OAKLAND RAIDERS OFFSEASON THREAD
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Day 1 Q&A with Coach Kiffin
April 26, 2008
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin chats with the media on Day 1 of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Tony Gonzales
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin spoke to the media shortly after the Raiders chose Arkansas RB Darren McFadden with the 4th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Q: You said on Thursday that a running back wasn’t necessarily a need but if a star is there that you just can’t pass you would try to take him. Was that the case with McFadden?
Head Coach Lane Kiffin: That was definitely the case. I mentioned a number of times that a running back was not a need and it wasn’t. We [have] a number of really good running backs and guys coming back including Michael Bush. who we don’t even know enough about yet. So it was not a need but it became a situation and something that, speaking for myself, I knew months ago this was the guy that we had to have. We had to figure out a way to get him and hopefully he was going to fall to us. We lost the coin toss to move to us to four and that scared me a little bit there. But fortunately he was still available and we got everybody on the same page.
Q: How heavy was the action from other teams looking to trade up for that pick and from the teams calling, was your idea that they were after McFadden as well?
Kiffin: Not necessarily. I think more teams were after [DT Glenn] Dorsey right there. There were more teams that had a need for a defensive tackle and a player like Dorsey. There was at least one deal that we had in place where, if Darren wasn’t there, we would go back but once he was there, no one jumped us to get him, then it became easy. We were prepared to go back if he was not there or if he would have been taken right before us.
Q: You talked on Thursday about the fact that you guys didn’t have another pick until the fourth round. Are you going to work on that and try and to get something done today to get something else today?
Kiffin: Yes, there’s a possibility. That’s going to be more watching the draft and how it goes. There are a couple of players that we’ve said that, at a certain point, if they’re there we’re going to have to look at giving away something next year to go get them. So, it’s going to be more about how the board goes than just trading up to get another pick. We’re not going to go get another pick just to go get one today. It’s going to have to be one of these few guys that we’ve targeted that we think can really help our team.
Q: Obviously now with [Justin] Fargas, you put some big money into Javon Walker, Kwame Harris, and now the number four pick. How good can you expect this offense to be this year right away?
Kiffin: As I talked about the other day, that’s going to be our job to put these personalities and these different types of players together. This isn’t just where we’ve gone and added one guy in a certain spot. So we’re going to possibly have a number of new starters on our team, especially on offense. So we have to get these guys together and get them jelling together and working together. That’s why this off-season is going to be so important and it was so important for our guys to be in here right now, our newer guys, working with the coaches as well as our guys coming in for their second season as well. Have we increased expectations? Yes, if that’s what you really wanted to know. We’ve increased our expectations of the offensive group a lot and we’ve added a lot of speed with Javon and Darren.
Q: How might this affect the Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell.?
Kiffin: I think that it’s going to help JaMarcus a lot. It gives him another tool to work with and as you go back in your research, quarterbacks that have done really well over a long period of time, it’s because of the right things around them. It’s the same thing that, after the San Diego game we talked about in the press conference afterwards, we need to surround him with better talent and we think that we’ve done that this off-season because that’s how young quarterbacks do really well. There’s not a better way than having a great running game and adding to that a guy that can really catch the ball as well.
Q: How does the team prepare the players to get ready off the field as well as on, in terms of dealing with the money and distractions?
Kiffin: I think the league does a great job of that with the rookies, they take them for a whole week and really educate them on all the issues that are going to happen their first year and we also have a number of meetings. Willie Brown heads up our program for our rookies here and we really have to monitor these guys, we think they are old enough to handle all that stuff and that’s not it and it’s our job as coaches as well to always be communicating with these guys. What really excites me about Darren is he has Tom Rathman as his coach. Here is Tom Rathman, a guy whose been in the league, a guy who has been with great players, he has seen players that have gotten to the top and then went right back down to the bottom, or guys that never got to the top because of how they acted, because of their rookie year how they went about things. That went into this as well knowing that Tom has done a great job with our running backs his first year and what a good job he will do with Darren as well.
