Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza is facing a big challenge, and his teammates have thoughts.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the man of the moment for the Las Vegas Raiders, and everybody wants to know what he's all about. Ryan McFadden of ESPN took a shot at answering that question in a piece he did today that offers comments and opinions from teammates.
Receiver Tre Tucker was one of them. Tucker is the leader of a very young unit that hasn’t done much so far, and he likes what he sees so far.
"I didn't realize how tall he was," Tucker said of the 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal-caller. "He's very tall, and he's big."
This fits half of the classic “tall guy, strong arm” profile for an NFL signal caller, and Tucker added that Mendoza carries himself as if he were an undrafted rookie, according to McFadden.
"That's really what you want for a guy like that," Tucker said. "He's got a bright future."
Punters don’t usually comment about quarterbacks, but AJ Cole got in on the act with one about how Mendoza is handling the weight of being the franchise guy for a team that went 3-14 last season.
"He doesn't need to put the fate of the universe on his shoulders," All-Pro punter AJ Cole said. "We don't need him to be Superman. We just need him to be Fernando."
We don’t know exactly what “being Fernando” means just yet, but for players like Cole, it’s become impossible to avoid the questions about their new young quarterback.
"I keep telling people [he] is whatever you think he's like; that's exactly what he's like," Cole said as he added that Mendoza is “authentic, genuine and extremely motivated.” "It's not a bit. It's not an act."
The impressions of veterans like center Tyler Linderbaum and reciever Jalen Nailor are more meaningful, especially Linderbaum’s.
"You can tell he wants to be great," Linderbaum said, and Nailor commented about Mendoza’s intelligence.
He's very smart,” Nailor added “ ... He's always trying to pick somebody's brain to improve."
Assistant head coach Mike McCoy provided a more thorough comment, based on meeting Mendoza at the Scouting Combine back in February.
"That's the great thing," McCoy said. "And I think [offensive coordinator] Andrew [Janocko] and the rest of the offensive staff have done a great job because the first year is a challenge, not just for rookies, but for everybody. There's so much information, and you're installing a system for the long haul."
Finally, quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan checked in with some thoughts on the level of detail involved in Mendoza’s learning process.
"There's no magic wand where a guy can develop the type of skills necessary to be successful in the offense, particularly talking-under-center-type work or getting into a consistent rhythm and timing with your footwork," Sullivan said.
"... He's still [learning] what to do, making sure he knows his job, and then we can start to take some of the next steps, but it's a long road [and] a lot of work to do. We're pleased with the work that he's been putting into this point."
