THE OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 SEASON THREAD
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Bruce Gradkowski Q&A
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 5:32 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A transcript of starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski’s session with the media Thursday:
Q: What were your thoughts when you heard the news?
Gradkowski: I’m excited. I’m excited to get this opportunity, go out here and start this week and try to make something happen. Our guys have been working hard. We’ve been working hard all year. So, it’s a matter of just executing and doing what we know how to do.
Q: What do you bring to the equation?
Gradkowski: I would like to say I bring some leadership and command of the huddle, a little spice to the game, maybe a little athleticism. I’m just going to do what I’m coached to do and run our offense. That’s it. And let everything take care of itself.
Q: Is that what the coaches will ask of you?
Gradkowski: Yeah, the coaches see that. They have confidence in me to get the job done. Like I said, I’m just going to do what I’m coached to do, just run the offense, put the ball in players’ hands and let them make plays.
Q: How comforting is it to hear that this move is for the rest of the season and not just for one game?
Gradkowski: Well, it’s good knowing it’s for the rest of the season. But, you also just have to take it one game at a time. In this league, you just got to focus on one week at a time and take it as it comes. That’s all I’m doing right now, if it’s this week or the last week of the season. I’m just going to take it this week and see how it goes.
Q: What are your thoughts about playing against the Bengals?
Gradkowski: Cincinnati’s a good team. They’re playing hot right now. They have a good defense and a good offense. So, we just have to take care of the football, run our offense and just play our game. We’re going to play hard. We play hard every week. It’s just a matter of coming out, executing and getting the job done.
Q: What do you think of your offense?
Gradkowski: We have a lot of weapons. A lot of weapons. I know our guys are young, but they’re going to make plays. They have been making plays in practice. We just got to stay on course, keep doing what we’re doing, keep working hard and things will fall into place.
Q: How much of the offensive woes is because of the receivers and offensive line?
Gradkowski: Our receivers have been doing a great job. They are guys that care and want to get better. As long as you have guys like that, with good character, you’re going to be fine. Those guys are going to make plays. It’s all of us. It’s a team effort. And that’s the one thing that’s great about football, you got to rely on the guy next to you and do your job.”
Q: Did you sign here thinking you would win the starting job?
Gradkowski: As a competitor, as a quarterback, you always view yourself as a starter. As a competitor, you want to start. So, I just came in, I knew the situation, I have JaMarcus’ back. I still do, because we’re a team. We’re in this together. He’s helping me out, just like I helped him out. Whatever we can do to get a couple wins.
Q: Do you have any extra insights to the Bengals since you played in Cleveland? “
Gradkowski: Not really. Ask Charlie Frye. Charlie’s played there for a while. Like I said, we’ve just got to keep studying, keep working and keep practicing hard and we’ll be OK.
Q: What is the mood of the team?
Gradkowski: I think the mood of the team is good. Guys have stayed positive, there’s energy at practice. Guys are still working hard, and that’s a key. That’s what you have to do. I think the outlook looks positive.”
Q: Did you talk to Russell and if so, what did you say to him?
Gradkowski: Yeah, I talked to JaMarcus. I talked to him on Sunday and throughout the week. We’re teammates. We’re in this thing together, and he said it himself. He said we’re teammates, whatever we can do to win. I think he played his best first half of football last week and we just didn’t help him out. We just need a team effort. He knows that. He’s the leader of this team. That’s the way we’ve got to go, and we just have to make plays.
Q: How about your style? Do they have to change stuff for you?
Gradkowski: I think our offense is going to be the same. There might be a couple tweaks here and there, but we’re just going to run the offense, do what we do and try to make some plays.
Q: Will you have to guard against getting to excited and amped up for the game?
Gradkowski: I’m going to be excited starting this game, but also, it’s a little different feeling when I was a rookie and I got the call. That’s what I’m most looking forward to, just being a professional about it and doing my job, doing what I’m coached to do and see what happens.”
Q: What did you learn that rookie year?
