Weixlmann's Tidbits: Oakland Raiders Will Bounce Back Against Chiefs

After a pretty dismal showing against the Denver Broncos, I think it's highly likely that the Oakland Raiders bounce back with a win in Week Two. I really do. It's not just to suck up to Raiders' fans, I have my reasons.

First and foremost, the Raiders are playing the Kansas City Chiefs, who will be starting Damon Huard at quarterback. I guess my article should be over now, right? That's probably enough justification in itself.

In all seriousness, though, I liked what I saw from the Raiders on Monday night. Or at least some bits and pieces of goodness were definitely there. JaMarcus Russell led a nice drive down the field before fumbling, but that was something that Lane Kiffin and his staff will give a plus-rating moving into next week.

Also, DeAngelo Hall can't have another game like that, can he? I mean, the Raiders shelled out millions of dollars for him to play tough defense, not kill their squad with penalties. Hall received two 15-yard penalties on the same drive, which seemed to do the silver and black in.

Let's talk about the Chiefs' defense for a little, shall we? This team let up 126 yards in the running game last week, albeit against the New England Patriots. Forget the 17-10 score, because I'm pretty sure that the Patriots had their minds elsewhere, oh say, with Tom Brady's injury...?

Oakland isn't a sure-fire victor in this matchup, but if they can correct some pretty evident flaws, they can give themselves a pretty solid chance.

Here's one thing for Raider Nation: Giving up 441 yards of total offense just isn't going to win a whole lot of ballgames in the NFL.

That's good for 29th out of 32 teams after Week One. They can surely do better, especially with a live game under their belts.

Not to mention the offensive side of the ball could use some improvements, too. We know Robert Gallery was a bust, but the rest of the offensive line is looking just as weak right about now.

Watching highlights of the Broncos-Raiders game on SportsCenter made me realize how fast the pocket was collapsing on Russell.

Handing out sizable dollars to Darren McFadden, Tommy Kelly, and Hall clearly meant that owner Al Davis was wanting to win this year, because he got fed up with the 19 wins over the last five seasons, as any owner would.

Although the Raiders put together a subpar performance in the opener, expect them to be ready to defeat the Chiefs and move up to the .500 mark.