The Raiders hired former Ravens assistant Hue Jackson on Tuesday, hoping that he can help develop JaMarcus Russell the way that he did Joe Flacco.

Jackson also has history with Tom Cable, the two worked together at Cal-State Fullerton and Cal Berkeley.

Cable did not have an offensive coordinator in his first full season of coaching, so Jackson is expected to take over play-calling duties.

Adam Schefter of ESPN has just announced that Tom Cable will be back for the 2010 season.

Coach Tom Cable says JaMarcus Russell will “continue to develop” while Charlie Frye is given the starting quarterback job.

The Raiders also signed J.P. Losman who was a first round pick of the Buffalo Bills and recently led the Las Vegas Locomotives to the first United Football League championship.

Tony Dungy, the creepy NBC analyst and mentor of Michael Vick admitted Sunday that he advised Vick not to play for the Raiders.

“I advised Michael Vick not to go there. I said, ‘Mike, you might be able to start there but that is not a good place for you.’”

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse for the Raiders, it now looks like Darren McFadden will be out for a few weeks with a knee injury.

McFadden is expected to have surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his knee.  McFadden had -3 rushing yards against the Texans and is averaging 3.1 yards per carry.

The AP is reporting that tight end Zach Miller suffered a concussion during Sunday’s game against the Texans.  The severity of concussions can vary and the extent of Miller’s concussion is not yet known.  The struggling offense needs Miller right now, so let’s hope he gets well soon.

For the first time since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 they have failed to sellout a home game against a divisional rival.

NFL teams have until three days before kickoff to fill all of their seats.  Blackouts cover a 75-mile radius.

In what was expected to be a blowout, the Raiders showed that they are a much improved football team in a close loss to the Chargers at home.  The Raiders were essentially robbed of a touchdown when a 19-yard  pass to Louis Murphy was overturned because the ball supposedly came loose and hit the ground of the endzone.

The defense looked solid, and Richard Seymour added much needed help recording 2 sacks.  Michael Huff had an interception and LaDainian Tomlinson was held to only 55 yards rushing.

The Raiders are now 0-1 and play at Kansas City next Sunday.

The Oakland Raiders and ex-Cowboys defensive end Greg Ellis have agreed to terms on a contract today, but Ellis has yet to sign.

Ellis is 33 years old and has played for the Dallas Cowboys for all 11 of his NFL seasons.  Ellis can play both linebacker and defensive end.  The Raiders will most likely use him as a defensive end opposite Derrick Burgess.

Ellis recorded 3 sacks last season, but has had 6 or more sacks in a season 8 times.  He has sacked the quarterback a total of 77 times in 162 games.

The Raiders now have six quarterbacks on their roster after the free-agent signing of Charlie Frye.

Frye is 27 and spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks after the Cleveland Browns had given up on him.  He was a third-round selection in the 2005 NFL Draft, and is also the only player in league history to begin a season as a starter and then be traded after one game.

Frye’s career stats include 3,573 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, and 4 rushing touchdowns.

The Oakland Raiders have added some great depth to their backfield by picking up veteran fullback Lorenzo Neal and running back Gary Russell.  Neal played for the Ravens last season and will now be competing for a spot on the roster with Oren O’Neal and Luke Lawton. 

Gary Russell comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers, where last season he played in 12 games carrying the ball 28 times for 77 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Raiders have drafted Maryland Wide Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey with their 7th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  Michael Crabtree was expected to be selected, but was passed on by the Raiders and later drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.

Heyward-Bey’s college career stats at the University of Maryland include 138 receptions for 2,089 yards and 13 touchdowns.  Heyward-Bey has tremendous speed, registering a 4.30 in the 40-yard-dash.

The NFL has released the 2009 schedule.  Here are the Raiders’ games for ‘09:

Quarterback Jeff Garcia and The Oakland Raiders have agreed on a one-year contract.  Garcia is 39 years old and will be the backup for starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

The Raiders will be Jeff Garcia’s sixth NFL team.  He has played for the 49ers, Browns, Lions, Eagles, and Buccaneers.  Garcia has a pass completion percentage of 61.6 and 161 touchdown passes in his NFL career.

The Raiders have signed defensive tackle Ryan Boschetti.  Boschetti was signed as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA by the Redskins in 2004. 

Boschetti is listed at 6′4″ and 289 lbs.  He only played 3 games last year with the Redskins.

The Raiders have also re-signed linebacker and special teams player Sam Williams.  Williams has been with Oakland for 6 years now since he was drafted out of Fresno State.