Rookie Richardson fills void on defensive line

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tommy Kelly isn't much of a talker, so the crutches and knee brace said it all.

Kelly sat gingerly in a chair, changing into street clothes with a black brace on his right knee following the Raiders' 13-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on Sunday.

Kelly, who starts at defensive end but also can play defensive tackle when needed, left the game in the third quarter with the injury. Rookie Jay Richardson replaced him. Richardson will start for Kelly if he misses any games.

Richardson also filled in when Derrick Burgess missed two games with a calf injury.

"We will go back and look at the film," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said of Richardson's play. "Seemed like he did all right."

The Raiders' offensive line also was hit with a knee injury. Starting right tackle Cornell Green was injured and left the game during the Raiders' second offensive series.

Green was given a day off from practice Wednesday to rest a knee injury suffered during a loss to San Diego on Oct. 14. Kiffin did not disclose if Green's current injury was related to his previous one.

"We don't know the severity of it," Kiffin said. "And that (the timing) didn't help – the second series of the game."

Green had been a backup most of his first eight seasons in the NFL but won a starting job in the offseason. He had started eight of 51 games he had played in before starting the Raiders' first seven this season.

Green was missed. Paul McQuistan had two false starts in place of Green, who had one before his injury. McQuistan was beaten by Titans defensive end Travis LaBoy when the latter sacked and forced a fumble by Daunte Culpepper in the fourth quarter. LaBoy recovered the ball, and the Titans got a 23-yard field goal from Rob Bironas on the ensuing drive.

Tracking VY – Warren Sapp put a hard hit on Titans quarterback Vince Young as he stepped out of bounds in the fourth quarter. Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher was irate because there was no penalty.

Young had a quadriceps injury that kept him out of last week's game and stretched his leg after the hit.

"He appears to be OK," Fisher said. "He wasn't 100 percent but enough to get by."

Young completed 6 of 14 passes for 42 yards and was sacked twice. He ran seven times for 11 yards.

Kiffin was pleased with how his defense swarmed to cover Young.

"We knew we were going to miss some tackles at times on him," Kiffin said. "He was going to get loose, and we had to stay on our coverage forever."

Et cetera – Sebastian Janikowski's three field goals gave him 165 in his career, the most in Raiders history.

Janikowski had tied Chris Barr, who made 162 from 1980 to '88, last week.

• Burgess recorded his first sack of the season. His 27 sacks over the 2005 and '06 seasons led the NFL.

• LenDale White became the fifth running back in seven games to run for at least 100 yards against the Raiders.