This game does not bode well for the Raiders.  The Raiders have failed to get 200 total yards on offense in the each of the last three games and that is pathetic!  Things don’t look too good for them this week either as the Giants have only allowed 232.2 total yards on offense this season.  The only thing that pops off the page with the Giants’  D is that the have given up 117.3 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry.  The Raiders will undoubtedly try to run the ball first in this game with Michael Bush and Justin Fargas but I have my doubts that they will have much luck as the Giants will likely have 8 or 9 defensive players in the box daring JaMarcus Russell to throw the football.  Opposing QBs have a 57.5 QB Rating this season against the Giants and that fact coupled with Russell’s 42.4 QB Rating could spell disaster for the Raiders in this game.  The Raiders definately need to get Zach Miller back involoved in the passing game as the Giants do have some injuries at safety.

There is question as to whether Eli Manning will be able to play Sunday to a case of plantar fasciitis.  That’s a very painful injury as it’s on the bottom of the foot.  With the Giants playing against the Raiders they should just start David Carr and rest Manning because they will still probably win pretty easily on Sunday.  The Giants will no doubt come out running the ball no matter who starts at QB because Brandon Jacobs (288 yards rushing) and Ahmad Bradshaw (265 yards rushing) should be able to punish a Raiders’ D which is allowing 146.3 yards rushing per game.  As soon as the Giants break down the will of the Raiders in the running game then they will go up top to WRs Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 27, RAIDERS 3

The Raiders have signed RB Gary Russell.  Russell played well for the Raiders in the pre-season but he got caught in a numbers game at RB.  With Darren McFadden out of action Russell will likely serve as the #3 RB.  He has carried the ball 35 times for 98 yards (2.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  He was used mostly around the goal line and in short yardage situations which caused his yards per carry average to be so low.  The Raiders also cut KR Justin Miller after just one week as he returned 6 kickoffs for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  The Raiders will likely give Russell a lot on kickoffs returns now as he returned 16 kickoffs for 371 yards (23.2 avg) for the Steelers last season.

With Darren McFadden out of action the next few weeks they need Michael Bush and Justin Fargas to step up.  Without the threat of a passing game this could be hard to achieve for Bush and Fargas.  Bush has carried the ball 30 times for 120 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run this season and he has also caught 7 passes for 45 yards (6.4 avg).  Justin Fargas was the leading rusher for the Raiders last season but he has been buried on the depth chart until now.  He has carried the ball 12 times for 32 yards (2.7 ypc) this year and he has also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg).  Fargas and Bush are both talented players but they will likely be facing defenses with 8 or even 9 players in the box as teams dare JaMarcus Russell to throw the football.

The Oakland Raiders offense needs every weapon they have, but the struggling offense will now be without their starting running back Darren McFadden.  McFadden tore the meniscus in his knee on Sunday and will be out 2-4 weeks.  McFadden has a touchdown and 145 yards rushing on 47 carries (3.1 avg) this year.  He has also caught seven passes for 53 yards.  The entire Raiders offense has been terrible this year, but McFadden has shown some signs of good play and he has a bright future.  The Raiders have also lost right tackle Cornell Green for 2-4 weeks with a strained calf.

The Raiders never had a chance in this game.  JaMarcus Russell sucked once again completing 12 of 33 passes for 128 yards and he lost a fumble.  Justin Fargas led the way for the Raiders on the ground with 24 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 14 yards.  Fargas was tackled in the end zone for a safety for the Texans in this game.  Darren McFadden was awful in this game with 6 carries for -3 yards (-0.5 ypc).  WR Louis Murphy (34 yards) and TE Zach Miller (33 yards) each caught 3 passes apiece to lead the Raiders in this game.  The Raiders finished up with 165 total yards in this game (45 rushing, 120 passing).

DE Tommy Kelly came to play for the Raiders in this game as he led the team with 13 tackles.  The Texans finished up with 329 total yards on offense (120 rushing, 209 passing) in this game.  The Raiders were also awful on special teams allowing Jacoby Jones of the Texans to return a kickoff 95 yards for a TD.  The Raiders are now 1-3 on the season.

This should be a very interesting matchup on Sunday in Houston.  The Raiders will likely try to grind the game out on the ground offensively to control the clock and keep JaMarcus Russell out of passing situations as he is horrible.  Darren McFadden (148 yards rushing) and Michael Bush (110 yards rushing) will take aim at a Texans’ D that is allowing 204.7 yards rushing per game and 6.3 yards per carry.  If the Raiders run the ball well it could set up a couple of play action passes for Russell who would likely try to get the ball to rookie WR Louis Murphy and TE Zach Miller. 

The Texans will likely come off the bus passing against the Raiders trying to get the early lead and take them out of their gameplan.  Matt Schaub (823 yards passing, 101.7 QB Rating) is more than capable of attacking the Raiders’ D both short (Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter) and deep (Andre Johnson) as the Raiders are allowing 211 yards passing per game this season.  If the Texans get an early lead they will likely then turn to Steve Slaton (127 yards rushing) to grind out a win on the ground against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 155.0 yards rushing per game this season.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 27, RAIDERS 24

The Raiders have re-signed 25-year old CB/KR Justin Miller.   Miller played in 8 games for the Raiders and Jets last season and he made 2 tackles.  He also returned 33 kickoffs for 816 yards (24.7 avg) with 2 TDs last season.  Miller will immediately be inserted as the #1 kickoff return man.  He has now played in 42 games in his NFL career in which he has 99 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he has forced 1 fumble.  Miller has also returned 6 punts for 9 yards (1.5 avg) and 141 kickoffs for 3,745 yards (26.6 avg) with 5 TD returns in his career.  This was a smart move for the Raiders as Miller should give the offense better starting position and they need all the help they can get.

The Oakland Raiders have placed cornerback John Bowie on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.  He played in all three games for the Raiders this season but he only made 1 tackle.  In parts of three years with the Raiders, Bowie has played in 5 games in which he has made 2 tackles.  The Raiders hope that maybe next year Bowie can stay healthy.

The Raiders got a deal when they drafted Bush a couple of years ago as he slid in the draft due to injury.  He is now 100% and he gives the Raiders the power runner they need to complement the flash and speed of Darren McFadden.  Bush has carried the ball 27 times for 110 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 6 passes for 41 yards (6.8 avg) this season for the Raiders.  Bush should get most of the short yardage runs and goal line carries as he runs low to the ground with power.

For lack of a better word JaMarcus Russell has sucked so far this season for the Raiders.  He has completed 31 of 75 passes (41.3%) for 378 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (39.8 QB Rating).  Russell has also carried the ball 8 times for 25 yards (3.1 ypc) this season.  There have been whispers that the Raiders might try to re-sign Jeff Garcia and make him the starting QB.  This would be a smart move for the Raiders as Russell just doesn’t seem cut out to succeed as a starting QB in the NFL.  He has the physical skills needed to excel but maybe not the smarts.