It's Shell Game On The O-Line...

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Angry Pope

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About Art...

Raiders insider: It's Shell game on O-line

In his second tour of duty, Oakland's coach trains his focus on the trenches.

By Jason Jones -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Saturday, May 20, 2006

ALAMEDA -- Was there really any question where Art Shell would focus his attention? The Hall of Fame tackle wasn't going to take over the Raiders as head coach for a second time without devoting a lot of time to the offensive line.

And for good reason. The Raiders allowed 45 sacks last season. That wasn't as bad woeful Houston (68) but ranked among the worst in the league with the 49ers (48) and Arizona (45).

Injuries to Jake Grove and Langston Walker forced some position moves during the season, but the fact is the line didn't get the job done.

In the offseason, Shell added Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater and former pro Irv Eatman as co-offensive line coaches to turn around a unit that has underachieved since Oakland went to the Super Bowl following the 2002 season.

"The way I look at it, we've got three O-line coaches with 50 years' experience and two Hall of Famers, so there's really not a whole lot of back-talk and excuses that will really work," guard Barry Sims said.

Shell cautioned Slater that he can't coach players as if they are at Hall of Fame levels. But he isn't setting low expectations, either.

The coaching trio has emphasized footwork and technique to get the best out of the linemen, who will key a potentially high-scoring offense.

"They keep us busy, they keep us working," Sims said. "And I think the offensive line will be much improved from the previous few years, and any time you have an offensive line that can be productive, your team's going to be more productive."

Besides adding coaches, Shell also shuffled players along the line. Not all moves were met with enthusiasm.

When Shell told Sims he would move to left guard from left tackle, Sims wasn't happy.

"Barry, to his credit, said, 'Look, coach, I think I'm a left tackle. I can play the position,' " Shell said. " 'But if you (think it's best) for the team and want me to move to guard, I'll do that.' So that's a credit to him. If he didn't push back I would be disappointed."

Grove, however, was happy to be back at center after finishing 2005 at guard. Walker is pleased to be playing right tackle after six games at guard before abdominal hemorrhaging ended his season.

The biggest change was moving Robert Gallery to left tackle from right tackle.

It only made sense to move Gallery, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2004, to the spot where he earned All-America honors at Iowa.

"I'm comfortable already," Gallery said. "I'll get the little (stuff) down and move on."

The Raiders haven't had an offensive lineman in the Pro Bowl since Lincoln Kennedy and Barret Robbins were selected in 2002. Shell, when hired in February, said Gallery needed to become a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle.

"We are trying to find a home for him, and left tackle seems to be the home," Shell said. "We're trying to find a home for everybody."

All the linemen are likely to improve simply because the coaches have paid them so much attention in the offseason.

Grove said the extra attention isn't a bad thing.

"I think that's what we need," Grove said. "We've lacked that some in the past. It's something I'm really excited about."
 
The paragraph highlighted says that we offered a job to another NFL Europe coach but he declined. I believe that he is another friend of Art Shell...

Andrus hoping for another call from NFL

By MICHAEL PRESTON
Special To The Gazette

DUSSELDORF, Germany -- Bart Andrus hopes the football fraternity is watching back home on Saturday when he plots the defense of the World Bowl, the championship game of NFL Europe.

The Amsterdam Admirals head coach, who lives in Bigfork, is eager to follow in the footsteps of the very players whose NFL futures he grooms. Andrus is waiting for the NFL to come calling, provided coaches and general managers are aware of his success.

"In America it's kind of obscure," he says of NFL Europe, the six-team overseas spring league. "I think as people become more educated it will create an opportunity for coaches in this league to move on if they want to.

"It is frustrating. I just think there's not enough information on what we're doing and I don't think many people are aware particularly of the level of competition in this league. You can pull out any college athletic director that makes decisions on hiring head coaches and he wouldn't be able to tell you much about NFL Europe. "They really have no idea that the level of play is much, much higher than even at their place."

