Empower Carson Palmer

The coach and general manager did that on Monday. “Carson Palmer is extremely excited about what we have going here,” Allen said. “He’s looking forward to the future and he’s excited about the opportunities here.”

McKenzie inherited the passer, but he’s by far and away the most polished quarterback Oakland has had since Rich Gannon. With a training camp and off-season conditioning under his belt this time around, he should be primed for a solid season. Just remember, he was thrown into the fire after a semi-retirement and never played a game with Darren McFadden in his backfield.

Get Rolando McClain on the right track

“I see a very talented football player. Just like a lot of things that we’ve talked about already, we’ve got to do our best to make sure we get Rolando to play at the best of his ability on every single snap,” Allen said.

There’s no questioning the middle linebacker’s mental acuity for the game. But his lack of impact plays and slow development has been frustrating for fans. Add to that his off the field issues, and the word bust begins to flash. He was seen as a sure fire prospect coming out of college, but entering his third-year, more will be expected out of him due to a new coach in place that will try to cater to his abilities.

If Allen can’t get this kid going, he’ll need a change of scenery. Oakland hopes to be the beneficiary of McClain’s arrival as a stud in this league.

Keep Darren McFadden & Michael Bush together

Stop all this trade McFadden chatter. Really! Yes, the Raiders currently have a small allotment of draft picks, but what would trading your most dynamic weapon on offensive accomplish?

You won’t get equal value, especially since he’s fragile and teams will cite his inability to play 16-games as a reason not give adequate compensation. Plus, whomever you draft with those picks may not provide the same impact that McFadden can on the 2012 team.

McFadden may never play a full complement of games, but that’s why Bush needs to remain and why both should share the load a tad more. Hue Jackson fed McFadden way too much and ultimately, we saw that Bush could handle a bigger load and not just in short yard or red zone situations.

The tandem has to stay together, as I stated here:

One big decision for Raiders McKenzie, what to do with RB Bush?

And

Cotto: Five moves to help the Oakland Raiders

Get back to basics with the defense

Good teams tackle well — Oakland hasn’t  for a very long time. The Raiders have been a sieve on defense since 2003:

2011 – 27^th in the NFL – 136.1 yds/g

2010 – 29^th in the NFL – 133.6 yds/g

2009 – 29^th in the NFL – 155.5 yds/g

2008 – 31^st in the NFL – 159.7 yds/g

2007 – 31^st in the NFL – 145.9 yds/g

2006 – 25^th in the NFL – 134.0 yds/g

2005 – 25^th in the NFL – 128.1 yds/g

2004 – 22^nd in the NFL – 125.8 yds/g

2003 – 32^nd in the NFL – 156.9 yds/g

Rolando McClain and Richard Seymour will be vital to the Raiders success.

Allen will have to simplify what he does on defense before we see all the bells and whistles. Denver players have cited his ability to simplify game plans and make every player on the defense accountable for their assignments. Building confidence in those groupings will then allow the Silver & Black to become a more fierce club and ultimately, a more aggressive one.

Boot Camp 101

Very rarely have we seen a militant camp or strenuous summers as Oakland prepared for campaigns. Now with a new head coach, a general manager that is changing the culture, Allen will have a chance to implement a tougher camp and begin instilling the discipline he preached about in his conference on Monday. The only way that you create habits is through consistency, doing the same things over and over and over,” Allen said. “Well, if you’re committing penalties, that becomes a habit. We’ve got to change those habits, all right? We’ve got to develop the proper habits so that we’re not creating those penalties on a daily basis.”

That begins in OTAs, mini-camps and training camp. Allen has that scary stare and a business like disposition. NFL insiders have said that the he wants his players to do it the right way… all the time, especially the first-time.

Oakland needed this a long time ago.

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With Dennis Allen on board, these Raiders are on notice

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Punter Shane Lechler punts the ball against the Detroit Lions in week 16

Sunday’s game.

Due to the New England Patriots playing in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 and numerous injuries around the league, the NFL was forced to replace a total of 16 players on the AFC roster. Unfortunately for the Raiders, none of the players invited donned the Silver & Black this season.

