News and notes from Friday night’s 20-10 win by the Raiders over the St. Louis Rams:

– After watching both Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown play well, coach Lane Kiffin said regarding the starting quarterback, “We might have answer for you tomorrow or we might go into this next game (in Seattle) without an answer.”

– Culpepper actually underthrew a couple of deep passes, but he didn’t turn the ball over and again showed the ability to run for first downs. His 19-yard scoring pass to Ronald Curry came on a throw over the middle in which Curry made Tye Hill miss and then ran through a vacated middle for the score.

Culpepper did not fumble the ball and has not thrown an interception in the preseason.

– McCown actually had better stats, going 6-for-9 for 138 yards, with 49 of those coming on a beautifully executed screen to LaMont Jordan, who later scored a touchdown from a yard out.

Left tackle Barry Sims said one of the St. Louis players said, “Hey look, it’s Rich Gannon” in reference to McCown’s mobility.

“He did kind of look like Rich Gannon out there,” Sims said.

McCown’s best two passing plays were back-to-back strikes of 18 and 19 yards to John Madsen, the first on a bootleg rollout and the second when Madsen made a nice snag of a low throw.

McCown, who did lose a fumble, sometimes seems to throw better on the run than he does from the pocket.

– Andrew Walter completed 2 of 5 passes for 19 yards and was in the game when the Raiders were mostly trying to kill the clock.

– Jordan lost a fumble at the goal line when he tried to extend the ball, with St. Louis recovering in the end zone for a touchback.

“Fumbling the ball is one thing, but when you fumble going into score, that’s unacceptable,” Jordan said.

– After Rams quartergback Marc Bulger hit Isaac Bruce for a 40-yard gain over Fabian Washington on the first play from scrimmage, the Raiders forced him into a shaky 8-for-19 passing performance.

“I’m very excited about the way our defense played today,” Kiffin said. “We wanted to establish a personality so when people came to (play) the Raiders, they knew what they were getting into.”

– Cornerback Chris Johnson, Kiffin said, made the “play of the game” when he forced a fumble from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick after a big gain that was fumbled through the end zone for a touchback when the Rams could have tightened the game.

It helped atone for a Johnson hold which erased what would have been a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown by Johnnie Lee Higgins.

– Kiffin was generally unimpressed by Oakland’s offensive performance, even if the play of that unit remains encouraging when compared to how the Raiders played last season.

He cited two turnovers and four sacks and Jordan’s meager 2.3 yards per carry average (18 carries, 41 yards) as an indication the play up front needed to be better.

– Adimchinobe Echemandu, again playing with the third string, carried 14 times for 60 yards but also dropped a third-down pass over the middle. He twice converted runs on fourth down. Jordan also twice ran for first downs on fourth-and-1.

– The Raiders took the ball for the last time with 8:20 remaining and ran out the clock at the St. Louis 13-yard-line. Oakland finished with a 36:27 to 23:33 advantage in time of possession.

– Linebacker Ricky Brown had four tackles and couldn’t quite hold what would have been an acrobatic, juggling interception.

– Linebacker Robert Thomas left the game with a knee injury of undetermined severity.

Scoring

St. Louis–Marques Hagins 6-yard pass from Gus Frerotte (Wilkins kick)

Notes:

The Rams scored on a 6-yard pass from Gus Frerotte to Marques Hagins, capping a 31-yard drive in six plays to cut the score to 20-10.

– Johnnie Lee Higgins had a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown called back because of a holding penalty on cornerback Chris Johnson.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick fumbled the ball through the end zone after a 30-yard run, with Johnson atoning for his penalty by knocking the ball loose. The Raiders took over on the 20 with more than eight minutes to play.

– Andrew Walter was 2-for-5 for 19 yards before giving way to Jeff Otis with less than two minutes to play.

Scoring

Oakland — Sebastian Janikowski 42-yard field goal

Notes:

– The Raiders took a 20-3 lead when Janikowski converted a 42-yard attempt into the same end he missed earlier from 33 yards.

