Hostetler Might Have Help This Time : Raiders: Their running game has improved since quarterback passed for club-record 424 yards in loss to Chargers. Teams meet again today.
No one else in silver and black ever had a day like it. Not Daryle (the Mad Bomber) Lamonica. Not Kenny (the Snake) Stabler. Not Jim Plunkett, nor any of the many others who have thrown passes for the Raiders.
Quarterback Jeff Hostetler threw for more yards than any of them three weeks ago when he passed for a club-record 424 yards against the San Diego Chargers at the Coliseum.
It was only fitting that it occurred on Halloween because it proved to be a frightful experience for the Charger secondary.
Hostetler out-bombed the Bomber in going deep and out-slithered the Snake in going off in every direction. He completed passes to eight receivers. He opened the game with a 71-yard bomb, then later completed passes for 58 and 55 yards.
He did everything that day.
Everything except win.
In the end, Hostetler was burned by his own hot aerial attack. He threw one pass too many, one that was intercepted and run back 102 yards for a touchdown by defensive back Donald Frank, giving the Chargers a 30-23 victory.
But it wasn’t really the interception that cost the Raiders that game. It was the lack of a running attack. Hostetler passed because he didn’t have an alternative. With starting tailback Nick Bell hurt and rookie Greg Robinson struggling, the Raiders generated only 65 yards rushing, seven in the first half.
Today, the Raiders and Chargers play the return match at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium.
Hostetler is still passing the ball well, and the Chargers are still struggling against the pass, ranking 27th in the 28-team league by giving up 247.1 yards a game.
But one thing has changed in the interim. The Raiders have established a running attack.
And San Diego Coach Bobby Ross has noticed.
“In my opinion, in a short period of two weeks, that’s been a big change in their football team,” he said. “They are running with more confidence.”
The Raiders have run for more than 100 yards in each of their last two games, rushing for a season-high 179 against the Chicago Bears the week after the loss to San Diego. Robinson has rushed for a total of 160 in the two games, fullback Steve Smith has been used a bit more as a rusher, and Napoleon McCallum has been pulled out of mothballs for short-yardage and goal-line plays after languishing on special teams for the better part of two years.
“I’ve always thought Robinson was a good back,” Ross said. “I thought he had great acceleration and was very fast. I think Smith is one of the more underrated players in the league when it comes to blocking (and) Napoleon McCallum is a big, strong, powerful guy.”
But the Chargers have shown they can handle big, strong, powerful guys. They may not be much against the pass, but they have been formidable against the run, ranking second in the league by giving up only 75 yards a game.
Ball carriers know that once they cross the line of scrimmage, former USC star Junior Seau, one of the NFL’s most ferocious linebackers, will be waiting for them with open arms.
“He’s very active,” Raider guard Steve Wisniewski said. “The most active inside linebacker in the league. You have to keep your head up at all times because they let him free-lance. They don’t give him set responsibilities. They just let him use his athletic ability to get to the ball.”
When San Diego has the ball, John Friesz will be the quarterback, but waiting on the sidelines will be Stan Humphries, his bruised shoulder back at full strength for the first time since he hurt it against the San Francisco 49ers in the Chargers’ exhibition finale.
Humphries led San Diego to the AFC West title last season and Ross said this week that he won’t hesitate to use Humphries today if Friesz should falter.
In the Raiders, Friesz will be facing the NFL’s best pass defense. It has given up only 153.1 yards a game.
Both teams are coming off disappointing performances. The Raiders pulled another of their infamous second-half collapses last week, blowing a 14-0 lead in losing to Kansas City, 31-20. The Raiders have been, basically, a 30-minute team. They have been outscored, 113-58, in the final 30 minutes of their games.
San Diego, however, has not been immune to such breakdowns. The Chargers squandered a 10-0 lead over the Bears last week in losing, 16-13.
Should either team stumble that way today, the fall could hurt its postseason aspirations.
Right now, every team is a contender in the AFC West, where only three games separate the first-place Chiefs (7-2) from the last-place Chargers (4-5). The Raiders are 5-4.
San Diego has beaten the Raiders three times in a row and in four of their last five meetings. Hostetler remembers the last one all too well. It was the day he got into the record book.
Today, he would gladly settle for getting into the victory column.