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Quarterback Jason Campbell had a very average game last week, throwing for 190 yards. His games have been alternating pretty steadily from the 100s to 300s. If the trend continues this week, look for him to get somewhere in the 300s for yardage. He is averaging two touchdowns and is low risk when it comes to interceptions. Plan for at least one or each for Campbell when choosing which QB to play. Running Back Last week was Darren McFadden's worst all season with only 51 yards and no touchdowns. In that particular game, the carries he did make were crucial, but that doesn't always translate into fantasy points. This week he should get somewhere around 100 yards with at least one touchdown. Michael Bush also had his worst game last week with a just 9 yards. This will not happen again. The whole running game was a bit off last week, but this week the team is at home so look for Bush to get his standard 30 yards and maybe vulture a touchdown. Cartwright's yards came on special ...

An emotional win. A big win. The Raiders made it through the toughest stretch of the schedule 3-2. Now the Raiders have a month at home and play three unspectacular teams. Two are division foes and anything can happen. Raiders have plenty of things to work on in practice this week and the coaching staff will not let the players look past the Cleveland Browns. A few players really stood out in the Raiders win and a few, well, didn't.   Studs Lamarr Houston Pushed the pile all day long and had the awareness to make the interception on one of the many Matt Schaub tips. Houston had a heck of game in Houston as did the rest of the defensive line. The Raiders really needed the defensive line to take over the game and the Raiders defensive line did just that and Houston was a big part of the Raiders day. Honorable Mention: John Henderson Tommy Kelly He had the worst game of his career against the Texans the last time he faced them, but one of his best this Sunday. The Texans had no answer...

Darren McFadden's most recent injury has made it even more clear how important it is for the Raiders to ink a long-term deal with restricted free agent Michael Bush. On Thursday, coach Hue Jackson revealed that McFadden was out for at least two weeks with an orbital fracture. Michael Bush signed his restricted free agent tender on Saturday, after a practice Friday in which Louis Rankin and Rock Cartwright took all the snaps. In a press conference a few days ago, Jackson joked saying that McFadden looked handsome and he had no doubt the running back will return in two weeks. Jackson also reminded every one of last preseason when McFadden missed a considerable amount of time due to a hamstring injury and came back to have 1157 yards and a break-out season. Still, McFadden has yet to play an entire season without missing time. It's the elephant in the room-McFadden is prone to injury. There is a severe lack of depth in the Raiders running-back depth chart. After McFadden and Bush,...

Watching the game a second time and grading players is quite a task. It also set my readers up for a disappointment this week. I didn’t watch the game a second time. There I said it and it was like ripping off a bandage. The good news is I played closer attention to certain things during the game this week. I guess after four weeks of watching the game a second time for analysis I had a hard time turning off that part of my brain. STUDS Michael Huff, Tyvon Branch & Chris Johnson Huff was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Doesn’t that say it all? Not quite. In fact, Huff was headed for the duds list until he forced the Philip Rivers fumble to seal the win. Tyvon Branch returned the fumble for a touchdown. Chris Johnson was being used like a cheap hooker in the passing game, until he crushed an offensive lineman attempting to recover the game-deciding fumble. His play was what enabled Branch to scoop and score. Three duds became studs on one play. Amazing. John Fassel, Ro...

News and notes from the Raiders 10-point victory Thursday night in Dallas: Football season has arrived, officially, with the first game preseason game. It doesn't count and the score doesn't matter, but the new season started and the fans were looking for hope in a new team lead by a new quarterback. While the offense appeared calm, controlled and more organized under Campbell, the production wasn't there. Campbell went 7 of 15 for 49 yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey didn't have a catch. Zach Miller had three catches for just 15 yards. Campbell only converted one third down out of six and didn't lead the offense to a score. Kyle Boller played the remainder of the game after Campbell took a seat in the second quarter. After a rocky start Boller settled in and ended the night 12 of 21 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Observations: - Johnnie Lee Higgins appears to be playing with the swagger he had in 2008. He had a few catches, even if he did tip a ball into the air that shou...

The first preseason game could answer questions or it could create new ones and complicate old ones. There is no way to know what will happen Thursday night in Dallas. More than anything, the coaches want to make it through the preseason without significant injuries. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered and the coaches will start to answer them Thursday in Dallas. Who will win the third running back job: Michael Bennett or Rock Cartwright? Each back has a different style despite similarly small statures. Cartwright being the better special teams player and much more physical. Bennett is a quicker, faster and can get to the edge. This will be a tough call the coaches will have to make. Cartwright is a little more useful as long as McFadden and Bush are carrying the load, but should the third back be pushed into starter duty as it was multiple times last year, Bennett would probably be the back you’d want to have. Will the return game improve? The coaches would p...

One of the major problems with the 2009 Raiders was the struggle in the return game. Fullback Gary Russell became the primary kick returner when Nick Miller was injured for the season. Johnnie Lee Higgins was the primary punt returner, but showed little of the promise in 2009 that he did in 2007 and 2008. The Raiders ranked 32nd in the league in kick return average in 2009 with just 18.2 yards per return and 29th in the league in punt return average with just 4.9 yards per return. There are three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. The Raiders have two of the best legs in the game to kick and punt, but in 2009 the worst return game. A lot more goes into the return game in the form of blocking than we can cover here and the personnel are so fluid at this point it isn’t worth the effort. One way the Raiders can improve drastically is to give the return duties to a new player. Gary Russell’s lack of speed and agility really hurt the return game. Warren Sapp at one poin...

According to Chick Hernandez of Comcast Sports Net, RB/KR Rock Cartwright will sign a one-year deal with the Raiders. Cartwright is a kick return specialist and backup running back. He will probably play some fullback as well. He will be competition for the young players at both spots and quality depth. Cartwright is also a quality person and someone new QB Jason Campbell is comfortable with from his years in Washington.