– Oakland drove 36 yards in four plays for the score, with the big play coming on _ you guessed it _ another St. Louis pass inteference penalty. Thirty-two of those came on the Rams’ fifth pass interference penalty of the game, this one by Fakhir Brown against Johnnie Lee Higgins.

The Raiders have 127 penalty yards on the five interference calls.

Scoring

Oakland–Ronald Curry 19 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper, 11:34.

St. Louis–Jeff Wilkins 27-yard field goal, 6:26.

Oakland — LaMont Jordan 1-yard run, :29

Notes:

– The Raiders went into halftime with a 14-point lead that could have been much more as LaMont Jordan lost a fumble in the end zone in the first quarter and Sebastian Janikowski missed a 33-yard field goal.

– Ronald Curry caught a short pass over the middle on third-and-13, slipped past Tye Hill and ran unimpeded into the end zone with 11:34 left in the first half to cap a 73-yard, nine play drive.

The Raiders got their second big pass interference penalty, with Hill getting the whistle against Johnnie Lee Higgins for a 32-yard gain. After the drive, Culpepper was 4-for-8 for 47 yards and had three scrambles for 17 yards rushing. Josh McCown came on with 6:20 left in the first half.

– The Raiders forced a 26-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins by stiffening inside the 10-yard line after the Rams had driven to a first-and-goal at the 6.

Kirk Morrison filled the hole for a blow-up hit on Brian Leonard on second down, with Marc Bulger missing Isaac Bruce in the back of the end zone with Stuart Schweigert in coverage.

– Janikowski missed a 33-yard field goal attempt into the black hole as the Raiders came up empty in McCown’s first possession.

The Raiders advanced to the 9-yard line but the drive stalled after McCown was sacked by La’Roi Glover after the pocket was collapsed by Leonard Little.

– Robert Gallery left during the drive with an unspecified injury and was replaced by Chris Morris. He was walking on the sideline and did not appear seriously hurt.

– McCown was 2-for-3 for 37 yards on the drive, both completions to John Madsen. The first was a beautifully executed bootleg to the right.

– Jordan ran 49 yards with a screen pass from McCown, twice executing 360 degree spin moves, to help move the Raiders 65 yards in four plays. Jordan eventually scored on a 1-yard run to give Oakland a 17-3 lead.

– Corey Chavious was called for the Rams’ fourth pass interference call of the game, this one in the end zone, setting the Raiders up at the 1. Chavous interfered with Ronald Curry, helping break up a well-thrown post pattern from McCown.

McCown was 3-for-4 for 86 yards since coming in the game in the second quarter.

– Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, after completing his opening pass for 40 yards to Isaac Bruce, finished 8-for-19 for 110 yards.

– The Raiders finished the first half with 16 first downs _ six rushing, five passing and five by penalty.

Scoring

Oak–Sebastian Janikowski 50-yard field goal, 10:02

Notes:

– Raiders drive 48 yards in seven plays, with Janikowski converting with the wind at his back. On Oakland’s first play, Rams linebacker Brandon Chillar is called for pass interference on a post pattern from Daunte Culpepper to Zach Miller. It gains 28 yards.

–Janikowski’s 50-yard field goal isn’t likely to be a SportsCenter moment as much as a kickoff which blew off the tee just as he was going to strike it. Janikowski, amazingly, suffer a groin injury as he stumbled awkwardly forward.

– LaMont Jordan had the ball stripped while fighting to get in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1, with the Rams Will Witherspoon recovering in the end zone. St. Louis took over at the 20-yard line.

The Raiders drove 68 yards in 11 plays to the 1 before the turnover. On fourth-and-1 from the 6, coach Lane Kiffin elected to go for the first down, with Jordan gaining two yards to the four. The drive uncluded a nifty left-to-right reverse to Johnnie Lee Higgins for 19-yard run.

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper stumbled coming out from center and flipped the ball to Higgins rather than hand it off.

– St. Louis running back Brian Leonard, a rookie from Rutgers, hurdled Fabian Washington on a 15-yard run.

– The quarter ended on a 9-yard gain by Jordan to the Raiders’ 36-yard line.

Cornerbacks Duane Starks and Stanford Routt, safety Hiram Eugene and running back Michael Bush were the only Raiders who were announced as inactive before Friday night’s game against the St. Louis Rams.

