Bruce Gradkowski and other mindlessness
by angelesoterica on Sep 4, 2010 4:01 AM PDT
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Seriousness is overrated. Unless we are talking about the Raiders. SOB was kind enough to take me off cloud nine and realize that I got a sick feeling watching the games against the Niners and the Seacows.
Complacency.
Sure, it's only preseason. Barely even scrimmages, you say. But I saw in the game against the Niners, and to some degree, the Seamen, a level of complacency take over this team. After a brilliant drive in which DHB showed he has the potential to be the great WR we all thought he could be, the team seemed to drift into IDGAF mode. And if you don't know what IDGAF mode is, please stand in line for your next shot of sizzurp behind that fat guy with the orange jumpsuit on. And it stayed that way until the ultimate gaffe by Mario Henderson sent Jason Campbell's head snapping backwards before he was slammed to the ground by that ultimate sack machine...Travis LaBoy??
And then here comes Bruce Gradkowski. Damn, every time I watch him play I get a feeling in my gut that rises up to my heart and stops it so I'm not distracted from watching something special happen. And he usually does do something special. Like telling Mario Henderson to take his eyes off the damn scoreboard and play some damn football. Like coming out and torching the scrubs because JC has his job based off of a trade and Bruce being injured.
"Like thunder and lightning, goddamn it's so exciting". -Thin Lizzy
Bruce Gradkowski, in 1 preseason game, made Kyle Boller the weakest link. Goodbye.
Onto Seattle, home of Starbucks, Microsoft, the Mariners, Seagulls, and 100 other things that make you want to smash your head through a brick wall face first. Bruce comes out against the scrubs and wastes them in the first quarter. At one point the Raiders seemed to score on 3 straight plays. Called back thanks to Erik Pears. *Note to self-"finesse" blocking means you hold a lot* You know the team is rolling when Grads takes some time trying to convince his receivers to actually catch the damn ball. Brandon Myers, what happened? Then Boller comes in and waits until it gets close on the scoreboard to actually remember he was, at one point, an NFL QB. Either that or he's picked up some overly dramatic behavoir from his man-wife. For those who believe that she can't possibly affect his play please look up Warner, Kurt under "The Lost Years" for more information.
The point of this sleep-deprived rant? Bruce Gradkowski deserves a shot at the starting QB position. Not because he's statistically better than JC. On that, the stats don't lie. But they do. It seems contradictory but it's not. Some great passers had some horrible passer ratings. Bart Starr had a horrible passer rating, but he's in the Hall of Fame with 2 Super Bowl rings and not even the most stat-geeky douchestick would say he's a bad QB.
He also seems to fit our new scheme better. Bubble screens, short passes etc. behind a shaky line where mobility can come into play. And even Boller can follow the "hand it off to Bush" policy, so that won't be an issue. Dmac needs to get involved, and while Campbell seemed to be content to do what even that fat turdblossom could do by tossing it to Zach Miller, Bruce has shown he doesn't give a damn who's on the other end. Hell, Campbell only threw it to DHB because Action Jackson, Cable, and possibly even God himself (Al Davis) told him to. Just My humble opinion though.
Other thoughts? I like the idea of Hartwig being added, though that makes getting Veldheer in the lineup more difficult. Solution? Left to Right -Hendo, Gallery, Hartwig, Walker, Veldheer. Unless you happen to know a quality veteran tackle we can pick up on the cheap.
Antonio Bryant would be a good pickup to fill in for perennial All-Injured List 1st teamer Chaz Schilens. Chaz, I love ya, but you spend more time at the doctor than your old kinda-QB.
If Erik Pears is on the roster, I will have proof that there is a God, and he hate me. Like ikickedapuppyandrobbedachurchhadanabortionpeedonastatueofjesus kind of hate. Oh well. You and the horse you rode in on too. If you're going to hell, go head first.
7-9 looks to be a realistic outcome. If it's more, great. If not, you have to tell the kids we lost cable.
John Marshall is only here because he stood up for Cable in the infamous Hanson beatdown. Maybe he needs to grow a mullet. It was the only reason I liked Rob Ryan, might as well be the reason I like his sorry ass.
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Lots of mindlessness....yet,
..after cutting thru all that palaver everything you said about Gradkowski is true. Even my old carcass gets excited when he’s in the game and just makes it look easy and takes charge. Theyre just a different team when he’s out there. I already have a ticket for Oak @ Pitt Nov. 21. I dont think Campbell will be starting in November.
I only caught the highlights on Raiders.com but noticed that many 3rd down passes to Higgins were incomplete over the middle from Gardkowski. Was it the passes or was Higgins shaking like a dog shitting razor blades everytime he went over the middle? He hasnt been the same since they rang his bell…they pussified him.
Grad threw 4 times to JLH all night, one for a TD, one for 15 yards and two incomplete on 3rd down
One thing I noticed is Grad’s immense success when not in the (obvious passing situation) shotgun.
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 9:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Ha,ha,Ha, I just knew some one would vote for the last one
I could only listen to the Niner game on the radio, but even that, as soon as Gradkowski came in, it was evident not just from the roar of the stadium rocking, but the spark He injected into the team. The announcers made mention of it too, how Grad in the game fired up the whole team.
