Al Davis wants Jason Campbell to start for Raiders

Raiders coach Tom Cable is wavering about his quarterback situation. Raiders owner Al Davis may be the cause of that wavering.

Although Cable has insisted that the starting job is Bruce Gradkowski’s as soon as Gradkowski is healthy, Davis has reportedly told Cable that Jason Campbell should remain under center.

“Mr. Davis likes what Jason has done the past month and doesn’t see the need to change when things are going well,” a source described as “a person familiar with the situation” told Steve Corkran of the Oakland Tribune. “He thinks Jason is a classic fit for the Raiders style of play.”

What that means, of course, is that Davis thinks Campbell throws a better deep ball than Gradkowski.

Cable hasn’t said definitively who the Raiders’ starter will be once Gradkowski is healthy, but by all appearances, Davis is right: Campbell has an 81.3 passer rating and the Raiders are 4-2 with Campbell starting. Gradkowski has a 71.8 passer rating and the Raiders are 1-2 with Gradkowski starting.

Davis may be widely perceived as a crazy old coot, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about everything. Campbell is getting the job done.

62 responses to “Al Davis wants Jason Campbell to start for Raiders

  1. Mr Davis,
    The Raiders are finally starting to win again. Please do not screw this up now go back up to your box and continue to rot away in your wheel chair.

  2. Campbell has been serviceable at best and lucky…while grads is not long term answer he
    brings energy to this team….Campbell has
    benifited from an improved oline play…a better
    running attack…..once the steelers pound
    campbell everyone will be screaming for grads
    again

  3. Al Davis is still right about a lot of things. For those who believe he makes the decisions in the draft, he’s done pretty well lately
    Jacoby Ford, Rolondo Mclain Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer are all having solid rookie years.
    Rising second year players Louis Murphy, Heyward-Bey, Mike Mitchell Marcell Reese, and Matt Shaughnessy
    And third year players Tyvon Branch Michael Bush McFadden could play for anyone in the League.
    And lets give him some credit for hiring Hue Jackson and sticking it out through the rough times with Cable.

  4. By all appearances Cable has already said he would stick with the hot hand.
    Anymore non-story story’s for us?
    How about another Chilly on the hot seat for us, or better yet I think Brett Favre may have farted.

  5. Al better not mess with Cable. Doesn’t he know Tom likes to bash the skulls of those that challenge him? Just ask his former assistant coach that “accidentally” smashed his head against a filing cabinet during a coaches’ meeting.

  6. Al Davis also tried to hire his cat as the team accountant and is having a pot of left over brisket draw up special teams plays.

  7. The EMPEROR has spoken! He simply wants to see if his investment is worthy of the millions he’s being paid.

  8. You know what I love about this?
    “Mr. Davis likes what Jason has done the past month and doesn’t see the need to change when things are going well,” a source described as “a person familiar with the situation” told Steve Corkran of the Oakland Tribune. “He thinks Jason is a classic fit for the Raiders style of play.”
    This is classic, “A buddy of mine said he talked to a family member of somebody who heard it!”
    The lazy media loves the Raiders because they never dispute anything therefore it must be true and they can print it as fact.
    Al Davis said Campbell seemed like the classic Raider right after they traded for him.
    Now the media can play the “Al Davis is pulling the strings in Oakland” card when Cable picks Campbell to start against Pittsburgh. Who says Cable wants Bruce to start? Did anyone actually hear Cable say it. Is the person who heard it from Cable willing to go on the record as having heard it directly from Cable? I bet not.
    Lazy media…..lazy.

  9. Trent Green, Rich Gannon, now Jason Campbell- Quarterbacks get better once they LEAVE Washington………….What the Hell

  10. Yea right now Cable shouldn´t even be thinking about Gradkowski. This is your typical “ride the hot hand” situation. The Raiders have a TON of momentum right now and should keep using the same guys they´ve been using during this win streak. Campbell looks like he´s having fun out there.

  11. Coming from a Redskin fan, I truly hope Campbell has found a home. He is a high character guy and I do wish things would have worked out for him here. He has all the physical attributes but seemed to lack the fire all great QB’s have.

  12. “Davis may be widely perceived as a crazy old coot, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about everything. Campbell is getting the job done.”
    Now that’s some actual, good commentary PFT

  13. Interseting that you would go with the “Owner tells coach how to run team” story instead of the “Rookie is AFC Special Teams player of the Week” story. Trying to get some of the air out of the Raider Nations puffy chest perhaps?

  14. I’m a believer in the hot hand philosophy, so I say go with Jason. But, man…I’m not getting that performance against San Francisco or the first half against K.C. out of my mind any time soon. That was JaDrank levels of awful.
    What worries me about Campbell is his tendency to hold the ball too long. Against the Steelers pass rush, that could spell disaster, especially with the O-line still being a work in progress.

