Analysis : After Loss, Questions for Raiders

It’s Tuesday morning in the New York office of the ABC vice president in charge of “Monday Night Football.” The phone rings.

“Hi, Al,” the vice president says. “You’re up early. What time is it out there? “Tough luck last night. . . . Yeah, I know they sure can yell up there. . . . What the heck, 24-4-1 isn’t such a bad Monday night record. . . . Well, you know what a blowout does to our ratings, but I thought we did OK. We finished a strong second to ESPN. I think they had a rodeo on.

“Next year’s bookings? Gee, I don’t know. We’re already filling up. We’ve got the Bears, the New York teams, the Rams and then there are all those exciting young teams like the Broncos. And you sure can’t forget about those Seahawks. Let me get back to you, OK? I love you. Ciao.”

After the Monday massacre came black Tuesday, and among the Raiders, silver linings were hard to find.

Their playoff chances aren’t awful, but that’s a little beside the point. Current comments notwithstanding, making the playoffs is not the standard by which successful seasons are measured, not if they end as the last two have, with first-round defeats.

Getting the second wild-card berth would put the Raiders on the road for all their playoff games. To them, that would be preferable for only one reason--consider the alternative.

That wouldn’t be terrible if this really had been a rebuilding year. That’s what Rod Martin, in the wake of Monday night’s 37-0 loss at Seattle, quoted Al Davis as having said.

It’s always a little hard to tell. This was the second season in a row that Davis made his we’d-like-to-have-a-rebuilding-year-but-we-can’t-because-we’re the Raiders speech at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The question becomes then:

Just what was it that was rebuilt?

The quarterback is 39. The offensive line has one starter under 30, and the starting cornerbacks are 33 and 31.

When the Raiders won the Super Bowl in January, 1984, they were thought to have almost the equivalent of two experienced offensive lines. But by the middle of the next season, they were having trouble fielding one effective one, with the day the Chicago Bears knocked out all their quarterbacks standing as a landmark.

With the current lineup, the line seemed to right itself for the second half of last season, but that was when Marcus Allen was doing all that un-Raider-like 25-carries-a-game stuff, too.

Raider management seemed caught between a desire to retool and the hope that this unit could pull together.

Curt Marsh, still promising, was moved up to veteran Mickey Marvin’s right guard spot in camp but injured a knee in the second game. Marsh has been practicing for a month but was told he would stay on injured reserve unless someone was hurt. Are the Raiders down on him because he’s been hurt so often? They aren’t saying.

Few other reinforcements were brought in. Amazingly in last spring’s draft, which was considered loaded with offensive linemen, Davis went for two defensive ends, a cornerback and two running backs before drafting his first offensive lineman, a fifth-rounder who was ultimately cut. Passed over were players like Tom Newberry, now starting for the Rams, and Steve Wallace, a San Francisco reserve tackle whom the 49ers are talking up.

The Raiders are still high on their own first pick, Bob Buczkowski. Even putting aside his bad back, he’s a defensive end and they’ve got those.

And this is an organization that has always prided itself on its lines. Right now, the Raiders are a long way from the days when their left side consisted of Hall of Fame candidates Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, and the right tackle, another Hall of Fame possibility named Bob Brown, was snarling at Ken Stabler to please run a play to his side so he could make All-Pro.

Davis and John Madden always used to argue which were the most important positions on a team. Davis said cornerbacks and offensive linemen, in that order. Madden had it the other way around.

That leads us to today’s Raider secondary, suddenly an area of concern, after two games in which the opposition has totaled five touchdown passes.

The Seahawks did most of their damage against the Raider nickel backs. Even so, Lester Hayes’ second half of the season hasn’t been as good as his first. Even Mike Haynes has been beaten here and there. How long can they leave cornerbacks their age man to man against the world?

And what is going to happen at quarterback?

Was that Marcus Allen-Jessie Hester-for-rights to Vinny Testaverde trade rumor just speculation? A year ago, a Raider source said that it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if Allen were one day traded to the Denver Broncos for John Elway, since Denver Coach Dan Reeves is an Allen admirer and Al Davis is crazy about Elway.

If there ever was anything to this, it became null and void as Elway got closer to his superstar potential. But Davis’ idea of football is that running backs get beaten up and have short careers, but you win with quarterbacks who can deliver the long ball.

Assuming that there is anything to speculation stories, they should be taken as feelers, trial balloons or first bids. Are the Raiders prepared to give up Allen and Hester? The word is also out that the Indianapolis Colts, who are in position to draft Testaverde, would want some combination of five players and draft choices in trade.

So the Raiders have a little something left to rebuild next season, too. In the meantime, there is the little matter of the rest of this one, so they can figure out just what it was.

Raider Notes

Dokie Williams left Monday’s night’s game in the second period with a left knee injury, but Tuesday’s tests for ligament or cartilage damage were negative. Coach Tom Flores is hoping that Williams can play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Against the possibility that he can’t, the Raiders had Mark Pattison, whom they cut in training camp, working out Tuesday. . . . Also working out was tight end Earl Cooper. Todd Christensen’s backup, Andy Parker, didn’t dress because of a foot injury, and the Raiders are considering a move if it doesn’t heal soon. . . . Flores hopes the other injured Raiders can go. They are Jim Plunkett, who had a sprained right foot arch, and Charley Hannah, who was trying to play with a cast on the broken bone in his right hand. Jessie Hester, who was held out with a hamstring strain, will probably be listed as questionable.