Jerry Porter lived a nightmare last year.
The Raiders receiver clashed with former coach Art Shell and ex-offensive coordinator (Mr. Bed and Breakfast) Tom Walsh. He played defense in practice. He ultimately got suspended. Porter asked to be traded after an initial meeting with the new brain trust. The receiver says he knew the offense just wasn't going to work with Shell and Walsh. And he was right.
Jerry Porter, healthy all year, played in four games and caught one pass.
That's unbelievable.
We caught up with Porter on Wednesday for a 30-minute on-air chat.
He sounded very relieved to get some of his frustrations from last year out in the open and you could tell Porter cannot wait for the 2007 season.
Porter said, "Well, honestly, last year never happened for me. It really never happened. I'm telling you honestly it didn't happen. It felt like the '05 off-season was a year-and-a-half long."
So what does he think of new coach Lane Kiffin?
"This year we've got an offensive-minded coach, a nice bright young guy. He's coming in willing to work hard. I'm willing to work with him. We've got a lot of things in place. We need a lot of help but we got a good start."
"The main thing (Kiffin) said, he just wants me to come in and work hard. From my very first year in the league I never knew anything else but to work hard."
What's ahead in 2007?
"We can get better very quickly. The defense almost scored as many points as the offense scored last year. The guys, they played very well. Coach (Rob) Ryan (defensive coordinator), he did a great job. It's a good thing they left things in place so the guys we had, the good nucleus we had, so the guys can grow and learn the system. Each year he's been able to add things in and they just played great last year and we didn't, the offense didn't really show up. I'm telling you if we can get 14 points we can do what Orton and the Bears did two years ago."
So who does Porter want throwing him the ball this year?
"That's a tough decision right there because I'm not sure that Andrew Walter can't get the job done. The guy, he shows me a lot of promise. He's got a quick release. He's very smart in the pocket but it was tough last year because we had a lot of deep drops and before he could even get to the top of his drop he had to avoid two or three guys at least on one play. So we've got to shore up that O-line to give the QB, no matter who the QB is, give him a chance to see if he can play."
What about JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn?
"Well, since I didn't play football last year I got to watch a lot. I like the way Brady Quinn operates. I like the way he operates in the pocket. But I also like the way JaMarcus Russell works, too. I can see JaMarcus Russell as the Donovan McNabb-type QB that scrambles to still throw instead of scrambling to run and get yards. If that's the case he's gonna be a great NFL guy. And if Brady Quinn is the intelligent, knowledgeable QB they say he is he could be a — I don't want to hurt him already and tell him he could be the next Peyton Manning — he could be a great QB too. I think being in the first slot this year we're in a win-win situation. You can pick your poison."
Should Randy Moss stick around?
"That's not my decision. I got in trouble last year trying to play GM ... I think that we can still work — myself, Randy, Ronald Curry, whoever we have at QB, Coach Kiffin's offense. I think we'll be fine. If we can just go out and give the defense 14 points to work with we'll be a playoff team."
We've heard the new coach and Moss haven't hit it off. Is that true?
"That's the thing. It's a lot of hearsay. I talked to Coach Kiffin and he said they're fine. I heard through the media somehow, some way, that they said that Randy cussed out the coach, said he didn't have time to talk to him. Coach Kiffin said that never happened. It's a lot of hearsay so you gotta believe what you hear with your own ears."
So what went wrong in 2006?
"Man, that was tough. It was really tough. Last year, before I ever asked to be traded, I went up there to talk to Coach Shell twice and talk to Coach Walsh once and it was at that point I realized I didn't want to be a part of it. But they felt like they gave me too much money to just let me go or trade me without me giving money back.
"I went up there and listened to what they had to say. I wanted to get a feel for what type of offense they were going to run. One plus one didn't equal two. It didn't in that first meeting and you guys saw the offense during the season. You needed Hall of Famers to make that offense even decent. I feel like I've played this game for a little while now. I feel like I know what it takes to have a successful offense.
So what happened with the suspension last year?
"How much time we got?"
I have all day. But really, what happened at practice?
"I had picks on defense. It's pretty ugly when the receiver is playing defense, getting interceptions. It's bad business. You know how football players talk trash to each other every day. So I was talking trash. I think we had stopped the offense like three or four times in a row. They repeated the play like three or four times in a row and someone said something like, 'Come on, man, so we can get off the field.' And I turned and said, 'I mean, what the hell? We're going to be out here for three hours anyway.' And that got me thrown off the field, sent home and four game checks taken. That's the most expensive trash I ever talked!"
So, which player wanted out of practice?
"It was one of the coaches saying that."
Wait. It was a coach who said that?"
"Yes and I said, 'We're gonna be out here for three hours anyway. It was Coach Sims, the defensive quality control guy."
What was the biggest misconception out there?
"I read a lot of things that are out there on the internet. People wrote Jerry didn't want to play. I love to play. I am a football player. The other thing that really bothered me was when people said it was a contract squabble. I never said anything about any money, ever. I just re-signed. Why would I be crying about my contract?"
Has anything else changed?
"I just found this year that Mr. Davis is approachable. I was never the person to go up to his office and complain or ask for this or ask for that. I just didn't know that he is as approachable as he is. This year I sat down to talk to him at least three times already. It's a shock to me. So had I known that I may have done something different than last year. And now we basically talk football. He's a brilliant football mind. Talking to him you get so much insight on football from back in the '60s, '70s, '80s. Everybody who says whatever they say about him, just sit down for 10 minutes with him. It'll change your mind."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6547776
The Raiders receiver clashed with former coach Art Shell and ex-offensive coordinator (Mr. Bed and Breakfast) Tom Walsh. He played defense in practice. He ultimately got suspended. Porter asked to be traded after an initial meeting with the new brain trust. The receiver says he knew the offense just wasn't going to work with Shell and Walsh. And he was right.
