Nzoner
11-01-2005, 07:54 PM
"That's when we're really going to find out about the identity of this Oakland Raiders team," running back LaMont Jordan said. "We go into Arrowhead, in a very hostile environment. We're considered to be hostile people,too, so this is a very big game for us." (http://www.chicoer.com/raiders/ci_3171101)
Hostile stadium next for Raiders
Chiefs have won five straight in series between division rivals
By Jerry McDonald, STAFF WRITER
ALAMEDA — "Raider Week" is as traditional as barbecue in Kansas City, as both the Chiefs and their city prepare for their most bitter rival.
The fervor has never been as strong in Oakland, perhaps because so many teams consider the Raiders to be the nemesis they would most like to defeat.
That should change this week.
The Raiders finally got a road win Sunday.
But not the road win.
It wasn't long after a 34-25 win over the Tennessee Titans that wide receiver Jerry Porter immediately turned his attention from the Coliseum in Nashville to Arrowhead Stadium.
"We'll focus on the Chiefs right now," Porter said. "We owe them. They've beaten us something like six or seven times in a row. We had them in Oakland. We let it slip through our fingers."
For the record, Kansas City has beaten Oakland five consecutive games, with the last Raiders win coming 24-0 in a rainstorm in the 2002 season finale. Every Chiefs win has been excruciating. None has been by more than seven points.
Win No.5 came in Week 2 at McAfee Coliseum, with the Chiefs prevailing 23-17.
It ended when a fourth-down pass by Kerry Collins at the 10-yard line glanced off Porter's fingertips as he was being hit by Chiefs defenders Sammy Knight and Benny Sapp.
The Raiders fell to 0-2, which became 0-3, and finally 1-4before a modest two-game win streak against Buffalo and Tennessee.
Privately, some in the front office and coaching staff believed all along the poor start was the product of a difficult early schedule and resented any implication that it was a rerun of 2003 and 2004.
Against Tennessee, Oakland won a game on the road, squandering an early 17-0 lead, but showing enough fortitude to put away the game in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders are still in last place in the AFC West. If a surge is going to come, it has to start in Kansas City.
"That's when we're really going to find out about the identity of this Oakland Raiders team," running back LaMont Jordan said. "We go into Arrowhead, in a very hostile environment. We're considered to be hostile people,too, so this is a very big game for us."
Turner believes Oakland's early identity was formed in the Week 2 loss to the Chiefs. He watched it again Monday morning before his weekly press conference.
"We're two plays away from winning that game," Turner said. "There were a number of things that happened in that game — some in our control and some out of our control.
"That was certainly a game we could have won. Kansas City won the game, they're 4-3. We lost the game, we're 3-4. That's where this league is a little bit."
While happy to come out of the Titans game with a win, Jordan believes the Raiders can't afford to squander a lead as they did Sunday.
"The most important thing, win or lose, is that you learn the lessons that need to be learned," Jordan said. "The lesson (Sunday) is when you get on top of a team, you have to know how to finish them.
"I guarantee you a team like the Patriots, or a team like the Colts, if they had gotten out like we did, they probably would have put up 40 or 50 points. It wouldn't even have been a game. If we want to be considered an elite team, when we get a team down like that, we have to finish them early."
Porter, who had six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns against the Titans, is all for another fast start.
"When we get to Arrowhead, we've got to jump on them just like we did Tennessee," Porter said.
As a rookie in 2001, Jordan's New York Jets went 7-1 on the road. In two other playoff years, they were 4-4. The one year Jordan didn't go to the playoffs, the Jets were 2-6 on the road.
"We were one of the best teams playing on the road, in hostile environments," Jordan said. "That's something I'm used to, and I don't intend on that changing because I'm wearing a new uniform."
Hostile stadium next for Raiders
Chiefs have won five straight in series between division rivals
By Jerry McDonald, STAFF WRITER
ALAMEDA — "Raider Week" is as traditional as barbecue in Kansas City, as both the Chiefs and their city prepare for their most bitter rival.
The fervor has never been as strong in Oakland, perhaps because so many teams consider the Raiders to be the nemesis they would most like to defeat.
That should change this week.
The Raiders finally got a road win Sunday.
But not the road win.
It wasn't long after a 34-25 win over the Tennessee Titans that wide receiver Jerry Porter immediately turned his attention from the Coliseum in Nashville to Arrowhead Stadium.
"We'll focus on the Chiefs right now," Porter said. "We owe them. They've beaten us something like six or seven times in a row. We had them in Oakland. We let it slip through our fingers."
For the record, Kansas City has beaten Oakland five consecutive games, with the last Raiders win coming 24-0 in a rainstorm in the 2002 season finale. Every Chiefs win has been excruciating. None has been by more than seven points.
Win No.5 came in Week 2 at McAfee Coliseum, with the Chiefs prevailing 23-17.
It ended when a fourth-down pass by Kerry Collins at the 10-yard line glanced off Porter's fingertips as he was being hit by Chiefs defenders Sammy Knight and Benny Sapp.
The Raiders fell to 0-2, which became 0-3, and finally 1-4before a modest two-game win streak against Buffalo and Tennessee.
Privately, some in the front office and coaching staff believed all along the poor start was the product of a difficult early schedule and resented any implication that it was a rerun of 2003 and 2004.
Against Tennessee, Oakland won a game on the road, squandering an early 17-0 lead, but showing enough fortitude to put away the game in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders are still in last place in the AFC West. If a surge is going to come, it has to start in Kansas City.
"That's when we're really going to find out about the identity of this Oakland Raiders team," running back LaMont Jordan said. "We go into Arrowhead, in a very hostile environment. We're considered to be hostile people,too, so this is a very big game for us."
Turner believes Oakland's early identity was formed in the Week 2 loss to the Chiefs. He watched it again Monday morning before his weekly press conference.
"We're two plays away from winning that game," Turner said. "There were a number of things that happened in that game — some in our control and some out of our control.
"That was certainly a game we could have won. Kansas City won the game, they're 4-3. We lost the game, we're 3-4. That's where this league is a little bit."
While happy to come out of the Titans game with a win, Jordan believes the Raiders can't afford to squander a lead as they did Sunday.
"The most important thing, win or lose, is that you learn the lessons that need to be learned," Jordan said. "The lesson (Sunday) is when you get on top of a team, you have to know how to finish them.
"I guarantee you a team like the Patriots, or a team like the Colts, if they had gotten out like we did, they probably would have put up 40 or 50 points. It wouldn't even have been a game. If we want to be considered an elite team, when we get a team down like that, we have to finish them early."
Porter, who had six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns against the Titans, is all for another fast start.
"When we get to Arrowhead, we've got to jump on them just like we did Tennessee," Porter said.
As a rookie in 2001, Jordan's New York Jets went 7-1 on the road. In two other playoff years, they were 4-4. The one year Jordan didn't go to the playoffs, the Jets were 2-6 on the road.
"We were one of the best teams playing on the road, in hostile environments," Jordan said. "That's something I'm used to, and I don't intend on that changing because I'm wearing a new uniform."