Al Davis finally decided to cut his losses with JaMarcus Russell.  The Raiders’ owner does not like to admit his mistakes, but the 2007 number one overall pick’s production was awful.  Oakland paid Russell 39 million dollars for a 52% passer with 18 touchdown passes, 23 interceptions, a bunch of fumbles and absolutely no leadership in three years of employment.  That is not much of a return on their investment.

Russell’s colossal failure highlights the importance of football character.  The former LSU standout was a lazy and unmotivated quarterback.  He relied on his god-given gifts of tremendous size and a howitzer for an arm and thought that would be enough.  The warning signs were there right from the start.  Russell was not chomping at the bit to play quarterback for the Oakland Raiders and did not sign his rookie contract until almost mid-September.  His rookie season was basically a wash because of the extended holdout.  This contrasts sharply with how Mark Sanchez was so eager to be the Jets quarterback that he ordered his agent to make sure he was in training camp on time.  Sanchez gained valuable experience during his rookie season and is on his way to being a quality starter at the game’s most important position.

Russell simply did not have the work ethic or drive to study film and speed up his decision-making process.  It became very clear in his 3^rd season that Russell had little appetite for the game (food was a different story).  The Raiders were not an ideal situation for him to go to, but Russell deserves much of the blame.  Oakland had no chance of winning when their “franchise” quarterback had such a lackadaisical approach to the game.

Every NFL team should live by a draft rule that a top 10 selection must be a self-starter.  I spoke with a former NFL scout that lives in Baton Rouge about Russell prior to the 2007 NFL Draft.  He told me that JaMarcus was one of the laziest players he had ever scouted.  It was not a secret that Russell was not exactly a ball of fire.  However, he parlayed a big Sugar Bowl performance against Notre Dame and an impressive pro day into the top pick in the draft.   The former LSU quarterback looked good against Notre Dame, but he was playing against future accountants and insurance agents!  Notre Dame did not have a defense loaded with future NFL players.  I still remember his pro day and how the buzz was he threw lasers all over the field.  Russell’s size and arm strength were never the issue.  His work ethic, dedication to the game and competitiveness should have been the focal point.

The Raiders could have saved themselves a lot of money and won more games had they focused on football character over raw athletic tools.  The team has apparently finally learned their lesson with the selection of Rolando McClain with the 8^th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  McClain’s greatest strength is he is a student of the game and one of the smartest players in the draft.  It looks like the skies are brightening for the Raiders and a once proud franchise may be turning the corner.

Oakland quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, is off to a terrible start this season (31 completions in 75 attempts (41%), 378 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions) and facing a lot of criticism.  Many critics lay blame on his questionable work ethic.  No one will confuse Russell’s dedication to the game with Peyton Manning’s.  However, I believe the biggest reason for Russell’s poor start lies with the organization as a whole.  No position in sports is more reliant on coaching and the surrounding talent than quarterback.  Oakland has essentially set JaMarcus Russell up to fail by providing him with a weak coaching staff, an average offensive line and possibly the worst set of receivers in the NFL.  That is not a recipe for a young quarterback to succeed and start developing confidence.

Paul Hackett is Russell’s quarterback coach.  This is the same Paul Hackett who compiled a 13-20 record at the University of Pittsburgh as their head coach.  He then became the head coach at USC and proceeded to lead them to a 19-18 record and the darkest period in the school’s illustrious history.  So, maybe he was not cut out to be a head coach.  Well, Hackett also did not cut it as offensive coordinator of the Jets and resigned after 3 disappointing seasons in 2004. 

Tom Cable became the Raiders’ head coach last season after Lane Kiffin was fired.  Cable’s only previous head coaching experience was at Idaho.  He led them to an 11-35 record in 4 straight losing seasons.  It is safe to say that JaMarcus Russell is not  being coached by people with sterling track records.  This is almost like boarding a ship and being told that the captain previously skippered the Titanic and the first mate the Andrea Dorea!  It makes you realize how fortunate Joe Montana (head coach, Bill Walsh), Dan Marino (head coach, Don Shula) and Troy Aikman (offensive coordinator, Norv Turner) were to have excellent teachers early in their careers.

