Some much needed change is on the way for the Oakland Raiders franchise. After weeks of continuous struggles and criticism from multiple media outlets, JaMarcus Russell will now have an opportunity to sit back and assess his first year and a half as the Oakland Raiders starting QB.

Coach Tom Cable said the decision was made in large part due to fact that Russell making the correct on field decisions on where to place the ball, “That’s absolutely the number one issue is knowing where to go with the ball. The coverage picture when you come away from center can be one thing pre-snap, [after] you come away from center it can change. Just being able to react to that and just being able to know [where to] take the ball, where it needs to go based on the coverage that you’re given has a lot to do with this decision.”

Cable was asked what Bruce Gradkowski brings to the table as the starter and replied, “Well, I just think his leadership, his management, his understanding of what we’re trying to do, you know, accuracy…just a lot of those intangible-type things. Just give him a chance to go out and get some reps to build chemistry with the receivers.”

While I don’t agree with the idea that Russell is being blamed for the receivers catching (or lack thereof) I do think that the way the coaching staff is portraying the move makes a ton of sense.

In a round-about way, I believe, what they are trying to say is that Russell is a bit over his head right now with pressure, stress, and media in his face all the time. They want the kid to succeed, take some time to evaluate himself, and work harder to be where he and the team want to be.

Passing game coordinator Ted Tollner said, “They want to win. If Tom made the decision to look a different direction right now, all they want is like any player, they want everybody to do their job and perform and they hope that Bruce will bring something to the table that will give us a chance to win. That’s the whole purpose of it. So to say it’s a different energy, no. They were the same way with JaMarcus in my opinion and they wanted him to be successful. He’s their quarterback, we want to win. I don’t know what was said behind closed doors but I know what I see on the field and they’re supportive of the guy that’s playing.”

One thing is for sure, the hopes of a struggling franchise have shifted their weight from a number one overall pick to a journeyman who has had his fair share of trials and tribulations. Last season, Bruce Gradkowski started the last game of the year for the Cleveland Browns, where he completed six of 16 passes for 18 yards with two interceptions. He had a QB rating of 1.0. (That’s not a misprint.)

Ted Tollner said that it is a matter of getting Gradkowski into a role where they are not trying to come from behind that might make Gradkowski’s rating this year (44.2) a little bit better.

“The thing you have to be careful of is he’s played and he’s come in when the we were behind so you get out of your normal in-sync rhythm of what you want to do to mix run and pass, now he’s going to start a game, and we get a chance to see him in that condition instead of throw every down. But, what I did see when he got a chance to play in Tampa is that he can do that. He can handle the run, the play-action pass, the two-minute system, pretty much he’s been kind of in a two-minute role when he played, and that’s totally different. When it’s a two-minute and you’re behind, you’re going to complete some balls, and he’s done well when he’s in that role. Now you start the game, there’s an altogether different pressure on you to perform and he’s excited about the opportunity and we’re anxious to see how he does,” said Tollner.

Gradkowski is excited also, “I’m excited; I’m excited to get this opportunity, go out here and start this week and try to make something happen. Our guys have been working hard. We’ve been working hard all year. So, it’s a matter of just executing and doing what we know how to do.”

Chad Johnson thinks the Raiders have a good team, “Watching the Raiders on (expletive) defense that front line is awesome, the corners are awesome. I can’t for the life of me understand how they are not winning. I don’t get it…I don’t get it. Because what I see on film, the record does not show. Because they look a lot better than their record shows so I’m not understanding what’s going on.”

Tom Cable smiled when he was asked about the Bengals turnaround from last season, a team that went from 4-11-1 to 7-2 and swept the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers in their division this season.

 “You look at how they rebuilt that offensive line, and they’ve got some guys plugged in on defense,” Cable said. “They’ve had two first-round picks at linebacker that have worked out great. They’ve kind of stayed in there with Marvin (Lewis) and all of a sudden they’re playing pretty well.”

It may or may not be a sign of change in Oakland. Either way, the Raiders fans can only sit on their hands and hope for another day when their team is not referred to as “Jokeland,” or “Chokeland.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 21:26 and is filed under Most Recommended, News Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.