There Was No Excuse for Schroeder’s Season : Raiders: Quarterback was hurting in 1989, but he’s feeling good and working hard now.

Practice had been over for almost half an hour, but quarterback Jay Schroeder was still on the field. Although wide receivers Mervyn Fernandez and Sam Graddy wanted to end the session, Schroeder was determined to throw more passes.

Mike White, the Raider quarterback coach, hopes Schroeder’s work ethic will translate into a successful season.

“I’m impressed with Jay’s attitude,” White said. “I think he’s made a real commitment to improve. If you’ve watched the last couple of days, he’s still out after every practice and wants more work. He’s looking for people to catch the ball.

“Mechanically, which is my role, he’s improved, and now he’s got to apply it to the system and get it polished up.”

Schroeder suffered through a terrible season in 1989, losing his job to Steve Beuerlein. Schroeder, who completed only 46.9% of his passes, threw for 1,550 yards with eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was 4-5 as a starter.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way for Schroeder, acquired from the Washington Redskins in exchange for tackle Jim Lachey in 1988. Despite winning 24 of 31 starts in Washington, Schroeder lost his job to Doug Williams and was traded to the Raiders.

Although Schroeder has been unsuccessful with the Raiders, they apparently haven’t lost faith in him, signing him to a $1.1-million, one-year contract last week.

Is Schroeder out to prove that his first two seasons in Los Angeles were an aberration?

“He’s got a lot of pride and he wants to show people the kind of quarterback he is,” White said. “He seems to be the kind of guy that accepts responsibility himself. And that’s a start. He realizes that it’s up to him. And in my experience with quarterbacks, that’s important. One thing about quarterbacks is that no one wants to hear excuses.”

Although Schroeder suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder when he was blindsided by San Diego linebacker Leslie O’Neal on the first play of the Raiders’ 1989 season-opener and said the injury never healed, he refused to offer that as an excuse.

“I never will make excuses,” Schroeder said. “I played on a bad knee for a while, and I played with a bad shoulder. You’re going to have injuries, but you’ve got to play. There’s no sense complaining about it because nobody wants to hear it.”

Schroeder moved from El Segundo to Poway over the winter, where he worked by himself to improve.

“I did a lot of the training on my own because I know what I have to do to get ready,” Schroeder said. “I worked on my dropbacks and my footwork.”

After losing 10 pounds, Schroeder, 6-4 and 210, hopes to have improved his quickness.

Although he lost his job to Beuerlein last season, Schroeder has won it back by default, since a contract dispute has kept Beuerlein out of training camp.

Does Schroeder think he will be able to retain the starting job once Beuerlein is signed?

“I’m not worried about it,” Schroeder said. “I’m not worried about who’s No. 1. You’re here to compete and that’s all. This game is based on competition. You’ve got to do it every year.”

Dissatisfied with Schroeder’s performance last season, there was speculation that the Raiders would try to trade for New Orleans quarterback Bobby Hebert. But the deal never took place.

“It doesn’t matter who’s here,” Schroeder said. “They can bring in anybody in the world, and if you get a fair shot, then it’s on your shoulder. That’s what I like about it. The bottom line rests with me. I have to do what I can do.”

Raider Notes

Defensive end Lyle Alzado, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove torn cartilage from his left knee Friday, is expected to return in six weeks, said Dr. Robert Rosenfeld, who performed the surgery. “I went to the hospital this morning to see him, and they told me he had left,” Rosenfeld said. “If he’s walking around without crutches like I hear, his prognosis is good.”

Coach Art Shell was pleased after putting his team through a non-contact controlled scrimmage that was marred by penalties Saturday morning. “I’m satisfied with where we are and where we’re headed,” Shell said. “I feel good about our football team. I think our fans are going to see an exciting brand of football.” . . . Tailback Marcus Allen, practicing for the first time since he ended his holdout Friday, had three carries for seven yards in the scrimmage, and quarterback Jay Schroeder threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tim Brown. . . . Although defensive end Greg Townsend had hoped to accompany the Raiders to London for their Aug. 5 exhibition against New Orleans, it now appears unlikely because he’s still unsigned.