Grad’s experience with the team and players is beyond what J.C. has grasped yet, not knocking J.C., but he does seem a bit tentative yet, the chemistry with the players is not what it is with Grad at this point.
Yes, Grad has a good argument for being starter, then again, he has been injury prone, so he may be more valuable healthy at back up, to bring that jolt of energy to the team at times they may slump with J.C. at the helm.
If I were confidant of the O line to protect our QB’s, I say cut Boller and keep Brennen, but I’m not confidant of them.
With cuts coming today, and players that come available, I think the O line still has needs and should be first order of business IF someone good comes available, a stronger O line can make everyone look better.
Second I’d be looking at what backs come available, maybe Willie Parker or??
I just think those positions are more in need than at WR right now.
by Kevin Coffman on Sep 4, 2010 11:00 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Okay why the hell is Bruce winning?
Campbell has proven to actually be a solid player w/o injury issues.
I love Bruce too but I also love Brian Scalabrine more than Ray Allen.
" Only build on positives , don't stack the negatives...Instead of criticizing , what was a positive?" - Donavin Darius
"There is nothing like a wise phrase or quote to help convince others that your decision makes sense." - Anon
"If you're ever in a fair fight, then your tactics suck." ಠ_ಠ
He has effective charisma
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions
So did Adonal Foyle
" Only build on positives , don't stack the negatives...Instead of criticizing , what was a positive?" - Donavin Darius
"There is nothing like a wise phrase or quote to help convince others that your decision makes sense." - Anon
"If you're ever in a fair fight, then your tactics suck." ಠ_ಠ
So
explain your reasoning on why not Gradkowski. I have yet to see anyone actually give a reason on why he shouldn’t start/play.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Charisma is great
but that’s not all he brings to the table. See my post below, I don’t feel like typing it out again since we’re an agreement about him.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I would have to guess
that he’s winning because all the people that knew JR was gonna be a bust saw what Gradkowski did last year and admitted that he did well and he was a leader and he turned the ENTIRE, not just the offense, but the ENTIRE team around. And he looked good when he went in for Campbell in the last preseason game. Yes yes preseason I know bla bla. The point is that Gradkowski brings a lot to the table, and is a good leader and player. So why shouldn’t he be winning? And umm….Campbell has 2 injuries already. Yeah he’s back, but he had to be relieved, so that’s an issue if he couldn’t go back in the next series. And up til the MCL last year due to a horrible o-line, and for once that excuse is legitimate, Gradkowksi wasn’t known to be injury prone. And since I always talk up about Grad, I did some research, and it just confirms my theory that he’s a good player and when given the keys and full confidence of the team (players and coaches and management) he can produce.
So now that I explained my stance and opinion, explain yours on why not.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Honestly
I cannot say who I would rather start, until I see Campbell in action this year, in a starting role. I also want to see Grad get a few starts as well, but only if Campbell doesn play as expected.
I guess that means I would like to have Campbell start. Here are some reasons I guess:
1) He is more durable
2) Has better arm strength, and accuracy to go with it.
3) Moves around in the pocket VERY, VERY well, and knows when to scramble.
I guess that’s all I have.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
okay
1) Gradkowski didn’t have injury problems up until last year behind a legitimately bad O-line. So I’ll give partial credit there.
2) Maybe Campbell can get the ball farther, but Grad’s accuracy a problem?
3) So you’re saying after seeing him last year, you don’t think Grad can scramble? You must have been watching the NE game at those times?
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
by mikesd1981 on Sep 4, 2010 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I forgot to mention
his elusiveness in the pocket and able to squirm his way out and get in position to still make the the throw for a completion.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
okay. i agree.
Campbell displayed elusiveness in the pocket as well, and get in position to make a throw.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Campbell is a bit stiff so far
Even Boller impressed me more.
by Spirals galore on Sep 4, 2010 6:25 PM PDT up reply actions
2) I didn;t say anything about grad’s accuracy. In fact, I think Grad does have very good accuracy.
Maybe I’ll compare accuracy on the run? Grad may have the upper hand in that as well, idk. In terms of overall, arm strength and accuracy, I think Campbell is may be more all around better. He has been very accurate throughout pre-season, and I do think he does have a stronger arm.
3) I didn’t say Grad can’t scramble either. I’m just implying that Campbell can scramble as well. In terms of pocket presence, I like what I see from Campbell so far. I like how he moves in the pocket, and seems in control. Grad displays that too, but since I believe in what I said at #2, I would pick Campbell.
I guess I can also say that we should just have Campbell start, just because he has more starting experience. Some good reason’s why this is ideal, is because:
A) We have not seen Grad in a starting role yet, so we don’t know what to expect from him if he starts 16 games. So lets have him start and see? You would say. I would ask in return, As a coach, would you rather start a guy who has started all 16 games before, played very well in pre-season, and is developing good chemistry with your team already; or would you start a guy who we don’t know if he can play all 16 games due to the possibility with being injured again(since he has already been injured before, the chances of being injured again increase and we don;t know when he’ll last), played very well in pre-season, and has good chemistry with the team.
