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Firing up the grill and setting up the cross-country live blog with Johnny...a few thoughts before the game gets rolling.

First, what I'm nervous about. In a nutshell, it's the players we lost vs. the players we gained. Top receiver (Miller), top defender (Nnamdi), arguably the top lineman (Gallery). With the possible exception of Wisniewski on the line, the Raiders haven't done much to try and replace or upgrade. The other thing that makes me nervous is the play of the defense in preseason. Ouch. It makes me start thinking about Walsh and Shell when I wonder why Bresnahan wasn't in the NFL last year.

But there's plenty to be excited about. Campbell looked sharper than ever in the preseason, and he had few weapons. DMC is back and presumably mean as ever. Ford is back. And it will be fun to see what guys like Denarius Moore and...dare I say it...Chaz Schilens will do in the regular season.

And then there's Seymour. This guy is such a beast that it helps me set aside that nervousness about the defense's play in the preseason. He's one of the few guys - and Nnamdi isn't one of them - who can single-handedly raise the level of the entire defense.

One more to talk about...McClain. If he takes the next step this year we'll be happy Raider fans.