April 26, 2008
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin chats with the media on Day 1 of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Tony Gonzales
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin spoke to the media shortly after the Raiders chose Arkansas RB Darren McFadden with the 4th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Q: You said on Thursday that a running back wasn’t necessarily a need but if a star is there that you just can’t pass you would try to take him. Was that the case with McFadden?
Head Coach Lane Kiffin: That was definitely the case. I mentioned a number of times that a running back was not a need and it wasn’t. We [have] a number of really good running backs and guys coming back including Michael Bush. who we don’t even know enough about yet. So it was not a need but it became a situation and something that, speaking for myself, I knew months ago this was the guy that we had to have. We had to figure out a way to get him and hopefully he was going to fall to us. We lost the coin toss to move to us to four and that scared me a little bit there. But fortunately he was still available and we got everybody on the same page.
Q: How heavy was the action from other teams looking to trade up for that pick and from the teams calling, was your idea that they were after McFadden as well?
Kiffin: Not necessarily. I think more teams were after [DT Glenn] Dorsey right there. There were more teams that had a need for a defensive tackle and a player like Dorsey. There was at least one deal that we had in place where, if Darren wasn’t there, we would go back but once he was there, no one jumped us to get him, then it became easy. We were prepared to go back if he was not there or if he would have been taken right before us.
Q: You talked on Thursday about the fact that you guys didn’t have another pick until the fourth round. Are you going to work on that and try and to get something done today to get something else today?
Kiffin: Yes, there’s a possibility. That’s going to be more watching the draft and how it goes. There are a couple of players that we’ve said that, at a certain point, if they’re there we’re going to have to look at giving away something next year to go get them. So, it’s going to be more about how the board goes than just trading up to get another pick. We’re not going to go get another pick just to go get one today. It’s going to have to be one of these few guys that we’ve targeted that we think can really help our team.
Q: Obviously now with [Justin] Fargas, you put some big money into Javon Walker, Kwame Harris, and now the number four pick. How good can you expect this offense to be this year right away?
Kiffin: As I talked about the other day, that’s going to be our job to put these personalities and these different types of players together. This isn’t just where we’ve gone and added one guy in a certain spot. So we’re going to possibly have a number of new starters on our team, especially on offense. So we have to get these guys together and get them jelling together and working together. That’s why this off-season is going to be so important and it was so important for our guys to be in here right now, our newer guys, working with the coaches as well as our guys coming in for their second season as well. Have we increased expectations? Yes, if that’s what you really wanted to know. We’ve increased our expectations of the offensive group a lot and we’ve added a lot of speed with Javon and Darren.
Q: How might this affect the Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell.?
Kiffin: I think that it’s going to help JaMarcus a lot. It gives him another tool to work with and as you go back in your research, quarterbacks that have done really well over a long period of time, it’s because of the right things around them. It’s the same thing that, after the San Diego game we talked about in the press conference afterwards, we need to surround him with better talent and we think that we’ve done that this off-season because that’s how young quarterbacks do really well. There’s not a better way than having a great running game and adding to that a guy that can really catch the ball as well.
Q: How does the team prepare the players to get ready off the field as well as on, in terms of dealing with the money and distractions?
Kiffin: I think the league does a great job of that with the rookies, they take them for a whole week and really educate them on all the issues that are going to happen their first year and we also have a number of meetings. Willie Brown heads up our program for our rookies here and we really have to monitor these guys, we think they are old enough to handle all that stuff and that’s not it and it’s our job as coaches as well to always be communicating with these guys. What really excites me about Darren is he has Tom Rathman as his coach. Here is Tom Rathman, a guy whose been in the league, a guy who has been with great players, he has seen players that have gotten to the top and then went right back down to the bottom, or guys that never got to the top because of how they acted, because of their rookie year how they went about things. That went into this as well knowing that Tom has done a great job with our running backs his first year and what a good job he will do with Darren as well.
YEEEEEEEEEEE
Arkansas RB Darren McFadden spoke to the Bay Area media shortly after The Oakland Raiders made him the fourth overall selection in the 2008 Draft.
Q: Talk about the conversation you had: Lane said he called you in the morning and said that if you were available that you would be the Raiders pick, talk about that conversation.