Earlier this month, the league named Raiders safety Tyvon Branch, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, running back Darren McFadden and fullback Marcel Reece as alternates for the Jan. 29 Pro Bowl game.

Tommy Kelly hoped to make his first Pro Bowl with Patriots Vince Wilfork going to the Super Bowl and Ravens Haloti Ngata out with an injury, instead, the league chose Cincinnati’s Geno Atkins and Miami’s Paul Soliai.

Kelly, who was also listed as an alternate for the 2011 Pro Bowl, finished the season with 41 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. Atkins finished with 47 tackles, 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles while Soliai finished with only 27 tackles and no sacks or forced fumbles.

Reece also looked to make his first Pro Bowl, most likely being the next in line had the Ravens and their fullback Vonte Leach made the Super Bowl instead of the Patriots.

Defensive tackle Richard Seymour in the week 3 game against the Jets

Reece, who played as a wide receiver at University of Washington, once again played an integral part in Oakland’s offense when on the field. Reece only played in ten games this season, starting six, but finished with 17 carries for 122 yards and 27 receptions for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

With Reece and Kelly not getting the call, the Raiders lone four Pro Bowl representatives will be punter Shane Lechler, long snapper Jon Condo, defensive tackle Richard Seymour and place kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

Lechler, playing in his 7th Pro Bowl, averaged 50.8 yards per kick this season and broke the Raiders franchise record with an 80-yard punt that went sailing over the dangerous Devin Hester when the Raiders took on the Chicago Bears in week 12.

Seymour has been named a starter for the game and is also participating in his 7th Pro Bowl of his career. Seymour played in all 16 games, often through injury, and finished the season with 29 tackles, six sacks and two kicks blocked.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski connects from 63-yards out to tie the NFL record

Janikowski’s roster spot marks the first time that the former first-round draft pick has made the Pro Bowl in his 12-year career. Janikowski hit 31 of his 35 attempts (88.6 percent) while connecting on seven attempts 50+ yards out, including a league record-tying 63-yard field goal against the Denver Broncos in week one on Monday Night Football.

Condo earned his spot in the Pro Bowl by being named the AFC’s “need” player, an honor that also sent him to the 2009 Pro Bowl.

Be sure to check back on SBReport.net for exclusive coverage of the 2012 Pro Bowl.

Long snapper Jon Condo earned his second Pro Bowl appearance this year

One of them being, what to do with running back Michael Bush?

He’s going to be 28 in June, but with little wear and tear on his body, the ball carrier could be an enticing option for teams looking to bolster their ground game. This past year, he tallied career highs in yards, carries and yards per game, mainly filling in for an injured Darren McFadden.

Generally, clubs stay away from spending big bucks on rushers and will invest lower draft picks to find a pair of fresh legs. But Bush, whose collegiate career ended with an injury which caused him to dip in the draft, has had little tread on his tires since entering the league and could be swept off his feet with a big front-loaded contract if he is allowed to hit the free-agent waters.

At 28, teams shy away from investing in running backs, but his profile does not read like that of a running back a few years away from what is considered the tail-end of their career.

If he wants to shine and be a feature ball carrier, it won’t be in Oakland with McFadden around. If he wants big money, he could definitely seek to go elsewhere, especially if the Raiders want to compensate him like a back up.

Surely, this is Bush’s time to bank on his success and health. His injury at Louisville prevented him from earning more than what he could’ve with his first NFL deal.

So what are the options for Oakland?

They could franchise Bush, but that would cost them approximately $7.7 million in 2012. Will McKenzie think that’s an accurate price-point for him?

Oakland’s biggest area of strength is running back. Without that depth, the Silver & Black would have been dead in the water and not even in contention this past year. McFadden may never see a full 16-game schedule, so keeping that unit a deep one is imperative.

That makes Oakland’s running back grouping one of the best in the league. And if they plan on keeping the veteran Carson Palmer, with a new coaching staff coming in, it will be a lot easier for them to continue that semblance of order in the backfield and continue being a rush first, productive running team.

Palmer has not even had one game where he’s had both ball carriers healthy.

