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Sunday, October 20, 2002

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

It took only one loss before the Oakland Raiders broke out in a rash of paranoia.

Their 28-13 upset loss to the previously winless St. Louis Rams came while they were committing 14 penalties for 107 yards. That gives them 46 penalties for 458 yards this season.

"One thing I've learned in the short time being here is that if the call is close, it's going the opposite way," safety Rod Woodson moaned. "That's unfair. I don't know if that's a conscious decision."

Linebacker Bill Romanowski questioned a call against him for hitting quarterback Marc Bulger late.

"The proof is in the pudding," Romanowski said. "That is what's been happening most of the season. It is what it is. We have to overcome it. We have to overcome an awful lot being a Raider. It's us against the world. I like that challenge."

Proceed with caution

Now that Denver safety Kenoy Kennedy has become only the second player in NFL history to be suspended for a helmet-on-helmet hit, the first player to do so issued him a warning.

"He's joined the club that you don't want to be a part of because you get blackballed all the way through now," said former safety Mark Carrier, suspended in 1998 and 2000. "Once you've been targeted at that position, now anytime anything happens, the penalty becomes stiffer and stiffer."

No more Rice, please

The Chargers, who play Oakland today, would like to get Jerry Rice out of their hair. The NFL's all-time leading receiver has fattened up his numbers against San Diego like no other team in the league.

Rice has 46 receptions for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns against them. His 121.7-yard average per game is 20.1 more than any other team. That does not include his 10 receptions and three touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIX.

"The guy just knows how to make plays," Chargers safety Rodney Harrison said. "He's the greatest receiver of all time. What else can you say?"

Defenseless

Defenses don't come any worse in Kansas City, not this year, maybe never.

The Chiefs rank last in the league with 2,580 total yards allowed and last in the league with 1,889 yards passing allowed. Both are on pace to break the NFL record for yards allowed.

Coach Dick Vermeil, asked what he plans to do about it, said: "You pray a little bit."

Quick slants

Jets Coach Herm Edwards walked into a meeting of his wide receivers this week and handed out Sharpie pens.

San Diego has lost eight of its past nine games to Oakland, but they have a not-so-secret weapon this year. First-year Chargers Coach Marty Schottenheimer is 19-5 against the Raiders.

The two lowest-rated passers in the league are Cincinnati Bengals. Jon Kitna ranks 36th and Gus Frerotte 37th.

Cincinnati linebacker Takeo Spikes on having the weekend off: "Thank God it's a bye week. It's bad. You can't sugarcoat it. You start to feel like you're a piece of meat in the ocean and the damn shark is taking his turn pulling you apart. Now at least the bleeding will stop for a week."

The Ravens will unveil a statue of Johnny Unitas at halftime of today's game, name the main entrance to their stadium "Unitas Plaza," and induct the Hall of Fame quarterback who played for the Baltimore Colts into the Ring of Honor in the stadium.

Over the past six years, whoever won the first game of the Ravens-Jaguars series won the second and went on to the playoffs while the loser stayed home. They play today for the only time this year.

Titans cornerback Samari Rolle, who has seven career interceptions against Jacksonville, on the helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked quarterback Mark Brunell out of the game last week: "I weigh 170 pounds. How can I try and hurt a quarterback, especially Mark Brunell -- as much as he throws the ball to me? Why would I try and hurt him?"

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, who went to Southern California, on Drew Bennett, who played at UCLA, after the receiver missed practice to have an in-grown toenail removed: "He's a Bruin. It's an old volleyball injury."

Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt ranks as the NFL's most accurate field goal kicker with a success rate of 87.32 (124 of 142). But then, he hasn't kicked in Heinz Field yet.

Tom Brady threw nine touchdowns and two interceptions in his first three games, all wins. He's thrown five touchdown passes and seven interceptions in his past three, all losses.