Pro Football / Week 11 : Raiders Are Not Topic A, or B, for 49ers : 2 Controversies Unsettle Mood in San Francisco

The (can you dig it?) first-place Raiders are back in their native land to see how long they get to keep their new title.

Let’s just say they could have picked a better day. On merit, the 49ers are 6 1/2-point favorites, but there’s more than form working today.

Of course, the San Francisco 49ers have their usual quarterback controversy brewing, Joe Montana reassuming his No. 1 job from Steve Young.

For variety, however, they’re also featuring a coach controversy. The astute Bill Walsh is getting heat from owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., the 42-year-old scion of the Youngstown (Ohio) contracting fortune who is “among the most respected and successful owners in league history,” according to the 49ers’ media guide.

There have been indications that Eddie, “as he is known to friends and 49er family,” has tired of Walsh’s lapses in genius since the 49ers, the league’s No. 1 team on offense and defense, were stunned by the Minnesota Vikings in last season’s playoffs.

Eddie appropriated Walsh’s club presidency for himself. The team shopped Joe Montana, who’d had a great season but an awful last game, although Walsh and Eddie each said privately it wasn’t his idea.

Segue to last week’s game at Phoenix, where it’s Eddie’s birthday and the 49ers lead, 23-0 . . .

And lose, 24-23.

After the game, Walsh blasted the officials, although there were no penalties called during the fourth quarter, when the Phoenix Cardinals came from 23-7 behind. He took no questions, stormed into the coaches’ room, slammed the door behind him and raged at them.

Was this a man feeling the pressure?

Segue to Detroit, where Monte Clark, who formerly coached the 49ers and the Detroit Lions and is Walsh’s friend, said on cable TV that Walsh might be available for the anticipated Lion vacancy.

Off the air, Clark added that he had spoken to Walsh, who he said was unhappy.

“No, that’s not true,” Walsh told Bay Area reporters. “I’ve never said anything like that. Obviously, I’m not (unhappy).

“Just look around you (indicating the team’s lavish new Santa Clara facility). There can’t be anything to be dissatisfied about here.”

And his relationship with DeBartolo?

“Eddie and I get along beautifully. There’s not a thread of anything that would find us differing in any way.”

Said one Bay Area reporter: “At that point, I had to leave, because his nose was growing so long, it was getting into my notebook.”

So the Raiders are forced to deal with a wily coach who has been backed against the wall, and a returning-hero quarterback, not to mention a quality team, if one with only a 6-4 record.

Last week, Walsh was still referring to the Phoenix game as “utterly humiliating . . . embarrassing . . . a low point for the 49ers in recent years.”

Is it a coincidence that Steve Young, who ran out of bounds with 1 minute 38 seconds left, the 49ers leading and the Cardinals out of timeouts, is being benched?

Walsh says it’s just because Montana’s physical condition is better. He is hardly injury-free, however. His back is a continuing problem. In the Monday night loss at Chicago 3 weeks ago, he looked as if he had a rag arm. His rating is 84.3; the only year he has ever been under that was 1986, when he underwent back surgery during the season.

Said Walsh, a believer in sharing responsibility:

“We’ve gone from No. 1 or No 2 in passing to way down below the middle.”

Indeed, the 49ers have thrown 3 touchdown passes in 6 games. Mostly they run now--and quite well. Roger Craig, who came into the season with 4 100-yard games, has had 5 more. He has an average of 5.3 yards a carry and a total of 1,103 yards, only 249 behind Wendell Tyler’s single-season club record. The 49ers average 5.3 yards a rush and allow 3.7.

To the Raiders, who average 3.8 and allow 4.2, this can’t look too bad.

Can the Raiders handle Craig?

Can their own running game cut loose?

With the revelation that Howie Long won’t be back soon, they can’t expect their defensive front to carry them. It misses Long, its star, and the traded Sean Jones. Greg Townsend is doing well as an every-down player, Bill Pickel is playing well as a tackle, rookie Scott Davis is coming on, and Mike Wise works hard. Add them up and they’re OK.

The running game has the potential to take up the slack but hasn’t quite. Since Bo Jackson got his first full week of practice, the Raiders have gone for 185, 156 and 149 yards--150 is considered excellent--but it has been sporadic.

Center Bill Lewis’ return means the Raiders will have their top offensive line back. It will get its third start--making it the dean of this season’s 7 combinations.

If the line can make the running game go, it can take the heat off the defense and Steve Beuerlein. Something needs to.

If it turns Bo loose, nobody is safe.

Raider Notes

If the Raiders come out of today still tied for the AFC West lead, the pendulum swings their way. They’ll play 3 of their final 5 games at home, with the other contenders each playing just 2 at home. . . . 49ers to watch: linebacker Charles Haley, who has 10 1/2 sacks; nose tackle Michael Carter, who has 5 1/2 sacks, and Jerry Rice, who is a bigger factor when Joe Montana plays. . . . Rain is forecast.