Routt returned to practice Wednesday with a knee injury. Defensive tackle Gerard Warren, acquired from Denver for a conditional draft pick this week is in uniform and wearing No. 92.

Now that things appear to be moving along at a brisk pace, given their “three or four” face-to-face meetings since April, you’d think the signing of JaMarcus Russell ought to come any month now.

What happens next?

Unless the Raiders take the unusual step of carrying four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, either Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown or Andrew Walter will be released or traded.

“I’m going to figure that out when (Russell) gets here, and we’re going to go with what we have right now,” coach Lane Kiffin said Wednesday. “Like I’ve said before, I’ve got to get this team ready to beat Detroit with who we have right now, and when he gets here, we’ll figure that part out.”

Given the strides he’s made, the most unlikely candidate to go would be Culpepper. Al Davis made it clear the Raiders wouldn’t rush Culpepper into a starting role, likening him to Jim Plunkett as a guy who needed some recovery time.

Culpepper’s signing might have even been part of a strategy to get Russell to sign, with the Raiders figuring paying off the $750,000 contract guarantee would be money well spent to get Russell to sign for less.

If that was a strategy, it hasn’t worked, and Culpepper’s $3.2 million in salary and bonus money will only make it a tighter fit for Russell under the cap. But there was a big consolation prize _ Culpepper has been better than anyone expected.

Aside from a disturbing snap exchange problem, Culpepper has been mobile enough to roll out and complete passes and even ran 13 yards for a first down against San Francisco. He hasn’t forced passes into coverage and appears on board with Kiffin’s “avoid sacks and turnovers at all costs” philosophy.

Remember when Culpepper played in Oakland in 2003? He passed for 396 yards but turned the ball over five times on fumbles and interceptions. It’s precisely the sort of thing Kiffin is worried about.

If Culpepper can get through the St. Louis game by taking snaps without mishap and performing efficiently, he could end up starting in Week 1.

The thought here all along was that McCown was brought in as a caretaker for Russell. But McCown never separated himself by a considerable margin from Walter, let alone Culpepper. Although the most mobile quarterback of the three, and one who is very good on the outside throwing to backs and tight ends, McCown’s passing has been erratic over the middle, an area which is prone to the tunovers Kiffin wants so desperately to avoid.

Walter has the most potential in trade value because he remains under contract after this season and has shown resiliency after taking such a beating in the Tom Walsh offense last season.

Given time to pass, Walter has shown that in a dropback, play-action system _ like the one the Raiders had under Norv Turner and Art Shell _ he has the potential to be an NFL starter.

The Raiders don’t run that system anymore, and the Falcons don’t, either. That doesn’t mean Atlanta wouldn’t be interested in Walter on a temporary basis, but ideally for his sake he would land with a team that runs a system better suited for his skills.

WEDNESDAY FOLLOWUP: One note regarding Wednesday’s blog items. A blog is not a news story, but a “Web log.” It’s a running compilation of events and opinions. Lane Kiffin says it’s the first-face-to-face meeting between the Raiders and Russell’s agents, and it is reported accurately, word-for-word, within an hour after he said it.

One of the Raiders negotiators calls to say Kiffin was in error, and that gets reported as well, within an hour after the call was received. (Someone in Alameda is paying attention _ I got a call on my cell phone less than 30 minutes after the post).

The negotiator did not dispute what Kiffin said and agreed nothing was misquoted or taken out of context.

There was some polite disagreement with some aspects of my opinion of how the process was going. None of those thoughts will be printed because it was all off the record. That’s how the Raiders do business, and it’s their prerogative. It was an extremely civil exchange and not heavy-handed or condescending in any way.

My main contention all along has been that both sides should have been much farther along in the process, given Russell’s status as the top pick. They weren’t. And the face-to-face contact, whether it was “three or four times” or just once, hasn’t been often enough for a pick of this magnitude.

The Raiders are not entirely at fault, nor are Russell and his agents.

It’s a negotiation. Both sides are accountable, and it ends when they meet somewhere in the middle.

