PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Wisniewski Gives Maryland Lesson

One of the fiercest battles in the joint training camp at Austin, Tex., has been between guard Steve Wisniewski of the Raiders and tackle Russell Maryland of the Dallas Cowboys.

The two scuffled Tuesday and were battling again Wednesday. Although no punches were thrown, Wisniewski clearly won most of the exchanges.

“Wis is a Pro Bowl player who’s taken his game to another level,” Raider Coach Art Shell said. “The work has been good for both sides, though. Russell Maryland gets a chance to play against one of the best, and that enables him to see how far he has to go.”

There have been other heated exchanges between the Raiders and Cowboys.

“These are two teams that don’t really care for one another,” Raider defensive lineman Bob Golic said. “It can get a little heated. People love trying to make a reputation off us.”

One reason the Raiders came to Austin was to play in extreme heat and humidity. Instead, they have experienced overcast skies, two days of rain and temperatures 10 degrees below the summer average.

“The players love it like this,” Shell said. “I’m just glad we had some hot weather last week in Oxnard.”

If the Raiders are getting close to settling on a starting quarterback, Shell isn’t letting on. Asked if the Jay Schroeder-Todd Marinovich battle would be decided during exhibition games, the coach wouldn’t budge.

“We do things a little different,” he said. “Everyone is in a hurry to make changes at quarterback. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to make changes. We’ll make that decision based on what’s good for our football team.”

For now, Schroeder remains No. 1 on the depth chart.