Oakland Raiders

The Raiders have a real-life quarterback controversy brewing. No, it has nothing to do with starter JaMarcus Russell and backup Jeff Garcia.

The real action is between backup arms Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye. Call it the Battle of Third Stringers when the Raiders host the Cowboys in tonight's exhibition opener at the Coliseum.

Sure, there are more consequential jobs to be won, but when asked for competitions to watch, Raiders coach Tom Cable put that on the top of his must-see list.

"I think you'd have to start with the two quarterbacks," Cable said. "There's a good battle."

Gradkowski has the advantage of being here since mid-January, giving him an entire offseason of reps and playbook study. He's made 12 starts in three seasons, with 11 coming as a Tampa Bay rookie.

Frye has the advantage of looking more fluid and accurate than Gradkowski since joining the team in June. He's made 20 starts in four seasons, with 13 starts and 2,454 passing yards for the Browns in 2006.

Both will get a ton of snaps against Dallas because a) Russell will only play one quarter and b) Garcia remains out with a strained calf.

Winner gets a clipboard and headset.

As far as simmering feuds go, this will have to do for now. All the other first-string contests have ended - or at least been backburnered. None of them really got started.

Garcia was hired to push Russell. He's been hurt since the third day of camp so the only thing he's pushing is 40 birthday candles.

Left tackle Khalif Barnes was imported to compete with Mario Henderson. A broken ankle ended that scrum a week ago.

Second-round draft pick Mike Mitchell hoped to eat at Tyvon Branch's minutes. He's out indefinitely with a strained hamstring.

At linebacker, Jon Alston is out with a foot injury, so Ricky Brown will start for him at strong-side linebacker instead of competing for Kirk Morrison's job in the middle.

In lieu of anything from the tooth-and-nail genre, here are some players to watch on a one-on-none basis:

-- Darrius Heyward-Bey. The No. 7 overall draft pick will probably start and will definitely play an entire half. His job is to stretch the field and hold on tight.

-- Greg Ellis. The 12th-year defensive end faces the only team he'd known until the Cowboys cut him two months ago. His job is to make fans glad the Raiders traded former Pro Bowler Derrick Burgess.

-- Henderson. He'll face the same sort of 3-4 defense used by the three other AFC West teams. His job is to make Barnes' injury a moot point and keep Russell's blind side clean.

-- Darren McFadden. He is ready to line up as a tailback, slot receiver or wideout. His job is to make it possible to have Justin Fargas or Michael Bush on the field at the same time he is.

Tonight's game

Who: Cowboys vs. Raiders

Where: Oakland Coliseum

When: 7 p.m.

Radio: 560