Post by TheShadow on Oct 29, 2012 17:30:58 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com/
by Vic Tafur
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After giving up 103 points in Weeks 2 through 4, the Raiders' defense has given up 63 the past three weeks, including a season-low 16 to the Chiefs on Sunday.
Man, that must have been some group-hypnosis session during the bye week.
Linebacker Philip Wheeler said it was simply a matter of time before the players got comfortable.
"We believed in what the coaches were telling us," Wheeler said. "We are all on the same page now. It may have taken a little while because everyone was new here."
Wheeler has been playing like his long hair has been on fire all season, and on Sunday, he had 11 tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits. Rolando McClain and Richard Seymour had the other two sacks, and everybody - especially linebacker Miles Burris and safety Tyvon Branch - shut down the Chiefs' running game.
Take away the quarterback scrambles by Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel, and Kansas City had 49 yards on 13 carries. Jamaal Charles had 4 yards rushing on five attempts.
"Our linebackers and defensive linemen did an outstanding job of using their hands to get off blocks and make some plays," head coach Dennis Allen said.
Dropping chances: The Raiders were 2-for-12 on third-down conversions and had several drops. The score could have been a lot uglier. Denarius Moore had two balls go off his hands, including one in the end zone, Darren McFadden had a drop, and so did rookie receiver Rod Streater.
"If you want to point out a negative aspect of today's game, I don't think we caught the ball as well as we should have," Allen said. "We left some plays out there on the field ... but the good thing is we get to make those corrections after a win."
Big X on No. 26: Did Chiefs cornerback Stanford Routt expect to be targeted by his former teammates?
"That's football," he said. "You've always got to expect that. I figured they'd try me. But you think about that with every quarterback and every team. It wasn't anything deeper ... what you all are trying to make it out to be."
Briefly: The Raiders had only two penalties for 20 yards. ... Moore is the first Oakland player to make a touchdown catch three weeks in a row since tight end Zach Miller in 2010. ... Palmer has passed for at least 200 yards in 13 straight games, extending a Raiders record. ... Punter Shane Lechler continued to struggle, averaging a net 29.5 yards on six punts. Allen said last week that he didn't think Lechler's offseason knee surgery has been a factor. ... The touchdown for the Chiefs was the first time the team had reached the end zone in 36 possessions. ... Chiefs fans had the airplane out before the game, asking on banners that general manager Scott Pioli be relieved of his duties.
by Vic Tafur
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After giving up 103 points in Weeks 2 through 4, the Raiders' defense has given up 63 the past three weeks, including a season-low 16 to the Chiefs on Sunday.
Man, that must have been some group-hypnosis session during the bye week.
Linebacker Philip Wheeler said it was simply a matter of time before the players got comfortable.
"We believed in what the coaches were telling us," Wheeler said. "We are all on the same page now. It may have taken a little while because everyone was new here."
Wheeler has been playing like his long hair has been on fire all season, and on Sunday, he had 11 tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits. Rolando McClain and Richard Seymour had the other two sacks, and everybody - especially linebacker Miles Burris and safety Tyvon Branch - shut down the Chiefs' running game.
Take away the quarterback scrambles by Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel, and Kansas City had 49 yards on 13 carries. Jamaal Charles had 4 yards rushing on five attempts.
"Our linebackers and defensive linemen did an outstanding job of using their hands to get off blocks and make some plays," head coach Dennis Allen said.
Dropping chances: The Raiders were 2-for-12 on third-down conversions and had several drops. The score could have been a lot uglier. Denarius Moore had two balls go off his hands, including one in the end zone, Darren McFadden had a drop, and so did rookie receiver Rod Streater.
"If you want to point out a negative aspect of today's game, I don't think we caught the ball as well as we should have," Allen said. "We left some plays out there on the field ... but the good thing is we get to make those corrections after a win."
Big X on No. 26: Did Chiefs cornerback Stanford Routt expect to be targeted by his former teammates?
"That's football," he said. "You've always got to expect that. I figured they'd try me. But you think about that with every quarterback and every team. It wasn't anything deeper ... what you all are trying to make it out to be."
Briefly: The Raiders had only two penalties for 20 yards. ... Moore is the first Oakland player to make a touchdown catch three weeks in a row since tight end Zach Miller in 2010. ... Palmer has passed for at least 200 yards in 13 straight games, extending a Raiders record. ... Punter Shane Lechler continued to struggle, averaging a net 29.5 yards on six punts. Allen said last week that he didn't think Lechler's offseason knee surgery has been a factor. ... The touchdown for the Chiefs was the first time the team had reached the end zone in 36 possessions. ... Chiefs fans had the airplane out before the game, asking on banners that general manager Scott Pioli be relieved of his duties.