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Raiders passing game coordinator Ted Tollner sees Bruce Gradkowski in practice every day guiding Oakland's offense with the ease of an experienced quarterback.
That knowledge, combined with JaMarcus Russell's season-long struggles, gave coach Tom Cable comfort in making the radical switch to Gradkowski as his starting quarterback nine games into the season.
"He's done those kinds of things on our practice field," Tollner said of Gradkowski on Thursday. "Now we have to see in this situation, with our players, can you do it? He can physically do it, but when you get the competition on the field, especially a good Cincinnati team that's playing good defense right now, you get to really evaluate it. Is he ready for it or not?"
Russell was unavailable for comment once again. He last spoke to reporters Sunday after he was benched late in the third quarter of a 16-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gradkowski said he has spoken with Russell several times since then and that Russell is supportive of Gradkowski's promotion.
"We're in this thing together, and he said it himself," Gradkowski said. "He said, 'We're teammates, whatever we can do to win.'"‰"
This Sunday against the Bengals, the Raiders get to see if Gradkowski is a better option than Russell in an offense that ranks 31st — second to last — in points per game. Cable removed Russell from two of the past three games. On Wednesday, he took it one step
Gradkowski hasn't started a game in almost a year. Yet, he has prepared as if he were the starter since he arrived in Oakland on Feb. 10.
"They have confidence in me to get the job done," Gradkowski said of his coaches Thursday. "I'm just going to do what I'm coached to do, just run the offense, put the ball in players' hands and let them make plays."
The offensive system won't change to accommodate the more-mobile Gradkowski, Tollner said. Any difference would come only in calling plays better suited to Gradkowski's comfort level depending upon the situation.
Left offensive tackle Mario Henderson said it's business as usual for Russell.
"He hasn't changed," Henderson said. "You couldn't really tell if he's playing or not playing. That's a good thing. He's still keeping a positive attitude. Nothing changes with him when he comes in during practice. He's keeping the same demeanor, the same attitude."
Seeing the game from a different perspective just might be what Russell needs, Henderson said. That's what helped Henderson, who sat his rookie season in 2007 and eased into the lineup last season.
"For me, it was better to sit down before I started playing," Henderson said. "That helped me a lot instead of just being thrown out there in the fire and kind of messing up."
Russell finds himself headed down a trail blazed by 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.
Smith started seven games his rookie season, was named the full-time starter his second year and played in only seven games in an injury-plagued third season in which Smith and then-49ers coach Mike Nolan publicly feuded over the seriousness of Smith's shoulder injury. Tollner was with the 49ers during that tumultuous time.
"They're kind of in the same role, first pick in the draft, and you hear all the controversy about all the things that are said," Tollner said of Smith and Russell, the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft. "And they have to be strong-willed because they hear so much negative.
"I know Alex went through it, and JaMarcus goes through it, but I do think (you have to) stand back, evaluate, and when you do get that next chance, make that be a positive experience that you stood back."