When it does, and the dollars are pretty much what everyone expected they’d be, all that will be left is to wonder why it took so long.

Less than 30 minutes after the previous blog was posted, a high-ranking Raiders official involved in negotiations with top draft pick JaMarcus Russell called to say coach Lane Kiffin had “miss-spoken” and was in error regarding the first “face-to-face” meeting between Raiders negotiators and Russell’s agents.

The official, who preferred his name not be used. said Kiffin probably meant to infer that it was the first face-to-face meeting recently, rather than at all.

In light of this information, all criticisms regarding the Raiders waiting until Aug. 22 to first meet face-to-face with Russell are incorrect.

I stand by the contention that both the Raiders and Russell’s agents should have realized before the draft there was a big problem and that better communication would have prevented it.

Assuming Russell eventually signs, both sides are going to feel pretty ridiculous when the amount of guaranteed money comes in at the approximately $31 million figure which has been anticipated since before the draft began.

Lane Kiffin was asked Wednesday if he had any news on the JaMarcus Russell front.

“No, I sure don’t,” Kiffin said as a prelude to some potentially big news. “They met in person, two days ago in L.A., and they’re still banging away at it.”

Later in the same session, Kiffin was asked if a face-to-face meeting between’s Russell’s agents and Raiders negotiators was a good sign.

“Yeah, I think it was. Any time they can get together, that’s really the first time they’ve been together in person, with everybody together at a meeting, so I would assume that would be positive,” Kiffin said.

Roll that one around in your brain for a moment or two before swallowing hard and trying not to throw up.

“That’s the first time they’ve been together in person . . . ”

What the heck, it’s only Aug. 22. Training camp adjourned in Napa. Daunte Culpepper will start at quarterback Friday night against the St. Louis Rams, followed by Josh McCown and then Andrew Walter as Kiffin tries to figure out which one will start in a few weeks against the Detroit Lions.

Every other pick in the draft has signed a contract.

And Eric Metz met Marc Badain in person for the first time on Monday.

FEMA got to New Orleans faster than this.

The 2006 Raiders scored touchdowns at a better rate than this.

In a way it’s too bad that a team that seems to be giving off some good vibes for the first time in four years has made a joke out of having the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

We’ve all heard the story about the option bonus and how the sage Al Davis saw this one coming a mile away. He’d be the one to bring this rookie money thing under control, while at the same time acquiring his quarterback of the future all while avoiding paying him any money until he was actually ready to play in a game.

It’s nonsense.

They earned the pick and kept the pick, all along having a pretty good idea how much it would cost to reel it in. The strange part is that under the surface, the word is the Raiders are proud of their stand.

The team with the No. 1 selection can negotiate before the draft, so well before the Raiders actually picked Russell, they should have had a pretty good idea what problems were coming down the road.

Never mind the fact that they could have traded the pick and done something to actually help Kiffin in terms of better personnel.

If they selected Russell and then had a serious case of buyer’s remorse at minicamps, thinking he wasn’t the quarterback they thought him to be, then Davis has some serious issues in his scouting department.

For now let’s assume the Raiders still believe Russell to be their future and plan to get him on the team at some point. To have a contentious negotiation is one thing. To actually meet face-to-face fwith his agent for the first time after training camp has closed is an embarrassment.

It’s embarrassing even if Russell signs in the next 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, news and notes:

– Culpepper, who drew the start against the Rams, declined to speak to the media.

“I know Daunte’s excited about it. I could tell when I told him,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin said it has been a process for Culpepper to retrain himself and be a different quarterback than the one who went for a touchdown every play in Minnesota.

“This has guy been a big play-maker for his career, a ton of explosive plays, over 20-yard passes,” Kiffin said. “I told him from Day 1 that has to change, and that may sound weird to you guys, but he’s got to make smart decisions.We don’t want three-touchdown, three interception games.”

Kiffin said he’s not sure if he will decide on the Week 1 starter in the week preceeding the final preseason game in Seattle.

– Jake Grove will start at center, but Jeremy Newberry will get work with the first team.

“It’s kind of like the quarterbacks it would be good to figure this out after this game,” Kiffin said.

