Old troubles turn up again

NASHVILLE -- The Raiders knew they'd have their hands full with the Titans, a team that took a 4-2 record into Sunday's game at LP Field. They may not have anticipated spending so much time stopping themselves.

In a game that seemed to hasten a return to the evils of the past few seasons -- the penalties, the ragged offensive line play, the brilliant pass defense tempered by occasional poor tackling against the run -- Oakland wasted a 9-3 halftime lead and wound up 30 yards shy of a winning touchdown. The Titans prevailed, 13-9.

To most on the Raiders' sideline, there were too many similarities to last week's 12-10 home loss to Kansas City.

"I told the boys, 'We've got to start going to church or something,' " defensive tackle Warren Sapp said afterward. "Somebody ain't living right around here. You give up 25 points back-to-back weeks and we can't get a win? Come on."

During the Raiders' 2-2 start, it was the offense that was surprisingly capable and the defense that couldn't stop anyone. Now we're back to 2006, or nearly so. Oakland wound up with only 235 yards of total offense Sunday, including 143 net passing yards. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper was sacked five times, fumbled four times (losing one), and threw one key interception late in the game. And the offense was disproportionately responsible on a day of yellow flags, incurring 11 of the team's 14 penalties.

Even with all that, the Raiders were only four points down and driving within the last 2:12 of the game. They weren't vanquished until the 1:17 mark, when Mike Williams failed to reel in Culpepper's pass near the first-down marker at the Titans' 16 on fourth-and-14.

"I was trying to run, and it was a drop," Williams admitted.

It wasn't entirely clear whether Williams would have been given credit for the first down. And there's certainly no guarantee the Raiders would have converted the play into a touchdown on a day when they were unable to penetrate the end zone. But it would have kept them alive.

"That's the route," coach Lane Kiffin said. "He goes two yards past the sticks and runs his route right there, and makes the catch in practice."

As it was, the Raiders were limited to three field goals by the newly rejuvenated Sebastian Janikowski, who nailed kicks from 50, 43 and 54 yards.

Vince Young made his return at quarterback for Tennessee after missing a game and a half with a quadriceps injury, and was unimpressive. Young completed 6-of-14 passes for a mere 42 yards, and was often pressured. He didn't have a completion of longer than 12 yards. More important, he was rarely able to break the pocket for the downfield runs he has built his reputation on, finishing with only 11 rushing yards on seven carries.

"There's no quarterback that's gonna run on us, no matter who it is," Sapp said. "It's just something that Keith (Millard, Oakland's defensive line coach) makes us more than aware of early in the week, and he throws it on my shoulders, says, 'You make sure it happens.'. . . We've gotta find a way to get the run game under control, that's the biggest thing."

Indeed, the Raiders haven't really stopped anyone on the ground this season. The Titans ran for 192 yards as a team, including a career-high 133 on 24 carries by the burly and unflagging LenDale White.

The defense bent without breaking, with one major exception -- a swift drive late in the third quarter that the Titans converted into their only touchdown. On consecutive plays, White ran for 27 yards, then 14, and Chris Henry finished it with a 24-yard burst around the left end, beating safety Stuart Schweigert to the flag.

Kiffin felt the defense wasn't exhausted on the drive so much as desperate for a big play.

"I saw this years ago at Tampa, watching their games years ago, when they had the great defensive run there," he said. "What happens is, you get in the mindset your offense is struggling so much, as we were today, and our defense is playing so well, that they feel they've gotta make a play. . . . 'I better dive to knock this ball out,' as opposed to form tackling."

Meanwhile, the Raiders' offense had only one drive all day of better than 36 yards. For a long stretch of the second half, they seemed to be moving backward. After creeping into Tennessee territory on the first drive of the second half, the offense had minus-27 yards combined on its next four possessions.

Culpepper was under constant siege from the Titans' stellar defensive line -- ends Kyle Vanden Bosch and Antwan Odom, tackles Albert Haynesworth and Tony Brown, and nickel rusher Travis LaBoy, who is from San Rafael.

Culpepper looked off-balance throughout the game, failing to anticipate rushers in the pocket, and throwing far too many balls that one-hopped receivers or nearly fell into the hands of the opponent. But Kiffin said afterward he never considered turning to Josh McCown, who suited up after spending three weeks on the inactive list with a foot injury.

"Going into the game, Josh isn't 100 percent," the coach explained. "He can do some things. But I felt we were going to go with Daunte. Daunte wasn't false starting. Daunte wasn't hitting people in the back. Daunte wasn't holding. Daunte didn't drop the last pass."

No, it was left tackle Barry Sims who was called for three false starts and a hold. It was fill-in right tackle Paul McQuistan who false started twice. And it was fullback Oren O'Neal who was hit for an illegal block above the waist and then a hold within a three-play stretch in the first quarter.

Those were just some of the mistakes that doomed the Raiders to their fifth loss of the season, and their third in a row. True, they played a good team to the wire on the road, a difficult task. But coming close is no longer good enough.

"That's getting old," Kiffin said. "It's no consolation."

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-8672 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com