders.

Jim Plunkett, 38, is too old to be the quarterback of the future, even the 1986 future. Wilson, after six years in the league, four of them with significant time as a starter, hasn’t shown Super Bowl caliber passing or leadership.

Here’s a good hunch bet: The Raiders will open next season with either Rusty Hilger (a rookie this season) or a brand new Raider at quarterback. They’ve gone as far as they can go with the Wilson-Plunkett ticket.

Lester Hayes, for one, will be looking for something new from the offense. Looking and praying.

“I’m in shock,” Hayes said. “I’m baffled about the entire day. You fly guys (Patriots) across the country and they kick your butts in your house. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth. We didn’t even get help from the smog monster.”

He shook his head.

“It was a long, long day for the boys,” he said.

A few feet from where Hayes was dressing was a television platform, installed in the Raiders dressing room for the purpose of conducting post-game TV interviews with the game’s heroes. The platform was empty. No heroes here.

“This was a silver-and-black-wrapped gift to the Dolphins,” Hayes said.

He shook his head again and sighed, “My soul, my soul.”