More than 25 points per game and a top-10 ranking in yards per game are nice, but they’re not enough in the eyes of Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson

“We want perfection,” Jackson said. “That’s what I expect from our football team.”

The Raiders need 15 points against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday to double their point total from last season (197). Again, that would be great, Jackson said, but it doesn’t mean much if higher goals aren’t attained.

“We expect to be challenging for the playoffs, challenging for our division year in and year out, and we’re not getting that done,” Jackson said. “So, that’s a disappointment. There’s either first place, or there’s last place, and there’s no in between.”

Jackson said his play-calling has been average, worthy of only a C in his estimation. He added that he expects better play from all of his players next season.

Jackson still isn’t tipping his hand as to whether he intends to return next season or is hopeful of receiving one of a handful of coaching jobs that will be available once the season ends.

“Honestly, the only thing I’m worried about is the Kansas City Chiefs and winning this game this week,” Jackson said. “That’s the only thing that’s on my mind, period.”

Jackson said Dec. 16 that he wants to be a head coach at some point and won’t necessarily spurn any overtures from other teams.

• Raiders tight end Zach Miller stands a great chance of

  playing in his first Pro Bowl because of San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates’ persistent issues with plantar fasciitis. The Chargers placed Gates on the injured-reserve list Thursday. However, he still is eligible to play in the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl.

  “It would be great,” said Miller, the first alternate. “It’s always been a goal of mine. I’m just happy I was voted as high as I was, even though I was playing with a foot injury. Obviously I want to be one of those guys picked on the roster, but with the injuries this year and missing time, I feel like I ended up with a pretty good season.”

• Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski leads the AFC in scoring (135 points) and the NFL in field goals made (32), yet he was bypassed for the Pro Bowl once again. He said he’s not sure what he has to do to break through for the first time in his 11-year NFL career.

  “If you can answer that question for me, that would be great,” Janikowski said.

• Few people despise the Raiders more than former Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer. He will be inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame on Sunday. Coincidentally, Schottenheimer is the person who gave Jackson his first NFL job as an assistant with the Redskins.

  “He put me in the league, so I have a lot of respect for him,” Jackson said. “He taught me a lot of football.”

• Defensive tackle Richard Seymour (hamstring) and running back Darren McFadden (toe) missed a third straight practice this week. Their status for Sunday’s game will be determined in pregame workouts, coach Tom Cable said.

(12-30) 22:34 PST — The Raiders need 15 points in the season finale at Kansas City on Sunday to double last season’s point production, 394 to 197. But math is apparently not Hue Jackson’s favorite subject, as Oakland’s offensive coordinator gave himself a “C” grade Thursday.

Asked if he was pleased by the Raiders’ progress, Jackson said, “No. Not pleased at all. We didn’t win enough games, so I’m not pleased by any stretch of the imagination.”

The Raiders (7-8) are tied for sixth in the NFL in points per game (25.3) and 10th in yards per game (355.3). Never mind that those numbers are quantum leaps from last year’s stats (12.3 and 266.1, both 31st), Jackson feels he and his players left too many points on the field in his first year here.

“We’ve been very inconsistent more so than anything and we’ve got to strive to move forward and be a more consistent offensive football team,” said Jackson, who was hired by owner Al Davis to take over play-calling duties from head coach Tom Cable.

While the Raiders scored more than 30 points five times, they also didn’t score a touchdown in a 17-9 loss at then-winless San Francisco or in a 35-3 rout at Pittsburgh.

“When you don’t make the playoffs and don’t win your division, there’s nothing to feel good about,” Jackson said.

The players disagree. They have enjoyed Jackson’s energy on the practice field and creativity in the playbook, and quarterback Jason Campbell points out that the team is very young and will only get better.

“We’re probably the youngest offense in the NFL,” said Campbell, who has his confidence back after some early-season benchings. “We rank 10th in the NFL. That’s a good accomplishment.”

Darren McFadden, 23, has 1,157 yards rushing, 507 receiving and 10 touchdowns overall. Tight end Zach Miller, 25, leads the team with 55 catches and 654 yards. Three of the Raiders’ top receivers are 23 and Chaz Schilens is 25. Big-play fullback Marcel Reece is 25, running back Michael Bush (518 yards, 7 touchdowns) is 26 and Campbell the old man at 28.

Jackson said he’s excited about those players’ growth next season. It’s just that this is not next season.

“We didn’t improve fast enough,” Jackson said. “We want perfection. That’s what I expect from our football team. We expect to be challenging for the playoffs, challenging for our division year in and year out and we’re not getting that done. So to me, that’s a disappointment. There’s either first place or there’s last place and there’s no in between.”

The Raiders have sputtered on a lot of drives thanks to their penchant for penalties – they have committed a league-worst 64 penalties on offense, including 28 false start penalties.

