OAKLAND -- It couldn't have been much worse than this.
A 41-14 beatdown by the Denver Broncos that's sure to have Mike Shanahan wearing a big grin all the way back to Denver.
Lane Kiffin stressed it was only one game. But he can't be encouraged by a few things:
*Penalties. The Raiders were flagged 10 times for 96 yards. That included five personal fouls. That's about as bad as it can get when it comes to a lack of discipline.
*The wide receivers are still a problem. Ronald Curry dropped what should have been a big play in the first quarter. The Broncos coaches which can be heard in the press box yelled "Oh (shoot)," when the ball was released by Russell. They were relieved that Curry couldn't make the play.
*The Raiders still can't tackle in space. And no, Stuart Schweigert wasn't out there to blame.
*WR Todd Watkins was the most consistent pass catcher besides TE Zach Miller ... and he was inactive.
*CB DeAngelo Hall said he seems to get "the short end of the stick" when it comes to penalties after he picked up two personal fouls on consecutive plays. I think Hall had a legitimate argument on the second penalty for hitting a Bronco that was already down.
*Kiffin said the team didn't play Javon Walker because the risk of re-injuring his hamstring too great too great.
*Darren McFadden left the game with stinger. He was originally hurt in practice and aggravated the injury on his first carry of the game.
*DE Derrick Burgess (shoulder), T Kwame Harris (knee) and T Paul McQuistan (knee) all left the game in the second half. Kiffin said McQuistan's injury might be the worst of the four.
Harris said he would an MRI on Tuseday.
*Kiffin had a lot of good things to say about JaMarcus Russell:
"I thought the quarterback played well. That's hard to imagine in a blowout like that where you can say a guy played well, but I thought there were some plays that guys could have made for him that could have made the guy actually have a really good night, surprisingly. Unfortunately the ball slipped out of his hand on the slip screen early in the game where McFadden was going to walk into the end zone to make it 7-7. A bunch of other stuff went downhill from there."
*I guess we know the answer to the question of which cornerback offenses will attack. Hall didn't have a good day and he admitted that.
More to come tomorrow morning after I sort through my notebook.
--Jason Jones
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.