Raiders- Chiefs Week 7

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and when the Chiefs turn the ball over, you convert them into scores. Just a few weeks ago Raider fans on FB were ready to jump ship "It's getting harder and harder to support this team"..... shit!  Now the comments are nothing but "Just Win Baby" and "Whatever it takes!" Raiders 4 Life!  in this A.D.D. afflicted fan base usually means "until they lose their next game"

All you Raider haters can suck a big dick!  I see you lurking out there in Manning jerseys. Nothing pains the Raider Haters like the Silver & Black stumbling onto a streak (2 wins in a row) of good fortune. Which brings me to ESPN NFL studio analysts Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini, both picked against the Raiders going into the K.C. game. The entire concept of having analysts pick games is based on the premise, that as former coaches, players etc. they should know more about the game than your average couch pilot watching at home.

That's not always the case and invariably they're caught off guard when asked to pick. Usually they just wind up pulling something out of their asses. Edwards will never coach in the NFL again, so he doesn't care, he'll gleefully pick against a team. Mangini on the other hand is one wishy washy s.o.b. Mostly he'll just concur with Edward's picks. Then Herm as if to bait him, will make a crazy pick and Mangina will wind up sputtering out some nonsense that sounds like "yes, no, i don't know, maybe, no, yes"

Eric Mangini is still young enough and NFL owners are still stupid enough, that someone may yet hire him to coach their team. Because of this he can't bring himself to pick against anyone, unless Edwards has already done the dirty deed. It's not like Jacksonville or San Diego will say, "We would love to hire you, but you did pick against us that one game against the Raiders"  They're out of touch with the league, they don't know shit, so keep that in mind and bet accordingly.

Speaking of betting, New Jersey is bucking the NFL, NCAA, NBA and God himself by pushing for live sports betting in the Garden State. Of course nobody at the NFL wants to broach the subject, lest it remind fans that the NFL is what it is because of sports betting. If nobody bet on football, half the seats in every stadium would be empty and the league would be bankrupt. The demise of the USFL wasn't due so much to poor attendance as to the lack of interest by bettors.

"Give me three points on the Los Angeles Express and six on the Oakland Invaders? That wasn't going to happen. Professional leagues need sports books to drum up and maintain interest in their product. College Football is big because everyone bets on the games, the same with NCAA basketball and March Madness. Thank you! New Jersey for exposing the hypocrisy of the NFL.  Now place your bets, I've got the Raiders by 3 over Tampa Bay.

Oakland Raiders  26    Kansas City Chiefs  16

The game started out with an audible groan (from the vocal Raiders fans in attendance) as ex-Raider Stanford Routt intercepted Carson Palmer on the very first play of the game. Routt's play however, turned out to be a good thing. With that out of the way, Carson did seem to settled own and take better care of the ball. Oakland used a pair of Janikowski field goals to take a precarious 6-0 lead, the Chiefs' placekicker, Ryan Succop then added a pair of his own to the tie the score at 6-6. 

With the outcome still hanging in the balance, Shane Lechler floated a high punt that KC return specialist Javier Arenas muffed, the ball was recovered by Jon Condo. On the ensuing possession, with the Raiders facing a third and eight, Palmer found Denarious Moore in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. It was one of just two third down conversions in the game for Oakland. Early in the second half Janikowski kicked a 29 yd. field goal to extend Oakland's lead to 16-6.

Kansas City made some noise midway through the third quarter as Ryan Succop launched a 52 yd. rocket through the uprights. The Raiders however, were still in command, as Carson Palmer led them on their only long sustained drive of the day, capped off with a 32 yd. td. pass to Darrius Heward-Bey for a 23-9 lead. Half way through the fourth quarter, Sebastian Janikowski centered his fourth field goal of the day through the uprights to wrap up Oakland's scoring, 26-9.

That essentially decided the ballgame, Matt Cassell who stepped in for starter Brady Quinn, (who was knocked out with a head injury in the first half) led the Chiefs to their only touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game. Final score 26-16, it was KC's fourth straight loss and the Raider's sixth straight win at Arrowhead Stadium. With the win, Oakland which many had given up for dead before the bye week, is now 3-4 and has played three solid if not spectacular games. 

The Raiders running game came to life again, Darren McFadden had his second 100 yard game of the season (29 carries 114 yards) Carson Palmer completed 14 of 28 passes for 209 yds., 2 td's and the one int. Typical numbers for Carson, and although the stats don't reflect it, he had one of his best games this season. Carson's td pass to Moore was the 175th of his career, which ranks him fifth among active quarterbacks. Sebastian Janikowski is 32 for 36 all time at Arrowhead Stadium. Sea Bass has kicked 43 consecutive field goals from inside 40 yds. 

"Head Injury" appears to be the new code that NFL teams are using (along with "neck injury") in order to work the grey areas, (so to speak) surrounding the concussion protocol. Chiefs RB Nate Eachus also left the game with what the Chiefs called "a head injury" It's a despicable new trend and one I'm sure the NFL will put a stop to. It's similar to the Redskins trying to brush off Robert Griffin's concussion as simply a case of  "shaken up" 

Raider Notes:

Transaction News: The Raiders worked out six players this week including Qb. Aaron Corp, WR's Saalim Hakim, Shaky Smithson, TE Cooper Helfet, CB Buddy Jackson and S Cory Nelms. None were signed, instead Oakland released Akwasi Owusu-Ansah from the practice squad and signed guard Jason Foster, an undrafted free agent from Rhode Island to take his spot.

CB Ron Bartell was back on the practice field for the first time since breaking his shoulder blade in the season opener against San Diego. Bartell is not eligible to play until Nov. 11th. against the Baltimore Ravens. LB Aaron Curry continues to practice with the team, the Raiders are considering activating Curry, but first must make room for him on the active roster. 

If Curry is activated, a player must be cut from the roster, the same with Bartell when he returns to active duty. Another option would be to trade Curry before the NFL trading deadline on Thursday. Shawntae Spencer and Khalif Barnes are still not taking part in practices, no word on their return. 

Former Raider Stanford Routt was the subject of derision after game, "Started off good for him but went downhill from there" said Michael Huff. Routt intercepted Palmer on the game's first play and then found himself scrambling to make plays as the Raiders kept going to Darrius Heyward-Bey. In the first quarter he was flagged for illegal contact which resulted in an automatic first down for Oakland and led to a Janikowski field goal. 

In the third quarter, Heyward-Bey spun out of Routt's grasp on his way to a 32 yd. touchdown after making a catch. Carson Palmer said that the game plan was to pick on Routt from the start. "Obviously, they were trying me" said Routt. Raider safety Mike Mitchell added that "Stan didn't want to talk to me, he's a little hurt" Routt was cut by Reggie McKenzie shortly before a five million dollar bonus was due. He signed with Kansas City as a free agent.