  15. As annoying as it is when owners start telling coaches how to coach, Tom Cable is an absolute fool if he goes back to Gradkowski when he’s healthy.

  16. Al Davis is right, for once.
    A traditionally losing franchise is in the divisional hunt – you don’t change the skipper who’s been getting it done.
    As a Ravens fan, it reminds me of Trent Dilfer v. Tony Banks
    Neither is a world-beater, and Banks could put on some offensive displays like Gradowski has, but Dilfer/Campbell are teh steadier hand, throw a decent deep ball, and have led you to a resurgence.
    Do the right thing. Stick with the hot hand.

  17. ah yes, remember, jason is the next coming of jim plunkett!! hahahahahahahhhahahah!!!!

  18. “He thinks Jason is a classic fit for the Raiders style of play.”
    ———————————————–
    Definition from websters dictionary:
    Raiders style of play – 1)playing sub-500 football for most of the last decade. 2)A style of football based on drafting the the top college track and field athletes and trying to make them football players.

  19. I knew this story would play out just like this. Big Al liking how the RAIDERS are winning with Campbell would be reluctant to send him to the bench in favor of Gradkowski returning to the starting job.
    Bear in mind that Campbell is not a good quarterback. The players have stepped up and everyone is winning. However, they have rallied around Campbell and to replace him now could damage the locker room if the RAIDERS were to lose three games in a row. Cable knows what he has to do.

  20. Cable said that before the KC game. At this weeks Q&A press conference he said Grads isn’t even healthy to do what they need him to do. He hinted he’d go with the hot hand just cause the media kept trying to make an issue out of it.
    Like someone mentioned, Raiders rarely deny or confirm anything. Easy for reporters to make things up and see if it sounds credible and sticks.
    Next ‘article’.

  21. kravon says:
    November 10, 2010 7:51 AM
    Congrats Raiders fans, another 4-12 season.
    Pow!
    ————————————————-
    Ha, ha, good one Kravon! Oh wait, the Raiders already have 5 wins. Moron.
    If Cable actually did want to switch to Gradkowski I hope Davis would talk some sense into him. Some people think the team has more energy and plays better with Gradkowski, but they need to take another look.
    Bruce has never one 3 in a row. The only win the Raiders have with him starting this year came against San Diego when he got hurt and Campbell played the majority of the game. The only wins the Raiders have with Gradkowski as the starting QB playing the whole game came last year. He’s never played more than 4 games in a row with Raiders without getting hurt. He’s coming off a serious shoulder injury to an already weak arm. I like the guy and he’s a great spark off the bench, but he’s not a starter. He has never proven he can be a long time starter.
    Please Al, speak up if Cable is trying to start Bruce.

  22. I draft Madden players like Al draft NFL rookies, simulate to the Superbowl, win, then draft more speedy players. Al da gawd!!

  23. Jim Plunkett-
    Hmmm… let’s look back, then.
    In 1980, Dan Pastorini was the starting QB for the Raiders until he broke his leg. Jim Plunkett came on, I think, in the 4th or 5th game, and threw 5 interceptions. He stunk.
    But Jim Plunkett had two things working for him: he was a leader with good experience; and a big arm that can throw down-field.
    So what happened? Plunkett used to throw those big bombs to Cliff Branch. Remember? That was Plunkett’s bread and butter.
    But the Raiders played smashmouth football back then. Their fullback used to ground and pound, with their tailback giving that change-of-pace speed. Plunkett used to spread the field with that big bomb threat, that used to open up those passes to the TE and clutch passes from Bob Chandler.
    In reality, the offense for the Raiders were pretty pedestrian. The real splash for the Raiders were on defense. It was the defense that scared most teams, not the offense.
    But I can see a basis for comparison. Campbell found his down-field partner in Jacoby Ford. He can also throw the mid-range and can shake off a hostile crowd to turn a game around.
    In my opinion, comparing Jason Campbell with Jim Plunkett isn’t that big of a stretch. In some cases, Jason Campbell’s better than Plunkett because Plunkett wasn’t that great.
    That’s not Raiders blasphemy. Raiders blasphemy would be a comparison of Jason Campbell vs. Ken Stabler. LOL!

  24. 4skins made a huge mistake in getting rid of JC and giving up a 2 and 3 for mcchoke. Look at the stats and JC is winning…I bet JC is giving the finger to weasel boy synder everyday as was the scapegoat in that org.
    shanarat has done nothing with this team and they look as bad as they were the last 10 yrs. the collapse is starting.
    GO RAIDERS…SB BOUND BABY…JUST WIN BABY.

