AFC divisional
playoff game |
Raiders at Patriots
Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro, Mass.
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002
AT A GLANCE: The Raiders righted the ship offensively and
knocked off the Jets 38-24 in the wild-card round. The Patriots, winners of the AFC East,
had a bye last week as owners of the No. 2 seed.
|
| OVERVIEW: The Raiders overcame a tumultuous week in fine
fashion, knocking off the Jets 38-24 in the wild-card round. While the defense still had
trouble in some areas, the offense was firing on all cylinders for the first time in
recent memory. QB Rich Gannon was particularly sharp, completing 23-of-29 passes for
294 yards, and Jerry Rice hauled in nine catches for 183 yards.
While the Raiders stumbled into the playoffs having lost four of six, the Patriots have
won six straight and are as healthy as they’ve been all season.
This contest figures to be a particularly interesting matchup between the offensive
mind of Oakland’s Jon Gruden and the defensive know-how of New England’s Bill
Belichick. Both are considered innovative and diverse in their ways.
When the Raiders have the ball:
Gannon came under criticism recently for sticking too much to the shorter routes, but
he showed enough patience last week to throw downfield more. While he remains very
elusive, he is not scrambling nearly as much as he did last season.
Rice continues to defy Father Time and has supplanted Tim Brown as the Raiders’
go-to receiver. Rice caught most of his passes against zones last week and made a habit of
finding openings and beating double-teams, as he has for his entire career.
Brown has been rather quiet down the stretch, and his TD catch last week was his first
since Week 12. Although second-year WR Jerry Porter doesn’t have huge numbers, he
seems to come up with important catches that keep the chains moving or provide a spark.
The Raiders would like to see more production from TE Roland Williams. |
|
|
| Foxboro Stadium |
| Foxboro, Mass. |
| Date: Saturday, January 19, 2002 |
| 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Natural |
| Meeting Of The Year: Only |
| Season Record: |
| |
Oakland |
11-6-0 |
| |
New England |
11-5-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland |
8-8-1 |
| |
New England |
11-5-0 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
Oakland (R) |
5-3-0 |
| |
New England (H) |
6-2-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland (R) |
4-3-1 |
| |
New England (H) |
7-1-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf: |
| |
Oakland |
9-5-0 |
| |
New England |
8-5-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
Oakland |
6-7-1 |
| |
New England |
9-4-0 |
|
| RB Tyrone Wheatley’s 11 carries vs. the Jets
were the most he’s had since Week Four, but Charlie Garner remains the No. 1 option
in the ground game, and his 80-yard jaunt against an inside blitz helped seal the
Raiders’ win last week. All of the Raiders’ backs are qualified receivers. OTs
Barry Sims (foot) and Lincoln Kennedy (shoulder) continue to play through pain. PK
Sebastian Janikowski (foot infection) returned to action and was perfect on three
field-goal tries, though he seemed to grimace after each kick.
Under Belichick, the Patriots like to mix things up defensively and disguise their
schemes in hopes of keeping the offense from being able to audible successfully.
The Patriots’ secondary is the strength of the defense and played a big part in
the stretch run. The CB tandem of Ty Law and Otis Smith has made a lot of plays this
season.
At linebacker, Tedy Bruschi stepped up his level of play when injuries hit the MLB
position, and he has yet to surrender the role, despite the return of Bryan Cox. When New
England switches to a 3-4 scheme, OLB Roman Phifer takes on more of a pass-rushing role.
Rookie DT Richard Seymour does not have great statistics, but he has produced a
consistent push up the middle.
When the Patriots have the ball:
Expect to see most of the offensive focus fall on RB Antowain Smith, who has been a
major factor in the Patriots’ success. His bruising, tackle-breaking style has earned
him a lot of extra yards. The Patriots’ offensive line is a blue-collar group that
has developed a chemistry and been pretty reliable.
Second-year QB Tom Brady has gotten a lot of credit for his ability to guide the team
in the place of Drew Bledsoe. While Brady doesn’t get rattled easily, the Patriots
don’t put a lot of pressure on him or ask him to take a lot of risks.
After Troy Brown and David Patten, there is a major drop-off in the Patriots’ WR
corps, and the TE position has not been much of a factor in the passing game. But FB Marc
Edwards and third-down RB Kevin Faulk are reliable when it comes to catching passes out of
the backfield.
