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The Raiders simply must win their next two games to have a chance at the playoffs. The Chiefs are playing for the playoffs themselves and will need to win the last two games. This is a late December trip to Arrowhead with playoff implications despite struggles along the way for both teams. Reeling after an explicable defensive meltdown last week at home versus the Detroit Lions, the Raiders will attempt to pick their season off the scrap heap Sunday in Kansas City. Temperatures will be win the mid 40s and mild, not what one would expect for a late season trip to Arrowhead stadium. The mild temperatures mean the Raiders will have dodged their cold-weather games this season. It didn't make any difference in their blowout loss to the Packers two weeks ago and the Raiders are hoping to avoid any repeats. The last time the Raiders faced the Chiefs, Todd Haley was the Head Coach and Matt Cassel was the Quarterback for the Chiefs. Fast forward 11 weeks and Romeo Crennel and Kyle Orton are...

The Raiders are one of the most up and down teams in the NFL, but with good reason. At the beginning of the season, they rose with the Autumn wind, fueled by the emotion of the passing of Mr. Silver and Black himself. They looked unstoppable; that is, until Campbell got hurt. The team, who still has no real, official front office leadership, had to make a snap decision about what to do since the signing deadline was looming. This landed Carson Palmer squarely into the black hole, and the rest of the team started looking like just that: a black hole. Then the Autumn wind picked up again and the team is cruising steadily. Though they're headed in the right direction, there are still some massive things to look out for, both good and bad. Raiders' Biggest Obstacles Penalties It's still no secret that the Raiders are the most penalized team in the NFL, which is not unique to this season. This seems to be something that needs constant work and attention. Even a casual Raiders fa...

It's been a NFL season full of abnormalities due to the lockout and the Raiders have been no exception. Many thought the Raiders would finally find their grove. The team finally had a guy they could call their franchise quarterback in Jason Campbell and they were full of young talent at just about every position. Hue Jackson, a fiery new coach, seemed to have the right formula for success. It started well enough, until week 5 when the wheels started to come off. The Raiders lost their fearless leader Al Davis. While the Raiders were able to rally to beat the Texans that week, it was easy to tell that things were not the same in Oakland. Although often scrutinized for his managerial decisions, Al Davis ran things his way and answered to no one. Meaning when it came time to make decisions, they were made, and people moved on. Uncertainty was the word of the week when it came to how the Raiders would move forward. It didn't take long to find out who was now making the calls. Hue J...

Quarterback This position, in regards to Fantasy, is less of a crap shoot than it was two weeks ago, but there's still no way to confidently say play Palmer over other QBs in the NFL. Palmer's play against the Chiefs was not an indication of his future play because he was unprepared and didn't have his go-to: Darren McFadden. He was just trying to clean up Boller's mess. This week he still won't have McFadden, but he will have T.J. “Who's-Yo-Mama” Houshmandzadeh with whom he practiced during his “retirement.” Housh will give Palmer a reliable target that he's comfortable with and can go to on third downs, or any other down for that matter. It would irresponsible to give a definitive “go!” for starting Palmer on your team this week. On the bright side, Tebow will make him look like a pro-bowler again. Running Back All of you who have been reaping the benefits of McFadden's success have probably been drinking yourself to sleep after seeing him leave practi...

Everyone knows the importance of fans, or the 12th man, but too often people jump ship in times of trouble. Last Sunday was the definition of trouble, and a time where the 12th man needed to step up. Even though Jason Campbell wasn't listed one of the NFL's top 10 Quarterbacks, he was 4-2 as a starter before Hue Jackson swayed the “powers that be” to bring retired Carson Palmer on board. From the beginning Jackson told people that he was going to keep his starter at quarterback last Sunday as a surprise so the Chiefs wouldn’t have an edge. This plan backfired, to say the least. Jackson now knows that when you try to keep something like this a “surprise,” chances are your team will play like they are surprised too. Part of the poor performance was due to Darren McFadden exiting the game with a foot injury; an unpleasant surprise. The plan had been to rely heavily on McFadden regardless of who the quarterback was. Kyle Boller is a backup and Palmer was sitting on his couch (yes, ...

