ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders began another week of practice Wednesday without three of their most dynamic playmakers on offense.
Star running back Darren McFadden (right foot) and big-play wide receivers Jacoby Ford (left foot) and Denarius Moore (right foot) all remain sidelined with injuries as the Raiders begin preparations for this weekend's showdown with the undefeated Green Bay Packers.
This has been a recurring issue for the Raiders as McFadden has missed the past five games, Ford the past three and Moore the past two games with injuries that have clearly hampered Oakland's offense.
Coach Hue Jackson said all three players are making progress, but he still doesn't have a target date for when they will be able to return to practice, much less play in a game.
"This has been tough," Jackson said. "I've quit trying to put percentages or days or anything on it. What I try to do with this football team is to keep us afloat and just keep playing. When those guys show back up, they're going to show back up, and I know they will at some point in time, and that's all I can worry about is the guys that are out there practicing and playing, and go check on the guys that are not, and hopefully we can get them back soon and be part of this team."
With all three players out the past two weeks, the offense has struggled, scoring only one touchdown in a win over Chicago and falling behind 34-0 after three quarters in a loss at Miami last week.
"Every team that we play against focuses on a handful of guys offensively for us, and normally it's Jacoby or Denarius or Darren, and when you don't have that guy the defense focuses on usually, they turn to somebody else," quarterback Carson Palmer said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
