hawaiianboy
Unfuckupable
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Solid info from Jerry... I think people are going to like the "college" coaches offense... I'm hoping it'll be what alot of us were asking for when Gru was here: Gruden's Raider offense with more vertical routes implemented, basically what Sean Payton did for the Saints...
Brown on 81 and 18
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Wednesday at 10:10 pm
INDIANAPOLIS _ Never did see Lane Kiffin Wednesday night, although I staked out several different hotel lobbies just to say hello.
Ran into some Raiders assistants who said the the staff had been stuck a few hours in Denver on a layover. I didn't have the same misfortune, having taken Southwest through Phoenix, but, then again, it's after midnight in Indy and I still don't have my one checked bag, so it's not like my decision was all that great.
I did, however, manage to reach Tim Brown by phone when I got into town to ask him about Jerry Porter assuming his number 81 this season. We also discussed Randy Moss.
Porter has proclaimed a new attitude and said he is onboard with Kiffin's offensive philosophy.
Brown, as usual, held nothing back.
"Hopefully, when he thinks about acting like a nut, he'll remember the number and maybe that will be enough to keep him in line," Brown said with a laugh."I don't foresee that happening, though. I think the problem was Art (Shell), and now that situation is not there. It's a new begining or him."
Whatever you may think of Brown, his assessment of Porter vs. Shell back in training camp was uncanny. When I asked him about it before the season started, Brown predicted the two sides would never come to an agreement on anything, like two stubborn bulls who would not concede.
"There was no way Art was going to give, and JP wasn't in the mode of giving," Brown said. "So even at the risk of his career he was going to butt heads against Art. Now there are a lot of new pieces to the puzzle, and if they can play defense like they did lst year, they can go from 2-14 to whatever and be back in the running."
Porter, Brown said, is indeed excited about the offensive philosophy instituted by Lane Kiffin.
While Kiffin and Al Davis essentially deflected any mention of the last Raiders coach to assume control in his 30s when it was announced Kiffin was would be the head coach, Brown believes the Raiders are headed back to 1998.
"Oh, yeah, it's basically, Jon Gruden's offense. That's the first thing I was told by Kiffin _ that he was a big fan of Jon Gruden," Brown said. "And this offense is almost verbatim Jon Gruden's offense. Obviously, J.P. likes that offense. (Offensive coordinator) Greg Knapp is very familiar with a West Coast system . . . and in this offense, they do have three-step drops, and I don't think there were too many of those in (Tom) Walsh's offense."
Brown's take on Moss has more to do with his the receiver's skill set and fit for the system more than the issue of desire. And Brown makes it clear the talk of Moss and his declining ability comes not from his contacts in the media through his most recent job as Fox Sports Net, but from those still playing in the NFL.
"It's not a matter of Randy and is attitude, it's a matter of what Randy can do on the field at this point in his career. The rumor is he's lost a step, and that's not from people in my (new) business, but it's what you hear from the players," Brown said. "He's got a very big (salary) cap number so the Raiders will have to try and ascertain in minicamps whether he can do what they need him to do. I don't see the West Coast offense being (Randy's) favorite offense. It's more about timing, with the ball coming out quick. Can he adapt to that offense? As a long-strider, it could be difficult."
With Porter on board, Brown thinks it would behoove the Raiders to make a call on Moss earlier rather than later.
"At this stage of his career, Randy has to be cognizant of being true to himself and not trying to prove to people he can play anybody's offense," Brown said. "The best thing is to check the offense out, go out and run some routes, and if it's not going to happen, then in his mind he needs to admit it to himsel fand tell them, `You need to get me out of here.'
"If things start going bad for him, and he starts blaming other folks, it can be a big distraction."
Additional notes before the combine kicks into gear Thursday:
– Forty-Niners center Jeremy Newberry, who is not in the 49ers plans this season, was on the first part of my flight from Oakland to Phoenix.
As has been reported earlier, Newberry said he hoped to sign with the Raiders after his official release March 1. He said he has spent the past year strengthening his knee and feels ready to play.
He also gave a glowing endorsement of offensive line coach Tom Cable, who was Newberry's line coach at Cal. Newberry said Cable "will kick people in the ass" rather than pat them on the back.
Newberry said Cable is of the "stretch and cut" blocking philsophy as taught by Alex Gibbs and said the only reason he didn't return to for his senior year at Cal is because Cable told him he was taking another job.
With offensive coordinator Knapp also having worked with Newberry, it would seem the Raiders have a shot at one of the reclamation projects they're so fond of undertaking.
– Walnut Creek-based agent Mike Sullivan was on both legs of my flight and said Cal running back Marshawn Lynch was eagerly anticipating participating in all drills and had a Pro Day tentative scheduled for March 6 at Cal.
Lynch is one of several Sullivan clients who have been training at Athletes' Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., since early January.
Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards, the subject of an Newsmedia column running Thursday, has been training since the second week in January in Carlsbad under the direction of Rep 1 Sports Group.
