Wouldn't it be nice if that calendar stopped at, oh, say, anywhere from 1999-2002, when the Raiders scored at least 390 points per season? Instead, the pages stopped at 2006.

Those who came out of hiding no doubt recall 2006 as the year the Raiders bottomed out, thanks to an offense that scored only 138 of the team's 168 points and looked eerily similar to this year's retooled version.

The stats don't lie, regardless what those who remain from that offense choose to believe.

"Totally different," backup quarterback Andrew Walter said, when asked if he has had any flashbacks to a period left guard Robert Gallery refers to as the "lost year."

In feel, look and scheme, maybe. In results, there isn't much to distinguish the Lane Kiffin-based offense from the one that floundered under the guidance of offensive coordinators Tom Walsh and John Shoop in 2006.

The 2006 Raiders amassed 118 points through their first 10 games. Coincidentally, the 2008 Raiders were at that figure until Sebastian Janikowski booted a field goal and Johnnie Lee Higgins returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Everything else is comparable, with the exception of rushing yards per game, third-down percentage and sacks allowed.

This year's Raiders are 10th in the league in rushing yards per game at 118.9, or 24 more than their 29th-ranked '06 counterparts. This year's offense is last in the league in terms of third-down conversions at 22.1 percent. The '06 offense ranked 23rd at 36.3 percent.

Russell, Walter and Marques Tuiasosopo have been sacked 33 times this season. Walter and Aaron Brooks were sacked 72 times in the 16 games in '06.

Players cited Walsh's archaic offensive philosophy as the main culprit for the team's lack of success.

Too often quarterbacks were instructed to take seven-step drops behind an offensive line that lacked the talent to hold blocks long enough for the play to develop. Also, Walsh's approach eschewed the use of running backs as receivers.

For example, running back LaMont Jordan caught 70 passes in 14 games in 2005. In '06, he caught only 10 in nine games.

"We have checkdowns, don't we?" Walter said, when asked the biggest difference between the 2008 and 2006 offenses. "Totally different."

Tom Cable replaced Kiffin as the coach four games in. At that point, offensive coordinator Greg Knapp assumed play-calling duties. The output dropped from 19.5 points per game to 7.3 in the four games before Cable replaced Knapp. The Raiders managed only four field goals in the next two games the nine other points came as a result of Higgins' return and a safety against the Dolphins.

This year's offense has scored no first-quarter touchdowns, only one touchdown in 61 first-half possessions and nine in 10 games. The Raiders are in the midst of a 13-quarter touchdown drought offensively.

Cable said the offense's inefficiency stems from several issues: poor blocking, inconsistent quarterback play, too many dropped passes and penalties.

"We'll have a breakthrough," Cable said, "and you keep fighting until you do it. If you give up on it, it will stay the same or get worse."

Through it all, Tuiasosopo said, there isn't any reason the offense can't be more productive. He added the scheme is comparable to the one he worked in during the 2001-02 seasons.

"If we just execute the way we're capable of and play at that level that we're capable of, then we're not having this conversation and people aren't worried about it," Tuiasosopo said. "The bottom line is, you either have to go, 'OK, we're going to stop it, move forward, or just keep doing more of the same.'"

Notes: Center Jake Grove (calf) and linebacker Ricky Brown (groin) were the lone players who missed practice Wednesday. "... Michael Bush worked out at fullback Wednesday. Bush said he prefers running back. "I told (Cable) 'no' the first time. "... Do I like it? Do I want to play there? Do I think I'm a fullback? No." "... Guard Junius Coston, a recent acquisition, practiced with the Raiders for the first time but isn't expected to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos , Cable said.

Contact Steve Corkran at scorkran@bayareanewsgroup.com