Gradkowski: My rookie year was a great learning experience. I had great coaching in coach Gruden and coach Hackett. I learned a whole lot, good stuff, bad stuff, I learned from it all. You can only move on and gain experience. That’s one thing I’ve learned and try to get better throughout the years.”
Q: Have your teammates looked at you in a different way?
Gradkowski: guys are still the same. I think they have respect for me. The main important thing is they know I’m going to prepare and work hard. If you do that, you just have to go out on game day and play hard and let the chips fall into place.” They say the most popular guy on a team is the backup QB. That changes for you now. How hungry do you think the fans are to see some performance out of the position?
Gradkowski: I think the fans are excited. We have some great fans here. We need to give them more than what they’ve been seeing. We need them this week on Sunday. It’s still a big game. It’s a big game every week and if the fans are into that game, it helps us out. They’ve been great all year. We just need to give them a little more to cheer about.
Q: Do you sense their frustration? You’ve heard the boos, right?
Gradkowski: Fans are fans. It’s like that anywhere. They just want to win. It’s football, and that’s the great thing about this game. Fans are going to cheer you when you’re winning and they’re going to boo when they don’t like something. But you just have to go with the flow and have fun and make this game fun.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 5:32 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A transcript of starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski’s session with the media Thursday:
Q: What were your thoughts when you heard the news?
Gradkowski: I’m excited. I’m excited to get this opportunity, go out here and start this week and try to make something happen. Our guys have been working hard. We’ve been working hard all year. So, it’s a matter of just executing and doing what we know how to do.
Q: What do you bring to the equation?
Gradkowski: I would like to say I bring some leadership and command of the huddle, a little spice to the game, maybe a little athleticism. I’m just going to do what I’m coached to do and run our offense. That’s it. And let everything take care of itself.
Q: Is that what the coaches will ask of you?
Gradkowski: Yeah, the coaches see that. They have confidence in me to get the job done. Like I said, I’m just going to do what I’m coached to do, just run the offense, put the ball in players’ hands and let them make plays.
Q: How comforting is it to hear that this move is for the rest of the season and not just for one game?
Gradkowski: Well, it’s good knowing it’s for the rest of the season. But, you also just have to take it one game at a time. In this league, you just got to focus on one week at a time and take it as it comes. That’s all I’m doing right now, if it’s this week or the last week of the season. I’m just going to take it this week and see how it goes.
Q: What are your thoughts about playing against the Bengals?
Gradkowski: Cincinnati’s a good team. They’re playing hot right now. They have a good defense and a good offense. So, we just have to take care of the football, run our offense and just play our game. We’re going to play hard. We play hard every week. It’s just a matter of coming out, executing and getting the job done.
Q: What do you think of your offense?
Gradkowski: We have a lot of weapons. A lot of weapons. I know our guys are young, but they’re going to make plays. They have been making plays in practice. We just got to stay on course, keep doing what we’re doing, keep working hard and things will fall into place.
Q: How much of the offensive woes is because of the receivers and offensive line?
Gradkowski: Our receivers have been doing a great job. They are guys that care and want to get better. As long as you have guys like that, with good character, you’re going to be fine. Those guys are going to make plays. It’s all of us. It’s a team effort. And that’s the one thing that’s great about football, you got to rely on the guy next to you and do your job.”
Q: Did you sign here thinking you would win the starting job?
Gradkowski: As a competitor, as a quarterback, you always view yourself as a starter. As a competitor, you want to start. So, I just came in, I knew the situation, I have JaMarcus’ back. I still do, because we’re a team. We’re in this together. He’s helping me out, just like I helped him out. Whatever we can do to get a couple wins.
Q: Do you have any extra insights to the Bengals since you played in Cleveland? “
Gradkowski: Not really. Ask Charlie Frye. Charlie’s played there for a while. Like I said, we’ve just got to keep studying, keep working and keep practicing hard and we’ll be OK.
Q: What is the mood of the team?
Gradkowski: I think the mood of the team is good. Guys have stayed positive, there’s energy at practice. Guys are still working hard, and that’s a key. That’s what you have to do. I think the outlook looks positive.”
Q: Did you talk to Russell and if so, what did you say to him?