Jerry Porter, healthy all year, played in four games and caught one pass.
That's unbelievable.
We caught up with Porter on Wednesday for a 30-minute on-air chat.
He sounded very relieved to get some of his frustrations from last year out in the open and you could tell Porter cannot wait for the 2007 season.
Porter said, "Well, honestly, last year never happened for me. It really never happened. I'm telling you honestly it didn't happen. It felt like the '05 off-season was a year-and-a-half long."
So what does he think of new coach Lane Kiffin?
"This year we've got an offensive-minded coach, a nice bright young guy. He's coming in willing to work hard. I'm willing to work with him. We've got a lot of things in place. We need a lot of help but we got a good start."
"The main thing (Kiffin) said, he just wants me to come in and work hard. From my very first year in the league I never knew anything else but to work hard."
What's ahead in 2007?
"We can get better very quickly. The defense almost scored as many points as the offense scored last year. The guys, they played very well. Coach (Rob) Ryan (defensive coordinator), he did a great job. It's a good thing they left things in place so the guys we had, the good nucleus we had, so the guys can grow and learn the system. Each year he's been able to add things in and they just played great last year and we didn't, the offense didn't really show up. I'm telling you if we can get 14 points we can do what Orton and the Bears did two years ago."
So who does Porter want throwing him the ball this year?
"That's a tough decision right there because I'm not sure that Andrew Walter can't get the job done. The guy, he shows me a lot of promise. He's got a quick release. He's very smart in the pocket but it was tough last year because we had a lot of deep drops and before he could even get to the top of his drop he had to avoid two or three guys at least on one play. So we've got to shore up that O-line to give the QB, no matter who the QB is, give him a chance to see if he can play."
What about JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn?
"Well, since I didn't play football last year I got to watch a lot. I like the way Brady Quinn operates. I like the way he operates in the pocket. But I also like the way JaMarcus Russell works, too. I can see JaMarcus Russell as the Donovan McNabb-type QB that scrambles to still throw instead of scrambling to run and get yards. If that's the case he's gonna be a great NFL guy. And if Brady Quinn is the intelligent, knowledgeable QB they say he is he could be a — I don't want to hurt him already and tell him he could be the next Peyton Manning — he could be a great QB too. I think being in the first slot this year we're in a win-win situation. You can pick your poison."
Should Randy Moss stick around?
"That's not my decision. I got in trouble last year trying to play GM ... I think that we can still work — myself, Randy, Ronald Curry, whoever we have at QB, Coach Kiffin's offense. I think we'll be fine. If we can just go out and give the defense 14 points to work with we'll be a playoff team."
We've heard the new coach and Moss haven't hit it off. Is that true?
"That's the thing. It's a lot of hearsay. I talked to Coach Kiffin and he said they're fine. I heard through the media somehow, some way, that they said that Randy cussed out the coach, said he didn't have time to talk to him. Coach Kiffin said that never happened. It's a lot of hearsay so you gotta believe what you hear with your own ears."
So what went wrong in 2006?
"Man, that was tough. It was really tough. Last year, before I ever asked to be traded, I went up there to talk to Coach Shell twice and talk to Coach Walsh once and it was at that point I realized I didn't want to be a part of it. But they felt like they gave me too much money to just let me go or trade me without me giving money back.
"I went up there and listened to what they had to say. I wanted to get a feel for what type of offense they were going to run. One plus one didn't equal two. It didn't in that first meeting and you guys saw the offense during the season. You needed Hall of Famers to make that offense even decent. I feel like I've played this game for a little while now. I feel like I know what it takes to have a successful offense.
So what happened with the suspension last year?
"How much time we got?"
I have all day. But really, what happened at practice?
"I had picks on defense. It's pretty ugly when the receiver is playing defense, getting interceptions. It's bad business. You know how football players talk trash to each other every day. So I was talking trash. I think we had stopped the offense like three or four times in a row. They repeated the play like three or four times in a row and someone said something like, 'Come on, man, so we can get off the field.' And I turned and said, 'I mean, what the hell? We're going to be out here for three hours anyway.' And that got me thrown off the field, sent home and four game checks taken. That's the most expensive trash I ever talked!"
So, which player wanted out of practice?
"It was one of the coaches saying that."
Wait. It was a coach who said that?"
"Yes and I said, 'We're gonna be out here for three hours anyway. It was Coach Sims, the defensive quality control guy."
What was the biggest misconception out there?
"I read a lot of things that are out there on the internet. People wrote Jerry didn't want to play. I love to play. I am a football player. The other thing that really bothered me was when people said it was a contract squabble. I never said anything about any money, ever. I just re-signed. Why would I be crying about my contract?"
Has anything else changed?
"I just found this year that Mr. Davis is approachable. I was never the person to go up to his office and complain or ask for this or ask for that. I just didn't know that he is as approachable as he is. This year I sat down to talk to him at least three times already. It's a shock to me. So had I known that I may have done something different than last year. And now we basically talk football. He's a brilliant football mind. Talking to him you get so much insight on football from back in the '60s, '70s, '80s. Everybody who says whatever they say about him, just sit down for 10 minutes with him. It'll change your mind."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6547776
