Oakland Raiders Taking Care of Business in All the Right Places

It was encouraging for all the right reasons.

True, it goes without saying that this was only the first preseason game, but when you’re watching an exhibition affair, you look for certain things out of your team that give you some sort of indication that things are headed in the right direction.

First, the bad.

There were too many silly penalties (14 for 107 yards), and if there’s anything you don’t want your team to do, it’s beat themselves on the field.

Also, the defense was soft at times, especially in zone coverage, and proper tackling seemed to be an issue on certain drives.

But c’mon—it’s only the first preseason game. These are the type of disciplinary miscues you’d expect from any team trying to work itself back into shape, and judging by the way head coach Tom Cable is running things in camp, there’s legitimate enough reason to believe the Raiders will be a more efficient and fundamentally sound team than they’ve been in recent memory come Sept. 14.

Now, on to the good.

There’s a lot of it to take from this game. JaMarcus Russell didn’t exactly set the world ablaze in his one quarter of play, but he did most everything he could do to appease his critics.

Without trying to get too ahead of ourselves, in only two offensive drives, Russell displayed a confident poise that makes you believe that this is the year he lives up to everyone’s lofty expectations. They say a player makes the biggest jump in his development between his first and second year, and this is essentially Russell’s second year as the full-time starter.

Where Russell excelled the most was in his quick decision-making. There were few times, if any, Russell held onto the ball longer than he should have.

Most of the time, Russell delivered the ball as soon as he came out of his drop and found an open receiver on six out of nine pass attempts.

Chaz Schilens was the recipient on four of those six completions, but it was the one completion that went for negative yards that might have been the most impressive.

On second and goal at the Cowboys’ 12-yard line, Russell completed a pass to veteran fullback Lorenzo Neal that went for a two-yard loss. It’s a negative play in the box score, but what was impressive about the completion was the poise in which Russell handled the situation.

Against a good pass rush, Russell stood tall, scanned the field, and checked down all his receivers. When he saw nothing available, Russell made the pass that made the most sense and was the safest: his fullback swinging out right.

Trust me, it’s hard to even write anything positive about a play that lost two yards, but it’s impressive, nonetheless, to see a young and maturing JaMarcus Russell have the presence of mind to make a quick decision that doesn’t involve him throwing a rocket into tight coverage that, in the past, might have been picked off.

Instead, Russell found the safer play that might have lost two yards, but on any other day could have been a positive gain.

Schilens’ performance was as expected for Raider fans, but perhaps no one outside of Oakland has paid any heed to the second-year man out of San Diego State.

Schilens finished with five catches for 52 yards; perhaps it was his relative anonymity that led to him being open so often, but whatever it was, Schilens made the Cowboys’ secondary pay.

What is so impressive about Schilens is that he is the anti-superstar wide receiver. He isn’t flashy and doesn’t make the headlines, but he just gets the job done.

Last year, Raider fans saw Schilens’ play increase week by week, and that’s thanks in large part to his consistent fundamentals.

An example of this was the 2nd-and-8 play on the Raiders’ touchdown drive to start the second. Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski’s pass was poorly thrown and low, but Schilens managed to get to the ball, caught it, and fell without contact, and had the presence of mind to get up and run on what became a nine-yard reception to set the Raiders up with a 1st-and-goal at the six-yard line.

With the way last season ended and the preseason has begun, it's quite evident that Schilens is quickly becoming Russell's favorite target, and if things go as planned, the national media might start talking about Schilens the same way they did another former seventh round wide receiver, Marques Colston.

Darren McFadden had some nice runs (including a monster 45-yarder), Michael Bush gained 18 yards on only two carries, and even the fourth and fifth guys, Louis Rankin and Gary Russell, contributed a touchdown apiece.

But it wasn't so much the running that was most impressive; it was their blocking ability that proved to be the highlight of the backfield's night.

On Russell's huge 18-yard run on the second offensive drive of the first quarter, it was McFadden who made the play happen. Against a heavy blitz, Russell's best option was to tuck it up the middle and run.

However, the play would probably have gone for only a minimal gain had it not been for McFadden's timely block against a blitzing Cowboy linebacker.

In the second quarter, on 2nd-and-5 at their own 25-yard line, Gradkowski threw an incomplete pass down the middle.

However, as noted in the Raiders broadcast by play-by-play man Greg Papa, what made such an insignificant play so special was Bush's quick pickup of the blitz, buying some more time for his quarterback to deliver the ball safely.

Picking up blitzes and blocking might not makes the headlines, but it's the little things that count, and it's encouraging to see the two young and talented Raider running backs taking care of business.

Of course, as it is the preseason, it's the time when the coaches get to evaluate their young talent in live game situations.

Louis Murphy got some extended playing time in the second half and played very well, grabbing two passes for 44 yards. Murphy looks like he can develop into a very good fourth wide receiver, playing inside and running the all-too-important routes underneath the coverage.

The one play involving Murphy, however, that fans will most likely remember will probably be the 3rd-and-5 pass from Gradkowski that Murphy dropped. On the play, Murphy ran a crossing route to the left and jumped, falling to his left to catch the ball.

However, right there was a Cowboy defensive back, who promptly nailed Murphy before he could gain possession.

We'll give him a pass on that one.

Ricky Brown and Slade Norris, the two young linebackers, were impressive in the time they got, displaying great closing speed. Brown, in particular, had the best tackle of the night, coming in on a blitz and sacking Cowboys backup quarterback Jon Kitna for a 10-yard loss.

Perhaps I'm practicing some journalistic alchemy here, writing about the positives in negative completions and virtual non-plays.

But it's only the first preseason game.

There's very little to draw from such a showing, especially when observing what's on the surface. You can't take much from a preseason final score of 31-10, but that's why, like backfield blocking, it's the little things that count.

The game was encouraging in all the right places. It might only be the first game of the preseason, but it's a good bit of evidence that shows Cable and staff are taking care of business in camp.