Studs Michael Bush While he was stone-walled at the goal line by Derrick Johnson three times he still managed to put up a very respectable game with 99 rushing yards on 17 carries. That's a very healthy 5.8 yards per carry. He managed a respectable game despite little to no threat passing and an early two score deficit. He wasn't amazing, but no one was on Sunday. Darrius Heyward-Bey He snarred another 5 balls for 89 yards and he's the Raiders leading receiver and it isn't close. Heyward-Bey is on pace for over 1100 yards receiving on 72 receptions. Over the past four games Heyward-Bey is averaging 96 yards and 6 receptions. If that trend continues he'll finish the season with 82 receptions for nearly 1400 yards. It probably will not continue at the same level, but it is worth noting. Ten receivers finished the 2010 season with more than 1100 yards and only Brandon Lloyd finished 2010 with more than 1400 yards. The sample is still relatively small, but Heyward-Bey m...

For the first time in a long time, the focus of the NFL has been on the Oakland Raiders quarterback.  We just don't know who that quarterback is going to be... Hue Jackson is dancing with the media; winking, hinting, manipulating, and enjoying every second of it.  Reports came out early in the week that newly acquired Carson Palmer would start after just three practices.  Yesterday ESPN and several other news sources stated that it was "unlikely" Palmer was going to start on Sunday. We may see Kyle Boller, Palmer, and even Terrelle Pryor at some point against KC.  Hue Jackson is an absolute wild man with his play-calling...he will throw everything at you.  We're not even halfway through the season and we've seen a fake punt, fake field goal, flea flicker, and numerous reverses.  How can we have the slightest idea of what to expect? One thing you can bank on, Darren McFadden will be a very busy man.  Everybody knows it including Kansas City Defensive Coordinator Ro...

Quarterback Not sure what to tell you here except don't play Campbell or Boller. Obviously. Al Saunders basically told everyone that Palmer will start, but Jackson is trying to “surprise” people on Sunday. Hue, your surprises are welcome in Raider Nation, but not in Fantasy Land. Pick up Palmer as your QB if you need one this week because chances are very good he'll start. That being said, he has a big playbook to learn. He's worked with Jackson before at USC and Cincy, so he knows his style, but hasn't had the time to memorize the NFL's most prolific playbook. This leaves the chance of interceptions if he gets routes confused, so most likely he'll be handing off a lot. Running is what the Raiders do best, but it gets you nowhere in Fantasy. Pick up Palmer, but don't play him just yet, unless you're QB-less. Running Backs If DMC is going to have a huge, monster week, this is it. Not only will he be able to run all over the Chief's defense, his quarte...

Jason Campbell is out for an extended period of time. At the earliest Campbell would be back in six weeks, but that's massively optimistic and it is still likely that it's a season ending injury. Kyle Boller now becomes the starter and Terrelle Pryor will be the primary backup, but the Raiders are exploring other available quarterbacks. The Raiders have already reached out to David Garrard and Josh McCown suggesting they will explore all options. It's tough to imagine that they wouldn't also reach out to Trent Edwards. The Raiders are reportedly going hard after Carson Palmer as well. Josh McCown would become competition for Boller and would have a chance to become the starter if Boller falls on his face. Trent Edwards would be the same type of player, coming in to backup Boller and push him for the job, but far from certain he would start over Boller. The biggest question the Raiders have to ask themselves is if they can still make the playoffs with Kyle Boller. If the...

Yes, the Raiders selected Terrelle Pryor with a third-round pick in the 2012 draft via the supplemental draft. Most scouts believe Pryor isn't a great fit as a quarterback in the NFL, but the Raiders didn't waste a third-round pick to immediately covert him to receiver. Pryor is lucky enough to possess elite physical tools. He ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash at 6'5" and 230 pounds. While he has a long way to go as a quarterback, he has all the needed physical tools to be successful. With no long-term solution at quarterback on the roster, the Raiders are wise to take the chance on Pryor. If the team doesn't feel like he is progressing as a quarterback he can be converted to receiver down the road. Hue Jackson and Al Saunders will attempt to mold Pryor into an NFL quarterback and they have a few good things going for them. Pryor is motivated to be good. He's not receiving a $30 million signing bonus and will need to put in the work to earn a big payday. Warts asid...