RB Darren McFadden: It’s such a great feeling. He told me that if I was there at number four, and that he was going to call my name and right before we got off the phone he talked about seeing me soon. It was something I’m very proud of, I was very happy to be able to go to Oakland.
Q: What do you know about Lane Kiffin’s offense and how it might be a fit for you?
McFadden: I like the way he uses his running backs, when he was at USC he moved his running backs around a lot. I just love the way he does that. I feel that is something I can bring to Oakland. I can be a versatile player and move around in different spots.
Q: What do you know about the Raider Nation, the Black Hole, and the whole aura and history of this organization? Was that an important thing for you to maybe carry on a tradition in a way?
McFadden: It is going to be very important to carry on the tradition. You never want to ruin a tradition you always want to carry it on. I love the Raider Nation and they are very, very passionate about the Raiders. It’s going to be great going out there and playing for them.
Q: What are some things that people weren’t saying about you that you think the world should know?
McFadden: They don’t say the things about Darren McFadden, the things he does in the community. I’ve been doing community events since I was in High School, going and helping out special Olympics in High School, be able to do things like that. Than it was two Christmas breaks ago, we were on Christmas break, there was a plane crash in an airport in Arkansas and I went and visited the kids in the hospital. There is a lot of things that people don’t talk about.
Q: A lot has been made this week about your mom saying she didn’t want to see you go all the way across the country. Are you in some ways looking forward to getting away from home and getting a fresh start?
McFadden: I feel like it’s going to be a good thing, just being able to be away from home and getting a fresh start. That’s something that I’m looking forward to.
Q: You played against JaMarcus Russell. a few times in the SEC. Have you given much thought to what it’s going to be like to be in the huddle with him?
McFadden: I know it’s going to be great to be in the huddle with him. I played against him a couple of times in college—I’d much rather be on the same side of the ball that he’s on.
Q: [Raiders’ RB Coach] Tom Rathman really took a liking to your blocking. Is that one of the things that people don’t understand about your game?
McFadden: A lot of people don’t even look at those things. Going through the draft, people critique you so much that they overlook the good things that you do. That’s something that Coach Rathman pointed out to me that he really enjoyed—my passion for the game. He hopes that he can take me to the next level. With him coaching me, he can take me to the next level.
Q: When you move out here for the season, do you know who is going to move out here with you?
McFadden: I’m going to plan on having my sister move out here with me. That way she can help me out around the house and just make me feel at home while I’m away.
Q: How have the last 24 hours been for you?
McFadden: It’s been a whirlwind. You don’t know where you’re going to go, sitting back and just waiting. And then you finally get Lane calling you—you finally get the phone call of where you’re going to go, and you’re so happy.
Q: Did you get a phone call right as the Raiders were coming up, or at that point did you already know that they were picking you?
McFadden: I had already known because they had called me a couple of days before. They gave my agent a call and gave me a call, so we already knew before they announced it.
Q: Talk a little bit about your skills as a receiver. Lane mentioned today that you can catch the ball out of the backfield, but he can also line you up as a receiver.
McFadden: That’s some of my versatility. I have great hands coming out of the backfield, but it’s something we didn’t really do much of in college—we never really got the running back involved [in the passing game], but it’s something I feel very confident doing.
Q: Do you look forward to getting a chance to throw the ball in the NFL?
McFadden: I don’t know if they want me to do that, but if they decide to put a play in for me to throw it, I would love to do it.
Q: How ready are you to step into an NFL line-up right now and what are things that you need to work on?
McFadden: I feel like I’m ready to step in there. I’m not that guy that’s just happy to be in the NFL. I want to get there; I want to be doing great things. I don’t want to just be out there; I want to play great and make some plays.
Arkansas RB Darren McFadden spoke to the Bay Area media shortly after The Oakland Raiders made him the fourth overall selection in the 2008 Draft.
Q: Talk about the conversation you had: Lane said he called you in the morning and said that if you were available that you would be the Raiders pick, talk about that conversation.
