Raiders-Saints Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

New Orleans must stop Oakland's RBsAfter letting the Monday night game versus the Vikings slip away, the Saints find themselves in a must-win situation. Meanwhile, the Raiders look to turn their season around with new interim head coach Tom Cable. Expect Saints coach Sean Payton to stay aggressive by spreading the field with multiple personnel groupings and rely heavily on QB Drew Brees to maximize this offensive attack. Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan must decide if he's going to attack Brees with multiple pressures or play maximum coverage on the backside. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp takes over the play calling in Oakland and we expect him to be a lot more creative and take more shots vertically downfield. Defensively, the Saints will need another great effort to contain the Raiders' explosive rushing attack. Plus, the third phase of the game could be critical because the Raiders will have their hands full containing Reggie Bush on punt returns.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
OAK	5-11	263	388	2-6	3-5	2-4	4-8
NOR	8-8	463	393	6-2	2-6	2-4	5-7
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Oakland Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Russel... 48.8 1287 3 11 Gradko... 54.7 1007 6 3

New Orleans Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Brees 70.6 4388 34 11 Brunel... 50.0 102 0 1

Oakland Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Bush 123 589 4.8 3 Fargas 129 491 3.8 3

New Orleans Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Thomas 147 793 5.4 6 Bell 172 654 3.8 5

Oakland Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Miller 66 805 12.2 3 Murphy 34 521 15.3 4

New Orleans Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Colsto... 70 1074 15.3 9 Hender... 51 804 15.8 2

Full Player Stats: Oakland | New Orleans

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	OAK	272.0
	NOR	411.0
Yards Passing	OAK	148.1
	NOR	311.1
Yards Rushing	OAK	124.2
	NOR	99.6
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	OAK	360.9
	NOR	339.5
Pass Yds Allowed	OAK	201.3
	NOR	221.7
Rush Yds Allowed	OAK	159.7
	NOR	117.8

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
New Orleans leads 2-0
Oct 24, 2004	OAK 26, @NOR 31

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis shook up his organization again by firing coach Lane Kiffin at the end of last month. It remains to be seen, however, if the move will help turn the struggling team around.

Following a bye week, the Raiders play their first game under interim coach Tom Cable when they visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

After several reports predicted Kiffin's firing, Davis made it official on Sept. 30. The Raiders (1-3) claimed that Kiffin was dismissed for cause, and thus would not pay him for the remainder of the three-year deal worth about $6 million he signed when he took the job prior to last season.

Davis publicly lamented his decision to hire Kiffin, detailing acts of what he called insubordination.

"I just couldn't go on much longer with what I would call the propaganda, the lying that had been going on for weeks and months and a year and time," said Davis, adding that the move was based more on Kiffin's criticisms of the franchise than it was Oakland's poor start.

Since reaching the Super Bowl in 2002, Oakland has been anything but a stable organization. The Raiders have gone 20-64 in that span, and Cable -- originally hired to be Kiffin's offensive line coach -- becomes the fifth Raiders coach in six years.

Davis is hoping the latest change in leadership can help restore the franchise to respectability.

"We'll get back, we'll be back," Davis said. "The Raiders will be back. I have unshakable confidence, the will to win, and I just know that the fire that burns brightest in this building is the will to win, and we will win. We will win."

That could be hard to do considering the Raiders' recent problems.

They relinquished fourth-quarter leads in each of their last two games. After blowing a nine-point advantage in a 24-23 loss at Buffalo in Week 3, they failed to hold a 12-point lead in a 28-18 home defeat to San Diego on Sept. 28.

Cable, though, hopes to help the Raiders forget those results as he makes his NFL head coaching debut.

"I really believe that if we can be better out there on third down, better in the red zone, and finish the game in the fourth quarter, then those things will take care of themselves," Cable told the Raiders' official Web site. "Right now we need to do those three things as good as we can to help us win football games."

Cable has helped the Raiders develop the third-best rushing game in the NFL (155.0 yards per game). This week, they face a Saints defense that is allowing the eighth-most total yards (364.8 per game) in the league.

On Monday, New Orleans (2-3) held Minnesota to a season-low 270 yards -- including only 44 on the ground -- but couldn't protect a seven-point, fourth-quarter lead as it fell 30-27 at home.

Mistakes plagued the Saints, who had four turnovers, several dropped passes and 11 penalties for 102 yards.

"The quickest way I know how to get rid of that feeling and to get going again is to put some wins together," coach Sean Payton told the Saints' official Web site. "You can't put wins together without getting the first one, so it starts well with playing well in this Oakland game, it starts with eliminating the turnovers and the penalties."

New Orleans' miscues overshadowed a strong special teams performance by running back Reggie Bush, who tied an NFL record by returning two punts for touchdowns.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw two interceptions, but also completed 26 of 46 passes for 330 yards, and connected with Devery Henderson on a 17-yard touchdown. Brees leads the league with 334.6 yards per game and ranks seventh with a 97.7 passer rating.

Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell, meanwhile, looks to build on his career-best 277-yard effort from the loss to the Chargers.

The Raiders have lost four of their last six matchups with the Saints, including a 31-26 defeat at home on Oct. 24, 2004, in the most recent matchup. They last played in New Orleans on Nov. 19, 2000, when Oakland posted a 31-22 victory.

The Saints placed kicker Martin Gramatica on injured reserve with a groin injury on Wednesday, and re-signed sixth-round draft pick Taylor Mehlhaff to take his spot.

They also placed rookie starting cornerback Tracy Porter on injured reserve. Porter will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated right wrist.

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