  25. Are you Serious!!
    Do you really think that you know what Al Davis thinks or wants.
    You are one pathetic desperate writer, grasping for an barely adequate article to write!!
    First off Al Davis talks to no media even the media here in the Bay Area can not get an interview Al Davis, EVER, you idiot! He only does his own PC where he has control.
    So why would you, an out of touch east coast lackey, all of the sudden know what Al Davis is thinking or wants when he wont even talk to the local sports writers?
    Damn you are so stupid how does Florio justify your existence on this blog.
    Every writer in the last 8 years has made a living making up stories about the Raiders because they do not respond to media reports therefore (as proven by Shefter and Mort) anything can and will be reported about the Raiders with no response from the organization.
    So, if I wanted to be a derelict like you, my Raiders story could have this headline:
    Sports writer Michael David Smith swallows AL Davis man sausage to get exclusive interview !
    Stay tuned to see if he is gayer for doing so.

  26. kravon says:
    November 10, 2010 7:51 AM
    Congrats Raiders fans, another 4-12 season.
    Pow!
    WOW..! The Raiders have already won 5 games what kind of a moron are you Kravon? You don’t have to answer it’s retorical..My 2 year old has better math skills than you.. freakin idiot…!

  27. as a redskins fan I just want the raiders fans to know that Jason does this EVERY yr…he plays decent mid season just long enough for you to be around .500 and start thinking bout making a playoff run, but once the playoff hunt becomes serious he totally disappears. Let him play the Pitt game, but regardless of how he performs he cannot start after that…he will only let you down…trust me

  28. Thanks Junior, You beat me to the draw on Dummass kravon. “Another 4-12 season” Just another hater……(Flick)

  29. kravon says:
    Congrats Raiders fans, another 4-12 season.
    Pow!
    ———————-
    yeah we are 5-4 now so how do we end up 4-12……..POW?

  30. Jason has finallyh connected on 1 deep pass and missed 3 wide open ones. 2 of which costed us a game against the Niners. Typical old fool that he is. Just let Cable do his thing Al. JC has benefited from his teammates and not the other way around.

  31. Al also wants the leisure suit to come back in style outside of the casino, Tom Cable to stop beating the crap out of wemon &Heward-Bay to learn to catch the football. None of these things will happen old man. Now shut up, eat your mush and tell your nurse when its time to change the bag on your leg.

  32. Come on PFT just give up!
    I know you guys are trying to do anything at this point to try to put the raiders down or try to start a rift or something to slow down this machine..
    Listen heres the real deal.
    Cable is in charge of this team.
    I hope you people dont fall for this old media crap.
    Adam schefter still thinks raiders fired cable 2 years ago.
    The media loves when the raiders do bad. The reason why is the raiders are not a corprate robot like all the other teams and the media can never find any dirt on the raiders. Raiders are run like a family they dont have “leaks” so the media trys to bash them

  33. # kravon says: November 10, 2010 7:51 AM
    Congrats Raiders fans, another 4-12 season.
    Pow!
    —————————–
    Math fail. POW!

  34. Al Lets cable have full control dont be fooled by the media, they have NO CLUE what goes on with the raiders. They make up stories like ESPNs AdaM sCHEFTER,
    Lets go dowm memory lane about all the lies adam has said.
    1 Cable will be fired
    2 Cable gona be fired next sunday
    3 Cable will be fired after season
    4. Cable has been fired
    5 Seymour will not show up in oakland
    6 seymour frinds say he will not sign
    7 Raiders will select bruce campbell 1st round
    8 Raiders trading Asomough
    9 Raiders have TRADED Huff
    Well theres about 100 more just look them all up.
    Bottom line is PFT ESPN none of these hacks know anything about the raiders.
    Now they are all panicing cause Raiders are the best team in the NFL. Florio is REALLY panicing cause he knows HIS steelers gota play raiders in 2 weeks.
    Florio knows that He will never hear the end of it if raiders beat his steelers AGAIN this year in their OWN backyard

  35. Campbell has been off target with virtually every deep throw he has made (the last throw in overtime excepted). He has been lucky not to be picked off about 10 more times thanks to guys making plays. It also takes JC an entire half of football to even warm up. He only gets with the program for about the last 1/2 of the game. We can’t afford this vs. $hitsburg.
    At least Bruce has better pocket awareness and better accuracy. Who led us to the Superbowl last time? A rocket arm or an accurate QB named Gannon?

  36. Raiders fan here, I don’t think you can bench Campbell after he won 3 in around. Did he benefit from the team? Of course.
    Leave him in until he starts to struggle. If you need a boost in Pittsburgh at halftime, throw Bruce Almighty in there.

