Q: Do you think the Raiders can produce two 1,000 yard rushers this season?
— Doug, South Amboy, N.J.

A: They have two runners capable of rushing for 1,000 yards in Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas. But it's hard to get two backs to rush for 1,000. One of the backs usually becomes more dominant and gets the bigger share of carries. If McFadden does not become that back, then a lot of people might have been wrong about him.

I would say the best chance for the Raiders to have two 1,000 yard rushers is if one of the backs becomes the go-to guy for the first 10 games or so and then gets hurt, allowing the second back to get his time as the lead runner.

Q: Where do you think Cedric Benson will end up this year now that the Bears cut him? He's a good running back but with his drinking problem, he must enter an AA program, before any team looks at him, right?
— David Asselin, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

A: Benson probably will be subject to league discipline, including a suspension.

The problem with Benson is he has been a disappointment on the field as well as off it. Teams are reluctant to take a flyer on a player who has failed to live up to expectations when they know that player may embarrass them off the field and be a distraction.

Still, I think at some point this season Benson will surface with an NFL team. Injuries will leave the scrap heap dry, and some desperate team that liked Benson coming out of the draft will give him a call. And I wouldn't be surprised if Benson performed well. If this isn't a good wakeup call for him, he'll never have one.

Q: When is the NFL going to put a team back in both Anaheim and Los Angeles, because right now Southern California only has the San Diego Chargers to go for right now.
— Michael, Lexa, Ark.

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A: The NFL wants badly to place a team in Los Angeles, but there are no immediate prospects for that happening because there is no viable stadium situation. As soon as the league can figure a way to get local government to cooperate with an ownership group and build a stadium, there will be a team in L.A.

That's one team, not two.

The earliest I could envision anything happening would be six years from now. And it's probably going to be a lot longer than that before pro football returns to L.A.

Q: Why isn't spiking the ball by the quarterback intentional grounding?
— Lee, Mt. Laurel, N.J.

A: Because the league wants to give the quarterback a chance to stop the game clock so the offense can run more plays. Many NFL rules are rooted in the philosophy that fans want to see as much scoring as possible.

Without this rule, NFL games would be robbed of many of the last second heroics that have helped define the league.