OAKLAND – So this is why the Raiders don't pass a lot.
They passed, passed and passed with JaMarcus Russell.
It wasn't pretty.
The passing experiment certainly didn't earn a passing grade Saturday night at McAfee Coliseum.
If anyone needed proof why the Raiders' offense will feature a lot of Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush running the ball, Oakland's 24-0 exhibition loss to the Arizona Cardinals provided it.
The Raiders wanted to pass a lot to see what they had.
Not much.
"Unfortunately, I think I saw what I already knew," said Raiders coach Lane Kiffin. "If we try to throw the ball around, you're going to get penalties, you're going to get the quarterback hit, he's going to be running around a lot, and you're going to be in trouble."
Trouble came in the form of four sacks while Russell was in the game, missed blocking assignments and holding penalties on left tackle Kwame Harris and right guard Cooper Carlisle.
Offensive tackle Cornell Green was flagged for illegal procedure when he didn't line up behind the line of scrimmage on a passing play in which Russell escaped a blitz and ran for 12 yards.
Russell completed 14 of 28 passes for 140 yards with an interception.
"We weren't very good in our pass protection," Kiffin said. "It looked like Kwame struggled a lot. We missed probably at least four blitzes … so I'm very discouraged. It kind of reminds me of who we are."
In spite of the pressure he faced, Russell wasn't rattled by the performance.
"The coach wanted to go out and take as many pass plays as we could and see if we could execute," Russell said. "No matter what the down and distance was, we were out there throwing the ball, and it was pretty fun."
Passing might be fun, but it won't be any easier.
The Raiders' thin receiving corps took a hit when Drew Carter was lost for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee in the first quarter.
That makes Ronald Curry the starter opposite Javon Walker. After that, the Raiders are short on experience.
There's second-year player Johnnie Lee Higgins, who has struggled with the playbook.
And there's Todd Watkins, who spent the last two seasons on practice squads in Arizona and Atlanta.
That means more will be required of Walker, who was part of the offense for a change.
After no catches in two exhibition games, Walker came up with four receptions for 60 yards with a long of 27.
"Even though a guy's had two big seasons in his career, a guy's confidence can be shaken," Kiffin said. "Just watching him catch a couple of balls, he looked more confident as the game went on."
Kiffin has criticized Walker for months, but the receiver has seemed unaffected by Kiffin's shots at his conditioning and effort.
Walker said his play Saturday night resulted from being given chances after having only three passes thrown to him.
"You get in a groove, you start making plays," Walker said. "I know when I'm in a groove, I catch everything that comes my way."
Just don't expect Kiffin to depend on that this season.
Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/raiderblogs.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.