Looking from Lane's Perspective

It's difficult to know how much to read into who's starting and running in the first team packages, if someone is playing with the 1's does that mean they're a lock to start, or even make the final roster? This is Lane Kiffin's first year as a Head Coach in the NFL so this can be difficult to judge, but it's sure worth a try:

- The Raiders beat the Rams 20-10 in a scoreline that flattered the Rams, it could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for a LaMont Jordan fumble at the Rams 1-yard line, a 33-yard field goal miss by Sebastian Janikowski and a Chris Johnson penalty that negated an excellent 54-yard punt return TD by rookie WR Johnnie Lee Higgins.

- CB Chris Johnson was playing with the first team in some packages after Nnamdi Asomugha was rested early and also ran with the first team Special Teams coverage unit. The Rams appeared to pick on him and CB Fabian Washington when they were in, although Johnson made mistakes he also made some nice plays including a forced fumble on Rams QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Could Johnson make the roster? Or is he only playing because Asomugha was rested and Stanford Routt is injured? Locks at CB are Asomugha, Washington, Routt and Chris Carr while the last spot appears to be between Johnson and John Bowie. The favorite has to be Bowie due to his fourth round draft pick status and his awesome speed and upside, but then why was Johnson running with the first team...

- Justin Fargas still remains above Adimchinobe Echemandu on the depth chart and was running with the second team, despite Echemandu's excellent training camp and pre-season he could be the odd man out at RB if Michael Bush is removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list in time to start the season.

- Zack Crockett started at FB for the third pre-season game in a row and bizarrely it is still widely assumed he will be cut, Justin Griffith had some work with the first team but if he was to be the starter at FB this season then surely he would have started a pre-season game by now? With three solid FB's to chose from it is looking increasingly likely that Griffith or rookie Oren O'Neal will be cut.

- LB Ricky Brown was all over the field in the second half to continue his excellent pre-season, his speed also makes him an excellent special teams player giving him added value to the team. He almost had an interception but couldn't control the ball and bobbled it until he ran out of bounds, Thomas Howard also dropped an interception in the first half.

- Lane Kiffin likes to send players in motion on the offense, in particular TE Zach Miller seems to be in motion almost every play. This is to help the QB get an idea if the defense is playing man-to-man or zone coverage and can also create mismatches, which is a breathe of fresh air after last seasons unimaginative offense.

- It's still difficult who to predict will be the odd man out at QB between Josh McCown and Andrew Walter, McCown looked the better of the 2 last night, especially when moving outside the pocket. In this game Kiffin actually called some naked bootlegs when Walter was in but he didn't look comfortable on the move, at this point in time the edge goes to McCown.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading.