Walter could go live in Oakland in 2006

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, June 01, 2006  |  Comments( 20 )

Oakland Raiders
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Prior to Andrew Walter's junior season at Arizona State he was asked, "Any significance behind the number 16?"

His response: "I was always a Joe Montana fan. We're different types of players, but I wouldn't mind having the career he had."

It's impractical to relate a zero-experience player to an NFL legend like Joe Montana. Yet, besides sharing identical jersey numbers, a few similarities can loosely thread the two together. Both quarterbacks were third-round draft selections; both quarterbacks began their careers as Bay Area backups.

Following Joe Montana's rookie season, it was "step aside, Steve DeBerg, a new quarterback's in town." Montana dethroned his team's starting quarterback with seven games remaining after a sub par 3-6 start. Then, for the following 14 years, Montana wasn't just a part of NFL history, but was making it.

Andrew Walter will now have an opportunity to jumpstart his historical run in the sophomore season of his own career. A 3-6 start for the 2006 Oakland Raiders' Steve DeBerg--Aaron Brooks--could mean seven games for Andrew Walter. For the sake of the Silver and Black, a mid-season quarterback swap should, at all costs, be avoided. However, for Andrew Walter's sake, 2006 could mean a number 16 revival for Bay Area quarterbacks.

Standing 6-6, 230 pounds in stature, Walter contributed for three seasons at Arizona State. He took over in 2002, throwing for 3,877 yards on 483 attempts for 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. As a junior, Walter actually asked his coaching staff to reduce the number of reps placed on his arm, commenting, "if it makes us better, that's all that matters." That season, the Phoenix-native threw 62 less passes for 3,044 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Finally, on his way to a 9-3 campaign, Walter lit up the 2004 box scores, passing for 3,150 yards while shattering the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 30.

Unfortunately, in his collegiate finale, Walter suffered a third-degree separation to his throwing shoulder against Arizona. Later on, Walter expressed his disappointment, saying "It was terrible. I don't harbor any resentment, but we should've killed U of A that day. And then I would've been sitting in the fourth quarter." In December of that year, Walter underwent surgery to repair his throwing gun; however, faith in the young prospect dropped dramatically by draft day, falling all the way to Raiders third-round slot.

As a rookie, the 24-year-old sat behind starter Kerry Collins and longtime backup, Marques Tuiasosopo. Walter saw no field-action during the regular season, yet provided a preseason spark when given the chance. His most notable preseason effort came in a Bay Area matchup against the 49ers. The third-rounder scampered out of a collapsed pocket, spun away from an oncoming defender and gunned a high touchdown pass above the helmets of two helpless defensive backs.

Heading into 2006, Walter has reportedly recovered from shoulder and groin injuries that have slowed his early NFL career down. Expect this to translate in a lock for the number two slot, which has been held by Marques Tuiasosopo since 2001. Tuiasosopo has thrown for five interceptions and fumbled four times in his career, struggling in just two starts since joining the Oakland Raiders five years ago.

One injury or slip-up by Aaron Brooks, then, could put "16" in the driver's seat.

"Come look at this!" Art Shell yelled to offensive coordinator Tom Walsh. "The kid has a lot of talent, a lot of confidence in his abilities."

That was on videotape.

Before you know it, it will all be live.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com

Get more on Andrew Walter at Realfootball365.com
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 20  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
MANLYMAN		06:20 AM
06/01/2006
The Raiders need discipline, if they can implement some type of consistent regimen then they would be just fine. Their talent...
No.2
Charles		08:03 AM
06/01/2006
It's time... Aaron will get us close to the promised land but it will be Andrew who will lead us in there to conquer and reclaim...
No.3
Mike M.		11:09 AM
06/01/2006
Art Shell isn't great? An 8-time pro bowler, 3 time super bowl champion, named as a starter on John Madden's ALL TIME All-Madden...
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