The Oakland Raiders without a doubt have the fastest WRing corps in the NFL, but they don’t catch enough passes to take advantage of the speed they have.  Darrius Heyward-Bey is leading the way for the Raiders so far this year with 27 grabs for 434 yards (16.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Rookie Denarius Moore has also made some big plays so far this year as he has caught 14 passes for 212 yards (15.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jacoby Ford (11 rec, 114 yards) and Chaz Schilens (7 rec, 65 yards, TD) are finally healthy and they both have nice upsides, so look for them to add some juice to the passing game going forward.  Derek Hagan (11 rec, 114 yards) and rookie Taiwan Jones (2 rec, 25 yards) are also on hand to help out when the Raiders need them to.

The Oakland Raiders were pathetic yesterday, especially at QB.  Kyle Boller started the game at QB for the Raiders and he was awful.  He completed 7 of 14 passes for 61 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (one was returned 59 yards for a TD by Chiefs’ safety Kendrick Lewis).  Carson Palmer relieved Boller and he was almost as bad.  He completed 8 of 21 passes for 116 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 interceptions (one was returned 55 yards by Chiefs’ CB Brandon Flowers for a TD).  RB Michael Bush led the way on the ground for the Raiders as he rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries (5.8 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 12 yards in this game.  Rookie Taiwan Jones got in on the action yesterday as he carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 30 yards in this game.  Darren McFadden hurt his foot early in this game as he carried the ball 2 times for 4 yards (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  WR Darrius Heyward-Bey led the way for the Raiders in the passing game with 5 grabs for 89 yards (17.8 avg).  The Raiders finished up with 155 yards rushing on 27 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 35 passes (42.9%) for 167 yards as they had possession of the ball for 26:23.

The defense actually played pretty well for the Raiders yesterday.  CB Stanford Routt (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) and safety Tyvon Branch (9 tackles) led the way for the Raiders’ D in this game.  CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and safety Chinedum Ndukwe (2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also made some big plays in this game for the Raiders.  The Chiefs finished up with 139 yards on 39 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 161 yards.  The Raiders are now 4-3 on the year.

Both these teams are currently on 2 game winning streaks.  The Chiefs are coming off their bye week so they have had two weeks to get ready for the Raiders.  The Raiders have won 10 straight regular season games against AFC West teams.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are starting Kyle Boller at QB this Sunday, so they are going to be run heavy offensively.  Darren McFadden and Michael Bush are both going to get a lot of carries against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 119.6 yards rushing per game but only 3.8 yards per carry.  Boller will be helped if the Raiders are successful running the ball, as that will set up playaction deep passes to Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore.  The Chiefs only have five sacks this year and they are giving up 249.6 yards passing per game.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs have been one of the most balanced offenses so far this year and look for them to try keeping the Raiders’ defense honest tomorrow.  Jackie Battle is going to be the Chiefs’ featured back in this game and the Raiders are giving up 113.2 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry, so he’s going to get his fair share of yards.  The Raiders will have to blitz in this game, because if Matt Cassel has time to throw the ball, he’s going to get it into the hands of Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston quite a bit.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 20, CHIEFS 19

With Sebastian Janikowski hurting, the Raiders have signed 28-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner played in 8 games for the Lions last year and he connected on 13 of 16 field goals (81.3%).  He also made all 16 of his extra points last year as he finished up with 55 points.  Rayner has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has made 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%).  He has also connected on 64 of 65 extra points as he has 229 points in his career.  I think Rayner will do a solid job for the Raiders until Janikowski is ready to return to action.

UPDATE:  (10/26/2011) – The Raiders have waived Dave Rayner.  He played against the Chiefs last weekend and he kicked the ball off 1 time.  The Raiders got shut out, so they didn’t really give Rayner a chance to show what he can do.  This is a good sign for the Raiders as Sebastian Janikowski appears ready to return after this week’s bye.