The 48-year-old Andrus, who was the head coach at Rocky Mountain College in 1996, is back in Dusseldorf, at the LTU Arena, the scene of his and the Admirals' first World Bowl triumph last year, when they defeated the Berlin Thunder 27-21 on the final play of a thrilling game.

Now in his sixth season as head coach in Amsterdam, he first ventured across the Atlantic in 2000 as offensive coordinator of the Rhein Fire after three seasons coaching the quarterbacks of the Tennessee Titans.

Ironically he would relish such a return to the game's premier stage, though is content to remain in Amsterdam if the right offer does not present itself. Before the 2006 season began he interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons' vacant quarterbacks coach position and before that spoke to the Miami Dolphins. He remained with the Admirals.

"You've got to look at every opportunity and I certainly will look at whatever might come up," he said. "I can't say that I am or am not moving on, you just can't tell. I'm contracted to come back next year and that's what I plan to do unless something comes along that I think is better.

"It all depends on the situation. I've interviewed at a couple of places. I think that a head coach in this league if he's an offensive or defensive guy can certainly be a coordinator in the NFL. I've coached quarterbacks in the NFL, so I know I can do that into a Super Bowl. It's getting the right match and getting someone that wants you to do it for them."

Andrus has seen his former defensive coordinator Darryl Sims join the Oakland Raiders staff in February and rival Rhein Fire head coach Jim Tomsula was also approached by the Bay Area organization, but chose to remain in Europe. Jim Haslett coached in the league during its early days and after a tenure as head coach of the New Orleans Saints is now defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams.

"Any time somebody goes, that helps so long as they do well," observed Andrus. "A lot of the time in our business if you move up it's because of who you know. Somebody once said 'it's not so much who you know, it's what they know about you.' So if some people know some good things about you you're going to have a chance."

Also helping the Andrus cause are his players, most notably quarterback Gibran Hamdan, who despite suffering a season-ending injury after seven games was named league offensive MVP this season. The Seattle Seahawks-allocated passer led the league with a 113.4 passer rating, an accomplishment that reflects well on his coach and mentor.

"I'm very proud of Gibran and what he's accomplished," said Andrus. "Any success that he has is well warranted. If he's the next Kurt Warmer or Jake Delhomme to come out of this league then I'm going to be very proud that I played a small part in getting him to that next level. If that brings something back to me then that's fine."

In the meantime Andrus turns his attention to World Bowl XIV opponent the Frankfurt Galaxy for the championship game, which is shown live on NFL Network at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Admirals defeated the Galaxy twice during the 10-week campaign and hope for a repeat performance this weekend.

"They're very focused and they've practiced with really good intensity," said Andrus of his team. "They're ready to play this game."

Andrus is ready too, uncertain whether or not it will be his last foray into NFL Europe.
 
So the early position favorites are as follows:

LT - Robert Gallery
LG - Barry Sims
C - Jake Grove
RG - Brad Badger/TBD
RT - Langston Walker


I'm really hoping that McQuistan can unseat Badger at RG. Beyond that, if Walker should struggle, we have Chad Slaughter. The loser of that camp battle will likely b/u at both T positions - I should think.

Hhhmm, the team is clearly expecting/assuming/hoping/praying that Gallery & Grove will become solid-to-exceptional starters in year three. They are basically being given these jobs - sans competition as far as I can tell.
 
RIVL: You know, Raiders fans are fond of saying that shit, but it just isn't so.

Yeah, Gallery and Grove were put onto the first team without any sort of competition to back up the selection. So what! Show me someone on the team who deserves those positions more? What did Sims do last year to prove he deserves to start at LT? Jack shit. And the same can be said for Treu.

But more importantly, do you think Art Shell will leave them out there if they aren't doing the job? Will he leave them out there if someone else is doing it better? And I think that can be said of anyone on the line. If that's not competition, I don't know what it is.

So while it might be their jobs to lose, the guys behind them will be competing to take them away. If you don't believe that, then you might as well pack it in and stop believing in Art.
 
