PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : McDaniel Has Kept Miller in Check

Wide receiver Anthony Miller has been an important part of the San Diego Chargers’ offense since he was drafted from Tennessee in 1988. Against the Raiders, however, Miller has struggled.

With 632 yards in 47 catches, Miller ranks third in the AFC in receiving yardage, but in the Chargers’ 30-23 victory over the Raiders three weeks ago, he caught only one pass for a 29 yards. In two games last season, Miller caught five passes for 49 yards.

The main reason why Miller has had problems against the Raiders is Pro Bowl cornerback Terry McDaniel, a teammate with Miller at Tennessee.

Against the rest of the league, Miller averages 4.13 catches and 63 yards a game, but in 11 games against the Raiders he is averaging 2.27 catches for 31 yards. With McDaniel mainly covering him man to man, Miller has only 25 catches for 345 yards against the Raiders with two touchdowns.

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Coach Art Shell said that the Raiders will not make many adjustments for Sunday’s game at San Diego, despite their loss to the Chargers only three weeks ago. “We may do a couple of things differently,” Shell said. “But we’ll basically have the same base stuff.”

One area the Raiders will have to improve in is stopping the Chargers’ running game. San Diego, which has won four of its last five meetings against the Raiders, has rushed for 454 yards in 106 carries in winning three consecutive games under second-year Coach Bobby Ross.