OAKLAND – JaMarcus Russell had one of the worst games of his career against New Orleans on Sunday but Oakland coach Tom Cable doesn't see it a setback for the Raiders' young quarterback.
“It's a setback for our team, we got our tails kicked, but for that guy in his development and where we all want him to be as an organization, I think it was a tremendous lesson,” Cable said Monday, less than 24 hours after Russell threw one interception and nearly had four other passes picked off in a 34-3 loss to the Saints.
“He's going take this thing and grow a mile and a half from what happened yesterday. And maybe that sounds funny, but you've got to remember before you can ever learn anything, before you can succeed at anything, you've got to fail.”
Little went right for Russell or the Raiders (1-4) in their third straight loss and their most lopsided defeat of the season.
Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, completed 13 of 35 pass attempts for 159 yards, was sacked twice and fumbled once. He engineered only one scoring drive and had a 40.1 rating that would have been markedly lower had the Saints not dropped four passes that would have been interceptions.
The only other game in which Russell put up worse numbers was in a relief role against Jacksonville on Dec. 23, 2007 when he passed for 83 yards and was intercepted three times.
This one was more significant because Russell is now Oakland's unquestioned starter and the player the franchise hopes to build its future around. Russell, who starred at LSU, was also playing in front of numerous friends and family during the Raiders' first game with Cable as head coach after owner Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin last week.
“Everything's not going to be perfect as far as how you draw it up,” Russell said after the game. “It was disappointing whether I had family there or not. It's still a loss. Another step forward. I just gotta keep moving forward and keep grinding, keep hard at it.”
Kiffin had taken a cautious approach with Russell but Cable, who coached Oakland's offensive line before his promotion, wants to open the offense up. Against the Saints the Raiders threw the ball 35 times and ran it 22 times.
Part of that was because of the score – New Orleans led 24-3 in the third quarter – and part was by design.
“The plan behind that was obviously to win a football game, which we didn't even come close,” Cable said. “I needed to know as the head coach, where is that quarterback at in that situation? And I think we really found out a lot about where he is.
“It's obvious he's still in a stage of development. It's obvious maybe he can't handle that much. But it doesn't change the fact that we need to continue to throw the football and continue to find ways to get completions and throw the ball down the field.”
It didn't help that Oakland's receivers dropped numerous throws. Cable counted eight, a majority coming from the wideouts.
“Those guys get paid to do their job,” Russell said. “We've just got to better ourselves and be in a position to go out and make plays. In the first half we didn't have too many opportunities ... and in the second half we've got to go out there and make plays when they're there.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 26 of 30 for 320 yards and three touchdowns. With two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Burgess on the inactive list with a strained triceps, the Raiders were unable to generate much of a pass rush and Brees had an easy time finding open receivers.
Burgess, who aggravated the injury during the bye week, sought a second opinion on his situation and Cable said it confirmed the original diagnosis of a strain. The Raiders are listing Burgess as week-to-week.
Notes:Oakland WR Ashley Lelie was in the team's locker room Monday and showed no lingering effects from a mild concussion he suffered in the loss to the Saints. ... Rookie RB Darren McFadden, limited to 30 yards on eight carries Sunday, walked without a protective boot on his right foot, an encouraging sign he's making progress on his turf toe injury.
