Hue Jackson Doesn’t Really Care What You Think About The Carson Palmer Trade

Hue Jackson Doesn’t Really Care What You Think About the Carson Palmer Trade

Tuesday’s big trade has been called just about every adjective in the book. To some, the Oakland Raiders sending a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-round pick in for Carson Palmer is egregious and a gamble. To others, it’s a lot to spend, but for a team in the hunt in the AFC West, they had to do something after quarterback Jason Campbell went down on Sunday with a broken collarbone.It’s a fun talking point for right now, but with Palmer sitting out this season after demanding a trade, we’re not going to know until at least Sunday, and probably long after that. Oakland coach Hue Jackson says in the following interview that he doesn’t know if Palmer will be ready or he’ll start Kyle Boller, but he simply made the right move for a team hoping to compete for a championship this year.Hue Jackson joined KHTK in Sacramento with Grant Napear to discuss why he dealt for Palmer, his argument to those who say he gave up too much for him, the attributes in Palmer that he likes, what Jason Campbell had done up to this point, if Palmer will be ready, what that process will be like, why he doesn’t care what pundits are saying and how he would feel if he needed to start Boller.

Why did you want Carson Palmer so badly?:

“Because this guy can help us get to where we want to go. This guy is going to help us win a championship. I’m convinced of it, I know it without any shadow of a doubt. He’s got all the characteristics I look for in a quarterback. He’s got it.”

What’s your argument to those who say the team mortgaged its future and gave up to much to get Palmer?:

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I respect that, what other people think. But that don’t mean that’s what I think. The people here within the organization, we made the best decision that we thought for our football team. I think it’s the right decision and I stand by it and we move forward.”

Be more specific when it comes to the attributes that you like:

“He’s got a big arm. He can make every throw in football that a quarterback needs to make. He still has mobility; he can still move around and make those throws outside of the pocket. He’s a tremendous leader. People follow him and he has the ability to elevate his teammates’ play around him because he demands that from the players.”

If it were not for the injury to Jason Campbell, would we be having this conversation right now?:

“Absolutely we would not be having this conversation. Jason was doing great and leading this team to where it needed to go, but down he went and so we had to step up and make the next best decision.”

Is it possible that Palmer is ready this Sunday?:

“You never know. I’ve had him for several hours now and we’re going to work on the playbook and we’re going to go out on the practice field tomorrow and see where we are.”

Talk about the process he’s going to have to go through to become acclimated:

“Obviously it’s a process. Obviously you have to have that chemistry and that timing with the receivers, but I think Carson’s very comfortable throwing the ball and, like I said, he can make every throw, so I think that transition will happen very fast. Obviously they need to spend some time on the practice field … but our receivers have one thing you can’t coach, which is speed. And Carson has a really quick arm. … I think that process, in my opinion, will probably go very quickly.”

Do you care what the analysts are saying?:

“I don’t. I really don’t, because they’re not here coaching this football team, I am, and this staff is and this organization is. … The time is now. I owe it to this football team and owe it to Raider nation and our fans and our people to make sure that we’re putting the best football team out there that we can each and every week.”

If you have to go to Kyle Boller, how confident are you in him?:

“Very. That’s why he’s on our team. We’ve got to play him and give him an opportunity to do what he does. And I’m very excited about what he did last week. Obviously, there’s a couple of throws he wishes he could’ve had back, but for the most part, Kyle did not turn the ball over, we didn’t have any quarterback-center exchange issues and the young man competed for a guy who probably had two percent of the reps in practice. … I’m looking forward to him, if that’s the direction I go, of him playing well this week.”