Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 61-yard field goal in the team's 23-9 loss to the Browns on Sunday. It's the fourth longest field goal in NFL history. Janikowski kicked the field goal on the final play of the first half. His previous best was a 57-yarder last season in overtime to beat the Jets.

Raiders coach Tom Cable says that quarterback Charlie Frye will start next weekend against the Browns if he's healthy. JaMarcus Russell led Oakland on a game-winning drive against the Broncos on Sunday and received the game ball.

Bruce Gradkowski was the first player signed by the Raiders last offseason and he hopes to be re-signed this offseason as well. "I love the idea of the Silver and Black," Gradkowski said Wednesday. "We've got a great coaching staff and, definitely, great players that can put a run together. And I'm not just talking about an OK season, I'm talking about playoff time, making a run at playoffs. That's in my mind, that's in my future, I'd love to be here to do that."

The Raiders will start quarterback Charlie Frye on Sunday afternoon against the Broncos. Oakland coach Tom Cable said on Wednesday that JaMarcus Russell will be the team's backup quarterback, while newly-signed J.P. Losman will be the third-stringer. "It will be good to get back out there with the offense and run some plays that aren't on cards," Frye joked. "I've got a lot of fire in me. I've been that crutch and that supportive guy all season, so now it's my turn to be the fiery leader."

Former Bills quarterback J.P. Losman used the United Football League to showcase his talents and try to get back into the NFL. His mission was rewarded Tuesday when he agreed to a deal with the Raiders, as reported by ESPN.com.

The scoreboard is where games are officially won and lost, but they are largely decided by the team that wins the battles of yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards lost, first downs, and turnovers. For this reason, I created the following formula called the ?Trench Counter? to look at which team truly controls the game: (2x Yards per pass) + (2x Yards per carry) + (.5 First downs) - (Penalty yards/10) - (2.5 Turnovers) - (Opposing Team's Trench Counter) Click here for more information on the Trench Counter For the 2009 season, our weekly team rankings will be based solely off this formula. 1. New Orleans Saints: 10.8 Jonathan Vilma's fourth quarter interception of Chris Redman and then his 4th down tackle helped the Saints preserve a 26-23 win in Atlanta. 2. Indianapolis Colts: 10.5 Even though Brandon Marshall logged a remarkable/record-setting 21 receptions against the Colts, the secondary quickly wrapped him up each time, keeping him to fewer than 10 yards per catch. It is a formula they have followed all season, regardless of the quality of the receiver and it has allowed them to maintain an effective pass defense despite missing Bob Sanders. 3. Green Bay Packers: 10.1 Dom Capers featured a 'Psycho' package against Chicago, which lines up one down lineman and five linebackers, creating uncertainty for the offensive line of who will be rushing the quarterback. Green Bay will likely continue to use it in certain 3rd down situations. 4. Minnesota Vikings: 8.2 As much of an undeniable impact Percy Harvin has made for Minnesota, Phil Loadholt has had an excellent rookie season at right tackle. 5. San Diego Chargers: 7.2 Over their previous four games, the Chargers have a +16.7 Trench Counter, which is easily the best in the NFL ahead of Minnesota's 12.2 and Green Bay's 9.4. 6. New England Patriots: 6.9 The post-2007 Patriots continue to struggle against the better team while remaining businesslike against weaker teams like Carolina, who apparently couldn't defeat Bill Belichick's team despite their claims of a receiver quitting. 7. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6.7 The Steelers and Packers are the two teams that the Trench Counter has liked more than it should this season and in order to sneak into the playoffs, they will have to run the table against three contenders in Green Bay, Baltimore and Miami. 8. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.3 DeSean Jackson, like Harvin, isn't a prototypical big receiver but they have almost completely changed the complexion of their respective teams. Jackson has caught 50 balls for 947 yards and nine TDs. 9. Dallas Cowboys: 4.6 The Dallas defense held San Diego to just 20 points, which was a season low for that potent Philip Rivers-led offense. 10. Baltimore Ravens: 4.4 The Ravens would be a dangerous team again in the playoffs this year if they can reach them, which will be difficult if they continue alternating victories and losses as they have over the past seven weeks. 11. Denver Broncos: 4.1 Eddie Royal's sophomore season, at least as a receiver, has been nothing if not disappointing, but he gets another shot at the Raiders this weekend. Royal had nine catches for 146 yards in his first NFL game last season. 12. New York Giants: 2.8 The staple of the Giants' defense has been to get pressure on the quarterback and that is something that has simply not been happening for Bill Sheridan's unit. 13. New York Jets: 2.8 Giving Kellen Clemens a lot of room, the Jets held the Buccaneers to just 124 yards of offense. 14. Cincinnati Bengals: 2.7 There are a lot of 7-6 and 6-7 teams ahead of the Bengals on this ranking, but Marvin Lewis' team is averaging a point differential of just 3.6 this season, which ranks them fifth in the AFC and 11th overall. 15. San Francisco 49ers: 1.5 The 49ers need to schedule more night home games, as they average six takeaways in those two games against Chicago and Arizona. 16. Washington Redskins: 1.1 Coming off a convincing win against the Raiders, the Redskins are now also clear of any wrongdoing about tampering before signing Albert Haynesworth. 17. Jacksonville Jaguars: 1.1 The Jaguars are still in the driver's seat for the AFC Wildcard due to its superior conference record as opposed to Miami, Baltimore and the Jets. 18. Houston Texans: 0.8 It is for a receiver to log 193 yards with two TDs and be overshadowed, but Andre Johnson was by the day Marshall had in Indianapolis. 19. Arizona Cardinals: 0.2 Seven turnovers, no division-clinching win, plus an injury to Larry Fitzgerald for Arizona on Monday night became one of the biggest disasters in San Francisco since Paul Newman opened up the Glass Tower in 'The Towering Inferno.' 20. Tennessee Titans: -1.1 Chris Johnson is on pace to rush for more than 2,000 yards, which would make him the sixth running back to reach that otherworldly strata. 21. Miami Dolphins: -1.4 As the Dolphins continue to struggle to score points and move the ball with Ronnie Brown finished for the season, their linebacker core is getting healthier and more productive. 22. Atlanta Falcons: -1.7 The Falcons are still mathematically in the playoff picture, but the injuries to Matt Ryan and Michael Turner have almost completely derailed their season. 23. Buffalo Bills: -1.9 Rookie Jarius Byrd has an NFL best nine interceptions and only George Wilson prevented him from getting his 10th. Buffalo has just 10 total interceptions during the 2008 season. 24. Seattle Seahawks: -3.2 Jake Locker would have probably been off the board by the time Seattle was ready to pick this April, but maybe the stars will align for the local boy to take over for Matt Hasselbeck in 2011. 25. Carolina Panthers: -3.6 Though he has caught flak for the Moss comments, Chris Gamble has three interceptions in three games. The Carolina defense has been the undeniable strength of this team in a disappointing season. 26. Chicago Bears: -4.5 Jay Cutler now has 22 interceptions this season, which is the most by a Chicago QB since 1962 when Bill Wade had 24. 27. Kansas City Chiefs: -7.7 While Cutler has the Chicago spotlight to contend with, fellow big offseason acquisition Matt Cassel has been a whole lot worse, with a 68.3 QB rating. 28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -9.9 Josh Freeman had a 12.1 passer rating against the Jets one week after posting a 36.5 rating against the Panthers. He did, however, have an excellent game in Week 12 with a 118.5 rating. 29. Detroit Lions: -11.6 Bill Ford Jr. has been 'out of touch' with the Lions this season, working almost exclusively on running the fledgling Ford Motor Company. He can check in nine months from now when Kevin Smith will be back from his devastating injury. 30. St. Louis Rams: -12.7 Keith Null made his NFL debut on Sunday and recorded five interceptions, but he did have a 62.8 completion percentage. 31. Cleveland Browns: -15.9 Mike Holmgren, at this point, could be the only thing that preserves Brady Quinn's future in Cleveland. 32. Oakland Raiders: -16.5 JaMarcus Russell now has a chance to finish the season thanks to Bruce Gradkowski's knee injuries, but if his performance against Washington (six sacks, interception, fumble, 39 total yards of offense) is any measure, things still don't look good.

