Schroeder, Raiders at Breaking Point

One of these weeks turned out to be a passion play revolving around Jay Schroeder, after all. It wasn’t last Sunday, when his former Redskin teammates were in, but this one, when he’s cast back in the lineup to bear the slings and arrows of the Cincinnati Bengals and outrageous Raider fans.

All that hangs on the outcome is the Raider season.

Steve Beuerlein’s knee injury will sideline him today, and possibly several more games. The Raiders, 4-4 and in contention for a wild-card spot, are in the teeth of their schedule: one-point underdogs today; at San Diego next week; at Houston the week after.

All they have to do is stabilize a slumping quarterback who’s just lost his job, who’s completed 28% of his passes in his last three games, and who will be booed the first time he does anything wrong, or before that.

They have a lot of work to do:

--Internally . . .

“It’s been tough mentally,” Schroeder said. “But this game has been that way since it started. It’s a tough physical game and it’s tough mentally to get yourself prepared, especially in times like this. You’ve got to be able to block everything out.”

--And externally . . .

There is one thing the Raiders will try to do to help Schroeder: control the ball with their running game.

Can they?

Maybe.

Their turnaround under Coach Art Shell has been complete, a product of happiness, health and the one and only Bo Jackson, in whatever order.

When Mike Shanahan was fired, opponents were outrushing the Raiders by 43.5 yards a game. Since, the Raiders have run for 150 yards a contest and held opponents to an average of 80. You-know-who is averaging 6.2 yards a carry.

Moreover, the Bengals are in trouble. Pro Bowl nose tackle Tim Krumrie, who broke his leg in the Super Bowl, is back but laboring. With a sound Krumrie last season, the Bengals had only an average defense. Now they’re No. 25 against the rush.

They can be expected to bring some extras, such as their 230-pound (it says in the media guide) or 240-pound strong safety, David Fulcher, up to the line of scrimmage.

Thus, Schroeder may be called upon to loosen the Bengals up right away.

The Raiders, in turn, could try to get him some early, easy--that is, short--completions, to rebuild his confidence. One thing that threw Schroeder, ironically, was the return to Raider Ball. He was supposed to be the new Daryle Lamonica-style mad bomber, but he may have lost his game locking on to receivers going deep while easier targets--the ones Beuerlein would hit--came open underneath and unseen.

If you want to know what could happen to the Raiders if things don’t work out, check last season’s Bengal visit--a 45-21 victory.

Nor can the Raiders motivate themselves by complaining that Bengal Coach Sam Wyche ran up the score. Wyche pulled his regulars early in the fourth quarter, leading, 45-7.

At one point, the Bengals scored on five consecutive possessions. As if to prove it was no fluke, they scored on five of six last week, massacring Tampa Bay, 56-23.

Al Davis was so anguished at the lack of pressure on Boomer Esiason, he convened a late-Sunday night meeting of the coaching staff and threatened to fire two defensive assistants.

What’s a coach to do with a game film that’s scarier than “Friday the 13th?”

“Well, you have to look at it, if only to watch personnel, see the guy that you played against last year, see how you did against him,” Shell said. “You can’t hide it. You got to take a look at it, even though it was a disaster.”

The Bengals have a huge offensive line, built around their Hall of Fame-bound left tackle, Anthony Munoz of USC. A year ago, Bengal guard Max Montoya of UCLA said that the game Munoz had played against Mike Wise was the finest he’d ever seen an offensive lineman play.

How good is that line?

The Bengals have lost Ickey Woods and are still rolling. James Brooks, their 182-pound tailback, is averaging 5.9 yards a carry and is on a 1,400-yard pace.

The Raiders are fresh from shutting down the Redskins and overrunning the Hogs. They held the Redskins to 21 yards rushing and registered seven sacks on a team that had given up seven in seven games. But that was with Gerald Riggs out, and the Raiders leading from the get-go, thanks to Beuerlein’s hot start.

Today Beuerlein watches. How well the Raiders carry on will tell their ’89 tale.

Raider Notes

Boomer Esiason says he’s finally over shoulder and ankle problems. His injuries notwithstanding, he’s the AFC’s No. 2 passer with 14 touchdowns--five last week--and four interceptions. . . . Howie Long’s name is once more on the lips of every Raider opponent. Without being asked, Esiason volunteered that Long “is just playing tremendous football right now.” Wyche said Long is “playing as well as I’ve seen him in years. He really looks aggressive and quick.” . . . Raider safety sensation Eddie Anderson has a hamstring pull, didn’t practice and was limping last week. If he can’t go, with Vann McElroy already out, the Raiders would switch Mike Harden to free safety and play Russell Carter or Zeph Lee at strong safety. . . . Former Bruin Eric Ball, the Bengals’ No. 2 pick, starts in place of the injured Ickey Woods.