Battle of the Bay

Raiders.com - The Oakland Raiders travel to San Francisco this Saturday night to take on the 49ers at Monster Park in the 2007 edition of the Battle of the Bay. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game can be seen on KTVU FOX2, and heard on KSFO 560 AM.

This game marks the 35th preseason game between the Raiders and 49ers. The Raiders lead the preseason series, 18-16, with the first contest having been played in 1967. This is the sixth straight year the Bay Area teams have met in the preseason. The teams previously met in the preseason in home-and-away contests for consecutive years from 1976-93. The Raiders hold a 6-4 advantage over the 49ers in regular season action since the teams first met in 1970 in Oakland.

According to Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin, Andrew Walter. will get the start at the quarterback for the Raiders Saturday night against the 49ers at Monster Park in San Francisco. Last week, Walter completed 8 of 10 pass attempts for 50 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown toss to WR Mike Williams., in the Raiders 27-23 Pre-Season victory over the Arizona Cardinals last Saturday at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.

Silver Linings

Grinding it out: Offensively, RB Adimchinobe Echemandu. led the way on the ground for the Raiders with 17 carries for 75 yards against Arizona. RB Justin Fargas. picked up 24 yards on eight carries, and RB Dominic Rhodes. gained 21 yards on eight carries with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Through the Air: In addition to Walter’s 50 yards passing and TD pass, QB Josh McCown. threw for 42 yards and led a scoring drive, and QB Daunte Culpepper threw for 78 yards and led two scoring drives.

Picking Up Where They Left Off: The Raiders defense, which ranked 3rd in the NFL in total defense and #1 vs. the pass in 2006, held the Cardinals to under 190 yards passing. DB Hiram Eugene. intercepted a QB Shane Boyd pass and returned the pick 36 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders also sacked Cardinals quarterbacks three times.

Playing Keep-Away: The Raiders dominated the time of possession battle against the Cardinals, holding the ball 33:41 to 26:19. The Raiders also engineered three scoring drives of 10 plays or more (12, 14, and 10). The Raiders also converted 47 percent (8-of-17) of their 3rd down opportunities, while holding the Cardinals to 23 percent (3-of-13).

The Opponent

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Denver Broncos 17-13 in the Pre-Season opener for both teams this past Monday night at Monster Park in San Francisco. QB Alex Smith completed 4 of 5 pass attempts for 58 yards. Quarterbacks Trent Dilfer and Shaun Hill combined for 200 yards passing, but each threw an interception. RB Thomas Clayton paced the 49ers on the ground with 55 yards on 17 carries, while WR C.J. Brewer hauled in three passes for 49 yards. TE Delanie Walker chipped in with four receptions for 35 yards.