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The Raiders' 27-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London was far worse than either the final score or the final statistics – which were already pretty bad.
This represented a loss of hope for the season as well as the chance for all East Bay fans to see an Oakland-based NFL team more than just the team.
After a 26-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders were closely watched for signs of life. Instead, they traveled more than 5,000 kilometers for a "home" game that was a funeral for the 2018 season.
There were worse scores – a 52-0 loss to the St. Louis Rams is obvious – but this team was spinning around the drain much later in the season, heading to 3-13.
The only game comparable to this one and the upcoming rage on social media was a 27-0 loss Monday night against the San Diego Chargers in the opening game of the 2006 season.
It was at that time that Twitter was just starting, but post-game comments on the Bay Area News Group's blog that existed at the time were angry and endless. The fans felt like they had a confiscated invoice and it turned out they were right.
The head coach of this evening was Art Shell, offensive coordinator Tom Walsh and quarterback Aaron Brooks. The Raiders finished 2-14, and in truth, it's hard to refute the idea that a similar season is possible a dozen years later, based on the last two games, while the coach is Jon Gruden and the quarterback, Derek Carr.
The Raiders are themselves making a punch at 1-5 and it was obvious that shortly after losing the draw and being sent back to Seattle, they were not up to the challenge. The Seahawks averaged 86 yards in 14 touchdown matches and ate more than half of the first quarter.
Being a bad team is hard to bear, but it's even worse to be bad and hurt. The Raiders are both.
Amari Cooper, who was rumored about Fox's alleged show, took a helmet to the head (no flag was thrown) and left for the day with concussion symptoms. Seth Roberts too. Left-hand goalkeeper Jon Feliciano, leaving injured Kelechi Osemele, left early with a rib injury.
The rookie attack at Kolton Miller (playing with a injured right knee) and Brandon Parker were turnstiles for a run at the Seattle pass that returned Carr six times. He never had the opportunity, and the Carr family had to have flashbacks at the time when David Carr absorbed a loss as a quarterback of the Houston Texans.
Carr grimaced in the fourth quarter after getting hurt in his left arm. Coach Gruden would then insert A.J. McCarron – except that the Raiders never recovered the ball.
Gruden seemed to think in a difficult post-game session with reporters that Carr would be OK. The quarterback was even pressing to stay in the game.
Carr's lack of protection was reflected in the statistics. The only 20-yard pass or more was 21 yards to Jalen Richard. Say whatever you want to Gruden Dink and Dunk, but the Raiders have only two passing passes of less than 20 yards or more than the explosive Chiefs of Kansas City coming up.
Against a Seattle team that could be better than expected but should in no way be confused with the "Legion of Boom", the Raiders managed 185 yards of total offense. Carr was 23 out of 31 for a 142-yard win and although Gruden wanted a first occasional run, he never planned his quarterback to save his life.
"We will have to do our best to find five men who could collectively better protect," said Gruden. "And that's what we are going to do."
The last time the Raiders left London, owner Mark Davis fired Dennis Allen after a 38-14 loss to a mediocre Miami side. This will not happen this time. Davis entrusted the football operations to Gruden, who quickly determined that he did not like the alignment when it was built.
The problem is that Gruden has replaced much of the list with more spare parts, leaving the Raiders worse off than when he arrived. Disassembling before reconstruction? Maybe, but tell the fans who must think that season 12-4 two seasons ago was a dream or a chance.
Put aside the rumors, give in to Cooper and / or Karl Joseph will not reverse the situation. In addition, Justin Ellis and / or Donald Penn will not be back later in the off-reserve season.
As defensive coordinator Paul Guenther explained last week to the question about the speed of his defense: "We got what we got."
The same could be said of all Raiders.
Gruden said this week "most things that are bad, my fingerprints are everywhere."
He will be tested as a coach like never before. Gruden understands that it's up to him to fix it.
"We will continue to build this team," said Gruden. "I have only been there for six or seven months. Some ball players are injured. Karl Joseph, hopefully K.O. (Osemele) can come back after the bye. We lost men today. I hope that they can heal and play too. I will not say anything other than that. We know we have some way to go here. "
It turns out that much farther than anyone imagined it.
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