Gradkowski: Yeah, I talked to JaMarcus. I talked to him on Sunday and throughout the week. We’re teammates. We’re in this thing together, and he said it himself. He said we’re teammates, whatever we can do to win. I think he played his best first half of football last week and we just didn’t help him out. We just need a team effort. He knows that. He’s the leader of this team. That’s the way we’ve got to go, and we just have to make plays.
Q: How about your style? Do they have to change stuff for you?
Gradkowski: I think our offense is going to be the same. There might be a couple tweaks here and there, but we’re just going to run the offense, do what we do and try to make some plays.
Q: Will you have to guard against getting to excited and amped up for the game?
Gradkowski: I’m going to be excited starting this game, but also, it’s a little different feeling when I was a rookie and I got the call. That’s what I’m most looking forward to, just being a professional about it and doing my job, doing what I’m coached to do and see what happens.”
Q: What did you learn that rookie year?
Gradkowski: My rookie year was a great learning experience. I had great coaching in coach Gruden and coach Hackett. I learned a whole lot, good stuff, bad stuff, I learned from it all. You can only move on and gain experience. That’s one thing I’ve learned and try to get better throughout the years.”
Q: Have your teammates looked at you in a different way?
Gradkowski: guys are still the same. I think they have respect for me. The main important thing is they know I’m going to prepare and work hard. If you do that, you just have to go out on game day and play hard and let the chips fall into place.” They say the most popular guy on a team is the backup QB. That changes for you now. How hungry do you think the fans are to see some performance out of the position?
Gradkowski: I think the fans are excited. We have some great fans here. We need to give them more than what they’ve been seeing. We need them this week on Sunday. It’s still a big game. It’s a big game every week and if the fans are into that game, it helps us out. They’ve been great all year. We just need to give them a little more to cheer about.
Q: Do you sense their frustration? You’ve heard the boos, right?
Gradkowski: Fans are fans. It’s like that anywhere. They just want to win. It’s football, and that’s the great thing about this game. Fans are going to cheer you when you’re winning and they’re going to boo when they don’t like something. But you just have to go with the flow and have fun and make this game fun.
Ted Tollner Q&A
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Passing game coordinator Ted Tollner’s thoughts Thursday on the Raiders quarterback switch and how it will affect the offense:
Q: What can you tell us about Bruce Gradkowski?
Tollner: Well, first thing I did was watch a lot of the Tampa film before he came here just to get a feel for him, because he had some game time experience when they had some injuries. He played well. He hasn’t played a lot in the NFL, but he played well, and we were excited about bringing him here to compete for some backup playing time, and he’s worked hard, and done a lot of good things, and we’ve been struggling, so we’re really looking to see whether he’s going to bring a spark, and he’s going to get an opportunity.
What happens out here in practice versus what happens on Sunday can be totally different, so we just want to see what he can bring to the table. Obviously we’re not happy with where we are for a lot of reasons, and not just JaMarcus, for a lot of reasons, so you make, Tom’s talked to you about that, now he gets an opportunity, and we’ll see what he brings to the table. I mean, out here, he’s got composure and command of our system, even though he hasn’t got nearly the number of snaps JaMarcus has to this point, but he understands it, and he’s anxious to see what happens on game day.
Q: Run the same offense as if JaMarcus was on the field, or use plays that accentuate Gradkowski’s specific strengths?
Tollner: Well, it’s pretty much the same, but, obviously, we talk to them tall the time, within the package, where’s your comfort zone based on how they handle it out here, and each of them, have, within the system we haven’t changed anything, it’s just you might draw a little bit more here, one guy may like this on third down, one guy may like that. As long as it complements what we’re trying to do and it’s in our system, then we would try to, that’s the way, if we’re going to, if we swing it one way or the other that’s how it would be, but it wouldn’t be to change dramatically anything.
Each guy brings a little bit something else to the table that he likes to do, certain routes he likes, certain kinds of movement he likes, protections, and you try and give that to him within the system. So, to answer you, there’s no real dramatic changes but you may pull a little heavier from one area than the other.
