PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Moss Encourages a Mean Streak

What’s wrong with the 1-3 Raiders?

Yes, the running game could be better. True, the pass rush hasn’t been as effective as it has been in the past. No question the penalties have hurt.

But linebacker Winston Moss has a quick prescription for what ails his club: nasty and mean.

“I would definitely say there’s not enough meanness, there’s not enough toughness,” Moss said. “You don’t want to leave the ballgame without knowing you did everything you could to help the team win.”

Moss has been criticized for sometimes being too nasty and mean. He was fined $7,500 for sticking his fist into the helmet of Seattle Seahawk quarterback Rick Mirer earlier this season, setting off a confrontation that resulted in three ejections.

But Moss is not about to point fingers at teammates who, he feels, might not be showing their emotions enough on the field.

“You cannot make somebody do something they are not comfortable doing,” he said.

But it is clear he feels his club should be doing more with the talent it has.

“I don’t want to say, (we’re) flat,” he told reporters. “I don’t want to say underachievers. But there’s something there that is missing. Intensity is the key word.

“You’ve got to play with a certain fear. You’ve got to play as if someone is out to hurt you. You’ve got to make sure you’re the one that’s dishing out most of the punishment and not taking it.

“We’re all men. Each one of us has to answer to himself if he doesn’t show up on Sunday. I respect that you only have a job week to week. Nap (fullback Napoleon McCallum, who suffered a season-ending injury in the opener) gets into that Monday night game and one play he’s playing and the next play he’s not. You have to play as if you don’t know if you’ll ever step on that field again.”

It was an emotional message, but it was delivered to the wrong audience.