MVN: Most Valuable Network

Besides the fan rivalry, at least 50 players per team will be playing for their careers

I keep hearing from both 49er and Raiders fans that the game means nothing. Nothing? Like pretty much everything in life, I guess it's all in the perspective that you look at it from. If you're looking at it from a 'bragging rights' point of view, then it only means something if your team wins the game. Am I right? It's not like the Raiders and Niners face off this season, unless both shock the sports world and meet in the Super Bowl. Hahaha...(choke)...(cough)...(chortle)...uh-hmm...excuse me, kind of got caught up in the moment there.

Now, I'm not saying that how either team plays is a foreshadowing of their respective seasons or anything like that, but there are plenty of items to note if you want to gauge how outlandish or correct your preseason predictions are.  Here are a few things to watch for in the Raiders first preseason match up and why.

First Quarter

What to watch for - The first couple of series

Watch the opening drive.  If the Raiders are on defense then you want to see how well they get into position during the running plays.  Tackling is important when the regular season begins, but this is the first time these guys will be tackling for real since the end of last season.  For some of the regulars coming off of injury, it's been even longer.  So watch that they are in position to make plays on defense, but expect missed tackles this soon.  If the tackling is solid, that's a bonus.  On passing plays, watch for a pass rush and linebacker/secondary coverage.  Watch to see that players are again in position to make plays and receivers aren't five yards away from anyone on catches.

If the Raiders are on offense, watch for open running lanes when the Raiders hand off.  You want to see that running lanes are open, not necessarily every down, but that's why you're watching for it.  How often do they succeed compared to fail when opening holes along the line.  When the Raiders pass, watch for protection.  Count one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, etc..  How long does JaMarcus Russell have before he has to take a step?  How long does it take before he does take a step.  If you're watching on TV, it'll be difficult to see, but pay attention to open receivers and effectiveness of the play.  When I say effectiveness, it's like the tackling.  Was the receiver open?  Did the QB make a good throw?  If no receivers are open, was there an open outlet for him to throw the ball?  If the receivers make the catch, great, but if they don't why?

Why you watch for it:  It's obvious right?  You want to see how far along those guys that will be out there during the regular season are.  You also can tell with the newer players if they've bought into the system, have the talent that the Raiders thought they had when they signed them, and if they fit in the system.  We've all heard or read the reports on how training camp is going, but we want to see for ourselves so we can decide on our own, right?  Expect sloppy play, but also expect that these guys know what they're supposed to do when the time comes too.  This is where the bragging rights should count, so pay attention to when the starters come out and note the score at that point.

What to watch for - The rest of the first half

I'm unsure of how long Lane Kiffin will leave the starters out on the field, but you can bet that those guys playing second fiddle will be getting some time in the first half as well.  Kiffin did say that he'll be leaving the starting offensive line in for as long as Russell is in, and he wants Russell to get his work in for the experience.  Take the gloves off.  Everything matters now.  Guys making catches, tackles, blocks, and basically executing helps their stock.  If the player that they are currently behind did poorly prior to these guys stepping on the field, then it's going to matter.

Pay attention to who they are playing against also.  If any of the second tier guys come in and play against the 49ers starters, make a mental comparison as to how well they did compared to the guy they replaced.  If you've got second stringer versus second stringer, that counts too, but not as much as if they face a first or third string guy.  In other words, if Stanford Routt comes in and gets burned by the 49ers fifth receiver while Chris Johnson comes in and shuts down his side, then Johnson has just opened the door to taking Routt's place on the depth chart.

Why you watch for it:  These are the guys that will either come in for spot duty, or as starters if the guy in front of them gets hurt.  Being that it IS football, there's a good chance you'll be familiar with most of these guys when the season ends anyway.  This is where guys win and lose starting spots on the team.  If you see that Kwame Harris isn't blocking anyone and Mario Henderson comes in and looks like an All Pro against the same competition, it's going to raise the status of Henderson and that could be important come week 3 of the preseason.

You also want to see if the Raiders are in trouble at any position if an injury occurs.  This way, you'll understand later why the Raiders moved someone out of thier starting role.  Sometimes it's prior to the season starting, others it's like what happened last season with Schwiegert.  Eugene, who replaced Stu, had a good camp and preseason while Schwiegert pretty much was Schwiegert, so remember that these games do matter.

