So far, the only reported cut is William Joseph, but even if the Raiders have cut him, it wouldn’t surprise many if he was playing on the team at some point this season.

EDITED – 3:50pm

Surprisingly, the Raiders decided to part with DE Jay Richardson on cut day. The four-year veteran was once considered an integral part of the future of the Raiders’ defense. Now, he’ll have to become another team’s future if he’s to continue his NFL career.

Other now-former Raiders are FB Luke Lawton, WR Todd Watkins, OC Chris Morris, OL Brandon Rodd, DL Greyson Gunheim, S Jerome Boyd, LB David Nixon, and LB Slade Norris.

Players that attempted to make the team this year and were cut are QB Colt Brennan, FB Manase Tonga, WR Shaun Bodiford, TE John Owens, OG Alex Parsons, DE Alex Daniels, DT Kellen Heard, DL Chris Cooper, CB Joe Porter, CB Joey Thomas, and K Swayze Waters.

Cable announced that Jared Veldheer will be the starting center going into the season. The Div II offensive tackle drafted in the third round has made quite the adjustment to the pro’s by not only switching positions, but becoming an NFL starting center in his first season. Pretty amazing when you consider that many centers coming out of college take two years before they are able to get the starting job. Raiders fans know how important the position is after the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay.

Scouting the waiver wire

Just a quick look at some of the cuts that teams might consider bringing in to fill out their rosters.

QB – Troy Smith (BAL), Matt Leinart (ARI), John David Booty (HOU), Chris Simms (TEN)

RB – Justin Fargas (DEN), Michael Robinson (SF), Ladell Betts (NO), J.J. Arrington (PHI), Chris Henry (HOU), Samkon Gado (TEN), Andre Brown (NYG),

FB – Dan Klecko (ATL), Jason Davis (NYJ)

TE – Dan Gronkowski (DEN), Anthony Becht (ARI)

WR – James Hardy (BUF), Chad Jackson (BUF), T.J. Houshmanzadeh (SEA), Derek Hagan (NYG), Lavranues Coles (NYJ), Javon Walker (MIN), Michael Clayton (TB)

OL – Justin Hartwig (PIT), Donald Thomas (MIA)

DL – Derrick Burgess (NE) (Considered retiring), Jarvis Green (DEN)

LB -Monty Beisel (ARI), Bobby Carpenter (STL), Matt Wilhelm (SF)

DB – Quentin Demps (PHI), Cletis Gordon (DAL), Myron Rolle (TEN), Tye Hill (TEN), Chevis Jackson (ATL), Dre Bly (DET), Eric King (DET)

There looks to be maybe 7,000 people in attendance. Without the 49ers in town and it being the final preseason game, there isn’t as much interest in this game — much like the home games towards the end of last season.

The Seahawks start the game with Charlie Whitehurst as the starting quarterback. It’s likely that we won’t see any starters in this game. After a holding penalty on a Julius Jones carry for no gain, Whitehurst to Deon Butler for 11 yards, but Hiram Eugene makes a big-time tackle to make it third and eight. Whitehurst scrambles on third down, but Ricky Brown keeps him from getting the first down.

The Raiders backfield is Bruce Gradkowski, Michael Bennet, and Manase Tonga. Gradkowski throws deep to Darrius Heyward-Bey, who is fenced off from getting to the ball from Seattle corner Kelly Jennings. The officials throw a flag for pass interference, putting the Raiders on the Seahawks 32 yard line. Two plays later, Gradkowski tosses a short pass to Tonga, who takes the wheel rout to the house for the touchdown. Raiders up 7-0.

The Seahawks do nothing on their next possession. After a two-yard gain by Jones, Whitehurst throws deep to Mike Williams, but it’s incomplete. Walter McFadden comes off the field favoring his right leg. Whitehurst again throws on third and eight, but Ben Obomanu can’t come up with it while Jeremy Ware is covering him.

The Raiders start their next possession from their own 36 after a 10-yard punt return by Johnnie Lee Higgins. On first and 10, Gradkowski throws to the right sideline for DHB, who makes a great sideline grab before going out of bounds. DHB is pumped up after making the nice play. The Raiders would muster just seven more yards to get to the Seahawks’ 23 and call on Swayze Waters for a field goal. Raiders up 10-3.

On the kickoff, the Raiders’ special teams lets them down again. Cord Parks returns the kickoff 54 yards to get to the Raiders’ 31 yard line. The Raiders’ defense holds again, keeping Seattle from getting a first down, but from the 25, Olindo Mare kicks the field goal. Raiders on top 10-3 with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Yamon Figurs finally has a good return. He takes the kickoff from the Raiders’ seven to the 41 yard line for a 34-yard gain. The Raiders are unable to move the ball and in the process Gradkowski is sacked, forcing the Raiders to punt. Lechler punts 46 yards, and rather than run up and catch the punt, former Cal standout Justin Forsett allows the ball to bounce. The ball goes off of Forsett’s hand and is recovered by rookie safety Stevie Brown. The Raiders get the ball at the Seattle 16 yard line.

Gradkowski throws to Brandon Myers for 13 yards, setting the Raiders up with a first and goal from the three. On first down, Gradkowski throws to a wide open DHB for the touchdown, but the touchdown is nullified due to an illegal substitution penalty on Erik Pears. Gradkowski, from the nine yard line, then passes to Johnnie Lee Higgins for the touchdown. Raiders up 17-3 with 3:57 remaining.

On the kickoff, Parks has another great return, but this time the officials see that he had some illegal help. Instead of it being first and 10 from their own 27, it’s first and 10 from their 17. Swayze Waters made the play on the kickoff, pushing Parks out of bounds and then having some words with the Seattle cornerback.

