Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson doesn’t want to hear talk of
a
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Monday Night Football
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jinx.
By Jason Jones – McClatchy Newspapers
ALAMEDA, Calif. – Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson doesn’t want to hear talk of a “Monday Night Football” jinx.
Sure, the Raiders have lost their past seven MNF games, dating to 2002. The Raiders have also dropped 11 prime-time games since 2004.
No big deal, right? The season opener next Monday at Denver is just another game?
“This is 2011,” Jackson said. “The Raiders and the Denver Broncos on Monday night in their stadium. That’s all I know. What’s gone on here in the past, I can’t speak about it, worry about. I’m just worried about this upcoming Monday night.”
Jackson is taking steps to make sure the Raiders are as ready as possible to end the streak – even it’s not something he’s worried about.
Wednesday’s practice will be the first of three night practices instead of daytime workouts. Lights will be brought in to illuminate the field at team headquarters and give the Raiders the feel of a nighttime game.
“The places I’ve been, I think you do whatever it takes to put your team in the best environment to prepare to play a game,” Jackson said. “We play at night, Monday night in Denver, and I want our guys to have a feel what that’s going to be like. We’re going to practice around that time and get ourselves ready to play.”
Punter Shane Lechler and kicker Sebastian Janikowski, both entering their 12th season, are the only players who were around the last time the Raiders won on a Monday night. That was Dec. 2, 2002, against the New York Jets. The Raiders’ last prime-time victory came Nov. 28, 2004, at Denver.
So what gives?
“Just didn’t get the job done,” defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. “Simple as that. Ain’t no use in making no excuses. Just didn’t get the job done.”
Jackson might not be caught up in that past, but he is doing everything possible to make sure the Raiders end their prime-time futility.
“Our organization is willing to do whatever I think we need to do to help us win a football game,” Jackson said. “Thanks to them, that’s what we’re going to do this week.”
Could the practices really help? Players tend to be big on their routines, and practicing when they normally would be long gone from the facility could be disruptive.
“It is what it is,” cornerback Stanford Routt said. “You can make it out to be an advantage; you can make it out to be a disadvantage.”
Then again, it’s not as if the players voted on the decision. It’s what Jackson wants.
Routt said his main concern is the Raiders winning a season opener, which they haven’t done since 2002.
“That’s what they got us scheduled for, so we just got to go out there and do it, no matter what,” Routt said.
Kelly has no problem with the change in practice time for three days. Kelly is in his eighth season, and the longest tenured Raider besides Lechler and Janikowski put a positive spin on the schedule.
“I’m just doing as I’m told,” Kelly said. “Coach says practice at 7, practice starts at 7, so you know. It ain’t no problem to me. I appreciate the more time we get off in the daytime. I don’t do nothing late at night anyway, so … I’m old anyway.”
Jackson and his players acknowledge the difference being in the Monday night spotlight.
“You want to go out and because it’s prime time and everybody gets to see it, you want to play good,” Kelly said. “But in the past, I know as long as I’ve been here, we ain’t played good on prime time. So this is another opportunity to play good. It shouldn’t be hard getting up for the game, playing Denver.”