The ballpark figure of what agents pay to have their clients get ready for the combine and pro day workouts preceeding the draft _ $20,000 per man.
Brown on 81 and 18
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Wednesday at 10:10 pm
INDIANAPOLIS _ Never did see Lane Kiffin Wednesday night, although I staked out several different hotel lobbies just to say hello.
Ran into some Raiders assistants who said the the staff had been stuck a few hours in Denver on a layover. I didn't have the same misfortune, having taken Southwest through Phoenix, but, then again, it's after midnight in Indy and I still don't have my one checked bag, so it's not like my decision was all that great.
I did, however, manage to reach Tim Brown by phone when I got into town to ask him about Jerry Porter assuming his number 81 this season. We also discussed Randy Moss.
Porter has proclaimed a new attitude and said he is onboard with Kiffin's offensive philosophy.
Brown, as usual, held nothing back.
"Hopefully, when he thinks about acting like a nut, he'll remember the number and maybe that will be enough to keep him in line," Brown said with a laugh."I don't foresee that happening, though. I think the problem was Art (Shell), and now that situation is not there. It's a new begining or him."
Whatever you may think of Brown, his assessment of Porter vs. Shell back in training camp was uncanny. When I asked him about it before the season started, Brown predicted the two sides would never come to an agreement on anything, like two stubborn bulls who would not concede.
"There was no way Art was going to give, and JP wasn't in the mode of giving," Brown said. "So even at the risk of his career he was going to butt heads against Art. Now there are a lot of new pieces to the puzzle, and if they can play defense like they did lst year, they can go from 2-14 to whatever and be back in the running."
Porter, Brown said, is indeed excited about the offensive philosophy instituted by Lane Kiffin.
While Kiffin and Al Davis essentially deflected any mention of the last Raiders coach to assume control in his 30s when it was announced Kiffin was would be the head coach, Brown believes the Raiders are headed back to 1998.
"Oh, yeah, it's basically, Jon Gruden's offense. That's the first thing I was told by Kiffin _ that he was a big fan of Jon Gruden," Brown said. "And this offense is almost verbatim Jon Gruden's offense. Obviously, J.P. likes that offense. (Offensive coordinator) Greg Knapp is very familiar with a West Coast system . . . and in this offense, they do have three-step drops, and I don't think there were too many of those in (Tom) Walsh's offense."
Brown's take on Moss has more to do with his the receiver's skill set and fit for the system more than the issue of desire. And Brown makes it clear the talk of Moss and his declining ability comes not from his contacts in the media through his most recent job as Fox Sports Net, but from those still playing in the NFL.
"It's not a matter of Randy and is attitude, it's a matter of what Randy can do on the field at this point in his career. The rumor is he's lost a step, and that's not from people in my (new) business, but it's what you hear from the players," Brown said. "He's got a very big (salary) cap number so the Raiders will have to try and ascertain in minicamps whether he can do what they need him to do. I don't see the West Coast offense being (Randy's) favorite offense. It's more about timing, with the ball coming out quick. Can he adapt to that offense? As a long-strider, it could be difficult."
With Porter on board, Brown thinks it would behoove the Raiders to make a call on Moss earlier rather than later.
"At this stage of his career, Randy has to be cognizant of being true to himself and not trying to prove to people he can play anybody's offense," Brown said. "The best thing is to check the offense out, go out and run some routes, and if it's not going to happen, then in his mind he needs to admit it to himsel fand tell them, `You need to get me out of here.'
"If things start going bad for him, and he starts blaming other folks, it can be a big distraction."
Additional notes before the combine kicks into gear Thursday:
– Forty-Niners center Jeremy Newberry, who is not in the 49ers plans this season, was on the first part of my flight from Oakland to Phoenix.
As has been reported earlier, Newberry said he hoped to sign with the Raiders after his official release March 1. He said he has spent the past year strengthening his knee and feels ready to play.
He also gave a glowing endorsement of offensive line coach Tom Cable, who was Newberry's line coach at Cal. Newberry said Cable "will kick people in the ass" rather than pat them on the back.
Newberry said Cable is of the "stretch and cut" blocking philsophy as taught by Alex Gibbs and said the only reason he didn't return to for his senior year at Cal is because Cable told him he was taking another job.
With offensive coordinator Knapp also having worked with Newberry, it would seem the Raiders have a shot at one of the reclamation projects they're so fond of undertaking.
– Walnut Creek-based agent Mike Sullivan was on both legs of my flight and said Cal running back Marshawn Lynch was eagerly anticipating participating in all drills and had a Pro Day tentative scheduled for March 6 at Cal.
Lynch is one of several Sullivan clients who have been training at Athletes' Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., since early January.
Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards, the subject of an Newsmedia column running Thursday, has been training since the second week in January in Carlsbad under the direction of Rep 1 Sports Group.
The ballpark figure of what agents pay to have their clients get ready for the combine and pro day workouts preceeding the draft _ $20,000 per man.
