Raiders Put This One in Perspective

When a faint hope is all you have, it will have to do.

Thus it was that the Raiders noted with interest the Cleveland Browns’ Thanksgiving loss, which moved one of the top two wild-card contenders to within 1 1/2 games of the Raiders, who will play the New England Patriots today.

A week ago, Art Shell was denying that the game against the Houston Oilers was a must-win one. Now Shell is sounding a different theme:

“The team understands the significance of each game now. We have five games left. We understand we need those five games. We can’t get five unless we get the first one.”

Here are two more things they need:

--Bo has to remain Bo.

Each of Bo Jackson’s first two NFL seasons has begun impressively, then has been truncated by injury.

This season’s start has been the most impressive of all--Jackson is the sixth-leading rusher in the AFC with a 6.6-yard average and 60 fewer carries than anyone in the top five--but now, for the first time, he is banged up.

He felt a twinge in his left thigh at Houston and didn’t play the fourth quarter. There was later talk of sore ribs, too.

“Everybody talks about ribs and those other things,” Shell said. “He kind of got a knee hit by a helmet that’s hurting him more than anything else.

“We expect him to play. He says he’s going to play.”

--The defensive front has to prove it’s the unit that led Shell’s 4-1 start, not the recent one.

The last three opponents have rushed for 145, 130 and 170 yards. After a while, you can’t say it was cutbacks and trickery in passing situations.

Irony upon irony . . .

The Patriots haven’t played at the Coliseum since Jan. 5, 1986, the date of the Raiders’ last playoff appearance.

The Raiders were 12-4, with all their playoff games set for the Coliseum, seemingly odds-on to meet the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, until the Patriots beat them, 27-20.

Raider quarterback Marc Wilson was 11 for 27 with three interceptions.

Wilson has since departed--to the Patriots, as it turns out. So have Patriots John Hannah, Brian Holloway, Tony Collins, Tony Eason, Craig James, Stanley Morgan, Bob Nelson and Don Blackmon, or most of the players who got New England into that game.

When linebacker Andre Tippet was injured during an exhibition game, it all but finished the Patriot season, leaving for suspense only the question of who Coach Raymond Berry would have at quarterback, and who owner Victor Kiam would have as coach.

Berry is still the coach but . . .

The game’s oldest quarterback, 36-year-old Steve Grogan, is now No. 1, having succeeded Eason and Doug Flutie, but the new heir apparent seems to be Wilson.

Wilson’s only appearance was in relief against the Jets. He was 12 for 18 for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

Berry calls Wilson’s acquisition as a free agent “one of the best deals we’ve ever come across.

“It does make you curious as to what this guy can do,” Berry said. “What I’ve seen so far pops your eyes out.”

The Patriot season is bandaged to a fare-thee-well. For this game, the questionable list of the injured includes tackle Bruce Armstrong, cornerback Ray Clayborn and receiver Irving Fryar. Halfback John Stephens, a sensation as a rookie, has been banged up all season and had his first 100-yard game in last week’s 33-24 upset of the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots have switched owners, quarterbacks and kickers, and more change lies ahead. “I think they’re better than a 4-7 ballclub,” Shell said last week. “I think we’re better than a 5-6 ballclub. I know we are.”

How much better?

“Much better. We could be 8-3 . . . or 9-2. We’ve had a couple of tough losses this year. You can’t get them back. You have to start with New England. It’s a five-game season now.”

Raider Notes

The Raiders are 5 1/2-point favorites, their biggest spread of the season. . . . The Raiders are opening a three-game home stand. They will end the season with games at Seattle, where the Seahawks are 1-4, and in the Meadowlands against the Giants. Cleveland has four difficult games left: Cincinnati, at Indianapolis, Minnesota, at Houston.

Former Patriot Mike Haynes on Steve Grogan: “He’s got the biggest heart you can find. Really, he’s as tough as they come. If you’re going to go to a bar and get into a fight, you’d like to have him on your side. When he’s hot, he’s the hottest. Sometimes when he’s not, he’s not that good. But his last few games I’ve seen him play, he’s been great.” . . . Grogan wears a bulky cervical brace to protect his neck, and has been in and out: five scoring passes, nine interceptions, a rating higher only than Jay Schroeder’s in the AFC.

Grogan needs 105 yards passing to move ahead of Jim Plunkett, the quarterback he replaced for good in 1975, into No. 23 on the all-time list. . . . Steve Beuerlein, who was 10 for 25 with three interceptions while playing on an injured right knee at Houston, returns to start for the Raiders.

The Patriots are No. 21 in total defense (No. 11 vs. rush, 25 vs. pass); No. 11 on offense (No. 17 rushing, 10 passing). The Raiders are No. 13 in total defense (No. 20 vs. the rush, 8 vs. the pass), No. 17 in total offense (No. 5 rushing, 23 passing). . . . How is Patriot No. 1 pick Hart Lee Dykes doing? The former Oklahoma State receiver had a slow start and was nicknamed Heartless Lee Dykes. He has four touchdown catches in his 18 receptions.

Marc Wilson called this “just another game on the schedule.” Of his Raider days, he said: “I’ve got some great memories of my time with the Raiders. I enjoyed my time with the Raiders. It wasn’t a total negative experience by any means. People said the media was tough on me there. I was tougher on myself. There were times when I didn’t sleep for days in a row after losses.” . . . Former Ram Gary Jeter, who moved to the Patriots via Plan B free agency, has recorded a sack in each of the last five games and has six overall.