– Tommy Kelly will open at right end, with Quentin Moses and Jay Richardson also seeing time. Unlike the offensive line, which ideally remains constant, the Raiders could use different starters in different weeks.

Kelly can play outside as well as inside. Defensive line coach Keith Millard compares Kelly’s versatility to that of Trevor Pryce, who played both end and tackle in Denver when MIllard was an assistant there.

– St. Louis will mark the first time the Raiders have actually game-planned for an opponent, rather than simply put a package of plays together that best suits the quarterback in the game.

– Cornerback Fabian Washington injured a hand at practice but said he was fine.

– Former Raiders wide receiver Will Buchanon was picked up by the New York Giants.

– John Madsen said he has built himself up to 240 pounds in part because he is eating six meals a day.

“There are times when I don’t even want to look at food. I’d rather go to sleep,” Madsen said. “But I’d like to get up to 245 and it takes some time to do it the right way.”

– The Raiders will hold a walkthrough today which is closed to the media.

So much for the theory that Warren Sapp had created locker room discord because of his reaction to the acquisition of defensive tackle Gerard Warren.

On Monday, Sapp said candidly that he wasn’t sure if Warren could make his “top eight.” He considers his defensive linemates a team within a team, and was sticking up for his guys.

Warren became part of that team Tuesday, and the two linemen were seen walking off the field together and laughing following practice.

“He just said, `Go to work, baby, you’re in Oakland now,’ ” Warren said. “Go and do what we know how to do which is play ball.”

Warren, sent packing from Denver after being told he didn’t fit into the defensive scheme of new coordinator Jim Bates, was glad to be back with an attacking defense. The Broncos wanted him to play a two-gap style in which he basically ties up offensive linemen for others to make plays, while the Raiders want him to be aggressive and make plays himself.

Warren said while in high school in Florida, he watched Sapp closely at Miami and later in in Tampa.

“Once he went to Tampa that’s who I kind of patterned and designed my game after,” Warren said.

Warren said once it was determined he would be traded, his agent was talking about potential deals with Washington and Indianapolis. The Raiders never even came up.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan made it clear beating the Raiders was a priority.

“It was stated the first day you come into the building so you know point blank period that whenever we line up against the silver and black it was an important game,” Warren said.

Kiffin said Warren did his first-day work with the scout team and did not have a handle on how well he did. He said he hoped Warren would see time against St. Louis Friday night.

More news and notes:

– Kiffin said he would name a starting quarterback for Friday’s game against St. Louis on Wednesday. The guess here is that Culpepper will get his chance to start, but Kiffin said the starter isn’t necessarily going to be the Week 1 starter against Detroit.

When asked if he wished he had his quarterback picked by now, Kiffin said, “Sure, I’d love for that to to happen. I’d have loved for it to happen months ago. But it hasn’t yet, and hopefully it will soon.”

– Safety Donovin Darius, who had been slowed by a calf injury, was a surprise participant in practice.

“We didn’t even know if he was going to practice and he jumped in there and looked well,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin said Darius might play against St. Louis.

– Former 49ers and Raiders wide receiver Jerry Rice was on site filiming interviews for Fox Sports.

“I did some interviews at the (baseball) All-Star game, and when the doors open, this crush of reporters comes out and you have to fight for your position,” Rice said. “Now I know what you guys go through.”

– Fullback Justin Griffith, who played with Michael Vick in Atlanta, believes his former teammate should get another chance to play in the NFL.

“I think everybody makes mistakes and he deserves a chance to come back to the game, like several other guys. You see Ricky Williams, left, he came back, he had a chance to come back,” Griffith said. “People say it’s strike three for Mike Vick, but it’s really strike one. Give him a chance to do his time, then he can come back.”

– Cornerback Stanford Routt, who Kiffin said would not be available until the opener because of a knee injury, was with a club trainer making hard cuts and running without a trace of a limp.

– Those who did not practice included S Hiram Eugene (wrist), CB Duane Starks (hamstring and WR Chris McFoy. RB Michael Bush remains on the physically unable to perform list and has not joined drills or team sessions.

Kiffin said Eugene’s wrist injury was not serious enough to require surgery.