Every week we go into it with a dropback plan, a playaction plan, a movement plan, a screen plan, a third-down plan, a red zone plan, and then within that there’s a group of plays, and we’re always, we like them for a reason, but you always want to get a feedback from them, what do you feel good about. Normally my experience, certain things they like, and they kind of take ownership of it. They want that called more often, so that’s the only way that would be affected.
Q: Cable says getting ball to wideouts was key . . .for whatever reason wasn’t happening with JaMarcus, will it get better with Gradkowski?
Tollner: There’s no question we’ve got to get them involved, but last week, we had some opportunities for them, and JaMarcus made some beautiful throws. I mean, you think about the one down the boundary that was called back for kind of a tripping call, that if you looked at it, it was a hell of a throw that he made. And the deep one he made that was dropped, so he made some plays, but that’s kind of been what happened for us this year. When one guy makes his part of it, somebody else doesn’t.
Or sometimes we made a play and we had a penalty, so both guys, as far as the thrower and the receiver made a play, but there was a penalty somewhere else. So the combination of all that, but the bottom line is what Tom did say, we need to find a way to get our receivers involved in a consistent basis so they don’t gang up on run and Zach.
Q: Might be a good thing as a young QB to sit back and watch?
Tollner: I don’t think there’s any question that that’s accurate. Even a veteran sometimes, the game, there’s so much stress and pressure every week, and all of it, in that position, is more than probably fair, falls on that position. We all know how that goes.
Sometimes to step back, and watch and see, can be very positive. I’ve seen where it happened to veteran guys where it turned out being positive, but it definitely can help a younger guy who hasn’t really gotten that many years and that many games behind him to stand back and watch the game and look a it from that perspective. That’s what we’re hoping for.
Q: Is it a similar situation to your time in San Francisco with No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, with Shaun Hill a career backup?
Tollner: I think to some degree there is. Now when I was with them, Shaun was competing and he kept getting hurt so he was kind of eliminated through the injury but he was able to stand back and watch. Shaun did some things that maybe Alex didn’t do and now Alex’s getting a turn.
I haven’t studied it but I guess he’s performing pretty well right now so I think that would be a fair example of what you hope happens when a guy steps back. They’re kind of in the same role, first pick in the draft and you hear all the controversy about all the things that are said and they have to be strong willed because they hear so much negative. I know Alex went through it and JaMarcus goes through it but I do think stand back, evaluate and when you do get that next chance, make that be a positive experience that you stood back.
Q: What does Bruce bring what to the table?
Tollner: The thing you have to be careful of is he’s played and he’s come in when the we were behind so you get out of your normal in-sync rhythm of what you want to do to mix run and pass, now he’s going to start a game, and we get a chance to see him in that condition instead of throw every down. But what I did see when he got a chance to play in Tampa is that he can do that. He can handle the run, the play-action pass, the two-minute system, pretty much he’s been kind of in a two-minute role, when he played, and that’s totally different. When it’s a two-minute and you’re behind, you’re going to complete some balls, and he’s done well when he’s in that roll. Now you start the game, there’s an altogether different pressure on you to perform and he’s excited about the opportunity and we’re anxious to see how he does.
Q: Way he moves, similar to Garcia? Similarities?
Tollner: To some degree there is, and he admires Jeff Garcia from their time at Tampa together and they were good friends, and yes, he does have some of that stuff, that make it happen if it gets out of rhythm, you’ve got a rhythm to every pass, and some guys like it when the rhythm isn’t there and they push and they scramble and they find a third guy and they check it down, and he likes to do that, and that sometimes gives you a real bonus play. We’re anxious to see if that happens now, because the way he’s in a game to this point for us, he couldn’t do that because we needed to make bigger plays and score points because we didn’t have that much time left in the game.
Q: See different energy today with a QB change?
Tollner: Well, from Bruce, but no, our players are good, they’re going to support who’s in there. They want to win, and if Tom made the decision to look a different direction right now, all they want is like any player, they want everybody to do their job and perform and they hope that Bruce will bring something to the table that will give us a chance to win, and that’s the whole purpose of it. So to say it’s a different energy, no. They were the same way with JaMarcus in my opinion, and they wanted him to be successful. He’s their quarterback, we want to win. I don’t know what was said behind closed doors but I know what I see on the field and they’re supportive of the guy that’s playing.
