Oilers needed more wins and fans

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ / Associated Press

HOUSTON - The Houston Oilers ended their season looking for a few more victories and many more fans.

They tied for the best road record in the NFL (6-2), but they're still out of the playoffs after a dismal home showing (2-6) in the empty Astrodome and they will miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

After beating Pittsburgh in the Astrodome on Oct. 20 for a 5-2 start, the Oilers lost five straight home games and watched attendance dwindle to record lows as their move to Tennessee drew closer.

Still, coach Jeff Fisher wouldn't classify the season as wasted.

"This is an extremely young football team that now realizes how critical each play and each game can be," Fisher said. "It all comes back to the fact we were one field goal from reaching the playoffs."

The Oilers (8-8) generally point to a closing-seconds Nov. 3 loss at Seattle as the season's low point.

The Seahawks won when Michael McCrary blocked a field goal attempt, pitched the ball to Robert Blackman for a 61-yard touchdown return and a 23-16 victory with four seconds to play.

"The big negative was the field goal in Seattle," guard Kevin Donnalley said. "If we hadn't gotten that blocked and got it through, we'd still be working today getting ready for the playoffs."

It was one example of the Oilers' season-long bout with inconsistency. Five of their eight losses were by seven or fewer points. Last season, seven of their nine losses were by the seven or fewer points.

Fisher is pinning the future on a youthful base centered around second-year quarterback Steve McNair and rookie running back Eddie George on offense, and a young defensive line he expects to improve.

The Oilers have 29 players on their roster with two years of experience or less.

"Eddie George started the season strong and improved from there," offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome said. "As the year went by, he got better. He's the kind of guy you can build an offense around.

"It was obvious that defenses were determined to stop him. Yesterday (Sunday's 24-21 victory over Baltimore) they were so intent on stopping Eddie that we were able to do some other things."

George finished the season with 1,368 rushing yards, to stand sixth in the NFL, with the fifth highest figure in team history. McNair started three of the final four games and probably played his best game in the finale.

He'll be a strong choice to replace Chis Chandler next season.

Fisher sees a bright future for healthy defensive end Anthony Cook, who started the season on the injured list but finished with 10 sacks over the final 13 games. Tackles Henry Ford and Gary Walker also figure heavily in Fisher's plans.

Still, Fisher's top off-season pursuit will be to give the Oilers a better rush. The Oilers finished with a minus-six in turnover ratio. They had 24 takeaways on 10 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

"Teams that go to the Super Bowl have these things in common, a great quarterback, a running game, a big, go-to receiver and a pass rusher," Fisher said. "Right now, we have three of the four, so we have to bolster the pass rush."

Fisher may have more defensive holes to fill.

The Oilers have six players eligible for unrestricted free agency. Five are on defense, including starting cornerback Cris Dishman, outside linebacker Micheal Barrow and strong safety Blaine Bishop.

Dishman, the team's franchise player this season, says he won't be back.

Backup cornerback Steve Jackson, Pro Bowl special teams player John Henry Mills and starting left tackle Brad Hopkins also are free agents.

The Oilers drew big crowds for attractive matchups with Pittsburgh (50,337) and San Francisco (53,664), but after the losing started the fans disappeared.

An franchise low of 15,131 attended the Oilers' final home game of the season on Dec. 15, a 21-13 loss to Cincinnati.

The players will not blame their poor home showing on the small crowds, but they say they could play better with a big fan base.

"Teams come out to play us and they can be very comfortable," tackle Irv Eatman said. "I honestly don't think that's the reason we're 8-8. I think not having a crowd has just helped the other guys."

Fisher won't blame the fans either.

"That field goal in Seattle was not affected by our fan situation," he said.