B) Starting experience in all 16 games means that he has played against teams more often, and the type of defenses they run.
I think that’s all I can give so far.
I love Grad, but I just want to see how Campbell can do with us first. We put Grad in last year because JaMarcus was sucking still, and we saw what Grad is capable(capable) of, but we don’t know if he can do that on a consistent basis. Campbell, we know is consistent, because he already has displayed it. If he isn’t playing very well, then Cable should throw in grad, but if he plays very well, than what would be the problem?
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
see it's likely i'd be less of an ass
well probably not.
Accuracy on the run? I thought I covered that when I said he can squirm out of the sack and get the ball off for a completion.
I’ll buy the experience argument.
I almost would buy the injury argument except that behind that o-line Campbell is at risk too. And he has the stinger and sore wrists too.
Soooo the only argument u have here, and I’ll go along with it, is experience in starting. However, let me throw out that Gradkowksi already had chemistry w/ the team players and worked w/ DHB over the postseason and gained more chemistry w/ him to help him out. Campbell has to come in and learn yet another system and gain chemistry w/ the team. Had Grad not hurt his peck, I think he could have taken the job.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
erm
I’d be less of an ass had you explained that to begin with.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Well like I said. Campbell is already developing chemistry with them. I'd like to see what he can do, with that experience he has.
You did cover it. I read it, and I agree. I know grad can throw well on the run, and I said that. I also said that Campbell does that as well. Not squirm, but he can throw on the run very well.
Campbell says it’s nothing(or there were reports that he said that). Not as bad as a ( Pectoral muscle? I can’t remember grad’s injury, but I’m sure it’s worse what Campbell has). Campbell is larger than Grad, and given the fact that HIS injuries were not as bad as Grad’s, I’d say Campbell is less likely to get injured.
Grad does have chemistry with his guys already, which is the only reason why I WOULD want Grad to start over Campbell, and the fact that he knows the system more.
HOWEVER, because Campbell has that starting experience, and I do think he has better throwing(I think they are both accurate, but I do think Campbell has better arm strength. They both can throw on the run, and have very good pocket presence, but because of the arm strength, I say Campbell has better throwing mechanics), and he is developing very good chemistry already.
I’ll give Campbell maybe 3 games, and if he doesn;t perform as expected, by all means, I say throw in Grad, and see what he can do.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
My argument is
that Gannon was never known for a strong arm and he did well because he had the traits that Gradkowski shows. Had he not tore his pectoral muscle, I really think there would have been some competition. Its not like Grad has been injury prone all his career. I’m saying I know how Grad can do w/ the team, but I don’t know how Campbell can do w/ the team. So going on that, if there was real competition, I think Grad would have been the starter. But due to the situation, I’ll go along w/ your 3 game assessment. Better than 3 years or whatever you used to justify bad QBing.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
lol :)
anyways, it’s not like I don’t think Grad will do great with us. I just think that we should give campbell a chance first. reason being:
A) more starting experience
B) not as injury prone
C) looked very good in passing in pre-season(so does grad)
D) Looked to have very good pocket presence(so does grad)
E) Looks to have good chemistry with the offense(so does grad).
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
not as injury prone??
Two injuries in one game – that’s a bit much.
by Spirals galore on Sep 4, 2010 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions
you can suffer two injuries in one game. it can happen.
But comparing each injury, Campbell’s appears to be less severe than what Grad had. That’s what I meant.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
*it can happen, but not be severe.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
According to medical sources,
players with stingers are allowed to play once the symptoms are gone, which sometimes is two minutes. Campbell was not allowed to play after two minutes, which means one of two things: either his injury was more severe, or Al treats him as a porcelain doll, and Jason doesn’t mind it. If the latter is true, I think he’s a bit fragile, emotionally. If the former, it’s good that we have Grad and Boller.
by Spirals galore on Sep 4, 2010 6:44 PM PDT up reply actions
indeed.
I was thinking more of the former. Only because it’s pre-season, you can give the other QBs a try(didn’t Grad play in that game? If so, maybe Cable just decided to put Grad in right there) And keep Campbell on the sidelined just in case if it was something that may have been severe. You did say he had two injuries in one game, which leads me to think that it was that game. So I think it was the former.
if it’s the latter, I don’t know if it’s as severe as grads injury or not, but if it is more severe than we realize, than I am very glad we have grad.
:)
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Also, I don't think Campbell will get worked up if Al sidelines him in a pre-season game.
I don’t even think him getting worked up emotionally is part of his personality, but I don’t know him personally, so I can’t say.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
He better get worked up.
I don’t want another Russell where he doesn’t get heated.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Good point.
But I only want him to get worked up if he thinks the staff is loosing CONFIDENCE in him, nit because they want to play it safe with him due to pre-season. That would be him being whiny(so to speak).
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
by then it's too late.
If you don’t show passion before the shit hits the fan, the confidence is lost before it’s even endowed.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
So by them taking him out, in pre-season,
would make him think that they are demoralizing him, thus loosing his passion to play the game?
