While the Raiders' rushing attack is clearly their biggest strength, Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks offense have another concern - the speed in Oakland's secondary.
"Their safeties, their corners, their defensive backs, their nickel backs, all very fast,"
Hasselbeck said.
The leader of that group is Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (pictured), who is widely considered one of the best in the league.
"He's a great player,"
Hasselbeck said of Asomugha. "You could build a defense around him, and in some ways they have."
The Raiders, 3-4 and in second place in the AFC West, are coming off a 59-14 rout of the Denver Broncos that set a franchise record for most points scored.
"They're playing really good football,"
Hasselbeck said. "They played a great game last week, absolutely stunned the Denver Broncos in Denver. So it's unfortunate that we're the next team (on their schedule), but we are. And we got to see what we can do. I think we've got a good plan and it's just a matter of going out and doing it on Sunday."
With the Seahawks finally getting a win on the road two weeks ago in Chicago, the team looks to be shedding its fear of away games. Staying on the West Coast should help as well since the team can travel on Saturday and not have to worry about adjusting to time changes, jet lag or an early start.
"I don't know that (playing on the road) has ever been a big issue when we stayed on the West Coast,"
Hasselbeck said. "I think the issue or the drama came in when it was that early game and everyone was talking about it and talking about not talking about it and all that kind of stuff."
But they do have to worry about Oakland's notoriously edgy fans, who should be even more in their element on Halloween.
Hasselbeck said it's probably no accident that the NFL scheduled a Halloween game in Oakland.
"It should be great entertainment,"
he said.
Practice notes and injury report:
Although Pete Carroll said Wednesday that he intends to rest veteran players throughout the week even if they're not injured, no healthy players sat out practice on Thursday.
The following players did not practice due to injuries:
Brandon Mebane (calf)
Kelly Jennings (hamstring)
Matt McCoy (hamstring)
Brandon Stokley (oblique)
Michael Robinson (hamstring)
Walter Thurmond (head)
Russell Okung (ankle)
