THE OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 SEASON THREAD
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Raiders assistant coach: JaMarcus Russell has gotten worse
If Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell made progress during the offseason, Raiders passing game coordinator Ted Tollner now acknowledges it's all for not. In fact, Tollner said Thursday that Russell, the first overall draft pick in 2007, has actually regressed.
"That's an accurate assessment," Tollner told reporters, via AOL FanHouse, "because we really felt like we were making some real strides and the area was anticipation and turning the ball loose and trusting. Are (the passes) going to be where they belong? Can I turn it loose when the coaches want me, or do I have to wait and use my big arm? We were making some real strides along those lines because you have to at this level."
Russell has completed just 35% of his passes in the Raiders' 1-1 start. He's thrown one TD pass and two interceptions, with a passer rating of 46.6
Tollner said one of the areas they need Russell to make improvements is in delivering the ball:
"You can't wait till people are open. We made strides and last week we fell back in all those areas. That's disappointing to all of us and we've got to get back on track. The answer? ... It's a number of things that happen and there has been a major emphasis on him, on JaMarcus, we've got to give (him) a foot rhythm that allows (him) to turn the ball loose on time and (he needs) to buy into that."
Former Raiders QB Rich Gannon said in an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio this week that Russell is "holding back this offense right now." But he added, after looking at all of Russell's passes from the first two games, he's convinced the quarterback's problem's "can be corrected."
Gannon said on Sirius that Russell needs help improving his footwork:
"I think sometimes he predetermines where he's going to go with the ball. You can see that he makes up his mind very early in his drop. And the other thing is he misses a number of throws, almost a majority of his throws if you go back and look at it, they're high which tells you that more of that weight is not on the front foot, that he's leaning back, he's throwing off of his back foot. These are some things that really jump out at me."
-- Sean Leahy
If Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell made progress during the offseason, Raiders passing game coordinator Ted Tollner now acknowledges it's all for not. In fact, Tollner said Thursday that Russell, the first overall draft pick in 2007, has actually regressed.
"That's an accurate assessment," Tollner told reporters, via AOL FanHouse, "because we really felt like we were making some real strides and the area was anticipation and turning the ball loose and trusting. Are (the passes) going to be where they belong? Can I turn it loose when the coaches want me, or do I have to wait and use my big arm? We were making some real strides along those lines because you have to at this level."
Russell has completed just 35% of his passes in the Raiders' 1-1 start. He's thrown one TD pass and two interceptions, with a passer rating of 46.6
Tollner said one of the areas they need Russell to make improvements is in delivering the ball:
"You can't wait till people are open. We made strides and last week we fell back in all those areas. That's disappointing to all of us and we've got to get back on track. The answer? ... It's a number of things that happen and there has been a major emphasis on him, on JaMarcus, we've got to give (him) a foot rhythm that allows (him) to turn the ball loose on time and (he needs) to buy into that."
Former Raiders QB Rich Gannon said in an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio this week that Russell is "holding back this offense right now." But he added, after looking at all of Russell's passes from the first two games, he's convinced the quarterback's problem's "can be corrected."
Gannon said on Sirius that Russell needs help improving his footwork:
"I think sometimes he predetermines where he's going to go with the ball. You can see that he makes up his mind very early in his drop. And the other thing is he misses a number of throws, almost a majority of his throws if you go back and look at it, they're high which tells you that more of that weight is not on the front foot, that he's leaning back, he's throwing off of his back foot. These are some things that really jump out at me."
-- Sean Leahy
haha i doubt that would happen.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/25/SP0L19ST9M.DTL
(09-25) 17:05 PDT -- The Raiders can't keep Rich Gannon out of The Coliseum's broadcast booth, so they want to lock the quarterback-turned-TV analyst out of the team facility in Alameda.
Team officials told CBS Sports they did not want Gannon to attend Saturday's television production meetings in advance of Sunday's Raiders-Broncos game, The Chronicle has learned, citing his public criticism of the organization in recent years.
"Rich Gannon is not welcome here," Raiders executive John Herrera said Friday when asked about the ban. "We told CBS we did not want him in our building, we did not want him to be part of our production meeting, and that's where it sits."
The Raiders also asked CBS to remove Gannon from Sunday's broadcast crew but the network declined. The team had previously asked CBS to remove Gannon from working their Nov. 30 game against the Chiefs last season to no avail.
"Rich Gannon is an objective and analytical broadcaster and he will be broadcasting the game as assigned by CBS," said LeslieAnne Wade, senior vice president of communications for CBS Sports.
