OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Shane Matthews is not too concerned about Raiders fans, those mild-mannered folks who wear Darth Vader masks or silver and black spikes to games, and who dump beer on opposing players who venture too close.

Nah, that's nothing to what the Chicago Bears quarterback faced in college at Florida.

"I've played in worse, believe me. I've played in a lot worse than any of these pro atmospheres," he said. "Anywhere in the Southeastern Conference is worse. The college atmosphere is much different than the professional atmosphere.

"You play in the SEC, you get all kinds of stuff. You get beer bottles thrown at you, you get nickels and pennies thrown at you. In Knoxville, Tennessee, I had nickels banging off my helmet while I was on the bench. It gets pretty bad."

And Raiders fans are a lot less fearsome these days, because there are fewer of them. There will be plenty of empty seats at the Oakland Coliseum as the Raiders play host to the Bears on Sunday, the Raiders' 16th straight non-sellout.

So Matthews will be able to focus on an Oakland defense that was among the league's best last season and, despite some early problems this year, has a solid secondary featuring cornerback Charles Woodson, and an AFC-high nine sacks.

The Raiders (1-1) are fourth in the NFL against the rush, allowing just 62.5 yards per game. They are ranked second to last in the league against the pass, giving up 319 yards a game, but that has a lot to do with facing Green Bay's Brett Favre and Minnesota's Randall Cunningham in the first two games.

"I don't think we're playing better defense than we did a year ago, but we are a better defensive unit," Raiders strong safety Anthony Newman said. "Everybody understands what to do and where to go. We've just been letting some things happen that shouldn't be happening."

The Bears (1-1), whose new offense under rookie coach Dick Jauron has included everything from sets with three tight ends to a formation in which four receivers stack up on one side of the field in a diamond configuration, has relied a lot on second-year running back Curtis Enis.

Enis is fourth in the NFC with 158 yards rushing and has caught eight passes for 98 yards, leaving him second in the conference in total yards.

Matthews, who is 47-of-80 for 457 yards and has not thrown an interception, said the Bears will have to be patient and work underneath the Raiders defense.

"It's not that we don't want to throw it deep, but (Oakland) has one of those defenses that's one of those bend-but-not-break type deals," he said. "They drop their safeties 20 yards deep and they make you drive the length of the field."

Though Matthews will start and play most of the game, first-round draft pick Cade McNown is expected to play at least one series. McNown grew up in Hollister, Calif., about an hour south of Oakland, and went to UCLA.

For the Raiders, wide receiver Tim Brown needs seven receptions to become the 11th NFL player with 700 catches. He has 50 receptions in his last seven games.

An interesting side story could be the return of Bears kicker Jeff Jaeger to Oakland. Jaeger played for the Raiders from 1989-95, but was dumped by Oakland early in 1996 and ended up in Chicago.

The Raiders went to Soldier Field a few weeks later, and Jaeger beat them almost single-handedly. He kicked four field goals in the Bears' 19-17 win, including a 30-yarder with 11 seconds left as Raiders owner Al Davis squirmed in his box.

Jaeger, who missed the first two games this season with a left hip injury that has been bothering him since training camp, said Wednesday he is 90 percent recovered and should be ready to face the Raiders.

And he'd better be, because the Bears cut rookie kicker Brian Gowins for the third time this season on Monday. He missed a 50-yard field goal and a 48-yarder with 26 seconds left in Chicago's 14-13 loss to Seattle last Sunday.

"It would be great to go out and beat them," Jaeger said. "I don't think I was ready last week, but I feel like I am now."

CHICAGO Season schedule and results

OAKLAND Season schedule and results

September 12 Kansas City W 20-17 September 19 Seattle L 13-14 September 26 @Oakland 4:15pm ET October 3 New Orleans 1:00pm ET October 10 @Minnesota 1:00pm ET October 17 Philadelphia 1:00pm ET October 24 @Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET October 31 @Washington 1:00pm ET November 7 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET November 14 Minnesota 1:00pm ET November 21 @San Diego 4:15pm ET November 25 @Detroit 12:40pm ET December 5 Green Bay 1:00pm ET December 19 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 26 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET January 2 Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET

September 12 @Green Bay L 24-28 September 19 @Minnesota W 22-17 September 26 Chicago 4:15pm ET October 3 @Seattle 8:20pm ET October 10 Denver 4:15pm ET October 17 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET October 24 NY Jets 4:15pm ET October 31 Miami 4:05pm ET November 14 San Diego 4:05pm ET November 22 @Denver 9:00pm ET November 28 Kansas City 4:15pm ET December 5 Seattle 4:15pm ET December 9 @Tennessee 8:20pm ET December 19 Tampa Bay 4:05pm ET December 26 @San Diego 4:05pm ET January 2 @Kansas City 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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