The Raiders worked on their run defense all week at practice and took the field at the Coliseum on Sunday feeling as confident as an 0-2 team can be in the preseason.

Then Saints quarterback Drew Brees whipped out one of those nautical searchlights and focused it on Oakland's secondary, looking specifically for rookie cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke. Brees completed four passes for 73 yards to receivers matched against Van Dyke in the first four minutes.

New Orleans took each of its first two drives 80 yards for touchdowns and won 40-20.

Raiders head coach Hue Jackson acknowledged that Van Dyke, starting in place of the injured Chris Johnson, is not ready for prime time. (The nationally televised game was blacked out locally.)

"Until he starts making those plays consistently and he's out there, he's going to get targeted," Jackson said of the third-round pick. "I mean, that's the way this league is. Wherever you're bleeding, people will keep scratching at the area, so we've got some things to fix."

Jackson, still looking for his first career win as a head coach, added that he is "not discouraged by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not discouraged because I know what's in that locker room."

In fact, there were some positive developments. Seriously. Like:

-- This wasn't as ugly as the 17-3 loss to the 49ers in the previous game. The Raiders were competitive and actually came back to lead 20-17 before the defensive backups made like matadors.

-- Johnson, defensive tackle Richard Seymour, running back Darren McFadden and receiver Jacoby Ford didn't play, so there is hope in their absences. Seymour has a hamstring tweak, and Jackson decided not to risk playing McFadden (broken orbital bone) and Ford (broken hand), even though they practiced all week.

-- The first-team offensive line looked good in the first drive, a 91-yarder that ended with Jason Campbell hitting Derek Hagan for a 35-yard, catch-and-run touchdown.

"(We) kept guys off the quarterback and opened up some big holes," rookie guard Stefen Wisniewski said. "We moved the ball, aside from some penalties and turnovers. I am pretty happy with what we did."

-- The running game is fine, as Michael Bush had five carries for 32 yards and rookie Taiwan "Roadrunner" Jones beep-beeped for 81 yards on 13 carries and also had two catches for 18 yards.

-- Hagan showed he might be the experienced receiver fans have craved, as the recent free-agent signee had six catches for 121 yards and the touchdown.

-- As badly as the defense got overwhelmed early, middle linebacker Rolando McClain (five tackles, two passes defensed) was as active as he has been in his two years with the Raiders, and No. 1 cornerback Stanford Routt played pretty well.

OK, let's get back to the first-quarter ugliness. Brees completed 15 of his first 20 passes for 189 yards (and went 6-for-8 on third downs), leaving in the middle of the second quarter with a 17-7 lead. It was similar to the performance he had in Oakland two years ago, when he was 14-for-17 for 179 yards in a little more than a quarter. The Saints won that game 45-7.

On Sunday, when Brees was done picking on Van Dyke, he turned his attention to safeties Michael Huff, Tyvon Branch and backup Jerome Boyd. Saints tight end Jimmy Graham had five first-half catches for 73 yards as the Raiders continued to have problems covering big men with backup safety Mike Mitchell out with an undisclosed injury.

New Orleans threw for a net 388 yards, as backup quarterback Chase Daniels (9-for-18, 191 yards, two TDs) tortured Raiders cornerbacks Walter McFadden and Joe Porter and rookie safety Chimdi Chikwa in much the same fashion Brees did the starters.

"We still have time," Routt said. "We're 0-3 in the preseason, but we're 0-0 in the regular season. That's the beauty of it."