Being a Raider fan, I am use to calls like that one screwing Oakland. It is a weekly thing that you just come to expect to happen. For example, how many "Tuck" rulings have you seen on quarterback fumbles this year?
The NFL clearly has it in for Al Davis and it shows up most often in rulings on the field, none of which that matter ever in favor of Oakland.
Now, Oakland as a franchise is pretty much a joke this season, but the fan's vitriol is entirely against the offense, and in my opinion, should be narrowed down to about 80% directed at the coaches and 20% against the players. The offensive players are clearly losing faith in the system, as Randy Moss verbalized in so much language in the interview that now has him with a bullseye on his back in the Raider lockerroom. But others, like Lamont Jordan, Jerry Porter, Aaron Brooks, and Warren Sapp have all mentioned problems with how things are being decided with this team.
Against San Diego, once the Raiders 'amassed' a
HUGE second half lead of seven points (14-7), they stopped playing or doing any serious playcalling. It appeared that the offensive "intelligencia" that runs the playcalling decided in the third quarter that the defense should play most of the rest of the game, and to get the Raider offense off the field as fast as humanly possible. After all, the other team would give up, right? I mean, with such an insurmountable lead as seven (7) points, what NFL team would try to come back in the third and fourth quarters?
? So we got to see little hesitation runs that gained all of nothing yardage and then a punt.
Somehow, this strategy energized the dormant Charger offense, they got that bogus call on that fumble, and when the Raider offense suddenly had to go back to work, the player's mindset was already off the original gameplan too far to go back to it.
This offensive brilliance, displayed weekly by the Raider offensive coaches, should galvinize the defensive coaches to murder.