Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable sees no reason for alarm on the Raiders' quarterback situation, telling the Oakland Tribune on Monday, "There isn’t going to be a controversy."
He must not be reading ProFootballTalk.com.
ProFootballTalk.com reported Tuesday that Raiders starting quarterback Jason Campbell suspects his backup, Bruce Gradkowski, of meddling in the affairs of Raiders assistant coaches in order to get himself playing time.
"Campbell perceives, we're told," writes PFT's Mike Florio, "that Gradkowski actively has lobbied quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett, who worked with Gradkowski in Tampa, to give Gradkowski a chance to play."
Grads did get a chance to play Sunday, and engineered an inspiring Raiders comeback win.
A backup begging for playing time is not unusual. Probably every NFL backup QB not named Curtis Painter lobbies his coaches and coordinators to put him in whenever the team is down so much as a field goal.
But a starter complaining about the backup begging for playing time is unusual. It indicates the two of them aren't really getting along. And as ProFootballTalk.com observes, it could get more acrimonious and Raiders players could begin taking sides.
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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that on Wednesday Cable will name the starter for Sunday's Cardinals game.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who will forever associate the word "meddling" with the phrase "I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids."