How is Russell supposed to succeed when his starting wide receivers are two raw rookies?  Louis Murphy has been decent, but Darrius Heyward-Bey has been invisible (1 catch for 18 yards in 3 games).  Oakland gambled big-time when they drafted Heyward-Bey with the 7th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  I wrote in my post-draft analysis of the Raiders that if Heyward-Bey is not the second- coming of Cliff Branch then it would set the Raiders (and Russell) back for years.  You have to give the young man time to develop, but it is not surprising that he is struggling.  Russell desperately needs a playmaker at wide receiver.  It does wonders for any quarterback to have a receiver that can go up and take a ball away from two defenders, or break a tackle and turn a simple 10-yard pass into a 60-yard touchdown. 

JaMarcus Russell is still a very young quarterback and possesses a truly gifted right arm.  Yes, I am sure his work habits could be better and he makes some poor decisions on the field.  However, quarterbacks must be developed and with the crew that surrounds him, I have a hard time seeing him fulfilling his potential.

Oakland’s selection of wide receiver, Darrius Heyward-Bey, with the 7th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft was surprising and has been widely criticized.  This started my wheels turning as to just how important is great speed for an NFL wide receiver?  Heyward-Bey ran a blazing 4.3 Forty at the NFL Scouting Combine and was the fastest receiver in this year’s draft.  The table below displays the past ten Super Bowl champions and who their top two receivers were and their speed.

Super Bowl Champion Top Two Receivers  Forty-time when drafted
XLIII                Pittsburgh Steelers     Hines Ward                                     4.55
Santonio Holmes                            4.45
XLII                 New York Giants         Plaxico Burress                               4.6
Amani Toomer                                4.4
XLI                  Indianapolis Colts      Marvin Harrison                             4.4
Reggie Wayne                                4.55
XL                  Pittsburgh Steelers     Hines Ward                                     4.55
Antwaan Randle El                          4.55
XXXIX            New England Patriots     Deion Branch                               4.5
David Givens                                  4.56
XXXVIII          New England Patriots  Deion Branch                                 4.5
David Givens                                  4.56
XXXVII           Tampa Bay Bucs          Keyshawn Johnson                         4.6
Keenan McCardell                          4.55
XXXVI           New England Patriots   Troy Brown                                    4.56
David Patten                                  4.55
XXXV            Baltimore Ravens         Brandon Stokley                            4.5
Qadry Ismail                                 4.4
XXXIV           St. Louis Rams             Isaac Bruce                                   4.57
Torry Holt                                     4.5

The above figures demonstrate that having a receiver that possesses great speed is not an important ingredient in a championship team.  The fastest receiver from this group was probably Qadry Ismail.  He was not much of a factor in Baltimore’s championship and was an average player at best.   There were some terrific receivers in the above group that contributed heavily to a title, but none had track speed.  I believe the most important attributes to look for in a wide receiver are route-running ability, quality of hands, quickness, body control, toughness, size and jumping ability.  Speed is overrated when it comes to wide receivers.  It certainly is not a negative, but I tend to view it as a nice bonus if a receiver is really fast.  Darrius Heyward-Bey may develop into a productive NFL receiver.  However, it will be because he learned to run routes well and his hands were better than many thought.  His speed can certainly be a positive, but only if he is good enough in other more important areas that makes a receiver productive.  Oakland places too much emphasis on a player’s raw speed and drafted Heyward-Bey higher than he should have been.

Off To A Good Start:

New York Jets- You have to give Jets’ GM, Mike Tannenbaum, credit for trading up and landing Mark Sanchez.  New York gave up their 1st round pick (#17), 2nd round pick (#52), QB Brett Ratliff, S Abram Elam and DE Kenyon Coleman for Cleveland’s 1st round selection (#5).  I think this was a terrific trade for the Jets.  Sanchez grew on me the more I evaluated his play.  The former USC quarterback has a passion for the game and good overall skills.  The Jets could not have been comfortable entering the 2009 season with Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge as their options at quarterback.  I believe in the saying that if you have too many options at quarterback, then you really have none.  The Jets now have their quarterback of the future for a mid-1st and 2nd round draft choice and three backups.  This was former Jets’ head coach, Eric Mangini’s, parting gift.

San Francisco 49ers- the best receiver in the 2009 NFL Draft falls into the laps of the 49ers with the 10th pick.  Crabtree represents value where he was selected.  He is going to make Alex Smith or Shaun Hill a better quarterback.  San Francisco should send a thank you note to Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles- the Eagles landed Jeremy Maclin with the 19th selection.  The pre-draft speculation was Philly would likely select TE Brandon Pettigrew.  I thought they should pass on Pettigrew and target a top wide receiver.  I did not think Maclin would be available this late.  Maclin was born to run the slant.  Donovan McNabb must have a big smile on his face when he imagines throwing the ball to Maclin and DeSean Jackson.  The Eagles also should send a thank you note or gift basket to the Raiders for passing on Maclin.