Q: Can he make all the throws?
Tollner: He does, what little bit, I think he got 15 starts or so at Tampa, and he’s done those kind of things, on our practice field, he has, now we have to see in this situation, with our players, can you do it. He can physically do it, but when you get the competition on the field, especially a good Cincinnati team that’s playing good defense right now, you get to really evaluate it, is he ready for it or not? We obviously believe he brings that to the table now or Tom wouldn’t have made the decision to look at him this week. Now he’s going to get the opportunity to prove it.
Q: Expand playbook, keep the same . . .
Tollner: We talked about that earlier. It’s basically the same but you may draw different parts on it based on what they like and what we think they do, so there may be some, but as far as the overall plan, no. We just need to execute it better. That would be a more accurate assessment.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Passing game coordinator Ted Tollner’s thoughts Thursday on the Raiders quarterback switch and how it will affect the offense:
Q: What can you tell us about Bruce Gradkowski?
Tollner: Well, first thing I did was watch a lot of the Tampa film before he came here just to get a feel for him, because he had some game time experience when they had some injuries. He played well. He hasn’t played a lot in the NFL, but he played well, and we were excited about bringing him here to compete for some backup playing time, and he’s worked hard, and done a lot of good things, and we’ve been struggling, so we’re really looking to see whether he’s going to bring a spark, and he’s going to get an opportunity.
What happens out here in practice versus what happens on Sunday can be totally different, so we just want to see what he can bring to the table. Obviously we’re not happy with where we are for a lot of reasons, and not just JaMarcus, for a lot of reasons, so you make, Tom’s talked to you about that, now he gets an opportunity, and we’ll see what he brings to the table. I mean, out here, he’s got composure and command of our system, even though he hasn’t got nearly the number of snaps JaMarcus has to this point, but he understands it, and he’s anxious to see what happens on game day.
Q: Run the same offense as if JaMarcus was on the field, or use plays that accentuate Gradkowski’s specific strengths?
Tollner: Well, it’s pretty much the same, but, obviously, we talk to them tall the time, within the package, where’s your comfort zone based on how they handle it out here, and each of them, have, within the system we haven’t changed anything, it’s just you might draw a little bit more here, one guy may like this on third down, one guy may like that. As long as it complements what we’re trying to do and it’s in our system, then we would try to, that’s the way, if we’re going to, if we swing it one way or the other that’s how it would be, but it wouldn’t be to change dramatically anything.
Each guy brings a little bit something else to the table that he likes to do, certain routes he likes, certain kinds of movement he likes, protections, and you try and give that to him within the system. So, to answer you, there’s no real dramatic changes but you may pull a little heavier from one area than the other.
Every week we go into it with a dropback plan, a playaction plan, a movement plan, a screen plan, a third-down plan, a red zone plan, and then within that there’s a group of plays, and we’re always, we like them for a reason, but you always want to get a feedback from them, what do you feel good about. Normally my experience, certain things they like, and they kind of take ownership of it. They want that called more often, so that’s the only way that would be affected.
Q: Cable says getting ball to wideouts was key . . .for whatever reason wasn’t happening with JaMarcus, will it get better with Gradkowski?
Tollner: There’s no question we’ve got to get them involved, but last week, we had some opportunities for them, and JaMarcus made some beautiful throws. I mean, you think about the one down the boundary that was called back for kind of a tripping call, that if you looked at it, it was a hell of a throw that he made. And the deep one he made that was dropped, so he made some plays, but that’s kind of been what happened for us this year. When one guy makes his part of it, somebody else doesn’t.
Or sometimes we made a play and we had a penalty, so both guys, as far as the thrower and the receiver made a play, but there was a penalty somewhere else. So the combination of all that, but the bottom line is what Tom did say, we need to find a way to get our receivers involved in a consistent basis so they don’t gang up on run and Zach.
