Head Coach Hue Jackson. Photo by Tony Gonzales
*Q: *How did Carson [Palmer] look and have you made a decision on who's starting on Sunday?
*Coach Jackson: *No I have not and he looks like a quarterback a big, pretty, athletic quarterback that can throw. That's what he looked like to me today, just what I thought he was and I'm glad to have him out there and glad to have him moving around with his teammates and that was a start.
Q: So any report that's out there about him definitely starting didn't come from the Raiders organization?
Coach Jackson:It didn't come from me? It didn't come from anybody over here. I know I never said that.
*Q: *Did he take reps with the quarterbacks?
Coach Jackson:You better know he did. Oh yes I gave him reps he took reps, Kyle Boller took reps and Terrelle Pryor took reps with the first group; they all did.
Q:What are the chances he starts?
*Coach Jackson: *I'll let you know that later on in the week. Again, it's one day. He's going to go back tonight and go in after practice and I have to see where his body is and that takes time. I'm not in a rush, I don't have to rush that decision. I'm going to take my time and see where we are and see how fast he picks up the system and see how fast he gets in line with his teammates and we'll kind of go from there.
*Q: *You've got to be a little concerned throwing a guy out there who hasn't played since last January right?
*Coach Jackson: *I have some concern, I do. But I kind of like that and I think he kind of likes it like that; I think we all do. We'll make the right decision for this football team we've got a game to win and that's the most important thing. Whatever I think is going to help us win this football game is what I'm going to do.
*Q: *Do you have to balance how many things you can do with him in his first game as opposed to Kyle?
*Coach Jackson: *Oh no doubt. Kyle's been with us a lot longer and obviously this is Carson's first day. He was able to retain information. The thing that was impressive was he was able to call the cadence with no problem, he was able to get the snap from the center with no problem and obviously he threw the ball around that's what he is that's what he does. Again, he's going to accelerate really quickly once he gets back into a rhythm of just playing. I think he'll be fine but again I'm going to do what's best for this football team to win.
*Q: *Did you put [Matt] Shaughnessy on injured reserve?
*Coach Jackson: *Yes I did. Matt Shaughnessy is on injured reserve. Very unfortunate, we went as far as we could go until we had to make that decision, but it just wasn't getting any better so we lost a really good football player. So we'll continue and we'll rally up, next man up which the next man has been up now for a few weeks.
*Q: *Is it surgery or what's the deal?
Coach Jackson:He will have surgery at some point and time he will.
Q: How similar is this playbook to what Carson had worked with before in Cincinnati?
Coach Jackson:It's a lot the same but sometimes it's called a little bit different. A digit might mean a little different than it did but I think he'll catch on really quickly. The guy works at it and plus he's very motivated and wants to play and wants to be out there. So I think whatever this process is that me, him and the rest of the staff and his teammates is going to go through is going to happen pretty quickly.
*Q: *When do you plan on making a decision?
*Coach Jackson: *You know when I make those decisions it's normally on Friday with some Irish coffee and a little something else; I'll sit there and make a good decision.
*Q: *When you look at how you bring in somebody at the same position it's tough for somebody like Kyle Boller; how is his attitude?
*Coach Jackson: *Oh he's awesome, he's a pro.Honestly I don't worry about that because I tell my players exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing. I don't mince words, I don't pull any punches, and I'm not sliding the guy in when nobody knows. It is what it is; it's about the team, it's about winning, it's about being the best we can be and I don't think anybody runs from that.
*Q: *When you look at the Chiefs the last couple of weeks what have they done differently in the games they won since the games in the first few weeks of the season?
*Coach Jackson: *I don't think they're doing anything different I just think they're doing it better. They're playing hard which they always have, they have really good players, and they have an attitude about what they're doing. I mean Dwayne Bowe on offense, obviously you go from whether it's Tamba Hali on defense to [Derrick] Johnson on defense to the two corners they have [Brandon] Flowers and [Brandon] Carr. They're a good football team. I know it started off that way but again everybody had that issue with the lockout and I think the guys are just now starting to get their legs underneath them and play like they can. This is a good football team that's coming in here, but again it's Chief week. It's the Raiders and the Chiefs, it doesn't get any better than that so we're looking forward to it.
*Q: *You hear everybody talking about Andre Johnson as the top receiver in the NFL, they mention that about a lot of guys, but Dwayne is not a guy that is normally thrown into that conversation?
*Coach Jackson: *They better talk about him, the guy can play and he makes plays.He's a big, athletic receiver with strong hands who can run with the ball after the catch who's had some very dominant football games in this league. So he is a problem for us and we need to make sure we contain him and know where he is at all times. He's a really good football player.
*Q: *Do you think Carson will fit in with his new teammates?
*Coach Jackson: *Oh no doubt. Again, like I told you guys when you make decisions like these it's got to be the right fit. It's got to be the right player at the right time and I think this is the right player at the right time for our organization, for me, for this staff and this football team.
*Q: *Did you talk to any of your locker room leaders before you did this? I know your voice is the final voice here but did you talk to them?
