On the plus side for Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin, there's a good chance he'll get to keep his job for at least one more week. Unless of course, Al Davis is crazier than any of us could have possibly imagined.Just one week after Denver mopped the floor with the Raiders on national TV, Oakland responded with a 23-8 win over Kansas City, backing up the talk of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who assured the football world he would be the same person sitting in front of us after his defense kicked a** this week.
Rookie Darren McFadden had a coming out party for the Raiders, as he rushed for 164 yards on 21 carries, including his first NFL touchdown. Of course, he was just part of the Oakland ground assault, which pounded the Chiefs defense into submission, churning out 300 yards on an incredible 47 attempts. Michael Bush picked up 90 yards on 14 carries, while Justin Fargas ran for 43.
I imagine this is the type of game Kiffin had in mind heading into the season, when it was reported he wanted to run the ball 600 times over the course of the year. It's the type of game they're going to need to play if they have any hopes of winning on a regular basis this year, and they needed it today because the Raiders -- and the Chiefs, for that matter - set the forward pass back 100 years. Honestly, both teams would have been better off to set-up in the wishbone and start running the option.
JaMarcus Russell finished 6-of-17 for 55 yards, while the Chiefs two-headed monster of Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen was equally inept. They managed only 135 yards through the air, and were picked off twice. They were also sacked five times.
Larry Johnson, meanwhile, continued his steady decline towards mediocrity with a 12 carry, 22 yard performance. The Chiefs fall to 0-2 on the season and will travel to Atlanta next week. If they fail to win that game, they could be staring an 0-6 or 0-7 start right in the face.
One final note: I feel as if I should offer up some props for Sebastian Janikowski, who I was somewhat critical of in the Raiders preview prior to the season (some Raiders fans weren't pleased with that). The Raiders' kicker hit three field goals today, including a monster 56-yard attempt in the first quarter. Fair is fair, and the kudos were well deserved today.
The Raiders will travel to Buffalo for week three.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-15-2008 @ 10:15AM
SHAUN said...
Hiring Edwards was a big mistake keeping him for another game is another mistake?
fire him do not let arrowhead be empty next home game season is still young
Reply
9-15-2008 @ 12:53PM
eks said...
Russell didn't have great numbers partly do to the lack of receiver help and the game plan. But, he managed the game pretty well and that doesn't show up in his numbers. Credit to Russell please. Kiffin knows this team and will ( if given the opportunity) let Russell take off when he has the write people around him. A bright sport for the chiefs? Lane kiffin could be fired soon, Herm could lose his job and Kiffin becomes K.C's coach thus tormenting al davis for the rest of his life. Im a raider fan and I would love for kiffin to remain, but I would also love to see al's stupidity back fire if Lane is let go. Then, during those k.c and raider games, I will root for Kiffin.
Reply
9-16-2008 @ 10:50PM
eks said...
Russell didn't have great numbers partly do to the lack of receiver help and the game plan. But, he managed the game pretty well and that doesn't show up in his numbers. Credit to Russell please. Kiffin knows this team and will ( if given the opportunity) let Russell take off when he has the write people around him. A bright sport for the chiefs? Lane kiffin could be fired soon, Herm could lose his job and Kiffin becomes K.C's coach thus tormenting al davis for the rest of his life. Im a raider fan and I would love for kiffin to remain, but I would also love to see al's stupidity back fire if Lane is let go. Then, during those k.c and raider games, I will root for Kiffin.
Reply