Q: Might be a good thing as a young QB to sit back and watch?
Tollner: I don’t think there’s any question that that’s accurate. Even a veteran sometimes, the game, there’s so much stress and pressure every week, and all of it, in that position, is more than probably fair, falls on that position. We all know how that goes.
Sometimes to step back, and watch and see, can be very positive. I’ve seen where it happened to veteran guys where it turned out being positive, but it definitely can help a younger guy who hasn’t really gotten that many years and that many games behind him to stand back and watch the game and look a it from that perspective. That’s what we’re hoping for.
Q: Is it a similar situation to your time in San Francisco with No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, with Shaun Hill a career backup?
Tollner: I think to some degree there is. Now when I was with them, Shaun was competing and he kept getting hurt so he was kind of eliminated through the injury but he was able to stand back and watch. Shaun did some things that maybe Alex didn’t do and now Alex’s getting a turn.
I haven’t studied it but I guess he’s performing pretty well right now so I think that would be a fair example of what you hope happens when a guy steps back. They’re kind of in the same role, first pick in the draft and you hear all the controversy about all the things that are said and they have to be strong willed because they hear so much negative. I know Alex went through it and JaMarcus goes through it but I do think stand back, evaluate and when you do get that next chance, make that be a positive experience that you stood back.
Q: What does Bruce bring what to the table?
Tollner: The thing you have to be careful of is he’s played and he’s come in when the we were behind so you get out of your normal in-sync rhythm of what you want to do to mix run and pass, now he’s going to start a game, and we get a chance to see him in that condition instead of throw every down. But what I did see when he got a chance to play in Tampa is that he can do that. He can handle the run, the play-action pass, the two-minute system, pretty much he’s been kind of in a two-minute role, when he played, and that’s totally different. When it’s a two-minute and you’re behind, you’re going to complete some balls, and he’s done well when he’s in that roll. Now you start the game, there’s an altogether different pressure on you to perform and he’s excited about the opportunity and we’re anxious to see how he does.
Q: Way he moves, similar to Garcia? Similarities?
Tollner: To some degree there is, and he admires Jeff Garcia from their time at Tampa together and they were good friends, and yes, he does have some of that stuff, that make it happen if it gets out of rhythm, you’ve got a rhythm to every pass, and some guys like it when the rhythm isn’t there and they push and they scramble and they find a third guy and they check it down, and he likes to do that, and that sometimes gives you a real bonus play. We’re anxious to see if that happens now, because the way he’s in a game to this point for us, he couldn’t do that because we needed to make bigger plays and score points because we didn’t have that much time left in the game.
Q: See different energy today with a QB change?
Tollner: Well, from Bruce, but no, our players are good, they’re going to support who’s in there. They want to win, and if Tom made the decision to look a different direction right now, all they want is like any player, they want everybody to do their job and perform and they hope that Bruce will bring something to the table that will give us a chance to win, and that’s the whole purpose of it. So to say it’s a different energy, no. They were the same way with JaMarcus in my opinion, and they wanted him to be successful. He’s their quarterback, we want to win. I don’t know what was said behind closed doors but I know what I see on the field and they’re supportive of the guy that’s playing.
Q: Can he make all the throws?
Tollner: He does, what little bit, I think he got 15 starts or so at Tampa, and he’s done those kind of things, on our practice field, he has, now we have to see in this situation, with our players, can you do it. He can physically do it, but when you get the competition on the field, especially a good Cincinnati team that’s playing good defense right now, you get to really evaluate it, is he ready for it or not? We obviously believe he brings that to the table now or Tom wouldn’t have made the decision to look at him this week. Now he’s going to get the opportunity to prove it.
Q: Expand playbook, keep the same . . .
Tollner: We talked about that earlier. It’s basically the same but you may draw different parts on it based on what they like and what we think they do, so there may be some, but as far as the overall plan, no. We just need to execute it better. That would be a more accurate assessment.
