JaMarcus Russell (1 Viewer)

[Alluro]

Tue, Oct 14 QB JaMarcus Russell, in the three games in which he has failed to complete half of his passes, is 28-for-71 (39.4 percent).

(Yahoo! Sports)

I realize this is only his first year starting but c'mon, the guy can't even complete 50% of his passes. As a dynasty of owner of Mr. Russell I find this striking. His completion percentage at LSU went from 50% as a freshman, to 60.5% as a sophomore, to 67.8% as a junior. Granted, his wr core at LSU was probably better than what he has now, but this guy cannot throw it in the ocean.

Can anyone who watches the Raiders on a regular basis give me some hope here? From my point of view, things are looking bleak.

 

[Bri]

can't watch a Raider game and not think "wow that's poor coaching"

it's hard to evaluate anyone

 

[Smeagol]

I haven't watched him extensively but he seems to lock on to one receiver rather than scan the field. He also needs to work on putting some touch on his passes. Every pass he made was a 100MPH fastball.

 

[Ballstein]

My friends at LSU were all laughing when he was touted as the #1 pick. They said he was erratic. You didnt know what you would get and at times, he looked horrible. One good game thrust him to a very "dumb" uninformed media blitz. Watching this guy, he has the physical tools but he has no accuracy. I think he cant hit the broad side of A barn at times. His receivers get open, he just cant stick it in there. Can A passer become more accurate as A QB at this stage ??who knows

 

[az_prof]

I am not a Russell owner but he is a guy I would like to acquire in dynasty. He is a buy low candidate. The cast of characters around him is pretty dismal. Walker is a total bust. Curry is ok but not great. Russell has a great arm. He did miss one opportunity for a wide open WR on a deep route that would have been a TD last week, but by and large, I think he looks good.

 

[Sake-Bombers]

Tue, Oct 14 QB JaMarcus Russell, in the three games in which he has failed to complete half of his passes, is 28-for-71 (39.4 percent).

(Yahoo! Sports)

I realize this is only his first year starting but c'mon, the guy can't even complete 50% of his passes. As a dynasty of owner of Mr. Russell I find this striking. His completion percentage at LSU went from 50% as a freshman, to 60.5% as a sophomore, to 67.8% as a junior. Granted, his wr core at LSU was probably better than what he has now, but this guy cannot throw it in the ocean.

Can anyone who watches the Raiders on a regular basis give me some hope here? From my point of view, things are looking bleak.

What kind of stat is that (bolded above)? Here's a couple more I came up with in the same vain, then:

In the 2 games this year where Russell has completed more than half his passes, he is 39-for-63 (61.9%). These are the other two games he played besides the three above.

(Sake-Bombers)

In the last 3 games where Russell has completed more than half his passes, including week 17 of last year, he is 62-for-94 (65.9%). These are the last three games he's played not including the ones above.

(Sake-Bombers)

Obviously you'd like him to have more games where he completes at least half his passes vs. games that he doesn't, but come on, that's a weird stat to start proclaiming draft bust on. In all honesty, there's probably better stats to promote that argument if someone wants to promote that.

My opinion is that you can't call him a bust yet. He's still ramping up and needs to be given better WRs. Let's see how the rest of the season plays out, especially the second half of this year and see if he starts putting together more good games than bad games (that last one was a woofer). If we're in the same boat this time next year, then I think we may need to pull out that "bust" label.

Would I want him as my #1 QB in a dynasty league next year? Absolutely not. But is he a good candidate to hang onto, with hopes he may develop into a useful sub by next year and potential starter (or trade bait) by 2010? I think yes.

 

[DarabZarrabi]

FWIW Kiffin never thought much of Russel's abilities either...I've read that multiple times

 

[CalBear]

It is clearly far too early to call him a bust. He's doing at least as well as any other Raider QB has done since Gannon. He's only thrown two INTs in five games. He has a long way to go, but there is obviously potential there, and his situation is atrocious.

 

[Maven]

I think hes done OK for it being his first year.

 

[BigRed]

My friends at LSU were all laughing when he was touted as the #1 pick. They said he was erratic. You didnt know what you would get and at times, he looked horrible. One good game thrust him to a very "dumb" uninformed media blitz. Watching this guy, he has the physical tools but he has no accuracy. I think he cant hit the broad side of A barn at times. His receivers get open, he just cant stick it in there. Can A passer become more accurate as A QB at this stage ??who knows

Exactly. My friends and I who watch college ball also laughed at him drafted so high. Erratic is putting it mildly. Shocked that Davis of all people took a risky QB so high as he's known for not drafting QBs high despite need and the (apparent) talent avail.Sure it's too early to really tell, but I'll be surprised if he pans out. Typical "athletic" QB.

