Raiders coach Tom Cable said the opposite about number seven overall pick Darrius Heyward-Bey Tuesday after the rookie's two drop, zero catch debut.
"I thought I saw a real nervous uptight young man, a lot of big eyes, Cable said. "As I've mentioned to them, they'll have their highs and their lows as they go through this thing. We'll expect him to be better next week. . . . He has to learn how to handle this. No question."
A shaky start is no crime for a rookie wideout and no one should be saying that DHB is a bust yet. But the Raiders would ideally have have their rookie learning the game while not in the starting lineup.
Unfortunately, Chaz Schilens is hurt and Cable wants Javon Walker to "run fast" before they let him play. (We agree with Cable; running fast is helpful for a wide receiver.)
At least the Raiders have found a good-looking rookie wideout that is ready to contribute right away -- fourth-round pick Louis Murphy.
Murphy had four grabs for 87 yards and a touchdown against San Diego, and he would have had more if not for an extremely questionable overturned call on a would-be 19-yard touchdown.
Murphy's excellent play raises an interesting question. When Schilens is ready to return, will the Raiders bench Heyward-Bey in favor of his rookie teammate who received $20 million less guaranteed?
Since Cable isn't afraid to bench Walker, we're going to
UPDATE: Rotoworld/PFT's Evan Silva helpfully points out that Cable expects Schilens to take snaps from Murphy, not Heyward-Bey, since DHB traditionally plays split end. (The other two play flanker. JaMarcus Russell was 0-of-10 throwing to wideouts other than Murphy in the opener.)
That catch should have been a touchdown! If that score counts, its at least a win if not overtime! Sometimes I really hate refs!
The coach saying:
"I saw a nervous, uptight young man", should certainly boost his rookies confidence for next week.
Raiders...gotta love um, they even give the Lions hope.
"I thought I saw a real nervous uptight young man, a lot of big eyes..."
Big eyes like Reche Caldwell in that Pats/Colts AFC title game where he dropped two touchdowns? THOSE were big eyes!
http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/images/reche_caldwell_insane_1_1.jpg
Raiders will win the afc west this year quackmire, check back at the end of the season....
HE'S A GREAT PLAYA! GET OVER IT!
"Murphy had four grabs for 87 yards and a touchdown against San Diego, and he would have had more if not for an extremely questionable overturned call on a would-be 19-yard touchdown."
I'm guessing didn't approve this post.
"I thought I saw a real nervous uptight young man, a lot of big eyes, Cable said."
Heyward-Bey must have modeled his game after Reche Caldwell.
Which would also explain why he sucks.
Mort (of espn) calls rookie WR's "Fools gold" for good reason. Usually takes them until their 3rd year until they can really show what they can do... there are a few exceptions on teams that HAVE to play them and they do ok but since Coleston I have not been wowed by a rookie WR including Calvins 750 yard rookie campaign. DHB is not worth starting this year and Crabtree is even doubtful he is worth starting.
"The coach saying:
"I saw a nervous, uptight young man", should certainly boost his rookies confidence for next week.
Raiders...gotta love um, they even give the Lions hope."
Sometimes babying a player is not the way to go. If Cable thinks he needs to use direct talk regarding DHB instead of talk centered around not hurting his feelings, then I say go for it. Oh yeah I forgot. Cable is wearing a Raiders jacket and must be some sort of incompetent idiot by association.
I'll defer to the guy who has been coaching DHB for months and has a working relationship to him.
Um...if you saw the Raiders play then you would know better than to put them in the same sentence as the Lions. The Raiders played very well and its obvious you did not watch the game!
This is why you don't draft wideouts early. Murphy and Schilens worry more about catching the ball than they do about getting their internal organs rearranged. Hayward-Bey might settle in and become the guy they want him to be, but if not he's a bust. Nobody says that about second-day picks. They come and go with little notice.
Nice to see the Raiders play a little better. They've probably just closed the gap from "horrifically, avert-your-eyes bad" to merely "not that bad." Unfortunately that's not going to win them a lot of games.
I miss the Raiders of the 70's. That was a damn fun team to watch...
He really only dropped one pass the other pass was overthrown by JR. Like most of his passes were. But i know Gregg is in a real hurry to get the Raider bashing in as much as he can.