*Coach Jackson: *I didn't get a chance to, truth be told. A lot of this happened very quickly so I went on my instinct on me knowing who my locker room leaders are and I trust them and I think they trust me. I think they know that my only goal and my only thought is what's best for the football team and what's best for them. That's all I can do and I'm going to try to do the best job at that all of the time and I'm sure at some point maybe I'll make a mistake but it won't be a mistake without a thought process to it.
*Q: *How likely is it that you'll go with multiple quarterbacks this Sunday?
*Coach Jackson: *I'll let you know.
*Q: *How much do you know about Matt Cassel?
*Coach Jackson: *I recruited Matt Cassel absolutely I did. It was really interesting because I thought he'd be the next great one after Carson and obviously they moved him in a lot of different positions. His story is greater than a lot of people because this guy ran down on kickoffs and was willing to play defense; he was willing to do anything to get on the field.You look up and this guy is the starting quarterback in the National Football League and didn't play much in college. That goes to show you if you work, good things happen to you. He's a good player; I mean he's a really good player. Again, on Sunday I won't like him that's for sure.
*Q: *Why did you go ahead and decide to bring in another safety and let Jerome [Boyd] go?
*Coach Jackson: *Again, when I look at our team I'm going to look at not just that position but I'm looking at every position. There's not a position on this football team that I don't look at and see if we have a chance to get a little bit better and I mean that a little bit better. That's what this is truly all about. Jerome Boyd, I have a lot of respect for him; I think he's a good football player, but if I can get us better at any football position that's what I'm going to do and hopefully who knows Jerome might be back here, we'll see.
*Q: *What do you like about your new safety?
*Coach Jackson: *I think this guy has a lot of experience. He's played in our system, he attacks the ball, he's a big hitter, he's a downhill football player, and he has some coverage skills. Again, his experience in this league at playing against some really good tight ends to me makes a huge difference as we continue to move forward.
*Q: *Did [Rolando] McClain mostly just maintenance it or did the injury get worse in the game?
*Coach Jackson: *It's soreobviously he wasn't out here today and he was out here last week so I'm going in and check and see exactly where he is. If I know him he's going to get up off the canvas and go play for this football team. That's what he does; he did it last week and I'm sure he'll do it this week. This a big game, a big game for our football team, for our city, for this organization and we want to be out there and we'll be ready to go.
*Q: *What kind of challenges do you face with a team like the Chiefs, are they one of the teams where you throw out the records given the rivalry?
Coach Jackson:Absolutely, records don't mean anything in this game. This is one of the division teams that are good and they're good. We need to go play well but records don't mean anything in these games you've got line up and play. The team that plays the hardest the longest and makes the fewest mistakes, you know that's the old cliché, that's the team that going to win.
*Q: *Marcel [Reece] looked like he was on the side today; will he have a chance to practice this week?
*Coach Jackson: *Again, I'll know more as we move forward because I didn't get a chance to see that work. I know he's getting closer and hopefully he can make an impact on this football team here very shortly.
*Q: *Hue, when you were at Cincinnati before or even more recently, did they do all the position group things on offense that you guys do now? You guys have extra linemen and four wide and so many different things that can complicate things for a quarterback; has Carson done a lot of that?
*Coach Jackson: *In the past we did some things somewhat similar in Cincinnati. Obviously it's a different system but it's still all about concept and that stuff's not going to bother him one bit. Trust me when I say it, this guy's a pro. He's been a starting quarterback, this guy's been a pro bowl quarterback in this league and he knows how to play the game and he knows how to prepare and what to get ready for. I'm not concerned about Carson that way by any stretch, my concern is just making sure that he understands his body, we understand his body exactly. He's been away from football for a little while, give him the opportunity to get himself back right but the guy is a competitor and just like any great competitor they're going to want to play. We'll make that decision as we continue to move forward but he's getting reps, Kyle Boller is getting reps, Terrelle Pryor is getting reps.
*Q: *This trade yesterday, do you think it tells the players that the goals have kind of gone up a notch here?
Coach Jackson:What do you think? No doubt the expectation is what I told you guys a long time ago. I expect to win and I expect this team to expect to win and we go to every game with the purpose of winning. We're not just showing up to be there. I expect to win. I told them I'm going to do everything I can. The organization has backed me and they've done everything that they can to give this team the best opportunity to win football games and that's all you can ask for as a head coach. When you have ownership Mark Davis, Amy Trask, and the rest of this organization that stands behind you and says 'Hey look whatever we think it takes to win that's what we're going to do' and that's what we're doing and I think the players appreciate that because it gets no better than that because you come to work everyday knowing that you're coming to work fighting for something which we're fighting for a championship.
*Q: *How do you plan to use [Chinedum] Ndukwe? He played both strong and free safety, where do you see him?
*Coach Jackson: *I think we'll work in both right now and we'll see where he best fits within our system because he's done both before. I think the guy is a classic strong safety in my opinion.He's a big physical guy, he can come down hill and be truly involved in the running game.
Q: Does that free Tyvon [Branch] up to do different stuff also?
Coach Jackson: I think it would. That's the luxury of having a guy like that on your football team. You can take him and Huff and allow them to do different things as you continue to move forward.