And as much as fans want to talk up the speedy Taiwan Jones, the facts are, as a rookie he didn’t show anything that warrants a bigger role and risking making your most talented unit a major question mark. Giving your veteran passer a weaker ground attack just doesn’t make sense.

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Here are some tidbits from Jackson’s talk with the media:

On his message to the team on their way out:

“That as a Raider, you’re expected to win. And 8-8 is not where we want to be and I don’t want to use the old coaches’ cliché — you look at the wins you possibly could have won, and you didn’t. To me, that’s just…you’re setting yourself up again to be able to say, hey look, if we did this, we’d be here, you did that, you’d be there. You didn’t. At the end of the day, you didn’t win those games. We got what we earned. We’re 8-8, we’re a .500 football team for the second year in a row and, that’s disappointing. But the guys that come back here, that get ready for the off-season program, they’re going to buy in…all the way to what it is that we’re selling. Because we’re going to win a championship here, and that’s what I told them. And if you don’t feel comfortable at the way I think you’ve got to buy in, then maybe this is not the right place for you.”

ANALYSIS: Good to hear Jackson admit that this was a disappointment, because he was the first one to talk up his club early in the season, saying they would become bullies and that they had untapped potential. Eight wins again equates to a disappointing season, especially when they were at 7-4 in late November.

Looking back at missed chances:

“I mean, I can go all the way back to Buffalo, I can go back to Denver here, I can go back to the Detroit game. I can go back to the game yesterday. And where we had opportunities and we didn’t make the most of them.”

ANALYSIS: Those three particular games, I talked about being integral losses that could have shifted the outcome within the division. Coincidentally, all three were games that either defense never made a stand late or collapsed entirely.

On Chuck Bresnahan’s defense:

“It’s unacceptable.”

ANALYSIS: You now he wasn’t going to say much. If Al Davis were around, he would’ve never blasted his players publicly, or he would’ve heard from the man in-charge. Like Davis though, I don’t think the Raiders will ever feel obligated to make moves just because of public backlash, or because of what the perceived timing of it should be. In Oakland, things have always been done at their own pace. This is black Monday around the league, if things were a tad different and that defense was really “unacceptable,” the front office should’ve made a move. So now we wait… for an announcement, or no announcement because Bresnahan is under contract.

He added about staff changes: “Well, I haven’t sat through it all, but obviously I’m going to meet with everybody here soon and we’re going to go from there.”

On possible general manager hiring:

“But I would hope that as the head coach of this football team I would hope that the organization understands that I have a pretty good idea of where we need to go. Because if not, then I shouldn’t be where I’m sitting. So at the end of the day, I think I have a pretty good idea now that I’ve been through this for a year, and have done it, be it coaching, be it all kind of sort of different hats and duties, dealing with you all, and everybody, I think I know exactly what this team needs to do and how they need to do it. That’s the fun part of it.”

ANALYSIS: Jackson is already posturing and positioning himself for whoever comes in. I’m sure he would like help and a staffer to deal with the contracts and other vital behind the scene things needed to be in personnel, but he wants some sort of power and depending on whom Oakland selects, it could shift the balance of powers. I’m sure he wants to be involved in the process to ensure he can have a working relationship with the general manager, and maybe even have some influence on them.

Jackson added: “I don’t know that. But I don’t think it’d be awkward. I’m pretty comfortable with who I am and what I am. I’m not gonna get caught up in who we hire and who we bring in here. I know how that works. I know when people mention that, ‘well, if they hire a GM then he’s gonna want to bring in his own head coach.’ And hey, if that’s what Mark decided to do, that’s his right. I don’t think that that’s the case, but that is his right. But at the end of the day, whoever comes here, I think it’s gonna be somebody who wants to share the same vision as a I do, which is winning a championship, which is getting the organization back to being better than average. Because we should be, and we can be.”

