JaMarcus Russell has had a rocky stint in the NFL since being drafted. The former #1 overall pick with a massive contract hasn’t met expectations. On top of that, people have criticized him for his weight and lack of commitment. JaMarcus is attempting to change all of that by getting in shape and Raiders exec Willie Brown says people will be “surprised” when they see him.
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Terrell Owens isn’t exactly a hot commodity right now. His visit to Cincinnati was delayed by a day and then the team signed Antonio Bryant to a long-term deal. T.O. is still without a team and now he may be forced to take whatever he can get. That may include a stint with the Raiders.
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There’s a point in the decision-making spectrum where loyalty, logic, and stupidity all meet. Apparently, that’s where the minds of Raiders’ management were on Wednesday. Oakland locked up a player that they believe is key to their success. Too bad he’s a long snapper and they paid him WAY too much money.
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JaMarcus Russell is a rich man. He’s also a man that’s as proud as he is lazy. So you can understand how he was devastated when he learned he was no longer starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. After he was benched, he had been avoiding the media… until now.
Russell spoke to Tim Kawakami (you can follow him on twitter) of the San Jose Mercury News. In the interview, he admits that he was embarrassed to lose his job to Bruce Gradkowski. He says that losing the job has been a learning experience and is kind of like redshirting in college. Except he’s collecting a fat paycheck for it in the pros. Somewhere in the middle, J-Marc drops the tidbit that he has no intention of restructuring his monster contract either. He also reveals that he’s not sure if his benching is permanent saying:
Uh, I’m not sure. If that’s the road they want to take, then, hey, we have to go out and fight our butts off to be that guy.
Russell also seems to indicate he thinks the receivers have been responsible for his prolonged stay on the bench. At no point does the former LSU QB admit the Bruce Gradkowski is doing well. Instead, he chooses to focus on everybody else:
Now it’s just all around. Guys are just making plays around him.
In the Dallas game after you go out and win in Cincinnati there weren’t plays really made the whole game, you know what I mean.
Going into Pittsburgh, guys were making plays for him. That’s what a quarterback needs, his surrounding players. That’s what was going on.
Clearly, JaMarcus Russell isn’t mature enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. The guy can’t even process the fact that he’ll be an afterthought soon. Though J-Marc disagrees with that assessment. Here’s what JaMarcus thinks people will see when he regains his starting gig:
Tags: al davis, bruce gradkowksi, football, jamarcus russell, NFL, oakland raiders, quarterbacks, starting quarterback, tom cableA totally different JaMarcus. People going to have their opinion, and I really don’t pay too much attention to that. I worry about JaMarcus and JaMarcus only.
Michael Vick might seem like a good fit on the Eagles. But there’s a good chance he won’t be with the team next year. Vick’s own words and salary requirements indicate that he might move to a new team in 2010.
When asked about returning to the Eagles in 2010, Michael Vick said it would be “an everyday struggle” and that he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as a Wildcat guy. He’s also due a massive $5.2 million if Philadelphia picks up his team option next year. As a result, it’s highly unlikely that Vick would return to the team for a second season.
Tony Dungy recently mentioned that Buffalo could be a destination for Vick. They had engaged in initial negotiations with the former Falcon’s quarterback before he signed with the Eagles. Dungy also says that teams thin at QB such as Cleveland, St. Louis, and Washington could be interested in Vick.
There’s no way that Cleveland hands over the reins to Vick since they pay so much money to Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. Even if they get rid of Quinn, Anderson makes around $8 million per year and it would be tough to pay him that much to be a backup (again). St. Louis and Washington both seem like teams that need to start over with rookie quarterbacks. Other than those teams, the Raiders and Panthers could be options. Though Dungy has previously mentioned that he advised Vick against considering Oakland. Buffalo seems like it could be the best fit.
But don’t rule the Vikings out of the Michael Vick sweepstakes. If Favre doesn’t come back (but I think he will), Vick could be a great option for a team that’s already solid on both sides of the ball. A Favre-less Vikings team could easily cover Vick’s contract since Favre is due about $10 million next year. Another interesting potential fit would be in Tennessee. Vince Young is due upwards of $4 million in a roster bonus and $7.5 million in salary for 2010. Unless the Titans decide he’s the quarterback of the future or restructure his deal, it would be extremely difficult to pay that price for a mediocre quarterback.
Tags: brett favre, buffalo bills, cleveland browns, contract, football, free agent, michael vick, NFL, oakland raiders, option, philadelphia eagles, st. louis rams, vince young, washington redskins
Mark Sanchez solved his hot dog problem with more hot dogs. The New York Jets quarterback donated 1000 hot dogs and hamburgers to the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown.
If you didn’t know, Sanchez discreetly scarfed a hot dog during the Jets’ last game against the Raiders. Media types were critical of Sanchez for sneaking a wiener on the sidelines. The Jets official blog post notes that Sanchez made the donation through A&P, a sponsor of the team.
The Jets QB has apologized for the hot dog incident and said that it won’t happen again. There’s no word on how JaMarcus Russell plans to apologize for his shameful display on Sunday.
