ALAMEDA – Darren McFadden felt flat-footed in practice Thursday, and that's a good thing.
That's because the alternative was not practicing because of turf toe in his right foot.
McFadden practiced with a steel plate in his shoe and, despite the pain, did about 70 percent of his usual workload in preparation for Sunday's game at Buffalo. He had sat out Wednesday with a walking boot on his injured foot.
Feeling flat-footed wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
"I feel like I was pretty much doing everything that I could do, but I was just being kind of timid on it at first," McFadden said.
McFadden said the injury occurred when he was tackled from behind on his 50-yard run in Kansas City when safety Bernard Pollard landed on his heel and jammed the foot into the grass.
Besides McFadden's foot, the Raiders' other concern at running back is Justin Fargas. Fargas missed a second practice Thursday and is not expected to play Sunday.
The biggest change on offense would be in pass blocking, where Fargas is ahead of McFadden and Michael Bush regarding understanding protections.
"We don't really have a choice but to go with the young guys, except we could use Justin Griffith at times," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. "Michael is the bigger of the two blockers, and Darren's had the most reps back there."
Father-and-son chats – Kiffin said he and his father, Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, often help each other by talking about how they would attack certain offensive schemes.
If there's an offense the elder Kiffin needs help with, he calls his son. If Lane is looking for a way to hurt a Cover-2 team like the Bucs, the younger Kiffin calls his dad.
And it doesn't matter that the Raiders finish the regular season at Tampa.
"No, he's a dad," Kiffin said. "He's more worried about me than him. Trust me, during their game he's looking up at their scoreboard to look for our score."
Harris out again – Starting left tackle Kwame Harris (knee) did not practice and is doubtful for Buffalo. Mario Henderson would start for the second time in his two-year career.
Wide receiver Javon Walker (hamstring) practiced without any limitations after leaving drills early Wednesday.
Read Jason Jones' Raiders' blog at www.sacbee.com/raidersblog.
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