Mike Williams catches a Whitehurst pass for 19 yards giving the Seahawks a first and 10 from their own 37. Three plays later, on third and eight from their own 39, Whitehurst connects with Forsett for 10 yards. On second and 10 from their own 49, Whitehurst hits Golden Tate on the right sideline for 31 yards. Troubling for the Raiders, because Chris Johnson was the corner beat on the play — even though he had decent coverage, getting beat by a rookie doesn’t bode well. Cameron Morrah nearly puts the Seahawks on the five yard line, but Stevie Brown makes the hit and forces Morrah to drop the pass.

The first quarter ends with the Seahawks on the Raiders’ 20 and it being third and 10.

END OF 1st QTR — Raiders 17 – Seahawks 3

The Seahawks aren’t able to advance the ball and call on Mare for another field goal. Raiders up 17-6 with 14:12 to go in the half.

On the kickoff, Yamon Figurs returns the ball 30 yards from the goal line, helping the Raiders to start their next possession from their own 30.

On second and nine, Gradkowski rolls to his right and hits a crossing John Owens, who takes the ball from the 38 to the Raiders’ 49. On third and eight, the Seahawks bring the blitz, nearly sacking Gradkowski before he’s able to throw it away. After nearly 19 minutes of play, the Raiders have eight rushes for eight yards. The Raiders punt to the Seahawks — this time Forsett fair catches the ball at the Seattle 10.

Whitehurst hits Williams for a nine-yard play, Forsett gets a five yard run, then on first and 10 from the Seahawks’ 24, Whitehurst throws short to Forsett who gets blown up by Mike Mitchell — the pass is incomplete. On third and 10, Whitehurst picks on Chris Johnson again, hitting Obomanu deep for 37 yards. Johnson didn’t do anything to hold up the receiver on the line and got beat pretty good. After two running plays for a net 15 yards, the Seahawks try running Golden Tate, but the Raiders stop it for a loss of two. On second and 12, Thomas Howard tries to call timeout, but the officials don’t see him — the result is a 26-yard pass to Deon Butler for a touchdown. Raiders lead 17-13.

On the kickoff, Mare kicks it into the stands. One reporter exclaims, ‘that must have went 90 yards in the air!’ The stadium announcer announces in shock that Mare kicked it into the stands as well. After a three-yard run by Michael Bennett, Gradkowski throws to Higgins for a 15-yard gain. The drive stalls when Gradkowski is forced to throw quickly to JLH for an incomplete pass. Swayze Waters comes on to punt and doesn’t get much of it, but it takes a Raiders bounce and goes for 49 yards, where it’s downed on the Seattle 10.

Seattle has little trouble moving the ball on their possession. Deon Butler gains 14 yards on a bootleg pass that puts Seattle on their own 37. Chris Johnson gets victimized again the next play, but this time it wasn’t anything he did wrong. Butler makes the 31-yard grab to get to Oakland’s 32, but the pass was perfectly thrown out of the reach of Johnson, who still almost knocked the ball away.

At the two-minute warning, Seattle has the ball on the Raiders’ 34 and it’s second and 13.

On third and seven from the Raiders’ 28, Jeremy Ware defends a would-be first down pass to Butler. Mare comes in for the 46 yard field goal. Raiders still lead 17-16.

Jacoby Ford takes the kickoff from the four and returns it to the Oakland 25. The Raiders’ drive stalls three plays, forcing them to punt it back to the visiting team. With 26 seconds left in the half, it’s unlikely Seattle will be able to score before the two teams go into the locker room.

After moving the ball to the Raiders’ 45, Whitehurst throws to the end zone. With three Seahawks and just one Raider in the vicinity of the pass, it appears the Raider came up with it, but Seattle tight end Cameron Morrah stands up with the ball. Unfortunately for Seattle, offensive guard Mansfield Wrotto is called for holding and the half ends with the Raiders on top 17-16.

End of the 1st half — Raiders 17 – Seahawks 16

Kyle Boller will be the Raiders quarterback and J.P. Losman will direct drives for the Seahawks to start the third quarter. The Raiders go three and out on their first possession, but Boller does get the longest run from scrimmage on the drive by scrambling out of the pocket for six yards.

Seattle’s first drive yields the same results. Interesting note, both former Raiders Losman and Louis Rankin are in Seattle’s backfield for the three-play drive that stalls at the Seahawks’ 35. Yamon Figurs muffs the punt at the six, recovers the ball and gains two yards on the return. The Raiders end up starting their second possession on the three yard line due to an illegal block on Joe Porter.

The Raiders start getting the running game going with Michael Bennett. Bennett gets a six yard run, then follows up with a 15 yard run. Boller then connects with rookie Jacoby Ford for 62 yards, putting the Raiders on the Seattle 14. Bruce Campbell is called for holding, Michael Bennett rushes for eight yards, and then Boller completes a 16-yard pass to a diving Nick Miller for the touchdown. Raiders up 24-16.

Seattle starts their drive from their own 33. Thanks to a penalty on Chris Cooper for roughing the passer, the Seahawks move to the Raiders’ 49 yard line. Losman nearly throws a pick to Jeremy Ware, but the rookie corner lets the ball go right through his arms. The Seahawks punt to Nick Miller, who receives it from the Raiders’ nine and moves it forward to the 14.

On third and four from their own 20, Boller connects with Rock Cartwright for 11 yards and a first down at the 31. Boller goes back to Cartwright on second and 10 from the 31, passing about five yards over the middle. Cartwright takes the ball and scampers towards the right sidelines for a 27-yard gain, putting the Raiders on Seattle’s 42.

After a holding penalty on Chris Morris, the Raiders faced a second and 13 from the 45, when Michael Bennett took the ball off the right tackle for a 12-yard gain that set up a third and one play where Bennett went off the left tackle for eight more yards and a first down at the Seahawks’ 25.

End of the third quarter — Raiders 24 – Seahawks 16

Pears was called for holding on second and eight, putting the Raiders in a third and 18 hole. Boller hits Shaun Bodiford as he cuts from the right to the left and Bodiford runs down the sideline, but he slips trying to make a cut, with his foot going out of bounds one yard shy of the first down. Boller runs the keeper on fourth and one for the first down at Seattle’s 14.