Gradkowski is a 2001 graduate from Seton-La Salle Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and played as a member of the Seton-La Salle Rebels from 1997 to 2000 in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). This is the same league that produced football legends such as Dan Marino (Central Catholic High School), Joe Montana (Ringgold High School), Joe Namath (Beaver Falls High School), and Johnny Unitas (St. Justin High School). In high school, he ultimately performed at a higher level than any of them did.
^ I'm still not sure about Gradkowski being a long term QB for the future... I think he's very solid, but I don't think he has the arm strength to be a great QB in this league... I def think we should keep him in as long as he's playing well... for the rest of this season for sure, and maybe next season if he plays well and wins us some games
I don't think we should rush into drafting another QB anyways... we should build up the O-line... let our receivers get better... then when we have a solid team, plug in a QB... oorrr maaaybe Gradkowski can be that guy... we'll have ot wait and see
I don't think we should rush into drafting another QB anyways... we should build up the O-line... let our receivers get better... then when we have a solid team, plug in a QB... oorrr maaaybe Gradkowski can be that guy... we'll have ot wait and see
crazy thing is if the Raiders dump a few salaries they can really put together a good team. Im definitely not worried about Gradkowski's arm strength, its his height im worried about but hes fast as fuck and bounce outside the pocket hella good. To me they should try him for a while build that O-Line asap cuz we got the running backs and receivers just need a lot better blocking and defense i dont have many complaints about, D-Line could definitely be better.
so what do you guys think about Gradkowski up to this point?
he threw for around 50% completion, 200 yards, 1 TD and no ints
those stats are nothing spectacular... they're pretty average... but if JR had those stats we'd be praising him
it seemed like our receivers couldn't get open quick enough, and our O-line couldn't block long enough most of the game, and Gradkowski just had to throw the ball away
no I know there was times when this happened with Russell, but Gradkowski was able to handle it better... and when he did have an open receiver and enough time to pass to him he was able to capitalize on it most of the time... where JR would just overthrow the guy
I'm still really disappointed in our offense overall... too many 3 and outs... I really think our offensive line won't allow us to do shit... we need to work on that in the offseason for real
and we still can't stop the fucking run... we gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground to Dallas... which I wasn't surprised by, because they have 3 good RB's... but damn... when will we fix that problem??? shit has been killing us for years now... I'm getting fuckin sick of it
he threw for around 50% completion, 200 yards, 1 TD and no ints
those stats are nothing spectacular... they're pretty average... but if JR had those stats we'd be praising him
it seemed like our receivers couldn't get open quick enough, and our O-line couldn't block long enough most of the game, and Gradkowski just had to throw the ball away
no I know there was times when this happened with Russell, but Gradkowski was able to handle it better... and when he did have an open receiver and enough time to pass to him he was able to capitalize on it most of the time... where JR would just overthrow the guy
I'm still really disappointed in our offense overall... too many 3 and outs... I really think our offensive line won't allow us to do shit... we need to work on that in the offseason for real
and we still can't stop the fucking run... we gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground to Dallas... which I wasn't surprised by, because they have 3 good RB's... but damn... when will we fix that problem??? shit has been killing us for years now... I'm getting fuckin sick of it
this was the huge problem IMO... again not trying to praise Gradkowski, because he's not GREAT... but IMO the problem falls more on our O-line
since our O-line was so bad all they needed to do was send 4 guys to rush the passer... everyone else was back in coverage, which is why NOBODY was open all day
it seemed liek Gradkowski was constantly throwing the ball away almost every down
we cannot allow that much pressure form a 4 man rush... if we're gonna allow pressure at least force them to blitz, that way we at least give our receivers a chance to get open
Gradkowski is actually much better at getting rid of the ball quick compared to Russell... but our O-line needs to give him much more help than he's been getting
since our O-line was so bad all they needed to do was send 4 guys to rush the passer... everyone else was back in coverage, which is why NOBODY was open all day
it seemed liek Gradkowski was constantly throwing the ball away almost every down
we cannot allow that much pressure form a 4 man rush... if we're gonna allow pressure at least force them to blitz, that way we at least give our receivers a chance to get open
Gradkowski is actually much better at getting rid of the ball quick compared to Russell... but our O-line needs to give him much more help than he's been getting