Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 8,458
- Reaction score
- 546
Bones said I should stop by and say hi so I took a couple of minutes to do so...and I didn't want to make a visit empty handed...
Ronald Curry Q&A
A healthy Ronald Curry talks about his future, the new-look Raiders and former teammate Randy Moss.
By MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
June 27, 2007, 7:54 PM EDT
HAMPTON -- Former Hampton High School star Ronald Curry, entering his sixth season a wide receiver with the Oakland Raiders, is in town for the Ronald Curry Celebrity Weekend. He talked to the Daily Press on Wednesday about his injury-plagued career, the new-look Raiders, Randy Moss, and what he has left to prove.
Q: There have been quite a few changes this offseason in Oakland. What have you seen from the Raiders' first-round draft pick, former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell?
A: His first camp, he looked like a rookie. He looked good but he still made rookie mistakes. He's gotten better and better. I think if he has to play this year, he'll do great, do a good job.
Q: There were some pre-draft concerns about Russell's commitment to the game. Were any of those concerns valid?
A: I think he's dedicated to the game. He's very attentive in meetings, and he seems to always be prepared. ... I think people (questioned him) because of his size (6-6, 255 pounds) and his weight. They feel like if football is that important to you, maybe he should take better care of himself. But in the pros, you know your body is the way you get paid. In college, you don't really realize that. ... He looks in good shape. He's a big boy. He's not gonna be but so small anyway.
Q: What's it been like without receiver Randy Moss (traded on draft day to New England)?
A: Even though Randy didn't have the season everybody thought he should have last year, the defense still played him as that explosive receiver. It's gonna be up to one of us other guys to really bring that big-play power. (Moss) was great in the locker room. He was great to be around. I think Randy is very misunderstood. He didn't take Media 101 on how to sugarcoat his answers. He's a very honest person. He says what everybody is thinking, and he gets knocked back for it.
Q: Was it difficult last year, with Moss unhappy in Oakland and wide receiver Jerry Porter feuding publicly with former head coach Art Shell?
A: Fifty-three guys weren't happy last year. You're 2-14. Nobody's happy with losing. Winning cures everything. Jerry, his reasons were with coach Shell. That's over with. He's happy-go-lucky again. The vibe last year was all bad all the way around for pretty much every player, every coach.
Q: How frustrating have your injuries (a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined Curry for all of 2004, then most of 2005 after he re-tore it) been?
A: It was kind of hard to get over mentally. Just being away from football, for something just to be taken away from you, is hard, but now that I'm back, you just enjoy football for what it is. ... It's finally behind me, and I feel great. I made it through the whole season last year healthy and I had a productive year (62 catches for 727 yards and a touchdown in 16 games).
Q: What's it like to play for such a young head coach (31-year-old Lane Kiffin, the former offensive coordinator at Southern Cal)?
A: He brings a lot of enthusiasm to a young team mixed with old veterans. He's coming to a team that's hungry and tired of losing. We've been losing for the last four or five years, so any coach they were gonna bring in, as long as they treated us like men and with respect, we'd be ready to run through a brick wall for them.
Q: Has all the losing in Oakland been hard on you?
A: Definitely. You come from Hampton (High) where you're 51-2 and you go to college and you win more than you lose, and you get to the pros, and the first year you go to the Super Bowl. And then the next year, it's all losing. ... We've always had the talent there. We've always had the pieces there. Nobody could understand why we just never won more games.
Q: Has something changed this season?
A: Around this time, everybody feels like they're gonna win the Super Bowl. Obviously, you're going into the season, everybody's thinking it's gonna be a different year. It's gonna be hard to tell until camp starts, (but) I think it can be a very good year. We're definitely gonna win more than two games.
Q: Are you satisfied with your career up to this point (119 catches for 1,449 yards and seven TDs in 47 games)?
A: Obviously, I wanted to be a quarterback, starting somewhere, but I'm happy. I'm always going to believe that everything happens for a reason. I'm doing what I wanted to do, play in the NFL.
Q: At age 28, do you ever think about how much longer you'll play?
A: My goal was to come and play 10 years, and this is my sixth year in the league. I think I've got more than four left in me. I'm gonna play, play, play until – I think the game will always be fun to me. I love the game of football and what it's done for me. I'm just gonna continue to play it. I never go into the season or go into anything thinking that I can't do something. If that ever happens, then I know it's time to get out.
Q: What's long-time Raiders owner Al Davis like?
