Raiders Mum On Who Will Start At Quarterback
ALAMEDA (AP) -- Jason Campbell sure acts like he's going to be the Oakland Raiders' starting quarterback this week, even if coach Tom Cable isn't saying so.
Campbell and third-stringer Kyle Boller split reps with Oakland's first team offense in practice Wednesday while Bruce Gradkowski remains limited with a sore throwing shoulder. Campbell also addressed the media from a podium adjacent to the Raiders' practice fields, a duty generally reserved for the starter.
"Hey, I always prepare myself to be the starter," Campbell said with a laugh when asked if he is starting against Seattle on Sunday. "I'm just preparing myself to be ready."
In all likelihood, Campbell will make his second consecutive start and third overall this season.
If he does—Cable said he'll make the announcement by Friday—Campbell has a message for any of his teammates still thinking about the Raiders' record-setting victory over the Denver Broncos last week: Get over it.
That might be a tough sell, particularly to a franchise that has been starved for success of any kind over the last seven years. The Raiders haven't won back-to-back games since 2008 and have a recent history of following up big wins with equally big flops.
Cable has implored his team to put the disappointing losses behind them as quick as possible.
Campbell said it's important the Raiders do the same thing regarding their 59-14 win in Denver.
"We've got to put it behind us," Campbell said Wednesday. "It's all about the next week. Was it a positive to see what we went out and did last week? It's extremely a big positive. Now the challenge is can we maintain that energy that we had last week?"
Acquired from Washington in an offseason trade, Campbell has had an up and down year so far. He was named the team's starter in training camp, lost the job to Gradkowski in Week 2 then came back when Gradkowski got hurt against San Diego.
After Campbell struggled in a 17-9 loss to San Francisco on Oct. 17, when he garnered a career-low 10.7 rating, Cable hinted the team might look at Boller as an option.
Instead, Cable stuck with Campbell and he responded with his best game of the season against Denver despite being without his top three receivers for much of the game. He completed 12 of 20 attempts for 204 yards, two touchdowns and a 127.9 rating while helping the Raiders set a franchise record for points scored.
"Not just for me but for the whole offense and the whole team, our whole mindset was just cut it loose, make plays and have fun," Campbell said. "You always want to exceed the expectations and do everything you can to help the team get to where we want to go and win. We probably were pressing a little bit too much early on in the season. I think now guys are just cutting it loose and just playing football."
Notes: WR Louis Murphy (chest and lung contusion), WR Chaz Schilens (knee), LG Robert Gallery (calf), DT John Henderson (foot) and CB Chris Johnson (concussion) did not practice. Murphy could be sidelined two weeks, Cable said.
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