Reason why I don’t think this is because he was brought in here, and was called by his teammates as an excellent leader. I don;t think that situation would destroy everything that he has tried to work on with his team this offseason. The thing your talking about has to develop over time.
Like taking him out after 3 games, and putting in grad for the rest of the season. That should drive him to do better, but if the next offseason comes along, then he’ll be a free agent, and go to another team. If it;s as a backup, maybe he’ll loose his passion, or try and be better. I think it’s the latter judging what the payers say of him now.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
If I remember correctly, Campbell was doing very good as well.
until they took him out that is, because they didn’t want him to be irritating the injury, and making it worse.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Awww
did Jason get banged up? Poor baby don’t want him to work through. Thats not the point. The point is Grad went in cold and still. Lit. It. Up.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Okay.
My point was that the COACHES took him out. and only THE COACHES have the power to put him back in.
So that leaves to this reasoning that THE COACHES, took this opportunity not only to make sure Campbell is completely fine(which is understandable, considering that CABLE had him planned as the #1 starter), but to ALSO evaluate your other QBs. Since it as PRE-SEASON.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
I'm saying
that ever point you’re making for Campbell to start over Grad, I’m making a counter point which then makes you hee and hum to counter again.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I could say the same for you.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
no you can't.
I’m making the same proven point over and over and over watching you try to come back and talk your way out of it.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Really?
Okay.
My point was that the COACHES took him out. and only THE COACHES have the power to put him back in.
So that leaves to this reasoning that THE COACHES, took this opportunity not only to make sure Campbell is completely fine(which is understandable, considering that CABLE had him planned as the #1 starter), but to ALSO evaluate your other QBs. Since it as PRE-SEASON.
Are you saying that this doesn;t seem likely? Or logical? If all you have to say is:
<blockquotethat ever point you’re making for Campbell to start over Grad, I’m making a counter point which then makes you hee and hum to counter again.>
in response, then I don’t know what else to tell you.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
block quote fail.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Campbell could have pushed to go back in
and probably would have been allowed too. Gradkowksi tried to go back in when he got hurt, and in fact played for a while on one torn MCL……
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
That was during the regular season no? And yes, he is a true warrior, and loves the game. Brady played all 16 games last ear with broken ribs. It's not uncommon for players to want play , even when injured
(although I didn’t remember Grad playing with an mcl injury… but if you say so, I’ll believe you.).
If your supposed starter, in any way, gets injured in a pre-season game, you take him out.
Oh yeah, IT WAS A PRE-SEASON GAME! If it was a regular season game, like in Grad’s case, I’m sure campbell would have pushed to go back in. But this was a PRE-SEASON game. Coaches need to evaluate their players, and I don’t think Campbell won’t exactly mind much since it is in fact a pre-season game.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
The point is
he should have the fire to want to go back in. At least argue w/ the coach a little and show passion.
Grad had 1 torn MCL before he got rammed into the ground and tore the other in the skins game.
the lats preseason game is important cuz it’s when the starters play the most usually.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
They always say it's the 3rd pre-season game is when most of the starters will play, but I think it's all up to the coaches.
There is no need to display the fire. That’s all Im saying. hell, this was when Grad was fighting for the backup QB spot, and we were all debating who should be backup(which was obvious to me. Grad).
Your reading too much into it I thinks.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
I never debated Grad
being the back up. I knew it when we got Campbell. I knew it when he signed the tenure. I’m not reading into anything. I’m making logical arguments on why he should start, and you’re just arguing in circles by accusing me of putting words in your mouth.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I think he should be given a chance to start sometime.
But at this moment, I don’t think he should. We just got JC with a 1 year contract(I think), and we haven’t seen him play a regular season game with us. We need to see how he does, to get an overall feeling of our QB situation.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
2 years. he signed an extension.
it was big news on draft day. And less boring than NE. Follow along man.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
My mistake. :)
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Let me tell you what I saw
Grad was always there when they were discussing other qb’s plays; Campbell was not. Grad is interested in the game for the game’s sake. I don’t know yet about Campbell, but I was not impressed with his attitude during the last game.
by Spirals galore on Sep 4, 2010 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not impressed w/ him at all.
I think he uses the excuse of new coaches new schemes too much. Grad’s been beat around the league too and …well…look what he did here.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Is this talking about the pre-season?
Because how man throwing attempts did Grad have over Campbell? I think a lot.
I’m pretty sure Campbell is interested in the games sake, only because I heard great reports from his teammates in camp.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
no we're from the future
and she’s talking about the Tennessee game.
Regardless,. You’ll notice that Grad, who’s not even a starter, was fired up even during the preseason games.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Okay good. JC performed very well too with the amount of attempts he had.
He led the team down the field to score as well.
I’m sorry if you don’t see JC rolling out to the left or right all the time, avoiding any tremendous pressure, making throws on the run, or throwing DEEP down field as much as Grad does. I guess Campbell doesn’t do as much exciting stuff as grad does.
But the fact is, is that JC performed solid in pre-season, despite any non-flashiness. I’m not saying Grad didn’t, I’m just saying that JC did.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
i’m not disagreeing I’m saying if the’re already both equal, start the guy who already has chemistry.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
or start the guy who has more game experience
and currently has good chemistry with his offense.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
You're saying game experience.
