Burning Questions: Chiefs vs. Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders 16-10 in a game that was sloppy, at best.

Following the game, my friend turned to me and asked a simple question: What was that?

If only the answer was quite as simple.

“That” was professional football between two teams that are a long way from being a playoff team.  “That” was one of the worst showings ever from a 1-2 quarterback tandem (JaMarcus Russell, Bruce Gradkowski).  “That” was a sad collection of over/under thrown balls, dropped passes, fumbles and penalties.

After I got done trying to explain the Chiefs and Raiders’ place in the NFL, I had some questions of my own.

How much equity does Jamaal Charles have now?

It seemed every single time he touched the ball Charles was getting 5-6 yards.  After watching Larry Johnson fall down at the line of scrimmage all season it was refreshing to see a running back make cuts and break arm tackles.  He finished the game with 103 yards on 18 carries with a 44 yard touchdown, the only trip to the end zone for the Chiefs on the day.

But I still have doubts about how much rope Haley will give Charles.

Even as he was cutting up Oakland, Charles was replaced by Kolby Smith more frequently than made sense.  Smith ended up getting 9 carries for a whopping 12 yards.

Haley has gone out of his way in the past couple of weeks to praise Smith more than Charles and after he was given nearly double digit carries even though he wasn’t gaining yards has to raise a few red flags.  Is Smith the guy Haley plans on eventually starting at running back?

The Chiefs face one of the best run defenses in the league Sunday when the Steelers come to town.  Charles should be the starter once again, but there is almost no chance he repeats his 100 yard performance.  So if he has a bad game, will that open the door for Smith in two weeks against the Chargers?

Keep an eye on this situation.

Did Mike Brown save his career?

And I don’t mean just with the Chiefs.  Brown has looked completely washed up at times this season, especially in the Dallas and Jacksonville games.  He was so bad, I used this space right here to call for his release.

All the veteran did was pick off two passes yesterday with the second saving the game for the Chiefs as the Raiders were driving for the go ahead touchdown.  On that final play he also showed Brandon Flowers how to hold onto an interception.  On more than one occasion Sunday, Flowers dropped sure picks.

He is clearly a Haley guy and while there was little chance of Brown being cut this season, there was a good chance he was playing his way out of the NFL.  But it’s hard to deny a guy’s ability when he not only saves a game but provides the only turnovers for a team short on big plays.

Don’t get me wrong, one game doesn’t make him a worthy starting safety.  It won’t make him fill a hole on the line of scrimmage with the same force he did five years ago.  But it does show he still has a nose for the football and is still capable of showing the kids how to make a play.

Is JaMarcus Russell the worst starting QB ever?

Both teams played an ugly, ugly game but nothing was worse than the play of the Raiders starting QB.  I’ve seen some miserable quarterback play in my lifetime, but most of that was from backups just trying to survive after filling in for an injured star.  The situation with Russell is different because the Raiders actually built their team around him… On purpose!

I very rarely — if ever — claim to be able to do anything that an NFL player can do.  But I have to imagine even I could get some of these passes closer to his receivers.  It’s almost like he forgot which sport he’s playing and is acting like a third baseman trying to test the first baseman’s ability to pick the ball out of the dirt.

Sure, the Oakland receivers rarely do Russell any favors.  But there were at least 5 different routes during yesterday’s game that were either over or under thrown by 10 yards.

No, that’s not an exaggeration.

If there has been a worse starting quarterback in recent history, I can’t think of one.  Maybe Ryan Leaf, but at least he could blame an injury.

What’s Russell’s excuse?

Tags: Jamaal Charles, JaMarcus Russell, Mike Brown, Oakland Raiders