Raiders hope Garcia inspires Russell
Actions speak louder than words. And while the act was rather meaningless, it says a lot about the kind of guy Jeff Garcia is.
Breaking from a team gathering at midfield at the start of the first day of Oakland Raiders mini-camp Friday morning in Alameda, players left the oversized huddle to report to their respective position drills, which were spread out over two football fields.
Some players jogged, others ran. Garcia broke into a full sprint, hustling like he was late to a job interview.
And when you think about it, the first day of mini-camp is like a job interview. Especially when you’ve been signed as a backup to a former No. 1 pick but still think you have what it takes to lead a team onto the field every Sunday.
“I know I’m still a starting quarterback,” Garcia said to the media after the morning workout. A few seconds later he added, “I do understand my role.”
The main reason the Raiders signed the Gilroy native and 10-year veteran is to tutor JaMarcus Russell, whose talent is undeniable. It’s Russell’s work ethic that has been questioned, which may or may not be fair.
When comparing the two, though, it seems highly unlikely that Russell has ever had to work as hard as Garcia has to get to this point. One quarterback is smaller than some of the media members asking him questions, while the other looks like he could swallow his backup whole. Russell is so big (6-foot-6, 260 pounds) he would have blended in with the offensive linemen during Friday’s practice were it not for the red No. 2 jersey he was wearing. His rare arm strength was occasionally on display, as Russell flipped a couple of 40-yard bombs down the field with ease.
Russell, to his credit, has been saying the right things about what he can glean from Garcia.
“He has a lot of knowledge, due to the fact he’s had some of these coaches before, and I can ask him how those guys roll on a daily basis,” Russell said.
But considering how much talent he possesses, Russell might begin to bristle at suggestions by the media, Garcia and even Coach Tom Cable that there is still a long way to go in the franchise quarterback’s development.
Of course, that would be hard to know due to the laid-back nature of Russell. Garcia tends to answer questions in paragraphs, leaving no doubt about where he stands. Russell was ambiguous about how well he knows the playbook at this point.
“I’m pretty much there now,” Russell said of his understanding of the X’s and O’s, adding that repetitions will be key.
“There’s a lot of things in your memory bank.”
The Raiders organization certainly hopes Russell watches what Garcia does, incorporates it into his routine and maximizes the potential for which he was drafted. The first step would be approaching each drill at each practice with the same fire and focus of Garcia, a four-time Pro Bowler.
While the rail-thin quarterback with the perpetual chip on his shoulder ran to the first drill, Russell took his sweet time.
There’s little to be learned from a practice in which no pads are present and helmets are paired with shorts. Wins and losses are how quarterbacks are measured. But the moment things go bad, nonchalance in a player’s approach is never a welcome sight.
