Raiders notes: Gonzalez gives fellow TE Miller advice

"He did what Tony does," said Raiders interim head coach Tom Cable, an assistant at Cal when Gonzalez played there. "The cat made some great throws, he made some great catches, using his body and shielding the defender. And I thought our coverage really was on him most all the time. But great players make great plays."

Miller's 79 yards were his second-most of the season, and he already has topped his 2007 receiving yardage by more than 100 yards with 550 this season.

"I want to go out there and match (Gonzalez) at least, if not beat him," Miller said. "I got involved early, and then we didn't have the ball as much in the third quarter. Definitely, I like that kind of matchup, when you go against someone as good as Tony Gonzalez."

Take that -- Russell again showed he could make plays with his feet with runs of 17 and 20 yards.

Russell barreled over Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr at the end of the 17-yard bootleg during the second quarter.

It wasn't a fair matchup with Russell (6-foot-6, 260 pounds) headed at Carr (6-0, 207) by the sideline.

"It seemed like he'd seen a ghost," Russell said of Carr. "He'd never seen a guy as big as me coming toward him."

Russell is often cautioned not to take too many chances hitting defenders. He said he had no choice against Carr but is careful not to do so often.

"Some of those guys you can't turn your head away from because they will lay wood," Russell said. "But at that time, (Carr) came out from behind the receiver, so it was either react or let him hit you. And I was not going to let that happen."

Et cetera -- The Raiders will be off today and practice Tuesday, the team's normal day off, for Thursday's game at San Diego.

-- Right guard Cooper Carlisle (ankle) left the game in the first quarter but returned. Center Jake Grove (calf) missed his third game. Linebacker Ricky Brown (groin) missed his fifth.

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Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at sacbee.com/raidersblog.

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