Raiders Will Lose Howie Long 2 to 6 Weeks With Knee Injury

Word that Howie Long will miss two to six weeks because of a strained ligament in his left knee would have gone over much better in September than December.

Long, a veteran star on the Raiders’ defensive front, will escape a doctor’s scalpel after a magnetic resonance imaging test Monday revealed no tear in the medial collateral ligament.

But with three crucial games remaining in the regular season, and the playoffs to follow, the Raiders aren’t ready to celebrate the news.

Long injured his knee in the first quarter of Sunday’s 9-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers. If he returns in two weeks, consider it a godsend. If he misses six, there may not be a Raider game for him to return for.

Estimates at Raider Central vary.

“It’s a week-to-week thing,” Coach Art Shell said. “It could be a week and a half, it could be two weeks. It could be three weeks. There is some soreness, that is to be expected with the medial collateral. Hopefully, it’s good news in the sense that doctors do not think it’s serious.”

Long, although relieved that no surgery will be required, said he could be out as long as six weeks.

“It was a long night,” he said. “But it could have been a lot worse.”

So the Raiders must face the sharpest teeth in their schedule--Buffalo, New Orleans, Kansas City--without one of their top defensive players.

Rookie Nolan Harrison stepped in nicely against San Diego, but stepping in for Howie Long is kind of like stepping in for Joe Montana.

Long’s strength in the middle demanded that he be double-teamed by opposing offenses, leaving pass rushers Greg Townsend, Scott Davis and Anthony Smith easier access to the quarterback.

Harrison will not command the same respect.

“We do have good people, but you hate to lose someone like Howie,” Shell said. “I’m sure Greg, Anthony and Scott (Davis) will get a little more attention now that Howie is not in there. Everything was designed to slide toward Howie and Greg in the passing game.”

Harrison, however, is no fluke. The sixth-round pick from Indiana, who was suspended his senior season for disciplinary reasons, was impressive in training camp but hasn’t played much since.

Still, this is what Raider scouting is all about. A defensive front that was strong to begin with can remain relatively intact because the Raiders took a chance on a perceived problem child.

“We felt we got a steal,” Shell said of claiming Harrison with a sixth-round draft choice. (Defensive line coach Earl Leggett) was very, very high on him. He said we might have a gem right here.”

Harrison was a pest against San Diego, recording one sack and three tackles. It was also Harrison who drew the crucial holding call that negated a possible game-winning touchdown pass for the Chargers in the final minutes.

“Nolan came in and was very active,” Shell said. “He was going like a wild man. He played with a lot of enthusiasm and made plays. He raised cain in there.”

Shell is showing so much confidence in Harrison that he will leave the rookie at Long’s left defensive end position rather than move Smith to the position.

Smith and veteran Bob Golic have been splitting time at left defensive tackle in the regular defense, with Golic coming out in obvious passing situations.

Why do some teams consistently win close games while other teams lose? The Raiders this season have won four games in the final seconds with extraordinary plays. San Diego Coach Dan Henning, on the other hand, can’t seem to win a close game to save his job.

When push comes to shove, are the Raiders lucky or good? Or both. Or what?

Consider the season:

--On Oct. 20, Jim Everett’s pass deflected off Howie Long’s helmet and into the arms of Ronnie Lott, setting up a game-winning field goal against the Rams as time expired.

--On Nov. 10, Scott Davis blocked an extra-point kick with 8:37 left, then James FitzPatrick blocked a last-second field goal try to save a 17-16 victory at Denver.

--On Sunday, Davis blocked a 44-yard attempt by San Diego kicker John Carney with 1:57 remaining, the difference in a two-point Raider victory.

Eliminate those plays and the Raiders might well be 6-7 instead of 9-4.

Ah, but they’re not. And Shell said that winning close games is part of the Raider tradition.

“There’s an inbred thing that you believe you’re going to win,” he said. “That you believe, and you’ve heard me say this before, as long as there’s time on the clock, as long as we keep it close, we’re going to find a way to win the football game. If you preached that, and you believe that, more times than not you’re going to get it done.”