With third and seven at Seattle’s 11, Boller throws to Brandon Myers in the end zone, but Myers lets the ball go through his hands. Waters comes on for a 29 yard field goal kick. The Raiders up on the Seahawks, 27-16 with 12:23 left in the game.

Special teams does it again. Louis Rankin returns the Swayze Waters kickoff for 98 yards and a touchdown. Seattle attempts a two-point conversion with Losman passing to Ruvell Martin from the shotgun. Conversion is good. The Raiders lead 27-24 with 12:10 to go.

The Raiders start their drive from their own 25. After Boller was able to complete a 14-yard pass to Figurs on third and six, the Raders offensive line self destructed. Holding on Jared Veldheers, Bruce Campbell, and then a declined holding on Campbell to go along with a false start on Erik Pears, the Raiders found themselves in a third and 25 situation from their own 28. Boller scrambled for six yards, but tackler Roy Lewis was called for taunting, giving the Raiders a first and 10 from their own 49.

Two plays later, it was third and 11 when Boller threw to Jacoby Ford, who had slipped on the ground. The pass hit Ford’s hands, then Seattle defender Kennard Cox tried to grab the ball, but ended up knocking it up and back a couple of yards, and the ball landed in Shaun Bodiford’s hands at the Seattle 41. Before the Raiders could run a fourth and half yard play, the play was reviewed, but the officials ruled that it was a catch. Boller ran the keeper for the first down at around the 40 with 7:19 to play.

On third and five from the Seattle 35, Boller’s shotgun pass to Jacoby Ford fell incomplete, but Roy Lewis unloaded on Ford and was penalized for unnecessary roughness, putting the Raiders in a first and 10 situation at the Seattle 19.

After a 10 yard run and a four yard run by Bennett, the Raiders had the ball on the six yard line on second and goal. Bennett went for four yards, then for one more and the Raiders faced a fourth and goal from the Seattle one. Bennett was stopped for a loss of one yard and the Seahawks took over at their two with 3:09 remaining, down 27-24.

Seattle’s J.P. Losman threw to Golden Tate on first down from the two, and Jeremy Ware picked it off at the 37, but was called for pass interference. Losman then scrambled for 17 yards and after two plays, the Seahawks were on their own 43 yard line with a first down. Losman then threw three incomplete passes, making it fourth and 10 from their own 43 — Losman threw to an open Ruvell Martin, but the pass was off and incomplete for a turnover on downs with just 2:17 to play.

Raiders win 27-24.

Oakland, CA - August 28, 2010: Bruce Gradkowski gets rid of the ball before a 49ers defender can sack him in an NFL preseason game between the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco won 28-24. (Photo by Kelly Thomas)

The Oakland Raiders will have plenty of work to do before the season begins in two weeks. A day after promising fans at the Raider Nation Celebration that the losing seasons would end this year, the silver and black stepped on the field and mixed brilliant play with horrible execution.

The result was a 28-24 loss to their Bay Area rivals — leaving Raiders fans to deal with trash talk from 49ers fans until the two teams meet again in October.

While nobody wants to lose, this loss may be just what the Raiders need right now. After going toe to toe with Super Bowl favorite Dallas in game one and dominating Chicago in game two, a little humbling might be the lesson that this team needed before setting their sights on the AFC West.

So what should the main result be from this lesson? No matter how good you are, you better bring your ‘A’ game each and every week — otherwise you are going to lose like Saturday night…a lot.

“When I look at the game, a nice start to the football game for our team but I really thought toward the end of the first quarter and all the second, I thought there was a let-up,” said head coach Tom Cable after the game.

Usually a let-up happens when a team becomes overconfident with their ability to dictate the tempo of a game. Did the Raiders get too overconfident after walking down the field on their first possession and taking a 7-0 advantage early? After winning their first two preseason games, while competing well against Super Bowl favorite Dallas, it’s quite possible that this team may have been looking to the start of the season.

Better now than when the games count for the silver and black, to get an eye-opening beating.

Before mentioning some history, let’s not mistakenly put the 2010 Raiders on a pedestal of playoff contender. Anyone who has followed this team over the last decade should know better. With that said, much can be said about a team falling on their face sometime during the season.

In 1976, the Raiders entered the season after losing the AFC title game to the Pittsburgh Steelers the season before, 16-10. Their first victory of the season was against those same Steelers, 31-28 at home. The Raiders went on to win their first three games by a combined margin of just seven points before traveling to Foxborough, MA, to face the New England Patriots.  The Patriots ran all over the Raiders, literally, posting nearly 300 yards rushing on the day on their way to a 48-17 victory.

Oakland wouldn’t lose the rest of the season, (including a 24-21 victory over the Patriots in the divisional playoff game), going 16-1 and winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

In 1980, the Raiders went into a game with the Philadelphia Eagles with an 8-3 record — the Eagles were 10-1. Jim Plunkett was harassed all day and only completed 10 passes in 36 attempts. Had it not been for a quick sideline pass to Cliff Branch, who turned a 20-yard play into an 86-yard touchdown, there would have been very little positive for the Raiders that day. While the score wouldn’t show it, (the Raiders lost 10-7), Oakland was beaten soundly by the NFC’s best team.

The Raiders would lose just once more that season, (19-13 to the Cowboys), before becoming the first Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl — a 27-10 dismantling of Philadelphia.

In 1983, the Los Angeles Raiders went into the game of the week with a 4-0 record. Their opponent, the Washington Redskins, were 3-1 and a heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl that season. Early in the fourth quarter, a Greg Pruitt 97-yard punt return touchdown seemed to put the game away with the Raiders on top 35-20. Unfortunately, the Raiders got a taste of their own medicine as Joe Theismann led the Redskins to 17 more points in the final six-plus minutes to give Washington a 37-35 victory. At the time, the Raiders losing a game in the fourth-quarter was ironic due to all of their own fourth-quarter comebacks.