“It’s very frustrating,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to be a more disciplined offensive unit. We’ve had a lot of penalties in key situations, whether it be the scoring zone, or to start a series that all of a sudden puts you in 2nd-and-15 or 2nd-and-20 and you can’t play that way and be a very good offensive football team. I know that it is something we will address.”

The one thing Jackson won’t second-guess is his play-calling Sunday against the Colts. Many thought he should have run the ball more than 20 times, especially more inside against a cover-2 team that has speed on the perimeter.

“They did some things defensively against us that we didn’t do a great job against. I know everybody cried about ‘Oh we have to run the ball more,’ ” Jackson said. “You got to do what it takes to win a football game. That’s the most important thing. I didn’t leave the game saying, ‘Oh gosh I should have run it more. Oh gosh I should have thrown it more.’ “

Briefly: Regarding Campbell, Jackson said, “He’s really done a good job. He really has. I think Jason has really grown into this role here for our football team. I’m very excited about his future.” … McFadden has turf toe and Cable said he could be a game-time decision Sunday. The condition is not as bad as his rookie year in 2008, when turf toe on both feet limited him to 113 carries in 13 games. … Defensive tackle Richard Seymour (hamstring) did not practice again.

This article appeared on page B – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders have spent years acquiring speedy players they hoped could deliver touchdowns from almost any spot on the field.

Those speedsters finally delivered the game-breaking plays this season that have been lacking so much the past few years as Oakland finished up a seven-year run of losing at least 11 games a season.

Darren McFadden has developed into the big-play back Oakland expected when they selected him fourth overall in the 2008 draft, putting together one of the most productive seasons ever for a Raiders running back.

Rookie Jacoby Ford has flashed his sprinter speed on three kickoff returns for touchdowns, long passes and a 71-yard score on a reverse on the opening play two years ago.

Receiver Louis Murphy has three plays of at least 40 yards, and even fullback Marcel Reece has gotten into the mix with a couple of big plays from a position that usually focuses on blocking.

That has all added up an extremely productive offensive season for the Raiders (7-8), who despite the marked improvement will still miss the playoffs for an eighth straight year.

“We showed how strong we can be, how many points we can put up and how explosive we can be,” said tight end Zach Miller, who leads the team with 55 catches for 654 yards and five scores. “We didn’t do it consistently enough, but I thought when we did we had the capability of putting a lot of points on the board.”

The Raiders are seventh in the league in scoring with 379 points and need just 15 in the season finale at Kansas City on Sunday to double last year’s scoring output. They are on pace to finish in the top 10 on the franchise list in points and yards per game since the 1970 merger.

Oakland has scored more than 20 points 10 times already this season compared to just once a year ago when JaMarcus Russell spent the majority of the season as the starting quarterback.

“We’ve made leaps and bounds with this offense,” Murphy said. “We put up some big numbers, 500-plus yard games. We just weren’t able to come out with enough wins, which is the most important part. I think we can get much better with the guys we have on this team.”

While there is plenty to praise with Oakland’s offense this season, there is one involved party who is not exactly patting people on the back.

Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was brought in during the offseason to take over play-calling duties from coach Tom Cable and immediately instilled the unit with energy and creativity that had been lacking. But he still sees so much more improvement needed.

“We didn’t improve fast enough,” Jackson said. “We want perfection. That’s what I expect from our football team. We expect to be challenging for the playoffs, challenging for our division year in and year out and we’re not getting that done. So to me, that’s a disappointment. There’s either first place or there’s last place and there’s no in between.”

Jackson points to a lack of consistency and potential big plays that were not executed as the biggest flaws on the unit. The Raiders failed to score a touchdown in a loss at San Francisco, sputtered against Pittsburgh and Miami, and had problems in the red zone for much of the season.

The Raiders have committed a league-worst 64 penalties on offense, including 28 false start penalties that too often led to stalled drives.

“It’s very frustrating,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to be a more disciplined offensive unit. We’ve had a lot of penalties in key situations, whether it be the scoring zone, or to start a series that all of a sudden puts you in second-and-15 or second-and-20 and you can’t play that way and be a very good offensive football team. I know that it is something we will address.”

The Raiders are hoping for improvements from a unit filled with young players. The three most productive running backs have all played three or fewer seasons, the top three wide receivers are all in their first or second year and Miller is just finishing up his fourth season at tight end.

Quarterback Jason Campbell is the old man of the skilled position players, celebrating his 29th birthday Friday. It’s been quite a year for Campbell, who was acquired from Washington during the draft to replace Russell as the Raiders’ quarterback of the future. He was officially given the starting job at training camp only to be benched six quarters into the season.

He returned after Bruce Gradkowski went down with a shoulder injury. After a rough first start back in San Francisco, Campbell led the Raiders to their first three-game winning streak since 2002 and briefly into first place in the AFC West.

