There’s Lots of Blame to Pass Around

It could have become the 1992 Raider battle cry. It could have been scribbled on every Coliseum banner. “I’m stoked,” Todd Marinovich had said upon his promotion to starting quarterback. His teammates were stoked. Maybe Art Shell and Al Davis were stoked. I know I was stoked. Maybe you were stoked.

But Sunday, after Marinovich threw the football more times in one game than any passer in Raider history, this team didn’t have enough fire left to light a match.

“I only hope we can get our nasty attitude back next week,” Marinovich said after tossing 59 passes in 60 minutes.

If he keeps this up, the Raiders had better sign Dennis Eckersley.

Right now, about the only reason for these guys to be stoked is that they are keeping pace with winless San Diego, Phoenix, New England and the two New York teams for a shot at San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk, should he apply for the ’93 NFL draft.

No, the season isn’t over.

No, please don’t give up on Marinovich.

But facts are facts. And the fact is, no 0-3 team has ever been to a Super Bowl. And another fact is, this 0-3 team has not even met an opponent from the NFC, which usually wins the Super Bowl.

So, go ahead. Nail the quarterback if you feel you must. Say what you will about him not being ready for this. You know and I know that Sunday was not the day that put the “Marino” in Marinovich. So, feel free. Fire away. Some people won’t talk about anything else today but the quarterback.

But I will. I will tell you about a defense that did not force one fumble by a winless team from Cleveland. A defense that did not intercept one pass by somebody named Todd Philcox, the greenest of Browns. A defense that did not get one sack against an offensive line that was overpowered in its season opener at Indianapolis for 12 sacks.

I will tell you about special-teams players who bobbled footballs and botched tackles. About a punter who put his team in the hole by butter-fingering a snap. About a team that lost by 12 points to an opponent that rushed for 31 yards.

So yes, Todd Marinovich was not the answer Sunday.

But these Raiders have to answer a lot more than one question.

“It takes 11 guys to get it right,” Marinovich said.

With that, he was right on the money. As a matter of fact, Marinovich was right on the money 33 times for 395 yards--astonishing figures for such a lopsided loss. The Raider record for completed passes in a single game is 34, by Jim Plunkett. The old record forattempted passes was 52, sharedby Plunkett and Jay Schroeder.

But that tells only half the story. If Marinovich is to remain the Raiders’ starting quarterback--and that’s fine by me--brace yourself for the season of living dangerously. You can tell this kid is from Southern California, because he isn’t afraid of traffic. He throws into traffic practically everyplay.

Marinovich is half-fearless, half-reckless. He throws into coverage. He has been intercepted seven times in his last two starts. Either he is very brave or his vision is 20-80. Raider fans are going to be thrilled with him and exasperated with him. They will have to remind themselves for weeks and weeksto be patient until the kidrelaxes.

That’s even what Shell calls him--”the kid.” Marinovich is the quarterback from Wayne’s World. He has a surfboard on his car hood and sandals on his feet. He walked away Sunday from his first start of the season in a Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt.

I mean, in case you haven’t noticed, we are not talking George Blanda here.

But he also has vitality. He is not a burnout case. He has endless energy and moxie.

“This loss is not the end of the world,” Marinovich said. “It’s just highly disappointing. We’re all down. We just couldn’t get it going. I felt all right out there, but just not good enough to win.

“I finally got some rhythm going in the third quarter. But I made a lot of mistakes. I made a lot of bad throws. And losing Tim Brown (to an injury) was a big factor. I usually get the ball to him. But each guy on this team played a role in not getting the ball into the end zone.

“The important thing is not to throw in the towel on the season. Tomorrow, I’ll go in and see all the mistakes I made. But I try not to dwell on it, even though it’s easy to.”

At one point, he slapped a paper cup from the Raider bench and sent it flying. It was the 60th thing Marinovich sent airborne Sunday. But he will return a week from now, to throw some more.

And if the Raiders go 0-4, he won’t be the only one on this team to be throwing things.