The Raiders would go on to record a 12-4 record, win the AFC West, and meet the Redskins in the Super Bowl — in which they embarrassed Washington with a convincing 38-9 thrashing.

Are these your father’s Raiders? Highly doubtful. Let’s face it, no team in today’s NFL will ever be as good as any of the great pre-free agency era teams. However, they have a punter like Ray Guy, Jason Campbell could turn out to be this era’s Jim Plunkett, Nnamdi Asomugha is as good as Mike Haynes or Lester Hayes, and after Saturday night, they have a loss to be ashamed of.

Hopefully for Raider Nation, that will be enough to make this year’s Raiders a playoff team.

The Raiders played as if they were riding a roller coaster — sometimes up and sometimes down. Jason Campbell led the Raiders on their first possession by going 4-4 for 67 yards and setting up a Michael Bush one-yard plunge in the end zone. Campbell’s two best passes were to Darrius Heyward-Bey for 22 yards and then a deep pass to Marcel Reece for 34 yards.

Heyward-Bey, who was selected in front of the 49ers’ Michael Crabtree in the 2009 draft, had three catches for 46 yards. Crabtree didn’t play in the game.

Late in the second quarter, the Raiders were given a scare. Jason Campbell, 6-8 for 93 yards, went down with a neck stinger after Travis LaBoy was able to get around Mario Henderson and tackle the Raiders’ starting quarterback around the neck. Campbell laid on the field for several minutes and the team sent out the carts to carry him off the field, but Campbell was able to walk to the cart with help and leave the game.

After the game, Campbell said, “I couldn’t really feel a lot because it was down the back of my neck a little bit. We went to get it X-rayed to see what’s going on.” Most likely, Campbell will miss the final preseason game and be ready for the season opener on September 12.

Bruce Gradkowski came in with the Raiders down 17-7 and threw a laser to Louis Murphy, who had gotten behind safety Reggie Smith. Murphy caught the pass in stride and streaked for a 74-yard touchdown to get the Raiders within striking distance with 40 seconds remaining in the first half.

On the Raiders’ first possession of the second half, the receivers had trouble holding onto Gradkowski’s passes. With the Raiders on their own 45, and needing four yards on second down, Louis Murphy dropped an easy first down. On the next play, Zach Miller let the ball slip out of his hands, but luckily for the Raiders, a 49ers defender was called offsides to give them a first down. On first and 10, DHB got into the act with a drop of his own. All three balls should have been caught.

Both DHB and Zach Miller would redeem themselves on that drive. On third and 15 from the Raiders’ 45, DHB caught 17-yard pass for the first down. Miller would later catch a 27-yard strike for the go-ahead touchdown, making the score 21-17.

After the 49ers kicked a field goal to bring the score to 21-20, the Raiders’ possession stalled at San Francisco’s 40 yard line. That didn’t stop Tom Cable from calling on his big-legged kicker, Sebastian Janikowski. From the middle of the infield, Janikowski launched a 57-yard field goal to put the Raiders up by four, 24-20.

The 49ers would take up most of the fourth quarter by driving 80 yards on 16 plays for the game-winning score.

The Raiders next play Seattle at the Coliseum, Thursday evening at 7:00 PM.

• Michael Bush may lose his starting job, but it won’t be because of his performance. Bush left the game with a broken left thumb and his prognosis is yet to be determined. When asked if he’d miss the opener, Bush replied, “I’ll find out tomorrow or when I go in and talk to ‘em and see what’s going on.“
• Desmond Bryant wasn’t able to finish the game also. He left with what Tom Cable called, “an elbow issue.“
• DB Joey Thomas suffered a concussion during the game. He’s a long shot to make the team, so it shouldn’t make any difference on the team for the start of the season.

Check back later for a more detailed recap.

Due to baseball, the teams will be playing on most of the Oakland A’s baseball diamond. The game will be televised locally on KICU 36 and CW 44, but it will be tape delayed and won’t be shown until 9:00 PM.

Check back later for game updates and a post game recap.

Hugh Jackson finally gave the media what they had been clamoring for since training camp started — a press conference. Here’s the transcript:

Intro: How’s everybody doing? So finally I get to meet the media. Well come on, let’s go. What do you guys got?

Q: Who’s your number 2 quarterback?
A: Who’s our number 2 quarterback? Well that’s yet to be determined. Obviously Jason is our starter at this point in time. Obviously Bruce is going to play I this game. Kyle has done a wonderful job. We’re just kind of going to let this thing sort itself out over the next couple of weeks.

Q: How will the offense look different this year under you?
A: I hope it’s already looking different. The most important thing is we’re striving for balance. We want to be a team that we can run the football when we need to run it and we can throw it when we need to throw it. We’re a multiple formation team. We have some no huddle. We do a little bit of everything. We do whatever it takes to win football games. That’s the most important thing that I’ve stressed from our coaches to our players that whatever it takes to win that’s what we’re going to do.

Q: What’s your take on what you’ve seen so far?
A: I’m very excited about the progress we have made. Obviously from week 1 to week 2 there was improvement. We’re looking for that same improvement from  week 2 to week 3. As we continue to move forward, our whole goal is to make sure we’re ready to hit the ground running when the regular season starts and I think we’re well on our way to that happening.

Q: Two years ago the Ravens offense leaned on the run as Flacco got acclimated, last year you opened it up. Which is this offense more like?
A: I’m not going to make a comparison between the two because there’s a whole different set of players here. This environment is going to be the Raiders environment and whatever we do obviously we have a wealth of good players here: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Louis Murphy, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Zach Miller. We have some prime time football players and we’re tailoring our style of offense around those players to give them the best opportunity to have success.

Q: Do you see Bush and McFadden splitting carries?
A: Well I don’t know. Darren hasn’t played yet. Obviously he’ll get an opportunity in this game and then  we’ll kind of see where it goes from there. I’m excited about getting a lot of our pieces out on the football field and watching them  play.  I have not seen Darren play in a game. That’s going to be exciting. I haven’t seen Bruce perform in a game. That will be exciting for me as a coach finally seeing the other pieces we have to have an opportunity to go out and compete in a game-type environment.

