ALAMEDA – DeAngelo Hall came to Oakland as a high-priced free-agent acquisition with the reputation of a malcontent as well as a shutdown cornerback.
Four games into Hall's Raiders career, neither rep has come to fruition.
Not when opposing quarterbacks have picked on him from the first snap of the season or he gives receivers a huge cushion, sometimes playing off them about 10 yards, and not with how happy he is in silver and black.
His play, the two-time Pro Bowl pick said, will return in time because he is getting healthy after dealing with ankle and hand injuries.
The rest of it? Hall said he would speak well of the Raiders to try and get other players to sign with Oakland.
"I'm a big-time recruiter," he said. "So you can best believe, if we have some money to spend, I'll damn sure be recruiting. I was like that in college."
That would be the opposite of retired defensive lineman Warren Sapp, who recently ripped the Raiders and owner Al Davis on Showtime's "Inside the NFL."
"Nobody tells you how bad it is," Sapp said. "… Any person that calls me on the telephone, (I tell them), 'Do not go anywhere near Oakland.' "
It seemed quarterbacks were telling each other to throw in Hall's direction early, especially after Denver lit him up in a 41-14 Monday night massacre to open the season. After the game, Hall said Denver simply outschemed Oakland.
But Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler said: "We played one-on-one football with them; we didn't outscheme them. Eddie Royal beat DeAngelo Hall time after time after time."
Said Hall: "The whole Denver game, I don't think I pressed one time. I wasn't comfortable with the grass, the baseball field and all that. I feel good now. There's grass out there. The hand feels a lot better, the ankle feels good. Everything feels good.
"So I'm up there pressing, having fun and trying to make as many plays as I can."
Kick away? – A year ago, the Raiders challenged Chicago's Devin Hester and held the electrifying returner to 14 yards on six punts. This weekend looms New Orleans' Reggie Bush, who returned two punts for touchdowns against Minnesota on Monday night.
"Bush is a heck of a football player, and you've got to respect that," Raiders interim coach Tom Cable said. "At the same time, there's a bunch of (very good) football players on this team. We'll play the game on Sunday, and we'll kick the football. … That's all we can do."
Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556.
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