Oakland fans turn back the clock
Fans of the Oakland Raiders cheer against the New York Jets. (Sept. 25, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
OAKLAND
The Jets' calendar for early October is circled with visits to Baltimore and Foxboro, two of the 21st century's most daunting NFL destinations. But before they could get there, they had to endure the Raiders' notorious Black Hole, best known for intimidating opponents when Rex Ryan was a teenager.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the old place has some life left in it, and yesterday, they found themselves surrounded by 61,546 agitated men and women (mostly) in black, partying like it was 1976.
It was not why the Jets lost to the improved Raiders, who drew a rare sellout to avoid their customary local TV blackout. But it didn't help, and their loss of poise at some key junctures did not bode well given what is ahead the next two Sundays.
"[The fans] were in it the whole game; those guys fed off it,'' said running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who has played here often and often has produced against the Raiders, as he did again with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. "When you don't play them a lot, you can kind of get shocked at how they play at home under this crowd.''
Said cornerback Darrelle Revis: "This team really feeds off the crowd and the energy they bring. They made some big plays and it was tough for us to bounce back.''
Even Mark Sanchez, who has won four playoff road games and insisted the Jets have played in much tougher environments, allowed that the atmosphere exacerbated their mistakes.
"Unfortunately, we kind of fed into that and didn't pull ourselves out,'' said Sanchez, who spoke with a large red scratch under his right eye, an injury that forced him to wear a face shield late in the game.
Though the pass protection was OK much of the time, it broke down frequently during the Jets' dismal third quarter. The Raiders wound up with four sacks and got in several other shots on Sanchez, who insisted he felt fine other than the cut and a painful, possibly broken, nose.
"The quarterback was on the ground too many times,'' receiver Santonio Holmes said, adding that protection woes made it more difficult to exploit a defense that flipped from man-to-man coverage to zone schemes after some early injuries.
Anyway, the offense was the least of the Jets' problems, having totaled 439 yards, 369 on passes by Sanchez.
The defense and special teams were bigger culprits. When asked about his rush defense, which gave up 234 yards, coach Rex Ryan said, "I don't know what rush defense you're talking about.''
Then there were the penalties, seven overall -- "Ridiculous,'' Ryan said -- and four alone on cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who also kicked, then fumbled away a kickoff return on the game's biggest play.
Raiders fans enjoyed that very much. Later, first-year coach Hue Jackson gushed: "This is one of the greatest victories I've ever been a part of, and I've played in the AFC Championship Game.
"There is nothing like today because this is our fans. This is Raider Nation.''
Wow. That's a lot to play against. But the Jets believed this was the kind of performance they were past at this stage of their development, especially on defense.
Ryan was thoroughly disgusted, but it was only one game, and the coach and his veteran players vowed it would be an aberration. They had better hope so, because the Ravens await Sunday night.
Then again, the division rival Patriots' next game will be a visit to . . . well, here, actually.
"We need them to beat the Patriots next week,'' Tomlinson said of the Raiders (and their fans). "Make sure you tell them that.''