JaMarcus Russell is confident that he's still Oakland's quarterback of the future. Russell was benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski midway through his third disappointing season. "We all have road bumps in our life and this just happens to be one bump," Russell said in his first public comments since losing the starting job. Russell added that he was "embarrassed" when he was benched by coach Tom Cable.

Robert Gallery is done for the season with a lower back strain that will require surgery, coach Tom Cable said after practice Thursday, dealing a huge blow to the offensive line. Gallery has been by far the team's most valuable lineman since moving to left guard in 2007.

JaMarcus Russell believes he's still the Oakland Raiders' quarterback of the future. "We all have road bumps in our life, and this just happens to be one bump," Russell said Thursday in his first public comments since losing the starting job to Bruce Gradkowski last month. Russell addressed many topics during the interview, saying he was "embarrassed" when he was benched by coach Tom Cable, that his weight and work ethic aren't a problem and that he will not renegotiate his contract to take less money than he is owed. Russell said he has learned by watching Gradkowski lead the Raiders (4-8) to two wins in three starts and that he will be a better quarterback when he has another chance at starting in the NFL. "A totally different JaMarcus," Russell said when asked what people would see when he plays again. "People are going to have their opinion, and I really don't pay too much attention to that. I worry about JaMarcus and JaMarcus only."

Richard Seymour talked about the difference he could be making this season for the New England pass rush. ?I really have moved on from that situation,? Seymour said from an airport near his South Carolina home as he prepared to fly back to Oakland to prepare for Sunday?s game against the Washington Redskins, ?but I know I could have helped. No doubt about that. ?I have a lot of friends there. I know what?s been going on; the troubles they?re having. When I?m on the inside rushing, (opponents) ain?t going to put just a guard on me one-on-one. I would have freed up room for Tully (Banta-Cain) or (Derrick) Burgess to be one-on-one on the outside. Tully and I talked about that all through training camp -- what we would do rushing together from the same side. ?I still have an impact (in Oakland). Maybe I don?t get the glory all the time, but I free up somebody else and our team gets the success. I know what I bring to the table. They wish it was that easy to replace me, but it?s not. ?You can?t just have great coaching and no talent. You?ve got to have both. Bill (Belichick) is an extremely smart coach. Extremely (smart) ... but he thinks it?s his schemes all the time. He had players like ?Hot Rod? (Rodney Harrison [stats]), myself, Ty (Law), Willie (McGinest), (Tedy) Bruschi and (Mike) Vrabel in that system to make it look good. ?I?ve received a lot of text messages lately from guys back there saying, ?We could use you now.? I?m sure they could, but so can Oakland. Over the years we won a lot in New England, but they can?t live off those Super Bowls. Most of the guys who won them are gone. ?It?s hard to lose all that leadership and place it on young guys. I was 20 when I came to New England. I learned a lot of defensive football there. I was taught what it takes to win by McGinest and those guys. Somebody has to show you. Team camaraderie is overlooked sometimes by coaches.?