Every player in the NFL is in a competition every time they step on to the field. Whether that competition is against a teammate, or another opponent, they are competing for their job. They're also showcasing their skills for any future employer should they be cut.
Now that doesn't mean that I'm naive enough to think that all our starters have "earned" their spot on the depth chart. There are lots of other factors like the salary cap, potential as well as winning by default. These players won't keep their starting jobs without playing well enough to do so.
Any coach who sticks with a starter who is being outplayed by his backup won't be a head coach for too long.
 
For me, I think that you have to treat certain players differently. Art has said something to the effect that we need to get Gallery to Pro Bowl form. Being that Gallery is a perfectionist, using an open competition statement may hurt his growth. Two years ago, the threat of Sims losing his job motivated him work hard. I think the head coaches and position coaches need to find the motivation.
 
Angry Pope said:
For me, I think that you have to treat certain players differently. Art has said something to the effect that we need to get Gallery to Pro Bowl form. Being that Gallery is a perfectionist, using an open competition statement may hurt his growth. Two years ago, the threat of Sims losing his job motivated him work hard. I think the head coaches and position coaches need to find the motivation.
Great points.

I think to some degree Gallery gets a pass. He almost has to in order to find out if he indeed was worth the #2 pick in the entire draft. I'm sorry that Turner and Company screwed around with this guy for two solid years. While his time at RT wasn't completely wasted, I wonder what sense it made on a 5-11 and 4-12 team. He could have been cutting his teeth at LT all this time and we'd have a better understanding of where he is and what he is. Now we're effectively starting from scratch (with all the build in excuses ready to fire) and have to give him the benefit of th doubt even if he plays poofrly. That sucks.
 
CrossBones said:
I think to some degree Gallery gets a pass. He almost has to in order to find out if he indeed was worth the #2 pick in the entire draft. I'm sorry that Turner and Company screwed around with this guy for two solid years. While his time at RT wasn't completely wasted, I wonder what sense it made on a 5-11 and 4-12 team. He could have been cutting his teeth at LT all this time and we'd have a better understanding of where he is and what he is. Now we're effectively starting from scratch (with all the build in excuses ready to fire) and have to give him the benefit of th doubt even if he plays poofrly. That sucks.
First, Gallery gets no pass. He is going to be given time to get settled in, but I don't think he'll get a free pass.

Second, none of his time on the field was wasted. He learned two things the speed and the strength at the NFL level.

Third, Turner and Company didn't screw with him. He learned some new techniques AND learned to play from the other side of the field. If anything, he's more versatile now than he was before. Add that as a benefit.

In conclusion, Gallery is not starting from scratch. He's got 2 full seasons and 2 full off-seasons to get conditioned and strengthened for the NFL level. He's well beyond what a Rookie would be. It was time well spent, not wasted. By annointing him the starter, Shell has effectively said, "You've got until late in training camp before I decide whether you're the guy, and we three OL coaches are responsible for making sure you can do the job at a ProBowl level." What competitve guy wouldn't love that opportunity?
 
Comments by Art but Brooks info too...

NFL Beat: Raiders likely won't be changing hands anytime soon

By Steve Pajak

Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, May 28, 2006

Former 49ers president Carmen Policy concedes there is virtually no chance he and former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. would ever be in a position to buy the attendance-strapped Raiders.

A story in Sports Illustrated, which hit the newsstands last week, said Policy and DeBartolo discussed the possibility during a March reunion of 49ers players and employees in Las Vegas. The magazine reporter, who attended the gathering, said the health of 76-year-old Raiders owner Al Davis, who now uses a walker, was part of the conversation, as was taking the Oakland franchise to Los Angeles.

Policy, in an interview with Channel 5 (KPIX) in San Francisco, said DeBartolo probably would like to return to the NFL as a minority owner of a team someday but that the two men realize the Raiders likely wouldn't be for sale.

"I'm not interested (in), nor am I capable of, buying the Raiders," Policy told the television station. "Mr. DeBartolo is capable of buying the Raiders, but he's not interested. And, most importantly, Al Davis is not interested in selling the Raiders.

