|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Thursday, Aug. 24 9:00pm ET
Rison debuts, Janikowski impresses | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- On the same day Andre Rison was charged in Missouri with passing bad checks, he made his exhibition debut with the Oakland Raiders to rousing applause. Rison, who signed with Oakland this week, caught two passes for 49 yards as the Raiders beat the ineffective Seattle Seahawks 20-0 in their preseason finale Thursday night. Afterward, he wasn't talking about the charges. "I don't know anything about it," he said. "Right now I'm a Raider and those things will be resolved." Rison made a dramatic catch early in the second quarter, snagging a 35-yard pass from Bobby Hoying, then dancing through a field of defenders before being forced out of bounds. After the play he pointed triumphantly to his new teammates. Hoying hit Jeremy Brigham with a 10-yard scoring pass on the same series. Hoying added a 2-yard scoring pass to Mondriel Fulcher, and top draft pick Sebastian Janikowski had field goals of 43 and 33 yards. Janikowski, who has boasted he can make a 65-yard field goal, attempted a 62-yarder as time ran out in the first half, but it fell far short. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren suggested this week that his team was tired from the preseason, and they looked it -- unable to get within even field-goal range. "We didn't start off properly, and things just got worse," Holmgren said. "It was a lousy game, a sloppy game." Rison was charged Thursday with four counts of passing bad checks totaling $158,000, according to prosecutors in Missouri. The checks were written to a Georgia jewelry store between June 1998 and December 1998, while Rison was with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs waived Rison last week, and the Raiders signed him on Monday. If convicted, Rison could get five years in prison. Prosecutors hope he will surrender when he arrives to Kansas next month to face trial on unrelated theft charges. Coach Jon Gruden said the team knew about the situation. "All I can say is we'll get to the bottom of that over the weekend, and we'll be happy to comment at that time," he said. As far as Rison's play, Gruden said: "I'd say it's a pretty good start." Oakland starter Rich Gannon also was impressed about how fast Rison was able to pick up plays. "I think he showed tonight he's still got a little gas in that motor," he said. As the starters were announced before the game, Rison was treated with the loudest applause. He said he was surprised, considering he hadn't realized he was going to start until game day. "Coach told me the other day, and I thought he was kidding," Rison said. Gannon played for nearly all of the first quarter. But Hoying, who was sacked by Seattle's Michael Sinclair on his first play, was responsible for most of the game. Janikowski hit a 43-yard field goal to cap the Raiders' first series of the game, for his sixth straight exhibition field goal. But he missed a 42-yard attempt later in the first quarter. Then came Janikowski's 62-yard attempt, from the dirt on the Oakland A's infield, with time running out in the first half. The ball bounced in the end zone. The NFL record is 63 yards. Before the game, Janikowski made several long field goals, including a successful kick from about 67 yards. Janikowski added a 33-yarder in the third quarter to put the Raiders up 20-0. Jon Kitna, who started for the Seahawks, was 4-of-8 for 72 yards and an interception. Brock Huard was 16-of-26 for 168 yards. "That's football, some days they're just going to pound you out there," Huard shrugged. Second-year quarterback Scott Driesbach took over for Hoying in the third quarter, but was hit by Seattle's Ed Kehl and stayed on the ground, clutching his right shoulder. Driesbach left the game and was replaced by Hoying, who was 13-of-24 for 168 yards, an interception and two touchdowns. Veteran Rodney Peete, who was in uniform, remained on the sidelines. Gruden said Dreisbach had a strained right shoulder. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse Oakland Clubhouse Rison charged with four counts of passing bad checks
| |||||