Brees Keeps His Cool With the Heat On
OAKLAND -- Marty Schottenheimer has proclaimed it for weeks. But it’s one thing to talk the talk, quite another to call the call.
On Sunday, the San Diego Charger coach showed the world -- or at least the AFC West world that matters most to his team -- that Drew Brees is his man.
On third and 10 from the Oakland Raider 30-yard line in overtime, Schottenheimer called a pass play from shotgun formation.
Even though the Raiders had been putting on a fierce rush and a sack would have taken the Chargers out of field-goal range.
Even though tailback LaDainian Tomlinson was the safe choice and had already touched the ball 43 times.
Even though Brees, 23, is in his first season as the Charger starting quarterback and Schottenheimer has a streak of conservatism as thick as his spine.
Brees took the snap and completed a sharp 11-yard pass to Tim Dwight. The discouraged Raiders didn’t regroup quickly enough and Tomlinson blasted 19 yards for a touchdown on the next play, giving the Chargers a 27-21 victory at Network Associates Coliseum.
“I trust the quarterback,” Schottenheimer said. “He knew what to do.”
Enraged Raider fans pelted Tomlinson with plastic bottles and paper cups while Brees and the rest of the offense swarmed him in jubilation.
“I was thinking we were going to win the whole time,” said Brees, a second-year quarterback from Purdue who beat out Doug Flutie for the starting job before the season.
“In the fourth quarter, I was saying, ‘Now, now, now.’ I said in the huddle, ‘Let’s keep pounding them.’ They were at home and it wasn’t easy, but I didn’t think we were going to lose the game.”
No way the Raiders thought they would lose, either, not with All-Pro Charger linebacker Junior Seau and starting defensive end Marcellus Wiley sidelined because of injuries.
And not with first place in the division on the line. The Chargers (6-1) have a one-game lead over Denver and are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Raiders (4-2), who had won the previous four meetings. San Diego is off to its best start since its 1994 Super Bowl year and can enjoy a bye next week, letting the injuries heal.
The Raiders have lost two in a row and must dwell on their almost nonexistent running attack, a run defense that isn’t as good as advertised and serious injuries to rookie cornerback Phillip Buchanon (left wrist) and reserve running back Terry Kirby (broken leg). Both players had surgery Sunday and are out indefinitely.
Plus there are new questions about kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who missed two field-goal attempts, and old ones about self-destructive penalties at the worst possible times.
Janikowski hit the right upright from 27 yards in the first quarter and was wide left from 48 yards with 11:44 to play in regulation.
Linebacker Bill Romanowski was flagged for a personal foul for trying to use Tomlinson as a floor mop after the whistle with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The penalty extended a drive that ended in a Brees’ plunge for a touchdown and a 21-14 lead.
Although the Raiders had a season-low 50 penalty yards, they are on pace to break the NFL record of 1,304.
They are also on pace to set the league scoring record, but were shut out in the first half by a Charger defense led by linebackers Donnie Edwards and Ben Leber. End Adrian Dingle had 1 1/2 sacks in relief of Wiley.
Oakland gathered steam as the second half progressed behind quarterback Rich Gannon, who completed 35 of 45 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. He connected on eight of nine during an 82-yard drive and hit fullback Jon Ritchie in the flat for a seven-yard touchdown that tied the score with 1:21 to play in regulation.
Two Raider scoring drives in the third quarter also came almost exclusively through the air. The only run during a 68-yard drive that cut San Diego’s lead to 14-7 was a seven-yard scramble by Gannon and the only run during a 93-yard drive that ended with a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter was a two-yard loss by Charlie Garner.
The Raiders finished with 37 yards rushing in 12 carries.
“We elected to keep it open and spread them out so Rich could see what the defense was letting open,” Coach Bill Callahan said.
But the Chargers won the toss in overtime and Gannon never saw the ball again. Tomlinson’s touchdown gave him 153 yards in 39 carries.
The second-year running back was dropped for losses on 10 carries and his longest was only 19 yards, but his relentless banging inside the tackles and occasional bursts around end wore down the Raiders, whose defense is ranked No. 2 in the NFL against the run.
At the end, Tomlinson was the last man standing.
And Brees is Schottenheimer’s man -- despite the coach not yet referring to him as such.
“The kid plays with a lot of poise,” he said. “He has more composure than myself and the other coaches. He’s demonstrated that enough over the last six weeks that I know it’s real.”
