Raiders Coach Tom Cable Speaks Up in Indianapolis

Tom Cable spoke to the media from the scouting combine on Sunday, addressing several topics on the Oakland Raiders upcoming season. Reporters at the combine started the conversation off on the right foot, swinging straight for the jugular topic: JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders QB situation.

“JaMarcus is working and doing things he should be doing right now. And he’ll get himself prepared to compete for the job; that’s the only way to look at it,” the Raiders head coach said.

Cable continued on to imply that right now JaMarcus Russell is the only person who should be concerned about JaMarcus Russell, “It’s really not about him giving assurances. It’s simple: He has a job to do like everybody else. Do your job and do it in a matter that helps this team succeed. We have talked a couple of times. I know he’s working and I’m anxious for the offseason program to get started so we can see him all the time.”

It is this writer’s opinion that Cable is getting irritated with all the questions surrounding the first draft pick from 2007. What I interpret he is saying, in the simplest of politically correct ways, is that it’s time for Russell to be a big boy now.

Cable addressed several other issues with the team as well, and even went so far to say that we should not discount last year’s first round pick, Darrius Heyward-Bey: “I think the amount of pressure that was put on that kid from all angles, the scrutiny came the day he was picked, probably unfair but, hey, this is the NFL and that’s what it is. But with his work ethic and his character, he’s going to be what he’s supposed to be. You’ll be excited to write about him soon.”

It’s quite a bold presumption to say that “He’s going to be what he is supposed to be.” If you talked to Mel Kiper or Cris Carter, I’m sure they would...

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