Chiefs Fantasy Outlook: Week Ten vs Oakland Raiders

Predictions from Week Ten can be found here.  The predicted numbers and the actual numbers for last week can be found at the end of this article.

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Reminder to all Fantasy Junkies. Thursday games have started. Be sure to get your lineups set early.

And then there was one. Brian Waters is the last surviving KC Chief from the 2003 fantasy juggernaut that lived in Arrowhead stadium. Holmes, Hall, Green, Johnson, Gonzalez, Kennison and Morton have all faded into KC fantasy lore. This new KC team is filled with fantasy back-ups and headaches.

Not that LJ was worth a damn in fantasy football this year, but the days of the Red and Gold carrying you to a fantasy championship seem gone for good. Or are they..

In week 2 KC dominated the Raiders. It was the game that got away from them. Since that game KC has been irrelevant to fantasy football. Oakland has managed to be less than that.

Pound for pound, Oakland is probably a more talented football team. The showed it against the Eagles. They have a veteran defensive line that can get pressure. Their secondary has arguably the best CB in the game. McFadden, Bush or Fargas could all start for half the teams in the league. The talent in Oakland, as always, is overshadowed by inconsistent play and a total lack of cohesiveness.

KC has been more consistent this year than the silver and black. They have kept playing hard. This is a good sign for fantasy owners. 75% of KC's fantasy output came in the 4th quarter last week.

The Chiefs still come up short. Big plays to the second and third passing options are finding seams in the KC D. A bad KC offense is being put behind the 8 ball. And unheralded WR's are having breakout games.  Fortunately for KC, Jamarcus Russell's play progression seems to be: #1 option, Girl with tight shirt in 3rd row, #1 option, hot dog vendor.

If KC can contain the running game of Oakland and Zach Taylor this week, the Chiefs could provide some vital fantasy depth to your team.

Three Chiefs and a sleeper after the break.

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Lance Long

Meet your new Points Per Reception best friend. Maybe I'm a bit early on this bandwagon. I don't think so. Long is fast and smart. He has solid hands. While Bowe and Chambers are streaking down the field, Cassel is usually running for his life. Lance "Life-Preserver" Long is in position to bail out Cassel. Last week he put up 15 points in a Points Per Reception format. To put that in perspective, he outscored: Roddy White, Dwayne Bowe and DeSean Jackson in the same format. That's not to say he's going to turn in a 30 point game. It does suggest that he will look like a poor man's Welker on your team putting up between 10 and 20 points consistently.Keep in mind also that when Oak and KC last met Cassel constantly turned to his secondary WR's. Wade and Savage combined for 12 catches, the longest of which was 12 yards. The underneath passing game will be there for a second week in a row. Lance Long is on the Waiver Wire in 99.9% of the leagues. If you're hoping that Mark Clayton or Donnie Avery will have their monthly good game this week as opposed to their standard one catch performance it may be time to look closer to home.

Can you tell I REALLY like this guy for fantasy?

Lance Long Prediciton: 7 catches, 84 yards, 1 TD

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Jamaal Charles

Charles seemed to be the fantasy waiver wire darling last week. There have been multiple articles written about his potential value as the KC starting RB, including a piece here on AP. I'm not sure if I'm ready to buy the hype. Haley is not putting the ball into his hands enough for him to explode onto the scene. Kolby Smith is also in a position to keep Charles regulated to a secondary role. Working in Charles favor, Oakland has given up an average of 97 total yards per game to small backs that can catch the ball (Darren Sproles x2, Dantrell Savage, Steve Slaton, Ahmad Bradshaw, Brian Westbrook). Last time KC met Oakland Charles was actually inactive. Jamaal will likely put up solid numbers this week, but he probably should ride the pine on your squad unless you're in a pinch.

Jamaal Charles Prediction: 30 yards rushing, 5 receptions, 40 yards, 0 TD

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Chris Chambers

This is more of a cautionary tale than an endorsement. It seems like KC has brought in a new WR each week and each week they have a big game only to fade into the wood work as the season progresses. Chambers is a prime candidate to continue this trend. Cassel only targeted him 4 times last week. He targeted Bowe ten times and Long eleven. Chambers has 192 yards on the season. 70 of those came last week. San Diego runs a pass happy offense with an elite QB that spreads the ball around. Chambers only had 9 catches in seven games with the Chargers this year. In two games against Oakland he had one reception for twenty yards. The veteran WR has good hands and can run routes, but don't jump on the bandwagon just yet.

Chris Chambers Prediction: 2 catches, 48 yards, 0 TD's

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KC Sleeper

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KC Defense/Special Teams

It's hard to play a defense that is ranked 30th in total yards given up. There's only two times left this season when playing the KC defense might make sense. Cleveland in week 15 and Oakland this week. The Raiders offense gives one dimensional a bad reputation. They are ranked 31st in the league in passing offense and are averaging 9.8 yards a pass. A little perspective here. The Chiefs horrible, anemic offense is averaging 15.8 yards per pass. The KC D will need to account for Zach Miller all game. He has accounted for over 40% of the total Raiders passing offense. Russel is averaging a interception a game. Their offensive line also is having protection issue. They are #3 in sacks allowed (slightly ahead of the Chiefs and GB). If you like playing Russian Roulette with 3 bullets in a 6 chambered gun, the Chiefs D has a shot at racking some points this week.

KC Defense Prediction: 2 Sacks, 1 Int, 1 FF, 0 TD

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Mushin's Week 9 Predictions:

-Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles Prediction: 89 yards rushing, 6 receptions 45 yards, 1 TD

actual numbers: 36 yards rushing, 3 receptions 19 yards, 0 TD

-Bobby Wade

Bobby Wade Prediction: 5 receptions, 64 yards, 1 TD

INACTIVE

-Ryan Succop

Ryan Succop Prediction: 2 FG's, 2 EP's

actual numbers: 2 FG's, 1 EP

-Lance Long (This may be the first underestimation of a fantasy Chief all year)

Lance Long Prediction: Activated, 4 catches, 25 yards, 0 TD's

actual numbers: 8 catches 74 yards, 0 TD