"Anybody who has worked with Al Davis in the National Football League knows that team is as important to his life as (anything). He's not selling that team as long as he is walking, or for that matter as long as he is breathing."

No sooner had the story been published than it was shot down by Raiders officials, who termed the report, titled "California Dreamin'," a fantasy.

"Hogwash," said Raiders chief executive Amy Trask, well aware that, although Davis always has been cordial with DeBartolo, the Raiders' owner and Policy are not on speaking terms because of long-standing differences on league matters.

DeBartolo, a developer based in Tampa, Fla., and listed as one of America's richest individuals by Forbes magazine, has been out of the NFL since 1998, an exit forced by his involvement in a Louisiana gambling scandal.

Policy, also former president of the Cleveland Browns and now owner of a vinyard estate in the Napa Valley, said DeBartolo was guilty of "reminiscing" at the reunion, which he paid for.

"He's doing well, but I think he's a little bored, and I think he misses the NFL," Policy said.


A real rookie

One of the draft oddities was USC quarterback Matt Leinart, picked 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, admitting he's never been to an NFL game.

"I was never a big football fan growing up," Leinart, an Orange County native, told an introductory news conference. "Baseball was my number one sport. Also, there were no pro football teams in Southern California after the Raiders and Rams left. I never had the opportunity to go. My first NFL game will be the one I'll be a part of."


Model for success

Art Shell is the only Raiders head coach to establish himself first as a Hall of Fame player in the organization.

It's a distinction Shell, a Hall of Fame tackle, is proud of and says will be an important motivational tool with players during his second tour of duty as coach.

"They know I have three Super Bowl (championship) rings, two as a player and one as an assistant coach," Shell said. "So they understand what it takes to win. We have their attention now … they're tired of losing."


Bucs wooed Brooks

Former New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks, likely to lead the Raiders' offense when the season opens, also was courted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"The opportunity wasn't as good as this one," Brooks said. "They told me, 'We promised Chris Simms (he'd start), but we really want you.' And I'm like, What the hell is that? … I'm not ready to be a backup."
 
Here is more from the coach in Europe...

Former Catawba coach chose NFL Europe over Oakland

NFL Europe 2006- Rhein Fire v Cologne Centurions - LTU Arena Düsseldorf -

Saturday May 20th 2006
By Michael Preston

Special to the Post

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY —Jim Tomsula has devoted his coaching career to helping players achieve their goals. But life is about more than just football.

Hand in hand with fueling the ambitions of athletes at Catawba College and in NFL Europe, where he has coached since 1998, the former Indians defensive guru has instilled a philosophy in his prodigies. Among the beliefs by which he stands is the value of loyalty.

It was loyalty that prevented Tomsula from accepting a job offer to join the coaching ranks of the Oakland Raiders for the upcoming NFL season.

It is ironic perhaps that a man who passionately tweaks and adjusts a player's fundamental skills in the hope it will lead to a place on an active NFL roster should himself relinquish the opportunity to tread that very path.

But Tomsula is a man of principles. Instead he chose to remain loyal to the Rhein Fire, the team that made him the youngest head coach in NFL Europe this spring.

"I was absolutely honored to have been offered that job, and had it been at a different time I might have taken it," Tomsula said. "But all I have ever talked about to my kids or to any of my players is commitment and if you've made a commitment you've got to stick with it."


In the final regular season game of 2006, Tomsula inspired his Fire devotees to a 21-10 victory over rival the Cologne Centurions in a partisan Dusseldorf LTU Arena but missed out on a place in the World Bowl XIV championship game. A 6-4 record fell short of competing in the World Bowl on Saturday.

His voice hoarse from personally greeting what seemed like every one of the 28,334 passionate Fire fans during the traditional end of season lap of honor, Tomsula beamed a tired but enthusiastic smile. It confirmed he had made the right decision. The Fire faithful, arguably NFL Europe's finest and most football-savvy followers, demand success and more importantly a head coach who will all but die for the cause. In Tomsula they have their man.

