Steelers, Raiders waiting for running games to bear fruit

OAKLAND, California — The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers spent the offseason implementing new offenses designed to rely heavily on running games that could take a little pressure off their passers.

Two weeks into the season, neither running game has gotten off the ground.

Despite having a healthy Darren McFadden for a change, the Raiders (0-2) go into Sunday's game against the Steelers (1-1) with the league's second-worst rushing attack.

"You don't let it frustrate you. The saving grace is, you know McFadden is back there," Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer said. "He's one arm tackle away from breaking off a 40-, 50-yarder. He's got that potential, he's got that ability, he's done it before. We're going to stick with it. We're not frustrated. We're disappointed in ourselves for not executing it better but we're not going to let it frustrate us, we're not going to let it deter it from our goal."

The Steelers haven't had much better luck running the ball so far this season in new coordinator Todd Haley's offense.

Pittsburgh has rushed for just 141 yards the first two weeks and averaged a paltry 2.6 yards per carry, putting more pressure on Ben Roethlisberger and the passing game to get things going.

"It's obviously been a little frustrating because that was the emphasis of the offseason, getting a new coordinator, is running the ball and being able to pound it," Roethlisberger said. "But it's not working quite this minute and things aren't going well."

The Raiders have been much worse with just 68 yards rushing per game in losses to San Diego and Miami. For a team that has stressed being a run-first offense under coordinator Greg Knapp, it's not hard to figure why the offense has sputtered so much with a running game that can't get going.

McFadden, who missed the final nine games last season with a foot injury, is healthy but not productive. He has 54 yards on 26 carries as he once again has struggled while playing in a zone blocking system.

Knapp brought back the system the Raiders used in McFadden's first two seasons, which were filled with disappointments. McFadden emerged as one of the league's top backs once Hue Jackson brought his offense to Oakland that stressed more power running.

McFadden averaged 5.3 yards per carry under Jackson, compared to 3.7 in the other systems. The main difference has been the lack of big plays. He has also gone from having one of every 15 runs go for at least 20 yards to one of every 49.

"I just feel like going with the zone system is one of those situations where you're going to have to keep hitting it until you get going," McFadden said. "It's going to be 1 yard here or 2 yards there, but eventually it's going to start popping."

The Steelers hope it's not this week.

"We know he's an explosive back and can go off at any time," defensive lineman Casey Hampton said. "We know that. We're very aware. We're not taking it for granted."

Facing the Steelers stout defense has not usually been the tonic to cure struggling running games over the years. Pittsburgh has allowed the fewest yards rushing per game over the past 10 seasons because of its physical front and sure-tackling secondary.

In two games against the Steelers, McFadden has 39 yards on 19 carries.

"It's going to be a rough, tough fist fight out there," he said. "They are going to come in here with a hard-nose defense, and you know that's something you expect from the Steelers. We just have to go out there and play our game, and stay on schedule."

Roethlisberger has made up for the deficiencies in Pittsburgh's running game with sterling play on third downs. He has completed 19 of 25 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 146.8 on third down, allowing Pittsburgh to overcome the long yardage situations created by the lack of a running game.

"It's obviously been a little frustrating because that was the emphasis of the offseason, getting a new coordinator, running the ball and being able to pound it," Roethlisberger said. "But it's not working quite this minute and things aren't going well. You got to find ways to keep holding on to the ball, possessing it, and we've been able to do that."

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Raiders ax Jackson as new GM McKenzie cleans house

ALAMEDA, California — Reggie McKenzie made clear on his first day as Raiders general manager that there's a new regime in Oakland.

All change: Oakland Raiders head coach Hue Jackson was fired Tuesday after just one season in the job. AP

Soon after officially signing his contract to be the first general manager since longtime owner Al Davis' death, McKenzie fired coach Hue Jackson in a bold first move as he looks to give the organization a fresh start.

"There comes a time when change is necessary," McKenzie said Tuesday. "For the Raiders the time is now. The Raiders organization, with respect and deference for all its tradition and history, is about to embark on a new era."

The era will begin without Jackson, who was fired after going 8-8 in his first season as head coach. McKenzie wanted to bring in his "own guy" to rebuild the organization.

Finding that coach will be the first major task for McKenzie, who also must bulk up the personnel department and evaluate the roster in what promises to be a busy offseason.

Owner Mark Davis said McKenzie will decide on the new coach and the personnel decisions, with the coach ultimately reporting to the general manager.

That's a major change from how the organization was run before Davis' father, Al, died of heart failure on Oct. 8. Al Davis made all the major decisions when he was in charge of the team, with many of those now falling to McKenzie as Mark Davis focuses on finding a new stadium and other off-field issues.

"Change happened on Oct. 8," Davis said. "The one thing I know is what I don't know. The one thing I did know was I needed to bring the right people in here. . . . My feeling always has been that if my father wasn't here we needed someone to run that football side of the building. I needed to find the right person. I truly believe that Reggie McKenzie is the right man for this job."

McKenzie had spent the past 18 years in the front office of the Green Bay Packers, last serving as director of football operations. He was well-respected for his role in helping to build a Super Bowl championship team with the Packers and also had ties to the Raiders, having played linebacker for four years with the team in the 1980s.

Many of his former teammates were on hand at the news conference introducing him.

"Guys, this is where I came from. I'm back home now. I'm back home," he said. "As soon as Mark told me 'We want you for the job,' I couldn't, you know, I couldn't stop smiling."

Davis said he had targeted McKenzie as his desired general manager in the weeks after his father's death and noted it was awkward when he ran into him at the Raiders' game in Green Bay last month. About an hour after Oakland's season ended, Davis had the organization formally request permission from the Packers to interview McKenzie.

They sat down for a six-hour interview last Wednesday, with former Raiders coach John Madden assisting Davis. They quickly finalized the deal and McKenzie signed it Tuesday morning.

He then immediately fired Jackson, marking a rapid fall for the man who was in charge of personnel decisions and coaching after Davis' death.

Jackson made the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone, costing the Raiders a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder.

While Palmer showed signs of giving the Raiders a big-time quarterback, he was unable to get Oakland to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, raising questions about how effective that trade was.

NEW YORK — Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III has decided to enter the NFL draft.

The exciting dual-threat quarterback is bypassing his senior season at Baylor and is projected to be one of the top picks in April.

The news came Tuesday, exactly a month after Griffin became the first Baylor player to win college football's highest individual honor.

ESPN, citing an anonymous family source, first reported that Griffin was going pro and in the final stages of picking an agent.

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