Tags: a&p, community soup kitchen of morristown, football, hot dogs, mark sanchez, new york jets, NFL, oakland raidersTo immortalize Mark Sanchez “hot doggin’ it” on the sidelines in Oakland, we present to you the Mark Sanchez hot dog animated GIF. It’s hypnotic, isn’t it? Use it wisely.
The JaMarcus Russell Era officially began as soon as Tom Cable named Russell his starter for the September 14th Monday night season opener. Jeff Garcia had a calf injury that kept him from competing for the job. Cable gave JaMarcus an amazingly half-assed endorsement stating:
“I’ve said that it’s his job and we’ll see how it goes,” Cable said. “Unfortunately, Jeff hasn’t had much work. We’ve been fortunate in that JaMarcus has improved. It would have been nice to have someone really pushing him. Maybe we could get him to improve a little bit more.”
It’s hard to say there’s a lot of confidence in that declaration. With number one receiver Chaz Schilens on the shelf, the Raiders probably won’t have much of an aerial game to begin with. It could be another bad year in Oakland if JaMarcus Russell doesn’t step up in a hurry.
The Raiders opened training camp with non-contact drills only and many people called them soft. The team began full-contact drills on August 3rd, but Tom Cable got into the action a two days later. According to FanHouse, the Raiders head coach allegedly sucker punched defensive assistant Randy Hanson. FanHouse also reports that “Hanson never saw it coming” and that one source indicated Hanson may have a broken jaw. Maybe Hanson reminded him that he coached the Raiders — I’m sure that would piss off a lot of people. Too bad facepunches won’t make JaMarcus Russell less fat or give DHB the ability to catch balls.
Via FanHouse:
Tags: crime, football, NFL, oakland raiders, randy hanson, tom cable, training campThe always volatile Oakland Raiders are now fighting amongst themselves — in the coaching ranks, no less.
According to a report Monday on the Web site National Football Post, Raiders defensive assistant Randy Hanson was punched in the jaw by another member of the team’s coaching staff during an Aug. 5 altercation at Oakland’s training camp headquarters at the Napa Valley Marriott.
Multiple NFL and Raiders sources have confirmed the victim of the alleged assault was Hanson, a third-year assistant who is in his first season with the team under the title “assistant coach-defense.” Two NFL sources have told FanHouse the attacker was Raiders’ first-year head coach Tom Cable, and “that Hanson never saw it coming.”
Neither Hanson nor the coach who threw the punch were identified in a Napa, Calif., police report taken Aug. 6 at Queen of the Valley Hospital. But one well-placed NFL source told FanHouse of the attacker: “It’s a well-known coach. Very well-known.”
Pressed to confirm the identity of the attacker, the source said, “It was Cable who hit him.”
According to Napa Police Lt. Brian McGovern, police followed procedure in responding to the downtown Napa hospital when Hanson arrived to receive treatment for what was described as an injured jaw.
X-rays were taken. The results are not known, although one NFL source told FanHouse Hanson sustained a fractured jaw as a result of the punch.
JaMarcus Russell showed up at training camp last year pushing three bills. Who can blame him? He has $29 million in the bank. In 2009, JaMarcus has attempted to show new commitment to football. He held a “receivers camp” in his off-season home of Alabama. It was attended by Louis Murphy and a handful of guy I’ve never heard of. So much for that idea. Russell even came to camp this year closer to his listed weight of 270.
However, seeing pictures of JaMarcus in training camp makes me doubt his conditioning. He seems to be practicing with a nylon pullover under his jersey and socks pulled up all the way. It almost seems like he’s trying to sweat off his extra pounds. He also looks like a fool. It’s not THAT cold in Napa, where the Raiders are holding pre-season camp. In May, JaMarcus had similarly ridiculous get-up. He wore a long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt over it — both underneath his jersey. I’m not exactly sure why JaMarcus chooses to suit up in such random attire. It’s probably has something to do with UnderArmour not wanting a fat guy to wear their gear. There are pictures of JaMarcus from training camp and mini camp after the jump.
Via NBC Bay Area:
Tags: football, jamarcus russell, mini camp, NFL, oakland raiders, training camp, weightThe problem now that the Raiders have opened training camp is that we’re really seeing more of JaMarcus Russell.
The Oakland Trib’s Jerry McDonald quoted Russell Thursday on his Twitter feed admitting that he’s reporting to training camp a little heftier than he ought to be. “I’m probably a little heavy,” JaMarcus reportedly said. “But I’m not 300 pounds like you all said last year.”
Whoa, did we really say he was 300 pounds last year? It turns out that we in the predominantly Raider-hating sports media did, in fact, peddle that very rumor prior to the 2008 season. Don Banks wrote in his Sports Illustrated column in March of 2008 that, “there are rumors that (Russell is) close to 300 pounds and not exactly prepared for his close-up.”
David White tries to guess JaMarcus current weight, carnival-booth style, in his San Francisco Chronicle blog. “Someone suggested he looks about 278 pounds,” White remarks. “I’d take the under on that by 2-3 pounds.” White also notes that Russell’s playing weight is listed as 270.
