JaMarcus Russell News

Raiders' Russell should take a day off
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November 9
San Jose Mercury News
 columnist Tim Kawakami
"Just like so many thousands of smart football fans who made other plans, JaMarcus Russell should excuse himself from the latest scheduled beat down of the Raiders today. Sit out. Rest the aching right knee that significantly limited Russell's practice time. Shut down. Be smart. Try again next time, or next team. (Sadly, if Russell doesn't play today, in steps Andrew Walter, the last young Raiders quarterback to get blown to alexsmithereens - a new medical term - by general incompetence around him.) It's just not worth it for Russell to get whacked around when he's less than 100 percent, when he has no explosive receivers and when the Raiders are pretending that Kwame Harris or Mario ..."
Russell, McFadden sitting it out
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November 7
Oakland Tribune
 
"JaMarcus Russell slowly made his way on to the field Friday, without a helmet and not in uniform, as the Raiders completed warmups and a special teams session before practice for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers at the Coliseum. Russell missed the end of Thursday’s practice with what coach Tom Cable said was right knee tendonitis, a move the coach said was purely precautionary. “We just kind of did it just to hold him back,” Cable said. “He did a great (job) today, so the last eight reps weren’t going to matter.” The Friday practice is typically heavy in red zone drills and final game plan preparation, with Saturday reserved for a walkthrough with very little activity. Andrew ..."
Russell bellies up to a rotten game
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November 3
San Francisco Chronicle
 
"JaMarcus Russell swallowed the most fruitless meal of his adult life Sunday, a 24-0 loss to the Falcons at the Oakland Coliseum. The score-free serving was short on key nutrients such as first downs and passing yards. But, Raiders coach Tom Cable made sure young Russell ate every last bite. In some places, quarterbacks get excused from the table early in such blowouts, with their backups coming into the game to clean off the plate. Not here, not with Cable. "No, I think this is part of the maturation process and part of his process to grow," Cable said. It's not like Russell played much at all. The offense was on the field for a mostly lousy 14 minutes, 45 seconds. He completed 6 of 19 ..."
JaMarcus a bust? Stats say he's not
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November 3
Sacramento Bee
 
"A growing uneasiness percolates in Raider Nation. The "B" word - bust - has yet to creep into the vernacular of Silver and Blackdom when it comes to the play of purported franchise quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Nor should it. But impatient, pacing observers are waiting for "The Chosen One," as Russell has tattooed on his left arm, to become the "Second Coming" and lead the Raiders to the Promised Land. Like yesterday. Even if the No. 1 overall pick from the 2007 draft is in his first full NFL season. Consider: On Fox Sports Net's "Pro Football Preview," host Jay Glazer wondered if he was crazy to say Atlanta rookie quarterback Matt Ryan will have a better career than Russell. Ryan and the ..."
JaMarcus a bust? Stats say he's not
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November 2
Sacramento Bee
 
"A growing uneasiness percolates in Raider Nation. The "B" word - bust - has yet to creep into the vernacular of Silver and Blackdom when it comes to the play of purported franchise quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Nor should it. But impatient, pacing observers are waiting for "The Chosen One," as Russell has tattooed on his left arm, to become the "Second Coming" and lead the Raiders to the Promised Land. Like yesterday. Even if the No. 1 overall pick from the 2007 draft is in his first full NFL season. Consider: On Fox Sports Net's "Pro Football Preview," host Jay Glazer wondered if he was crazy to say Atlanta rookie quarterback Matt Ryan will have a better career than Russell. Ryan and the ..."
Ravens have Russell feeling the heat
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October 27
Baltimore Sun
 
"The Ravens' defense had a few words for Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. "At one point in the first half, [linebacker] Ray Lewis came over to me and told me: 'You need to protect yourself. Go down when you're going to get hit,'." Russell recalled. It's difficult to tell whether the Ravens' sentiments were sincere, but Russell's account illustrated the success the defense enjoyed in applying pressure in the team's 29-10 win over the Raiders at M"
Without the kid gloves, quarterback Russell might grow into a man
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October 27
San Francisco Chronicle
 columnist Nancy Gay
"We've been calling JaMarcus Russell a rookie quarterback (with an asterisk) for a long time now, 20 NFL games. Granted, he has played in only 11 of those and started in eight. It's time to quit using that as an excuse. No more rationalization. He's in the middle of his second NFL season and Russell wants to play like a veteran. Let him. Let him take his lumps like he did in Sunday's 29-10 loss to the Ravens and their No. 2-ranked defense, the NFL's best against the pass. Let Russell take a sack for a first-quarter safety at M"
Raiders QB's career start about the norm, even for a No. 1
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October 19
Contra Costa Times
 