I was encouraged to see the Raiders play as well as they did last night. It's not that I'm a big Raiders fan....it's that I DON'T like the Chargers. If anyone knows where I can get my hands on LT and Phillip Rivers voodoo dolls please let me know.
I have to say, however....again.....I just can't see Jamarcus Russell NOT becoming a bust. The guy has a huge arm...but it doesn't aim very well. He did not hit a single WR all game. The only thing he hits is the wide open TE down the middle of the field. He throws high, wide, behind....he's all over the place. I'm also convinced that the guy is a dope. I've seen him interviewed and just think..."he's a complete dope".
Jeff Gacia, after going all the way through training camp trying to get a fair shake at the starter role.....knowing he's better than "The Big Armed Buffoon".....and then being told "it's Jamarcus' team", obviously couldn't stand to sit behing somebody he knows he's better than. THAT'S why Garcia bolted.
Jamarcus is a big fat bust.
Bill Parcells called Terry Glen "she" and then "she" went off and caught 90+ balls that year. Let's see how the kid responds.
And thank you Gregg for at least acknowledging that there was a "questionable" call, which is something that Florio seems loathe to do (it was actually one of the worst calls of the past 5-6 years, up there with Hochuli but at least you mentioned it).
"I thought I saw a real nervous uptight young man, a lot of big eyes..."
I saw another horrible wasted 1st round draft pick. 0 catches 0 yards (OO our new Jim Otto) and 2 drops after a wonderful 2 catch 20 yard pre season.
Tom how bout next game we see him on the bench where he cant hurt the team.
Worst part. You just know brain dead clueless Al will order dhBUST to start in place of Murphy when Chaz comes back. Ya I know. Its about the 40 time.
Really Tom? You really think he can do better next week? Better than 0 catches for 0 yards? Don't put yourself out on a limb!
"TSE says:
September 15, 2009 9:06 PM
Really Tom? You really think he can do better next week? Better than 0 catches for 0 yards? Don't put yourself out on a limb!"
Maybe the ball will ricochet off his hands and into the arms of a defender. So he'd get an interception-assist.
That would be a worse game.
Or what if his pants fell right off while he was playing? So I think that having 0 catches would be better than having 0 catches and all of America seeing your bareass....ok, some of America.....ok, all of Oakland.....ok, some of Oakland.....ok, everyone in Oakland who watched the game but didn't go to it.....ok, everyone who went to the game....ok, everyone who went to the game and sat in the first five rows. That would definitely be kind of worse.
Gregg, nice to see you're learning from Florio. Your little jab about Walker needing to "run fast" goes way beyond lame and shows your true colors. It is a perfect example of how you and the others twist things in your write ups in an attempt to bash the Raiders.
Now let's show everyone what was really said in response to what Cable wanted to see before putting Walker on the field. "That he can run fast, get out of breaks and seperate"
Not really that outlandish of a statement when talking about a receiver coming off of knee surgery is it?
Keep reaching though, it only makes you look worse.
Umm Gregg, you might want to read the boss' latest post. It's good to know the rules about catching passes when you write for a football site.
DHB unfortunately has lofty expectations hoisted onto him, given his completely shocking, mind bending selection by Al Davis ahead of two time Biletnikofer Michael Crabtree. It's a good thing that Crabtree has decided to hold out because DHB hasn't had to deal with the comparisons between them.
Unfortunately, DHB won't get much help from Jamarcus Russell, apparently mired in the second year of his rookie season. Thankfully, the Raiders had the good fortune of selecting Louis Murphy, who looked great out there against the Bolts.
This team could use a veteran receiver to lead the way. I'm still for trading Justin Fargas and a draft pick to a RB starved team with a wideout in the final year of his contract (hello, Brownies).
JustDieBaby- First off you can't even begin to realize how stupid your name is in addition to making me laugh at your idiotic comments the last couple of weeks.
Seriously, you don't understand the role DHB is having for the Raiders. First off no one expected him to be a #1 WR his rookie year, not even Al. He's been forced into this role because of Javon Walker and Chaz Schilens (another Al steal via the 7th round in '08's draft) sitting out the first two games (although it's plausible Walker might get on the field this week).
