Smith Simply Went Over Left Tackle : Raiders: He gets four sacks of Gelbaugh by beating Seattle rookie.

If Seattle’s rookie offensive tackle, Ray Roberts, was looking for pity after the Raiders’ 19-0 victory over the Seahawks on Sunday, he did not get any from Anthony Smith.

Smith made Roberts’ day miserable by getting four sacks from his right defensive end position. He made Roberts look more like a speed bump than a first-round draft choice from Virginia.

“I’m not going to make any excuses for the guy,” said Smith, who has a team-high eight sacks this season and six in his last two games. “He knew that the position was going to be tough when he accepted to play it.”

In the NFL, left tackle is considered the toughest position to play on the offensive line and being a rookie starter on a 1-5 team put Roberts on the hot seat against the Raiders.

With Stan Gelbaugh making his first start at quarterback for Seattle after playing in the World League, Roberts was counted on to protect him from any blind-side rushes from Smith.

It turned out to be a job Roberts could not handle as he was benched midway through the game only to return after Seattle lost two other linemen to injuries.

“I was hoping that they gave me five sacks,” said Smith, who was the Raiders’ top draft pick in 1990. “I don’t have any sympathy for (Roberts). I don’t have any for nobody. When we started out 0-4, no one had sympathy for the Raiders. So, that’s just too bad.”

Smith, who has at least one sack in 12 of the 23 NFL games he has played, was the catalyst for a Raider defense that had six sacks and a safety while limiting Seattle to 41 yards rushing.

Smith started fast by blowing past Roberts on Seattle’s first possession of the game to sack Gelbaugh and force a fumble that was recovered by the Seahawks for a 39-yard loss.

Early in the second quarter, Smith was at it again when he sacked Gelbaugh for a nine-yard loss that forced a Seattle punt.

With two sacks already under his belt, Smith decided that it was time to do some scoring when he tackled Gelbaugh in the end zone and forced a fumble that was recovered by Seattle for a safety.

“I never had a safety in my life and when I saw (Gelbaugh) standing there I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss him,” Smith said. “After I hit him, I was kind of dizzy and didn’t see the ball at first. When I did, I was knocked off the pile.”

The ball was unattended until Seattle’s Bill Hitchcock recovered it, and the Raiders’ Nolan Harrison was credited with the safety when he touched the Seahawk player.

“I’ll take it,” Harrison said. “It makes up for a sack that they took away from me.”

The Raiders pressured Gelbaugh so much that at times it was difficult to determine who was in Seattle’s backfield first. Things got so bad for the Seahawks during the second half that they had to turn to a makeshift line when Roberts was benched.

“(Roberts) was having problems, so we made a decision,” Seattle Coach Tom Flores said. “He’s not the first guy who has been taken out of a game, rookie or veteran. He’ll overcome this.”

Smith had only one sack during the second half, but his presence was felt whenever Seattle tried to pass. The Raiders knew they had an advantage over the Seahawks’ line and did not let up.

“It’s unfortunate, but we knew that the kid playing left tackle for them was having a rough year,” Raider defensive tackle Howie Long said. “(Smith) is as talented as he wants to be. Fortunately for him, he drew the kid today and took advantage of it.”

Gelbaugh was the one who paid the price, completing only 17 of 41 passes for 238 yards with one interception.

Things got worse for Seattle late in the third quarter when veteran lineman Andy Heck suffered a leg injury.

“We were down to just five offensive linemen at the end, with no substitutions on the bench,” Flores said. “But Roberts went back in and played well. He did the best he could.”

Smith and his defensive line teammates know next week’s game against Dallas at the Coliseum will provide a tougher challenge.

“We don’t want to let up now,” Smith said. “I know things will be tougher for me now after getting four sacks today. Teams will probably move an extra blocker over to my side now. But we all expect games like this every week.”