Raiders notes: TE Boss injures left knee

Aug. 21, 2011GUTIERREZ ARCHIVE
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Paul Gutierrez
CSNCalifornia.comSAN FRANCISCO -- More than an organization held its breath when recently-acquired tight end Kevin Boss limped off the field Saturday night.So, too, did a fan base.Boss had just caught his first pass of the game, a clutch 14-yard reception across the middle from Trent Edwards that put the Raiders at the 49ers' 12-yard line late in the second quarter, when something went wrong."After I caught that pass," Boss said, "the guy came and just put his helmet on the knee."Tarell Brown was credited with the tackle, Boss spent most of the second half with a huge ice pack on his left knee and Raiders coach Hue Jackson called the injury "a minor strain."Boss was asked after the Raiders' eventual 17-3 defeat if it was a minor injury.RECAP: Hunter Runs 49ers past Raiders 17-3"It's hard to tell," he said. "It's nothing serious, that's for sure. Take a little time to heal up."Boss was signed to a four-year, 16-million free agent deal on Aug. 5, after the Raiders lost Pro Bowler Zach Miller to Seattle.The Raiders surrendered 239 yards rushing to the 49ers, 100 yards in the first half, when the starters were in the game.So were they surprised at how easily the 49ers carved up their defense on the ground?"They had a good day," said defensive end Matt Schaughnessy, who also had an interception. "You can't take anything away from them."Gutierrez: Raiders take major steps backwardRookie cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, on his first NFL start: "I was nervous the first play, but after that, I was just playing ball. The speed of the game slowed down a lot for me the second game. I got my feet wet the first game and I was much better tonight."Right tackle Khalif Barnes admitted he was surprised the Raiders' hard work in camp did not translate onto the field at Candlestick Park."We've been grinding and digging and going after each other and tonight was a night to try and get after somebody else," Barnes said. "But we didn't start fast and we made some mistakes. If everybody fixes the mistakes they made, we'll come back stronger."Right guard Bruce Campbell also made his 2011 exhibition debut and immediately got into it with 49ers defensive tackle Will Tukuafu on his first two plays."Of course," Campbell said. "I mean, I've been out for a while. In practice, I've got to make sure I practice on my leverage."In the second half, Oakland had a line with a rookie in Stefen Wisniewski at center, Cambell at right guard and another rookie in Joseph Barksdale at right tackle."Pretty much it's three rookies," Campbell said, "so we're just trying to get a connection going now so we all can flow if anything happens later on the line."Added Barksdale: "You focus on what you do, but at the end of the day you're still a unit with 11 moving parts. It takes 11 people to score and we've got to get those 11 on the same page."Besides Boss and quarterback Jason Campbell being knocked out of the game after taking a knee to the helmet -- he was scheduled to take a concussion test -- Jackson said the only other Raiders player to emerge injured was safety Jerome Boyd, with a contusion to a leg.There were no surprises in the list of Raiders "scratches," as receivers Jacoby Ford (left hand), Shawn Bayes (unknown), Louis Murphy (hamstringgroin) and Chaz Schilens (knee), running backs Darren McFadden (fractured left eye orbital) and Taiwan Jones (hamstring), James McCluskey (unknown), safeties Hiram Eugene (dislocated left hip), Mike Mitchell (unknown) and Zac Etheridge (knee), cornerback Chris Johnson (unknown) and offensive linemen Lou Eliades (unknown) and Alan Pelc (unknown). Also, while offensive lineman Stephon Heyer (strained right triceps) was not listed as scratched, he was not in uniform.