Silver and Black Report

QUARTERBACK: D-

What prevented JaMarcus Russell from getting an ‘F’ this week? Completing 3-of-6 passes for 58 yards in the decisive drive for the Raiders. Otherwise, it was a display of inaccuracy, struggles, and miserable quarterback play. Russell ended 7/24 for 109 yards 0 TD 0 INT and a rating of 46.0%. He had difficulties checking down to his running backs and sailing passes over the heads of his receivers. It started immediately with the game’s first play; an incompletion to Darren McFadden. On the opening play of the second drive he missed a wide-open Zach Miller, on 3^rd and 9 at the end of that possession he bypassed an open Miller and threw into double coverage to one of his rookie wide receivers and after three consecutive three and outs on offense, Oakland’s passer ended the first quarter 0-for-5 with his team holding the ball for only 3:15. When he audibled in the first half, both pass plays he went to were futile fade patterns. When one of his receivers slipped on a play in the first half, he delivered the ball right into the hands of a Kansas City defensive back, but the defender was not able to haul in the pass that could’ve been a touchdown the other way. He also inexplicably tossed a prayer up to Miller on a 3^rd and 7, with the Raiders holding the lead; pinned deep in their own territory, a careless play late in the 3^rd quarter. Like last Monday night, Russell struggled for most of the game, but made enough plays late to get his team a lead when it mattered most. That’s the silver lining in his overall stumbling to start the season; that Russell can shake off in-game problems, and stay focus for the next play. Russell’s 3^rd and 15 pass on the game winning drive to Todd Watkins for 28-yards was as good as it got today. (Note: on Oakland’s first scoring drive, Russell was 3/6 for 42 yards)

RUNNING BACKS: C-

Darren McFadden punched it in from 5-yards out to secure the Raiders first victory. But before that, there were no electrifying moments and very little semblance to the running game that thrashed the Chargers last week. McFadden was at his best on rushing plays on the edges, but he only ended with 12 carries for 35-yards. Michael Bush tallied 35-yards on 9 carries, but was a non-factor on the ground. He did bulldoze his way to 8-yards on one brutal run in the 2^nd quarter and picked up 17-yards off a screen pass on a 2^nd and 9 during the drive Oakland tied the game at three a piece.

WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS: D

Again, the un-proven and young talent at receiver contributed to the woes on offense. Louis Murphy started and compiled 2 receptions for 26-yards. First rounder Darrius Heyward-Bey recorded his first NFL reception on an 18-yard catch. That was one of the few throws Russell had both good velocity and accuracy and showed that the rookie has the ability to go over the middle and make a catch within arms reach of safeties. Todd Watkins keyed the rally with his lone catch for 28 yards and almost had another big play if not for a great play by a Kansas City cornerback. Russell went deep to Watkins to start that game-winning drive, made an accurate toss, but Maurice Leggett broke up the play, extending his right hand to deflect the pass. Javon Walker saw action, looked good on his first play getting a seal block on a run, but was non-existent after that. Zach Miller had no catches today, last time he was shutout was during week-three at Buffalo last season.

OFFENSIVE LINE: D-

Where did the dominant group that played physical football last week go? They were not explosive at the point of attack, aggressive, or consistent in pushing off the Chiefs at the line of scrimmage. Cornell Green made sure to collect more infractions this week; getting flagged for a false start in the 4^th quarter on a 3^rd and 10. Guard Robert Gallery had a solid block down the field on Bush’s 17-yard screen play and Cooper Carlisle had his moment on another dump off that was positive. But for the most part this unit had a negative effect on the ground game and at times had Russell backpedaling and tossing the football in disadvantageous situations. Oakland ended the first half with only 26 rushing yards and 61 total yards. When the outcome was decided, they only managed 67-yards on the ground with a measly 2.7 yards per carry.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C-

Greg Ellis continues to be Mr. Consistent, recording two sacks today; giving him three for the season. His second sack was key late, getting to Matt Cassel on 3^rd and 1 on the Chiefs last drive. Like the offensive line, this unit was neither as physical nor as tough as they were last week. Kansas City averaged 4.3 yards a carry on their way to 173 rushing yards. In the 2^nd quarter, Matt Shaughnessy made a cameo appearance and forced Cassel into an incompletion. Trevor Scott again played on passing downs and showed a good motor. Gerard Warren was flagged for a personal foul (facemask) in the 2^nd quarter.

LINEBACKERS: C

Thomas Howard was superb this afternoon, run blitzing early in the game and recording a 6-yard loss on one play and notching tackles around the line of scrimmage with his speed on dump offs. Ricky Brown and Kirk Morrison played well, but many times were victims of a defensive line that took a step back after a solid performance on Monday night. Morrison led the team with 13 tackles.

SECONDARY: C-

The defensive backfield allowed 236 passing yards this week. But Nnamdi Asomugha’s tackle of Dantrell Savage at the end of the first half may have been the underrated play of the game. Not having any time outs, Kansas City’s running back tried to get out of bounds after a short catch, but the pro-bowl cornerback tackled him in the field of play as time expired, hindering the Chiefs from getting their field goal unit for a chance at three points. When Asomugha went out o the game, Dwayne Bowe feasted on Stanford Routt for a 29-yard touchdown that gave Kansas City a 10-6 lead with 2:36 remaining. Michael Huff played centerfield perfectly in the 3^rd quarter, reading Cassel from afar and breaking underneath the intended target to pick off a pass. That turnover gave Oakland the ball on the KC 49-yard line and led to a 6-3 lead. Huff struck again the 4^th quarter ending a KC drive deep in Oakland territory on a diving catch for his second interception of the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Shane Lechler was outstanding; punting 7 times and averaging 56.9 per. Sebastian Janikowski was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts (48, 54) and consistently drove the ball into the end-zone for touchbacks during kickoffs. Louis Rankin is sure-handed during returns, but does not provide any punch. With Johnnie Lee Higgins out, Hiram Eugene got a lot of work in on punts, but he was at his best today rushing down the field covering punts. Oakland dodged a bullet and made a mistake sending out Javon Walker to field a punt in the second half.

COACHING: B-

Oakland did not play a clean game. But neither did Kansas City who is a team with a new coach, a new quarterback, rebuilding with lesser talent than Oakland, and they shot themselves in the foot with drops, penalties that negated positive plays on offense and mental mistakes. Yet they almost pulled out the victory. Tom Cable has to be given credit for keeping his club focus throughout the game and pulling out the victory after appearing to have blown it late. His quarterback was erratic, the defense was not as good as it was last week, and his offensive line did not maul anyone. Yet they won a game that in the past they would have never been in. And now they have a three-game winning streak at Arrowhead. Cable believes in Russell; he has no choice. But even through the passers struggles, and heading into the final drive, he had missed on 10 consecutive tosses; Cable had enough confidence in Russell to open it up.

GAME NOTES:

• The Chiefs out gained the Raiders 409-166 in total yards. They also ran 28-more plays and led in time of possession 38:39 to 21:21.
• Oakland was 3-of-13 on 3^rd downs.
• Reports after the game indicate that Robert Gallery may have a broken fibula.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist