It's been a rough start for head coach Dennis Allen and the Raiders. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Dennis Allen is on the clock.
And that doesn’t mean the Oakland Raiders’ head coach is counting down to the first pick of the draft, although his team appears to be.
The Raiders have played poorly the first two games of the season, and owner Mark Davis’ off-season mantra was “no excuses” after the club signed several veteran players and straightened out its salary cap.
Following a 30-14 loss to the Houston Texans in the Raiders home opener, Allen was doing his best to stave off speculation about his job security with an 8-26 record. And although it is fitting, that is not what Raiders fans mean when they refer to their Black Hole.
Free safety Charles Woodson wasn’t mincing words after the Raiders’ second loss in a row.
“We suck — that’s as blunt as I could put it,” Woodson said. “For whatever reason, defensively, we don’t’ stop people, especially early in games. Every first drive a team is able to go and get points. Today it happened all day.”
Woodson feels for a fan base that showed up en masse at the club facility the day he signed with the team as a free agent in 2013.
“They’re excited to see their Raiders, and what was that we put out there on the field today?” Woodson said. “That’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for this team. I’m embarrassed for the fans. The thing about it is, I’m part of it. I don’t know what we need to do as a team going forward but something is going to have to be done. I don’t know what it is. But we have to do better than we did today.”
Allen had no issue with Woodson’s comments.
“I think that’s something that is spoken out of frustration,” Allen said. “When you watch Charles Woodson play in that game and the effort that he gave and the passion which he played in that game, it’s a tough pill to swallow . . . He gave everything he had and we have to get more guys playing like that.”
The aftermath was the same as his previous weeks as head coach, with no additional meetings scheduled with general manager Reggie McKenzie and/or owner Davis.
“There hasn’t been anything, any more than what we would normally do,” Allen said. “We’re two weeks into the same season. At the same time, you don’t want to bury your head in the sand.”
Job 1 through the first two games of the season is improving a leaky run defense ranked dead last in the NFL, giving up an even 400 yards rushing in two games. The Texans had 188 yards against the Raiders — led by 138 from Arian Foster — and the Jets finished with 212 in the regular-season opener.
“Ultimately, what I thought this game boiled down to is this — they ran the ball on us when they wanted to run the ball on us,” Allen said. “That’s a mentality. We’ve got to change that.”
With opponents getting yardage in chunks, the Raiders haven’t been able to generate pressure on the quarterback, in part because of down and distance and in part because they’ve spent too much time on the field.
Other problems on the Raiders laundry list of problems include turnovers (four against the Texans) and third-down conversions on both sides of the ball.
“Defensively, we’ve given up points in the first drive (in both games) and that’s got to stop,” Allen said. “We’ve got to come out faster. We’ve got to play better early in the game. There are a lot of things we have to get corrected, a lot of things to get better at. It’s time for us to do it. Talk is cheap. We need to make improvement, and we need to make improvement fast.”
Another loss — with Miami coming up the following week in London — could send the season into a death spiral.
“I don’t know if it’s a must-win game but it’s a very important one,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “I’ve been on a team that went 0-2, gave up 80 points in the first two games and we went on to win the Super Bowl. I’ve never been on an 0-3 team that did anything. It’s early in the season. I don’t think there’s panic but we have to get some things right.”
Rookie quarterback Derek Carr, two interceptions aside, appears to be the least of the Raiders problems through two games.
The interception by Kareem Jackson came in Houston territory with the Raiders trailing 14-0 and led to a short-field drive and a field goal. The pass was intended for Mychal Rivera down the seam and Carr never took his eyes off the intended target.
“I saw the pressure, it was like we saw on tape, saw the coverage, saw 25 (Jackson), but I felt a little (pressure), had to try and get it out quicker and I made a bad decision,” Carr said. “Maybe I should have pumped inside, worked outside.”
Carr led the Raiders on an 83-yard, 13-play drive for a 9-yard touchdown to James Jones with 13 seconds remaining.
“Overall, I thought he played well,” Allen said. “At the end of the game, that two-minute operation, was good for his development.”
REPORT CARD VS. TEXANS
PASSING OFFENSE: D — Derek Carr had decent numbers (27 of 42 for 263 yards, one touchdown), but much of the yardage was compiled when the Raiders were way down on the scoreboard. Carr had two interceptions, one intended for Mychael Rivera where he locked on to the receiver and another as he was hit while throwing by J.J. Watt. Raiders receivers continue to be inconstant in terms of catching the ball. James Jones and Rivera lost fumbles after catches.
RUSH OFFENSE: D — Carr had a 41-yard run with a read option to greatly inflate the rushing numbers (17 carries, 101 yards). Darren McFadden did a nice job breaking the first tackle but still ended up with only 37 yards on 12 carries. The Raiders had to abandon the run late because of the score, but the bottom line is they’re not doing enough on the ground to maintain possession and keep their defense off the field.
PASS DEFENSE: D — Ryan Fitzpatrick was 11 of 15 for 104 yards and a touchdown in the first half when the game was still in doubt. He got the ball away quickly, but on occasion when looking downfield had ample time to throw. Andre Johnson caught six passes for 74 yards, taking advantage of No. 3 cornerback Chimdi Chekwa.
RUSH DEFENSE F — With 188 yards on 46 carries, the Raiders have now given up 400 yards on the ground in their first two games with a rebuilt defensive front that was supposed to stop the run. Starting end LaMarr Woodley and defensive tackle Antonio Smith didn’t show up in the stat sheet. With the game in hand, the Texans continued to run the ball in the second half, getting first downs and draining the clock.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C — Not much to see here either good or bad. Shane Lechler had a 48.5 to 37.0 advantage over Marquette King in net punting. No returns of note or forced turnovers. Justin Tuck blocked a late field goal attempt when the game was out of reach.
COACHING: F — The Raiders were a no-show in their home opener, allowing the Texans to seize momentum from the outset. There were no surprises from Houston. The Raiders got a heavy dose of Arian Foster but couldn’t deal with it. On one play, Foster burst 16 yards on a third-and-11 draw. This was a team that didn’t appear remotely ready to play.
