The Oakland Raiders (1-2) lost at home today to the Denver Broncos (3-0).  The Raiders offense looked absolutely terrible, and they seemed like they took a step backwards today.  The Raiders defense did all they could to keep the game close, but they were worn down by the steady ground attack by the Broncos duo of running backs, Correll Buckhalter and Knowshown Moreno.  I thought the Raiders’ offense may take a step forward today, and set themselves up for an upset over the Broncos.  Wow, was I wrong.

Raiders’ quarterback JaMarcus Russell continued to suck today, as he only amounted 61 yards in the air on 12/21 passes.  He threw two interceptions, both in the first quarter, and only got one yard of passing offense in the second half.  The Raiders fans booed Russell eary and he deserved it.

The Raiders defense did what they could, but the Broncos had a great game-plan to wear down the Raiders strong defense.  They played mistake-free and destroyed the Raiders with the running game, racking up over 200 yards on the ground.  The Raiders were still in the game at halftime, down 13-3, but the offense was never able to get anything going and the Raiders’ tired defense gave up 10 more points in the second half.

The Raiders really have a ton of problems offensively, and if JaMarcus Russell continues to play like he has he will be gone soon.  The Raiders’ defense, which was impressive the past two weeks, looked awful against the run and they need to fix those issues.  The Raiders are looking to bounce back next week at Houston against the Texans (1-2).

The Oakland Raiders (1-1) are hosting the Denver Broncos (2-0) this week at the Oakland Coliseum.  The Raiders’ defense has been very strong so far this year and has been one of the surprises of the league in this young 2009 season.  The offense has been a different story though, as JaMarcus Russel has struggled a lot through the first two games.  He has had some plays though that show how talented he is, but the Raiders need more consistency out of him at the quarterback position.

The Raiders are going up against one of the best defenses in the league.  First year head coach Josh McDaniels has sparked a new life into the Broncos defense and they are the reason this team has been successful.  The Broncos offense has not been very strong and quarterback Kyle Orton has been mediocre at best.  He has two touchdowns, but one was a tipped pass at the end of their week one game, where Brandon Stokley caught the tipped ball and ran it in for a last second victory.  So, the Broncos should be 1-1.

The Raiders defense is definitely going to be effective against the Broncos and I am expecting them to force some turnovers.  I think the Broncos defense will do the same, as both offenses are no match for the defense they are going up against.  I think the Raiders do have more weapons on offense though, as they are young and talented.  That talent hasn’t been very effective thus far though, but if Russel can have a solid game the Raiders have a great shot at winning.  I think the Raiders defense is going to make some big plays and it will help the Raiders pull off the upset and beat the Broncos late.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Broncos 20, Raiders 24

The Raiders have lose starting LG Robert Gallery for the next 4-6 weeks due to a broken fibula.  Chris Morris will shift from center to LG to replace Gallery in the starting lineup and he will likely do a solid job for the Raiders until he is ready to return to action.  Samson Satele will replace Morris at center and he should also do a decent job as he was a starter with the Dolphins before this year.

I’m amazed that the Raiders won this football game as they only had control of the football for 21:21 of this game.  JaMarcus Russell was horrible in this game completing only 7 of 24 passes for 109 yards.  Darren McFadden scored the game winning TD with only 1:07 left in the game (5-yard run).  McFadden carried the ball 12 times for 35 yards (2.9 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 20 yards (10.0 avg).  The Raiders finished up with only 166 total yards on offense (67 rushing, 99 passing) yesterday.

The Raiders’ D was in bend but don’t break mode which is what gave the team a chance to win at the end.  LB Kirk Morrison led the way for the Raiders with 13 tackles.  DE Greg Ellis (5 tackles, 2 sacks) and S Michael Huff (3 tackles, 2 interceptions) both also contributed huge to the win yesterday.  The Chiefs finished up with 409 total yards on offense (173 rushing, 236 passing) in this game.  The Raiders are now 1-1 on the season with this win.

