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The Raidersblog team gives their grades at the midway point of the season. Quarterback Chris Hansen: B Brandon Dwonch: C - (Incomplete) Nick Silverman: B- Natalie Saar: C - (Boller D) Bram Makonda: C+ Jeff Fagen: B Overall GPA: 2.5 Jason Campbell played his game and did it well enough until he got injured. Carson Palmer, given ample time to learn the offense, tossed three touchdowns and had such command of the offense he was audibling at the line. The grade can be considered incomplete for now, but with significant room to grow. Runningback/Fullback Chris Hansen: A- Brandon Dwonch: A- Nick Silverman: B+ Natalie Saar: A Bram Makonda: A- Jeff Fagen: A Overall GPA: 3.8 Darren McFadden held the league lead in rushing until his injury against Kansas City. Michael Bush is a great replacement back and can consistently put up 100-yard days. Marcel Reece injury really hurt the offense, but he's as good as they come at the position. Richard Gordon and Manase Tonga have done a good job as blo...

Last Monday night the Raiders secured the current longest win streak inside a division and ended the embarrassing 11-game losing streak in prime time games. After the Oakland Raiders week one victory on MNF one thing is certain: The Raiders are a run orientated team, both offensively and defensively. As Richard Seymour said, "If you can't stop the run, you aren't going to be successful in this league.” The Raiders goal offensively is to pound the rock, then work play action to hopefully open up the offense. Defensively the Raiders will rely on their front four to control the line of scrimmage and mix in the occasional zone or blitz. Last Monday night, the Raiders executed their game plan with perfection by rushing for 190 yards and giving up a league low 38. What was most impressive regarding the running attack was the four-minute drill to close out the game. It was not giving the Broncos the ball back that guaranteed victory. It was the Raiders ability to run successfully...

Who played well on Monday? Maybe a few are obvious, maybe a few weren't obvious. It's always a little more difficult to determine a dud, expecially if the player didn't make any glaring or obvious mistakes.   Studs Darren McFadden - 150 yards. That should be enough to tell you everything you need to know about McFadden's night. The Raiders rode on McFadden's back to victory. Matt Giordano - The interception was just icing on a very good game from Giordano. He was solid in coverage and a willing tackler and his excellent play enabled the Raiders to use Michael Huff as the nickel corner. Who Stevie Brown? Giordano didn't even make the initial 53-man roster. Quentin Groves - He forced a fumble and held his own in coverage making minimal mistakes. He did his job in the run game. For all the abuse Groves has taken for being the weakest linebacker he played like the best one on Monday night. Kamerion Wimbley - He had his way with the rookie right tackle for the Br...

During the night telecast of the Monday night opening double-header between two bitter AFC West rivals, something ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said caught not only my attention, but I'm sure a lot of other residents of Raider Nation as well. Dilfer assumed that of the Raiders' penalty-filled night, scuffles and aggressive nature meant that the team lacked discipline. Granted the 15 penalties for 131 yards were deserved, I argued that it was exactly what this team needed. Many forget that there was actually no NFL preseason this year. For Dilfer to assume that a clean-fought game was to be expected in week one was ludicrous. While there was no overwhelming evidence of penalties in the other week one games, the talk of the NFL after one week centered around ballooned passing yards. Tom Brady passed for over 500 yards and Chad Henne, the other quarterback in the game passed for over 400 yards (Chad Henne everybody! Who saw that coming?). This further explains that not only are the pl...

More penalty yards than passing yards. Hue Jackson will be satisfied with the win, but not his team's lack of mental discipline. If not for the penalties and a punt return touchdown by the Broncos the score would have been much more lopsided. On the other hand, Orton's late fumble gave away the Broncos chance at a lead. Raider Nation has seen this game before. Dominate the game and figure out a way to lose. On Monday night the Raiders figured out a way to win. Perhaps the Raiders were lucky the Broncos were so inept on offense and couldn't stop Darren McFadden. They will not be so lucky against better teams. Broken was a streak that had the Raiders at 0-1 to start the season for eight years. Now, for the first time since 2002 the Raiders are 1-0. I think the fans and team would tell you it feels good to be perfect for a change. Sebastian Janikowski tied the record for longest field goal. A nice highlight and it ended up being the difference in the game. Let's revisit th...

The Raiders kicked the Broncos tail last season, but every season is different. The Broncos have a new head coach and return Elvis Dumervil. The Broncos also added a dynamic rookie in Von Miller in April's draft. The Broncos are a different team with different challenges. The Raiders are very similar team, with very familiar challenges and maybe a few new ones.   Raiders Offense vs. Broncos Defense The Raiders were able to run on the Broncos last season and will attempt to do the same again. The Broncos go from a 3-4 to a 4-3, but the Broncos didn't drastically alter the front seven. Dumervill and Miller are the primary difference and they are mostly pass rushers. Much has been made of the Raiders new and improved passing game and the Broncos secondary will make plays when provided ample pass rush. The Raiders will need to play run effectively to use play action. An early lead will help the offense and keep the Broncos pass rush from pinning their ears back to get Jason Campbel...