My Las Vegas Insider is on the oak Raiders at 10:00 ET. Since losing 48-21 to the Bucs in Super Bowl 37, the Raiders own the NFL's worst regular season record (24-72, .250), earning the reputation as one of the league's most-troubled franchises (Lions are giving them a run, though). The Lane Kiffin coaching debacle was a good example of what's happened to a franchise which was once known as being one of the NFL's best. As for the Cowboys, Wade Phillips took over for Bill Parcells in 2007 and led Dallas to an NFC-best 13-3 mark, only to see his team lose its first playoff game 21-17 to the hated-Giants. The Cowboys opened last year 3-0 but lost three of their final four regular season games, just missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record. Verty few people would be surprised to see Dallas back in the playoffs but almost no one thinks the Raiders have any postseason chances in 2009. However, Thursday night's game is a preseason game, not a regular season one. Wade Phillips has shown little interest in winning on the road in his previous two preseasons with the Cowboys, going 0-4 SU and ATS, as Dallas has allowed an average of 26.3 PPG in those four games. Meanwhile, the Raiders have been an excellent preseason team at home the last three years, going 5-1 SU and ATS. The Raiders come into this game with excellent RB depth, featuring Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden. All want playing time this year and expect a spirited competition during the preseason. JaMarcus Russell is the likely starter at QB, although veteran Jeff Garcia could win the job. However, Garcia is suffering from a minor calf injury and won't play Thursday night. Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye should both see plenty of time on Thursday. Bradkowski recorded the highest passer rating of any Tampa Bay QB in the 2006 preseason (he was a 6th-round pick that year) and became Tampa's starting QB when Chris Simms ruptured his spleen. Gradowski would go 3-8 as Tampa's starter that year. He's appeared in just six games since his rookie year (was released by the Bucs after the 2007 season) and his lone start since 2006 came for the Browns in their 2008 season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, after injuries to Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, and Ken Dorsey. Gradkowski will compete while in the game. Charlie Frye was selected in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Browns. He started the final five games of the 2005 season for the Browns, compiling a record of 2-3 as a starter. Frye was named the starting QB of the Browns for the 2006 NFL season and palyed 13 games (64.1% / 2,454 yards / 10 TDs and 17 INTs). He won a battle in the 2007 preseason with Derek Anderson and rookie Brady Quinn, again earning the starting job. However, in Cleveland's season-opener against the Steelers, Frye was benched after struggling in the first few minutes. Derek Anderson replaced him for the remainder of the game and was named the starter for the rest of the year. Just days after that game, Frye was traded to the Seattle Seahawks, the first time a team has traded its starting quarterback during the NFL season in league history. My point here is that Frye, like Gradkowski, has something to prove and both QBs have motivation to play well here. It doesn't hurt their chances of playing well that both of the Cowboys' starting CBs (Newman and *******) are expected to miss this game. Meanwhile, I expect Dallas to "go through the motions," which makes the Raiders the play. Las Vegas Insider
Larry Ness 8/13
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