On Carson Palmer and Jason Campbell’s future:

“I think, obviously, he has some strong characteristics throwing the ball. I mean, he’s proven that. I think he’s disproved all the issues with his arm. I don’t think anybody can bring those subjects up anymore. I think that Carson needs a strong off-season, with his teammates, with the players, training camp and then let’s see what he can be then. Am I tied to him? Well, I made the decision, so I guess I am. You know? He’s one of our quarterbacks. But by no means do I say, hey, Jason Campbell doesn’t haven’t an opportunity to be here, too. That decision has not been made. I have a strong feeling about Jason Campbell, and I think you guys all know that. I mean, my doing that, I know everybody sees it as maybe it was a slap to Jason. It wasn’t. I owe this team the best opportunity to win, and this organization the best opportunity to win. That’s why I did what I did. And at the end of the day, I’m not gonna run from that.”

ANALYSIS: Jackson’s tenure will be defined by how the Palmer trade works out – they are tied at the hip. There’s no denying that. As for Campbell, it would be ideal to keep him, as he’ll be the perfect back-up; he has strong work ethic, knows the system and has cohesion with the unit. Problem is, does he still think he can be a starter elsewhere, and would he accepted a demotion and lesser money than what he think he could make. There aren’t many starting openings in the NFL, so anywhere he goes, he’ll surely be a backup who may have a shot with a passer on a short leash. But otherwise, with Kyle Orton out there, Vince Young and now Matt Flynn, who could be a hot name; Campbell may not be a commodity in the open market.

On Darren McFadden’s injury and the effect:

“You have always put everything into the evaluation. Darren is under contract and all those things will take care of themselves. But it has taught me that you always have to have – whether it be at the quarterback position, the running back position of the receiver position — a very capable No. 2. And obviously Michael Bush was.”

ANALYSIS: Easily shows that the Raiders don’t plan on letting Bush walk away – nor they shouldn’t.

On Tyvon Branch’s possible free-agency:

“Very, because I think he’s one of the young, talented players on our team. I think he has a bright future ahead of himself. Any guy that’s back there that we deem, the organization deems, is a Raider and that plays the way we want them to play, we want to get under contract and get back here in a uniform. He’s definitely one of those guys.”

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The Raiders were disappointed after yesterday's disastrous end to the season.

I know, I know…

The season just ended, the Oakland Raiders just missed making the post-season, “can we hold off the off-season talk to later,” will be what some of you are thinking. But here are five sure-fire ways to get the Silver & Black on track for the 2012 campaign:

RE-SIGN MICHAEL BUSH

I don’t get this whole, “trade Bush,” or “trade McFadden,” emotional banter from fans. That’s an area of strength for the Raiders and if not for that depth, Oakland would have been dead in the water and not even in contention this past year.

Darren McFadden may never see a full 16-game schedule, but that pairing, with Michael Bush as his back up, should be in tact in 2012. Bush can be franchised, and Oakland will likely do that if they can’t come to terms with him on a multi-year deal.

Bush is at a young enough age, and he does not have any wear and tear on his treads, which will make him a lucrative option for team’s in need of a bolstering to their ground attack. If Oakland keeps him, it will ensure they have the best backfield in the league. Carson Palmer has yet to have both to his disposal. Imagine what Oakland could do then?

And as much as fans want to talk up Taiwan Jones, the facts are, as rookie he didn’t show anything that warrants a bigger role and risking making your most talented unit a major question mark and giving your veteran passer a weaker ground attack. It just doesn’t make sense.

HIRE A G.M.

Way better coaches with hall of fame pedigree failed at handling both general manager and coaching duties. Hue Jackson clearly is not ready for both and had a tough first year at one capacity.

He needs to stay in touch with the pulse of the team more and handle the offense. By giving him a personnel staffer who can deal with contracts, player acquisitions and the draft, in accord with what Jackson wants to see on the field, it will only make life easier for him and maybe translate to him being a better manager on the field.

Reggie McKenzie & Elliot Wolf (Packers), Eric DeCosta (Ravens), Tom Gamble (49ers) and Les Snead (Falcons) are names that have been bantered about, as Ron Wolf and Ken Herock will be advising Mark Davis throughout the process.

FIRE CHUCK BRESNAHAN

The defense was not able to get a key stop in the second half versus the Bills – a key early loss. Oakland was trounced in the second half versus the Broncos – a loss that ultimately helped their demise and kept them out of the post-season. The Detroit Lions put together a heart-breaking comeback in the final minutes at Oakland, throttling Bresnahan’s bunch in the process.