The Raiders have had their share of trouble tacking this season, and if the defensive
line doesn’t clog the running lanes, Smith could be in for a big day. DEs Tony Bryant
and Regan Upshaw have not put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks lately. The
Raiders were forced to blitz to get any pressure on Vinny Testaverde last week.
The Raiders do not give up a lot of yardage through the air, but taking the proper
angles to tackle receivers after a catch is not something their defensive backs do well.
CB Charles Woodson figures to follow Brown everywhere, and MLB Greg Biekert’s run
support will be crucial.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Jan. 13. |
Offense |
| WR |
81 BROWN, 82 Jett, 83 Knight |
| OLT |
65 SIMS, 74 Stinchcomb, 73 Myles |
| OLG |
76 WISNIEWSKI, 73 Middleton, 65 Sims |
| C |
62 TREU, 74 Stinchcomb |
| ORG |
73 MIDDLETON, 79 Collins, 65 Sims |
| ORT |
72 KENNEDY, 77 Ashmore |
| TE |
86 R. WILLIAMS, 89 Fulcher, 87 Brigham |
| WR |
80 RICE, 84 Porter |
| QB |
12 GANNON, 16 Peete, 8 Tuiasosopo* |
| RB |
25 GARNER, 47 Wheatley, 42 Kirby, 28 Jordan |
| FB |
40 RITCHIE, 32 Crockett, 34 J. Williams |
Defense |
| DLE |
91 UPSHAW, 99 Taves, 95 Grant* |
| DLT |
90 JACKSON, 75 Cooper*, 92 Ioane |
| DRT |
57 COLEMAN, 99 Taves |
| DRE |
94 BRYANT, 75 Cooper*, 99 Taves |
| OLB |
59 THOMAS, 50 Barton |
| MLB |
54 BIEKERT, 55 Brooks |
| OLB |
58 ALEXANDER, 53 Smith |
| LCB |
24 WOODSON, 20 James, 39 Jennings |
| RCB |
21 ALLEN, 20 James |
| SS |
37 HARRIS, 49 Pope, 26 Gibson* |
| FS |
33 DORSETT, 37 Harris |
Specialists |
| PK |
11 JANIKOWSKI |
| P |
9 LECHLER |
| H |
12 GANNON |
| PR |
24 WOODSON, 81 Brown |
| KR |
42 KIRBY |
| LS |
62 TREU |
* Rookie |
|
|
Offense |
| WR |
86 PATTEN, 81 C. Johnson, 84 Coleman |
| OLT |
72 LIGHT*, 76 G. Williams |
| OLG |
77 COMPTON, 74 K. Jones* |
| C |
65 WOODY, 77 Compton, 67 Ruegamer |
| ORG |
63 ANDRUZZI, 67 Ruegamer |
| ORT |
64 ROBINSON-RANDALL, 76 G. Williams, 61 Neal |
| TE |
83 RUTLEDGE, 85 Wiggins, 48 Love |
| WR |
80 BROWN, 88 Glenn |
| QB |
12 BRADY, 11 Bledsoe, 19 Huard |
| RB |
32 A. SMITH, 33 Faulk, 21 Redmond |
| FB |
44 EDWARDS, 35 Pass |
Defense |
| DLE |
91 HAMILTON, 97 Parker, 92 Nugent |
| DLT |
96 MITCHELL, 97 Parker, 71 Sullivan |
| DRT |
93 SEYMOUR*, 97 Parker |
| DRE |
98 PLEASANT, 55 McGinest, 99 Turner* |
| SLB |
50 VRABEL, 52 T. Johnson, 58 Chatham |
| MLB |
54 BRUSCHI, 51 Cox, 52 T. Johnson, 53 Izzo |
| WLB |
95 PHIFER, 55 McGinest |
| LCB |
24 LAW, 27 Buckley |
| RCB |
45 O. SMITH, 22 Shaw, 25 Myers* |
| SS |
36 MILLOY, 23 Harris |
| FS |
34 T. JONES, 26 Stevens, 30 Cherry |
Specialists |
| P |
13 WALTER |
| PK |
4 VINATIERI |
| H |
19 HUARD |
| KR |
33 FAULK, 21 Redmond, 35 Pass |
| PR |
80 BROWN, 33 Faulk, 27 Buckley |
| LS |
66 PAXTON, 77 Compton |
* Rookie |
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