Here we go again. Another talented quarterback expected to set the NFL on fire could end up being a bust.
Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell has shown us why the NFL draft is such a crap shoot. Russell, who has the size and the arm to be an outstanding signal caller has been anything but a prodigy.
According to people with knowledge of the situation, his work ethic leaves much to be desired. He doesn’t do the extra things it takes to be a great quarterback, he’s never in shape and he disrespects the Raiders coaching staff.
Following Sunday’s 38-0 shellacking at the hands of the Jets, Russell refused to throw himself under the bus. “I don’t think it’s me personally, I really don’t,” Russell told the LA Times after the game.
Russell completed just 6 of 11 passes for 61 yards and two interceptions in Sunday’s loss. He was mercifully pulled by coach Tom Cable in the third quarter. The numbers don’t always tell the entire story, but Russell has not been good. He’s completing just 46.3 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, eight interceptions and five lost fumbles. To be fair, Russell hasn’t had a lot of help this season, but those numbers are pathetic.
I’ll also be the first one to admit that the Raiders coaching staff and its owner Al Davis are far from perfect. In fact, the Raiders might be the worst franchise in all of professional sports. But Russell has got to want to be the best.
According to what I’ve heard and been told, he doesn’t carry himself like a player who wants to be great. Those things can happen when a player gets millions in guaranteed money before taking his first professional snap. The problem with rookie salaries is another story for another day.
Russell needs to wake up in a hurry before he finds himself out of a job and an after thought.