That’s fine. But Grad showed he can handle it last year. And if he doesn’t get more game experience you can just always fall on that excuse.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I'm saying that THAT IS THE REASON why Campbell is starting NOW.
Grad looks to have potential, but nothing is certain. But it’s more certain about Campbell. If he doesn’t perform well, I guarantee you, you will see Grad play in more games.
Grad only played in two games last year, and you already said he can handle it. I remember he threw the ball RIGHT to a pittsburgh defender, and the guy dropped it. there was luck that played into that game as well, you have to admit.
Here’s a vid from a guy who analyzed the drive. there is also a part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqR1-NduGpg
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
maybe it was luck
but it wasn’t luck to come from behind in the 4th quarter and move the ball down field like he did. I don’t think Campbell will get the D and O riled up either like Grad did.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
The thing is though, is that we don't know
until he starts with us.
We agree for 3 games to see what he has. let’s leave it at that.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Campbell doesn't have the fire - he's technically
a good QB and with a good line he would be a starter on most NFL teams – but on this Raider team, I believe and think that Grad has more to offer.
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions
okay.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
What does "okay" mean?
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 8:57 PM PDT up reply actions
I think he's accepting
your argument. It’s getting hard to see who’s replying to what now.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Btw, read your own signature
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions
oooo
that’s good. I wish I would have seen that but I usually ignore signatures.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Thanks guys. It was made by one of the pulpiteers named slotmachineplayer.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
no no
u miss the point. but that’s okay. it’ll click eventually……maybe in 3 years…
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
... eh my head hurts.
I’ll come back to this, get a marker board, and diagnose it later. lol
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
it goes back to the fire that Grad has
and your signature goes towards Sons and my own arguments of why Grad should start.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Thanks. And I'm just pooped by this. lol
I’m just going to wait and see the first couple weeks, then I’ll see how his fire is. I will say that I do think Grad has TREMENDOUS amount of fire(I think we should cal it valor? lol).
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Whatever we call it, it affects
those around him and that is what makes him a special asset that can take our (overall) mediocrity to a higher level.
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 4, 2010 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions
if we were a playoff team alredy
sure JC would be good. But Grad has more of the takes no bullshit that we need to get to there.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I agree with all of you.
I think the fact that Bruce came into the SF game after 2 severe injuries and picked up right where he left off is showing that he deserves a chance. The game against Seattle just further solidified that argument. However taking Campbell out for good was one of the few wise moves Cable has done this preseason. Who knows if it was just a stinger after the way our QBs went down like flies last year and the fact that Michael Bush left the same game with a broken thumb. Let him rest up since it is preseason and take a couple of weeks so he can be as close to 100% for Tennessee and play his ass off. The passing game is the key to the offensive game plan as the Titans allowed 258 passing ypg last year.
Cowards die many times before their deaths
The valiant never taste of death but once.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Julius Caesar
Fact is we need both this season - don't believe either can withstand our lineblocking
without intermittently taking a seat . I support substitutions when called for and Cable does respond to encouraging “booing” … his conscience will hurt and he’ll do the right thing.
S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
by Sons-of-Blanda on Sep 6, 2010 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions
That's 2 injuries in 1 game.
Grad had 2 injuries in 2 different times……
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
So that would make grad more injury prone no? Because it was two different times?
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
.........no
it makes it equal at best, Campbell worse cuz it happend @ the same time, and during a game. One of Grad’s wasn’t during a game and just tough luck doing something. Campbell couldn’t protect himself.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Again
bad o-line. Legitimate argument there. And ill advised work out program. 2 injuries in his career doesn’t make him injury prone. McFadden is injury prone. That’s your #1 argument. Well your only one. And it’s worth a quarter point maybe.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I understand the bad OL part. The OL is better now, and we have a guy behind center who I think has better throwing mechanics, a la Campbell.
Two injuries, one right after the other, can in fact make him injury prone(POSSIBLY). I label injury prone when you have a certain amount of injuries in a period of time. Grad had two injuries, I think different injuries, in a short span. Campbell just got injured one game, two injuries, but I don’t exactly label him injury prone because i only happened in one game, and he played the next week. If he gets injured AGAIN sometime this season, THEN we can say that he’s possibly injury prone.
But we’ll see how Campbell does in the regular season. It’s WAS only pre-season, so we don’t exactly know how Campbell will perform. I liked what I say out of him, and he seemed to be commanding the offense. Remember he helped lead opening drives for TDs a few times this pre-season, and he’s only been with us for a few months now. The team and the coaches seem to like him a lot, so I say have him FIRST get the opportunity. If he doesn’t do well, then replace him with Grad.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
ummmm
1 game is less time than a few months. if that’s not a short span, what’s a long span? Remember that Grad came in and mopped up again and scored some TD’s of his own….
See, we DO KNOW how Grad will perform…so you’re just bolstering my opinion that Grad should start.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Keep in mind Grad was again injured in the offseason. that’s a good couple(maybe few) months time span.
Grad did well in pre-season too.
