Matt McGloin: "I call it a silent alarm"
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Mark this one in the "small victories" column. And then get out of the way.
Per The Associated Press, the
Oakland Raiders last weekend became the first team since the
Green Bay Packers in 1986 to commit seven turnovers in a game and not take a sack.
So go ahead, find Vince Ferragamo (two interceptions) and Randy Wright (five picks) and ask those old Packers how their "accomplishment" of Sept. 14, 1986 against the
New Orleans Saints stacks up against what
Matt McGloin (four interceptions, one lost fumble),
Terrelle Pryor (one pick) and
Taiwan Jones (a lost fumble on a kick return) did versus the
Kansas City Chiefs fares.
For one thing, those Packers lost, 24-10, while the Raiders were bludgeoned, 56-31.
Or, just get McGloin’s read on not being sacked in a blowout, despite throwing the ball 35 times (as a team, Oakland attempted 41 passes; Green Bay threw the ball 59 times in that game 27-plus years ago).
"I call it a silent alarm," McGloin said Wednesday. "Obviously, against the Chiefs, that was something we were prepared for. We knew they had great pass rush. I think they sacked us nine or 10 times the last time we played them."
Initially, Pryor was ruled to have been sacked 10 times on Oct. 13 at Arrowhead Stadium, though the number was later reduced to nine after a review.
"Our protection plan was solid last week, but as a quarterback standing in there, you have a clock in your head," McGloin added. "It kind of gets to a point where it’s, ‘OK, I’ve had this ball for a few seconds now, I need to get rid of it, or I’m going to get hit pretty hard here.’
"So you need to be decisive. You need to know what you’re doing on each play. You need to know what your progressions are and what routes are good against what coverages. There’s always a clock in the back of your mind."
And, as the saying goes, time waits for no one.
So speaking of time, how long ago was Sept. 14, 1986?
The then-Los Angeles Raiders fell that day at Washington, 10-6, as
Jay Schroeder beat Marc Wilson, and
Darrell Green, whose son Jared is now a practice squad receiver for Oakland, picked off Wilson in the end zone with 30 seconds remaining.
Neither Schoeder nor Wilson was known for having internal clocks. Big arms, yes. But not internal clocks.
Someone needs to repeatedly smack him with a blunt object