In his second stint back with the Raiders, Bresnahan failed and his defense was horrendous. There’s too much talent on that unit for them to be one of the worst in run defense, total yards allowed and points per game. The Raiders allowed a franchise-worst 31 TD passes this season as well.

With Steve Spagnuolo possible on the outs in St. Louis, Jack Del Rio out there and other possible candidates available, it will be in Oakland’s best interest if they part ways with Bresnahan and bring in a new voice with fresher ideas to teach a unit that has a lot of talent.

TRADE JACOBY FORD

Denarius Moore had a solid rookie campaign and can potentially be a starter. Jacoby Ford and Moore are similar talents, but unlike Moore, Ford may be developing a little bit of a diva syndrome which may be rubbing some the wrong way in Oakland.

Ford showed to be a dynamic special teams returner and demonstrated a knack for big plays as a pass catcher. But this year, Oakland’s receiving unit evolved, and with Moore coming along, Ford may become expendable. True he makes very little money and you can’t have enough talented targets for Palmer.

But he’s shown to have the injury bug too, and if you can replenish some more draft selections (Oakland has traded many of them away recently) with a talented player, maybe they should look into it. He isn’t owed much money, so he’ll be a very attractive chip and one that could bring back some needed compensation.

DRAFT DEFENSE… AND MORE DEFENSE

Oakland will have to find ways to make their linebacking unit a tad more versatile, especially with talents that can play in space and in coverage.

An infusion of skill at cornerback will also be needed, as they sorely missed Nnamdi Asomugha this season and Stanford Routt showed not to be a top-tier cover guy in this league. Teams were not afraid to go after him and anyone else Oakland lined up in front of opposing wide receivers. Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly are not getting any younger, and John Henderson is on his last legs.

It doesn’t help either that Rolando McClain has not made the impact many expected when he came out of college.

The defense ultimately failed the Raiders in 2011. A few stops here and there, and they would have been a playoff team. Now, it’s time to add to this unit with some top tier talent and not projects.

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The Raiders kept their playoff hopes alive with their win over the Chiefs last week, but they still need to defeat the Chargers and receive help from other teams in order to make the playoffs.

In order to become the AFC West champions, the Raiders must defeat the Chargers and have the Chiefs defeat Tim Tebow and the Broncos, who are playing in Denver.

The Raiders can also obtain their first postseason berth since 2002 with a win, and a loss by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans. The Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens and the Titans take on the Houston Texans. The Raiders can also win the final wildcard spot with a Bengals loss and a New York Jets victory against the Miami Dolphins.

Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and the Raiders defensive line hope to be able to apply pressure on Phillip Rivers and disrupt the Chargers passing game

The Raiders hope to have similar success against the Chargers that they achieved in week 10 when the Raiders defeated the Chargers 24-17.

Luckily this week, it appears that the Chargers will be going without star wide receiver Vincent Jackson who has not practiced with a groin injury. Jackson is the Chargers leading receiver with 58 receptions for 1077 yards and eight touchdowns.

Even without Jackson, quarterback Phillip Rivers and the Chargers have a solid passing game that will look to exploit a Raiders defense that has struggled against the pass. Oakland is currently 25th in the league in defending the pass, allowing an average of 247.5 yards per game.

Although Rivers is having arguably his worst season in the NFL, he is still averaging 274.4 yards per game but also 19 interceptions. The Raiders will look to intercept Rivers and take advantage by scoring points off of any turnovers.

Rolando McClain and the Raiders defense will need to contain the Chargers rushing attack just as the did in week 10's match up

The Raiders benefit from the return of safety Michael Huff, who has missed the last two weeks due to injury. Huff will have a tough task of not only helping with stopping the run, but also will find himself matched up with the athletic tight end Antonio Gates. Gates has been a solid receiver when healthy this season, hauling in 59 receptions for 672 yards and six touchdowns. With Jackson out, it is likely that Rivers will look for Gates more, especially in the end zone.

The Chargers also have a formidable rushing attack to go along with Rivers and the passing game. Leading the rushing attack is second-year running back Ryan Mathews who has 1091 yards and six touchdown runs. The Chargers also like to use bruising back Mike Tolbert in goal line situations, allowing Tolbert to tally 7 touchdown runs thus far. In their week 10 match up, the Raiders were able to hold the Chargers to just 75 yards on the ground.