"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman lost his first six starts as a rookie in 1989. Same goes for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning in 2004. Eli's older brother Peyton went 1-5 in his first six starts for the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Needless to say, those three quarterbacks survived the growing pains in fine shape. They emerged as polished quarterbacks sporting Super Bowl rings and, in the case of Aikman, a yellow Pro Football Hall of Fame blazer. Yet, for every Aikman, there's a Tim Couch, who flamed out in a hurry. For every Manning, there's a David Carr, who is hanging on to a clipboard and his NFL career these days. Every quarterback selected No. 1 in the NFL draft gets ..."
Maybe Russell can take page from Favre's book
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October 19
Sacramento Bee
 
"New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre didn't carve out a career by doing things as his coaches drew them up. Instead, it's those improvised big plays when Favre had a hunch his receiver would know when to break off a route early that endeared him to Green Bay fans for 16 seasons. Jets fans are learning to appreciate such plays. They come down to trust and chemistry, two things Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell is in the early stages of developing with his receivers six starts into his NFL career. That process continues today when the Raiders host the Jets at the Oakland Coliseum. Raiders receiver Javon Walker spent his first four seasons with Favre in Green Bay. Favre let Walker know ..."
Raiders' Cable to scale back on Russell
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October 14
Contra Costa Times
 
"Beating the New Orleans Saints on Sunday was Tom Cable's primary objective in his first game as Raiders coach. To that end, the trip was an abject failure. Not all was lost, however. Cable said he gleaned valuable insight into the status of quarterback JaMarcus Russell's development. "We really found out a lot about where he is," Cable said in his weekly news conference Monday. "And it's obvious he's still in a stage of development. It's obvious maybe he can't handle that much." Cable instructed offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to install a game plan that involved more passing plays than that of the first four games. Russell attempted 35 passes and completed only 13 in the Raiders' 34-3 ..."
Unhappy Homecoming
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October 13
New Orleans Times-Picayune
 
"Former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell certainly looks the part of a big-time NFL quarterback. He is big, strong, agile and possesses a howitzer for an arm, all good reasons why the Oakland Raiders took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. However, he did not play the part Sunday, clearly taking a back seat to Saints counterpart Drew Brees in the Raiders' 34-3 loss at the Superdome. Brees compiled a sizzling 144.4 passer rating after completing 26 of 30 passes for 320 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Russell struggled to find his comfort zone, completing 13 of 35 passes for 159 yards with no touchdowns and one interception for a 40.1 passer rating. It ..."
Erratic Russell, receivers not in sync
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October 13
Contra Costa Times
 
"Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell entered Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints with only one interception in his first 99 pass attempts this season. Only three starting quarterbacks had a lower percentage of passes intercepted - Jason Campbell, Chad Pennington and Eli Manning. Russell's lone interception came on a short pass that hit off running back Darren McFadden's hands and ended up in the hands of a San Diego Chargers defender. On Sunday, the Saints defense intercepted Russell on his 18th pass and dropped five passes that missed the mark. Raiders coach Tom Cable said several things went into Russell's erratic throws. "Some of them can be a (wrong) route and some of them can ..."
Raiders' Russell rather aimless
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October 13
San Francisco Chronicle
 columnist Scott Ostler
"To whom can JaMarcus Russell turn now? His phone-a-friend lifeline didn't work so well. Whatever advice the Raiders' quarterback got when 86'd coach Lane Kiffin phoned him last week didn't seem to come in handy Sunday. Russell had a remarkably bad day in a 34-3 loss to the Saints. Maybe it's unfair to ask this question so early in his pro career, but here we go: What if Russell is a scatter arm? What if that huge right arm of his is a bazooka in the hands of Mr. Magoo? It's not like being the first pick in the draft guarantees you NFL success, as I mentioned Sunday morning to the waiter in the French Quarter serving my beignets, Alex Smith. Slack must be cut, though, because Sunday was ..."
Russell enjoyed playing for Kiffin
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October 3
San Francisco Chronicle
 
"For a 23-year-old guy who has started just five games in the NFL, JaMarcus Russell is remarkably cool under fire. This can't be easy for a youngster. A couple of days earlier, the team's owner said the former head coach hadn't wanted to take Russell with the top pick in the 2007 draft. The Raiders quarterback said Thursday he and Lane Kiffin had a great relationship. As for owner Al Davis' contention during his Tuesday news conference that Kiffin wanted to take somebody else, he said, "It just kind of came out of nowhere. I really don't think myself, or coach Kiffin, or anybody else were looking for that to come out that way." Was it true? "I don't know," Russell said. "I really don't. It ..."
Russell in center of things