The Oakland Raiders (2-0) will host the San Francisco 49ers (2-0) on Saturday evening. Both teams are expected to go with their starters for extended periods in the yearly Bay Area match-up. For San Francisco, two of their cornerstones on offense will see action for the first time. As for the Raiders, expect Jason Campbell to see first half action and then give away to Bruce Gradkowski who is fired up to finally get on the field. “Yeah, I feel good. I’m ready to rock and roll,” Gradkowski commented this week. “Shoot, I miss it. I’ve been champing at the bit. I’m just excited to get back out there this weekend.”
OAKLAND RAIDERS
On Offense:
Breaking News: Hue Jackson has spoken – publicly. Yesterday, the first year Raiders offensive coordinator briefed the media and gave a lot of insight on the 2010 offense for the Silver & Black.
“I hope it’s already looking different,” said Jackson when asked if the attack looked different. “The most important thing is we’re striving for balance. We want to be a team that we can run the football when we need to run it and we can throw it when we need to throw it. We’re a multiple formation team. We have some no huddle. We do a little bit of everything. We do whatever it takes to win football games. That’s the most important thing that I’ve stressed from our coaches to our players that whatever it takes to win that’s what we’re going to do.”
One of his more eye-popping statements was: “Honestly, we’re trying to build a bully here.”
This third pre-season game will go a long way in doing that. Oakland will start Jared Veldheer at centerfor the injured Samson Satele. Satele and the rest of the line has not been punishing opposing front-seven’s and if they want to run the ball as Jackson will like, they have to assert themselves quickly. Veldheer is a project and the transition to the pros as a rookie along the trenches is very daunting. But if Oakland can get any tough play in the interior with their mammoth draft pick, he may be their best option to start bullying opponents.
On Defense:
Everyone is all smiles on defense, so far. Oakland’s best player believes that this edition of the Raiders is headed into the campaign with as much positivity as any other club he has been on.
“We’ve accomplished a lot, and being able to put out good practices and win games in the preseason, it goes a long way,” Nnamdi Asomugha said. ` Just getting the wins, even though it’s preseason, it’s just getting those wins builds your confidence and gets you used to it.”
One player with loads of confidence right now is Kamerion Wimbley. His four-sack performance has injected a lot of high expectations for the rebuilt linebacker unit. “I’m just happy we got him,” Tom Cable stated “I’m glad they didn’t want him, if that’s the case, and he’s ours.”
“Since I have been in the league, that’s what teams have been trying to stop with me,” Wimbley said. “Pressuring the quarterback. The momentum-changing sack. Beating up their quarterback.”
Oakland has pounced on quarterbacks 12 times this pre-season – most in the NFL.
A reason the Raiders look better on defense is the addition of Mike Waufle. His tutelage and experience has added a lot to a staff that already consisted of solid teachers such as, Defensive coordinator John Marshall, linebackers coach Mike Haluchak and secondary coach Lionel Washington.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
On Offense:
Quarterback Alex Smith will have a full complement of starts around him this Saturday. Running back Frank Gore and second year target Michael Crabtree are expected to make their pre-season debuts against the Raiders.
“I just want to see our guys continue to take another step — just continue to execute and continue the progression,” head coach Mike Singletary stated.
Newly acquired running back Brian Westbrook is also slated to take some reps, but the athletically gifted tight end Vernon Davis will be out after an injury to his knee during the team’s first pre-season game.
On Defense:
One of the concerns for the 49ers in 2010 is their secondary and ability to defend the pass. Oakland does not feature a potent aerial attack so this could be a good match-up for them to start building their confidence.
Veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes has noticed that the defensive backfield is getting feistier this summer. “In the back end, guys are more competitive,” Spikes said. “I think we’ll have a better idea of what’s expected from us. And that’s the big thing. Everybody is playing together and everybody is understanding.”
Aubrayo Franklin is still unsigned. And the 6-foot-1, 317-pound defensive lineman is a vital cog to the defense. “I’m not going to try and dictate one thing or another,” Singletary said at the start of camp. “I’m just going to let him do what he has to do, and at the same time, we’re going to do what we have to do as a football team.
“But we will not sit back and say, ‘Is he coming in today? Is he coming in tomorrow?’ The most important thing we have to do is really continue to focus on what we control.”
GAME NOTES
Darrius Heyward-Bey on the game Saturday: “I mean, you always want to battle for it, you know, a team that’s in the same area as you,” Heyward-Bey commented in comparing it to Navy vs. Maryland . “At Maryland, we never had a chance to do that because we’re the only team in Maryland. Matter of fact, we play Navy this year so I guess that will be something.”
Tom Cable on the end of Camp: “We came with our plan, we got through everything, we installed everything that we wanted to. The mission was to try and get better every day, not have those days where you’re really disgusted or disappointed as a coaching staff, that, ‘Man, we really went backward today.’ We didn’t have any of those days.
“So, well done by this football team. Now the real issue is to continue that when we go home. Eliminate the distractions that come with living back at home and all those kinds of things, travel and such, and being able to handle that and eliminate those distractions.”
GAME INFO
When: Saturday, August 28 – 9:00 pm ET
Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist