Tiger Weekly - Serving Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Russell's future looks bleak

Tiger Talk

By Christopher Gordy

The human hand-cannon, also known as quarterback JaMarcus Russell may never live up to the hype of being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. The only problem is that it won't be his fault. The biggest downside to being selected first overall in the 2007 NFL Draft was the fact that he was picked by the Oakland Raiders. This can also be defined as headed to a career graveyard.

While Russell showed some improving statistics late last year in Oakland, decisions and moves by owner Al Davis may prevent Russell from ever progressing as the leader of his franchise. Russell had his best career games at the tail end of last year, passing for 626 yards and six touchdowns over his last three games. He also posted a passer rating of 128.1 against Houston in Week 16, completing 72 percent of his passes. But for the season, Russell only completed 53 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

One could attribute his poor play to Russell not being smart and not understanding what is expected of him. Again, one could argue it was not his fault, having played under two coaches in two seasons. Former Raider coach Lane Kiffin admitted in an interview that he was not a big fan of drafting Russell, which shows Kiffin was not committed to helping Russell develop as a signal caller. Then, the Raiders goofed again by promoting interim coach Tom Cable to head coach. While Cable has some history as an offensive coordinator, the majority of his career has been spent coaching offensive lines. He's not exactly a great quarterback developer. But still, it is up to Russell to take Cable's philosophy to heart and execute it accordingly.

Coming into the draft this past weekend, the Raiders had many needs, but specifically they needed an upgrade at receiver and on the offensive line. The Raiders two leading receivers last season were tight end Zach Miller and receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins. Not exactly Pro Bowlers. And their o-line helped to give up 39 sacks on the season. So in last weekend's draft, owner Al Davis addressed the need of receiver in the first round, but instead of taking the best receiver in Michael Crabtree, he opted to select the dark horse from Maryland, Darius Heyward-Bey. They also added former Florida receiver Louis Murphy in the fourth round. But with their other five draft picks, the Raiders selected a safety, a tight end, and three defensive ends. Not addressing offensive line could prove to be a huge disappointment for Russell this year.

While Russell has a pretty good backfield in running backs Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, and Michael Bush, it won't mean much if they can't get blocking help. So as Russell should have a mediocre year statistically, Tiger fans may have to wait until Russell's contract expires in Oakland before they see him progress as a passer. Because in a few years, Russell will have to switch to another team before he smells any whiff of success on the next level. But again, it won't be his fault.

Originally Published: April 29, 2009

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