Hostetler Signing Has Raiders Pumped : Pro football: Shell praises his mobility, but questions remain about the quarterback.

The Raiders were determined to find a quarterback who could go to the air to keep a drive moving.

Jeff Hostetler showed them he was the one--during the drive from the airport.

When Hostetler, a free agent from the New York Giants, flew to Los Angeles for a workout 10 days ago, several Raider officials picked him up at LAX.

But the short drive back to the team’s El Segundo headquarters was interrupted by a flat tire.

No problem. Hostetler pulled off the flat, made sure there was air in the spare and then put it on.

A week later, Hostetler signed a three-year, $7.5-million Raider contract. No connection, of course, but Hostetler says that versatility is always a virtue.

“Through nine years with the Giants,” he said Friday at his first Southland news conference, “I’ve learned, the more you can do, the longer you stay. I figured that wasn’t going to hurt.

“You never know. If you’re traveling on the bus and something happens, at least they can keep me around so that I can change the tires.”

The Raiders, of course, paid all that money for the 31-year-old quarterback to concentrate on drives of a different sort.

Hostetler, who was also sought by the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, comes to the Raiders with several valuable attributes for a team whose offense stalled at too many crucial points last season.

Hostetler led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XXV. He thinks he can repeat that feat in Los Angeles.

“This is a team committed to winning the big one,” he said. “I want to be part of that.”

Hostetler was 19-9 as the Giants’ starter and was the quarterback in 12 of the team’s last 14 victories.

He also brings to the Raiders two other qualities highly valued in a quarterback: accurate passing and mobility.

In 1991, he set a Giant record with a completion rate of 62.8% while having an interception rate of 1.4%, the NFL low. Last season, Hostetler tied another club record, this one for fewest interceptions--three.

Hostetler has also rushed for 1,033 yards, averaging 7.8 per carry, and scored nine rushing touchdowns.

“He has the ability to avoid the pass rush and throw on the run,” Raider Coach Art Shell said. “He has a strong arm and the guy doesn’t throw interceptions. The way the game of football has evolved nowadays, you’ve got to have somebody who can move.”

But Hostetler arrives with question marks as well.

Stuck behind Phil Simms in New York, he has never had to carry a club over a long period. Can he continue to keep up those numbers for a full season?

And can he remain an accurate passer with the Raiders, who will require him to go deep and take more chances?

Several other questions about the Raiders’ quarterbacks seem answered.

Last year’s opening-day starter, Jay Schroeder, is expected to depart soon via the free-agent route.

Vince Evans will go to camp, at 38, as Hostetler’s backup.

And 23-year-old Todd Marinovich will continue to learn from the sidelines.

“Todd has to mature,” Shell said. “Right now, we don’t feel there’s a big push to rush him. We feel we might have pushed him a little too fast last year.”