In 2010, the Oakland Raiders had no scheduled games in primetime. Also in 2010, they proved to the rest of the world that they were on their way to being primetime. Now that they have shed the wife-beater image and the sizzyrup guzzlers, they are ready to play not one, but two primetime games in 2011. This in spite of the drunk driving, gun wielding, and Viagra induced boners; my question is why? And the answer may be staring me right in the face: Hue Jackson.
“We have a wealth of good players here: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Louis Murphy, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Zach Miller,” says Jackson. “We have some prime time football players and we’re tailoring our style of offense around those players to give them the best opportunity to have success.”
So what exactly does Hue Jackson bring to the Raiders?
I think you have to start with the man’s track record. He has been with a lot of different teams over the last decade or so and has worked with the likes of skill players like Cincinnati receivers Chad Johnson and Baltimore’s T.J. Houshmandzadeh as well as Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who became the first quarterback to win two playoff games as a rookie under Jackson’s guidance. When it comes to developing offensive skill players, there are few better coaches in the league right now than Raiders’ Head Coach Hue Jackson.
His work with the Raiders’ offensive skill players was more than evident last year. The improvement in the Raiders from 2009 to 2010 was from one of the most incompetent groups in the league to a unit that was fluid and looked good; almost like they knew what they were doing… at times.
Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell cites the progress of one of his wide receivers as an example of Jackson’s magic touch: “DHB had a dramatic improvement from year one to year two and I think a lot of that had to do with Hue Jackson, his mindset when he got here of pushing [Darrius] to the next level.”
Hue Jackson is a self-proclaimed “In Your Face” coach. There is never a dull moment in his practices as he makes players practice fast so that the game slows down for them on Sunday. He is very energetic and is credited for bringing a “winning mindset” to the Raiders organization. One of his player-instilled philosophies is that it takes a lot of hard work to win and stay competitive.
Jackson says that players on this team are willing to put in the hard work it takes to be successful at this level. He gives praise to his players for doing everything that he asks of them. “The most important thing is I’m looking for a result,” Jackson says. “I’m after a result and a result is when I can get our players, whether it’s offense against defense or defense against offense, to compete at a high level because that’s what this game is.”
You could say they were at a high level in Jackson’s first year: second in the league in rushing yards, sixth in the league in scoring, and tenth in the league in total yardage for the offensive side of the ball. They were also ranked second in the league against the pass, and 11th in the NFL in yards allowed on defense.
“There’s a confidence about this football team,” Coach Jackson explains. “It permeates everywhere. It’s not just our team. It’s in the equipment, it’s in the weight room, it’s with our media people; it’s everywhere. This is a different time in Raider football, and I’m excited about it.”
Hue Jackson says that he doesn’t need to build NFL players’ confidence, because they are very confident in their abilities already. He describes what he does as, “Going to work. It’s rolling up your sleeves every day and going out to work to improve your skill level.”
And so far, it appears that the Raiders offense, at least, is buying into the philosophy of their new head coach.
“When I came in and took a peek,” Hue Jackson said during his first ever public appearance as a Raiders’ offensive coordinator, “The most important thing I told the staff and players was that whatever has gone on here in the past really doesn’t matter to me. It’s what we do from this point on and they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do.”
My biggest question about Hue Jackson at this point is: Will he be able to keep that pep in his step if the team gets into a slump or hits a bump in 2011? You know, when it’s his butt on the line, will he still feeling like calling Al Davis “Coach”?
As for right now though, Jackson’s track record and philosophies speak for themselves. And it speaks volumes for what you should be expecting from the Raider offense in 2011. Come to think of it, I hope they get both Steve Smith and Chad Ochocinco, then they can score so many points that they won’t even need a defense.
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