Phtoto by Bill Haber/AP

Somewhere, Lane Kiffin is smiling. The Oakland Raiders were listless in their obliteration by the New Orleans Saints 34-3. The Raiders defense offered no resistance as Drew Brees put on a passing clinic and moved the Saints down the field at will. Meanwhile, the Raiders offense could do little despite getting good filed position for much of the first half. 

The Oakland Raiders defense forced a three and out on the first drive, but were unable to force the Saints to punt until the game was well out of hand late in the fourth quarter. The Raiders defense without Derrick Burgess were unable to get much of any pressure on Brees who took full advantage as he moved the Saints down the field with ease.

Offensively, the Raiders could not get firing on all cylanders, as they made good on Al Davis's promise to "Cut JaMarcus loose" and throw the ball. The problem is that Russell's accuracy was inconsistant and the receivers hands seemed to be made of stone. The Raiders sniffed the endzone only once, but settled for a 27 yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski. Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals from distances of 57 and 59. Both of those attempts were after the Raiders fizzled after starting with good field position.

The Raiders normally strong running game never got going garnering 85 yards on 22 carries. The Radiers' strength thus far in 2008 had been their running game, but in the first game offensive coordinator Greg Knapp seemed to get away from calling running plays. The game was not out of hand on the scoreboard until the mid third quarter, so there is no excuse for not utulizing the strength of the team more. JaMarcus Russell was 13-35 for only 149 yards and a pick. He overthrew a wide open Chaz Schelins on a 4th down play late in the game that would have put a touchdown on the board.

The Raiders team looked like one that lacked energy or urgency, and it showed across the board. This performance was an epic disaster on the scale of the opening night massacre against the Broncos. This is going to be a long season for the Raider Nation.

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	FG	09:44	Sebastian Janikowski 24 Yd	3	0
SECOND QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	TD	03:45	Reggie Bush 3 Yd Run (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	7
	FG	00:50	Taylor Mehlhaff 44 Yd	3	10
THIRD QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	TD	07:42	Aaron Stecker 8 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	17
	TD	05:57	Reggie Bush 15 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	24
FOURTH QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	FG	14:10	Taylor Mehlhaff 33 Yd	3	27
	TD	11:04	Mark Campbell 2 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	34

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	12	23
3rd down efficiency	6-16	9-14
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-0
Total Yards	226	441
Passing	141	319
Comp-Att	13-35	26-30
Yards per pass	4.0	10.6
Rushing	85	122
Rushing Attempts	22	33
Yards per rush	3.9	3.7
Penalties	5-26	4-30
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	23:48	36:12

NO by
7.5

Oakland 3, New Orleans 34

Recap Box Score Play-By-Play Drive Chart Photos Conversation

	1	2	3	4	T
OAK (1-4)	3	0	0	0	3
NOR (3-3)	0	10	14	10	34

Final

 

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	FG	09:44	Sebastian Janikowski 24 Yd	3	0
SECOND QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	TD	03:45	Reggie Bush 3 Yd Run (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	7
	FG	00:50	Taylor Mehlhaff 44 Yd	3	10
THIRD QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	TD	07:42	Aaron Stecker 8 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	17
	TD	05:57	Reggie Bush 15 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	24
FOURTH QUARTER				OAK	NOR
	FG	14:10	Taylor Mehlhaff 33 Yd	3	27
	TD	11:04	Mark Campbell 2 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Taylor Mehlhaff Kick)	3	34

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	12	23
3rd down efficiency	6-16	9-14
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-0
Total Yards	226	441
Passing	141	319
Comp-Att	13-35	26-30
Yards per pass	4.0	10.6
Rushing	85	122
Rushing Attempts	22	33
Yards per rush	3.9	3.7
Penalties	5-26	4-30
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	23:48	36:12

