Raiders still believe problems are fixable

SAN FRANCISCO – Raiders coach Hue Jackson took the blame for this one.

The team he often raves about after practice hasn't been the one the public has seen on the field in exhibition play.

Saturday's 17-3 loss to the 49ers at Candlestick Park offered the latest example.

The bully the Raiders want to be on defense was pushed around by a 49ers first-team offense that looked as if it could be bullied in its exhibition debut at New Orleans.

After the game Jackson said the Raiders went "backwards" in their preparation for the regular season but added: "Thank gosh (Saturday) was the second preseason game."

The second game left the Raiders with plenty to work on.

Oakland's offense again got near the goal line only to come away without a touchdown. Starting quarterback Jason Campbell left the game after a knee to the head from 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Campbell said he would have concussion tests Saturday night.

Losing Campbell for any time would be another problem for the Raiders' struggling offense.

Tight end Kevin Boss also left the game with a knee strain that Boss said wasn't serious.

In two exhibition games, the starting offense has yet to produce a touchdown.

Jackson said the problems on both sides of the ball are simple.

"That starts with me," Jackson said. "I'm not putting that on our players just yet. I think our players understand performance in games is what counts. Somehow, some way, we're not taking it from practice over into these games. We'll get this fixed."

And there is plenty to fix.

The 49ers ran for 100 yards in the first half and finished with 239 for the game, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

The Raiders didn't score until 12:18 remained in the game and Kyle Boller was leading the backups.

"The only thing I'm concerned about is losing," said Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt. "We're 0-2 in the preseason right now. Obviously, it's just preseason, but we still want to win. I think it's something we've got to correct, the winning aspect, otherwise we're not going to be able to go after the division title like we want to."

Winning the AFC West seems laughable after Saturday, but then again, this isn't the regular season.

The Raiders are taking solace in that but also realize they need to take care of the simple things sooner, not later.

Jackson said the Raiders were hurt on defense by "a couple of basic runs" and the scoring issues are fixable.

Why has scoring been so hard?

The Raiders have health issues on both sides of the ball, though the offense has been hurt the most.

Running back Darren McFadden is still out, as are wide receivers Louis Murphy and Jacoby Ford.

Defensively, backup tackle John Henderson and starting cornerback Chris Johnson were out, but stopping the run has been a problem for the Raiders for nearly a decade.

"Everything is fixable," Routt said. "It's just a matter of going out and doing it."

• Read more articles by Jason Jones

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