DHB drops the ball in radio interview

In an interview with KNBR radio’s Murph and Mac, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey spoke of his troubled rookie year. He created a stir with a comment about playing and starting every game, when he didn’t. However, he did start every game before his injury.

When he was asked what went well in the midst of his well publicized struggles, Heyward-Bey answered:

“I think the best thing that happened to me as a rookie was playing every game and starting every game. That was something that a lot of rookies don’t get to do. I’ve seen the worst and I’ve seen the best of everything.”

He actually didn’t start the last five games of the season. He scored his first and only touchdown of the season in the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Following that game he was inactive for the remainder of the season. Prior to his injury, he did participate and start in every game as a rookie. It could easily have been one of those moments where the brain and mouth didn’t exactly sync up.

However, his camp success is based on his desire to move beyond his horrific rookie season:

“Nobody wants nine catches. That’s a number that haunts me a little bit. I used that as motivation to come back this year with a whole different gameplan. With a little bit of last year, just keep working hard but work harder and go out there and make the plays that need to be made.”

“You know what type of player you want to be, you know what type of player you can be, you know what type of player you are. You have to be honest with yourself. What everybody else says is whatever. They’re not you, they don’t have to go out there and practice. They don’t need to go out there and face the team, face the fans, face Raider Nation. They don’t have to do that, so you have to look at yourself. From there, you just tell yourself, ‘I’m going to go 110 [percent] in and if it works out, great. If it doesn’t, then we know.’ That’s just the way I looked at it.”

If DHB’s improvement in practice translates to the field,then his rookie struggles will become a footnote. If he struggles again during the season, the boos will continue.

Special thanks to Sportsradiointerviews.com for the heads up.