A: Al Davis is great. He loves his players. He's hard on his coaches. He's looking old, but if you talk to him, he sounds like he's 20. He gives all the new hip-hop dap, you know, handshakes. I love him to death. He's given me opportunity after opportunity. ... Everybody on this team, he can tell you where you're from, what your mama and daddy's name is. He really is about his business. He loves his players and he bleeds silver and black. If anybody's upset – players upset, fans upset – I think the way things have been going has taken more of a toll on him than anybody. ... I don't know what goes on as far as him telling his coaches what to do. Sometimes you'll go to coaches and they'll say it's over their head, and you know what over their head means. But I think he means well. He's been successful doing it his way, and he feels like his way is still the right way. If you've got millions invested in something, then I feel like you can say whatever you want to.
Q: Are some of those Raiders fans as scary as they look on TV?
A: There's nothing like the Black Hole. (But) there's one spot, in the end zone. I jumped in there once and I'll never do it again. For one thing, they don't want to let you go, (and) you smell like beer for the rest of the game.
Q: In what round should a fantasy football owner draft you?
A: They shouldn't. I'm not into fantasy football, but I heard I was decent little fantasy player. But I know I ain't no big-money player. I think we've got a great system. But as far as a lot of touchdowns and yardage and all that, it's hard to tell.
Q: What's it like coming back to Hampton? Was there a red carpet waiting for you at the airport?
A: I drove. I live in North Carolina. I just got here last night. I'm back and forth. My whole family is still here, so I'm back and forth. I don't get back as much as I would like. It's always good to come home. Ain't no place like home, regardless of where you're from. I just hope this weekend will bring a spark to the whole area, and we hope we can keep it going for years to come. ... When I come back, it seems like Hampton has grown so much as far as putting stuff up, and you kind of want to be a part of that.
Q: Is this the first year of the celebrity weekend?
A: It's the first year for something like this. It's the second year for the camp. This is the first year we did a whole weekend. We wanted to include adults and kids and do things that everybody likes to do.
Q: Do you play golf?
A: I play something. I don't know if it's golf. I hit the ball and it goes everywhere, but I hit it. I've been trying to do a little bit of golf. I'm getting better. It's just a good time. To me, golf is the people you're playing with, the people you're out there with. A lot of people get out there and get competitive and when they hit the ball bad, they have a dad day, they get upset. I don't, because I'm not trying to be a golfer.
Ronald Curry Q&A
A healthy Ronald Curry talks about his future, the new-look Raiders and former teammate Randy Moss.
By MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
June 27, 2007, 7:54 PM EDT
HAMPTON -- Former Hampton High School star Ronald Curry, entering his sixth season a wide receiver with the Oakland Raiders, is in town for the Ronald Curry Celebrity Weekend. He talked to the Daily Press on Wednesday about his injury-plagued career, the new-look Raiders, Randy Moss, and what he has left to prove.
Q: There have been quite a few changes this offseason in Oakland. What have you seen from the Raiders' first-round draft pick, former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell?
A: His first camp, he looked like a rookie. He looked good but he still made rookie mistakes. He's gotten better and better. I think if he has to play this year, he'll do great, do a good job.
Q: There were some pre-draft concerns about Russell's commitment to the game. Were any of those concerns valid?
A: I think he's dedicated to the game. He's very attentive in meetings, and he seems to always be prepared. ... I think people (questioned him) because of his size (6-6, 255 pounds) and his weight. They feel like if football is that important to you, maybe he should take better care of himself. But in the pros, you know your body is the way you get paid. In college, you don't really realize that. ... He looks in good shape. He's a big boy. He's not gonna be but so small anyway.
Q: What's it been like without receiver Randy Moss (traded on draft day to New England)?
A: Even though Randy didn't have the season everybody thought he should have last year, the defense still played him as that explosive receiver. It's gonna be up to one of us other guys to really bring that big-play power. (Moss) was great in the locker room. He was great to be around. I think Randy is very misunderstood. He didn't take Media 101 on how to sugarcoat his answers. He's a very honest person. He says what everybody is thinking, and he gets knocked back for it.
Q: Was it difficult last year, with Moss unhappy in Oakland and wide receiver Jerry Porter feuding publicly with former head coach Art Shell?
A: Fifty-three guys weren't happy last year. You're 2-14. Nobody's happy with losing. Winning cures everything. Jerry, his reasons were with coach Shell. That's over with. He's happy-go-lucky again. The vibe last year was all bad all the way around for pretty much every player, every coach.
