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Sports 1B Friday December 13, 2013 Raiders' D can't get off field on third down ALAMEDA (AP) — Jason Tarver is as passionate and animated as any coach in the NFL. The Oakland Raiders' defensive coordinator is usually quick with a statistic or two to back up whatever point he's trying to make. The fact that Oakland's defense is third in the NFL in three-and-outs, for example. Tarver's eyes grew wide and he talked proudly about that Thursday, saying few people around the league expected that out of the young Raiders. All of that energy grinds to a screeching halt, however, when discussing Oakland's struggles on third down. The Raiders have had issues finishing drives and games for much of the season. It's become a particularly troubling trend over the past three games, all of which ended in losses for a team headed for its 11th consecutive non-winning record. ''We have to understand in those situations how to get ourselves off the field,'' Tarver said. ''It's that refocus on the ninth play of the drive, that's where we need to improve. We've got some things we do really well but we have to focus when it doesn't go as well early in the drive.'' Oakland (4-9) is 25th in third-down efficiency this season, allowing opponents to convert nearly 41 percent of the time. In the past three games alone, the Raiders have allowed teams to convert a league-high 54.5 percent (24 of 44) of third-down plays. Of those, five have been on third-and-10 or longer. ''I think it really boils down to those teams out-executed us in those particular situations,'' Oakland coach Dennis Allen said. ''We went through a stretch in the middle of the year where we played pretty good, and then we've gone through a stretch ... where we haven't been as good on third down. That's the difference between being able to win these games and not.'' Tarver insists that correcting the problem has been a focus of the team for a while. The Raiders spent part of Thursday's practice going over their third-down defense and will probably emphasize it more as Sunday's game against Kansas City draws nearer. It's more than a bit perplexing, however, that a team that has forced 45 three-and-outs this season could have so many problems on third down. The issues have come from a decline in the Raiders' pass rush, coverage breakdowns in the secondary and overall sloppiness when it comes to tackling. Oakland recorded 21 sacks through the first seven games while opponents converted only 38 percent on third down. Over the past six games, though, the Raiders have only 11 sacks while teams are converting third downs at a 44 percent clip. ''There's a few of them where we had two guys there to make a tackle, and those are the ones you have to have,'' Tarver said. ''That's all on us. It's multiple reasons but we have a good mix of things that we do. We need to do a better job of getting those guys on the ground. ''Can't let the communication go, whether it's the first play of the drive or the ninth. It doesn't matter. Stop 'em.'' Fixing the pass rush problems and the issues on third down might be a bit more difficult this week for Oakland's defense. Defensive tackle Vance Walker, who is fourth on the team with three sacks, has not practiced after suffering a concussion during the Raiders 37-27 loss to the New York Jets this past Sunday. Rookie linebacker Sio Moore was also limited for the second straight day because of a neck injury. That, coupled with an overall tired feeling on defense, convinced Allen to alter Oakland's practice schedule this week and go with more walkthrough sessions than full-contact drills. ''We've been in a lot of close games, a lot of battles, and what happens sometimes is it's not just a physical thing,'' Allen said. ''It's also a mental thing. So we've done some things this week to try to freshen them up.'' Notes: WR Denarius Moore (shoulder) had another encouraging day at practice and could rejoin the lineup after missing the past three games. ... RB Darren McFadden (ankle) did not practice and is likely to sit out his sixth game this season. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Red Bluff at AIBT in Arcata Corning at Live Oak Tournament Mercy at Trinity Tournament GIRLS BASKETBALL Red Bluff at Oakridge Tournament Corning at Oroville Tournament Mercy at Westwood Tournament BOYS SOCCER Shasta at Red Bluff, 4:30 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Red Bluff at Foothill at Redding Soccer Park Today's schedule BOXING 7 p.m. FS1 — Junior middleweights, Errol Spence Jr. (9-0-0) vs. Noe Bolanos (25-81); junior featherweights, Joseph Diaz Jr. (8-1-0) vs. Carlos Rodriguez (21-11-3); junior middleweights, Jermall Charlo (160-0) vs. Joseph de los Santos (16-12-3); champion Francisco Vargas (17-0-1) vs. Jerry Belmontes (18-2-0), for NABF/WBO Intercontinental junior lightweight titles; welterweights, Josesito Lopez (30-6-0) vs. Mike Arnaoutis (24-91), at Indio, Calif. COLLEGE FOOTBALL 5 p.m. ESPN2 — NCAA, FCS, playoffs, quarterfinals, Towson at Eastern Illinois GOLF 10 a.