Minutes: Oakland 'D' capable

In fact, a pair of lost two-score fourth-quarter leads against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and the San Diego Chargers in Week 4 – when Oakland took a 15-0 edge into the final stanza – are all that separated the Raiders from being break-even at midseason, which would have had them holding a share of first place in the division heading into the week.

"It's just been difficult for us because we know we're a better football team than what we've been showing," said Morrison, who has 70 tackles, a sack and an interception so far this season. "That's the big point."

"You look at the games that we've played this year. We lost on a last-second field goal to Buffalo. Against San Diego, we were up by two scores in the fourth quarter and we lost that football game. Then we didn't play well against Denver and New Orleans. You look at what happened the last couple of weeks with Baltimore and Atlanta and we feel like we should at least be at even or even over .500 just because of the talent that we have and the kind of football that we know we can play."

Oakland's 16-13 win over the New York Jets three weeks ago stands as evidence of what the Raiders can do – particularly on defense, where they held Brett Favre without a touchdown pass after he'd tossed 13 in the previous five games, an average of 2.6 an outing. The Raiders harassed Favre into two interceptions, three sacks and a 47.8 passer rating that was his worst since he joined the Jets.

Morrison hasn't just seen that effort from the defense on a single Sunday last month, but throughout the weeks leading up to the games.

"That's what's frustrating because we go out and practice and we've seen it in practice," he said. "We've performed in games but we haven't put it together for four quarters. When we have done that, we've won two ballgames. When we haven't done that, we've lost six. That's where the mindset is right now and that's where the frustration comes from."

STEWART QUESTIONABLE: The heel injury that caused Jonathan Stewart to miss the practices on Wednesday and Thursday left him listeFor Oakland defensive captain Kirk Morrison, the worst part of the Raiders' 2-6 start is the knowledge that the team isn't very far from contention in the AFC West.

In fact, a pair of lost two-score fourth-quarter leads against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and the San Diego Chargers in Week 4 – when Oakland took a 15-0 edge into the final stanza – are all that separated the Raiders from being break-even at midseason, which would have had them holding a share of first place in the division heading into the week.

"It's just been difficult for us because we know we're a better football team than what we've been showing," said Morrison, who has 70 tackles, a sack and an interception so far this season. "That's the big point."

"You look at the games that we've played this year. We lost on a last-second field goal to Buffalo. Against San Diego, we were up by two scores in the fourth quarter and we lost that football game. Then we didn't play well against Denver and New Orleans. You look at what happened the last couple of weeks with Baltimore and Atlanta and we feel like we should at least be at even or even over .500 just because of the talent that we have and the kind of football that we know we can play."

Oakland's 16-13 win over the New York Jets two weeks ago stands as evidence of what the Raiders can do – particularly on defense, where they held Brett Favre without a touchdown pass after he'd tossed 13 in the previous five games, an average of 2.6 an outing. The Raiders harassed Favre into two interceptions, three sacks and a 47.8 passer rating that was his worst since he joined the Jets.

Morrison hasn't just seen that effort from the defense on a single Sunday last month, but throughout the weeks leading up to the games.

"That's what's frustrating because we go out and practice and we've seen it in practice," he said. "We've performed in games but we haven't put it together for four quarters. When we have done that, we've won two ballgames. When we haven't done that, we've lost six. That's where the mindset is right now and that's where the frustration comes from."d as questionable for Sunday’s game.

"It's just sore right now," he said after practice on Thursday. "It's a sharp pain in my heel. It hurts every time I press off it."

The heel injury – which was not on the same foot as the turf-toe that necessitated March surgery – caused him to miss practices for the first time this regular season.

OTHER PANTHERS INJURIES: Defensive tackle Darwin Walker Is the only Panther to be ruled out; he is recovering from a neck injury sustained in an Oct. 25 automobile accident.

Each of the other five Panthers on the injury report Friday is listed as probable – wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who is recovering from a hip injury, and linebacker Thomas Davis, cornerback Chris Gamble, center Ryan Kalil and right tackle Jeff Otah; all are recuperating from ankle injuries.

If Otah and Kalil play Sunday, it will be the first action for each since Weeks 4 and 5, respectively.

Wide receiver D.J. Hackett, who missed the last three games of October with an ankle injury, was not listed on any injury report this week.

IN OAKLAND … No Raiders were ruled out, but linebacker Ricky Brown and defensive end Derrick Burgess were ruled as doubtful due to groin and triceps injuries, respectively.

The biggest news, however, came with the word that quarterback JaMarcus Russell was questionable with a knee injury. He had been limited during Oakland’s practice on Thursday and was not listed on the initial injury report Wednesday.

“He’s got a little tendinitis,” Raiders head coach Tom Cable said.

Russell’s successor as Oakland first-round pick, running back Darren McFadden, is also questionable as he grapples with toe injuries. Tight end Tony Stewart (knee) and safety Gibril Wilson (groin) are also questionable, while four others are listed as probable: linebacker Jon Alston (foot), safety Michael Huff (hip), defensive tackle Gerard Warren (knee) and quarterback Andrew Walter (calf).

Reported by The Panthers