Silver and Black Report

Yesterday; one reception for 22-yards. For the season six catches for 96-yards. Oh, lets not forget his two-carries for 19-yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey has been in over his head in his rookie campaign.

The controversial seventh overall pick in April’s draft has done very little as a member of the Silver & Black. His route running has been critiqued; Heyward-Bey’s one virtue – his speed – has been a non-factor. Fellow rookie Louis Murphy has fared better, but until yesterday’s loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, Heyward-Bey has not been in the mix or been looked at to make plays when it counted most.

And when he had a shot to give the Oakland Raider fan base some glimmer of hope – he failed.

Heyward-Bey had a ball sail out of his hands and into the mitts of a Kansas City defender, sealing the Chiefs seventh straight victory in Oakland.

Oakland will stick to their guns that the product out of Maryland was who they wanted in the draft. They claimed to like his abilities as a pass catcher, but at this point there is no reason to believe that the one man calling the shots selected him based on one thing only – speed.

Far more polished targets such as Michael Crabtree (18 rec. for 215 yds.) and Jeremy Maclin (31 rec. 413 yds. 4 TD) were selected three and twelve picks later respectively. Percy Harvin (31 rec. 422 3 TD) went at the 22^nd slot to Minnesota. And Hakeem Nicks (23 rec. 407 yds. 4 TD) and Kenny Britt (22 rec. 351 yds.) were taken back-to-back at the end of the first round. But none has struggled or has been as dormant as DHB.

“I know Darrius works every day catching the ball,” said Chaz Schilens. “I’m out there with him. I don’t know what to say other than at game time, you’ve just got to make the play.

“That’s all there is to it.”

The rookie had an opportunity to do what Oakland drafted him for in the second quarter. And on one of the few times JaMarcus Russell was able to hit his target accurately, DHB let a 50-yard bomb near the goal line go right through his arms.

It’s too early to say he’s a bust. Yet its hard to bypass the fact that: a) Oakland could have taken far better targets at their slot in the draft, or b) could’ve had him a lot lower, paid less money and not be as scrutinized for it if someone was willing to move to their spot.

Matt Shaughnessy started in place of the mending Greg Ellis at defensive end. He recorded a sack and had 4 tackles (including one behind the line of scrimmage). The rookie was one of the bright spots during a 1^st quarter in which Oakland beat up the Chiefs offensive line and held their rushers to -4 yards and a measly 57-yards at the half. Oakland’s run defense was swarming at times and ended the contest allowing 112 yards on the ground. Their one blip was Jamaal Charles 44-yard touchdown scamper (KC first TD on the ground in 2009).

NOTES FROM SUNDAY

• Chris Johnson tallied his third interception of the season.
• Robert Gallery came back from his injury and started at LG. He had a costly penalty in the 2^nd quarter when Russell connected with Murphy for a 52-yard gain. The play was negated due to a tripping infraction. “It was one of those things, I’m not going to let the quarterback get hit,’’ Gallery stated after the game. “I can’t put myself in that situation. It is what it is. It cost us pretty big, so it’s a hard one to swallow.’
• Sebastian Janikowski’s streak is over. The hefty kicker connected from 50-yards, but missed a 45-yarder in the 3^rd quarter. The 20-consecutive converted field goals were the longest streak of his career.