RealClearSports: Raiders Playing It by the (E-mail) Letters

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Jason Campbell is the quarterback the Washington Redskins traded to the Oakland Raiders so he wouldn't sit on the bench behind Donovan McNabb, who has been told to sit on the bench behind Rex Grossman, who was unwanted by the Chicago Bears even though he helped them get to a Super Bowl.

You still with us? Is McNabb still with the Skins? Campbell very much still is with the Raiders, who with two games left in the season still are in the chase for the playoffs.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2010

RealClearSports: JaMarcus' Trip from No. 1 to Nowhere

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- It must have been agony for Al Davis, making the ultimate concession, admitting to himself as well as the world that using the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft on quarterback JaMarcus Russell was a mistake of considerable magnitude.

Al does mea culpas very poorly, if he does them at all. Davis does not like to admit failure, especially when the failure can be attributed to him.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2010

RealClearSports: The Problem with Drafting a Quarterback

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

In the spring, Tim Tebow of Florida, a quarterback, a Heisman Trophy winner, a community leader, son of an evangelist, will be available in the NFL draft, which means a lot of people who think they know what makes great football will wonder if they know what makes a great football player.

The suggestions and predictions of why Tebow either will be a star or a flop will pound us in the face, and despite reputations, both of the analysts and the athlete, nobody really has a clue.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2009

JaMarcus blows his second act

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OAKLAND -- A few days earlier, the lilt and the optimism had returned. JaMarcus Russell, the disappointment, faced the media and the music.

“There’s better days to come,’’ Russell finally said of his earlier demotion from the starting lineup. “Just move on with it.’’

What a great introduction for his second act, whenever that might arrive. JaMarcus was dealing with his failings, dealing with reality, understanding that when you’re the No. 1 pick in the draft, when you’ve been given a contract guaranteeing $31 million, the demands are high and patience short.

The opportunity arrived Sunday, in the gloom and rain of the Oakland Coliseum. Bruce Gradkowski, who had taken over, and successfully, for Russell a month earlier, went down with medial cartilage damage in both knees. Now, unexpectedly, the Oakland Raiders again were JaMarcus’ team.

He couldn’t produce. It wasn’t only Russell’s fault. The Raider offensive line couldn’t block. But when Gradkowski left, Oakland still was in the game, trailing 17-10 at the half. And then, seemingly becoming dispirited and definitely becoming disoriented, the Raiders collapsed.

Maybe it was the incessant booing from the announced crowd of 44,506, Raider fans already deciding Russell would be their target, especially when his passes can’t find their target. Maybe it was the situation, and the O-line, JaMarcus getting sacked six times, when Gradkowski only got nailed twice. Maybe it’s JaMarcus Russell, who in his third season gives no indication he’ll ever be a competent NFL quarterback, no matter his salary or ranking in the draft.

With Russell in there, the Raiders were out of there, eventually getting beat 34-13 by the Washington Redskins, one of the few teams with a record worse than Oakland’s. Until the game. Now both are 4-9. And now the questions about Russell’s progress are even more unavoidable.

JaMarcus just can’t escape the rush. He takes too long to find a receiver. He is immobile. And, of course, added to the problem, he plays for the Raiders, a franchise destined to have an 11-loss season for a seventh consecutive season.

“I thought it was a tough situation,’’ Raiders coach Tom Cable said of JaMarcus. “Could he have done better? Probably, but everybody could have.’’

Indeed, this was a team loss. Eight sacks in all. Fourteen penalties for 118 yards, two of those, each at 15 -- one for not giving enough space for a fair catch of a punt, the second for arguing the call -- at the same time late in the second quarter.

The 30 yards moved the Redskins from the spot of the catch, their own 10, to their own 40. In four plays, they swept to the touchdown that broke a 10-10 tie and seemingly broke what little resistance the Raiders had presented before that sequence.

“We had the opportunity to take another step forward,’’ said Cable, alluding to last Sunday’s upset of the Steelers and a blown chance to notch a second straight victory in 2009.