"The job offer (from the Raiders) came when I was at training camp, and personally my feelings were that I'd made a commitment to the Rhein Fire, and I practice what I preach," he said. "Not that somebody couldn't step in and do this job, but the timing was wrong and it was just my decision to be here for the players, the front office staff, the organization, and the fans.

"I really believe that there have been a lot of great steps taken in this city. I love working for this organization and the community is wonderful. "



Tomsula's Fire blazed a trail out of the starting blocks this season, opening with four straight victories that made them odds-on favorites to host the championship game this weekend. Yet despite the head coach's infectious enthusiasm and the strong arm of Dallas Cowboys-allocated quarterback Drew Henson, the Fire burned out. Back to back losses to the Admirals and two more setbacks in three games left Rhein needing a win against Cologne and a Galaxy loss in Week 10 to advance. Tomsula delivered, but the Galaxy spoiled the party by edging the Berlin Thunder 14-13 to lock up the World Bowl berth.

"Obviously it's upsetting," admitted Tomsula. "You play to get to the World Bowl and you play to win the World Bowl, and that's not going to happen now. But you take what you have on your plate and you do the best job you can, and I feel that's what they players have done. They came through here at the end, and they finished strong."



Tomsula might take solace in the memory that as defensive coordinator and a line coach with the Berlin Thunder he played in two NFL Europe championships, winning one. Not so. His desire to continually succeed burns bright.

"You're never satisfied," he said. "For about 10 minutes after you win a World Bowl you enjoy it, and then you think about next year. I've kept everything from the whole season, and when I get home I'll start on day one of the draft and I'll review everything and see what we can do better next year between week five and week nine."



Before he dissects the season, the coach who still carries Salisbury in his heart will turn his attention to family commitments. Since his days as an assistant with the London Monarchs, Tomsula has put his wife Julie and daughters Britney and Brooke first. The postseason is their annual opportunity to call the shots.

"We're going to get on a train, and we're going to Paris," he explained. "My eldest daughter has always wanted to go there, and it's been 10 years and I haven't got her there. We'll see that, and then the weekend after the World Bowl we'll take a train to Rome and Florence and then we're going to head home. Then we're going to drive around the United States and visit members of our family."

Then, when football is again his priority, a head coach or general manager might come calling and test his loyalty to the Fire. It will need to be a determined NFL team to end Tomsula's long love affair with NFL Europe.
 
Rupert said:
First, Gallery gets no pass. He is going to be given time to get settled in, but I don't think he'll get a free pass.

Second, none of his time on the field was wasted. He learned two things the speed and the strength at the NFL level.

Third, Turner and Company didn't screw with him. He learned some new techniques AND learned to play from the other side of the field. If anything, he's more versatile now than he was before. Add that as a benefit.

In conclusion, Gallery is not starting from scratch. He's got 2 full seasons and 2 full off-seasons to get conditioned and strengthened for the NFL level. He's well beyond what a Rookie would be. It was time well spent, not wasted. By annointing him the starter, Shell has effectively said, "You've got until late in training camp before I decide whether you're the guy, and we three OL coaches are responsible for making sure you can do the job at a ProBowl level." What competitve guy wouldn't love that opportunity?
I have to say I disagree.

Gallery got some experience as I mentioned. But to use him at RT when we were losing the last two years and Sims was making an ass out of himself was a coaching mistake IMO.

We have lost at least a full year of the man we drafted to play LT playing left tackle. He could have been getting game and speed experience at the position he is going top play. Instead he gets his experience in a new year when expectations are high to stop the bleeding. Makes no sense to me at all.
 
What do you mean? You said he'd be starting from scratch, and that's not the case. Both physically and mentally, he's two years into his NFL experience.

Sure it would have been nice to have him playing LT last year, but I thought expectations were pretty high to stop the bleeding last year too. And now he's got 3 former pro (2 HOF) coaches to make him into a Pro Bowler. I don't think he could be in a better situation to succeed. If one of those 3 guys can't reach him, he's unreachable.
 
