Oct. 7, 2010GUTIERREZ ARCHIVERAIDERS PAGERAIDERS VIDEOPaul Gutierrez
CSNCalifornia.com
ALAMEDA -- Remember all that hubbub yesterday over those backhanded Marty Schottenheimer comments from SIRIUS radio that were printed out and posted throughout the Raiders locker room?
The ones that quoted the former Chiefs and Chargers coach as saying, The one constant you can count on in playing the Raiders is that they don't finish. They don't finish plays and they don't finish games. I always told my players that if they kept playing hard against the Raiders, they (the Raiders) would eventually fold. That is why I knew we would always win. That is still the perception around the league today."
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SIGN UP HERE Well, turns out Schottenheimer, who went a combined 26-5 against the Raiders in 15 seasons of AFC West play, didnt exactly say that.
As deftly transcribed by BANGs Steve Corkran, heres what Schottenheimer actually said: Well, from my perspective, you know, Ive always saw in that football team, they dont finish plays very well. And Im not going to sit here and tell you that, you know, that they dont care. But, I do think that losing over an extended period of time produces guys that tend tothey dont finish plays the way you need to finish plays.
And, in the National Football League, its all about how you finish whatever it is youre doing, whether its on offense, defense or in the kicking game. And that was always the thing that I felt about the Raiders and why I felt we could always beat them is, that if you just go out and do your job and you do it and commit yourself to doing it for the entire contest, regardless how much time that is, go finish the thing, and they would find a wayI always would tell our players, if you just hang in there with the Raiders, they will find a way in the end to lose themselves.
So, yes, the gist is basically the same. Its just, he didnt say it as mean-spirited as advertised.
News
Remember, a couple of weeks ago, the Raiders took heat for putting out a sheet quoting coach Tom Cable saying the switch to Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback did not necessarily mean he was Jason Campbells permanent successor. Thing was, Cable never said that specifically, either.