On offense, the Raiders will need quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Michael Bush to have the same big games that they had against the Chargers in week 10.

Wide receiver and return man Jacoby Ford is expected to return to the field this week after missing the last six weeks

Palmer will also have another speedy option returning as wide receiver Jacoby Ford has returned to practice this week and is expected to take the field on Sunday. Ford was expected to have a breakout year this year but has been hobbled by injuries much of the season, including the most recent foot injury he suffered in the week 10 match up with the Chargers. With the return of Ford, the Raiders get their starting kickoff return man back. Ford has returned four kickoffs back for touchdowns in his short two-year NFL career.

With star running back Darren McFadden still out to a foot injury, running back Michael Bush will look to have a similar day to his career day in his last match up against the Chargers. Bush finished the game with 30 carries for 157 rushing yards, along with hauling in three receptions for 85 yards. Bush’s 242 yards from the line of scrimmage is the most for the franchise since the Art Powell recorded 247 yards in 1963.

The Raiders also see the return of the speedy rookie Taiwan Jones, who has also been out to injury. Jones will look to provide a nice spark as a speedy alternative to the bigger Bush.

There is no doubt that the Chargers will be looking to spoil the Raiders chances at the playoffs, but the Raiders will need to persevere if they want any chance of playoffs. The team needs to take care of their own business, and let the other scores play out.

With the Chargers already out of the playoff hunt, it is likely that the sold-out O.Co Coliseum will be all Raider fans in what will seem like a playoff atmosphere. With the sellout of the final game, the Raiders successfully sold out all eight of their home games this season.

Hue Jackson declined to rule Darren McFadden out for Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. But after weeks of saying he’s getting closer, healed up and heading for action eventually sometime in the season, he had this tidbit, on the rusher and Jacoby Ford, “Obviously, it doesn’t look great if a guy’s not out here moving around.”

He continued: “But they’re not totally ruled out as of yet.”

Huh? More ambiguous comments, which has infuriated many fans.

The Oakland Raiders will head to Kansas City on Friday, where they will assess his condition and decide if he can suit up on Saturday. It’s unlikely he’ll play with two-months of inactivity and no practices under his belt.

Here was a time-line of events after McFadden’s injury, with Jackson’s comments about his progress throughout the tail end of the season:

Raider Time Line: Darren McFadden’s Injury

WHO HATES THE RAIDERS?

When asked if he hated the Chiefs’ fiercest rivals, interim head coach Romeo Crennel said, “Do I hate the Raiders? To be honest with you I really don’t hate anybody. But I dislike the Raiders because they are a divisional opponent and they are going to try to whip me basically. And I don’t like to get beat so I’m going to put the best foot forward and I’m going to do a good job against these guys but I don’t hate the Raiders. It’s a big rivalry, I understand that and the fans, they might want to hear me say I hate the Raiders. But that would be me walking down the street and you want me to say I hate this guy over here because he’s just walking down the street. That’s not the case, when you talk about hate, I think hate is a strong word and I don’t hate anybody.”

A complete opposite of what their former coach said some time ago:

“I never liked the Raiders.” – Todd Haley

For more memorable quotes from this great rivalry, go to this archived piece written in 2010:

Chiefs vs. Raiders: Quotes to Remember

MORE

Al Saunders on Oakland playing on the road:

“I think we’ve done a real good job as an offensive football team handling venues away from here. Every team is equipped to handle the silent count mechanics in an away game. I was there for 15 years, a lot of years in Kansas City with Marty [Schottenheimer] and Dick Vermeil. It is, for the opponents, it is a difficult place to play from a noise standpoint and now they’ve restructured the stadium and it seems like it comes down on you even more. I was with Baltimore last year and we played there in the playoffs and the noise hasn’t changed. It’s difficult but probably no more than the indoor venue in Minnesota. That was quite a noisy place for us to play and we handled Denver very well in the first game of the year so that shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

In eight career games versus the Chiefs, Richard Seymour has only one sack. C.Palmer is 69-of-116 for 756 yards, 4 TD and 6 INT career against Kansas City.
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Rookie wide receiver Denarius Moore will return to his punt-returning duties for the Raiders this week

In order to make the playoffs by winning the AFC West, the Raiders must win their final two games and get some help from the team they play this week, the Kansas City Chiefs. In order for the Raiders to catch up to the first place Denver Broncos, the Chiefs must defeat the Broncos in the final week of the season. This would give the Raiders a 4-2 divisional record, and the Broncos a 3-3 divisional record, giving the AFC West crown to the Raiders.

