KANSAS CITY CHIEFS @ OAKLAND RAIDERS 
Vegas Line: Chiefs + 6
Rob’s Line: Chiefs + 6.5
What is happening around Oakland of late? Rightly so, they were the focus of a lot of media attention after the passing of the greatest Raider of them all two weeks ago and last week’s visit of Cleveland coincided with the expected outpouring of emotion, both celebratory and reflective. The team themselves even decided to get in on the act, sending Al Davis off happily ever after as they pulled off a fake field goal to push their lead to 23-7, a play Al would’ve wholeheartedly approved of.
So, the dust settles and the circus of journalists slink away to report on the next most important event in the NFL…and then it’s back they all go again because, following last week’s collarbone injury to quarterback Jason Campbell, Coach Hue Jackson decides to throw all of his chips in to trade for Carson Palmer, giving the Cincinnati Bengals…wait for it…their first round pick in 2012 and potentially their first round pick in 2013, should the Raiders win a playoff game this season. If they don’t, that pick becomes a second rounder.
This deal is astonishing for a number of reasons, but primarily because Palmer was a player destined not to play a single snap this season and who was, essentially, retired. The folks in Cincinnati should be dancing in the streets at this trade and the way the season is panning out, they should be picking two players next April at or around No.’s 12-24, and that’s assuming the Raiders see matters through towards mid-January. If they don’t, the Bengals really are in place for some prime rebuilding.
My last word on this trade, and the one nugget that did cause me to read it twice, is that the Raiders have now traded away their first FOUR draft picks in 2012. That is beyond crass and should have Raider Nation fearing the worst. Anybody who follows this wonderful sport knows that you don’t win championships, let alone reach the Super Bowl, by mortgaging your future for veteran players. The draft is the lifeblood for any franchise, but it’s OK for the Raiders, because at this rate they’ll be picking No. 1 overall in a couple of years anyway.
So, will Palmer start on Sunday? Practically as soon as he was signed, offensive coordinator Al Saunders came out with this pearler: “If he’s breathing, he’s playing.” Not so fast Al, because as late as Friday evening, it’s “95 per cent” certain he won’t play, a source close to the organisation was quoted as saying.
I was looking to give Kansas City a 7.5 start on the handicap, but have trimmed it to 6.5 and even that could be a little generous in light of the quarterback uncertainty in the AFC half of the Bay Area. Fortunately for the Raiders, this shouldn’t (I use that word tentatively) affect running back Darren McFadden, who still leads the league with 610 rushing yards, but the Chiefs, from looking hopeless at 0-3, have won their last two games (albeit against weak opposition) and won’t necessarily fear going to the home of their most hated AFC West rival; the hatred is mutual, by the way.
However, they do rank 21st against the run, which suits McFadden and he’ll be well aware that a lot may rest on him on Sunday afternoon. Oakland ranks very low against the pass, but beyond the Chiefs’ Dwayne Bowe and, at a push, Steve Breaston, there’s very little to cause much in the way of concern and considering also that KC is very much a running back by committee team, I lean towards the Raiders. Still, win the game they might, but with the uncertainty surrounding their starting quarterback and the fact that this is a divisional matchup, I’m not so confident on them covering the spread and I’m inclined to go with Kansas City and the points on offer.
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