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Franklin Templeton Shootout, first round, at Naples, Fla. 8:30 p.m. TGC — Asian Tour, Thailand Championship, third round, at Bangkok MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Colorado College at Wisconsin NBA BASKETBALL 5 p.m. ESPN — L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City 6 p.m. CSN — Sacramento at Phoenix 7:30 p.m. ESPN — Houston at Golden State AP photo United States head coach Juergen Klinsmann from Germany answers journalists' question after the draw ceremony for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Costa do Sauipe near Salvador, Brazil on Friday, Dec. 6. Klinsmann U.S. coach through 2018 By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer Even before leading the United States into next year's World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann has been signed to stay on as the American coach for the 2018 World Cup. Klinsmann agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2018, the U.S. Soccer Federation said on Thursday. Coach since July 2011, his new deal gives him the additional title of USSF technical director. "One of the reasons we hired Jurgen as our head coach was to advance the program forward, and we've seen the initial stages of that happening on the field and also off the field in various areas," USSF President Sunil Gulati said in a statement. "In the past two years he has built a strong foundation from the senior team down to the youth teams, and we want to continue to build upon that success." The U.S. has won 27 and drawn seven of 44 games under Klinsmann, qualified for its seventh straight World Cup and won this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup. "I am very fortunate to continue the work we started more than two and half years ago," Klinsmann said in a statement. "The role of technical director is a huge challenge and also a huge opportunity as we look to keep connecting the dots to the youth national teams, coaching education, the development academy and the grassroots efforts in this country." After winning the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the 1996 European Championship with Germany, Klinsmann retired as a player in 1998 and moved to California. Now 49, Klinsmann coached Germany from 200406, leading the team to a third-place finish at home in the 2006 World Cup and then quit. He coached Bayern Munich in the 2008-09 season. Iguodala hopes to return to Warriors 'really soon' OAKLAND (AP) — Andre Iguodala had a target date in mind to return from a right hamstring injury. The Golden State Warriors have a different one. ''We're in the same chapter,'' Iguodala said after sitting out Thursday's practice. ''Not on the same page.'' Iguodala is expected to miss his 11th straight game when the Warriors host the Houston Rockets on Friday night. He said he hopes to come back ''really soon'' but will leave the decision up to team trainers. ''We've had some disagreements because some days you feel really good, but your body can trick yourself into thinking you feel all right but it's not really there,'' Iguodala said. ''I guess the good thing is our strength and conditioning guy, he tore his hamstring this summer. He came back four times and tore it four times again. I guess I could listen to him because he's been through it.'' Iguodala, who was injured in a loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 22 when he made a sharp cut, said he's shooting the ball well and jumping high. He hasn't tried to change directions or stop and start again — the true tests of whether he can play. Iguodala's impatience has only grown watching the Warriors' inconsistent play. Golden State (13-10) is 55 since he sustained what the team has called a strained hamstring, needing to rally from deficits of 27 and 18 points to win its last two home games over Toronto and Dallas, respectively. The defense has declined dramatically without Iguodala, who typically guards the other team's best player. The Warriors allowed 96.07 points per game before Iguodala's injury and have given up 104.1 points since. ''He would definitely help us,'' Warriors center Andrew Bogut said. ''He's a potential All-Star player, very good on-ball defender and a very unselfish player.'' With