National Football League

Jackson to blame for Palmer's debut

Published Oct. 23, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

There will never be another Al Davis, but it is becoming apparent that the Raiders have succeeded – in impressively short order – in finding an heir who can mismanage, bungle and otherwise short-circuit a football team.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Hue Jackson.

It’s hard to say hubris without Hue, the rookie coach who earlier this week suggested he’d engineered the greatest NFL trade ever when the Raiders sent one first-round pick – and perhaps two – to Cincinnati for relegated and retired quarterback Carson Palmer.

But it would also be hard to say that the Raiders, in the post-Davis era, are headed anywhere other than where they have been going for the last decade, when, with few exceptions, they have made one poorly assessed, seat-of-the-pants glory grab after another.

And, again, how has that worked out?

Not much better than it did Sunday, when the once hopeful Raiders were walloped 28-0 by once hapless Kansas City, which won its third in a row.

It wasn’t the loss itself that was damning – the Raiders were playing without quarterback Jason Campbell, who broke his collarbone last week and kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who sat out with a hamstring injury. During the game, they lost Darren McFadden, the NFL’s leading rusher, after two carries to a twisted ankle. Nor was it the 14 penalties – these are the Raiders, after all.

It was what the loss wrought: gross miscalculations by Jackson about the Raiders quarterbacks at every turn.

The greatest one came early in the third quarter when, after watching Kyle Boller throw three interceptions – and lead his team to three first downs – Jackson turned to Palmer, who last Sunday was sitting at home in Orange County and began the day standing on the sidelines because Jackson said he did not want to throw him to the wolves.

Not at first, apparently.

“I thought he could give us a spark,” said Jackson, whose team trailed 21-0 at the time. “I don’t know if I could tell you he could go win the game, but I thought he could give this team a spark and that’s what we needed at that particular point in time.”

Translation: I panicked.

The Raiders, at that point, had no chance to win the game, whether their quarterback was Jason Campbell or Jim Plunkett. Jackson wasn’t disciplined enough or smart enough to write off the loss, use the bye week to integrate Palmer – or at least allow him to learn everyone’s name – and get on with the rest of the season.

Think about this: Jackson was looking for a spark from a quarterback who had been with the team for three days, hadn’t played a game of any sort in 10 months, hadn’t gotten more than a handful of reps in practice and had knowledge of 10 percent of the playbook.

And you’re expecting him to provide a spark?

“I didn’t know I was playing until 10 minutes before I went on the field and started to throw the football,” said Palmer, who drew cheers when he put on his helmet and began to warm up. “I mean, I was excited to be playing. But with such a limited playbook, and little to no experience with the receivers, it definitely is an uncomfortable situation to be in.”

Now, in that context, it’s easy to understand why Jackson has proclaimed Kyle Boller a worthy backup over the last three months, after the Raiders let Bruce Gradkowski, a serviceable reserve, leave and kept Boller instead of Trent Edwards.

It took one pass for Boller to prove otherwise – his first throw intercepted by Kendrick Lewis and returned 59 yards for a touchdown. Each subsequent interception, along with a fumbled snap near the goal line – and the boos that accompanied them – only confirmed it.

Yet it is important to note that Boller was throwing his initial pass only because on the previous play the Raiders sent Terrelle Pryor, the rookie from Ohio State, in to execute a trick quarterback sneak on third-and-inches.

Why would the NFL’s second-best rushing team try to get cute? Because the play-caller – that would be Jackson – wanted to show everyone how clever he is.

The same goes for Jackson’s handling of naming his starter. Jackson was coy all week, saying he would not decide until Saturday, which is when he informed Boller that he would start. Why? Because he did not want to tip his hand to the Chiefs, who were certainly up all night not worrying about the quarterbacks and rather McFadden.

All this is fine, except if you choose to berate an ESPN reporter because a colleague reported that Boller would start.

There was similar bullying from Jackson afterward, when he wagged a finger at Chiefs coach Todd Haley when they met at midfield. Jackson apparently did not like the Chiefs throwing into the end zone after the two-minute warning.

“That’s OK,” Jackson said of the meeting. “That’s between me and him. We’ll play them again.”

When they do the Raiders will know more about their quarterback.

On Sunday, they saw the possibilities – good and bad. Palmer completed his first pass, 18 yards over the middle to Darius Heyward-Bey. The crowd roared, welcoming Palmer, and so did Chiefs defensive end Tamba Hali, who was penalized for diving at Palmer’s feet. This no doubt brought back flashbacks of Kimo von Oelhoffen, who once tore up Palmer’s knee on a similar play.

But Palmer’s timing was often amiss with his receivers and he was also intercepted three times – including a hitch that was jumped by Brandon Flowers, who returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

When it was over, Palmer met Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel at midfield. Cassel had served as his understudy at USC, and Palmer had served as best man at Cassel’s wedding. The two had talked in recent days, so all Cassel could do was commiserate.

“He just shook his head and laughed,” Palmer said. “He was feeling my pain.”

In other words, welcome to the Raiders.