Keeping His Head in the Game : Marinovich Says He’s Blocking Out Distractions and Focusing on Football

Quarterback Todd Marinovich of the Raiders is convinced that some people would like to see him fail.

“There’s a lot of people out there that don’t want to see me do well,” he said the other day.

Why is that?

“Jealousy,” Marinovich said. “I don’t know. If I spent all my time thinking about it, it would drive me crazy.”

Marinovich managed to retain his sanity even when ESPN reported in April that he had spent six weeks in a rehabilitation clinic after failing an NFL drug test for an unspecified substance at the Raider-Kansas City Chief playoff game in December.

Marinovich didn’t comment initially on the report, which was denied by his agent, Tom Condon.

Shortly after the ESPN report, Marinovich was cleared on misdemeanor charges for possession of cocaine and marijuana in Orange County Municipal Court after he had completed a one-year diversion program for first-time offenders.

Susanne S. Shaw, the judge who issued the ruling, also dismissed the ESPN report.

“There is absolutely no proof he has done anything except what he was asked to do,” Shaw said. “I don’t know who started the ugly rumors, but I’m glad he completed the terms of his program and I wish him the best.”

Here at Raider camp, Marinovich said of the ESPN report: “It wasn’t true. I thought it would be easier to let it blow over without a comment, and it did. The main thing is that they want a reaction. If you don’t give them one, then they’ll let it die away.

“It bothered me for a day or two, but then you’ve got to move on. If you think about what people think of you for too long, it will drive you crazy. The only thing that matters to me is my close friends, my teammates and my family. The thing I got caught up in is trying to please everyone, and that’s impossible.

“The stories (about him) are really amazing. It’s a thing that I’ve got to get used to, even if they’re untrue. That’s what they pay you for, to deal with this. It’s not the game of football, that’s the fun part. It’s dealing with a lot of the BS that goes along with it.”

Marinovich would prefer to concentrate on football.

Suspended from the USC football team by Coach Larry Smith after the 1990 season for missing a meeting and failing to register for classes, Marinovich decided to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at USC and made himself available for the 1991 NFL draft. He was the 24th player selected.

He sat out the Raiders’ first 15 regular-season games, then started the last two, both against the Chiefs, in place of Jay Schroeder, who had sprained ankles.

Marinovich completed 23 of 40 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-21 victory at the Coliseum.

The next week, in the opening round of the playoffs, he completed 12 of 23 passes for 140 yards and no touchdowns and had four passes intercepted in a 10-6 defeat at Kansas City.

Does Marinovich believe he deserves to start this season?

“I don’t know how the coaches see the situation,” he said. “You’ll have to ask Coach (Art) Shell. I don’t think it’s anyone’s job right now. They told us that we have to come in here and compete for every position on the team.

“Hopefully, I know I’m going to see some time this year (in exhibition games), which I didn’t last year. I got into a quarter of one game. But they said I’m going to get a lot of time in the preseason. That’s all I can ask for.”

Shell said that Schroeder remains the starter and Marinovich the backup.

But Shell also said that Marinovich has progressed since last season.

“He understands things a lot better than he did last year,” Shell said. “Everything was totally new to him last year. He has a better understanding of what we’re doing and what we’re looking for in our running game and our passing game.

“It’s amazing what a little bit of patience and time can do for you. It takes time to organize it and put it in your head.”

Marinovich got a head start on Schroeder by reporting here with the rookies Sunday. Although the veterans are to report today, Schroeder is unsigned.

Marinovich says he needs to get better at reading defensive coverages.

“Last year in those last two games, I was just going out and throwing it,” he said. “It worked for one week, but at this level you can’t play like that. I thought I could just go like I had my whole life, in high school and college, and just throw to the open guy. But there’s so much more to it than that, which I’m starting to learn.

“My physical ability is fine. I know I can play in the NFL. But the mental part is what I’ve got to work on. I never got into that when I was in college or even in my first year, when it was just enough being in the NFL.

“Now I’ve got to stress studying our own system and knowing that like the back of my hand. That’s really what it’s all about at this level.”

Marinovich, 6 feet 4, said he has gained 25 pounds, to 223, through a weightlifting program during the off-season.

“I feel a lot better,” he said. “It’s helping my throwing because I’m getting more velocity.”

When Marinovich wasn’t working out, studying the Raider playbook or watching film, he escaped to the beach in pursuit of the perfect wave to surf, traveling the California coast and then to Las Hadas, Mexico, a small resort, for a week’s vacation before training camp opened.

Aren’t the Raiders worried that Marinovich could suffer an injury surfing?

“Surprisingly, they don’t mind it,” Marinovich said. “They asked me, jokingly, how the waves were.”