hopes of making a deep playoff run, Golden State understandably wants to protect its investment. Iguodala signed a four-year, $48 million deal to come to the Warriors from Denver as a free agent this summer and helped the team get off to an 8-3 start. The drop in production is not all tied to Igudoala's absence. The Warriors are down three big men — Jermaine O'Neal (right wrist), Festus Ezeli (right knee) and Ognjen Kuzmic (right hand) — and are getting little production from the second unit other than Draymond Green. ''It's been tough,'' Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. ''But I'm proud of my guys because it could be a lot worse than it is right now. I think we've fought, we've scratched, we've clawed, we've gone through injuries, guys missing games. But our job is to continue to win ball games. This is not where we wanted to be at this point, but it would be a lot worse.'' All of it only makes Iguodala want to return faster. Iguodala said he can still be effective even if he's limited. In his 10th NBA season, Iguodala said he knows his body well and has enough experience to not to push himself too hard. Time on the bench, though, has helped Iguodala learn about his new team in other ways. He said he has paid attention to how opponents defend the Warriors, the way his teammates react to certain situations and how long each goes between getting the ball, among other things. ''It's been a bad situation for me being out,'' Iguodala said, ''but you have to take some good out of it.'' Dawson not counting as field goals keep going in SANTA CLARA (AP) — As Phil Dawson headed out to try a 48-yard field goal late in the first quarter Sunday, an image came to him of a Week 1 miss. From that very distance and that very spot in his first attempt with the 49ers. He had a hard time pushing that moment out of mind, a kick that he hooked wide left in his San Francisco debut in September against Green Bay. Probably not the best kicking karma right there. ''As I'm jogging out onto the field I'm remembering that,'' Dawson recalled. ''I have to be quite honest it probably wasn't the most positive mental picture in terms of having confidence where to aim. I took what I learned from that first time and tried to put it into action. It worked out.'' The field goal was Dawson's second of four against the rival Seattle Seahawks, and every one mattered in Sunday's 19-17 victory that put the 49ers at 9-4. The 48-yarder gave Dawson 18 straight converted field goals to match a franchise record by Joe Nedney in 2006-07, then Dawson connected on two more to take the record for himself. His 22yarder with 26 seconds remaining became the winner and No. 20 in a row. Not that Dawson is counting — or even worries about such things. ''I have a lot of respect for the way he works at his craft,'' said 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely, who also worked with Dawson in Cleveland. ''He's been good for a long time in a really hard place to kick. I knew if he came out here he would have success because where he's been kicking for years, it's a hard place. But they didn't have much success as a team, so you didn't ever hear much about him. He's been probably the best player on that team in Cleveland for a long time.'' Dawson also holds the Browns' record for consecutive field goals with 27, making him one of just three kickers with such a streak for two teams. Olindo Mare did it with Miami and Seattle, while Neil Rackers accomplished it playing for Arizona and Houston, according to STATS. Dawson is on quite the roll as he heads home to his native Florida for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay (4-9). ''That's what I hear,'' Dawson said with a smile. ''I've been through this and learn each time I go through it. You just have to treat every kick the same, whether you made the last one or missed the last one. Sometimes I don't know which one's harder to get over to be quite honest.'' Dawson has made 23 of 26 field goals overall, giving the 49ers a steady presence in the kicking game after David Akers struggled down the stretch a year ago. Dawson doesn't take any kick for granted, especially in the unpredictable elements of Candlestick Park and its infamous wind. ''With the conditions being what they were, every kick required your full attention. You couldn't take anything for granted, even with the last one being a little short one. Everything had to go right and fortunately it did.'' Dawson went 29 for 31 on field goals last season in his 14th year with the Browns, making all 13 attempts from 40 yards or beyond, including 7 for 7 from 50-plus. The 49ers signed him to a one-year contract in March.