QB Schroeder Memorable Winning Moments With Raiders
The Oakland-Los Angeles-Las Vegas Raiders have featured a wide-open passing game since their first season in 1960, the inaugural year of the American Football League, which because of its entertaining passing games forced the established National Football League to move away from its run-oriented offenses.
And the Silver and Black have had some great passers in their 60-plus seasons.
There were Hall of Famers Kenny Stabler and Tom Flores, Jim Plunkett, Daryle Lamonica, Rich Gannon, Jeff Hostetler, Marc Wilson, Kerry Collins, Cotton Davidson, George Blanda, and current starter Derek Carr, who is the Raiders’ all-time leading passer with 2,896 yards and 193 touchdowns.
Another outstanding passer who often is overlooked a bit was Jay Schroeder, who is ninth on the Raiders’ all-time passing list, as he completed 698-of-1,394 passes for 10,276 yards and 66 touchdowns while leading the Silver and Black to a 32-25 record in five seasons.
The 6-4, 215-pound Schroeder was selected by the Washington Redskins out of UCLA in the third round (No. 83 overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft, with his biggest moment with the Bruins coming when he threw a touchdown pass to running back Freeman McNeil to beat arch-rival USC.
“It was funny,” Schroeder said, recalling the draft day. “I was at my parents’ house. I got the phone call. And we were watching, as was the first year that ESPN did the draft. And I remember Chris Berman saying. ‘And the Washington Redskins, select Jay Schroeder. And we'll go to commercial.’ They had nothing on me. It’s OK because I hadn’t been playing much (at UCLA). So it was pretty hilarious, you know, to watch that.
“ … (The draft), it’s absolutely crazy because. you know, if your agent’s calling you or somebody’s calling you and saying, ‘Hey, you know, the Browns, the Bengals,’ you know somebody’s after you. You try to run all these scenarios through your mind, and at the end of it, you got to let all that go.”
Schroeder played four seasons for the Redskins and was a Pro Bowl selection in 1986, but sustained a shoulder injury in the first game of the 1988 season and was the backup quarterback to Doug Williams as Washington routed the Denver Broncos, 42-10, in Super Bowl XXII.
The Redskins traded Schroeder to the Raiders for tackle Jim Lachey and two draft picks before the 1988 season and in 1990 he became the starter while enjoying his best season by passing for 2,849 yards and 19 touchdowns, leading the Silver and Black to a 12-4 record and the AFC West title with five straight victories to end the regular season.
“After we left training camp, we said Jay Schroeder is our quarterback,” Coach Art Shell said. He is our guy and he got the job done. He’s a smart player.”
Then Schroeder completed 11-of-21 passes for 172 yards and touchdowns to wide receiver Mervyn Fernandez and tight end, Ethan Horton, as the Raiders beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-10, in a divisional playoff game that season.
Said Schroeder: “It wasn't just me. It had a whole lot more to do with than just me. We took the challenge. … (Shell) instilled a lot of confidence. When you look back when he played, you never knew if they were winning or if they were losing. He was always giving it everything he had. That’s just the way he coaches. That’s the way his team is.”
However, running back Bo Jackson sustained a season-ending hip injury in the game and the deflated Raiders were hammered, 51-3, by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game as Schroeder threw five interceptions trying to get them going.
Schroeder played two more seasons with the Raiders before being waived and spending one year with the Cincinnati Bengals and another with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring after the 1994 season with 20,063 yards and 114 touchdowns in his career.
“You have to enjoy each and every moment,” Schroeder said of his career. “If you’re lucky enough to play long enough, you’re gonna get hurt. You just hope that it’s not serious, you know that you can continue, but it is a blessing.
“I try to remind everybody to remember the fans. They are the ones who are there, they’re the ones that get you excited in the game. So treat them right.”
Schroeder was very good, not great, but he had his moments.
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