Al Davis quotes from Raiders press conference

(01-18) 23:08 PST ALAMEDA -- Some of the notable quotes from Al Davis Tuesday, when he announced the hiring of Hue Jackson as head coach. The quotes are from his news conference and from interviews after the conference.

The first batch of quotes appeared in Wednesday's paper.

"(Jackson) came in, he was given the authority to run with the offense. He met some opposition from time to time, but he took it and ran with it and we scored points."

"(JaMarcus Russell is) a good person, but he's got personal problems, and I decided that it was time that we were not going to fight it anymore. ... JaMarcus hurt. Anytime you lose a first-round draft choice it hurts. But it's over."

"Anybody who's watched (Darren McFadden) practice would say the guy's got greatness on him, but he's gotta stay well."

"(Jackson) was like, what's his name? Gruden. Gruden was like that - feisty - he could lead the defense. They are different, definitely. ... But on that particular thing they are very similar.

"Tom (Cable) had been told earlier in his career that he could have been fired without pay for the wrath he brought on the Raider organization."

"All of this stuff (Cable was doing) goes a long way against my wishes, against my way of living, against my life and against the Raider way, and I just wasn't going to take it anymore."

"I don't know how (Randy Hanson) got beat up. Just don't know. Can't get the story. You know, it's like Gitmo. Trying to find out, did they waterboard those guys or not? No, really. It's hard to believe. How many guys went in? Four guys went into the room with a guy, the guy comes out with a broken jaw and no one saw it."

And now, some more quotes, not published in Wednesday's paper:

On Hue Jackson:

"Today, I want you to meet the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and I'm proud as hell, Hue Jackson."

On Jason Campbell (and Jim Plunkett):

"Jason came a long way in the year 2010, and you have to go back to the quote I gave, and a lot of you took me up on it, the quote I said that he reminds me of Jim Plunkett at this particular phase in his career.

"I said it then and I believe it now. But I also believe that Jim Plunkett was one of the ... great players of our time. Won two Super Bowls and has never gotten the acclaim he desires or deserves. He was a Heisman Trophy winner, he was a Super Bowl winner, he did as much in pro football as John Elway did, who it took 15 years to win a Super Bowl, somewhere close to that.

"I remind you that these things don't come quickly to anyone. You all espouse the greatness of Brett Favre ... uh, one Super Bowl that he won with the Green Bay Packers.

"... I saw in Jason Campbell someone down the road who can really throw the football, can run, and there are some things we have to do with him, but I think the guy who's going to be handling him in the future knows what to do and how to do it."

On the offense:

"I tell you ... this football team (has) the most explosive players that have been together in a long time at every offensive position. The fullback is dynamite. He can go all the way on any play. The halfbacks, McFadden and Bush, complement each other tremendously with explosion. The four wide receivers, where Schilens doesn't give the explosion maybe that you want but he gives you big plays and he gives you the first down. And then of course the tight end is just a bright young player, Miller.

"Then the quarterback is Jason right now, and what we have to rely on is (Hue Jackson), the guy I'm turning the banner over to, the baton over to, so he can lead this Raider nation, the fans, and bring back those touchdowns in that Coliseum."

On who made quarterback decisions, and his personnel record:

"TI let (Cable and Jackson) make the decision. In fact when they took Campbell out in one of the early games, I wanted to know why. They gave me the reasons why and I went with it.