(Sports Network) - It doesn't necessarily mean a team is giving up on the season when the backup quarterback gets promoted because of an ineffective starter. If Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable elects to bench JaMarcus Russell in favor of Bruce Gradkowski, all is not lost for the Silver and Black.

Gradkowski isn't the best option right now, but keeping Russell in for another start just doesn't make sense. Oakland is already 1-3 following last Sunday's 29-6 disaster in Houston, in which Russell threw for 128 yards on 12-of-33 passing with no touchdowns or interceptions. So making the switch to Gradkowski seems logical and may even light a fire under some of the Raiders' skill position players. Cable probably wishes he had Jeff Garcia on the roster after the veteran was released prior to the start of the season.

The Raiders fell in love with Russell's cannon arm and dished out millions to have the former LSU star run the show after making him the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 draft. The curtains have been closed on the offense ever since, however, and this season's stats prove that. Oakland is last in the NFL in passing (130.8 ypg) and total yards (208.5 ypg) and ranks just 30th overall in points (10.5 ppg).

Russell has the worst rating among starting quarterbacks at 42.4, while throwing for just 506 yards with one touchdown pass and four interceptions. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees can throw for 500 yards in one game, let alone four.

The 24-year-old doesn't have the best offensive line, as evidenced by the eight sacks Russell has taken in four games, and his leadership skills have been in question for a few years now. Perhaps the switch to Gradkowski would knock some of the rust off Oakland's struggling starter and help with his approach in the near future.

Oakland defensive end Greg Ellis had to fire up the offense with the team down 13-3 right before halftime of Sunday's loss. That's Russell's job, but it seems like he didn't want it during that tough situation.

Maybe Russell is just too young, but look at what rookie Mark Sanchez is doing in New York. What about Matt Ryan down in Atlanta, or Joe Flacco over in Baltimore? Those guys are baby-faced signal-callers rallying their respective huddles to victory. Even Detroit rookie Matt Stafford has shown more poise and confidence than Russell has.

Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing even commented on Oakland's woes.

"Look at all that potential. They just haven't jelled yet," Cushing, a former USC star, told the Oakland Tribune. "They have an explosive offense, especially with the three backs they've got, the good receivers, a good tight end and a quarterback with an arm like that."

Oakland's running backs were atrocious as well on Sunday. Darren McFadden had six carries for minus-three yards and Michael Bush had three touches for 10 yards and a fumble. McFadden also suffered a knee injury and is expected to be out four-to-six weeks. Justin Fargas posted 24 yards on 10 carries and was even tackled in the end zone for a safety.

Unfortunately, the time has come for Cable to make a big switch at quarterback before this once-storied franchise falls even further out of site.

Cable is also reportedly expected to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarded his reported brawl with former Raiders defensive assistant Randy Hanson during training camp. Hanson suffered a broken jaw during the incident. According to the report, Goodell might take disciplinary action based on results from an investigation conducted by the Napa Police Department.

The next few games will be tough sledding for Raiders, who started 1-4 last season, with the Giants, Eagles, Jets and Chargers on the upcoming docket. They will head to the Meadowlands this week for a showdown with the unbeaten and three-time Super Bowl champion Giants. New York pounded Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium this past weekend and will most likely do the same to the Raiders if Oakland can't shore up its offensive misery.

CHIEFS: The bye week couldn't come any sooner for the winless Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City is a bad team right now and there's no denying it. Head coach Todd Haley was riding in a Porsche of an offense last season as the offensive coordinator for Arizona, but is stuck with a Dodge Omni of a unit with the Chiefs in 2009.

Haley's offense was respectable in a Week 1 loss at Baltimore, but it has since has been playing from behind to the tune of an 0-4 start -- the first since a Marv Levy-coached squad went 0-4 back in 1980.

