ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -Once the flags started flying against the Oakland Raiders, they didn't seem to stop. The Raiders were called for six personal fouls, had two players ejected and appeared to lose their composure on the way to assuring a seventh straight double-digit loss season.
Even the day after the penalty-filled 23-9 loss at Cleveland, the Raiders (5-10) seem bewildered by some of the calls that went against them.
``I've never seen flags thrown like that,'' said defensive lineman Richard Seymour, who was called for two personal fouls on one play. ``It was so ticky-tack. Obviously we have to understand how the game is being played and how the game is being called and play accordingly. We didn't do a good job of that after we understood that they were going to throw it if you looked the wrong way.''
Seymour played a major role in the end-of-half meltdown that helped lead to Derek Anderson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi that gave the Browns a 17-6 lead.
Seymour got an offsetting personal foul with Cleveland's Rex Hadnot after a scuffle in the pile. Seymour then got called for another personal foul after that for unsportsmanlike conduct. He said all he did was ask the referee what he did to warrant the first call.
Two plays later, cornerback Stanford Routt was ejected for head-butting an opponent, leading to another 15-yard penalty.
``You like to just keep your head in the game,'' coach Tom Cable said. ``Those things, they're going to happen. I don't think that you can allowed that to become as big a factor as we did, and to me, stay the course within the game, don't let those things get to you, because there's going to be things like that in every game. This game a little bit more than normal, probably, but we have to do a better job I think of handling that.''
Even some of the most mild-mannered Raiders got caught up in the penalty parade. Tight end Tony Stewart was ejected for making contact with an official early in the fourth quarter. Stewart said he was upset about being punched by Cleveland linebacker Alex Hall and went to question the official. Stewart said the official put his hand on his chest and Stewart pushed it aside, leading to the ejection.
``I was just in utter disbelief,'' Stewart said. ``In the locker room it was like almost comical because if I could have told you what was going to happen from last week to this week, that wasn't one of the things I would have said.''
Later in the fourth quarter, tight end Zach Miller was called for taunting when he dropped near a defender after a 27-yard reception.
In all, the Raiders were penalized 13 times for 126 yards - one shy of their season high for penalties set two weeks earlier against Washington. The penalty yards were the most since the 2005 opener in New England, when Oakland was called for 16 penalties for 149 yards.
Some of the penalties proved costly, especially the personal fouls that helped the Browns score that late touchdown at the end of the half. Tackle Cornell Green got flagged for a holding call that negated a third-down conversion that would have given the Raiders the ball at the 2. Instead, they were backed up to the 26, failed to convert and settled for a field goal.
Hiram Eugene also got called for an offsides penalty on a fake punt attempt that the Raiders stopped. Instead of getting the ball near midfield, Oakland started its next drive at its own 1 after the Browns downed a punt.
``You want your guys to play with passion,'' quarterback Charlie Frye said. ``You've got to have a strong passion for the game. You've got to show your emotions, but you've also got to be smart. I wasn't out there. I don't know the circumstances of what was going on. That's just part of the game. You've got to use your head, but you also understand guys are very passionate about what they do.''
Frye is expected to start again this week despite throwing three interceptions in the loss. He also had a career-high 333 yards passing but was unable to get Oakland into the end zone despite running 16 plays inside the Cleveland 30-yard line.
This marked the fifth time this season the Raiders have been unable to follow up a win with another, getting outscored 142-32 during that span. It's just the third time since Al Davis joined the franchise that Oakland will fail to win consecutive games in a season, joining the 2003 and 1997 teams.
While the Raiders seemed confused as to why they fell flat after wins earlier in the season, Cable thinks he's closer to solving the problem.
``The good news is we have legitimate issues to talk about why yesterday we failed,'' Cable said. ``Does that help the picture? No. It's still a loss. Before it was trying to break the psychology of it down. Now to me it's about executing the 16 opportunities from the 30 in. It's about keeping your brain on straight at the end of the half and to start the second half. To me those are things you can put your hand on and you can control.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