“We did not do that. We had too many penalties. There was not enough flow offensively. Defensively we struggled in the first half, and then we were never able to come back, make a stand, do anything in the second half.’’

Which is the half JaMarcus Russell played quarterback, throwing 16 passes, completing 10 for 74 yards, having the obligatory interception and, of course, getting sacked those six times for 52 yards.

Yes, Cable conceded, there was a discussion about pulling Russell and bringing in the third-stringer, Charlie Frye, meaning Russell could not return. But the Raiders stayed the course to oblivion.

When Gradkowski became the starter three weeks ago and the Raiders surprised the Bengals, the Raiders were uplifted. This guy, they implied, gives them the know-how and the electricity. He makes the other players better, as do all good quarterbacks.

When Russell moved in for the third quarter, the life went out of the Raiders. Maybe it was more perception than actuality, but it appeared they knew they were doomed. Which they were. Cable said he has confidence in “whoever we put out there or you can’t put them out there,’’ but do those on the field have confidence with JaMarcus?

“I think the guy can succeed,’’ Cable said of Russell. “I’ve not ever said he couldn’t.’’

Whether he means that is hard to discern. The fans may have given up on Russell -- you almost feel sorry for the way he’s treated -- but Raider management hasn’t. At least on the record. You think they’re going to stand up and say, “Sorry, folks, we were wrong’’?

Russell didn’t say anything after the game. He fled before the media entered the locker room.

Cable said the Raiders need to get “Russell where he needs to be,’’ and no, that isn’t on the sideline.

“Every quarterback is different,’’ Cable said. “Some guys get it quicker. Some guys take longer. We just have to keep working, helping him get where he wants to be. It’s a difficult position to play in this league.’’

For JaMarcus Russell, unfortunately, so far it’s an impossible position.

Will it ever work for JaMarcus and the Raiders?

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND -- He was supposed to the savior, the guy who dragged the Raiders from the mess they’re in, the quarterback who made the right calls and the proper throws. It hasn’t worked that way for JaMarcus Russell, and now, after he was benched a second straight game, you have to wonder if it ever will work.

So many factors, interconnected, inseparable, a bad football team, a questionable offense and then a young man who was the first selection in the draft and thereby supposed to correct the wrongs, supposed to turn the Oakland Raiders into winners.

But after the Raiders were beaten Sunday by one of the NFL’s other bad teams, the Kansas City Chiefs, 16- 10, a team over which Oakland had gained one of its only two victories this season, the future is more ink blot than window to success.

While it’s unforgiving to assign all the blame to JaMarcus -- his receivers offering little or no assistance, head coach Tom Cable counting eight dropped balls that should have been caught -- Russell has a great deal to do with the problem.

Or else Cable, for a second straight home game, wouldn’t have replaced him with Bruce Gradkowski.

And wouldn’t have conceded that he very well might start Gradkowski when the Raiders play Cincinnati next weekend, Cable adding that after watching the films he will have something more to say on that Monday.

Quarterbacks do not all develop at the same rate. Progress is relative. And those with potential invariably are taken by the bottom dwellers, the worst teams, meaning their baptism will be exceedingly painful. And yet it is the how and why of all this that adds to the doubt.

JaMarcus was a star at LSU with an arm able to launch rockets and a body (6-foot-6, 260 pounds , maybe 290) able to take punishment. He lacked finesse, polishing, but the belief was that it would come in the pros. He didn’t lack confidence, or after a long holdout ended and he signed for a $30 million guarantee, was that arrogance? Along with the tools Russell brought an attitude, or so it was perceived, the idea he was someone special. He isn’t.

He’s a struggling kid, the target of boos from a Raider fan base that seems to be shrinking by the week -- attendance at the Coliseum was only 40,720 -- but is not shrinking in its disdain for JaMarcus. Every wild pass was met with vocal derision.

This is JaMarcus’ third year, although he missed most of his rookie season, 2007, and the erratic performances are less baffling than they are irritating. Then again, maybe he’s not at fault -- if indeed he has worked to improve as Cable contends he has, it’s the Raiders who are at fault, for drafting him.

