Oakland: Essence of Raider Football Looks To Be on the Way Back in 2010



The Raiders were in Jones Mahal for a preseason game against the Cowboys Thursday night. It wasn't a sexy game but much could be learned about the direction of Raiders from the way they played.

The first thing that jumped out at me was that this was indeed Raider football!

The Raiders were pressured Cowboy quarterbacks on defense and featured a power-running game on offense. They also put a scare into the Cowboy secondary with a few shots down the field.

Penalties are the unwanted part of Raider football that also showed up on Thursday night. The Raiders were among the most penalized teams in the league even during their glory years.

Raider football is back!

The defense, as it was in all of the Raider glory years stayed in dark side mode throughout. From first unit to last, they didn't allow much from the Cowboys.

Rolando McClain and Lamarr Houston showed themselves to be the beasts that they are. The vaunted Cowboy running game went nowhere fast as McClain was always around the ball with friends.

Houston helped against the run but impressed even more with two sacks in the first quarter. It really doesn't look like Houston will be blockable this year. 



Also among the Raider unblockables Thursday night was Matt Shaunessy. He chipped in with a sack himself and was also a part of the Raider's stoutness against the run.

I can't say the words Raider pass-rush without mentioning Trevor Scott. He constantly made himself an unwelcome guest in the Cowboy backfield and got himself a sack. 

The coverage was stellar as Nnamdi Asomugha had a near interception the one time they did throw at him. Jerome Boyd sealed the game with a pic six late in the game.

I also felt like Chris Johnson was good in coverage Thursday night. He did give up the big third-down conversion ...

About the Author