What to watch for - the rest of the game

Watch the second half for the enjoyment of watching football, but also watch to see which guys will make the practice squad, let alone the team.  This is where most of the young guys will be scrapping for a job.  You want to see if the Raiders truly have the most talent overall.  In the past few years, that's been the case, but they haven't had the best talent in the first two quarters, which ends up counting in wins and losses.

Special teams is also a good thing to watch here as well.  Some of the guys on special teams will be playing for the Raiders this season, even in the second half.  Look for the guy like Jon Alston who's bringing it during normal play and then notice that he's running around tackling fools on punt returns.  Those are the guys, like Ricky Brown, that end up on the team or practice squad.

Why you watch for it:  In 2006, everyone was ecstatic about them going 4-1 in the regular season, but what many failed to notice is that they were 1-4 when the starters were on the field.  That my friends is called a sign of things to come.  While many in the Nation were happy and bragging about how good the new Art Shell team looked, I was secretly worried that what I had noticed wasn't a fluke.  As we all know, it wasn't.  So don't get caught up with the score as much as with the flow of the game.  You may remember that our special teams wasn't all that special in 2006 either.  That had as much to do with personell decisions in the final cuts as it did with the spotty performance in the second half of the preseason games.

Don't believe me?  Go back to last season, this same time of year.  How many great returns did Johnnie Lee Higgins have?  How many great returns did he have during the year?  The answers to those questions are arguably one and zero.

Should you care?

In the end, you're not absolutely wrong to say that this first game of the preseason doesn't mean anything.  Although, it matters over the long haul, it's what happens closer to the scheduled cut days that do matter more.  Should you care about the score?  While the starters are in, yes.  When they leave the game, only the second team matters some to the score, but when Tui is dropping back to pass in the third or fourth quarter, execution is all we care about.

Do we want to win?  Yes, sure, but it's more important to win all four quarters rather than win the final one and the game.  Winning the game will only shut down the majority of 49er fans, but not the ones like our resident haters Michelle49er and the FifthWhore'sMan.  If you are a TFDS resident, you know who I'm talking about.  Winning the first quarter and the game is far more important than just the game, so pay attention because it will matter when the smack is flowing.

For the most obsessive compulsive football fanatic, there is plenty more to keep an eye open for, but I'm assuming that if you're as OCD as I think you are, there's nothing that I can tell you that you're not already doing.

The game starts at 7:15pm PST, and can be heard on KSFO.  I'm not sure if they are doing the radio live for the game, but you can check it out.  Here's what the Raiders have posted about the Television and Radio:

TELEVISION/RADIO: Greg Papa and Tom Flores simulcast the game both on the Raiders Radio Network and on the TV broadcast. Raider Legend George Atkinson will serve as analyst and popular radio personality JT the Brick will serve as TV broadcast host. This week’s game will be televised locally on tape-delay on KICU Action 36 Cable 6 on Friday, August 8 at 10 p.m. There will be an encore showing of the game on Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. on KICU Action 36 Cable 6. The game will air on Raiders Radio originating on KSFO 560 AM, the Silver and Black flagship for the multi-state Radio Network. Papa and former Raiders player, assistant and head coach Tom Flores will man the booth for the 11th straight year. The radio pregame show and postgame show will feature Raider Legends Atkinson and David Humm along with KGO’s Rich Walcoff.

SPANISH RADIO: This Friday’s game will air on Univision radio station La Kalle 100.7-105.7 FM. Armando Botello and Angel Dinamita handle announcing duties. Bay Area radio personalities Victor Zaragoza and Sal Acevedo are the sideline reporters.

The Raiders have finally put their depth chart up at Raiders.com.  How long that is updated remains to be seen, but you can check it out here.   We're still working out the kinks for our site refresh, but we hope to have an updated depth chart here during the season.

We are also working on a live chat during games for the season, so watch out for details on that soon.  If you're going to the game, take photos, put them up on Flickr or Photobucket and let us know with the link(s).  If we use your photos in an article, we'll make sure that you are credited as the photographer under the photo.  In order for us to use your photo, you'll have to make sure that you allow it in your photo web account.