Rupert said:
What do you mean? You said he'd be starting from scratch, and that's not the case. Both physically and mentally, he's two years into his NFL experience.
I meant starting from scratch at LT.

Rupert said:
Sure it would have been nice to have him playing LT last year, but I thought expectations were pretty high to stop the bleeding last year too.
Yeah but once the season was obviously in the shitter we could have made the switch and gotten Gallery 7-8 games at LT. ;)

Rupert said:
And now he's got 3 former pro (2 HOF) coaches to make him into a Pro Bowler. I don't think he could be in a better situation to succeed. If one of those 3 guys can't reach him, he's unreachable.
Well I'll agree with you there if you'll agree we screwed up (:)) by not moving him in the middle of last season. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain!
 
All he did his rookie year in pre-season was play LT. He's not starting from scratch.

I don't think "we screwed up" by not moving him in the middle of last season. There were so many screw ups last year, do you really think moving him would have done much good. I know if I was on the squad (at least on offense) I'd want to forget everything from last season. Last season was almost a total loss. Moving him last season, and hanging him out to dry like the entire line was last season might have made him doubt his ability at LT. This way he can chalk it all up to being at RT.
 
Rupert said:
All he did his rookie year in pre-season was play LT. He's not starting from scratch.

I don't think "we screwed up" by not moving him in the middle of last season. There were so many screw ups last year, do you really think moving him would have done much good. I know if I was on the squad (at least on offense) I'd want to forget everything from last season. Last season was almost a total loss. Moving him last season, and hanging him out to dry like the entire line was last season might have made him doubt his ability at LT. This way he can chalk it all up to being at RT.
I don't agree 100%.

I'll be the first to say that having Gallery at RT his rookie season might have been a good thing initially since Sims probably beat him out and he had to get into the lineup. But year two (after going 5-11) was a mistake. Keeping him at RT in his second season after the season was obviously in the tank was a big mistake. His learing curve this coming season would have been half way there at the LT position. Now he has to adjust on the fly. Hopefully he'll make it work fast but who knows. Sure he got some experience but he could have been getting that experience at LT where hopefully he is going to play at high level for years to come. that remains to be seen.

Don't argue with me. :rolleyes: You know this makes a lot of sense. :mad:
 
This discussion would be moot had Robert Gallery actually earned the starting LT job in the first place. It got so bad during camp (IMO) that they had to move him around to RT and OG. They eventually released Frank Middleton and benched Langston Walker during the season opener to get Gallery in the there. Not to say that Midd & Walker are/were world beaters, but it seems clear to me that football politics came into play.

I'm glad that Gallery was at least on the field the past two years, but BFD, our line was composed of stiffs anyway. I remain completely unimpressed with this dude.

Gallery's time is NOW either way you slice it.
 
I agree that moving Gallery to LT during the season would NOT have been a good move. The line was shuffling and scuffling enough as it was and that would have exacerbated the problems IMO. That being said, he should have been able to at least challenge Sims for the job during training camp 2005? No?

Then again, it's fashionable to blame Turner, but this nagging feeling persists with me that he just isn't the player most "experts" painted him out to be.

Look like Tarzan & Play like Jane. Ricky Dudley all over again?
 
You know, I don't think Gallery is a Jane. But the truth is he's more finesse than brute strength (which happens to be another reason they call him a natural left tackle).

I agree that they should have tried to work him in at LT before last season. But they brought in the Zone-blocking guru and all bets were off. They were more concerned with getting the scheme going that worrying about player positions.

Last season is one that's best left forgotten offensively. Bones wants to call it screwing up. But does it really make sense to teach him a new technique and set of reads that he'll need to forget the following year? Now he can go back to what he remembers from college. Gallery himself said it's just back to basics and dial it in. He said he's already comfortable. It doesn't sound like he thinks he lost anything playing RT.
 
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