We all know Levy's Hall of Fame coaching career ended with a good story, but the jury's still out on the young Haley. He doesn't have the same firepower he had at his disposal in Arizona. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is good, but not Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin good. Quarterback Matt Cassel has proved his NFL value, but could only dream of possessing Kurt Warner's pinpoint accuracy.

Maybe the preseason firing of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has put a curse on the team, or perhaps Haley has too much on his plate. Or maybe the New York Giants were just too good in Sunday's convincing 27-16 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. The talent levels between Kansas City and New York are obviously lopsided, but at least the Chiefs got a chance to see up close how a winning team is constructed.

Cassel saw first hand how a top-notch defense can ruin things for an offense. For the third straight week he was on the run, throwing errant passes to avoid sacks and making poor last-second decisions. Cassel, who missed the Baltimore game, was sacked five times Sunday and 10 times so far this season.

"When you're 0-4, you're trying to find a comfort level somewhere. We've got to continue to make strides to do that," Cassel said. "I don't know what you would say we're hanging our hat on right now, but as we move forward we need to figure out our identity pretty quickly and get better at the things we do well."

Cassel just had to look across the sidelines to see Giants quarterback Eli Manning in his comfort spot. Manning recorded 104.0 passer rating, threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns and was sacked twice in Sunday's win.

Kansas City has flip-flopped its offensive line this season with hopes of one day protecting its high-priced quarterback and establishing some sort of pulse. Haley should take a page out of New York's playbook, especially the one where it explains how to put up more than 400 yards of offense. The Giants had 429 on Sunday.

You have to give Haley credit in sticking with Larry Johnson and the ground game, even though Kansas City is 19th in the NFL with 101.5 rushing yards per game. Johnson is averaging just 47.2 rushing yards per game, which is actually decent under the current circumstances of the offensive line. He couldn't have expected to have a good day against New York's run defense after barely finding daylight the week before in Philadelphia.

The Chiefs will play the third of four straight meetings with the NFC East this Sunday at home versus the Dallas Cowboys, followed by a trip to the nation's capital against the Washington Redskins (web | news) . All four teams in that division enjoy Haley's forte in passing the football, something Kansas City's secondary has gotten used to the past few weeks.

The Giants had 273 passing yards one week after Philly scorched the Chiefs for 327 passing yards. Tony Romo and the struggling Cowboys get their shot this weekend.

Kansas City is 2-0 all-time versus Dallas at Arrowhead Stadium.



BRONCOS: This is the week Denver Broncos undefeated head coach Josh McDaniels was waiting for. McDaniels will face his former employer, the New England Patriots, this Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High. McDaniels signed a four- year contract to become Denver's sideline boss in January after eight years as an assistant with New England.

Like showing off a new toy to an old girlfriend, McDaniels gets to put his unblemished Broncos squad on display to his former mentor, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Pegged to struggle in his first season at the helm, McDaniels has proved all doubters wrong by engineering Denver's first 4-0 start since the 2003 campaign. Much of the credit goes to the Broncos' defense, which is second in total yards (239.8 ypg), third in pass defense (162.5 ypg) and fifth against the run (77.2).

The Dallas Cowboys entered Sunday's 17-10 loss to Denver with the top rushing offense in the league, but Denver held them to just 72 yards on the ground, forcing Tony Romo to beat them with his arm. That didn't happen either, as Romo ended with 255 yards on a season-high 42 passes, one interception and an unsuccessful series of chances at the goal line to tie the game in the waning seconds.

Romo's pass on 4th-and-goal was knocked away by eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey, who was picked on quite often Sunday.

"They just kept doing what they've been doing all day -- testing me," said Bailey, who ended with eight tackles, four passes defensed and an interception. "That's crunch time, it's time to make a play, and I couldn't let my teammates down."

It seems Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is better at his current job than as a head coach. Nolan's unit sacked Romo five times Sunday, with converted defensive end Elvis Dumervil adding two more for eight on the year.

Dumervil clearly enjoys his new role as an outside linebacker and is just four sacks away from matching his career high of 12, established in 2007. He and Cincinnati Bengals lineman Antwan Odom are tied for the NFL lead in that category this year.

