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PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Shell Unhappy With Running Game

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Coach Art Shell wasn’t in a great mood Saturday night after watching his team lose to the Rams, 19-16, in overtime.

Sunday, he watched it again, on tape. The score didn’t change. Neither did Shell’s mood.

The object of his wrath? His running game. Or rather, the lack thereof.

“I was disappointed . . . and that’s an understatement,” he said. “It’s not just the offensive line. The running backs have to do their share. The tight ends have to do their share. It’s a combination of all things.”

So far, the combination has been deadly for the Raiders’ offense.

In the club’s exhibition opener against the San Francisco 49ers a week ago, the Raiders had only 43 yards rushing in 16 carries for a 2.7-yard average.

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Saturday night against the Rams, the Raiders carried 14 times for 12 yards, 0.86 yards per carry.

In a third quarter dominated by the Rams, the Raiders got only two carries for minus-one yard.

Eric Dickerson finished the game with one net yard gained in five carries.

The Rams, employing an eight-man front, played tight defense. But Shell wasn’t ready to absolve his club and overlook the numbers.

“That’s an embarrassment,” he said. “But with the people we have running and the people we have blocking, I can’t believe it’s not going to get done to the point where we can win.”

Shell said that he had tried some new wrinkles in the running game, but added that he will scrap those this week and go back to basics.

No word on when running back Marcus Allen will be able to do his part to improve those dismal rushing numbers.

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Allen ended his holdout last week, but remains sidelined because of a sore foot.

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