I forgot to mention in that paragraph that Campbell has more REGULAR SEASON starting experience. So we have an idea of what to expect from Campbell when he starts with us. We don’t exactly know how Grad will perform in a 16 game season, and be consistent. We simply don’t no. But we know Campbell will give us consistency, hopefully good consistency, in a 16 game season. If he plays well in the first couple weeks, I can expect him to mostly play well every week(he’ll probably have one or two bad games).
I can also say that the teams Grad played last year, didn’t really have any film of him, or expected him to be good at all(just read and see where I’m going with this).
So if Grad starts, not only don’t we know if he’ll be consistent, BUT:
1) When teams watch him perform more often, they’ll get more video of how he throws, who he looks to most often, etc etc, and try to expose him. He didn’t have to go through that last year because he only played in two games, and teams underestimated him probably. So when teams start watching video of him how do we know how he can handle it? We don’t know. BUT
Campbell, by starting full seasons, knows what that is like. When teams game plan against you. When you face different looks from different teams. He adjusted plays A LOT more than grad has, and has experienced different blitz looks A LOT more than Grad has.
All signs, to me, point to Campbell as the guy who should start.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
wow you're really stretching here
We can’t be sure Campbell will be consistent with us either. I said before, 2 out of 4 seasons were a winning season.
Not having film on Grad? Wow. How long did it take to come up w/ that argument? You can’t admit that Grad knew the play book and knows how to execute a scheme? You also realize had the o-line protected him a more, we would have beat the Skins last year right?
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
As far as I know, Campbell had a worse OL in Washington No?
He had SEVERAL offensive coaching changes, scheme changes, and player changes no? It;s hard to have 4-4 winning season with the type of players Campbell had on his team no?
By consistency, I’m talking about his numbers: http://www.nfl.com/players/jasoncampbell/profile?id=CAM375235
They got better each year. Which is great.
Grad knows the playbook, I said this already. I admitted it in one of the other posts I did. But I believed I mentioned other things as well in my post.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
But I'm saying
that Grad has not only had different coaches, but completely differnet teams. Having also to have to move each time and have more stress thrown on him, and still had the ability to learn the game enough to come here and light it up behind a HORRIBLE o-line that finally just let him down. And still he didn’t blame anyone. He was bummed, but he wanted to come back the next game. Spunk, leadership, talent, intelligence, chemistry w/ the team. Already proven and installed. Why change it up?
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
that Grad has not only had different coaches, but completely differnet teams. Having also to have to move each time and have more stress thrown on him, and still had the ability to learn the game enough to come here and light it up behind a HORRIBLE o-line that finally just let him down. And still he didn’t blame anyone. He was bummed, but he wanted to come back the next game. Spunk, leadership, talent, intelligence, chemistry w/ the team. Already proven and installed. Why change it up?
I think that was the same case for campbell in washington. Only supposedly worse OL and WR. Regardless, I think the main reason campbell is starting because of the amount of starting time he has in the league, which is VERY important(i said why. And I know I keep bringing this up, and you would say that this is the only thing I have, but it’s something to take into account).
Next week is the best time to discuss this though, not now. Maybe after a couple weeks. This debate will go on and on, until we see how Campbell performs. And if he doesn’t perform to how we like it, then start Grad.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
no no no
you’re using it as an EXCUSE for a 2-4 seasons. I’m saying it’s DESPITE that Grad is still a good QB.
The reason he’s starting
1) Grad’s injury to his peck, which wasn’t his throwing side any way I don’t think
2) the contract extension
3) all of the above.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Okay, I'll repeat what I said earlier:
As far as I know, Campbell had a worse OL in Washington No?
He had SEVERAL offensive coaching changes, scheme changes, and player changes no? It;s hard to have 4-4 winning season with the type of players Campbell had on his team no?
By consistency, I’m talking about his numbers: http://www.nfl.com/players/jasoncampbell/profile?id=CAM375235
He got better each year. Which is great.
And I;m still still sticking by that coaching changes, personnel, and playbook DOES IN FACT change how the QB plays.
ALSO:
But what about the HORRIBLE play calling last year and Grad still made it work That was worse than having multiple coaches.
Yeah. 2 games last year. I can name two good games from russel. Do you want me to?
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
for what?
the point is the play calling was all over the place last year and Cable’s job was up in the air, and still Gradkowski put that behind him and did his job. So coaching changes excuse doesn’t work. If you’re trying to pull 2 games where Russell did good to make your point, you’re losing already.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
IT WAS TWO GAMES!
Here’s a note, the pats had a new OC last year. The play-calling was HORRENDOUS! It was only moss and welker. that’s it. we were one dimensional.
But I can name two games, even more, that Tom did VERY well, and games where tom DID NOT do well at all.