Oakland Passing   C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT J. Russell 13/35 159 4.5 0 1 Team 13/35 141 4.0 0 1	New Orleans Passing   C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT D. Brees 26/30 320 10.7 3 0 Team 26/30 319 10.6 3 0
Oakland Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD LG J. Fargas 10 35 3.5 0 7 D. McFadden 8 30 3.8 0 8 J. Russell 1 11 11.0 0 11 M. Bush 3 9 3.0 0 5 Team 22 85 3.9 0 11	New Orleans Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD LG D. McAllister 13 65 5.0 0 9 R. Bush 14 27 1.9 1 5 P. Thomas 3 18 6.0 0 13 D. Brees 1 7 7.0 0 7 A. Stecker 1 3 3.0 0 3 M. Karney 1 2 2.0 0 2 Team 33 122 3.7 1 13
Oakland Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD LG Z. Miller 3 46 15.3 0 23 J. Higgins 1 35 35.0 0 35 R. Curry 3 32 10.7 0 13 A. Lelie 1 11 11.0 0 11 C. Schilens 1 9 9.0 0 9 J. Griffith 1 8 8.0 0 8 T. Stewart 1 7 7.0 0 7 J. Walker 1 7 7.0 0 7 M. Bush 1 4 4.0 0 4 Team 13 159 12.2 0 35	New Orleans Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD LG L. Moore 7 97 13.9 0 27 D. Henderson 2 68 34.0 0 51 B. Miller 3 53 17.7 0 25 R. Bush 3 40 13.3 1 21 M. Campbell 3 37 12.3 1 29 A. Stecker 1 8 8.0 1 8 S. Ryan 2 7 3.5 0 5 D. McAllister 2 7 3.5 0 4 M. Karney 3 3 1.0 0 4 Team 26 320 12.3 3 51
Oakland Fumbles   FUM LOST REC J. Russell 1 1 0 Team 1 1 0	New Orleans Fumbles   FUM LOST REC K. Clancy 0 0 1 Team 0 0 1

Oakland Interceptions   INT YDS TD Team 0 0 0	New Orleans Interceptions   INT YDS TD J. David 1 18 0 Team 1 18 0
Oakland Tackles   TOT SACKS SOLO G. Wilson 11 0 10 T. Howard 11 0 8 J. Richardson 8 0 7 K. Morrison 8 0 5 D. Hall 7 0 6 T. Kelly 5 1 2 R. Brown 4 0 3 T. Sands 4 0 2 G. Warren 3 0 3 M. Huff 3 0 3 H. Eugene 2 0 2 T. Branch 2 0 2 K. Edwards 2 0 1 T. Scott 1 0 1 N. Asomugha 1 0 1 Team 72 1 56	New Orleans Tackles   TOT SACKS SOLO J. Vilma 11 0 7 S. Shanle 6 0 1 R. Gay 4 0 4 W. Smith 4 0 3 K. Clancy 4 0 3 C. Grant 3 0 3 R. Harper 3 0 3 J. Bullocks 3 0 2 M. McKenzie 3 0 2 B. McCray 2 2 2 B. Young 2 0 2 U. Young 2 0 2 J. David 2 0 2 R. Ayodele 1 0 1 S. Fujita 1 0 0 Team 51 2 37

Oakland Kick Returns   NO YDS AVG LG J. Higgins 4 73 18.3 20 T. Branch 1 11 11.0 11 Team 5 84 16.8 20	New Orleans Kick Returns   NO YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0
Oakland Punt Returns   NO YDS AVG LG J. Higgins 1 35 35.0 35 Team 1 35 35.0 35	New Orleans Punt Returns   NO YDS AVG LG R. Bush 1 8 8.0 8 Team 1 8 8.0 8

Oakland Kicking   FG PCT LONG XP PTS S. Janikowski 1/3 33.3 24 0/0 3 Team 1/3 33.3 24 0/0 3

New Orleans Kicking   FG PCT LONG XP PTS T. Mehlhaff 2/3 66.7 44 4/4 10 Team 2/3 66.7 44 4/4 10

Oakland Punting   TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG S. Lechler 4 199 49.8 1 1 65 Team 4 199 49.8 1 1 65

New Orleans Punting   TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG S. Weatherford 2 92 46.0 1 0 46 Team 2 92 46.0 1 0 46