 

[FavreCo]

My friends at LSU were all laughing when he was touted as the #1 pick. They said he was erratic. You didnt know what you would get and at times, he looked horrible. One good game thrust him to a very "dumb" uninformed media blitz. Watching this guy, he has the physical tools but he has no accuracy. I think he cant hit the broad side of A barn at times. His receivers get open, he just cant stick it in there. Can A passer become more accurate as A QB at this stage ??who knows

Exactly. My friends and I who watch college ball also laughed at him drafted so high. Erratic is putting it mildly. Shocked that Davis of all people took a risky QB so high as he's known for not drafting QBs high despite need and the (apparent) talent avail.Sure it's too early to really tell, but I'll be surprised if he pans out. Typical "athletic" QB.

I'm sure Al was dreaming of the vertical game with Russell when he picked him.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I'm sorry, but as someone who watched Russell his whole college career, the guy was a bust the day he was drafted.

No one else found it odd that LSU had one of the best defenses in the country in 2006, missed out on the national championship because of the inadequacies of their offense, and then had 3 offensive players drafted in the 1st round that year?

The guy has a huge arm. That's IT.

 

[cstu]

I'm sorry, but as someone who watched Russell his whole college career, the guy was a bust the day he was drafted.

No one else found it odd that LSU had one of the best defenses in the country in 2006, missed out on the national championship because of the inadequacies of their offense, and then had 3 offensive players drafted in the 1st round that year?



The guy has a huge arm. That's IT.

From watching the Raiders play that's what I'm gathering. His arm is the ultimate tease though.

 

[zamboni]

As others have said, obviously his situation hurts and not everyone emerges on the scene like the kid in Atlanta, but nothing seems to indicate that he has the "it" factor.

 

[Ysatnaf_Gnik]

As others have said, obviously his situation hurts and not everyone emerges on the scene like the kid in Atlanta, but nothing seems to indicate that he has the "it" factor.

As a LSU alumn who's watched every single game he's played in + some practices, I can tell you that in order for him to succeed he needs 2 things:1) A Great OL - If he had the time to pass like ROMO does in Dallas, he would be a STUD...2) A good understanding of the system - LSU is a great evidence here. He really learned the book in his last year and his completion % went up to close to 70%.Give him time. Will he be the best NFL QB drafted in the last 10 years? NO. But once in a STABLE system and with a good OL, he has all the tools to be a top 5-6 QB in this league.

 

[LawFitz]

As others have said, obviously his situation hurts and not everyone emerges on the scene like the kid in Atlanta, but nothing seems to indicate that he has the "it" factor.

As a LSU alumn who's watched every single game he's played in + some practices, I can tell you that in order for him to succeed he needs 2 things:1) A Great OL - If he had the time to pass like ROMO does in Dallas, he would be a STUD...2) A good understanding of the system - LSU is a great evidence here. He really learned the book in his last year and his completion % went up to close to 70%.Give him time. Will he be the best NFL QB drafted in the last 10 years? NO. But once in a STABLE system and with a good OL, he has all the tools to be a top 5-6 QB in this league.

Finally a reasonable posting. You would think in the "shark pool" of all places that environment and supporting cast would play a role in player evaluations but apparently not.Russell is very raw to say the least. He is making rookie reads. He needs to develop more touch on his passes. And his accuracy has been inconsistent. The first two issues I think can get better over time. The last one is my biggest concern but I do think he has footwork issues which can help with the accuracy if corrected.But the biggest issue is his team. The Raiders are an absolute mess and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel now that Kiffin is gone. Big Al will continue to undermine coaches and make poor draft decisions until he is gone. That could be soon or it could be another ten years.

 

[Autumn Wind]

I think he has the tools and potential, but the deck is stacked against him in Oakland. The biggest thing going against him is that now that Kiffin isn't around to thwart Al, the "bombs away" edict is in full effect regardless of how it hurts his development. Al seems to be under the impression that it's still 1967 and he still has Daryle Lamonica under center.

 

[strong]

disagree with those that call his LSU career erratic...

70% completion rate with high ypa = opposite of erratic

having watched him a few games this year i think he'll be fine. maybe not studly but fine.

 

[Ballstein]

disagree with those that call his LSU career erratic... 70% completion rate with high ypa = opposite of erratichaving watched him a few games this year i think he'll be fine. maybe not studly but fine.

Actually CAREER LSU= 61.8 SENIOR=67.8

 

[BroadwayG]

1) A Great OL - If he had the time to pass like ROMO does in Dallas, he would be a STUD...

I hope you're not talking about this year.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Obviously it's early, but Russell is actually putting up good numbers -- namely, he's averaging 6.2 Y/A with a 2:1 TD:INT ratio. He's right around the league average in adjusted yards per attempt, despite playing on what's obviously an ugly team. For a guy who just turned 23, that's not too bad. Don't forget, he's younger than Matt Ryan.