Home grown: Fans give Raiders a huge lift at Coliseum.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

It's all about the fans. That's what the Raiders say. When the players walk onto the field at Network Associates Coliseum _ regardless of whether the stadium is filled to capacity _ the adrenaline seems to flow differently.

It starts from the moment the team walks out of the tunnel to the heart-pounding sound of AC/DC's Hell's Bells and continues with every maddening roar from the Silver & Black faithful.

"When we come home, it's a different level because we got all the Raider fans," defensive tackle Grady Jackson said Monday. "You have to take it to another level."

The Raiders, who host Miami in a second-round AFC playoff game Saturday, certainly have played at a higher level at the Coliseum. In their six-game home winning streak, the Raiders have won by an average of 27.7 points and the closest game was a 49-31 rout of Kansas City on Nov. 5. The Raiders closed out the regular season with a 52-9 pasting of visiting Carolina on Dec. 24, their largest margin of victory _ home or away _ since a 45-0 rout of Tampa Bay at the Coliseum last season.

"It's the fans," Coach Jon Gruden said. "These people are unbelievable. They get us going. To be a good team in this league, you have to take care of business at home. You've got to win your home games. It's got to be a great advantage for you when you play at home.

"That, too, was a primary goal of our football team, to win as many home games as possible. You're playing in your own back yard. Our team has responded to playing in our stadium."

The Raiders are 7-1 at home. Oakland is 5-3 on the road but has won by an average of just 5.4 points.