Telling Gannon to stay away from team headquarters is a new wrinkle that may not be enforceable. League policy says teams must make the head coach and players available to the network television crew for production meetings.
"It is not permitted under league policy regarding cooperation with our network partners," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said when asked if the Raiders could ban Gannon from the production meetings.
Attempts to reach Gannon for comment through CBS Sports were not successful.
After 12 nondescript seasons, Gannon's career bloomed late when he signed with the Raiders in 1999. He led the Raiders to three straight playoff berths and a Super Bowl XXXVII appearance.
He was voted the league MVP in 2002, made four straight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams before retiring before the 2005 season.
Gannon went straight into broadcasting, and that's where his relationship with the Raiders became more strained by the season, according to Herrera.
"He's attacked us on a regular basis since becoming a member of the media," Herrera said. "After affording him the opportunity to establish a career here, he has since gone on to attack us in a way that's totally unacceptable."
Herrera quoted Gannon as saying in several interviews they should just "blow up the building and start over" in Oakland. Team officials took that as literally as they did figuratively, and told Gannon as much before last season's home game against the Chiefs.
"We think in a post 9/11 world, that's not a very proper thing to say," Herrera said. "It's uncalled for. He seems to be a guy who can't get over the fact that he played the worst Super Bowl game in the history of the game and he wants to blame everybody but himself.
"I guess it's our fault he threw five interceptions.
Gannon has, indeed, talked often about the "dysfunction" within the Raiders organization, but he's tempered his criticism in recent months.
Earlier this week, he gave a detailed critique of quarterback JaMarcus Russell's accuracy problems and gave coach Tom Cable "a lot of credit" for the team's 1-1 start.
Local fans won't hear what Gannon has to say during Sunday's game, one way or another. The broadcast will be blacked out in the Bay Area because the game didn't sell out.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/25/SP0L19ST9M.DTL
(09-25) 17:05 PDT -- The Raiders can't keep Rich Gannon out of The Coliseum's broadcast booth, so they want to lock the quarterback-turned-TV analyst out of the team facility in Alameda.
Team officials told CBS Sports they did not want Gannon to attend Saturday's television production meetings in advance of Sunday's Raiders-Broncos game, The Chronicle has learned, citing his public criticism of the organization in recent years.
"Rich Gannon is not welcome here," Raiders executive John Herrera said Friday when asked about the ban. "We told CBS we did not want him in our building, we did not want him to be part of our production meeting, and that's where it sits."
The Raiders also asked CBS to remove Gannon from Sunday's broadcast crew but the network declined. The team had previously asked CBS to remove Gannon from working their Nov. 30 game against the Chiefs last season to no avail.
"Rich Gannon is an objective and analytical broadcaster and he will be broadcasting the game as assigned by CBS," said LeslieAnne Wade, senior vice president of communications for CBS Sports.
Telling Gannon to stay away from team headquarters is a new wrinkle that may not be enforceable. League policy says teams must make the head coach and players available to the network television crew for production meetings.
"It is not permitted under league policy regarding cooperation with our network partners," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said when asked if the Raiders could ban Gannon from the production meetings.
Attempts to reach Gannon for comment through CBS Sports were not successful.
After 12 nondescript seasons, Gannon's career bloomed late when he signed with the Raiders in 1999. He led the Raiders to three straight playoff berths and a Super Bowl XXXVII appearance.
He was voted the league MVP in 2002, made four straight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams before retiring before the 2005 season.
Gannon went straight into broadcasting, and that's where his relationship with the Raiders became more strained by the season, according to Herrera.
"He's attacked us on a regular basis since becoming a member of the media," Herrera said. "After affording him the opportunity to establish a career here, he has since gone on to attack us in a way that's totally unacceptable."
Herrera quoted Gannon as saying in several interviews they should just "blow up the building and start over" in Oakland. Team officials took that as literally as they did figuratively, and told Gannon as much before last season's home game against the Chiefs.
"We think in a post 9/11 world, that's not a very proper thing to say," Herrera said. "It's uncalled for. He seems to be a guy who can't get over the fact that he played the worst Super Bowl game in the history of the game and he wants to blame everybody but himself.
"I guess it's our fault he threw five interceptions.
Gannon has, indeed, talked often about the "dysfunction" within the Raiders organization, but he's tempered his criticism in recent months.
Earlier this week, he gave a detailed critique of quarterback JaMarcus Russell's accuracy problems and gave coach Tom Cable "a lot of credit" for the team's 1-1 start.
Local fans won't hear what Gannon has to say during Sunday's game, one way or another. The broadcast will be blacked out in the Bay Area because the game didn't sell out.