It’s the nature of sports, particularly the NFL, that a team chooses the athlete and then when he doesn’t live up to expectations, and there are no expectations higher than those for the very first pick every year, he gets the criticism, the boos, as opposed to the people who selected him.

Russell comes across as uncaring because he doesn’t scream and yell. He also doesn’t seem to grasp the mistakes, or at least doesn’t admit to them.

“I thought things were going OK at that point,’’ said JaMarcus, who was replaced late in the third quarter. Asked if he were disappointed, Russell said, “Totally. I really can’t explain it. I don’t know what to say. (Cable) said balls were going every which way, but one time my arm was hit when I threw.’’

What Cable said was that Russell, completing only 9 of 24 for 67 yards, misread several throws, two where receivers were unguarded. “It was a matter of game management and accuracy,’’ explained the coach.

It also was a matter of poor hands by his possible receivers or, and this isn’t shocking to anyone familiar with the Raiders, penalties. If Darrius Heyward-Bey or Louis Murphy hang on to a pass or two, maybe JaMarcus stays on the field.

“They affect you,’’ said Russell. “A couple of those aren’t dropped, it’s a totally different game.’’

By the time JaMarcus was taken out, the Raiders’ Shane Lechler had 10 punts, or one more than Russell had pass completions. Eventually, as a team, the Raiders, with Gradkowski going 4-for-7 and also having a couple of long passes dropped, would end with 13 completions. And 11 punts.

Asked if he were disappointed in Russell, Cable responded, “I’m disappointed where we are as a football team. This game is about making plays, and we just didn’t do it, whether it was JaMarcus or Bruce.’’

The Raiders have scored more than one touchdown only in one game this season, opening night. They ranked 32nd, dead last, in the league in offense. The Chiefs were 30th. And now both teams are 2-7.

And now JaMarcus Russell hasn’t finished two of the last three games he started.

“Some guys take longer than others,’’ Cable said, defending Russell. “He’ll get there at some point. He’s a talented guy.’’

But so far one without a clue how to play quarterback in the NFL.

SF Examiner: Choosing between Russell and Hill

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — You’ve been around. You know the axioms of sport, the clichés. You know that no matter what you’ve done before, your reputation is dependent on the last game. “What have you done for us lately?” is sport’s ultimate question.

What Shaun Hill of the 49ers and JaMarcus Russell of the Raiders did was get people talking, get people asking: “Which one would you rather have as your quarterback, this season or in the future?”

The subject was fodder for Gary Radnich’s morning show on KNBR (680 AM). Hill’s last game, a week and a half ago against Atlanta, was his worst game. Russell’s last game, Sunday, a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, may have been his best.

All of a sudden we could see the potential in JaMarcus, who, despite his flaws, looked like a young man with a future, a young man who was the first pick in the draft. All of a sudden we could see the failings of Hill, who went undrafted and spent nearly six seasons in the NFL without throwing a pass.

So, we were asked, if you were starting a team, who would you rather have, Russell, the All-American, the very first selection in the ’07 draft who because of poor work habits and a degree of confidence that nears arrogance had been a bust, or Hill, the guy in control, the one who earned his place, but at 29 is as good as he’ll ever be?

I’ll take JaMarcus. There had to be a reason he was chosen over everyone else. He is supposed to lead a team to championships, even though Raiders coach Tom Cable properly pointed out, “‘supposed to’ are scary words; there are a lot of things in this world that are supposed to be but are not.”

A great quarterback wins games, not merely manages games. Indeed, Hill had a 7-0 record at Candlestick Park as a starter, but the Falcons quickly took him out of his comfort zone. Having to play from behind, Hill was flustered and frustrated.

Russell’s also been frustrated in his two-plus seasons, but against the Eagles, who are supposed to be a good team — thank you, Tom Cable — JaMarcus made the right plays. He appeared to understand what is required of a quarterback.

A player is allowed a stinker now and then, but what happens if Hill starts to slide? Do the Niners finally give the bewitched Alex Smith an opportunity? Like JaMarcus, Alex was the first pick in the draft. Once again, there had to be a reason.