  37. Glad to be a loyal fan of the only team with it’s own haters…
    DAAA RAAAIIIDDDEEERRRSSS… JUST WIN BABY…!!!

  38. There u go again Mr. Davis. You just couldn’t help yourself sticking your hands where it doesn’t belong. You need to let your coaches coach and leave them alone. So far they’re making a good sound decisions so why intervene.

  39. ‘Skins fan here says…Go, Raiders and I hope JC does well. The league is better when the Raiders are in contention….of course, we Washington fans are still waiting. A game where we whomp someone (and WIN) would be nice…don’t see it anytime soon, though.
    Hail!

  40. First of all, no one knows crap.
    Second “a person familiar with the situation” is hardly some kind of iron clad source on anything.
    Some litero-quack like you was just spouting off yesterday about how Davis wants BGrad’s back in? which is it? I’d love to be like you guys and just assign whatever to whomever whenever I want.
    Take your stats and cram them. If you were analyzing football for a living you’d know the Raiders recent wins are the result of special team, defense and a running game. The limited amount of successful passes Campbell has completed down the field have been set up by a running game or he had his bacon saved by great catches.

  41. who is signing the checks, that is all thats matter!
    besides Al does not give a rats ass about any of that, all he cares about is winning, and Campbell has accomplished that the past few weeks.

  42. It’s fairly obvious that you can’t start Gradkowski with a gimpy shoulder against the Steelers pass rush. Still, he might have to come in and hand off a few times if slo-mo JaCampbell gets clobbered.
    If we can slow down the pass rush with a steady dose of McFadden and Bush (don’t we all need a steady dose of Bush?) and some play-action, then Campbell might have some success down the field.

  43. Lets be a little bit realistic. Both quarterbacks are not world-beaters by any stretch. Certainly, serviceable with different strengths and weaknesses. Campbell is a more accomplished athlete whereas Grads brings intangible leadership qualities to the position. So, sticking with the hot-hand is a completely sensible way to go.
    When I watched the replay of the game, I didn’t think Campbell played as bad as I did when I watched it in person. If Ford makes that catch in the first half, they probably put more points on the board and would have added another 40+ yards at least to his passing total.
    Clearly, not a great game for Campbell. That interception was a horrible decision and Ford bailed him out in the 4th. However, I don’t think it was as catastrophic as some in the Nation would have you believe. In the end, a win is a win, and Campbell played a big part in bringing them back to victory.

  44. And the idiots on this site want to be taken seriously?
    No, and I mean no, credible journalist would ever report a “person familiar with the situation” as being anything other than a rumor and not deserving of posting. Unless you get a quote directly, and I mean directly from God (AKA Al Davis) shut your holes and make up stories about someone else.
    By the way, did any of you retards ever wonder why G0d (AKA Al Davis) doesn’t grant interviews anymore? It’s exactly because of this kind of crap, National Enquirer “journalism”.

  45. last season grads beat the steelers because they
    couldnt contain him, they are gonna pound
    campbell like a dog in heat….their defense is
    only giving up 58 yards a game ….campbell
    is going to have a bad day…..I love my raiders
    but I dont look at them through rosy glasses

  46. I didn’t know Campbell played defense and helped STUFF the run, Didn’t know he switched his jersey to #20 and and became a beast of a RB. Jeez…Campbell played 2 games with HUGE leads and a Defense that has come alive, He ALMOST lost the game VS KC with his awful 1st half..4 of 10 with 18 yards passing. Jacoby Ford made 3 CIRCUS catches to come down with Campbells passes, I’ll give him the deep ball in OT, that was a good, NOT GREAT, a good throw. The throw to set up the tieing FG was picked off until Ford RIPPED it out of the guys hands. Campbell played a completely awful game VS the 49ers. He IS a good dude, no doubt about it, he has all the tools to be great, but he is just so inconsistent. His hand is far from HOT….the other 21 starters are the ones with the hot hands. With all that said, I say start him vs the Steelers, give him a QRT and if he is 3 or 8 with 15 yds, YANK him, and put Gradkowski in.

  47. Who would have thought Al Davis would be the voice of reason. I guess the old man still has some of his marbles. You idiot raider fans that have been crying for Gradkowski to start need to shut up! He sucks!

  48. # kravon says: November 10, 2010 7:51 AM
    Congrats Raiders fans, another 4-12 season.
    Pow!
    ——-
    The league plans to make an announcement during Oakland’s bye week that during their latest win they tackled KC’s running backs harder and more often than they were supposed to, thereby nullifying the victory. Oakland is going to be 4-5 and on their way to a 7 game losing streak. kravon, you are a genius.

  49. More Raider speculation. If you didnt hear it from the horses mouth or Jerry McDonald it is made up trash. No true source just BS.

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