Sportsbook site handicappers will have to take a second look at the Oakland Raiders for this Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals as they have a new starting quarterback.
A win in Relief
Bruce Gradkowski was named starting quarterback of the Raiders by head coach Tom Cable on Wednesday night after he came off the bench in relief last week to spark a 16-14 win as 3-point home favorites. Oakland was already 0-1 on the season and coming off a blowout loss at Tennessee and in desperate need of a win against a bad St. Louis team that led them 7-3 at the half. Gradkowski, who saw action for the Raiders last year, came off the bench to ignite the offense as he was 11-22 for 162 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His solid play helped free up the Rams defense and keep them honest which allowed Raider running back Darren McFadden to rush for 145 yards on 30 carries.
Campbell Soup
After being acquired from the Washington Redskins this past off season after three mediocre years as quarterback Jason Campbell was immediately named the Raiders starter heading into training camp. Campbell won praise from teammates for his professionalism. Owner Al Davis made sportsbook page news by saying that Campbell would be the next Jim Plunkett. It took Campbell a game and a half to be back in the soup.
Handicappers at Sbgglobal were reminded why Mike Shanahan immediately got rid of Campbell when he took over the Redskins and why he never led Washington to the playoffs. Campbell has a poor QB rating of 61.9 so far in 2010 with just 5.1 yards per attempt with a1-2 touchdown to interception ratio.
Energy Boost
Oakland offensive coordinator Hue Jackson did not like the lack of energy that the offense had with Campbell and asked Cable to make the switch to Gradkowski, who made sportsbook site gamblers interested in Oakland as a potentially live 4.5-point dog at Arizona on Sunday. Gradkowski is a respected leader in the Oakland locker room and had a decent 80.6 QB rating last year.
A Good Problem to Have
Cable says that he likes both quarterbacks and that he will need them both to make positive sportsbook page headlines and reach the playoffs in 2010.