No Injuries Nor Much Offense In Seattle

The Raiders starters left their shoulder pads and helmets in the locker room and let the guys fighting for roster spots have their chance to shine in a 23-16 loss at Seattle last night.

The Pros:

Sebastian Janikowski was booming the ball.  Kiffin even gave him a 66 yard attempt in a non-end of half situation.  The kick was short, but online.  Would have probably been good from 60-62.  Sea-bass actually seemed a little embarrassed that he missed it.

Darren McFadden once again showed his potential in limited activity.  Kiffin is playing it very close to the vest with his superstar running back, keeping him inside the tackles when we all know he's going to earn his money running off the tackles and catching passes in the flat.  Still, he used pure athleticism to turn a simple up the gut run into a 24 yard squirt.

Andrew Walter in the 2nd & 3rd Quarters finally looked like a real pro quarterback.  The first quarterback, he was the same old Walter, fumbling on a sack, missing throws and even when connecting not positioning his receiver to take it up the field.  The 2nd & 3rd quarters, he found a rhythm, he looked like a leader, he was crisp and efficient.

Michael Bush kicked ass again.  The committee is ready to pound the rock.  Watch out Mo Fo's!

The Ugly:

The backup offensive line was heinous.  A true hate crime.  Seattle was getting free runs at the QB even when not blitzing.  No one out there made a statement that they deserved a job.

Shane Lechler botched the hold on a short field goal attempt and then made matters worse by throwing an interception when trying to make something of the play.  

What Does Oakland Need?

The Raiders need to find some help at wide receiver.  Ashley Leile, as an example, was cut by San Francisco.  Leile has never been a favorite of mine, but he has some experience and at least some chops.  The Raiders are desperately thin at the wide receiver position and could use any uplift that they can find.