Oakland has lost four of six since then, including one more start by Gradkowski. Campbell has completed 58.9 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 83.9 this season.

“It wasn’t the type of year you expected,” Campbell said. “I did feel like I’ve grown a lot this season having faced a lot of adversity and to still get in there and keep playing. I take the positives. We turned things around. I think we’re going in a positive direction and we’re just glad to be a part of it.”

By Steve Corkran
Oakland Tribune

Cornerback Nnadmi Asomugha, defensive tackle Richard Seymour and punter Shane Lechler were selected to the Pro Bowl from the Raiders on Tuesday.

Lechler was selected to his sixth Pro Bowl in his 11th NFL season. Asomugha was tabbed a starter for the third straight season. Seymour will be making his sixth Pro Bowl appearance, his first as a Raider.

“I am excited and happy for the Raiders who have been selected for the Pro Bowl,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said in a team release. “It’s tremendous that they are being recognized as the best at their positions. They deserve it, and the Raiders organization is proud of them.”

In addition, running back Darren McFadden, tight end Zach Miller, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and kicker Sebastian Janikowski were named alternates. None of them has made it to a Pro Bowl in their NFL careers.

Kelly leads all AFC defensive tackles in sacks, with seven. He is in the midst of the best season of his seven-year NFL career. Miller leads the Raiders with 55 receptions. Janikowski tops all players in scoring at 135 points.

Asomugha has allowed only 10 receptions for 156 yards and no touchdowns this season. He is regarded as one of the league’s top all-around cornerbacks and will start opposite the New York Jets Darrelle Revis.

“It’s huge; every year it’s huge,” Asomugha said in a team release. “When the year starts, you have your goals. To get recognized for it at the end, that’s great. … I’m excited

for the guys who have a chance to go to Hawaii. It’s going to be fun. I hope to get there and make plays and have fun with the guys.”

Lechler leads the AFC in gross and net punting average. He is second in the league in both categories. His 47.3-yard career punting average is the highest in NFL history for players with at least 250 attempts.

A look at NFL Week 17′s game between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs:

Playing for a seed. The Chiefs will be the third seed in the AFC playoffs with a victory. That’s significant because the third seed would avoid a trip to New England until the conference championship game. Kansas City slips to the fourth seed if it loses and Indianapolis beats Tennessee.

Three story lines to watch

It’s a rivalry. Even if the Chiefs are already in the playoffs and the Raiders are out, the fans always get worked up over Kansas City-Oakland. The teams have played memorable, hard-fought battles in recent years when nothing of value was at stake.

Getting to .500. That might not be a big deal to many teams but it should be for Oakland. The 7-8 Raiders have a chance to finish a season even or better for the first time since 2002.

Three key Chiefs

WR Dwayne Bowe. The passing game works much better for the Chiefs when Bowe is involved. He had his first touchdown in four games last Sunday against Tennessee, and it’s no coincidence the Chiefs had their highest scoring day in four weeks. Bowe had five receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown in Week 9 against Oakland.

SS Eric Berry. The Chiefs can use Berry in a variety of ways. He had a big game against the Raiders in their first meeting, with two sacks and three other hits on the quarterback. Berry is having a big impact on Kansas City’s run defense and has improved dramatically in pass coverage.

LT Branden Albert. The Raiders are among the league leaders in sacks and can bring pressure from a lot of different spots. For Kansas City, the burden falls on a lot of players, but none more than Albert, who will see Matt Shaughnessy or Kamerion Wimbley on almost every down.

Three key Raiders

DT Richard Seymour. The Chiefs had difficulty blocking Seymour in Week 9. Seymour was consistently disruptive and forced Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel to hurry a number of throws. The Chiefs must figure a better way of handling Seymour this time around.

TE Zach Miller. The Raiders struggled to throw on the Chiefs the last time around in large part because of the absence of Miller, who was injured. He will play Sunday and put pressure on the Chiefs on the underneath routes. That could open some routes down the field for Oakland’s speed receivers.

KR/WR Jacoby Ford. He was the MVP of Oakland’s 23-20 overtime win over the Chiefs in November. He was the Raiders’ only bright spot as a receiver in that game, catching six passes for 148 yards. Ford has the deep speed to force the Chiefs to commit significant resources to covering him, something that could open routes elsewhere on the field or for the running game.

Bottom line

Since getting crushed in San Diego earlier this month, the Chiefs have won both of their games by double-digit margins. The Raiders have more ability than either of Kansas City’s two most recent opponents, but the question is whether Oakland will bring sufficient motivation to the season’s final game. If the Raiders do, look for another close game just like these teams played against each other in November. If not, look for the Chiefs to continue their string of big wins. Prediction: Chiefs 34, Raiders 23.

– Sporting News correspondent Adam Teicher