Sense of urgency palpable for Raiders

ALAMEDA -- The sense of urgency is palpable in the streets of Silver and Blackdom.Beat San Diego on Sunday, and the Raiders have a realistic shot at playing in the postseason for the first time since 2002, under a rookie coach in Hue Jackson. Lose to the Chargers, and the Raiders will watch the playoffs on television for the ninth straight season."It's fun to me," said receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. "Every game should be a sense of urgency. I just look at it as, if we want to get in the playoffs, we need to win the game, period. It should be fun and exciting for everybody.
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"I'm sure Hue will have a message for us but as for myself, I try to have a sense of urgency all the time. It might not look that way or seem that way, but I do. And I try to tell guys, I haven't been to the playoffs much, but you can't really describe the experience that comes with it. When you're not in the playoffs, I watch. And the majority of the guys here haven't been to the playoffs, (so) they watch. So what I try to tell them is everybody's going to be watching, you kind of get your chance to get on the big stage and have fun and make plays."In his 11th NFL season, Houshmandzadeh has played in three playoffs games -- Jan. 8, 2006 for Cincinnati, and last Jan. 9 and Jan. 15 for Baltimore. He has eight catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs, but a memorable drop for the Ravens against the Steelers last year.Indeed, heading into the final weekend of a season with a shot at the playoffs is unchartered territory for many Raiders players."It's definitely good that we're still in it, but I think it will be even worse if we go in and fall flat on our face on Sunday," said Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt. "I knowwe need help from Kansas City to beat Denver, and the other scenarios for the wild card, but I think if we go out there and we don't handle business on Sunday, then it doesn't matter who wins the other games if we dont take care of ours."Players, like fans, have looked high and low for every possible scenario that would get the Raiders into the Super Bowl tournament.And they're not apologizing for it, either."Yeah, I mean, when you want it as bad as we do, you're not staying out of tune and out of sync with what's going on," said left tackle Jared Veldheer. "You've got to be aware of the situation. But first thing's firstwe have to win on Sunday."With so many games that affect the Raiders' lot kicking off at the same time, there is the chance of some serious scoreboard watching during the game. Right?"I mean, you see the stuff come up," said strong safety Tyvon Branch. "They have the NFL Red-Zone popping up all the time on Jumbotron. So you're obviously going to see it, but you're more focused on the game than what's going on (around the league)."Still, the guy who's been in the playoffs said there would indeed be some wandering eyes. At least two, anyway."Yeah, yeah. I'll watch," Houshmandzadeh said with a laugh. "You know, I'm human. I'm not going to be one of those guys that says, 'I won't be paying attention.' I will."But all of that doesn't matter if we don't win, so the bottom line is, if we win, and we don't get in, it hurts, but at least you handled your part of the deal."