Up north, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte didn't even give free-agent acquisition Kevin Jones a chance to earn a starting spot.

Down south, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson's stellar play has turned LenDale White into a complementary player, and Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton has no one yearning for the return of veterans Ahman Green and Chris Brown.

In Oakland, the cream of what has turned out to be a running back-rich 2008 NFL draft class has struggled rising up the depth chart, leading many to wonder, "Why aren't the Raiders giving the ball more to Darren McFadden?"

The chorus grows louder with each passing game, it seems. It reached a crescendo last Sunday, when McFadden watched from the sideline as the New England Patriots raced to a 21-0 lead.

McFadden entered the game with 12 minutes left in the second quarter, yet he still finished with 114 yards rushing and receiving and scored a touchdown.

"That's on coach," Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell said, in deferring to coach Tom Cable on whether the Raiders would be better off using McFadden from the outset. "He has seen that. A lot of people have probably been talking about it. When the ball is in No. 20's hands, it is fun to watch.

"I'm pretty sure (Cable) might work on getting him some touches early in (today's) game and go from there, because once he got the ball in his hands last week, you saw some turning points in the game."

The Raiders face Slaton and the Texans today in the Raiders' final home game this season. It's a safe bet that fans will clamor for more McFadden.

The Texans selected Slaton with the 89th pick in April, late in the third round. McFadden went No. 4 overall. You couldn't tell by their statistics and the way they are used by their respective teams.

Slaton has rushed 230 times and caught 40 passes in 14 games, for an average of 19.3 touches. McFadden has an average of 11.1 touches in his 11 games.

McFadden is seventh in rushing yards (451) and rushing attempts (100) among rookies this season and has caught 22 passes for 234 yards. Johnson, Slaton and Forte have all surpassed 1,100 yards rushing.

In fairness, McFadden is stuck behind veteran Justin Fargas, and he has battled turf-toe injuries since Oakland's second game. Even so, he said he has been healthy enough for a full workload the past several games.

"It's like you really want the ball, but, at the same time, you know the coach is going to make his decisions," McFadden said. "You have to go with it."

Cable said he scripts the first dozen or so plays each game. When McFadden enters the game depends on how well things go with the scripted plays.

"You want to get him involved as soon as you can, and I'll continue to do that as soon as we can," Cable said.

Against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 4, McFadden touched the ball three times, or as many times as he recorded tackles on Chargers defenders.

McFadden caught three passes for 68 yards against the Patriots and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run.

"Once we got him out there in space, he's too fast for those guys," Russell said. "We got a chance to get the ball in his hands to make some moves. That's a coach's decision. If they see that, they will make changes."

If not, Russell said he has seen enough to lobby Cable for more playing time on McFadden's behalf.

"I will tell him," Russell said Wednesday before a planned meeting with Cable. "I will bring that up. "... That would really help the team to put the ball in his hands."

Contact Steve Corkran at scorkran@bayareanewsgroup.com