It will be the third time in four years the Raiders draw that game, which given its 7:15 local starting time, would almost have to fall to either Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle or San Diego.

The previous two have been unmitigated disasters and helped doom the coaching tenures of Art Shell and Lane Kiffin.

In 2006, the Raiders were shut out 27-0 by San Diego, absorbing 10 sacks with a feeble offensive performance. It served as the starting point for a 2-14 season and a one-and-done for Shell.

Last season, with Kiffin already under fire and battling with Davis, the Raiders were equally inept in a 41-14 loss to the Denver Broncos, scoring late only when the game was well out of reach.

Kiffin was gone four games into the season.

Cable, naturally, was stressing the positive.

"It's great because we need to get into a competitive deal right away, see where we're at, where we can go," Cable said.

--The last time the Raiders played on Thanksgiving Day, Al Davis hadn't won a Super Bowl, much less had six straight seasons of 11 or more losses. He hadn't yet done battle with Pete Rozelle, and much of the rich tradition and history the Raiders pride themselves on had yet to be created.

It was Nov. 26, 1970, and the Raiders, before 56,597 at Tiger Stadium, jumped to a 14-0 lead over the Detroit Lions on a pair of touchdown passes from Daryle Lamonica to Fred Biletnikoff.

That turned out to be the high point, as the Lions came back and prevailed 28-14. Oakland win on to win the division title during the first year of the merged AFL and NFL with an 8-4-2 record with the help of a succession of miracles from 43-year-old kicker and backup quarterback George Blanda.

Thirty-nine years later, the Raider have finally drawn another Thanksgiving Day assignment. This one will be at Dallas this season, the first turkey day game at the Cowboys' new stadium.

--The Raiders were waiting for the legal system to do its work and weren't commenting on the arrest of right tackle Cornell Green, who was held on an aggravated battery charge involving the mother of his two children.

Green allegedly slammed Teriyonal Flowers into a wall and hit her with a mop handle. He was apprehended at the Tampa airport, where he was planning on returning to Oakland.

Green, originally signed to be a backup offensive lineman, has started for the better part of two seasons and is due $1.8 million in salary this season.

The Raiders have acquired two tackles in free agency, Erik Pears and Khalif Barnes. Pears started for Denver two years ago, can play both the left and right side, and was not tendered a contract as an exclusive rights free agent.

Barnes and Mario Henderson will compete for the left tackle spot, according to Tom Cable, but it's conceivable one of them will move to the right side.

--The Raiders issued a public statement mourning the loss of four police officers killed into the line of duty in one of the worst law enforcement tragedies in the history of Oakland.

Motorcycle officers Sgt. Mark Dunekin and officer John Hege, and SWAT team members Sgt. Ervin Romans and Sgt. Daniel Sakai were all killed in the line of duty.

Dunekin and Hege, who both worked at Raiders games as well as those of the Warriors and A's in a security capacity, were shot following a traffic stop. Romans and Sakai were killed when the SWAT team entered an Oakland apartment to apprehend the suspect, Lovelle Mixon. Mixon was killed in the exchange.

The Raiders posted the following statement on their official Web site:

"The Oakland Raiders mourn the loss of Oakland Police officers killed this past weekend in the line of duty.

"We appreciate the services performed by law enforcement in and for our community and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, friends and colleagues."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "This part of the season is finishing the circle for me. I coached in the games, I'm very comfortable with that. I've dealt with free agency, now it's the draft and preparing for minicamps and OTAs. I have a plan and it's just fitting it and making it flexible where it needs to be." -- Raiders coach Tom Cable on his first offseason as head coach.