MVN: Most Valuable Network

The one win for the Raiders this season has been on the road. They were able to win that game after a demoralizing loss at home to an AFC West rival. The last time we observed the Raiders, they were at home losing a game against an AFC West rival, a game they should have won.

The Raiders are going into this game without All-Pro Derrick Burgess and possibly Ben Troupe, but everyone else should be ready to play. The Raiders will get Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden back in time to go up against a defense that held Adrian Peterson to 1.5 yards-per-carry. Here are the keys that the Raiders must find a way to achieve if they are to come away from the land of Mardi Gras with what Tom Cable refers to as 1-0.

• Key #1 - Get out to a fast start : You've all heard about how the home crowd is referred to as the 12th man. That couldn't be more true when you are playing in the Superdome. When the Saints are close or winning, it can be one of the most difficult places for opposing teams to play in. For Saints opponents, a two-score lead can take the fans out of the game. Thanks to their horrid history, if you hold that lead long enough you can send the fans home early in the fourth quarter. Besides the crowd, the Raiders don't want Drew Brees to have the added benefit of being able to threaten the Raiders defense with a running game of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. Having the lead requires Brees to beat the Raiders through the air, a plan that gives the Raiders a chance.
• Key #2 - Close it out by not preventing the win : The Raiders have lost two games this season by playing soft zones when they were up and in charge. Rob Ryan no longer has Lane Kiffin to blame for the defense, or should I say that Al Davis doesn't? Either way, the defense needs to get off of the field. The offense can share in the blame for the late collapse in games. The only problem with that theory is that the offense is like a pitcher in baseball - the longer they are on the sidelines the colder they become. The Raiders against the Bills and the Chargers allowed long drives in the second half with the Raiders having a commanding lead. At that point, the offense is cold and the chances of the Raiders offense overcoming that aren't so good which leads to the tired defense to retake the field about four to five plays too early.
• Key #3 - Use the tools that you have and stop playing it safe on offense : A quarterback that can throw the ball 70 yards in the air, a running game that can pound it between the tackles or break it long, and a tight end that may end up being the best the Raiders have ever had should all be used to move the ball. The Raiders are fortunate that they'll be catching the Saints with several key players injured. Starting defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and starting corner Tracy Porter are both out for the game. The Raiders should be able to run unless the Saints put eight in the box like they did against Minnesota Monday night. Even so, the silver and black needs to use more fakes and play-action calls in order to keep the Saints defense off-balance. Michael Bush or Darren McFadden can throw the ball, and have when they were in college, so Greg Knapp should keep that in mind when he needs to get the offense moving on first down.
• Key #4 - Stop Kim Kardashian's boyfriend : If the Raiders have been watching the tape, and I'm not talking about the sex video done by the daughter of O.J.'s former best friend for (Nicole's) life, then they should know that the offense runs through Reggie Bush. As I've already detailed earlier in the week, Reggie Bush leads the league in receiving catches. As a runner, the Raiders can probably contain him, but as a receiver he can be deadly. Somebody on the defense needs to be keying on him or else he'll cause problems all day long. It's not just his receiving that the Raiders should be concerned with, this guy can still return kicks and punts like he did when he was a Trojan. Plenty of stories have run the past two days about Shane Lechler or Sebastian Janikowski not testing this guy, but that would go against what the Raiders philosophy normally is. Normally, the Raiders will play with fire and test the strengths of their opponent, no matter how stupid it may seem. If they stick with this philosophy, their coverage had better be good great.

Since it's Cable's first game, we'll leave it with four keys this week. All four keys need to be achieved for the Raiders to win this game. Although the expectations are low, the stakes are high for a franchise if they are to win back the disenfranchised citizens of Raider Nation.

TFDS Live Game Blog

Please join us here for the TFDS live game blog on Sunday. All comments are moderated for the first half, with the most active posters granted full permission in the second. The only restriction we ask of the posters is that comments are kept to a PG-13 rating. Patrick and I will be on to give our takes throughout the game and discuss what's going on during the day's games. It all starts at 10am PST and ends shortly after the game, where it can be continued in the comments section.