Tom Cable seems to already understand what Denver rookie coach Josh McDaniels does not -- you do not ruffle the feathers of the franchise quarterback.

Cable was barely in his seat when the questions about JaMarcus Russell began.

And while Cable made it clear he thinks the world of Russell's potential, he also made it clear that the quarterback has a ways to go and that it would be Russell himself who would have to do the heavy lifting.

"If he can accept the responsibility of being an NFL quarterback ... I think that's working more, working harder, working longer than anybody else, accepting responsibility that his teammates look at him as the face of the organization," Cable said. "He has to go above and beyond almost on a daily basis ... if he can accept that and becomes that, he'll be fine."

Which could be interpreted to mean Russell has not yet accepted those responsibilities. Russell arrived a week later than most of his teammates to the voluntary workout program, and while it's true many other players come later and stay later, showing up on Day 1 would have been a welcome message from the team's most important player.

There were unconfirmed reports that Russell was dealing with a family matter, but he was unavailable for comment, and the Raiders have not had any media access at their facility this offseason other than the day Cable was hired.

Cable said he had conversations about the magnitude of being an NFL starter.

"It's a responsibility greater than any young quarterback recognizes," Cable said. "There have only been a few that handled it well, like Peyton Manning, the kid last year from Atlanta (Matt Ryan), and you could probably put Joe Flacco in that category.

"If you look at it, many had the same kind of path. Year 2, Year 3, then, boom, here it comes. What they have in common is they embraced what it is to be the leader and be 'the guy.'"

Cable attributes whatever shortcomings Russell has shown in the area of work ethic to youth, maintaining a fire burns within a cool exterior.

"He's very driven," Cable said. "He's a very passionate guy. He's very motivated to not be a failure, to not be the kid from Mobile who couldn't get it done. He doesn't want to be that."