Tag archives for jamarcus russell

The QB Debate

No I’m not going to debate that Peyton is the best QB in the league; you can’t debate such an obvious fact as that. This particular debate is about something else. I’ll let the great Ray Lewis and Rodney Harrison explain it:

The new roughing the passer rules that have been enacted are in place to protect the QB from serious injury. I support that concept because even though it is football and it is a physical sport, no one wants to see someone get injured. Leave that stuff for the thrill seekers watching NASCAR for the crashes. However, that being said, IT’S FOOTBALL!!! Give me a break! Rules prohibiting helmet to helmet tackles or spearing and leading with your helmet are all great rules, but rules attempting to punish a player for something uncontrollable like his momentum as he’s running to do his job and make a sack are ridiculous. I think that these rules are created with the best of intentions, but the problem with them is that impossibility to standardize them. The calling will always be at the discretion of the referee making the call and therefore mistakes will always be made. This leaves the league open to the criticism that certain QBs (Brady, Manning’s, Romo) are getting special treatment while your Russell, Quinn, and Campbell get ignored.

It seems that the next step is to make it so that the QB simply plays in a bubble and can’t be touched at all. I don’t tune in every week to watch touch or flag football. As Lewis said, they’re playing too and wearing the uniform like everyone else. When you lace up those cleats and step out onto that field, you do so with the acknowledgment of what you’re getting yourself into. Stop coddling the QBs and let them play the game!

The worst QB in the NFL

Raiders Texans FootballAs NFL quarterbacks go, JaMarcus Russell is just plain horrible. The Raiders fell to 1-3 and the third year starter continues to struggle. In a contest that looked a lot like first stringers playing against the scout team, Russell completed only 12 of 33 passes for 128 yards and the Texans defense loaded up to stop the run on their way to 29-6 victory.

As a #1 overall draft pick Russell held out with a contract dispute and then reported to Raider’s camp out of shape when he finally agreed to terms. Critics have questioned his dedication and decision making but I think there’s a much simpler explanation as to why he struggles. He’s just not good. Russell has a 39.8 QB rating for the year with 1 TD and 4 INTs in four games. For the year Russell has completed only 41% of his passes.

It’s amazing that Russell is on roughly 6% of teams across most fantasy leagues yet he’s starting for an NFL franchise. I’m not saying the Raiders should bench Russell because at 1-3 it’s clear to me that the Raiders season is over. On the contrary, I think they should continue going with Russell so they can challenge the Rams and Bucs for one of the top two spots in next year’s draft.

Who doesn’t think the Raiders would be better off with McCoy or Bradford starting vs Russell this time next year?