We’ve learned success comes from more than talent. Just because you can throw a ball 60 yards or shake off tacklers doesn’t always mean you’ll have the magic to make teammates better, to make them believe in you.

Tom Brady was a sixth-rounder. Kurt Warner needed seasons in the Arena League and Europe to prove he could be an NFL starter. There are exceptions. There are mistakes.

But if the scouts think someone can play and someone else can’t, it’s difficult to defy the odds. Shaun Hill has done all he could. It’s simply that JaMarcus Russell should be able to do much more.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: With Raiders, Nothing Ever Changes

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

OAKLAND -- The coach said he is to blame. "To me, this is on Tom Cable,'' explained Tom Cable. No less is it on Al Davis, the man who hired Cable. Al Davis, who repeatedly has proclaimed, "I am the Oakland Raiders.'' So maybe Al Davis is to blame.

The Raiders are a team with convoluted priorities. They can't stop the run, but management put much of its effort in stopping a former player turned critic from attending practice.

They can't get the ball into the end zone, but in the post-game locker room they can get into the face of a journalist asking a legit question.

The Raiders are 1-2 after three games. It's going to get worse. They play at Houston, but then they play the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers. It's going to get worse, but after the last week, in a way, it couldn't get much worse.

The 23-3 loss on Sunday to Denver, in Oakland, almost was incidental. A game, a defeat. It happens.

What also happened was a Raiders assistant reportedly told the police in Napa, where the team holds camp, that Cable punched him and broke his jaw on Aug. 5.

What also happened was CBS analyst Rich Gannon, the last person to play quarterback for a Raider team with a winning record, was banned from the team facility for knocking the current quarterback, JaMarcus Russell.

What also happened was Lowell Cohn, a columnist from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, asked Richard Seymour, the guy the Raiders obtained in a trade from New England, whether he was assessed a personal foul for pulling the hair of the Broncos' Ryan Clady. Seymour grew belligerent, and a Raider official then started arguing with Cohn.

What also happened was the Raiders were some 18,000 seats short of a sellout, so there was no local television of the game in which the Broncos gained 372 yards to Oakland's 127.

Paranoia runs deep. Stole that line from Buffalo Springfield, a rock group that was together briefly in the late 1960s. That was a time when the Raiders used to be successful, a time when Davis didn't worry about what was written or said, just about his team performing.

Al is the creator of the phrase "Just win, baby,'' which in effect proclaims, who cares what the rest of the world thinks, just get more points than the other team. These days, however, the Raiders management, if not the athletes, care about the wrong things.

Russell, the quarterback, is in his third season. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. He's big, strong and throws interceptions. But he was Davis' selection, so he'll remain as a starter, maybe improving, maybe not.

Presumably Cable will remain as head coach. He's also Davis' selection, installed last season when Lane Kiffin was uninstalled.

Cable is either a cockeyed optimist or delusional. "We're just around the corner from where we want to be,'' was his comment. "It's right there in front of us.''

Right there behind him is the training camp incident. According to NFL.com, defensive assistant Randy Hanson told police he was struck by Cable, and the result was the broken jaw. Hanson's attorney, John McGuinn, called it "a classic case of felony assault.''

The Raiders are a classic case of incompetence. They haven't had a winning year since 2002, when they went to the Super Bowl and Gannon was their leader. But now he's persona non grata because Rich said the team "should just blow up the building and start over.''

Gannon finally was allowed on the property, after CBS whined to the NFL, and he definitely was at the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Raiders get pummeled by the Broncos. Probably had to choke back a few giggles.

But the Raiders are no laughing matter. Since '02, six plus seasons, they've had five coaches and 25 wins, no more than five in any of the six full seasons. When Russell threw his two interceptions in the first quarter against Denver, the fans, the faithful, started booing and never stopped.

"I have to have faith in the guy,'' said Cable of Russell. "His growth has been extreme regarding his work effort. He's just not consistent. He's part of the 10 percent of the team that has to bring his level up to the 90 percent which is performing.''

Then the coach pointed out, "Everything can be fixed, and if not it has to be changed.''

