Raiders-Chiefs Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

Chiefs need big game from receivers if they want to winThis is one of the oldest rivalries in the AFC, and it dates back to the old AFL days. Quite simply, there's no love lost between these two teams. The Chiefs are a different team at home, and the Raiders are trying to avenge a Week 1 loss. Expect a lot of hard-hitting tackles and taunting as each team tries to intimidate the other. The Raiders feature two young, exciting players in QB JaMarcus Russell and RB Darren McFadden, while the Chiefs feature two big-time pass-catchers in veteran TE Tony Gonzalez and second-year WR Dwayne Bowe.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
OAK	5-11	263	388	2-6	3-5	2-4	4-8
KAN	2-14	291	440	1-7	1-7	2-4	2-10
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Oakland Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Russel... 48.8 1287 3 11 Gradko... 54.7 1007 6 3

Kansas City Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Cassel 55.0 2924 16 16 Croyle 57.5 230 2 0

Oakland Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Bush 123 589 4.8 3 Fargas 129 491 3.8 3

Kansas City Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Charle... 190 1120 5.9 7 Johnso... 132 377 2.9 0

Oakland Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Miller 66 805 12.2 3 Murphy 34 521 15.3 4

Kansas City Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Chambe... 36 608 16.9 4 Bowe 47 589 12.5 4

Full Player Stats: Oakland | Kansas City

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	OAK	272.0
	KAN	309.0
Yards Passing	OAK	148.1
	KAN	195.6
Yards Rushing	OAK	124.2
	KAN	113.1
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	OAK	360.9
	KAN	393.2
Pass Yds Allowed	OAK	201.3
	KAN	234.3
Rush Yds Allowed	OAK	159.7
	KAN	158.9

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Kansas City leads 11-5
Nov 25, 2007	OAK 20, KAN 17
Oct 21, 2007	OAK 10, @KAN 12
Dec 23, 2006	OAK 9, @KAN 20
Nov 19, 2006	OAK 13, KAN 17
Nov 6, 2005	OAK 23, KAN 27
Sep 18, 2005	OAK 17, @KAN 23
Dec 25, 2004	OAK 30, KAN 31
Dec 5, 2004	OAK 27, @KAN 34
Nov 23, 2003	OAK 24, KAN 27
Oct 20, 2003	OAK 10, @KAN 17
Dec 28, 2002	OAK 24, @KAN 0
Oct 27, 2002	OAK 10, KAN 20
Dec 9, 2001	OAK 28, @KAN 26
Sep 9, 2001	OAK 27, KAN 24

DAN BURCH

STATS writer

The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten a lot of national attention this week for what happened to a certain New England quarterback. What's been less discussed is how the Chiefs are moving forward without their own starter.

The Chiefs will try to put Week 1 behind them Sunday when they host the Oakland Raiders, another team looking to move on from a tough opening game.

Kansas City nearly pulled off a monumental upset Sunday, losing to New England 17-10 after the Patriots stopped the Chiefs near the goal line in the last minute of the game. But that wasn't the main focus of the contest. Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard hit Tom Brady in the knee midway through the first quarter, causing the league MVP to tear his ACL.

Brady will miss the season following surgery to repair the knee. Pollard was apologetic after the game, insisting the hit wasn't dirty.

Lost amid that was the vicious hit Kansas City starter Brodie Croyle took in the third quarter of that same game. Croyle – injury-prone throughout his brief career – will miss two to four weeks with a separated shoulder. Kansas City plans to move forward with a two-quarterback system for now.

Veteran Damon Huard gets the nod against the Raiders, but 24-year-old Tyler Thigpen should see plenty of action as well.

"He'll get to play. Whether he starts, we'll determine that," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said of Thigpen. "But he is going to play. You don't have to worry about that."

Huard has stepped in before and had some success. He went 5-3 as a starter in 2006, throwing 11 touchdowns and one interception in relief of Trent Green. Last season, he started 10 games as Croyle battled injuries.

"There are some things we do offensively that Tyler and Brodie do very well," Edwards said. "There are some things Damon can do that offsets what they do. When Tyler plays, it's a little bit different than when Damon plays."

Thigpen, who Kansas City claimed off waivers from Minnesota in 2007, went 2-of-6 for 41 yards and an interception in December against San Diego, his only NFL action. He started 39 games for Coastal Carolina in college.

"It's just not fair to the kid, opening up at home. Trust me, he'll get his chances like all the rest of these young guys," Edwards said of the decision to go with Huard this week.