Winning the AFC West is definitely the desired outcome, as it would give the Raiders a first-round playoff game at home. But the Raiders have another possible route to the postseason but also requires help from the rest of the NFL.

In order to win the last AFC wildcard spot, the Raiders still need to go 2-0 but also have the Cincinnati Bengals go 0-2, or 1-1 with losing to the Ravens in week 17, and the Tennessee Titans, and New York Jets lose at least one of their remaining games to get the Raiders into the playoffs because of the conference record tie-breaker.

Bottom line is that the Oakland Raiders must first start by defeating division rival Kansas City Chiefs at noisy Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs are coming off of a week in which they saw former head coach Todd Haley get fired and then witnessed interim head coach Romeo Crennel lead them to a win against the then-undefeated Green Bay Packers.

Quarterback Carson Palmer made his Raider debut against the Chiefs in week 7, but finished 8-21 with three interceptions

The Raiders last took on the Chiefs in week 7, the same week that they acquired quarterback Carson Palmer from the Bengals. Following an emergency entrance of Palmer in the second half, the Chiefs ended the game with six interceptions total on Palmer and starting quarterback Kyle Boller. Palmer finished the game 8-21 for 116 yards and three interceptions after being on the Raiders roster for just a few days.

Palmer will hope to have a much different day against the Chiefs this week as he takes on their ninth best pass defense. The Chiefs are only allowing 209.6 opposing passing yards per week thus far.

Unfortunately for Palmer, it looks like he will not be seeing the return of wide receiver Jacoby Ford this week either, as he has still not returned to practice from his foot injury. After returning last week from his own foot injury, it looks as if rookie Denarius Moore will get the start again along side Darrius Heyward-Bey who is having a breakout season and becoming a favorite target of Palmer.

Head coach Hue Jackson also hinted that Moore is likely to be used as the Raiders primary punt returner on Sunday in hopes of providing a spark.

With the return of star running back Darren McFadden nowhere in sight yet, it will be Michael Bush who once again gets the nod. Bush has a career-high 841 yards this season thus far, and hopes to break the 1,000-yard mark for the first time of his career.

Rookie speedster Taiwan Jones returned to practice this week and will provide a solid option should Jackson look to spell Bush with a quicker, shiftier back.

Jones and Bush will be going up against a Chiefs defense that is ranked 24th in the NFL, allowing 130.4 yards per game on the ground.

Oakland’s defense will be facing a different Chiefs quarterback than the one they faced earlier this season, yet it is a familiar face indeed. Incumbent starter Matt Cassel was placed on the IR with an injury to his throwing hand, causing the Chiefs to claim former Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off of waivers.

In their only meeting with Orton this season thus far, Orton finished 24-46 for 304 yards, one interception and one touchdown as the Raiders came away with the 23-20 win in Denver for the season opener.

Rookie running back Taiwan Jones returns this week from injury to give Hue Jackson some more depth at the running back position

The Raiders defense has proven to give up the big play and is allowing 243.8 passing yards per game, including 391 yards to the Lions last week. The Raiders will need to keep an eye on star wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who leads the team with 69 receptions for 986 yards and four touchdowns.

Oakland will also need to contain the Chief’s rushing attack, which is composed of veteran Thomas Jones, utility back Dexter McCluster and their bruising back Jackie Battle, who were all forced to take on a larger role after star running back Jamaal Charles went down with a torn ACL in week 2.

The Raiders gave up 139 yards to the Chiefs in their week-seven meeting, and will look to slow the Chiefs down this week. In order to do this, middle linebacker Rolando McClain and the rest of the defense will have to maintain gap control and not over pursue.

