THERE’S TROUBLE AT THE CORNERS : MIKE HAYNES : Raider Seems Only Singed by Stanley Steamer

These are times that try Raiders’ souls with no exemptions. Ask Mike Haynes, who may be Hall of Fame-bound but whose journey took him back to New England so Stanley Morgan could introduce him to ignominy.

Wait a second, Mike Haynes?

Who has been to 9 Pro Bowls in 11 seasons? Who missed the others because of an injury and a holdout? Who at 34 still reigns as the silky envy of his peers?

At the last Super Bowl, Denver’s Dennis Smith was asked about the spate of bombs that had been going off over his head. “Everybody gets beat,” he said. “Mike Haynes gets beat.”

Well, in this game, nobody gets out untested, or untoasted.

When was the last game Haynes’ man got 100 yards? Morgan, known as the Steamer, got 146 last Sunday, with four of his six receptions, including the 40-yard game-breaker, on Haynes.

You think Haynes isn’t talking to himself, like on a 24-hour basis?

“I didn’t sleep the Sunday and Monday night after the game,” Haynes said Wednesday. “I just felt like, ‘Gosh, I’ve worked so hard. . . . ‘ “

But then there was so much to think about.

How long can a cornerback play if he’s obligated by reputation and team philosophy to live out his days in man-to-man coverage? Raider backfield coach Willie Brown, already enshrined in Canton, Ohio, lasted on the corner until he was 37, but those were the days of unfettered bump-and-run and Brown, at 6-2 and 210, was expert at beating opponents into the consistency of mashed potatoes before letting them run their routes.

There is more to think about, such as the problems of Haynes’ team, on the field. And off the field.

Who knows, maybe it’s all part of the same mosaic?

Let’s start at halftime of the Patriot game, Raiders trailing, 10-6.

“Basically, we went to New England, and at halftime, that was really a flat locker room,” Haynes said.

“Coach (Tom) Flores was really the one trying to get us to be emotional. In the past, we had some guys on the team who would, you know, just blow up and get everybody excited and emotional about the game.

“I think the difference now is, we know we’re a good team. We think we can just go out there and play and get the job done. Football’s an emotional sport. The other teams--our opponents--they’re really excited about playing the Raiders, maybe about knocking us off. We don’t share in that same excitement. We’re not good enough to just show up and beat people, at least not yet.”

With all those recent history lessons about the Raiders’ 1985 trip to New England that turned that season around, how about the story of the ’85 halftime?

The Raiders, 1-2 and up against a Patriot team that later reached the Super Bowl, trailed at halftime, 20-14. Whereupon, Marcus Allen and Rod Martin were said to have rattled the locker room walls with purple near-prose, after which the Raiders went out and won, 35-21.

Allen and Martin are still Raiders, but apparently an encore wasn’t in the cards this time. This was good for the walls, bad for the silver and black.

Doesn’t this sound suspiciously like the effect of that old devil that they keep trying to put behind them, strike hangover?

Maybe, said Haynes.

“I think it’s starting to end. I think it started to end last week. I don’t know if it ever will be totally over. I don’t think it ever will be.

“But I think we started to realize that we’re not any good if we don’t play together. Myself, as a defensive back, if I don’t play the defense the coaches call and I’m not getting any pass rush, then I’m not going to be effective. And the defensive line, if we’re not covering people, they’re not going to be able to get a great pass rush. Together we can be great. Separated, we’re not even average.”

However, they were, in fact, separated, or split, by their differing strike circumstances.

Some crossed the line. Haynes stayed out to the bitter end, literally. When this most urbane of Raider players talks about how angry he was, you can imagine the rest.

“I was very bitter, very angry,” Haynes says. “I think probably most people were.

“The first game (the Seattle 35-13 wipeout), it was a tough week, the whole week. Last week was better. I think this will be the week that we’ll be on track again, at least in terms of being a team. I think the two losses really helped us. It would have been real nice if it had been two wins, instead.”

How about reports of strains between players and some assistant coaches, who normally work together so closely?

“Well, yeah,” Haynes said. “When we first came back, we didn’t even meet together as a team. A lot of coaches weren’t talking to players and players weren’t talking to coaches.

“Because a lot of things had been said during the strike. But I think everybody realizes that we have to forget about that stuff. We have to go on, We have to have short memories.”

Well, why couldn’t they have forgotten it before the Seattle game, then?

“It would have been impossible earlier, to come back from the strike and say, ‘OK guys, that’s all in the past.’ A lot of guys lost a lot of money (few more than Haynes, who donated $181,250 to the union cause). A lot of things were said--players to other players, scab players to reporters, to coaches, to management people, to season-ticket holders. It was pretty deep in terms of some of our feelings and emotions.”

And Haynes personally?

“It wasn’t so much things I said. It was just the attitude where I would see some of the guys (who had crossed the picket line) in the locker room, or they’d make comments, and, I don’t know. . . . It was really a bad feeling, especially for a guy who’s been brought up on Christian attitudes. You’re supposed to forgive and forget. Now basically, I’m able to do a little bit better. I feel better about it.”

Now they’re back to being football players. He’s back to being Mike Haynes, in which any completed pass is considered an affront and a surprise.

And a sign of something amiss?

“It wasn’t until I looked at the game film,” he said. “I really saw it wasn’t just me. And that was a kind of relief in some regards. I saw I could have done some things better, if I’d just played the defenses as called.

“The thing is, I guess if I really believed that I was slipping, I’d be in trouble. I don’t really believe it.

“I mean, there were a lot of comments made about Stanley’s speed. Yes, Stanley is really fast. I think I’m fast, too.

“I don’t think I’ve slipped. My confidence level is still high. I just think, like a lot of guys, I’m not making the best decisions. And maybe that’s because of the strike, maybe trying to make things happen.

“I really feel good. I think last year when I was hurt, I thought about it (whether he was near the end). The injury affected my other ankle, it affected my knee, it affected my back. I started thinking, ‘Gee, maybe this is it. Maybe I’m not ever going to feel good.’

“So I worked real hard this off-season. I feel good. I haven’t really seen any signs of deterioration. The are some things I wish I could do better but there always were.”

At 34, he’s still sleek and strong. Before New England, he was off to a good start, with two interceptions and no completions behind him.

“I look at guys like Willie (Brown), Charlie Joiner, guys who played a long time,” Haynes said. “I think if I stay in real good shape, I can play a long time. I’m not going to put a limit on it.”

He grinned. See? It’s still possible.

“Of course, I’m married,” he said. “I have three kids. I do want to be around. I don’t want to limp to their games.”