Back in the hunt

Once-mighty Raiders looking to return to playoff picture

Bored? NFL defense seems to be simple enough, and now Charles Woodson thinks he is ready to return to playing both ways. AP

The Oakland Raiders opened their training camp in Napa, Calif. on July 23. The Raiders are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Here are a few questions from Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z, followed by CNNSI.com's perspective on some of the issues facing the Raiders this season. SI's season preview will be posted August 24.

1) Rich Gannon for Jeff George at quarterback: a real solution or just another quick fix? The streets are littered with quarterbacks the Raiders gave up on -- George, Jeff Hostetler, Todd Marinovich, Jay Schroeder, Steve Beuerlein, Marc Wilson. All the way back to Jim Plunkett, actually.

2) Why do we keep hearing knocks on running back Napoleon Kaufman? And now they're saying that Rashaan Salaam could take his job away? Hey, little Napoleon plays hard every time I see him. Sure, he gets tired, but that's what backups are for.

3) I count six a's in Salaam's name, front and back. Is this an NFL record? Yes, by my calculations. The old record, five, belonged to Ben Agajanian, if you credit him with his full first name of Benjamin. Just thought you'd like to know.

4) How'd the defense go from last in the league in '97 to fifth last year? Well, tackle Darrell Russell had an all-pro year, and Charles Woodson and Eric Allen were one of the NFL's finest cornerback tandems until Allen got hurt in game No. 10. That's when the Raiders fell apart and lost five of their last six. And so, my fertile brain has come up with the observation that they have to keep Allen healthy.

The Raiders might make the playoffs if: Rich Gannon can rejuvenate his career like Randall Cunningham, Vinny Testaverde and Doug Flutie did last season. Gannon looks well suited for the West Coast offense, with his ability to move around in the pocket and make good decisions. The Raiders defense has the potential to emerge into a top-notch unit this season, and a playoff run is possible if they can continue to create turnovers as well as they did in 1998.

Pivotal games: Sept. 12 at Green Bay; Jan. 2 at Kansas City. The poor Raiders must have irritated someone in the league office, because their schedule this year is downright cruel. Four of their first six games are on the road, and there are four playoff teams in those first six games. The opener at Green Bay will certainly be a challenge, since the Packers have lost only one home game since September, 1995. Relief comes along in midseason, when they get five of six games at home, but they take to the road again to close out the season with three of their last four games on the road. The finale at Kansas City will be its usual brutal affair between two teams that love to hate each other, with the possibility of playoff implications looming large in the final week.

Players on the hot seat: Rickey Dudley and Tim Brown will both face crucial seasons on the Raiders offense. Dudley will be looking to improve his catch totals back to their 1997 level, and should be able to exceed that if the Raiders can find a way to protect Gannon. Brown has been one of the most consistent receivers in the league over the last five years, but his catch total dropped to 81 in 1998, from 104 in 1997. Brown will be 33 this fall, and speedy receivers usually start to lose a step as they get older.

Up-and-comers: Darrell Russell and Charles Woodson are two of the young defensive stars in the NFL. Russell produced 10 sacks in his second year in the league, and has emerged as the vocal leader of the Raiders defense. Woodson contributed immediately at cornerback for the Raiders, and helped boost their interception total to 21 last season. After winning the 1998 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, Woodson has expressed interest to head coach Jon Gruden in going both ways this year, as he did during his 1997 Heisman Trophy season in his final year at Michigan.