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Purdy: Wouldn't trade places with this Raiders rookie

You've got to give Darrius Heyward-Bey a hand.

Maybe two hands. Two new ones.

Because the two mitts that Heyward-Bey does possess were not helping him very much Saturday at the Raiders' weekend mini-camp.

Let's check a brief highlight reel of his morning practice:

Went out for a pass. Dropped it. Went out for another. Dropped it. Immediately after that, Heyward-Bey trotted off to the side for a breather, but Raiders coaches asked him to step right back in the huddle to have him run the same play, same pattern. He did. And dropped the ball again.

Oh, man. You may recall that the Raiders' selection of Heyward-Bey in the first round of the NFL draft — as the seventh overall pick — was considered to fall somewhere on the needle gauge between "risky" and "are you kidding?" That's because at the University of Maryland his reputation was of a man who had speed to burn and hands to clank.

So the last thing that Heyward-Bey needed was exactly the thing that happened Saturday morning. Afterward, he was properly humble and pragmatic. He'd done much better in his first Raiders practice Friday, making one leaping grab and showcasing his skills. Saturday? Clank.

"There are going to be bright spots and dark spots," Heyward-Bey said. "That's life."

And this scrutiny is definitely his life right now. Will be, until further notice. Of all the people in Bay Area sports, Heyward-Bey is the guy whose life I would least like to crawl inside of for the next six or seven months.

It's a firm principle of mine: I never feel sorry for young multi-multi-millionaires. Heyward-Bey will make well over $10 million guaranteed when his contract is done. Forget any sympathy here, in other words. I'm just saying I would never trade places with him between now and December.

Here's why: Unless he catches 95 percent of the passes he's thrown and has 10 or 12 touchdown catches including four or five of 50 yards or more, Heyward-Bey will be considered a flop — although at Maryland last autumn, he had just five receiving touchdowns. Look, it wasn't his fault that he was the seventh pick in the draft. And do you expect him to reject the big first-round money?

But how much money would you take to potentially become a punch line for the entire Bay Area? For the entire NFL? This is the side effect of the NFL agreeing to have the draft televised and pumped so full of hyped-up instant conclusions, as if the event is a final score instead of a preseason dart throw.

It's possible that Heyward-Bey will be a bust. It's also possible that, like Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, Heyward-Bey will drop a passel of passes as a rookie and then blossom into a Pro Bowl receiver. But if anyone tells you for certain which one it will be, that person is a fool.

Another firm principle of mine: I never pass judgment on draft picks until I see them line up in a full season of NFL games and watch what happens when they collide with opponents who are more immense and fast and vicious than any they saw in college. Hence, I never get too excited over a "can't-miss" draft pick or too cynical about a "ridiculously overrated" draft pick. Even when they drop passes in one of their first practices.

Players know the deal. After that third dropped pass Saturday morning, new Raiders backup quarterback Jeff Garcia walked over to chat with Heyward-Bey. At age 39, Garcia has seen plenty of rookies who try too hard.

"I just told him, it's all about a phrase I've leaned on my entire career — short-term memory,'' Garcia said. "You know, learning from what just happened, but putting it behind you, not dwelling on it. The kid has tremendous ability and a great attitude. And those are important things to see. He's not the type of guy who has come in here, even though he's the first-round draft pick, and been about 'me.' It's been about how he can blend into the team and make a difference."

Subsequently, Heyward-Bey sat out Saturday afternoon's practice for unspecified reasons that Raiders Coach Tom Cable said he would explain today. And as for those bobbled passes? Cable suggested that Heyward-Bey had been given "more offense to work on in two days than he got in all of spring ball" at Maryland. So the rookie might have been too worried about being in the right place and lost focus on catching the football.

Could be a lame rationalization. Could be a reasonable explanation. I don't honestly plan to worry about the answer until September. Then again, I am not Darrius Heyward-Bey. Wouldn't want to be.

By Mark Purdy
Mercury News Sports Columnist
Posted: 05/09/2009 09:02:20 PM PDT
Updated: 05/09/2009 10:49:12 PM PDT

And there you have it!!!! All speed no fucking hands a mega bust

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Who the fuck hijacked my login!!!!

Fuckin' son of a bitch.

What's the deal with trying to hide on the sidelines? This ain't pop warner, bitch!

Tak heart, DD!! Remember we drafted Louis Murphy. That dude will pan out. And Chaz has been catching everything. Our OL will be a lot better. Our RB corps will break out.