Raiders punter Shane Lechler was called out Tuesday, double-dog-dare-style, by Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, of all the dull people.

Hit the overhanging scoreboard at sparkling new Cowboys Stadium? Phillips said fat chance when the Raiders play the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, or any other day.

"Oh, I don't think he's gonna hit it if he kicks it," Phillips said in a teleconference. "I mean, nobody's even come close except that guy that kicked it straight up in preseason to try to hit it."

But Lechler isn't some nobody. He's certainly not some reserve Titans punter named A.J. Trapasso, who hit the 160-foot-long video board 90 feet above the field in the stadium's first exhibition game.

Lechler is a four-time Pro Bowler with the boomingest leg in the NFL. Ninety lousy feet from field level? Please. If anyone is going to be the first punter to dent the scoreboard during a regular-season game, it's going to be Lechler.

He's the one with enough hang time to average 51.5 yards per punt, one-tenth of a yard ahead of Sammy Baugh's 69-year-old single-season record. He's the one who's been talking about this game since the preseason, when 49ers punter Andy Lee told him how drillable that board was.

"Yeah, I could hit it," Lechler said. "If that guy in Tennessee can hit it, I can hit it. I talked to Andy, and he said it wasn't that big of a deal."

The question, then is, will Lechler take aim for the same reason people climb mountains - just because it's there?

"No, I'm not going to go for it on purpose," Lechler said. "That is being really selfish that way. If I hit it, I hit it. It's kind of a tough spot to put our guys in, though."

By guys, Lechler means the punt-coverage team. The gunners have to sprint 50 to 60 yards downfield on most punts. If a punt hits the video board, the play is dead and they have to rekick.

You try sprinting all-out half a field a few times, and then immediately take the field on defense.

"I would love for him to get air on the ball, but then we have to do it all over again," gunner Hiram Eugene said. "It kind of gives them an advantage, because we're the ones who are running down there."

The Cowboys' punt-return team has advantage enough in Patrick Crayton, who ranks second in the NFL with 14.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns.

The higher and longer the punt, the more time the coverage team has to get downfield and stop Crayton before he slices through with a vertical burst.

So, Lechler doesn't want to hit the board so his cover men don't burn out. And he doesn't want to hit it too low and straight so his cover men don't get burned.

So go ahead, Lechler. Make Phillips' day.

"I don't think you can even worry about it," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "You've just got to let it rip. How do you kick around something that big?"

Alston sidelined: Strongside linebacker Jon Alston is out with residual effects from a Nov. 1 concussion, his second in four games. He is undergoing further testing.

Alston returned from his second concussion to play the next game, but he was a late scratch Sunday because of concussion-related illness.

"He was throwing up, (had) dizziness and things like that, so we're still looking into what's going on with that," Cable said.

Marshall Plan: Defensive coordinator John Marshall said the Raiders did not blitz more than usual against the Bengals. It just looked that way because it worked a lot more often.

"Hey, the dogs hunt," Marshall said. "They're good pressure guys. The big thing is they've got the speed to get there quick."

Briefly: Defensive end Richard Seymour practiced in full Tuesday after straining his lower back Sunday. ... Defensive end Greg Ellis was limited in practice but will start against the Cowboys.