RB Darren McFadden: It’s such a great feeling. He told me that if I was there at number four, and that he was going to call my name and right before we got off the phone he talked about seeing me soon. It was something I’m very proud of, I was very happy to be able to go to Oakland.
Q: What do you know about Lane Kiffin’s offense and how it might be a fit for you?
McFadden: I like the way he uses his running backs, when he was at USC he moved his running backs around a lot. I just love the way he does that. I feel that is something I can bring to Oakland. I can be a versatile player and move around in different spots.
Q: What do you know about the Raider Nation, the Black Hole, and the whole aura and history of this organization? Was that an important thing for you to maybe carry on a tradition in a way?
McFadden: It is going to be very important to carry on the tradition. You never want to ruin a tradition you always want to carry it on. I love the Raider Nation and they are very, very passionate about the Raiders. It’s going to be great going out there and playing for them.
Q: What are some things that people weren’t saying about you that you think the world should know?
McFadden: They don’t say the things about Darren McFadden, the things he does in the community. I’ve been doing community events since I was in High School, going and helping out special Olympics in High School, be able to do things like that. Than it was two Christmas breaks ago, we were on Christmas break, there was a plane crash in an airport in Arkansas and I went and visited the kids in the hospital. There is a lot of things that people don’t talk about.
Q: A lot has been made this week about your mom saying she didn’t want to see you go all the way across the country. Are you in some ways looking forward to getting away from home and getting a fresh start?
McFadden: I feel like it’s going to be a good thing, just being able to be away from home and getting a fresh start. That’s something that I’m looking forward to.
Q: You played against JaMarcus Russell. a few times in the SEC. Have you given much thought to what it’s going to be like to be in the huddle with him?
McFadden: I know it’s going to be great to be in the huddle with him. I played against him a couple of times in college—I’d much rather be on the same side of the ball that he’s on.
Q: [Raiders’ RB Coach] Tom Rathman really took a liking to your blocking. Is that one of the things that people don’t understand about your game?
McFadden: A lot of people don’t even look at those things. Going through the draft, people critique you so much that they overlook the good things that you do. That’s something that Coach Rathman pointed out to me that he really enjoyed—my passion for the game. He hopes that he can take me to the next level. With him coaching me, he can take me to the next level.
Q: When you move out here for the season, do you know who is going to move out here with you?
McFadden: I’m going to plan on having my sister move out here with me. That way she can help me out around the house and just make me feel at home while I’m away.
Q: How have the last 24 hours been for you?
McFadden: It’s been a whirlwind. You don’t know where you’re going to go, sitting back and just waiting. And then you finally get Lane calling you—you finally get the phone call of where you’re going to go, and you’re so happy.
Q: Did you get a phone call right as the Raiders were coming up, or at that point did you already know that they were picking you?
McFadden: I had already known because they had called me a couple of days before. They gave my agent a call and gave me a call, so we already knew before they announced it.
Q: Talk a little bit about your skills as a receiver. Lane mentioned today that you can catch the ball out of the backfield, but he can also line you up as a receiver.
McFadden: That’s some of my versatility. I have great hands coming out of the backfield, but it’s something we didn’t really do much of in college—we never really got the running back involved [in the passing game], but it’s something I feel very confident doing.
Q: Do you look forward to getting a chance to throw the ball in the NFL?
McFadden: I don’t know if they want me to do that, but if they decide to put a play in for me to throw it, I would love to do it.
Q: How ready are you to step into an NFL line-up right now and what are things that you need to work on?
McFadden: I feel like I’m ready to step in there. I’m not that guy that’s just happy to be in the NFL. I want to get there; I want to be doing great things. I don’t want to just be out there; I want to play great and make some plays.
^ i agree 100% buuuut the raiders had chris long no.1 on their board, but rams picked him, so they went wit their next player, which happened to be mcfadden.
i think thats what happened.
i wouldve liked it if the raiders got a dlinemen as well to help the run D but fuck it, dmc is a good pick ne way.
i think thats what happened.
i wouldve liked it if the raiders got a dlinemen as well to help the run D but fuck it, dmc is a good pick ne way.
