Pre -season Week 1 Cardinals @ Raiders

Game day notes:

The Oakland Raiders host the Arizona Cardinals tonight at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland in the 2007 Pre-Season opener for both teams. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

THIRD AND LONG: The Oakland Raiders defense was among the NFL’s best team in third and long situations against in 2006. The Silver and Black ranked first in opponents third down attempts longer than yards seven yards allowed (19%, 19-of-100), and fifth in third down attempts of longer than 10 yards allowed (13.8%, 8-of-58).

NOTHING OVER 20: The Oakland Raiders defense led the NFL in 2006 for fewest plays over 20+ yards allowed. This marked the first time the Raiders have accomplished this feat.

CURRYING THE LOAD: WR Ronald Curry. recovered from his second season-ending Achilles tendon injury and led the Raiders in receiving with 62 catches for 727 yards in 2006. He earned the Ed Block Courage Award for his efforts. During a three-game stretch from Week 14-16, he racked up 28 catches for 292 yards and a touchdown. Against Cincinnati on December 10, Curry had eight catches for 99 yards including a five-yard touchdown. Curry followed it up with nine catches for 87 yards against St. Louis. The next week, Curry set a single-game high with 11 catches for 106 yards against Kansas City.

LECHLER PUNTING AVERAGE TOPS IN NFL HISTORY: Shane Lechler.’s 46.1-yard punting average through seven seasons is the highest in NFL history for players with at least 250 attempts. Lechler reached the qualifier of 250 punts during the November 23, 2003, contest at Kansas City. He surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh, who averaged 45.1 in a career that ended in 1952. Lechler led the AFC and finished second in the NFL in gross punting average (47.5).

LECHLER 50-YARD STREAK: Shane Lechler.’s streak of having a punt travel 50 yards or longer ended at 17 straight games as he did not have a punt of that distance during the December 23 contest against Kansas City. During the streak, he had 48 punts exceeding 50 yards and seven over 60. He set a record with 33 straight games with a punt of 50 or more yards, the longest streak since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. The streak, which lasted from 11-30-03 against Denver until 12-11-05 at the N.Y. Jets, surpassed Rick Tuten’s mark of 30 straight games from 1993-95 with Seattle. During the record-setting streak, Lechler topped 50 yards 65 times with 12 punts of over 60.

WARREN-TING ATTENTION: DT Warren Sapp. enters 2007 with a career total of 94.5 sacks and ranks third on the all-time career list for defensive tackles. Sapp ended the 2006 season with 10 sacks, leading all NFL interior linemen.

MORE SACKS FOR 56: DE Derrick Burgess. enters 2007 having played in the last two Pro Bowls. Burgess led the NFL with 16 sacks in 2005, finished with 11 in 16 games in 2006, earning a second consecutive Pro Bowl bid. Burgess finished tied for sixth in the AFC and 11th in the NFL. Burgess now has 27.0 sacks in 32 games as a Raider since joining the Silver and Black as a free agent in 2005.

SACK ATTACK: Thanks to Burgess and Sapp, the 2006 season marked the first time since 1991 that two Raiders players have recorded double-digit sacks.

TOTALLY AWESOME-WAH!: CB Nnamdi Asomugha. led the team with eight interceptions and scored his first career touchdown this season. He ended 2006 ranked tied for third in the NFL for the most interceptions. Asomugha also earned the 2006 Commitment to Excellence Award.

156 AND CLIMBING: By connecting on a 35-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter of the December 31 contest against the New York Jets, Sebastian Janikowski. has now tied Hall of Famer George Blanda for 2nd place on all-time field goals made in team annals. Janikowski now trails only Chris Bahr by six heading into this season. (Chris Bahr, 162, George Blanda/Janikowski 156, Jeff Jaeger, 152).

JANIKOWSKI NOW KICKING UP THE CHART: Sebastian Janikowski. finished with 70 points in 2006 and is now third on the Raiders all-time scoring list. With a 35-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter in the 22-9 win over the Arizona Cardinals on October 22 at McAfee Coliseum, Janikowski moved past Jeff Jaeger into 3rd in all-time team scoring annals. Janikowski, who has topped the century mark in scoring in four of his six pro seasons, has 711 points in his career.

JANIKOWSKI TIES TEAM RECORD: Sebastian Janikowski.’s 55-yard field goal in the second quarter of the November 12 contest against Denver tied his own Raider record. Janikowski set the record on November 2, 2003, when he connected on a 55-yarder versus the Lions in Detroit. Janikowski added a 53-yarder in the December 23 contest against Kansas City. Janikowski has connected on seven of the Silver and Black’s 25 longest field goals in team history.

SCORING DEFENSE: In 2006, during an eight-game stretch from October 15 at Denver to December 3 versus Houston, the Raiders defense allowed only 11 touchdowns. During that eight game span, the Raiders also allowed just 15 field goals. On December 3 versus Houston, the Raiders defense allowed one touchdown and three field goals. Against the Chargers in San Diego on November 26, the Raiders allowed three touchdowns in a game for the first time in seven games. In Kansas City on November 19, the Raiders allowed two touchdowns and a field goal. Against Denver on November 12, the Raiders allowed two touchdowns and a field goal. The Raiders limited Seattle to one touchdown and three field goals in a November 6 Monday Night contest in Seattle. The Silver and Black held Pittsburgh to 13 points on two field goals and a late touchdown in the 20-13 win over the Steelers. The Raiders limited Arizona to three field goals during the October 22 win over the Cardinals at McAfee Coliseum. The Raiders held the Broncos to a single touchdown and two field goals during the October 15 contest at Denver.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSE: The Oakland Raiders scored four defensive touchdowns in 2006, which tied for fifth-best in the NFL. Only Baltimore, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Philadelphia with five, had more touchdowns on defense than the Raiders. Chicago and Buffalo also had four scores on defense.

SURE TACKLING: Three Raiders players finished the 2006 season with more than 100 tackles, LBs Kirk Morrison. and Thomas Howard., and FS Stuart Schweigert.. With 107 tackles, Schweigert led all free safeties in tackles in the NFL.

FAST CARR: Cornerback/kick returner Chris Carr.’s 100-yard interception return on October 29 against Pittsburgh was the second-longest return in Raiders history, Carr’s key score is surpassed by only Eddie Anderson’s 102-yard return for a score on December 14, 1992, versus the Dolphins at Miami.

IN A HUFF: Rookie first round pick Michael Huff. recorded a safety during the October 22 win over the Arizona Cardinals when he stuffed the ball carrier in the end zone. In addition, Huff, the seventh overall pick who started every game so far in his first NFL season, and finished 2006 as the Raiders fourth leading tackler. He finished with 78 in 16 games played.