Q: What have you brought to this program since your arrival?
A: I don’t know to be honest with you. It’s been fun for me to be very honest with you. The organization for the first six months has said, ‘Hey, let’s go to work.’ I thank them for allowing me to just kind of focus in on what my environment was which was learning these players, understanding exactly what I have to work with, understanding our staff. I came here with a staff already in place. We have some fine, fine coaches on this staff. To take that and here we are today playing football games. We were in training camp and now football games are being played. I’m really excited about where we’re headed and exactly what we’re doping. Obviously I think we’re improving daily as we move toward opening the season.

Q: Nnamdi and defenders have cited your trash talking as motivation.
A: We talk about style. I like to try to have as good a relationship with our defensive players as I do with our offensive players. This is a team sport and I think we all know that. We all kind of work together and work through each other. If I can motivate them in any way, case or form that helps them get through the day or practice a little bit better it’s going to help the offensive football team. Everybody talks about my style. I’m kind of an in-your face guy.  I coach with a lot of energy. The most important thing is I’m looking for a result. I’m after a result and a result is I ca get our players whether it’s offense against defense or defense against offense to compete at a high level because that’s what this game is.

Q: Are you able to change the offense with a different style of QB?
A: What you do is you just kind of channel everything to the guy that’s playing. You want to play to his skill level and give him opportunity to have success. Our offense is driven by the quarterback, there’s no question. Obviously there’s 10 other guys who have to play at a high level too. But our quarterback is a guy who needs to play well. It’s proven, when a quarterback plays well you have a chance to have a pretty good offense. Obviously Jason’s strengths might be a little bit different than Bruce’s strengths and a little bit different than Kyle Boller’s so that’s my job as a coordinator to make sure I put those guys in the best position to have success.

Q: How has DHB  progressed and what does he need to work on?
A: I think the sky’s the limit for the young man. I just think he needs to go play and I think he will this week. Obviously we’ve been in one game with him, he didn’t play very much the first game, didn’t make it to last week’s game. I’m looking forward to watching him play. Again, that’s what I’m saying.  I’m excited about watching a lot of our pieces finally come out and play together for an extended period of time and see where we are.

Q: Did you need to boost his confidence?
A: No. I don’t think I need to build up any football player’s confidence. What it is is going to work. It’s rolling up your sleeves every day and going out to work to improve your skill level. That’s what the young man has done. Obviously he needs to go do it in a game.  I think he will. I’m looking forward to watching him play this weekend.

Q: What did you learn watching Raiders offense last year, the QB?
A: No, I’m not going to say. I think it’s everything. I don’t think it was the quarterback, I don’t think it was the offensive line. I think more than anything, last year was last year. When I came in and took a peek, I said the most important thing I told the staff and players, whatever has gone on here in the past really doesn’t matter to me. It’s what we do from this point on and they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. They’ve worked hard. I’ve seen  us get better in Dallas, I’ve seen us get better in Chicago last week. It was unfortunate about the turnovers. But I’ve watched this team get better. Everything I’ve asked these young men to do, they’ve done. I try not to go back to what has happened here. That was the most important thing for me when I got here. Obviously I had to take a peek to make a decision about a job, about a situation for myself personally. What I’ve seen is this is a fine, fine organization led by a fine man in Al Davis. We have a good head coach in Tom Cable and I see an opportunity here for us to get the Raiders back on the winning side.

Q: Has the team and offense adopted your style and personality?
A: I sure want them to. I think we’re headed in that direction. There’s no question about that. I think  our guys understand. Honestly, we’re trying to build a bully here. We want to go back and take our football team and understand what the Raiders’ tradition is. And I think  every player that wears that helmet understands what we’re trying to build here each and every day, and it’s about competing. It’s about going out there every day and being the best at what you do, and I think our guys are taking that challenge.

Q: You and Cable have a history together. Do your styles mesh well?
A: There’s no question. Tom’s one of those old throwback coaches. He likes to get down in the dirt and get after it, and so do I. We kind of do it with a little flair. There’s a flair to what we do. I think our players enjoy it. I think you guys have talked to our players. I think they like the direction we’re heading. That’s the biggest thing. There’s a confidence about this football team. It permeates everywhere. It’s not just our team. It’s in the equipment, it’s in the weight room, it’s with our media people. It’s everywhere. This is a different time in Raider football, and I’m excited about it, and we all are.

Q: Imagine what it will be like when you finally get in the Coliseum.
A: I am really looking forward to it. I’ve been on the other side, coaching against them, obviously this past season in Baltimore. I can feel just driving up to the stadium, the fans who are sitting out in the parking lot and how much it means to the fans about winning here and what they know about the Raiders, and that’s what we want to get back to and not (just) for our fans, but for our whole organization. I think it’s so important that we do everything we can as coaches and players to put us back to where we actually belong, among the elite teams in this league.

Q: In that context, how important or not is the exhibition game against the 49ers?
A: Our whole thing is if they’re keeping score, everything’s important. That’s just kind of the way I am. If they’re keeping score, I want to win, and I think that’s the way our players are. We’re going to walk out there, and they’re going to put a ball out there and we’re going out there to play, and we’re going to play to win. We’re not just going out there to play. Any time we take the field and we’re wearing that uniform, that’s what our intention is, to go win a football game.

Q: What is the No. 1 quality you look for in a quarterback?
A: His ability to lead men.  I think it’s very important that the quarterback is able to take players and get those guys around him to follow him, to understand exactly what  the message is that’s being sent, not just on the field but also off the field. And I think we’ve got four very capable guys, and they’re working at it each and every day, and I feel good about direction that we’re going in.

Q: Any one particular thing right now you can say is the biggest need or area that needs improvement?
A: I think the biggest thing for our football team right now is just game experience with me and them, just us spending time together and them understanding exactly what I’m looking for and how I want it done. And I
think our guys are doing that. I really believe that. I’m not just saying it. Our players to a man, it’s been very fun for me. Sometimes you can go places and people put up a stop sign until they get to know you. Our guys have really embraced my attitude and the things that I’m looking for because the bottom line is we want to win, and we expect to win here. And that’s the difference. There is an expectation here. The Raiders are supposed to win. And that is our expectation and that’s what we are going to do.

Q: There are other coaches on the staff who have called plays in the NFL. How much do you lean on those guys?
A: I think every staff has strengths. You just mentioned that we have some guys – Ted Tollner, Paul Hackett – who have called plays in the National Football League, and that’s been fun to be able to bounce  different things off of them, but, as anything, there’s got to be one leader as you move forward. I do take a little bit from everyone. I talk to Kelly Skipper, I talk to Adam Henry, Chris Morgan. I talk to all of them about what we need to get done, but when it’s all said and done I’m going to make that decision about exactly what we need to do.

Q: How big a role did you play in bringing Boller here?
A: Obviously I have a history with Kyle, but Mr. Davis, when he was able to watch the tape, too, along with me, says, ‘Hey, this guy can play.’ And I know he can. He’s come in and done a good job.

Q: He was hurt the one year you were together?
A: Yeah.  Well, that one year we really didn’t get a chance to spend a year (together). We were in the preseason, he did get hurt before we ended up letting him go. Kyle is a tremendous competitor, likes to play and a good young man, and I’m glad he’s here with us.

Q: What’s it mean personally for you to return to Northern California?
A: Oh my gosh, this is a dream come true for me, to be very honest with you. To have an opportunity to work for Mr. Al Davis – and I’m being very sincere when I tell you guys that – that man is phenomenal. He is a walking football. And I’m being very serious. There is nothing about football that you can’t talk to Mr. Davis about. And you guys talk about a resource, that is one of the biggest resources in our building, is Mr. Davis. And then obviously it flows on. But me being back home, being back in California – I’ve been on the East Cost, I’ve been in the Midwest, I’ve been in the South, there’s nothing like being home. And I want to come back and help restore the great tradition here, and that’s why I took this job because I think it’s a place that’s very special. I think we have special fans, and I think we have a special opportunity here.

Q: How often do you tap into Mr. Davis as a resource?
A: Very often. Very often. Because, again, let’s make no bones about it, this is his football team, and I have a great respect for that. I’ve been with a lot of different owners in the league, the Dan Snyders, the Steve Bisciotti, the gentleman at Atlanta, and they are fine, fine men. But this guy knows as much about football, and he is as sharp about football as any man I’ve ever been around, so to have a resource like that and not be able to use it, I don’t think would be very smart on my part. Just watching how he ran the draft. Again, this is an exciting time in my opinion in Raiders football. We’ve had an outstanding draft, we’ve brought some great players here, and now the leadership puzzle, as Nnamdi has said, is in place, for us to have an opportunity to have something special happen here.

It was a short up-tempo practice in which the offense and defense went against each other for most of the session in the red zone. There was no clear winner, but again DHB was making all the plays that came his way. DHB also made the play of the day by making an over the shoulder touchdown grab on a post route, then later on caught one in the middle of the end zone after beating Chris Johnson.

Practice ended after a 40-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski to the tune of cheers by the rest of the team. Afterwords, the team gathered around in a circle and sang a poor rendition of the happy birthday song to Jon Condo. Today is his 29th birthday.

Getting back to Johnson, he probably won’t see any time in the upcoming game against the 49ers. Cable said in his post-practice press conference that Chaz Schilens (knee), Samson Satele (ankle), Alex Daniels (groin), Jay Richardson (knee), and Johnson (hamstring) “would be out for this game.”

Cable summed up training camp by telling the media what he told the team, “Well done.” The coach then explained, “The mission was to try and get better every day, not have those days where you’re really disgusted or disappointed as a coaching staff, that, ‘Man, we really went backward today.’ We didn’t have any of those days. So, well done by this football team.”

While Cable is happy with the progress the team has made, he tempered the optimism with another challenge for his team. “Now the real issue is to continue [getting better every day] when we go home,” said the head coach. “Eliminate the distractions that come with living back at home and all those kinds of things, travel and such, and being able to handle that and eliminate those distractions.”

In my short time back in the press corps, I’ve heard grumblings from the media about not being able to talk with new offensive coordinator Hue Jackson — and with good reason. The count had gone up to 211 days since his hiring and he had yet to give an interview to the local media. In today’s NFL, that’s pretty much unheard of, and so the grumbling has gotten louder. Loud enough that the Raiders knew of the frustration.

Wednesday, Jackson stepped up to the podium right after practice, placed his hands to both side of the mic’s, looked up and said, “Psych!” The stunt had everyone laughing, but still not appeased. Today, the Raiders made sure to silence the media and sent Jackson to the podium for real.

After watching him handle the questions with ease and exude the sort of charisma that you would expect from a head coach, it had me wondering why the Raiders had kept him from the press. He was a great interview, and I’ll have the transcript up later this evening, but here are some of the quotes from today:

• His take on what he’s seen from the offense so far this preseason: “I’m very excited about the progress we have made.“
• On how the offense will look different this year under him: “I hope it’s already looking different.“
• Interestingly enough, this was his response when asked about who the second-string quarterback was: “Who’s our number 2 quarterback? Well that’s yet to be determined.“
• On whether or not Bush and McFadden would split carries this season: “Well I don’t know. Darren hasn’t played yet.“
• Quote of the day (at least what Raider Nation would want to hear): “Honestly, we’re trying to build a bully here. We want to go back and take our football team and understand what the Raiders’ tradition is.“

There will be more later, but for now, that will have to do in terms of Jackson.