San Diego Chargers- you can never have too many pass rushers.  San Diego selected DE/OLB Larry English with the 16th pick of the 1st round.  English is an intense, attacking pass rusher who joins Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips.  The Chargers have quite a group of outside linebackers that can bring the heat off of the edge.

Minnesota Vikings- I thought Percy Harvin was a top 10 talent.  The Vikings picked him up with the 22nd selection and add an explosive player to their offense.  Minnesota has a lot of speed on offense with Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian and now Harvin.  The former Florida wide receiver has to mature some, but we never heard anyone question his work ethic or competitiveness.

New York Giants- PFDN was very high on Hakeem Nicks.  The former North Carolina receiver has velcro for hands and nice size.  He should be a fine addition to the Giants and eventually will make fans forget about Plaxico Burress.

Arizona Cardinals- I guess NFL teams really were concerned about durability issues regarding Chris “Beanie” Wells.  The Cardinals selected Wells with the 31st pick in round 1 and that represents terrific value.  Wells can make an impact as a rookie and should have a chip on his shoulder because he really is one of the top talents in this draft.

Went To Vegas:

Oakland Raiders- the Raiders passed on Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin to select WR Darrius Heyward-Bey.  I know the Raiders (i.e. Al Davis) love speed, but Maclin is not exactly slow and is so much more accomplished than Heyward-Bey.  Oakland rolled the dice big time in our opinion with the 7th selection.  The best case scenario for Heyward-Bey is he is another Willie Gault.  The worst case scenario is he is another Troy Williamson.

Buffalo Bills- Aaron Maybin is a reach with the 11th pick in the draft in our view.  We were higher on Everette Brown as a pass rusher than we were Maybin.  The former Penn State defensive end has a good first step, but is quite raw at this point.

Kansas City Chiefs- I was a little surprised by the Chiefs selecting Tyson Jackson with the 3rd pick of the NFL Draft.  They must have been unable to find a partner to trade down with.  Jackson was the best 3-4 defensive end in the draft, but offers little value taken so high.  I do not believe that Jackson is the second coming of Richard Seymour.  The former LSU defensive end should be a solid player, but with the 3rd pick of the draft you want a difference maker.

The Dallas Cowboys were coming off of three straight 5-11 seasons after the 2002 season.  Cowboys’ owner and GM, Jerry Jones, recognized his franchise needed help and he swallowed his pride and hired Bill Parcells to turn the team into a winner again.  Parcells was given control over personnel and the players knew that the coach had power and was not a Jerry Jones puppet (i.e. Dave Campo, Chan Gailey and Barry Switzer).

Al Davis is a NFL legend and deservedly so for all that he has accomplished.  The Oakland Raiders are a storied franchise because of Al Davis.  However, today the franchise is like a great boxer that stays around too long and is now getting knocked out by journeymen.  Oakland has averaged a miserable 4 wins per season over the past 5 years.  It is particularly a waste to see a very talented young quarterback (JaMarcus Russell) whose development has to be stunted by the instability in the organization and the revolving door of head coaches.  Parcells played a large role in developing Tony Romo into a productive starting quarterback.  Romo has a fraction of the natural talent that Russell possesses.

The smartest statement that Al Davis said in his press conference explaining the firing of Lane Kiffin was that the team must develop JaMarcus Russell.  The question is who is going to do this?  Tom Cable?  There is nothing in Tom Cable’s unimpressive coaching resume (4 straight losing seasons as head coach at Idaho and brief stints on the coaching staff at UCLA and the Falcons) that suggests he is the man to lead Russell or the Raiders to greatness.  Cable is Oakland’s version of Dave Campo.  Al Davis needs to check his ego at the door and sell the next head coach (when Cable is dismissed) of the Raiders that he will have real power.

Oakland has a nucleus of young talent (JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Zach Miller, Michael Bush, Nnambi Asomugha, Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard and DeAngelo Hall) to build around.  The Raiders head coaching position should not be considered a “bad” job.  Oakland has young talent, a passionate fan base and tradition.  It is up to Al Davis to pull a Jerry Jones and convince the next head coach that he will have major say-so and that Davis can take a step back.