Both the Raiders and Seahawks decided they would sit their starters for this game almost entirely. Only a few players normally slated to start played in this game. For the Raiders it was Samson Satele and Darrius Heyward-Bey on offense and Chris Johnson on defense. These three all played pretty much the entire first half. They all had missed some time this preseason due to injuries and, in the case of DHB, it was "fatigue." So Cable used this final preseason game to give them some extra work in preparation for the regular season.

With the starters sitting, it was an opportunity for others to show what they had to offer this team. For some it was about getting more game practice in and for others it was about taking one last gasp at making this team.

The Oakland Raiders pulled out a win over the Seattle Seahawks despite a special teams performance that resembled the Keystone Cops.

A single play kept the unit from being an abject failure. In that play Stevie Brown plucked the ball out of the air after it hit the returner's facemask to set up the Raiders' final score of the first quarter.

Every year around this time, the fans are in about the same state of mind. It is that optimistic and, in some cases, even homeristic mindset that has them believing their team will be a contender in the coming season. This is expected of course and is a good thing for the most part. However, the flip side to this hopeful high is the equal level of anger felt when anyone dare suggest the team may not live up to their lofty hopes and expectations.

Sure, this team needs our support. But it also needs our criticism. And they absolutely do NOT need excuses. The coaches will not settle for anything but the very best from their players. And the players themselves are not supposed to settle for anything less either. So why should the fans and/or the media? We all understand that in certain situations, judgment should be reserved and benefit of the doubt should be handed down. But that only really applies to rookies and new teammates acclimating to a new system.

With the injury to Chaz Schilens expected to last into the regular season, the Oakland Raiders depth at wide receiver closely resembles a plastic kiddie pool.

The Raiders expected to ride the receiving trio of Schilens, Louis Murphy, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Those three have the potential to be explosive, but each one of them have as many questions surrounding them as they do answers. Beyond those three, the options are dangerously thin.

When he has been on the field, Schilens has shown flashes of being a go-to play-making wide receiver. However, he has spent far too much time off the field in his three year career. He missed eight games in 2009 with a foot injury he sustained in a non-contact drill against the 49ers in training camp. Further complications to that foot injury cost him most of his off-season workouts and limited him in camp. It is a further injury to his knee that has him out potentially into the regular season. The original school of thought on his foot injury last year was that he would be ready to go by the opening of the season. He has the talent and work ethic of a go-to receiver, but his increasing inability to see the field makes it harder to plan an offense around him.

The Oakland Raiders gave us our first real glimpse of the roster over the past couple of days by cutting the tight ends from five players to three. Eric Butler was released today in order for the Raiders to hit the required 75-man roster by today. But that doesn't mean the coaches can stop evaluating because after Thursday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks, that final 53-man deadline will come upon this team real quick. The Raiders will be required to get to 53 men committed to one purpose by Saturday at 6 p.m. eastern.

After spending a month sequestered at training camp in the picturesque Napa Valley, the Oakland Raiders began the next phase of preparations for the 2010 season today as they returned to their regular home in Alameda. They have a short week to prepare for Thursday's showdown with the Seattle Seahawks, which leaves the clock rapidly running out for a number of would-be Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders announced the release of four of the five players they need to jettison in order to get down to the league mandated 75 players by tomorrow.

They let go of Chane Moline, Paul Hubbard, Allen Smith, and Tony Stewart.

Today marks the first Raiders practice that won't be in full view of the media. The media basically gets to watch the team warm-ups and then gets booted out. With just two weeks left until the season opener, I'd expect the Raiders to install any wrinkles they want to put on top of the base plays, that they've spent months installing, over the next two weeks. It's likely that in Thursday's game against the Seahawks, the starters, minus Jason Campbell and Michael Bush, will only play for a series or two. It is for that reason that I think the starting units will start preparing for the season opener against Tennessee as early as today. This may be the only game of the season that the Raiders actually look past on their road to glory.

The Raiders came into this matchup with the 49ers on a high. They were 2-0 in the preseason after two dominant defensive performances and their offense seemed to be steadily improving. But as seems to happen more and more these days, the trip home was more of a trip back to earth-and they hit the ground pretty hard.

They game started out well for the Raiders offense with an 81 yard drive and it also had some nice moments throughout the rest of the game. The defense looked good in spurts but they couldn't maintain any consistency overall and gave up too many big plays. And the special teams was it's usual sad state of affairs.

For two weeks in a row now, free safety Michael Huff has been beaten for a big gain on a long run. If the Oakland Raiders are going to have success stopping the run this year, Huff has absolutely got to do a better job at being the last line of defense. You are not going to bring down a Matt Forte by not touching him and you certainly aren't going to bring down a Frank Gore by just diving at his knees. You must hit, wrap, and drive. That has been the way I've learned to tackle since pee wee football. For Huff, this is a problem that goes all the way back to his days at Texas and perhaps even before that.