Q: How frustrating have your injuries (a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined Curry for all of 2004, then most of 2005 after he re-tore it) been?
A: It was kind of hard to get over mentally. Just being away from football, for something just to be taken away from you, is hard, but now that I'm back, you just enjoy football for what it is. ... It's finally behind me, and I feel great. I made it through the whole season last year healthy and I had a productive year (62 catches for 727 yards and a touchdown in 16 games).
Q: What's it like to play for such a young head coach (31-year-old Lane Kiffin, the former offensive coordinator at Southern Cal)?
A: He brings a lot of enthusiasm to a young team mixed with old veterans. He's coming to a team that's hungry and tired of losing. We've been losing for the last four or five years, so any coach they were gonna bring in, as long as they treated us like men and with respect, we'd be ready to run through a brick wall for them.
Q: Has all the losing in Oakland been hard on you?
A: Definitely. You come from Hampton (High) where you're 51-2 and you go to college and you win more than you lose, and you get to the pros, and the first year you go to the Super Bowl. And then the next year, it's all losing. ... We've always had the talent there. We've always had the pieces there. Nobody could understand why we just never won more games.
Q: Has something changed this season?
A: Around this time, everybody feels like they're gonna win the Super Bowl. Obviously, you're going into the season, everybody's thinking it's gonna be a different year. It's gonna be hard to tell until camp starts, (but) I think it can be a very good year. We're definitely gonna win more than two games.
Q: Are you satisfied with your career up to this point (119 catches for 1,449 yards and seven TDs in 47 games)?
A: Obviously, I wanted to be a quarterback, starting somewhere, but I'm happy. I'm always going to believe that everything happens for a reason. I'm doing what I wanted to do, play in the NFL.
Q: At age 28, do you ever think about how much longer you'll play?
A: My goal was to come and play 10 years, and this is my sixth year in the league. I think I've got more than four left in me. I'm gonna play, play, play until – I think the game will always be fun to me. I love the game of football and what it's done for me. I'm just gonna continue to play it. I never go into the season or go into anything thinking that I can't do something. If that ever happens, then I know it's time to get out.
Q: What's long-time Raiders owner Al Davis like?
A: Al Davis is great. He loves his players. He's hard on his coaches. He's looking old, but if you talk to him, he sounds like he's 20. He gives all the new hip-hop dap, you know, handshakes. I love him to death. He's given me opportunity after opportunity. ... Everybody on this team, he can tell you where you're from, what your mama and daddy's name is. He really is about his business. He loves his players and he bleeds silver and black. If anybody's upset – players upset, fans upset – I think the way things have been going has taken more of a toll on him than anybody. ... I don't know what goes on as far as him telling his coaches what to do. Sometimes you'll go to coaches and they'll say it's over their head, and you know what over their head means. But I think he means well. He's been successful doing it his way, and he feels like his way is still the right way. If you've got millions invested in something, then I feel like you can say whatever you want to.
Q: Are some of those Raiders fans as scary as they look on TV?
A: There's nothing like the Black Hole. (But) there's one spot, in the end zone. I jumped in there once and I'll never do it again. For one thing, they don't want to let you go, (and) you smell like beer for the rest of the game.
Q: In what round should a fantasy football owner draft you?
A: They shouldn't. I'm not into fantasy football, but I heard I was decent little fantasy player. But I know I ain't no big-money player. I think we've got a great system. But as far as a lot of touchdowns and yardage and all that, it's hard to tell.
Q: What's it like coming back to Hampton? Was there a red carpet waiting for you at the airport?
A: I drove. I live in North Carolina. I just got here last night. I'm back and forth. My whole family is still here, so I'm back and forth. I don't get back as much as I would like. It's always good to come home. Ain't no place like home, regardless of where you're from. I just hope this weekend will bring a spark to the whole area, and we hope we can keep it going for years to come. ... When I come back, it seems like Hampton has grown so much as far as putting stuff up, and you kind of want to be a part of that.
Q: Is this the first year of the celebrity weekend?
A: It's the first year for something like this. It's the second year for the camp. This is the first year we did a whole weekend. We wanted to include adults and kids and do things that everybody likes to do.
Q: Do you play golf?
A: I play something. I don't know if it's golf. I hit the ball and it goes everywhere, but I hit it. I've been trying to do a little bit of golf. I'm getting better. It's just a good time. To me, golf is the people you're playing with, the people you're out there with. A lot of people get out there and get competitive and when they hit the ball bad, they have a dad day, they get upset. I don't, because I'm not trying to be a golfer.
