'Can
I quote you on that?'
9/7/2001
by CK Rairden
Landmark columnist
A new feature on Chiefs Chatter will be
“Can I quote you on that?” Check in every
week to see what the Chiefs opponents are saying about
the upcoming game and any quotes that qualify as bulletin
board material.
•“(Chiefs CB Ray) Crockett’s a good bump-and-run,
man-to-man guy, I’m sure he’s going to play
a lot of that. He may follow me the whole day. If they
do that, that means they put (Chiefs CB Eric) Warfield
on Jerry Rice.’’ Brown pauses then smiles. “So
they may change that up after a couple plays.”
Raiders’ WR Tim Brown, Mercury News.
CK: Bulletin board material for not only Warfield,
but also the entire Chiefs secondary. Brown seems to hold
little respect for Warfield.
•“Well, we’re not going to call any plays
that he doesn’t know; you know what I mean? It’s
a guy that has as much experience as any guy, maybe ever.
He’s going to play a lot. It’ll be a test for
him and his stamina.”
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden on what he was expecting
out of Rice in Game 1vs. KC, Mercury News.
CK: Is Gruden blowing smoke? Don’t bet
on it—he sees a perceived weakness in the Chiefs
defense and aims to exploit it.
•“We know that every game against (the Chiefs)
is going to be close, it’s just the way these games
work out. That’s why it is so critical that we don’t
make any mistakes. It’s usually a matter of who makes
the fewest mistakes wins the game.”
Raiders OT Lincoln Kennedy, Contra Costa Times
CK: With a last name like Kennedy he has the
political rhetoric down pat.
•“I know I started out slow and really struggled
before that game, that kick lifted my confidence a lot.”
Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski on his game winning kick
last season at Arrowhead. Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
•“I don’t want to kick a field goal again,
I’d rather we score and win the game by 21 points.
Sebastian Janikowski, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
•“There’s no way we shouldn’t expect
to go to the Super Bowl, that’s why we’re in
here working like an expansion team that’s never
accomplished anything. Our goal is a championship, and
anything less will be a disappointment.”
Raiders QB Rich Gannon, AP.
CK: Gannon parrots the company line.
•“I don’t see a weak link on this offense,
we’ve got so many ways we can hurt you, and so many
guys who know how to make big plays. I’m kind of
wondering how people will stop us.”
Raiders WR Jerry Rice, AP.
CK: Ditto for Rice.
•“We’re gonna play a lot of different
guys, you’re going to see (rookie) Chris Cooper play
in the game and (starting tackle) Grady Jackson is gonna
play a lot more than maybe he expected to.”
Gruden speaking to his defensive line rotation, Contra
Costa Times.
CK: Raiders DT Darrell Russell is serving a
four game suspension and his replacement Rod Coleman is
listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game with a strained
pectoral muscle. The Raiders could be thin in the middle
of their defensive line.
•“Playing in Kansas City, being from Nebraska,
I’m going to have family down there watching and
everything, I want to show my friends and family that
I can play this game — I don’t think they were
expecting me to play. I think it surprised everybody.”
Rookie defensive tackle Chris Cooper, a sixth-round pick
out of Division II Nebraska-Omaha, Mercury News.
CK: Is Cooper the weak link? Look for the Chiefs
to find out early.
• • •
Reports are that the Raiders have posted these two quotes
on their bulletin board for inspiration:
•“The Raiders don’t have an idea of what’s
going on.”
Eric Warfield, quoted from a story in the KC Star.
CK: This quote was taken out of context by a
Raiders’ official or player who is obviously a budding
reporter.
—The actual quote—
“Maybe they just want to keep people in the dark
about who’s going to start so the Raiders don’t
have an idea of what’s going on.”
CK: There is no question that Eric Warfield
has a bulls eye on his chest for game one. The Chiefs
will need him to respond with a big game or it could be
a tough afternoon.
• • •
The other quote is connected to Dick Vermeil, though
it can’t be found anywhere on the site that it is
attributed:
•“We plan on hitting them in the mouth for 60
minutes. They won’t know what hit them.”
CK: The Raiders seem to be reaching for inspiration
and are actually concerning themselves with the boisterous
Arrowhead faithful. They may have good reason, the last
time the Raiders opened the season in Arrowhead was 1998
and they were embarrassed by the Chiefs 28-8.
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