DHB's role is to force coverage his way and eventually make some big grabs. There were several throws where Russell absolutely missed him where he could've had more opportunities. Is there concern? Yes, but 9 times out of 10 a rookie WR isn't going to do much. The Raiders got a steal with Louis Murphy in the 4th (another Al steal).
Once Schilens returns, Russell will have his two primary go-to receivers, Zach Miller (2nd round steal for Al Davis in '07's draft) and Schilens to focus on. Schilens will help reduce DHB's role thus reducing the pressure on him.
If you really paid attention you'd understand how young and solidly built this team is. Another steal via the 4th round of the 2007 draft (are you sensing a trend here?) was Michael Bush. Or you can talk about the mauler at FB who was drafted in the 6th round of that same 2007 draft, Oren O'neal (crazy what that Old Man Al is doing).
Then you can talk about great drafting of a special teams stud via the 3rd round of holy sh*t it can't be from that same draft class, Johnnie Lee Higgins. Add in LT Mario Henderson who has been an absolute wall since taking over LT with 3 games to go in the end of last season and silencing whoever went his way last night, and was taken in that same 3rd round.
In 2008 the Raiders took McFadden, but had two steals with DE Trevor Scott in the 6th.
Louis Murphy and Brandon Meyers are two Raiders who are playing very well and already look like steals.
On defense allowing 77 yards to the SD Chargers was phenomenal after everything I've witnessed the last 6 years.
Make no mistake about it Richard Seymour is going to be in Oakland for the next 4 years. Greg Ellis was an awesome addition and the run defense looked great last night.
Al is going to have the last laugh and you are going to look like a fool. Last night was just a small taste of this team. Just wait until the end of the year when the Raiders are .500 or better and are in the playoffs in 2010.
Some of us are old enough to remember Jerry Rice's first season. He had a rough time after being handed the starting job over Freddie Solomon. Jerry got benched for a few games...
Geez, that's the best a niner fan has anymore -- memories of the old days.
Totally agree with twinkletoes. DHB is going to be fighting really high expectations for the whole of this contract.
What they need to do is work on getting him some easy stuff to start. Some quick outs an end around or two (which he did very well in college.)
The guy is not only fast, but he really has some talent. Problem is that he has JaMarcus the WaterBuffalo throwing to him and everything is coming at one speed. The guy has no touch at all.
If he were in a different system and not expected to be a #1 receiver from jump street, I think his rookie year would be a lot better. But he got the big bucks and it will be interesting to see if he responds.
My guess is that he will end up being labeled a bust until he goes to his next team in 4 years or so when he'll end up turning into a good receiver.
And then he assaulted him. Allegedly.
If Tom Cable wants a nervous rookie to relax and improve, he shouldn't be calling him out to a reporter. Read him the riot act, if necessary, off-camera & off-mike. Correct him, encourage him, set him straight, guide him, holler at him, train him, help him grow - it's called coaching.
I like Cable.
Tom Twinkie.............
Poor kid is going to get the belt for his play.
Jeremybe91 is a smart man, glad to know someone sees exactly what I see. These other fools will know soon enough.
Cable will PUNCH some sense into DHB.
I cannot believe how bad Jamarcus Russel really is, and its a shame to because that arm is more like a Howitzer, he's like Brett Favre without the footbal I.Q. Part, I hope he matures his accuracy but for now I think its ugly, and it will slow the progression of the Rookie WRs as well.
Oh come on! I usually keep away from the Florio bashing but if you guys are going to keep writing "we" rather then "I", you should atleast get your stories straight.. Florio rips Steve Young for the same comments that Rosenthall publishes on Florios site.....nice
# Reaper says: September 15, 2009 8:10 PM
Um...if you saw the Raiders play then you would know better than to put them in the same sentence as the Lions. The Raiders played very well and its obvious you did not watch the game!
And do you think I'm alone in not watching the game, did anyone watch?
Um...if you saw the Raiders play then you would know better than to put them in the same sentence as the Lions. The Raiders played very well and its obvious you did not watch the game!
And do you think I'm alone in not watching the game, did anyone watch?
A loss is a loss.
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