Another view on Gradkowski

Six quarters into the season and the Raiders bench their prize offseason acquisition. Panic has set in. Cable is on the ropes. They are exploring new lows. This sentiment seems to prevail in the press now that Bruce Gradkowski has been named the starting QB over Jason Campbell.

But it wasn't that long ago that Bruuuuce was winning games while looking like a legitimate NFL starter. Despite an injury that ended his year, the Raiders gave him a significant raise in the offseason. Fans were ready to roll with him in 2010.

Interestingly, the same pundits who laugh at Al Davis for choosing 40 times over intangibles seem to agree with him that Gradkowski, for measurable reasons, is not an NFL starter. But the guy wins.

If you are Hue Jackson, perhaps you saw as clearly as the rest of us that since the moment Bruce arrived healthy in training camp, he's been outstanding, and measurably better than Campbell. And you asked yourself, "Why isn't this guy our starter?" To which Tom Cable answered, "I know, RIGHT?!?" Hence Johnny's good cop / bad cop scenario.

Looking at this situation from another perspective, Gradkowski earned the starting role last year, lost it due to injury, and played so well upon his return that he's quickly earned it back. The bigger concern is that replacing JaMarcus with ANYBODY didn't cause as huge an improvement as was expected.

This why suck, Part 789

Jerry Mac, writing about why the Raiders didn't draft Larry Fitzgerald:

At the time, the Raiders felt pretty good about their receiving corps of Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry and Doug Gabriel. The following year, they would bring in Randy Moss.

Since that 2005 season, Fitzgerald has more receptions than any receivcer in the NFL (475) for 6,413 yards and 52 touchdowns. The Raiders recieving leaders during that span _ Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry (in 2006 and 2007), Johnnie Lee Higgins and Louis Murphy, combined for 249 receptions, 3,273 yards and 18 touchdowns.

But while Fitzgerald was available and brought in for a visit, it was purely for show. They never considered drafting him because he didn’t have a fast enough time in the 40-yard dash. Davis’ favorite receiver, I’ve been told by was Roy Williams out of Texas. (emphasis added)

Yes, this Roy Williams. I will now mix a qualuude-and-drano cocktail.

Gradkowski!

So Bruce Almighty is the starter, and there are a couple of competing views by the ANG newsguys.

Writing of Hue Jackson's comment that it was his idea put Bruce in on Sunday, Cam Inman says Jackson is undermining Cable's authority, and it's only a matter of time before he replaces Cable as head coach.

Jerry Mac has a different take. He writes that Cable, in naming Bruce the starter, is showing being decisive, and notices his lack of lip-service to Al Davis in the decision.

Jerry writes:

Seems like a major shift that Cable isn’t giving the owner his due on an important decision, or offering up a glowing endorsement of their conversations. What makes this more interesting is that Jackson, Davis’ hand-picked offensive coordinator, said he was the one who suggested the quarterback switch in the first place.

Jackson, of course, mentioned "Coach Davis" when he discussed the decision to bench Campbell in favor of Gradkowski.

So what's going on? Is Jackson undermining Cable? Or is he providing cover for the decision? Al is on record as saying Campbell reminds him of Jim Plunkett. If Jackson is Davis' hand-picked guy, maybe it makes sense for Cable to have him take credit for the decision, since he has a latitude that Cable might not necessarily have.

It seems to me that Jackson can't really undermine Cable's authority, since everyone knows Raiders head coaches don't really have any authority to undermine. All Jackson said is that it was his idea; Cable made the ultimate decision. It seems like they're playing good cop/bad cop with Davis.

It makes sense that if the Raiders start losing, Cable gets fired. He should be. But if they start winning, who knows what will happen. Al is weird enough to do anything.

QB Controversy

Prince - Controversy
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Per Jerry Mac, Tom Cable has declared Alameda a "Controversy-free zone." A lot of it is typical Raiders weirdness, but my feeling is that what is going on is Cable trying to convince Al to let him start Gradkowski.

And if "Just Win, Baby" is anything more than an empty slogan, Gradkowski will start until he gets hurt or stops winning. Nothing against Campbell, but the turnaround was too stark on Sunday.

Ouch

From Jerry McDonald's latest post:

How is it possible the Raiders could be overconfident? In a way they’re no different from much of the fan base which thought they had a winner and now are willing to sell their beloved team for a nickel after a bad opener.

Speaking for the CLOAK, I'm not sure we thought we had a "winner," so much as we were encouraged that the problems we've been experiencing over the last 7 years--Commitment to press-bashing, no pass rush, bum offensive line play, bad tackling in the run defense--were at least being dealt with in a manner befitting a professional organization. Sunday's game was a debacle, no different from any of the many debacles we've experienced over that time period.

Jerry's readers are dedicated, though, and this line is like a shout-out to the most loyal readers, the ones who police the site for "haters."

Problems

The year is new, but the problems are the same.


Run defense - it held up for a while but then started to give up the huge chunks of yardage. Given that the Raiders have changed all the players, is this proof that the scheme is fundamentally not equipped to stop the run?

Pass rush - we thought this would be a new-found strength, but after one early sack by Wimbley, our "natural pressure" is not getting to the QB.

Passing game - nonexistent. Completely nonexistent.

Offensive line - terrible. Our Tackles do not belong in the NFL.

Penalties - definitely on pace to lead the league again.

With all the changes, year after year, there is only one common denominator for all of this. As Dave texted me, "I'm not watching anymore. I have better things to do."

Debacle

Wow. This franchise is a laughingstock and we haven't even made it to half. If I were to say I'm shocked then I would be admitting my naivete.

Kristy is busy cancelling our plans to attend the away game in Denver.