Yes, it's Raiders week in Kansas City and Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali fired the first shot across the bow of the S.S. Raiders.Hali on Wednesday called the Raiders a "dirty" team. Yes, the same Hali who last year dived at Carson Palmer's knees on Palmer's first snap with the Raiders last year and was flagged for roughing the passer. That Hali."The core guys that's been here, they understand what we've got going on Sunday," Hali told Kansas City reporters. "These guys are coming in come in, they're a good team, they're a fast team and they play dirty. So we've got to come out swingingit's going to be a rough game."How do the Raiders play dirty, exactly, Hali was asked."It's a tradition," he said. "The Raiders, they come in they cheapshot, they hit you. I'm not saying no names. It is what it is. They're going to come in, we've got to be ready to play and keep our composure, stay poised and be able to get this win."We've got to be ready for that. You can't let these guys come in and if they do it and you let them do it, they're going to enjoy themselves doing it and they'll run over you. So we've got to be prepared for that, but we've got to stay with the gameplan."Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who has been known to get in the occasional scrap, took umbrage with Hali's claim in his conference call with Kansas City media. After all, it's a new era, so to speak, in Oakland in the wake of Al Davis' passing last October and Reggie McKenzie now running the football operations."Any time you play the game, you should play with a chip on your shoulder," Seymour said. "You should play with an attitude."But in terms of being dirty, going out to hurt guys, I dont think I play that way or any of my teammates (play dirty). I dont stand for it. But we do play tough and physical. I do believe thats the way the game is supposed to be played. I respect guys that play the same way."Said Raiders coach Dennis Allen, of Hali: "He's entitled to his opinion."
So does Hali have a point, or is he simply trying to get a subliminal hint to the referees in advance of the game?
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