Hostetler Bruised, Battered

They came at him from his left. From his right. From in front and from behind.

Raider quarterback Jeff Hostetler is known for his toughness in the face of oncoming pressure, for his cool demeanor in the worst of situations.

He always thinks he can pull out any game he’s in, can avoid any onrushing lineman heading his way.

But that’s only if he knows what game he’s in, if he can see those linemen heading his way.

Late in the second quarter of a 21-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at the Coliseum, Hostetler wasn’t sure of anything.

His troubles began when he scrambled for a first down on the Raiders’ next-to-last series of the half.

Hostetler, needing five yards, assured himself he had it, then hit the ground. But not in time to avoid the force of linebacker Chad Brown coming down on top of him.

As the officials called time for a measurement, Coach Art Shell came over to talk to his quarterback. It was like a trainer talking to a fighter who has taken one punch too many.

“He was woozy,” Shell said. “I asked him if he knew where he was and he said he was OK. But he wasn’t the same after that.”

It got worse.

Later in the same drive, Hostetler stayed in the pocket and faced a full frontal assault by blitzing safety Gary Jones, who left his feet to knock Hostetler down.

The Raider quarterback got groggily to his feet for one more play. This time, he completed a pass to Harvey Williams.

No matter.

Hostetler took yet another shot, this one delivered by blitzing linebacker Kevin Greene.

As Hostetler lay on the Coliseum grass, Greene talked to the Raider quarterback.

“I didn’t want to hurt nobody,” Greene said. “I was just trying to help him up.”

Hostetler, suffering from blurred vision and a splitting headache, sat out the final drive of the half. He came back for one series in the fourth quarter.

“He was taking more shots,” said Shell, who gave his quarterback the rest of the afternoon off. “I didn’t want to have that.”

Asked after the game how he was doing, Hostetler, who completed eight of 17 passes for 85 yards, replied, “Just say I don’t feel well.”