The thing is, two games that Gad played in last year, will not judge how AN ENTIRE SEASON will look like. That’s why your point of play calling not mattering is wrong. and coaching changes as well. Because two games is not enough to judge how much of the play calling affected him. you need a larger sample size.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
How can we get a larger sample size
if he doesn’t get the games? See you can fall on that excuse all the time. It’s a safe argument. You have yet to put forth a true reason why Campbell really is the better QB other than experience. And that’s worth a 1/4 point maybe. But in the games Grad played last year he look liked starting material. Never backing down. I don’t think Campbell could have pulled that upset at Pittsburgh. I just don’t think he has the fire and drive like Gradkowski does. Is he a good QB. Maybe. But is he driven? Not like Grad. If the team starts to fall apart, I don’t think Campbell will rally them together like Grad can. And that’s where Grad pulls ahead in the race.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
But see. Your not giving JC a fair chance either.
It’s tough, but it;s the nfl. Cassel had to wait 4 years to get a full 16 game season, and that was because of the one incident. He’ll get his time. As much as I want to see him start a full season, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, unless the coaches feel that he can perform better than JC at the moment. Can he? I don’t know. We’ll have to see how JC does this season.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
I think you're overrating
Campbell. He may do good enough, but I really think Grad as more of the fire to get the team fired up and playing @ 110%.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
We will see.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Tough Call
But it is a “problem” to have. Ithink Campbell gets the job because he can make every kind of throw in the game. Accurately. With power.
Gradkowski is amazing also, but he is not gifted. He is a hard worker who knows the playbook very well. He has great pocket presence and at the moment, it is better than Campbells.
If Winning Isn't Everthing, Why Do They Keep Score? - Vince Lombardi
he's not gifted - explain more
In terms of giftedness, they seem about the same. Al, for some reason, wants Campbell to start, and so be it. It would be really interesting to watch what would happen if Campbell doesn’t meet Al’s expectations, which are rather high.
by Spirals galore on Sep 4, 2010 6:30 PM PDT up reply actions
I think Campbell's getting annointed
due to either
1) Injury to Grad
or
2) cuz of the contract extension.
But I dont see any proof yet where Campbell is more gifted. Looking @ the skins record under him, 4 years, 2 winning seasons only. Doesn’t seem like he was able to rally like Grad did.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
keep in mind any personnel changes(ie. coaches, players, etc.).
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
But yes, I have yet to see proof that either one is gifted over the other. Grad has potential, but I can say the same for Campbell.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
no no no no no
A leader works through that and rallies the troops. The coaching/management excuse never flies for me.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
It has been said that he was a leader on that team.
and if you bring up the 2-4 winning seasons(which not All QBs will have 4-4 winning seasons), keep in mind that being a leader has something to do with it, but also playcalling and personnel.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
But define leadership.
I never read anything about him calling a player out. And I never read anything about him rebuilding confidence if a player fucks up. And I have a lot of Skins fans that are friends, and my dad is too. We talk football all the time, so I keep up w/ NFC East. Especially since I live in Philly territory. But what about the HORRIBLE play calling last year and Grad still made it work That was worse than having multiple coaches. So..ummm….the coach change argument fails.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I don;t think so. Grad made it work in only two games. Hell I could name two games russel performed good.
I define leadership as the ability to not only rally a team, but set an example. According to a few skins fans that came here, and told up all the great things JC was, and how he always strived to be better, and how his work ethic is, I find it hard to believe that he wasn’t any sort of leader on that team. U
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
oh by example.
But while Grad didn’t make wins, he did make the team work. Even when we got outplayed, we still played our hardest behind Grad.
And what about the players that backed him up 200% saying how much they basically loved Grad when he went in? He has all the qualities that you want to see in Campbell, so why not let him start when he has the chemistry already? And knows the plays.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Did I SAY AT ALL that Grad wasn't a great leader? NO I DID NOT!
He has all the qualities that you want to see in Campbell, so why not let him start when he has the chemistry already? And knows the plays.
He has more experience in a 16 game season. And to, again, say why this is important, I’ll repeat(again) what I said earlier:
Campbell, by starting full seasons, knows what that is like. When teams game plan against you. When you face different looks from different teams. He adjusted plays A LOT more than grad has, and has experienced different blitz looks A LOT more than Grad has.
Starting experience in all 16 games means that he has played against teams more often, and the type of defenses they run.
We have not seen Grad in a starting role yet, so we don’t know what to expect from him if he starts 16 games.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
And that's the only argument
you can win a little bit with. Cuz it’s safe, cuz Grad will never get the experience. You didn’t say he’s not a leader, I’m pointing out why Grad should be the starter. All the same qualities plus the chemistry and fire. Campbell may have chemistry, but I doubt he’ll get the whole team fired up. When Grad went in last year even the Defense perked up. It was like giving the team a huge railer of crank. In fact I’m gonna call him Gradcrankski now.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
And you can always fall back on with the chemistry, because Grad played with these guys longer than JC has.
And you can’t say that Campbell doesn’t have ANY leadership at all, and you can’t say he doesn’t have fire. He did lead the redskins to 2 winning seasons (back to back I think?) into the playoffs, so I’m pretty sure he has both. You can’t always win it all either.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
I'm saying the chemistry obviosly spilled over
and there was no reason to annoint JC yet as starter. JC can work on getting chemistry as 2nd string just like Grad did.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
I was actually rooting for that when he came in.
But yes, the whole starting the amount of games thing came in… and the amount of success he’s had in all that time their with a bad OL and average WRs. Like we have. :)
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
but we'll see how it goes.