The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs both come into this game with 0-1 records.  But, the Raiders played a better game last week and they have won two in a row at Arrowhead Stadium (23-8 last year).  The Raiders have to be licking their chops looking at film of the Chiefs’ D which allowed 501 total yards last week against the Ravens.  The Raiders will likely focus on running the football with Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas against the Chiefs who allowed 198 yards rushing and 4.8 ypc last week.  JaMarcus Russell will no doubt have time to throw the ball due to the Chiefs’ poor pass rush so TE Zach Miller and rookie WR Louis Murphy could both have big games also.

It’s looking like Matt Cassel might be able to go this week for the Chiefs.  The Chiefs will likely try to get Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles going on the ground against a Raiders’ D that was weak against the run last season.  That will be easier said than done though as the Raiders only allowed 3.3 yards per carry and 77 yards rushing against the Chargers.  The Chiefs must do a good job of blocking DE Richard Seymour who had two sacks this season already.  If Cassel has time to throw the ball he should be able to make some plays downfield against the Raiders.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 27, CHIEFS 23

Rookie 4th round pick Louis Murphy out of Florida is off to a great start for the Raiders.  Murphy caught 4 passes for 87 yards (21.8 avg) with a TD grab against the Chargers on Monday Night.  He should have had over 100 yards and 2 TDs but the refs made a bad call in the end zone.  The sky is the limit for Murphy as he has great deep speed which fits into the Raiders’ age old philosophy of running the ball and throwing deep.

The Raiders will be without WR/KR Nick Miller for the next 4-6 weeks due to a hairline ankle fracture.  Miller was to be the starting kickoff returner for the Raiders this season.  Backup RB Louis Rankin will keep Miller’s spot warm until he gets healthy.  Rankin returned 4 kickoffs for 67 yards (16.8 avg) in the season opener against the Chargers.  They need Rankin to do better than that.

The Raiders have released 30-year old DT William Joseph to make room on the roster for DE Richard Seymour.  Joseph played in 8 games for the Raiders last season making 8 tackles.  He has now played in 63 games (17 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 80 tackles, has 7 sacks, has defensed 7 passes and he has forced 2 fumbles.  The Raiders shouldn’t miss Joseph too much.

The Oakland Raiders should have won this game.  When Darren Sproles ran in for a TD with only 18 seconds left you could feel the wind leaving the stadium.  JaMarcus Russell was not too good in this game as he completed 12 of 30 passes for 208 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Bruce Gradkowski made a brief appearance connecting on both of his pass attempts for 17 yards.  Darren McFadden had a solid game to start the season with 17 carries for 68 yards (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 25 yards.  Michael Bush also got a lot of work in as he carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  TE Zach Miller led the way for the Raiders in the passing game with 6 catches for 96 yards (16.0 avg).  Rookie WR Louis Murphy had a great NFL debut catching 4 passes for 87 yards (21.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Raiders rolled up 366 total yards on offense (148 rushing, 218 passing) in this game.

LB Thomas Howard and CB Tyvon Branch led the Raiders with 8 tackles apiece in this game.  DE Richard Seymour made a impact right away for his new team finishing with 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Chargers finished up with 317 total yards of offense in this game (77 rushing, 240 passing).

The Chargers are coming for a visit to the Black Hole tonight.  The Raiders are hoping to turn this series around starting tonight as the Chargers have beaten them 11 times in a row.  The Raiders are a running team but if they want to win this game they will have to mix in some passing.  JaMarcus Russell does have a great arm and he will be looking to throw the ball downfield.  For that to happen the Raiders must be able to give him time to throw the ball and even then Russell will have to be careful with the ball against the playmakers in San Diego’s backfield.  Darren McFadden will be starting this game as he has the speed to score on any play so the Chargers could have their hands full with him.

The Chargers will probably come out throwing in this game with the idea of getting a quick lead and taking the Raiders out of their gameplan.  Philip Rivers has a lot of nice targets in Antonio Gates, Chris Chambers, Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson so the Raiders must mount a pass rush against the Chargers or Rivers is going to carve them up.  The Chargers won’t forget L.T. as he will get his carries against a Raiders’ D that allowed 159.7 yards rushing per game last season.

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 34, OAKLAND RAIDERS 17