With the Raiders, little's been fixed, if anything, and nothing ever changes.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/09/29/with_raiders_nothing_ever_changes_96491.html

© RealClearSports 2009

[ArtSpander.com Exclusive] Raiders end a demoralizing week

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OAKLAND -- Another one of those days for the Oakland Raiders, with mistakes mounting and pressure building, and a post-game confrontation. A perfect conclusion, if you will, to another one of those weeks.

Rich Gannon was in the house Sunday, working with CBS-TV, observing and commenting on a game that the Raiders’ head coach understandably called disappointing, because it was. In fact, it was worse than that. It was demoralizing.

That’s the very same Rich Gannon who threw five interceptions for the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, or three more than JaMarcus Russell threw Sunday for Oakland. The very same Rich Gannon who had been banned from attending Raiders practice at the end of the week because he had knocked Russell for, well, doing what seemingly Russell can’t stop doing, missing receivers.

The Denver Broncos, however, didn’t miss a chance to take advantage of the Raiders, aka Team Chaos, winning 23-3. Yes, the game was that one-sided. For proof, consider this: Denver's total offense was 372 yards. Oakland's was 137 yards.

It’s all coming apart for the Raiders, even after three games. The battle with Gannon is indicative. Nobody likes criticism, but it is part of pro sports. You ignore it and try to improve. But the Raiders, for whom this seemed to be a season of enlightenment, are not improving. They lost a game Sunday, got routed. They lost their cool.

Richard Seymour, the guy who was supposed to help a defensive line desperately in need of help, the guy the Raiders obtained from New England a couple of weeks back in exchange for a first-round draft pick, the guy who didn’t want to report, got called for a personal foul early in the third quarter. He was caught pulling the long braids of Ryan Clady.

When columnist Lowell Cohn asked Seymour about the incident, he not only refused to answer but demanded Cohn leave the locker room, He would not, leading to a Raider official getting in Cohn’s face. What the Raiders need is for some of their defensive linemen to get in the opponents’ face. Or for Russell, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL draft, finally to play like the overall No. 1 pick in the draft. Rather than to make Gannon look good by JaMarcus making himself look bad.

This one wasn’t on local TV. This was one had a crowd announced at 45,602. Row after row of seats in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, capacity 63,132, were unused. Or the booing for Russell, particular, and the Raiders in general would have been louder. And it was plenty loud.

Quarterbacks are always blamed. Long ago, Daryle Lamonica was mistreated verbally when he had a bad day for the Raiders. Across the bay, the booing of the 49ers’ John Brodie was historic. And yet, the derision for JaMarcus is notable. And unrelenting.

“I’m not really going to get into that,’’ said Russell. He had two interceptions in the first quarter. He was sacked three times. Eventually, he completed 12 of 21 for 61 yards, but only three of those completions were in the second half.

“Some plays you can’t control,’’ said Russell. “Because of a lot of coverage we had check-downs and had to stay (in the pocket) longer. Other than that I thought I did all right. The second interception, the receiver got knocked down, and I thought it could have been interference.’’

Then he made a concession that raised a question about the Raiders direction. “We didn’t show up on certain plays,’’ said JaMarcus.

The defense was on the field far too long, in part because it cannot halt the run -- the Broncos rushed for 215 yards -- and in part because Russell had the two interceptions and Darren McFadden lost a fumble. Three turnovers. And only 23 minutes and 45 seconds of possession time, compared to the 36:15 of the Broncos.

“We were not very sharp on either side of the ball,’’ Tom Cable, the Raiders’ coach, conceded. “Third down was an issue on both sides of the ball. We got outplayed, and that’s the bottom line here.’’

Cable said he hopes the booing “ticks off’’ his players, who should be no less ticked off by the result. “We have to play better,’’ said Cable. “The fans deserve better. I feel like we’ve got to keep moving forward. We’ve got to help JaMarcus be at his best.’’

The Raiders, contended Cable, in his first full season as coach, had been “making strides.’’ But in this game, all they made was a mess of things.

“We didn’t practice very well during the week,’’ he said.

They didn’t play very well on Sunday. But it would be like pulling hair to get the reasons why.