Spending most of the day in nickel defense against the Falcons, the Raiders didn’t use middle linebacker Rolando McClain much.
He was on the field for just 17 of 55 defensive snaps against the Falcons, as rookie Miles Burris and first-year Raider Phillip Wheeler got most of the snaps in coverage.
And that gave former Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski an idea for how McClain could spend the free time.
“He was delivering water to Burris and Wheeler,” Romanowski said on Comcast California’s Raiders Press Conference Live, via CSNBayArea. “Water and Gatorade.”
Romanowski has been a steady critic of the former eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft.
Two weeks ago, when the Raiders were blasted at Denver, Romanowski referred to McClain as a “puppy hunter, . . . little white poodles.”
Now?
“I can’t call him anything but Mr. McClain right now,” Romanowski said. “He doesn’t deserve to be called by his first name.
“If he was one of the guys, if he was out there kicking ass, he’d be ‘Ro.’ He’s Mr. McClain until I see him go out and crack some heads like he did in the first game. Because he’s got that ability.”
Such that the Romanowski seal of approval is something you seek, McClain apparently has a ways to go before he earns it.