Oakland Raiders News: Latest Reports on Darren McFadden and Top Raider Stars

The Oakland Raiders put together a relatively poor performance in their first preseason game, falling to the Dallas Cowboys, 3-0.

While their defense was able to do its job, the offense failed to put a single point on the board, and that should certainly be concerning to some fans.

Let’s take a look at three players who will be expected to make a big impact on that side of the ball in 2012 and how they're faring as the team prepares for Week 2 of the preseason against the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Darren McFadden



The star RB, who missed the final nine games of the 2011-12 season, looks like he’s back to his old dominant self. In three plays, McFadden totaled up 38 yards and gave fans a glimpse of what hopefully is to come.

However, new head coach Dennis Allen isn’t quite sure that the five-year veteran is ready for the regular season just yet.

According to Steve Corkan of the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Allen said:

Darren needs to get his touches so that he goes into the regular season ready to go, and that's the most important thing for him is to make sure he's fully ready to roll when the opening game comes off on Monday night.

Expect more work for the 24-year-old over the next three preseason contests.

 

Rod Streater



While the Raiders were offensively anemic as a group, this undrafted free agent was a major bright spot for the team.

He hauled in six catches that totaled up 66 yards, which is impressive considering that the Associated Press reported he had just 19 total catches in his senior season at Temple.

Coach Allen had some praise for the young man and explained why they didn’t select him in the 2012 NFL draft (via the AP):

You never really know about the draft. It’s not a perfect science. But he was a guy that we had on our...

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