The Raiders must also find a way to cut down on their penalties, not only if they hope to win the remaining two games, but also if they hope to not break the record that is currently held by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs.

With two weeks remaining in the season, the Raiders are 109 penalty yards short of the Chiefs 1,340 penalty yards, and 19 penalties short of their 158 penalties in 1998.

Should the Raiders defeat the Chiefs on Sunday, they must finish the season strong by defeating the San Diego Chargers in their final game of the season at O.Co Coliseum on New Year’s Day.

Michael Huff was inactive vs. the Lions & may miss the contest vs. the Chiefs.

Darren McFadden jogged lightly and worked with trainers during Tuesday’s practice session.

The Oakland Raiders injured rusher has been sidelined since October 23 with an injured foot that he sustained versus the Kansas City Chiefs. He’ll likely be out again this weekend, as the Silver & Black travel to Arrowhead for their final meeting of the campaign against their divisional foes.

Hue Jackson has stated for weeks that he expects McFadden’s return and just recently reported that he will not need surgery. Jason La Canfora on Sunday reported that McFadden will likely be out for the remainder of the season and the post-season, if Oakland qualifies.

Taiwan Jones and Bryan McCann were back at practice. John Henderson (knee) and Michael Huff (hamstring) were out. Jacoby Ford (foot) is not expected to suit up this weekend – he was injured during their Thursday night match-up at San Diego.

Yesterday, Oakland inked nose tackle Travis Ivey to the practice squad, presumably to aide a defensive line that could miss Henderson again this weekend.

CRENNEL ON THE RAIDERS

Romeo Crennel addressed the media today regarding their upcoming contest in Kansas City versus their rivals.

On Oakland:

“The Raiders, they are a very talented team on both sides of the ball and they always play us tough generally. I remember the games last year when we went out there and lost in overtime and then they came here and they got after us pretty good. So this year hopefully we can flip it a little bit because we went out there and got after them pretty good and then when they come in here this time hopefully we can get them. That’s what we are going to try to get done but they do have a lot of talent. I think our guys still have a good feel from the Sunday game but I am trying to get them to put that in the background and let’s focus on the Raiders because this is the most important game of the year.”

On the rivalry and do you hate the Raiders:

“Well as it turns out that’s the case, that’s the way I feel right now. I would like to win only one game this year and it happens to be the Raiders who are coming in. That’s why I tell the guys the next game is the most important game, and this being the Raiders makes it doubly important. We’re going to be fired up to play the Raiders. Anytime we play at home we are fired up, but particularly when the Raiders come to town. We’re excited about it, I’m excited about it. Sometimes, I told you, my demeanor is a pretty even-keeled demeanor so don’t take that as I’m not getting up for the game because I’m up for the game and our guys will be up for the game.”

On his team’s playoff hopes:

“I told the players yesterday, I said by winning against Green Bay, we’re still in the hunt and that’s all I want to hear about, is we’re in the hunt. And now we have to beat the Raiders and I want all the talk and focus to be about the Raiders.”

On Tamba Hali:

“Tamba comes to work every day. He comes to work every day and particularly on Sunday. He is relentless in rushing the passer, he works at his trade.”

STATS

• In 11 games versus the Raiders, Hali has tallied 6.5 sacks.
• The Chiefs are 31-13 against the Raiders since 1990. Kansas City leads the series: 55-48-2. Oakland last lost in 2006 at Arrowhead.
• Since Nov. 20, KC has held opponents to a 27.9 3rd-down conversion rate. Oakland was 1-of-9 on 3^rd downs versus the Lions.
• Last 5-games versus the Chiefs, the Raiders have averaged 151.4 yards rushing per game.

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Team sources that spoke to La Canfora state that it is unlikely the rusher will play again in 2011 after missing nearly two months of action with a foot injury. He also reports that even if the Silver & Black make the playoffs, it is doubtful McFadden will suit up for the Raiders.

McFadden had a stellar start to the season, tallying 614 rushing yards and four touchdowns as well as 19 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown, before an injury sidelined him during a week-seven match-up versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s a time line since his injury:

Raider Time Line: Darren McFadden’s Injury