Merlin’s Magic: Raiders Week Edition

It’s Raider’s week for the Kansas City Chiefs. While newer Chiefs fans think of John Elway and the Broncos with disdain, older fans hold the Raiders as the biggest rival we have. NFL.com’s Adam Rank goes a step further labeling the Chiefs/Raiders rivalry the best rivalry in the entire NFL. In fact, he comments:

"By far the AFL’s top rivalry, and one that carried over to the NFL. The Raiders, like the Cowboys, have heated rivalries with all of the teams in their division, but the Chiefs are special. Mainly because the Chiefs are the only AFC West team with a winning record against the Raiders. The feud reached its zenith in the 1990s when Marcus Allen left the Raiders to join the Chiefs."

These games are blood game, regardless of the situation. The Raiders would like nothing more than to beat us and have us look at Foxboro Stadium and the hitting on all cylinders Patriots should we win our playoff game at home. I expect nothing less from them. If the roles were reversed, we would feel the same way. The Chiefs want to get the #3 seed in the playoffs to ensure we do not have to take a trip to Foxboro until the AFC Championship game. Also, the Jets are the weakest team among the Jet/Steelers/Ravens trio of possible playoff opponents. Essentially, I think we should be a slight favorite to win at home against the Jets, but not favored against the Steelers or Ravens. A home win against the Jets would mean a trip to Pittsburgh or Baltimore for round two. Either of those games would demand our ‘A’ game plus a lucky bounce or two. We are growing, but we are not ready to play consistently with the big boys, yet. As trite as the phrase ‘on any given Sunday’ (or Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, given recent events) is, there is truth in it. We have a good chance in round one against the Jets, and a punchers chance in the next round. How sweet would a AFC Championship game be with Cassel, Vrabel and Pioli coming back to Foxboro?

In honor of the Chiefs making the playoffs, I am going to refrain from draft talk in this column. Draft Tek is starting to pump out weekly mock drafts. Head over there to check the latest out. Also, the Arrowhead Addict forums are always open for draft talk. Come on over, comment on a thread or start your own.

Side note. I lost Jared Allen’s email address. Can someone send him a note? Let him know that if he parts with a little ‘cashish’ he can come to Arrowhead Stadium and watch a playoff team compete. Props to the first commenter who explains the ‘cashish’ reference. Let’s see how good you all are and no using ‘The Google”. Extra points to anyone who can explain the reference to ‘The Google’.