PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Seasons Have Turned Around

Remember Sept. 11? On that day the winless Raiders were manhandled and embarrassed by an upstart, undefeated Seattle team at the Coliseum, 38-9.

Since then, however, the Seahawks have gone from potential playoff contenders to a team in need of some changes, and the Raiders have changed from an overrated, lackluster bunch to a rallying playoff sleeper.

The Raiders’ turnaround can be traced to the play of their defense. After that first game against the Seahawks, the Raiders had one of the AFC’s worst defenses. Going into Sunday night’s game at the Kingdome, they have the second-best in the AFC, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In their first meeting, the Seahawks boasted an exciting offense led by second-year quarterback Rick Mirer and running back Chris Warren. Now, Mirer is sidelined because of a broken thumb and Dan McGwire is at quarterback. Warren is playing despite cracked ribs he suffered in a traffic accident two weeks ago.

“I don’t think that their game plan has changed (since the team’s first game),” Raider cornerback Terry McDaniel said. “I think that they are still very explosive.”

Perhaps they can be, but they haven’t been lately. For the first three games, the Seahawks led the AFC in scoring. Now they rank 19th among the 28 teams.

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Besides Mirer, Seattle will be without starting safety Eugene Robinson, who has a torn Achilles’ tendon, and left tackle Ray Roberts, who has a broken leg. They suffered their injuries in the Seahawks’ 16-14 victory over Houston on Sunday.