I just think we’d get farther with Grad over JC because Grad will go in the locker room and start banging heads. JC seems like he can lead, but more in actions on field than actually off.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
What do you mean average WRs?
Their receiver corps makes our look like high school kids. The WRs, the TEs, and on top of all that they got Portis.
Gradkowski is amazing also, but he is not gifted
This is the only knock on Gradkowski since he assumed the starting role mid-season. Even our own commentators sell him short. “Oh he doesn’t have a strong arm or he doesn’t have the size most look for but he just makes plays.” I’ve seen him throw lasers to our receivers on a line about 20-25 yards downfield and it’s been in small windows completed. That tells you all you need to know about his arm strength. Campbell didn’t show much of it when he hung that duck up against the Bears did he? The contract extension is the only reason Al is politicing to have his guy start and prove to everybody that Shannarat was wrong and he was right about Jason. Campbell is a solid player but doesn’t look like he wants to be great. See the execution of the same play where Grad completed a TD to Miller and Campbell threw a pick against the blitz. Our pass protection is improved and the team as well as the crowd seems to be electric when he is in the game. I wouldn’t have been surprised had Frye not been hurt that Al may have wanted to trade him just so there wouldn’t be any chance of a QB controversy.
Cowards die many times before their deaths
The valiant never taste of death but once.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Julius Caesar
Nice to know I can start a discussion
Point 1-Jason Campbell’s experience as a starter is irrelevant at this time because he doesn’t know the system, line, receivers etc.
Point 2-By being “The Chosen One” from before he even said hello to his receivers, he reminded me of this one other fellow who was supposed to lead us to glory, ol’ whatshisname. He seems to have that same in-game attitude, like “Here’s a score, now I can go eat a Dirty Sanchez dog and wear a knit skullcap on the sidelines while the defense does the work for me.”
Point 3-When Greatkowski comes in, the team plays to its potential. After Campbell threw the TD, he seemed to give up and become complacent.
Point 4-Why in the hell did Campbell wait until the third preseason game to bother even looking for DHB? Because he was made to. Campbell bought into the espnhype that DHB was a bust and in the mediocre Bears game, DHB was so wide open several times and no one bothered to mention it to Campbell until after the game.
Point 5-His name is JaSon Campbell. Nuff said.
"God will understand. And if he does not understand, then he is not God, and we need not worry." -Orlando Bloom, Kingdom of Heaven
You saying
DHB isn’t a bust? Based on what? He can’t catch, he’s too tired, etc., etc., etc. How much lackluster performance from him before we do lump him in with JaMarcus?
It's his 2nd year.
He was working out in the off season w/ Gradkowski, even though he didn’t have to. He will always be considered a bust due to his pick rank, but DHB needs at least this year to be evaluated before being called a bust..
Now McFadden, there’s a bust.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Fair enough
But how much difference do you see between them? I gave JaMarcus the benefit of the doubt for a long time, and he couldn’t have made me look for ridiculous for it. Giving DHB the benefit of the doubt after that experience? No way.
How much difference?
was DHB really that high ranked in the books like Russell was?
this is DHB’s 2nd year. He’s been working on his catching w/ Grad during the off season before they had to be. You can’t call any player a bust after 1 year. Even I didn’t call Russell a bust til much into his 2nd year.
How can you expect any WR to come out and just be the man? What are you gonna be saying if DHB improves?
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
And right there is a difference.
He’s been taking the initiative. Russell never did. So right there’s a big difference.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
Thing is
Maclin came out for the Eagles and did just fine. Granted he had a much better quarterback throwing to him, but DHB was non-factor his first season, didn’t even compare. Any WR who’s drafted No.1 should at least be able to catch the ball. It’s one thing for a 4th rounder like Murphy to be a work in progress, but a No.1 who gets that multi-million dollar contract, ought to be worth something, and he hasn’t shown anything like that. Worse, he’s been thoroughly out-played by the 4th round pick. I mean, thank god for Murphy, otherwise we’d really be screwed.
Dude, what you’re saying now, is exactly what I was saying about JaMarcus when we were arguing over him. Don’t you remember? I kept saying Russell will get better, etc. Well probably DHB’s got a better work ethic than Russell, but all this talent we heard about at the Combine, had to be a figment of somebody’s imagination. And now he’s “fatigued”.
Yeah I keep a log of what everyone said
in all those arguments. Let me go look it up.
I stated already that DHB will always be considered a bust due to where he was picked. But everyone also knew that he was never supposed to be picked at that position. Everyone also knows that he had problems w/ his hands.
BUT he’s not like Russell because DHB was in the headquarters on his own time working out and practicing w/ Gradkowski. So you can always argue he’s a bust on where he was picked, but we have yet to see whether he’ll pan out or not. I’m not saying he’s gonna be the next Jerry Rice, but I do think he’ll amount to something.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
McFadden's been in the league long enough
always hurt, always falls down, and always fumbles.
This is DHB’s 2nd year. He needs time to show if he can improve.
McFadden has shown he cannot improve.
Win, Lose, or Tie, Raiders til I die!
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