Week 11 an ideal time for Raiders to unveil Russell

[jatfly]

Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin may be running out of excuses.
The first-year coach has spent the last five weeks protecting his first-year quarterback, JaMarcus Russell. He'll find it hard to make another six days.

Since winning back-to-back games before a Week 5 bye, Oakland has now dropped five consecutive contests by a score of 56-94. In the five-game span, both the team's quarterbacks, Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown, have started. Combined, the two vets have completed just 84 of 153 passes (54.9 percent) for 890 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions. That's just fewer than 17 completions per game for less than 180 yards.
It can't get much worse than that.

Even in a Week 10 loss at home against the Chicago Bears, McCown was outperformed by the benched Rex Grossman, who entered the game 28 minutes later than McCown did. Filling in for injured started Brian Griese, Grossman played just over half a game; he threw for 34 yards and one touchdown more than McCown on 13 fewer attempts.

Also, very quietly, McCown walked off the field banged up on Sunday. The 28-year-old suffered a serious bruised thigh in the fourth quarter and told the San Francisco Chronicle that "it's the worst type of bruise I've had."
Week 11 may be the ideal time to let rookie JaMarcus Russell take his first snap in the NFL.

The Raiders, now 2-7 and last in the AFC West, will match up against the 3-6 Minnesota Vikings, who rank last in the NFL in pass defense. The Vikings give up a whopping 285 yards through the air each game, and allow opposing QBs to complete a 30th-ranked 65.6% of their passes. The Minnesota 'D' has also picked off just eight balls this year and its top corner, Antoine Winfield, is still suffering from hamstring problems.

Still, following the say-nothing, know-nothing blueprint, Kiffin isn't in any rush to let anybody know his plans for next week. "I don't know that right now," Kiffin told beat writer Jerry McDonald. "We have to look at [McCown's] health and take everything into account. We'll have more information for you on Wednesday."

That information will likely not be much, if any at all.
"You'd like to have the same guy start every game and play every snap for you for all 16 games and go to the Pro Bowl and everything would be great," Kiffin added.
Yeah, right.

"Unfortunately, that hasn't been the situation and we've gone back and forth and we may be going back again here."
Back to what, though? Hopefully, not a familiar face.

Anthony Carroll, a senior writer for RealFootball365.com, can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com (acarroll@realfootball365.com)


I COULDN'T AGREE MORE,,,,get the big guy out there. WTF No Peterson and one of the worse defensive against the pass.....It's perfect. Also I think starting him out in Minny is good too. God forbid he has a bad start, the Oakland home crowd may start booing him too....

[jatfly]

ALAMEDA – Calling the Raiders' offensive game plan against the Chicago Bears conservative is the polite terminology.

Lane Kiffin knows it looked "boring." But there's not much else he could do.

Kiffin wants to be aggressive, but that's not logical with the Raiders' offensive personnel
Kiffin learned to attack on offense at USC and wanted to be dynamic on offense with the Raiders, but has settled for relying on defense, field position and field goals to win games, as he did in a 17-6 loss to the Bears on Sunday.

It almost worked, but after another loss, Kiffin admitted being boring isn't his style.

"It's a different world for me than what I'm used to because you're the head coach and you got to do what's best for you to win because you have to take it all in," Kiffin said. "If you're just calling the plays on offense, you don't necessarily take in all that."

The lack of respect teams have for the Raiders' passing game makes Kiffin's decision easier. The Bears dared the Raiders to pass by not bringing in an extra defensive back against three-receiver sets. And still the Raiders' passing game proved unproductive, as the team failed to gain 100 net passing yards for the third time this season.

"We don't have something to lay your hat on in the passing game right now," Kiffin said. "It would be nice to find that."

Quarterback Josh McCown said it's not as simple as just throwing the ball a lot to fix the problem.

"I think if you kind of say, 'OK, we're just going to go throwing the ball,' it makes it tough because a lot of variables come into play with throwing the football," McCown said.