If Dumervil can digest New England's game film this week, he'll see that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has struggled at times under pressure. If the Broncos can get too Brady in under three seconds, than they'll have a good chance at improving to 5-0 for the first time since winning the first 13 games of 1998 en route to their second straight Super Bowl title.

What's even more amazing than Denver's unimaginable start under McDaniels is how well quarterback Kyle Orton has been playing. While the Denver defense has yet to allow a passing touchdown this season, Orton has thrown a scoring pass in every game this season and got two on Sunday. The efficient passer already has two 100-plus ratings and no interceptions, although he will be put to the test this weekend with mastermind Belichick pulling the strings.

Now that many perceptions of McDaniels and the Broncos have changed over the weeks, the road ahead is still a tough one, with New England, San Diego, Baltimore and Pittsburgh next in line. McDaniels passed the first test with Dallas after three weeks of playing also-rans (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oakland).

In other team news, wide receiver Brandon Marshall was a man on a mission Sunday, recording four catches for 91 yards and a hard-fought 51-yard touchdown. Marshall, whose uncooperative behavior in the preseason was well documented, reversed tracks on the score and was so fired up afterwards he probably could have beaten Kimbo Slice in a backyard brawl.

Well, maybe not, but Marshall needs to get the football more often to make Denver a dangerous bunch. His slow start is understandable, considering the type of coverage he gets, but Marshall must catch more than five passes a game.



CHARGERS: Is this the end of productivity for San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson? Injuries have plagued the former first-round pick the past few years, and this season is no different.

Once relied on to run the San Diego (2-2) offense for 60 minutes, Tomlinson is lucky to be able to suit up on Sunday's. An ankle injury has hampered Tomlinson the last few weeks, and he has played in just two games this season.

He did participate in Sunday's hard-fought 38-28 loss at Pittsburgh, Tomlinson's first game since the Chargers' season-opening victory at Oakland, but finished with just 15 yards on seven carries for a paltry 2.1 average.

"I felt pretty good, but I'm still working my way back," Tomlinson said afterward. "I wouldn't say I was there. I'm a little rusty. I tripped and fell a couple times. I'll play better."

Head coach Norv Turner better hope Tomlinson will play better, because backfield mate Darren Sproles has struggled as an every-down player.

In Tomlinson's defense, quarterback Philip Rivers was forced to pass often because the Steelers held a seemingly comfortable 28-0 advantage midway through the third quarter. Rivers finished 21-of-36 for 254 yards and three touchdown strikes.

"We got down so fast and we couldn't run the ball," Tomlinson added. "We weren't able to stick to the game plan with what we wanted to do."

The three-time AFC West champions couldn't expect to do much against a Pittsburgh defense that finished first in the NFL in both total yards allowed and rushing yards surrendered a year ago. Both losses for San Diego have come against defensive-minded teams in Baltimore and Pittsburgh, leaving the only wins against weaker stop units held by Oakland and Miami.

The Chargers hope to get their running attack going in two weeks against a tough Denver stop unit rated in the top five in most defensive categories. The Broncos just shut down the top running team in the NFL last Sunday in a 17-10 triumph over Dallas.

Speaking of defense, the Chargers seem to have forgotten how to play it. They are 15th is pass defense (214.8 ypg), 24th in total yards allowed (365.8 ypg) and sit 28th in run defense (151.0). Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera was irate with his players on the sidelines against the defending champion Steelers, who got 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries from Rashard Mendenhall and 333 yards through the air by Ben Roethlisberger. San Diego managed three sacks, but had no interceptions and one pass defensed.

Rivera's squad has a few weeks to think about it with the bye coming up, followed by three straight games against AFC West foes (Denver, Kansas City, Oakland).

"We have to play better all around," Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman said. "We had some situations where we could have gotten off the field early and we didn't capitalize on it. That came back to haunt us."

















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