It’s D-Day in Big D for Wilson and Raiders : Quarterback Has to Take the Offensive Against Favored Cowboys Today

We could be a-headin’ for the last roundup, pilgrims.

Whose?

Try the Raiders’ if they lose today to the Dallas Cowboys, who are three-point favorites. Even in the race for the last wild-card berth, 5-5 would not be a good start.

Try Marc Wilson’s.

Curiously, this was the site of his first roundup. It was 1983, and Wilson was still a backup but well thought of. Donald Trump was trying to lure him to the USFL’s New Jersey Generals. Al Davis reeled him back in at the last moment with a $4-million contract.

This was just a few days before the game in Dallas, a nationwide Sunday night telecast. Wilson went into the lineup, threw for 300 yards, one of the four times he has done it in his pro career, and led the underdog Raiders to a 40-38 victory. A new era was at hand.

It turned out to be a short era.

It’s three years later, and outside of his family and the Raider coaching suite, Wilson is no longer as well thought of. The blowtorch is back on after his four interceptions against the Denver Broncos, and now he faces the blitzing Cowboys.

It’s the kind of challenge--a good pass rush, a quality opponent--that the Raider offense has been unable to meet on anything like a consistent basis.

What if things go badly once more?

How far is Tom Flores really going with his embattled quarterback?

In the two seasons of constant heat, since Jim Plunkett went down early in 1985 against the San Francisco 49ers and Wilson moved back up to No. 1, Flores has not once relieved or demoted Wilson.

When Plunkett healed in time for the playoffs, he wasn’t reactivated. Flores said he didn’t want Wilson looking over his shoulder. When Davis tried to trade Wilson to Philadelphia and pay off $750,000 of his contract--thus saving another $1.2 million--Flores backed his quarterback and was allowed to prevail.

But now, even Flores seems to be waiting to see how Wilson handles events.

“A quarterback has to weather the storm,” Flores said last week. “He has to take the good with the bad.

“You can change a lot of things when you lose, but you’ve just got to believe in what you’re doing. We believe in what we’re doing. And we’re going to get the job done. That’s the bottom line.”

Welcome to the storm. The, uh, more expressive personalities on the Raider defense have stifled their public outcries, which doesn’t mean they have no opinions. As Flores said last week, delicately: “They’re asked to keep their opinions to themselves.”

Nevertheless, certain people on the roster and in the front office are in a mute rage about the play of the Raider quarterback. And being Raiders, silence is not their first priority. The man didn’t say, “Just keep quiet, baby.”

Is Wilson really to blame?

Significantly, his greatest support comes from the offensive unit. Said one player last week: “He’s still the best we’ve got.”

Rusty Hilger is considered too young, Plunkett too old. In the Houston game, for example, by actual count on the films, Wilson threw 34 passes and was hit 24 times after pulling the trigger. There is some skepticism among the Raiders that Plunkett could stand many poundings like that.

It may be that the Raiders are overdue to redesign their simple offense. Everyone blitzes more these days. The Raider offensive line also isn’t what it once was. Something has to give, and so far, it has been Marc Wilson’s reputation.

The real bottom line is that something is wrong somewhere.

The Raiders have scored two or fewer touchdowns in five games.

In their last three losses, their touchdown totals were 0, 0 and 1.

In those three losses, there were 18 drives that carried inside the 20-yard lines. The Raiders had 12 of them--and scored 1 touchdown. The opponents had 6 of them--and scored 5 touchdowns.

In the first two of those losses, the defense had the Raiders ahead at halftime before succumbing. In the third, they almost made it to halftime with a 3-0 lead, but the Broncos went ahead 2 minutes 6 seconds before intermission. There is a limit to how far this defense can drag this offense, and they’ve about reached it.

All the Raiders face today is a Cowboy team that was supposed to be another wayward dynasty.

Instead, the offense, redesigned by Paul Hackett, the former USC and Bill Walsh assistant, in the image of the short-passing, play-action, draw-and-screen 49ers, is No. 1 in the NFL in yardage and No. 3 in scoring at 27 points a game.

The defense is No. 3, and the Cowboys’ 34 sacks are second only to Denver’s 38. The Raiders have allowed 33 sacks, third-worst in the NFL.

The Cowboys have a new quarterback in Steve Pelluer. CBS’ Pat Summerall termed the news that quarterback Danny White had broken his right wrist last week against the New York Giants as tragic, but there wasn’t a lot of public weeping in Dallas.

Pelluer is more mobile and has a stronger arm. All White had going was experience, which you couldn’t always tell by watching the games. Pelluer, a third-year pro who had thrown 8 NFL passes before this season, completed 28 of 38 passes after coming in for White last week and is the NFC’s No. 4-rated passer.

And then there’s Herschel Walker. He hurt an ankle last Sunday and hasn’t practiced much this week, and the coaches say they may hold him out. But he said he’ll play.

He has been a fine runner, remarkable only in that he once had so many detractors among NFL personnel honchos. He’s not at all nifty, but at 6-1, 225, he is huge for someone who is just a couple of ticks off being a world-class sprinter.

As a receiver, he has been a revelation. His 49 receptions, including 9 last week against the Giants, are fourth-best in the NFL. His hands are considered better than any Cowboy wide receiver’s.

Who could ask for anything more? Tony Dorsett, erstwhile No. 1 tailback, could.

Last week, Dorsett got 10 carries to Walker’s 10 and was pulled on a lot of third downs. When that happened, he left the field slowly, suggesting a displeasure that he later confirmed.

Said Dorsett after the game: “You kind of sense they are making their move.”

The educated guess in Dallas is that Dorsett was overreacting.

If you want to see some real overreacting, see what happens if the Raiders lose this one.

Raider Notes

Defensive end Howie Long, who missed the Denver game, and cornerback Mike Haynes, who has missed the last three games, are expected back. Haynes refused to take an injection for his ailing left ankle before the Bronco game. . . . Now for the Cowboy problem: rushing defense. The worst the Raiders have seen this season was the Miami Dolphins’ defense, which is allowing 4.4 yards a rush. The Cowboys are allowing 4.7. Their defensive line has two 35-year-olds, Too Tall Jones and John Dutton, plus Randy White, 33, along with Jim Jeffcoat, 25. Jeffcoat’s 8 1/2 sacks lead Dallas, and there is some thought he might have passed White. . . . The Raiders hit Miami for 214 yards rushing, but that was on grass. This is on the artificial turf that they fear and loathe. Marcus Allen isn’t the same runner on plastic, and his ankle sprain is still slowing him. Tom Flores has indicated he’ll use Napoleon McCallum more today.