Kiffin hasn't announced if there will be a quarterback change before the Raiders play Minnesota next Sunday. But regardless of the quarterback, the Raiders need to fix their many issues in passing the ball.

They lack consistent pass protection, the offensive line is the most penalized in the NFL, defenses don't respect the receivers and quarterback play has been inconsistent.

McCown said there still are timing issues that are sorted out only by teams being together for years. He said rookie JaMarcus Russell's powerful arm could solve some of those issues because he could get the ball to a receiver late and still connect because of his velocity, but Kiffin hasn't deemed him ready to play.

The Raiders struggle to pass, even though their run-oriented approach should help open up play-action pass opportunities. Usually, teams that run so much can draw defenders on run fakes and get receivers open for big passing plays.

Instead, the Raiders hurt themselves with poor execution. That also forces Kiffin to go out of character and run Justin Fargas into the line repeatedly, hoping he can break a big run.

"We should, as much as we run, be able hit a few more of those (play-action passes) as much as we run the ball," Kiffin said.

But the Raiders can't do much right in the passing game, and if they can't get on track, they have seven more weeks of boring football.

It's not what Kiffin wants to do, but it's his best chance to survive in the NFL.

About the writer:
Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.


MORE FUEL TO THE FIRE, TIME TO START RUSSELL!!!!!!!

[Rupert]

McCown said there still are timing issues that are sorted out only by teams being together for years. He said rookie JaMarcus Russell's powerful arm could solve some of those issues because he could get the ball to a receiver late and still connect because of his velocity, but Kiffin hasn't deemed him ready to play.
An excellent observation Mr. McCown, and an idea that's ripe for the picking. Time to get that berry off the vine and get the juice flowing.

[jatfly]

Some of you will LOVE THIS ONE!!!!

Bench Josh McCown. Bring back Daunte Culpepper. Throw in JaMarcus Russell.

For all this debate about who the Raiders' quarterback should be, Andrew Walter might as well be bathed in invisible ink - as if he's not even there after less than three seasons.

"The writing is on the wall," Walter said Monday.

He's right, and it says Walter is miles removed from the playing field with no way to change it. He hasn't been on the game-day active list in two weeks and has been replaced by Russell as the No. 3 emergency quarterback.

Coach Lane Kiffin has stuck with McCown as his starter when healthy, though the coach said that could change this week. Culpepper was first off the bench when McCown broke his toe in September, and likely would be again if McCown's bruised thigh is serious.

And, of course, Russell is the reigning No. 1 overall draft pick. That makes him the franchise player, quarterback of the future and richest man in the company who isn't surnamed Davis.

All this leaves Walter on the inside hoping to get out, if that's what it takes to play in the NFL again. In a season in which retiree Vinny Testaverde went from the couch to starting quarterback in less than a week, Walter can't help but think he could start somewhere else.

"There are situations out there with teams right now bringing guys off the street and have them play," Walter said. "I'm standing on the sideline on game day, so I'm saying to myself, 'I want to play' but I'm not. My goal is never to be a career backup. I want to play and be a starter.

"When you draft a guy No. 1 overall, as far as the future goes, he's going to play sooner rather than later. It sort of aces out any situation I can see myself in."

Once Walter was removed from the quarterback race in training camp, his best chance of playing was for Oakland to release or trade him when Russell ended his contract holdout in September.

Instead, the Raiders kept Walter in limbo for two reasons: McCown kept getting hurt, and unlike McCown and Culpepper, Walter is under contract next season.

In other words, he has become the new Marques Tuiasosopo, who was chained to the Raiders' bench from 2001 to 2006 before leaving for the Jets this year. He was barely given a chance to start, but kept in silver and black for emergencies.

Kiffin, a backup quarterback throughout college, seems to empathize with Walter, not that he'll do anything to make life easier for him.

"I think Andrew's done great," Kiffin said. "It's really not easy when you see guys not producing. When you see a team losing, you think, 'Well, I can do that. I can turn the ball over three times. I can lead us to six points.' "

Actually, that's what Walter did throughout eight starts last season. Thrown behind the worst pass protection in the NFL, Walter didn't have a fighting chance as the Raiders' offense ranked among the worst in the post-merger era.

