Silver and Black Report

QUARTERBACK — C+

JaMarcus Russell followed up his solid outing in Denver with an up-and-down performance at home. At times, he looked in full control of the offense and showed off his stellar arm with nice tosses. On play action in the first half, he executed a nice 28-yard pass on a corner route to Miller and he repeated his accuracy with a 21-yard toss to his tight end on a crossing pattern. Other times, he overthrew Ronald Curry on what could’ve been a score on 4^th and 3 in the 2^nd quarter and was not able to connect with his targets. Johnnie Lee Higgins could’ve adjusted on one seam pattern that should’ve led to a score and Miller dropped a big gainer after a big hit. It was good to see him use his legs more and take off on a couple big runs.

RUNNING BACKS — C-

More is expected out of this bunch. And today, they didn’t provide the Raiders the support needed to beat a team that is 31^st in the league at stopping the run. Justin Fargas had 18 carries for 82 yards and his first touchdown of the season, but his fumble in the 4^th quarter, on Oakland’s first play after the Chiefs took a 17-10 lead was a back-breaker that put them behind 10-points. Darren McFadden was used again in varying packages, but Oakland still has to find a way to get him more touches during a game. He again drew a pass interference call and was incorporated into the passing attack with 50 yards receiving on 3 grabs. As a flanker he hauled in a 13-yard slant and on a 3^rd and 7, was wide open on a seam pattern for 20 yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS — D-

Oakland gets nothing from this bunch and this has contributed to Russell’s inability to put up better numbers or perform up to his abilities. Higgins should’ve been aware of the coverage and ran a post pattern for Russell on one route in the 1^st half. Ashley Lelie was non-existent after his best performance as a Raider last week and the only receiver to record a catch was Ronald Curry, who ended with that lone reception for 0 yards (he flipped that toss to McFadden on a hook and lateral play on their opening drive).

OFFENSIVE LINE — C+

They were average at best. Kwame Harris was not a turnstile today, but he did get flagged twice – once for holding at the end of the 1^st half and a false start as the game wound down. Raiders have not been as physical along the interior since Jake Grove’s injury and 132 yards rushing today were highly disappointing after compiling 300 yards against this opponent in their first meeting.

DEFENSIVE LINE – D

They played well in the 1^st half, holding Kansas City to 26 yards rushing. But they regressed in the 2^nd half and never put enough pressure on Tyler Thigpen to disrupt his rhythm or facilitate more mistakes. Oakland cannot win games when 1 sack is recorded (Tommy Kelly) the entire game and 119 yards are allowed on the ground in the 2^nd half, while the offense struggles.

LINEBACKERS — C

Thomas Howard is playing extremely well and is flying to the football. But the rest of the unit appears lost at times and out of position. Kirk Morrison’s play has been sub par and Jon Alston is not a starting caliber linebacker at this level.

SECONDARY — C

Chris Johnson continued his solid play. His interception and 44-yard return to the KC 1 yard line inthe 3^rd quarter gave Oakland life and set them up for their only touchdown of the game. Nnamdi Asomugha took on Tony Gonzalez (who torched the Raiders with 8 rec. for 110 yards), and was beaten twice for 34 yards. Gibril Wilson started the game on the hall of fame bound tight end, but the Raiders slowed down his production with their top corner. Wilson dropped a poorly thrown ball by Thigpen that should’ve been interception. Instead, the drive continued and the Chiefs scored to take a 17-10 lead (the drive started in the 3^rd quarter, elapsed into the 4^th, and went for 91 yards on 16 plays).

SPECIAL TEAMS — D

Higgins was shutdown and Justin Miller could not provide a spark on kick returns. Shane Lechler had a miserable day punting and was part of that botched fake field goal that led to a Maurice Legget 67-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

COACHING – D –

The team was overconfident and the blasé approach in leaving points on the field hurt the Raiders. Oakland still has only 1 touchdown in the first half of games this season. They struggle to generate points, but the staff called a fake punt on 4^th and 10, thinking their hefty kicker could run for a first down and deep in KC territory, bypassed an easy field goal, instead calling a pass that fell harmlessly incomplete in the back of the end zone on 4^th and 3 in the first half. Some of the play calling was refreshing by Greg Knapp. The screen to Curry, which then turned into a hook and lateral that McFadden ran for 16 yards was exciting. ‘Wildcat’ formations a bootleg in which Russell kept for 17 yards, the utilization of McFadden and a reverse to Higgins were pleasant surprises and nicely executed at times. But the overall approach against a lowly team and leaving the points on the field for a team that has been the lowest scoring in the NFL is mind-boggling.

EXTRA POINTS

• Thigpen is now 1-6 as a starter.
• Kansas City snapped a 2 game losing streak against the Raiders, but extended their winning streak to seven games in Oakland.
• Oakland had 3 successful drives in the first half, but came away with only 3 points.