Last night, the Raiders defeated the Cowboys 17-9 in their first preseason game.
You take things with a grain of salt in the preseason, but there was a lot of telling information both for and against the Raiders. A few things I noticed:
Offense Is Still A Work In Progress
Jason Campbell made his debut as the Raiders new quarterback and the results were average to say the least. In this case, average is good for now.
Campbell finished 7-of-13 for 49 yards and zero turnovers before leaving the game midway in the second quarter.
Campbell looked very comfortable throwing to Zach Miller. Getting Chaz Schilens completely healthy is a must.
The offensive line seemed particularly shaky in the middle. Samson Satele looked to be overpowered repeatedly while he manned the center position. Although he's regressed, a call to Kevin Mawae might be an option to look into.
It's only one preseason game, but it would have been nice to have Darrius Heyward-Bey make a couple of catches this game.
Reports say DHB has greatly improved this offseason. A couple of catches would have added to the confidence boost and temporarily quell some of the criticism.
Defensive Front Seven Was Impressive
This offseason, the Raiders were intent on solving their deficiency in stopping the run. The front seven seemed swift as they swarmed to the ball.
In total, the Cowboys had 22 rush attempts for 66 yards. Not bad.
The line was able to get pressure on Tony Romo, with rookie Lamar Houston and Matt Shaughnessy getting two sacks each. It was also interesting to see Houston and Shaughnessy still playing late in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders need to find where their sacks will come from this year, and having both the young starters getting extra snaps is good for them.
