Portable Success : All Jeff Hostetler Did for the Giants Was Win Games, Including a Super Bowl, So the Raiders Aren't Asking Their New Quarterback to Do Anything New

By LONNIE WHITE

July 15, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Jeff Hostetler could never do enough to please the New York Giants.

He led them to a Super Bowl championship, but he was always fighting for a job.

Three days into the Raiders’ training camp at Oxnard, Hostetler has become a quarterback who can do no wrong.

“I have a new beginning here,” said Hostetler, 32, who signed a three-year contract for $7.5 million with the Raiders in March. “It’s like a breath of fresh air.”

The Raiders are a team in transition, promoting a new attitude, thanks to the arrival of Hostetler.

With last year’s starter, Jay Schroeder, gone to Cincinnati, and Todd Marinovich demoted, the Raiders are counting on Hostetler.

“I really like Jeff,” Coach Art Shell said after the Raiders’ second day of training camp. “He has really picked up the system well. You just have to show Jeff something once and he picks it up. He’s coming along very well.”

Hostetler’s ability to win attracted the Raiders, who have missed the playoffs five times in the last seven years. He had a 19-9 record as a starter for the Giants, including 12 of the team’s last 14 victories and a victory in Super Bowl XXV.

The Raiders also liked his accuracy and low

interception rate. In 1991, Hostetler set a Giant record with a completion rate of 62.8%, and last season he set a team record for fewest interceptions with three. Raider quarterbacks had a 49.5% completion rate and 23 interceptions.

Five years ago, the Raiders acquired another quarterback who was not a fan favorite with his former team.

Jay Schroeder, meet Jeff Hostetler.

In 1988, the Raiders, fresh off a 5-10 record, made a deal to get Schroeder from Washington. In his four seasons with the Redskins, Schroeder had won 24 of the 31 games he started.

In Los Angeles, however, Schroeder never caught on.

Now, it’s Hostetler’s turn.

“I think that everything is different here now, based on what I’ve heard from guys who have been with the team,” Hostetler said. “There is a long list of things the guys have told me that is different now. With the older guys gone, younger guys are filling in and that brings excitement, which is catchy. Everyone is committed to win now.”

Hostetler said he did not feel that commitment from the Giants, whose new coach, Dan Reeves, told him to find a different team.

Reeves, who took over from Ray Handley, did not want a quarterback combination of Phil Simms and Hostetler. When Reeves decided on Simms, Hostetler was free to go.

Even though he was disappointed with Reeves’ decision, Hostetler will not miss the pressure of playing for New York.

“The last two years in New York were a struggle because there was a lot of internal turmoil that just killed us,” Hostetler said. “You were always being scrutinized. It was tough on the individual. It was tough on the team. It was tough for on your family.”

Simms said they had not talked since Hostetler left the Giants.

“We had a good relationship when he was here,” Simms said, “but over the last couple of years, the whole scrutiny of the situation put a strain on our personal relationship.

“I think moving to L.A. was a great move for him. I was just fortunate that the decision went my way.”

Hostetler joined the Giants in 1984 as a third-round draft pick from West Virginia. He did not throw a pass in the regular season until 1988 and did not have a long stretch of playing time until Simms, the MVP of the Giants’ Super Bowl victory in 1987, broke his right foot in December of 1990.

With Hostetler, the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl with a 20-19 victory over Buffalo in which he completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown.

The next season, Handley replaced Bill Parcells as coach and named Hostetler the starter. But he was injured early and alternated with Simms the next two seasons.

“It was chaotic there, where if you had a good week, you were off death row for a little while,” Hostetler said. “If you had a bad game, you had to put on that extra layer of thick skin.”

When he began shopping around for a new team, he did not consider rejoining Parcells at New England, because “I didn’t want to play somewhere where the weather was worse than New York’s,” Hostetler said.

He decided on the Raiders because they wanted him, despite having a shot at other quarterbacks, including Boomer Esiason, Jim Harbaugh and Bobby Hebert.

Over the last few seasons, the Raiders have been criticized for having a predictable offense. Former Raider running back Eric Dickerson said Tuesday that opponents joked about the attack last season.

“This will be a big change for the Raiders in that Jeff is not one to take chances,” Simms said. “He’s the kind that will move around and do everything he can, but he will not throw an interception. The Raiders haven’t had that before.”

Will the offense change to fit Hostetler’s high-percentage passing style, or will Hostetler change to fit the offense?

“I’m used to playing in a system that emphasizes not making mistakes,” Hostetler said. “But you play the way that best fits your personnel. In New York, you tried to have a ball-control offense because of the weather in late November and December games. But here, you want to open up the field to take advantage of all the talent you have.”

Said Shell: “He hasn’t played a lot, but he’s been to the promised land: the Super Bowl. And he did it with his running and also throwing the ball. We haven’t had that here. Vince (Evans) is the only guy we had who could do that.

“Before now, that hasn’t been a quality we looked for, but the game has changed and you need someone now who can get out of the pocket. We’ll be more aggressive throwing the football. We’ll be putting it up a little more.”

What excites Hostetler is the speed of the receivers.

The Raiders’ receiver depth chart looks like a track team: Willie Gault, Sam Graddy, Alexander Wright, Tim Brown, Daryl Hobbs, James Jett and, possibly, Raghib (Rocket) Ismail.

“It’s great because there are so many fast receivers here, and the Raiders love to use them,” Hostetler said. “I remember watching them on film last year and seeing them just send guys flying down the field on streaks the first play of the game. It’s something that just stuck in my mind.”

So far, Hostetler has fit in well with his new teammates.

“He has brought a new attitude to the team,” said Hobbs, who was on the Raiders’ developmental squad last year. “He is a very positive person, and we needed a change. Everyone is upbeat and excited about working with him to get better. I know I was.”

No one knows how long the honeymoon will last. But when the Raider veterans arrive Friday, one thing is certain: They will not have to look hard for their quarterback.