It’s Raiders in a Walk on Water

On a dreary Sunday when a steady downpour turned Giants Stadium into a 100-yard swamp, the slip-sliding Oakland Raiders found inspiration in an innocent slip of the tongue.

Six days earlier, after watching his team trudge through an embarrassing loss at Minnesota, New York Giant Coach Jim Fassel told reporters: “We’re going to go out to win every game left.” It was more a challenge to his players than a guarantee, but that’s not how the Raiders wanted to hear it. By the time it wafted into their locker room, it was a rock-solid guarantee, a chest-thumping proclamation reminiscent of Fassel’s promise last season that his team, then 7-4, would make the playoffs. (The Giants, of course, went on to win the NFC championship.)

So was this guaran-two?

“It was asinine is what it was,” Raider receiver Jerry Porter said in the afterglow of a 28-10 victory. “It worked for him last year, and I guess that’s why he tried to pull the same rabbit out of the hat this year. It just wasn’t in the cards for him this time.”

With the victory, Oakland improved to 8-2--matching Pittsburgh for the AFC’s best record--and took a commanding lead in the AFC West over second-place Denver (6-5). The Giants (5-6) have lost four in a row.

“At some point in time you’re just not making plays and it gets hard,” Fassel said. “It’s hard enough to just keep hoping, but guys have just got to make a play.”

That wasn’t a problem for these Raiders, who feast on disrespect, real or perceived. Last month, during the week leading up to a rollicking victory at Philadelphia, they harped on all the Oakland players and coaches the Eagles relegated to the “scrap heap”--Jon Gruden, Charlie Garner, Eric Allen, etc. A stretch? Sure. But it worked.

Sunday, the Raiders scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 21-3 lead. The Giants responded with a touchdown late in the third quarter, and threatened to cut the deficit further when they marched to the Oakland 35 early in the fourth. But Raider cornerback Tory James batted away a pass for Joe Jurevicius on fourth and eight.

Oakland made the outcome clear five plays later when Rich Gannon threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Tim Brown, his second touchdown reception of the day.

If the Nov. 18 victory over San Diego was a paean to Jerry Rice, who caught three touchdown passes, this was a Brown bonanza. Among his six receptions were ones for 46 and 40 yards--the team’s two longest of the season.

Said Rice: “I was in awe.”

A big part of the passing-game success was the offensive line, which did a good job of keeping the Giants out of Gannon’s face. All eyes were on right tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who had to neutralize defensive end Michael Strahan, who is on track to break the NFL sack record.

Strahan got to Gannon once, increasing his sack total to 16, but had only one other tackle and was quiet for much of the game.

“I don’t really notice the play of the offensive line unless I’m getting hit in the back of the head a lot,” Gannon said. “But I don’t remember Strahan being a factor at all tonight, and I think that’s not only a credit to Lincoln but to Roland Williams, our tight end, and the backs. But you have to tip your hat to Lincoln. He showed why he’s a Pro Bowl player.”

By far, though, the player who garnered the most respect in Oakland’s locker room was linebacker William Thomas, who decided to play two days after learning of the death of his half-brother, Derwin Wooten.

Wooten, 37, died Friday in Amarillo, Texas. Thomas said he was unsure of the cause of death “but [Wooten] was under a lot of stress.” The Raiders had boarded their flight for New York when Thomas got the news via cell phone. Thomas, one of the team’s most popular players, quietly gathered his things and was escorted off the plane.

“We saw him being what we thought was detained by the police, so we thought something crazy had happened,” Brown said. “But when I got a good look at his face, I knew that something happened. Very tragic. It’s an unbelievable story.”

Thomas flew to Texas to spend Saturday with his mother, then flew to New York only after she assured him it was the right thing to do. He planned to fly to Texas after the game. Derwin was the second of his three brothers to die.

Several players said they were surprised--and inspired--by Thomas’ decision to play. He collected a team-high 11 tackles, including a seven-yard sack, and batted down a pass. Afterward, his eyes were red and moist.

“Throughout the game, I kept thinking he’s gone,” he said. “I really can’t believe that he’s gone. It’s sad. It’s really sad. We’ve shed a lot of tears so far, and I’m sure there will be more to shed once the funeral comes.”

Thomas said he dedicated the game to Wooten and vowed to do the same the rest of the season.

Now that’s a guarantee his teammates can get behind.