Leadership void among Raiders' faults RAIDERS

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There's a laundry list of things the 3-9 Raiders need on both sides of the ball, and leaders are high on the list.

Fiery guys who hold other players accountable for mistakes - in Oakland's case, for repeated dropped passes, blown assignments and missed tackles. Quarterback Carson Palmer and defensive tackle Richard Seymour have done it at times, though Palmer favors the level-headed approach and Seymour has been battling injuries all season.

Others have not really come forward, and most are not playing well enough to come forward and yell at a teammate.

"Any time you only win three games, obviously there are a lot of things that you could do better," seventh-year defensive back Michael Huff said. "I definitely think the leaders in the locker room, like myself, could have done things differently, better."

General manager Reggie McKenzie said Thursday how much he would like to have "leadership that is strong that way. So when you've got some that deviate, then you've got a leader that can get 'em in check and show 'em this is the right way to do it.

"That's what we've got to build. That's part of the whole culture thing as far as, do you have a coach saying, 'don't do this.' You don't want that. You want the players to doggone take it upon themselves and run it. We're not at that level."

A middle linebacker who was a high first-round pick in 2010 would be perfect, but Rolando McClain was not that guy. He had a series of issues with the coaching staff and was suspended last week.

McKenzie knew coming in that the Raiders were in trouble in terms of having "natural leaders."

"I've been around the LeRoy Butlers and the Reggie Whites and the Brett Favres," the former Packers director of player personnel said. "Coming in, no one came to me and told me, hey, you got a great leader in that guy."

McFadden has burst back: Darren McFadden missed the past four games with a high ankle sprain, but running backs coach Kelly Skipper said he was seeing much more burst from McFadden in practice Tuesday. He is optimistic McFadden will be able to play Thursday night against the 9-3 Broncos.

"We're very excited," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "I can't wait to watch him. We were kind of working through a lot of things when he was healthy in the new scheme and a lot of guys doing a lot of different things that they haven't done in their careers. But now with as many games as we have underneath our belt up front, getting him back will be a big bonus for us."

McFadden averaged just 3.3 yards per carry before spraining his right ankle early in the eighth game, against Tampa Bay. McFadden had averaged more than 5 yards per carry over the previous two seasons, but he and the offensive line struggled to adjust to the team's new zone blocking system.

Briefly: Matt Giordano and safety Mike Mitchell have passed all their concussion tests after leaving Sunday's game and practiced on a limited basis. Cornerback Phillip Adams has not passed his tests yet. ... Seymour (hamstring) also missed practice and will likely miss his fifth straight game.