Sunday's home game could be just what the hurting Chiefs need. Kansas City's last win came against Oakland in Week 7 of last season. And although the Raiders beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium later in the year, Kansas City has dominated the series lately.

Before that November loss, the Chiefs had won nine straight over the Raiders. Since 1990, they're 14-4 at Arrowhead Stadium against Oakland and 28-9 overall versus their AFC West archrival.

That doesn't bode well for the Raiders, who were blown out 41-14 by another AFC West rival, Denver, on Monday night. Former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell made his second career start, but despite some encouraging play, Oakland made the same mistakes that have caused it to go 19-62 since the start of the 2003 season.

"Maybe you lose a one-point game and you start saying, 'Well we're really good and we should have won the game or the refs blew a call," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. "We got our butts kicked. So we'll come back next week and maybe it made some issues to be addressed this week that wouldn't't have been in a close game."

The Raiders committed 10 penalties, including five personal fouls. Their secondary, expected to be the defense's strong suit, was shredded by Jay Cutler and the Broncos. New cornerback DeAngelo Hall was beaten several times and committed two of the personal foul infractions.

"Before we make statements that we're not any good at one certain thing, let's play a couple games and look at it because we definitely have the ability to be a great pass defense," Kiffin said. "So, hopefully, this week we'll get back on track."

Russell went 17-of-26 for 180 yards and two touchdowns, but both of those came after the team trailed 27-0.

Rookie running back Darren McFadden, who had 57 total yards, isn't't expected to miss any time after leaving Monday's game with a stinger in his shoulder.

"It's one game," Kiffin said. "There are 15 other teams that are 0-1 just like us, regardless of the score. If we come back this week and go to Arrowhead and win, we'll be 1-1, and everyone will be talking about that game."

Despite Kansas City's recent success in the series, the games between the teams have been close. Nine of the last 10 contests have been decided by seven points or fewer.

Scouts Inc.: AFC offseason needs

You can think of this as the ultimate primer for the NFL offseason, or at least the AFC offseason: Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. breaks down all the squads in the AFC and tells you their top three needs to address, be it via the draft or free agency.

Chiefs' Waters receives Man of the Year award

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed Sunday that Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs was this season's winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Owners talk labor situation; status quo reigns

NFL owners have met for several hours to discuss the labor situation, although it appears they are no closer to reaching an agreement with the players' union for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Kiper: Answering reader mail on picks, stock and the draft

Mel Kiper answers piles of mail on numerous topics. He discusses why Tim Tebow's bad performance might not kill his stock, why the Giants may consider an RB in Round 1, whether Rex Ryan should grab a CB and much more.

Raiders -- yes, Raiders -- upbeat this summer

Things have been relatively quiet for the Raiders this offseason. Sure, there were those pesky photos of a blinged-out JaMarcus Russell, whose work ethic has been in question, posing in what appeared to be a club with an unlit cigar in his mouth and a drink in hand.

Sharing stadium not such bad idea

THE ONLY ABSOLUTE about a sports team seeking a new home is the presence of anger.

Raiders are easy targets

It's tantamount to a declaration of war on the sovereign Raider Nation. John Tayman's Bang! Cartoons levels both barrels at Al Davis , JaMarcus Russell , Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tom Cable.

Long past their glory days, Raiders seeking winning recipe

Once upon a time, the Oakland Raiders staked their claim as one of the more successful franchises in NFL history.

Cable shoots down Burgess talks

Raiders coach Tom Cable was a guest on Chronicle Live on Wednesday night, talking about the goal of OTAs, the development of JaMarcus Russell, etc.

'He runs a tight ship'

When Todd Haley was introduced as the Chiefs' new head coach in early February, he joked that he was trying to loosen up, if only for the day.

Safety alert: Mike Brown making free-agent visit to Kansas City

One safety with Chicago ties is expected to announce his retirement today. Another will look for a new place to continue his career.

Still no Waters or Vrabel at Chiefs practice, but LJ returns

The Chiefs began another week of optional team practices without two important pieces, and how Kansas City ends this week could foretell whether key players on offense and defense have a future with the team.

Chiefs adjust to new roles in new defense

Turk McBride still feels himself inching toward the defensive line, home for so long, and the comfort his old position would bring.

Clock ticking on Chiefs contract

The game of chicken between the Kansas City Chiefs and state government has yet to scare away potential builders of a summer training camp facility in St.