With a vastly improved offense led by Jason Campbell, Darren McFadden and a bevy of speedy wide receivers, this year's version of the Raiders appears a much more formidable bunch than the JaMarcus Russell squad that was beaten 38-0 in 2009 in the most one-sided home loss in Raiders history.
“I hope we can make it more interesting for him so he doesn't have to eat hot dogs,” coach Hue Jackson said. “Hopefully, we can take the mustard and the relish and the onions and all that and put it away and play a little football.”
Jackson showed his team the video of Sanchez scarfing down the frankfurter in the fourth quarter of the blowout.
That opened old wounds for whichever Raiders are still in Oakland two years later, and those players made sure the newcomers know all about it in case it canto provide a bit of extra motivation Sunday when the Raiders (1-1) host the Jets (2-0) in their home opener.
“Coach showed that to us,” defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. “It was just a reminder. We're going to remind him of that during the game.”Sanchez apologized after the incident, not realizing he had been caught on television eating a hot dog a cameraman gave him because he was hungry. Coach Rex Ryan was critical of his quarterback after the fact and promised it would be an issue this week.
Sanchez said the cameraman later apologized for helping create the controversy, but added even though his actions were not “respectful,” he can laugh about it two years later.
“I think he might've known in the back of his mind there was still a camera on him, but I don't blame him,” tight end Dustin Keller said. “As long as that hot dog was delicious, get another one, you know? He played well in that game and we won that game, so have another. We might get him one in the first quarter.
Reliving the frankfurter fiasco comes a week after Sanchez had to apologize again for another minor infraction committed in his rookie season. Two weeks after that Raiders game, Sanchez raised lots of eyebrows in a postgame news conference following a loss to Jacksonville when he pulled out a sheet of paper and read off a list of prepared remarks.
“Two weeks in a row, one was the press conference reminder and this one is the 'no eating on the sidelines' reminder, so I'll keep the food off the field,” he said.
While there still may be some lingering bitterness over the hot dog hullabaloo in Oakland, cornerback Stanford Routt said the onus is on the Raiders' defense to make sure it doesn't happen again. How? Make life much more difficult than it was two years ago, when the Jets led 24-0 at halftime, rushed for 316 yards and needed Sanchez to throw only 16 passes in the blowout victory.
To beat the Jets, the Raiders will need to be much more stout than a week ago when they allowed five touchdowns on five second-half drives by Buffalo to squander a 21-3 halftime lead and lose 38-35.
“Obviously, Sunday was a bad game for all of us,” cornerback Stanford Routt said. “But I think I just chalk it up to one of those anomalies. I don't think it's going to be constant, I don't think it's going to be consistent throughout the year. I think that we're going to have one of the top five secondaries, like we always do.”
Routt has played up to the expectations heaped on him when he signed a $31.5 million, three-year contract in February, holding opponents to four catches in 14 passes sent his direction. That is the best rate among all defenders targeted at least 10 times this season, according to STATS LLC.
The Raiders haven't been as stingy on the other side of the field as they struggle to replace All-Pro Nnamdi Asomugha, who left for Philadelphia in free agency this summer. Chris Johnson is tied for the second-most completions allowed with 13 and was involved in Buffalo's winning touchdown last week.
Oakland needs to do a better job pressuring Sanchez after failing to sack Ryan Fitzpatrick once a week ago. That could be easier if All-Pro center Nick Mangold can't go because of a sprained right ankle.
“It's about winning our one-on-one matchups and getting rid of the football quickly because their pass rush is great,” Sanchez said. “It'll be a good test for our wideouts and for our precision in the passing game, hopefully.”
This will be a great test for the Raiders as well, They are trying to build a new identity under Jackson the same way Ryan changed the culture in New York when he arrived in 2009.
The mantras may be different — “play like a Jet” for Ryan and “building a bully” for Jackson — but the approach the two former Baltimore assistants use isn't.
“I'm not Rex and Rex is not Hue, but I'm sure we have a lot of similarities,” Jackson said. “We believe in violent, physical, tough aggressive football teams. And I'm going to build it here. I didn't tell you it was going to happen overnight, but I'm going to build it. That's what I truly believe in, and that's what I want our football team to be.”
