Here is your snapshot of this game: At halftime the Raiders and 49ers combined for as many points as turnovers (3)

The Niners overcame a comedy of special teams errors to send Oakland to 0-2 in the preseason thanks to a listless 17-3 loss.

So far during Hue Jackson’s bully construction he seems to have forgotten about his tools to reconstruct last season’s offense. Injuries play a hand in how out of sync Oakland’s O’s is but that excuse along with preseason jitters is getting old already.

To be sure there were a few flashes from the up and coming Silver and Black talent that’s got to make Al Davis feel vindicated. But overall this team as a whole is still looking very listless with only two more tune-ups left.

Jobs are on the line. Time is running short. Injuries are becoming more troubling. Strap yourself in tight Nation, this is looking like a bumpy ride. Here are my game notes for take two of Coach Jackson’s directorial debut

- The Red Zone is still a dead zone for Oakland. Jason Campbell is the symbol of Oakland’s out of sync offense. At this point play-action is the only thing that works. His receivers (including Darrius Heyward-Bey) are bailing out his bad throws. Plus he’s still gun shy, doing the sensible yet maddening thing by playing it safe and not throwing across his body when Kevin Boss is more open than a Denny’s next to a bar at 2:00am on a Saturday morning.

- Campbell’s performance is not his only issue as JC went down late in the first half with what we hope is not a head or neck injury of the serious or mandatory inactivity variety.

- If JC is in danger of missing time Trent Edwards did himself no favors with his few token snaps in the first half. His what were you thinking INT was an underthrown toss into double coverage. Kyle Boller started after halftime and took every snap in the second half. At this point the QB position is pretty irrelevant. Just One TD in two games.
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In order to properly evaluate a draft class, one must wait at least three years. When evaluating a franchise, it takes an even broader scope. Therefore, I’d like to review the past decade of Raider drafts before we see Tom Cable off on his first trip to the war room.

When looking back at the last ten years of drafting, you will see a few patterns emerge.

The most glaring and obvious pattern relates to the number of defensive backs drafted. Since 1998, Al Davis has heard the commissioner call the names of six different defensive backs in round one alone.

Charles Woodson (1998, 4^th), Derrick Gibson (2001, 28^th), Phillip Buchanon (2002, 17^th), Nnamdi Asomugha (2003, 31^st), Fabien Washington (2005, 23^rd) and Michael Huff (2006, 7^th) account for nearly half of the last decade’s worth of first round picks. Asomugha and Huff are the only two still currently on the Raider roster. With the exception of Derrick Gibson, the rest of the defensive backs drafted are still in the NFL.

The Raiders have had 14 first round picks over the last 10 years. Of the 14, only 2 have made the year’s end trip to Hawaii to represent the AFC in the Pro Bowl. Surprise! Both are defensive backs: Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha.

Despite a long list of first round picks that have gone onto mediocre careers at best, the Raiders have been able to find talent in every other round of the draft.

The list of starters, contributors and players that have exceeded their draft status is outstanding: Jon Ritchie (1998, 63^rd), Eric Barton (1999, 146^th), Roderick Coleman (1999, 153^rd), Shane Lechler (2000, 142^nd), Ronald Curry (2002, 235^th), Justin Fargas (2003, 96^th), Jake Grove (2004, 45^th), Kirk Morrison (2005, 78^th), Thomas Howard (2006, 38^th), Johnnie Lee Higgins (2007, 99^th), Michael Bush (2007, 100^th) and Zach Miller (2007, 38^th).

Shane Lechler is the true gem of the past decade. The former Aggie from Texas A&M is, statistically, the NFL’s all-time greatest punter. The Raiders parlayed a 5^th round pick into a punter who is a four time Pro Bowler and has led the NFL in punting average four times in his career and only once has finished outside of the top three.

While most saw Sebastian Janikowski’s selection as 17^thoverall in 2000 as a mockery of the draft by selecting a kicker in round one, Janikowski has quietly lived up to the hype. Despite the occasional inconsistencies, it is hard to argue against a kicker who has become the all time leading scorer in the history of one of pro football’s most storied franchises. In 2008, Janikowski kicked a franchise best 57-yard field goal to defeat the New York Jets in overtime.

The last two drafts could prove to be the most pivotal if the Raiders are to reverse the last six years of misery. JaMarcus Russell (2007, 1^st) and Darren McFadden (2008, 4^th) are regarded as the future of the franchise. Russell is coming off his first year as a full-time starter and McFadden showed flashes of brilliance during his injury plagued rookie season.

Of the last 10 draft classes, 2007 is already looking like the cream of the crop. The Raiders had 11 picks in ’07 and used them all wisely as 6 of those picks started games for the Raiders in 2008.

Perhaps the worst draft was the 2001 class. Marques Tuiasosopo, a second round selection, was the only member of the class still on the roster in 2008. Of the rest of the members, 6^th round pick Chris Cooper is the only one to have played in more than 70 games in the NFL.

If Tom Cable has done his homework, he’s familiar will all of the above mentioned names. The Raiders have just five picks in ’09 and Cable will need to make each one count as there is long list of roster needs.

Most important of all is to make the first round count. Too many of the past 10 drafts have been littered with first round busts and disappointments. Cable and company need to select an player ready to contribute immediately in ’09.