Kiffin brought a West Coast offense with a mobile pocket in the offseason. Walter is more of a drop-back quarterback who throws strong from the pocket. He played well in the exhibition season but wasn't a fit for Kiffin's offense.

So now, he waits, three quarterback injuries away from getting another chance.

"Ultimately, I want to play," Walter said. "I would have been thrilled if that was here. If it's somewhere else, that's up to the organization."

What's the difference?
Season stats for Raiders quarterbacks Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper:


Stat
McCown Culpepper

Starts
5 4
Attempts
122 125

Completions
71 70

Comp. pct
58.2 56

Yards
760 817

Yds/Att
6.2 6.5
TD 5 4
INT
9 4

Sacked
13 14

Rating
59.5 73.3



E-mail David White at dwhite@sfchronicle.com.

[Rupert]

Jat: here's another solid reason to start the Russell era. If Kiffin keeps dropping pages of the play book from the game plan because guys can't execute them, he's going in the wrong direction. He's trying to win, and that's really commendable. Hell, we all want to win, but the evidence is far too damning to ignore. Go with a simplified game plan that stretched Russell's knowledge a bit. Start building the game plan up, don't keep tearing it down. man that's just going in the wrong direction.

The only way this team is going to start executing on game day is to get the reps on game day. These guys are going to have to work it out. And since Russell is the QB of the near future, it makes perfect sense to start working on his execution. I really don't see the benefit of getting McCown to execute all the plays properly. Who is he going to light a fire under? The team already executes like he's a lame duck playing out the string of a contract that won't get renewed.

Russell is guaranteed to be here for the next several years. The team has too much invested to not play him. How many players on the team carry that much cap weight? So players know they have to put out or get out. And when Russell gives the offense a tug, they'll have to pay attention.

[SoCalRaider]

You would think the Vikings game would be a better game to re-unveil DC against his former mates... especially if the Fins game is any indication... That said, if Kiffin does make another change (and he should), he really needs to stick with it this time.

[Jack's sore libido]

What a bizarre quote from Kiffin:


"I think Andrew's done great," Kiffin said. "It's really not easy when you see guys not producing. When you see a team losing, you think, 'Well, I can do that. I can turn the ball over three times. I can lead us to six points.' "

[CrossBones]

What a bizarre quote from Kiffin:


"I think Andrew's done great," Kiffin said. "It's really not easy when you see guys not producing. When you see a team losing, you think, 'Well, I can do that. I can turn the ball over three times. I can lead us to six points.' "Yeah bizarre it is.

Sometimes I wonder if Kiffin thinks before he talks. In a lot of ways I feel sorry for Walter. Even though I don't care for him much the guy doesn't seem to have been given a fair shake. Oh well...up, up and away.

[RHC]

McCown said there still are timing issues that are sorted out only by teams being together for years. He said rookie JaMarcus Russell's powerful arm could solve some of those issues because he could get the ball to a receiver late and still connect because of his velocity, but Kiffin hasn't deemed him ready to play.[/SIZE]
With his gun he should be able to hit guys who have less separation.I demand that you people listen more closely to me from here on out!

You'd all be better off.


:p

[Raidermania12]

I get the quote. He's saying that Walter is like "Put me in coach. I can't do any worse than these sorry bitches!". :p

but Kiffin hasn't deemed him ready to play.
That part doesnt seem on board with your statements..

[Jack's sore libido]

I get it, too. Just an odd way to phrase that, and a pretty uncharacteristic message from a coach who has played so much so close to the vest.

[london raider 2]

In a similar situation the Fins are starting Beck this week & they are worse than us.

[Swords]

Passed on Brady and got Ginn
Got rid of Welker
Traded their #1 WR to SD
Got rid of their #1 TE McMichael

I'm not going to suggest we pattern our decisions after the Dolphins.

... but then again

we got rid of Moss
passed on Joe T
passed on AP
drafted a QB and played "Let's Make a Deal" w/ his agent