Jason Campbell will be the starter going into the 2011 season. Given his inconsistency in 2010, the Raiders must hedge its bet and bring in a quarterback of the future. The backup quarterback is Kyle Boller and is no threat to be anything more than a backup. What available players might fit what the Raiders need?   Terrelle Pryor The Ohio State product will enter the supplemental draft. He'd be an interesting project quarterback for Hue Jackson to mold. The Raiders are a favorite to land Pryor and they are, like many teams, exploring Pryor's on and off-the-field resume. He'd slide in as the third quarterback and would be groomed to take over at a future date two or three years down the line. Given the Raiders track record of developing quarterbacks and Pryor's lack of NFL caliber traits as a quarterback, it's probably best to stay away from Pryor despite his size.   Vince Young It wasn't long ago the Raiders scouts were drooling all over Vince Young during the p...

The Matt Leinart era is about to end in Arizona. He is being shopped around the league. According to Adam Schefter, the three teams who have discussed trading for Leinart are the Bills, Raiders and Giants. There are a few ways to look at this news. Scenario A: The Raiders are not interested, but because other teams know they can always mention the Raiders they get thrown into the mix on just about every possible trade. The Raiders will never confirm or deny these reports. Scenario B: The Raiders are not content with Bruce Gradkowski and Kyle Boller as the two backup quarterbacks. Despite strong preseason performances and positive reviews from the coaching staff, the Raiders simply want another option. It certainly makes much more sense for the Bills and Giants, both in need of a quality backup. Scenario B doesn't seem likely at this point. It seems this is just another case of the Raiders being used to create interest from other teams. The 53-man roster cut looms and I’ll have...

Bruce Gradkowski can't seem to stay healthy. Among his ailments of the last two seasons are torn MCLs in both knees, a torn pectoral and sore groin. Despite Gradkowski's extensive injury history he has started a few games and been moderately successful. The Raiders still brought in veteran help in Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller in the offseason. It now appears Gradkowski could be looking up to both on the depth chart come September 12 in Tennessee. It wasn't hard to imagine such a scenario given Gradkowski's injury history and the obvious match between Boller's skill set and the Raiders favored offensive scheme. During mini-camp the Raiders quarterback spot was competition and it seemed the Raiders were content to wait for Gradkowski to rehab his pectoral.  That turned out not to be the case, training camp started and the starting quarterback was announced to be Jason Campbell. Gradkowski never really had a shot to showcase he could be the starter and now training c...

Preseason is not a time to worry about wins and losses. The coaches aren't worried about wins because too often a score is the result of little to no game planning. The coaches will go back and evaluate every player in the film room, but only a few fans even watch a preseason game more than once. Tom Cable has stated the offensive problems in last week's preseason game were minor things that can be tweaked. That theory will be put to the test today in Chicago. So what should the fans be looking for in the second preseason game of 2010? Since this will be the first action of the season for Bruce Gradkowski, Jacoby Ford and Colt Brennan this will be the first chance the coaches and fans have to evaluate their performance and progression. The poor showing from Jason Campbell and the receivers in last Thursday's preseason win over Dallas will likely bring a more critical eyes to both groups. Darrius Heyward-Bey has missed nearly the entire week worth of practice due to fatigue....

Al Davis and the coaching staff face harder cuts this offseason as they attempt to improve the 53-man roster. Below is a projection of the roster locks and bubble players: Comment here, on Twitter or on  Facebook . QUARTERBACKS (4, will keep 3) Locks: Jason Campbell, Bruce Gradkowski Bubble: Kyle Boller , Charlie Frye RUNNING BACKS (8, will keep 5 or 6) Locks: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush Bubble: Marcel Reece, Rock Cartwright, Michael Bennett, Luke Lawton, Manase Tonga, Chane Moline WIDE RECEIVERS (12, will keep 5 or 6) Locks: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, Jacoby Ford Bubble: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Todd Watkins, Jonathan Holland, Nick Miller, Yamon Figurs, Shaun Bodiford, Paul Hubbard, Damola Adeniji TIGHT ENDS (4, will keep 3) Locks: Zach Miller, Brandon Meyers Bubble: Tony Stewart, John Owens OFFENSIVE LINE (15 will keep between 9 or 10) Locks: Mario Henderson, Langston Walker, Khalif Barnes, Bruce Campbell, Jared Veldheer, Robert Gallery, Samson ...