After practice, I had a chance to speak with Nnamdi Asomugha. While interviewing him, he was talking about being comfortable with his role as a leader after his third year in the league. You may or may not remember that his fourth year is the year he had eight picks and 11 passes defensed. During that season, Warren Sapp was interviewed about Asomugha and he mentioned that the team would have to stop calling him Roberto Duran in reference to Duran’s infamous nickname ‘Hands of Stone.’ That was due to the fact that Asomugha had 14 passes defensed the season before, without any interceptions.

Well, I made the mistake of bringing that up. Here’s how the exchange went down, as transcribed by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur:

Rob: Is that when you shed the nickname?

Nnamdi: Uhhhhhhhhhh?

Rob: The Roberto Duran nickname …

Nnamdi: When I did what?

Rob: That nickname …

Nnamdi: (silence, blank stare)

Rob: Isn’t that the same time they stopped calling you Roberto Duran?

Nnamdi: Oh, I didn’t know about that.

Rob: You didn’t know that?

Nnamdi: That must have …

Rob: Warren Sapp was saying that’s what they used to call you.

Nnamdi: Wow.

Rob: Hands of Stone. (laughs)

Nnamdi: That must have been an inside joke. Thanks for letting me know.

Rob: Sorry, man.

Nnamdi: You’re bringing back bad memories.

Asomugha and I are good, but needless to say, I endured quite a bit of laughter from the rest of my buddies in the press corps later on.

Check back later for more.

I can’t see how going to an 18-game season is any good for the league, the players, or the fans, but if it keeps football on the field, then I can back it — but I don’t have to like it do I? At this point, with Roger Goodell announcing that the owners are behind the extended season, it’s more than likely to be the future of the NFL.

I’ve seen posts on other sites where some of Raider Nation has been calling for the signing of Kevin Mawae. Don’t expect the Raiders to do anything like that. Cable was asked about the possibility of going outside of the organization on Wednesday and he tersely answered, “We’ve never had any discussions about that.”

After two days of practicing in high temperatures, the Raiders will start practice this morning at a cool 60 degrees. I hope I don’t regret wearing shorts today. It’s the last day the Raiders will be practicing in Napa, but it’s going to feel like a cool day in Oakland instead.

Check back later for my camp report.

The play of second-year wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey definitely didn’t cool down today. Even though I’ve had to adjust to seeing him in the #85 jersey, the biggest adjustment that I’ve had to make has been recognizing it’s him with the added bulk in his shoulders. Say what you want about this kid from Maryland, but don’t say that he hasn’t been doing something right in the offseason.

When the Raiders’ quarterbacks have chosen/practiced deep passing routes, DHB has had little trouble being open or catching the pass. When he was asked to run short comeback routes, Heyward-Bey ran them well and had no trouble pulling in the pass when it came his way. When Jason Campbell or one of the other quarterbacks needed a receiver open over the middle and in traffic, DHB was there with the catch. Simply put, the wide receiver the Raiders were ridiculed for on draft day in 2009 doesn’t seem to exist anymore.

The best example I can think of in DHB’s favor was when the Raiders were practicing a third and eight situation and Yamon Figurs jumped prior to the snap. The coaches called the players back into the huddle in disgust to give the offense another play. On that play, Campbell found Heyward-Bey over the middle in traffic for 13 yards and a first down.

Nobody is anointing him as the next Raiders Pro Bowler just yet, but it will be interesting to see if the determined receiver can translate his practice performance to the game on Saturday night.

For the most part, the day’s practice ran like clockwork. They did seven on seven drills, practiced schemes pitting the offense against the defense, and while very few balls hit the turf on passing plays, I didn’t get the impression that either side of the ball was outperforming the other.

One memorable play on the day was a delayed blitz by rookie linebacker Travis Goethel. Goethel waited for the tight end to clear and ran straight to the quarterback past right tackle Langston Walker, who had already moved to his left to help right guard Cooper Carlisle. Had it been an actual game, Goethel would have had a clear shot at a crushing quarterback sack.

Walker, who had missed Tuesday’s practice with tightness in his lower back, returned to practice Wednesday along with Richard Seymour and Chris Johnson. Chaz Schilens (knee), Samson Satele (ankle), Alex Daniels (groin), and Jay Richardson (knee) did not practice. Head coach Tom Cable said the four who sat out would be questionable for the coming game.

Chris Morris has fallen out of favor as the replacement for Samson Satele. Instead, Cable confirmed that rookie Jared Veldheer would get the start against the 49ers as the snapper. “I think it’s a heck of an opportunity for him, no doubt about that,” said Cable about Veldheer getting the start.

Cable continued, “He’ll get a chance to play against another team’s ones. We did that a little bit last week with him against Peppers. He’s tasted that a little bit being in the game early. This is the next step for him.”

With linemen, one of the biggest worries with moving them to different spots on the line is hampering their development. Cable credits Veldheer’s head for his ability to handle different positions so easily. “At first we worried about [moving him] from tackle to center,” said Cable after practice. “He has handled that very well and really has not had any setbacks. He’s a pretty bright guy. He’s been able to handle it mentally. That’s usually the challenge.”

So what’s Veldheer’s secret to playing different positions every week? “Just got to get in your play book and reps and just have to study film and put in the work off the field so you can be productive on the field.” He makes it sound so simple, but few linemen are able to pull off his kind of versatility. He’s already had time at left tackle, left guard, right tackle, center, and tight end in goal line situations.

Practice Thursday will be an early 8:30 AM event before the team prepares to leave Napa for the year.

Tom Cable and his Oakland Raiders braved the 103-degree heat on Tuesday in their preparation for the 2010 NFL season. According to weather.com, that temperature would match the 79-year old record for the day, set in 1931.

Practicing in high temperatures is surprisingly foreign to a team holding their training camp in California, but this summer has been nothing if not surprising when it comes to weather in wine country. During the month of August, Napa has recorded six days in which the high was below 70 degrees compared to only four days (all within the last six) has the mercury topped anything over 80 degrees.With their first game on the road in an expected warm and muggy Tennessee, Tom Cable is enjoying his time in the sun. In stark comparison to Napa, Nashville has only had four days (all within the last seven) in which temperatures haven’t hit at least 90 degrees. Of those four days, the temperature has hit highs of 88 degrees twice, 87 degrees, and the freezing temperature of 84 degrees.