Darren McFadden is having a strong follow-up to his breakout season in 2010.  He has played in six games for the Raiders so far this year and he has carried the ball 111 times for 610 yards (5.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  McFadden has also caught 18 passes for 151 yards (8.4 avg) with 1 TD grab this year, as he has simply been amazing.  Michael Bush provides a nice contrast with his power running to McFadden’s flat out speed.  Bush has played in six games for the Raiders so far this year and he has carried the ball 43 times for 138 yards (3.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Bush has also caught 7 passes for 99 yards (14.1 avg) this year.  Fullback Marcel Reece has been a secret weapon, when healthy.  Reece has played in 3 games for the Raiders this year and he has carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc).  He has also caught 6 passes for 43 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  The Raiders are averaging an amazing 160.0 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry, which is pretty darn impressive.

The Oakland Raiders are considering shutting down 33-year old kicker Sebastian Janikowski for a little while as he has a hamstring injury.  Janikowski has played in all six games for the Raiders so far this year and he has connected of 12 of 13 field goals (92.3%), including hitting on some really long ones.  He has also nailed all 16 of his extra point attempts this year as he has scored 52 points so far.  No matter who the Raiders bring in to kick, they are going to miss Janikowski’s amazing range.

The Raiders have lost 25-year old DE Matt Shaughnessy for the rest of the season as they have placed him on the Injured Reserve List due to a shoulder injury.  He played in 3 games for the Raiders this year and he had 7 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for a loss.  Shaughnessy has now played in 35 games in his first three years with the Raiders and he has 92 tackles, 12 sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  This is going to hurt the Raiders a little bit as Matt Shaughnessy is a pretty decent pass rusher.

The Raiders have signed 26-year old safety Chinedum Ndukwe.  Ndukwe played in 12 games for the Bengals last year and he had 60 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1/2 a sack, 1 fumble recovery, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 53 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 257 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 6 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 6 tackles for a loss.  The Raiders were lucky to find a player like Ndukwe sitting at home on his couch at this point of the season.

UPDATE:  (11/11/2011) – The Raiders have released Chinedum Ndukwe.  Ndukwe played in 2 games for the Raiders and he had 2 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.

The Oakland Raiders have acquired 31-year old QB Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals, but he didn’t come cheap.  The Raiders had to give the Bengals a first round pick in 2012 and a conditional first round pick in 2013.  Palmer played for Raiders’ head coach Hue Jackson when he was an assistant coach with the Bengals in 2004-2006.  The Raiders hope that because of that, Jackson gets Palmer quickly up to speed.  Palmer played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals in 2010 and he completed 362 of 586 passes (61.8%) for 3,970 yards with 26 TD passes and 20 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 32 times for 50 yards (1.6 ypc) last year for the Bengals.  Palmer has now played in 97 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,024 of 3,217 passes (62.9%) for 22,694 yards with 154 TD passes and 100 INTs (86.9 QB Rating).  Palmer has also carried the ball 179 times for 316 yards (1.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Palmer is 46-51 (47.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The Raiders hope that Palmer will get up to speed quickly so that he can start this weekend against the Chiefs.  This was the kind of bold move that Al Davis would have loved to pull the trigger on.

UPDATE:  The draft pick the Raiders sent to the Bengals in 2013 will become a first round pick if the Raiders make it to the AFC Championship Game in either 2012 or 2013.  If they don’t, the 2013 pick will be a 2nd rounder.

The Oakland Raiders will be without 29-year old starting QB Jason Campbell for a minimum of six weeks as he needs surgery to repair a broken collar bone.  Campbell has played in all six games for the Raiders this year and he has completed 100 of 165 passes (60.6%) for 1,170 yards with 6 TD passes and 4 INTs (84.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 ypc) with 2 TD carries so far this year.  30-year old Kyle Boller is next in line and he will be the starting QB this Sunday against the Chiefs unless the Raiders make a deal for a QB today.  Boller has played in 1 game for the Raiders so far this year and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 100 yards without a TD pass or interception (79.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 9 yards (1.8 ypc) so far this year.  Boller has been less than impressive as a starting QB to this point in his NFL career.  22-year old rookie QB Terrelle Pryor is now the Raiders’ #2 QB.