Cable spoke with reporters after the practice. The following is the transcript:

Opening Statement: Let’s talk about who didn’t practice today. Chaz Schilens, first and foremost, he has had a procedure on his knee. It’s an arthroscopic procedure. I cannot tell you yet – he’s not back  – as to a timeline, but we’ll know here pretty quick. Satele, obviously has an ankle injury. It does not look to be serious but will not force the issue there. Langston Walker, held him out today. He has some lower back tightening. Alex Daniels didn’t finish today. He moved back to defense. Got a sore groin. Jay Richardson is back at camp with the knee issue. Richard Seymour, continuing to rehab the tricep, and Chris Johnson rehabbing the hamstring.

Q: Planning on shutting Satele down for the remainder of the preseason?

A: I know I’m going to shut him down this week. There’s a chance he could be ready to go, but I’m just not going to push that, I’m not going to do that.

Q: With Schilens having arthroscopic surgery, does it bode well that you’ll only lose him for a couple of weeks?

A: We hope so. That’s  what I’m waiting, for him to get back so we know more. We just don’t have any of those answers for you right now.

Q: Good practicing in the heat?

A: It was great. It was exactly 103. It was perfect. But we needed it. I talked about before, we had a chance to go to Dallas, it was like 104 when we got off the plane. We played in Chicago last week. We were hoping to have a lot of humidity, and we just didn’t get it. It was actually a pretty cool night. What I’m getting at is the fact that we’ve got to go and open at Tennessee, so we’re going to need to be in this kind of environment a little bit. And it was good for it. I really am excited how we handled it today as a football team. We just went to work, and that’s what’s cool about this group of guys. There was no complaining or moping around or anything like that. We just went right to work and, ‘Yeah, it’s hot. So what. Give me something cold to drink and we’ll keep moving.’ I like that about our team.

Q: What will it be like to finally have a home game this week?

A: We talked a little bit about it this morning. We’re all very excited … to come home. We’ve been on the road now, two weeks in a row now, two long trips, but now we get to come home and be in front of our crowd. We’re all tickled about it, excited that we’re playing the 49ers this weekend, and we’ll look forward to it.

Q: Since it’s the third game, will you treat it like a regular season game or just another preseason contest?

A: I think a little bit of both. I think a little bit of both goes into play there. The biggest thing right now is to keep evaluating our football team. There’s some real issues in terms of – you know, the cut is approaching. We have to make some tough calls coming up here, and then at the same time we’re going to treat this week a little bit more like a normal game week would be.

Q: What caused you to move Alex Daniels back to the defensive side of the ball?

A: I just didn’t feel like we made the improvement as quickly as I’d hoped. He was brought in here, started out on defense to be a pass rusher, and obviously, it’s good to get a set of legs back over there. It just didn’t feel like, to me, it was working.

Q: How is DHB feeling?

A: Much better. Much better. It looked like it today. He ran around well and looked crisp, fresh legs underneath him, as did Darren McFadden and a couple of the other guys that came back. It was good to see.

Q: With Darren McFadden missing so much time, do you plan on playing him in the coming game as normal or ease him back into action?

A: Our plan right now is to go through the week like normal, that he’s back and ready to go. We’ll be smart in terms of his workload, is probably the only issue here. Once we get there Saturday we go play.

Q: Since Bruce Gradkowski has missed time this preseason, are you planning on giving him more rep’s than you normally would?

A: I think you may see him play a little bit more, yes, in these next two weeks.

Q: Will he (Gradkowski) be the second quarterback in the game?

A: I think so at this point, but we won’t  do all that until Thursday, Friday, but we’ll certainly let you know.

Q: What is the hottest weather for a game that you’ve been involved in as a player or coach?

A: 2006 at Carolina to open when I was with Atlanta. It was miserable. It was brutal.

Q: How was Satele doing prior to getting hurt?

A: There’s a lot of good things. I think there’s some improvement. I’m kind of excited about the direction he was going. To me this is a little bit of a setback.

Q: How has Robert Gallery performed so far?

A: I liked the Chicago game. I didn’t obviously like the two penalties to start with, but he’d be the first to tell you that better focus and concentration. But his overall play improved from Week 1, and that’s really all we care about is to get better every week.

Q: Who is your starter at center with Satele out?

A: I don’t know yet.

Q: It seems the players are more aggressive and focused this year. Does this camp feel different to you than last year?

A: I think that’s a good term for our team. We’re trying to have a purpose every day and put a focus to something every day. The mantra for the staff has been to go out as a position coach and make one player at your position better every day. And if we can do that collectively, I think it allows us to improve in the right steps, but I think for the standpoint, it’s just been have a purpose every day.

Q: With 12 sacks in the first two games, do think the defense is beginning to create an identity for itself?

A: I hope so. That’s exciting and it’s very positive, certainly. Now let’s see ‘em continue to do it. I think we have a chance to have that kind of impact with our defensive front. We’ve really not pressure at all. A few times but nothing like you might in the regular season. It’s just really been our pass rush of our four down people.

Q: What about Saturday impressed you the most about Kamerion Wimbley?

A: I don’t know if it so much impressed me. I see it every day. It just was a matter of he got a couple opportunities. He said it best. He got one early and it really got him energized. The way he beat him on the first one kind of set up the second and the third one.  A lot of it’s timing, being in the right place and the right guy. You get him with the right move and then you kind of set up some other things. He said it best, the first one kind of got him juiced and ready to go.

Q: Does the fact that the defense has eight sacks against the number one offense on the opposing teams carry more weight for you?

A: It does. I think that is far more important  than the big number overall. I think it’s how we’re doing vs. the other team’s starters.