Compiled by RaiderBeat.com Staff
RUSSELL UNDER MICROSCOPE
Former Raiders coach John Madden and former Raiders quarterback Kenny Stabler had a mutual agreement during their time together in the 1970s, Madden says: “Do what you want on your time as long as you do as I ask on my time.”
That arrangement worked out rather well for Stabler and Madden, not to mention the Raiders.
For now, the Raiders are using a similar approach with quarterback JaMarcus Russell, nursing him along in his maturation process as an NFL neophyte.
However, behind closed doors Raiders front-office types are concerned about Russell’s dedication toward becoming a top-flight player and his decision-making in his personal life.
Naturally, Stabler lived in a different era, a time without the Internet, Twitter and so much intrusion into the lives of celebrities. His on-field success also tended to make people overlook, or at least laugh at, his off-field antics.
During one five-year stretch, Stabler guided the Raiders to 50 victories and only 11 losses. By comparison, Russell has lost 11 games in the 16 games he has started as a Raider – 10 last season and one as a rookie in 2007.
One of Russell’s endearing and admirable attributes is his ability to take things in stride, be ultra confident in the face of extreme pressure and himself at all times.
That’s fine, except the Raiders are concerned about the perception put forth by Russell when he emerges from the locker room after games with more diamonds on his person than a De Beers Diamond factory, a fur coat draped around his shoulders and a wristwatch the size of a boxing ring.
Two recent Russell public sightings are making more heads shake at Raiders headquarters than a replay of the Tuck-Rule Game at an Oakland-area sports bar.
Russell recently was spotted at a boxing match in Oakland with an unlit cigar hanging from his mouth and, according to Oakland Tribune columnist Monte Poole, looking like a lottery winner.
Then there’s a series of photos that appeared on partychaser.com of Russell hanging out at an unnamed spot. http://www.raiderfans.net/forum/oakland-raiders-forum-message-board/151619-pictures-jamarcus-may.html
Russell isn’t guilty of anything more than being young, enjoying himself and caring little about the perception others have of him.
And, those with the Raiders who are concerned about his antics won’t care nearly as much later this season if Russell’s play is a major reason why the Raiders are winning games on a consistent basis.
It’s part of the price of fame. And Russell is finding out the hard way, just as fellow quarterbacks Matt Leinart, Vince Young and Brady Quinn did in recent years.
Fans loved Young and Leinart when they were winning almost every game in college and jump-starting their respective NFL teams early on.
Once their play slipped, pictures of them partying surfaced and became fodder for those who searched for reasons why their production wasn’t as high as before.
The bottom line is, Russell plays a high-profile position, he earns a ton of money and he is the face of an NFL franchise.
Whatever he does is news in some form or fashion, good or bad, fair or not. In the end, none of this matters much, if at all, as long as Russell is comfortable with his actions, his performance satisfies his employer and Raiders fans support his every move.
“The starting quarterback in the National Football League has such a tremendous responsibility,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said recently in response to Russell’s evolution as a leader. “You win or you lose, and they give him and the head coach too much credit or they rip their butts too much.
“Those are the two people who have to handle everything. He has to learn how to accept that and embrace that responsibility. Where is he at with that? I think he’s somewhere in the middle. Do I think he’s there yet? No not quite. He has some more things to do some more things to prove but we keep pushing it for him to be there.”
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I think there’s a big difference between seeing Russell with a drink in his hand compared to seeing Vince Young shirtless at a sausage party. Add to the fact Matt Leinart was with a group of minors while partying makes his discretion worse.
Another reason why Russell will never be good, he is worried too much about looking like he’s
going to a fashion show, WTF?, he hasn’t even earned that money, he over throws wide open
receivers, he is over weight, he is not commited, his lifestyle is too tacky……..that’s why Garcia
will be the stater by week 3…..GO RAIDERS…
ernie72 we got more in common then our names. I too agree with the fact the Jamarcus is too Ghetto. I use another word which is the “N” word but doesn’t end with R, it ends with Y. He is way to young to realize the MAJOR mistake he is making as a leader of an elite franchise. I’m surprised he’s not driving a 1986 buick Regal wit a lime-green metal flake paint job with airbags and a Coach or LV interior. Oh wait, maybe he does. Flashing jewelry the way he does I guess…..I guess he doesn’t realize he looks like someone starving for attention and in the end looks like a drug dealer spending his money foolishly. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Especially when your the leader of, .like I said, an elite franchise. Ghetto is for east Oakland NOT Oakland Raiders.
Eflo
What it is East Oakland Raiders and the article is trying to say who cares what russle does as long as he handles his biznezz.like stable who got photos with a gang of bitches.he is in ota and its not required to be the so he knows what’s up and f**k garcia never liked him wiith the niners and I still don’t.don’t hate cuss you can’t do what you want.players do what they want suckers do what they can.
What it is East Oakland Raiders and the article is trying to say who cares what russle does as long as he handles his biznezz.like stable who got photos with a gang of bitches.he is in ota and its not required to be the so he knows what’s up and f**k garcia never liked him wiith the niners and I still don’t.don’t hate cuss you can’t do what you want.players do what they want suckers do what they can.I walked to games before when I did not have a ride.Go East Oakland Raiders
Oh yea micfadden is to ghetto too he gots tatoos and where’s white teez.Go East Oakland Raiders
Haha man yall are hilarious. He’s a young millionaire. He’s only 23 years old. Let him have some fun. The only thing I’m worried about is his weight. He signed a 60 million dollar contract. Why can’t he buy a diamond chain? It makes him ghetto? Cmon now. You sound real ignorant
I would rather have Russel watching tape than watching a boxing match.I dont think its what he’s doing its when he’s doing it. If he thinks because its not mandatory to be on the practice field he doesnt have any work to do, well than hes got another thing comin’.Dont get me wrong I dont think he is going to suck but we need him to be right up there with Brady and Manning and thats going to take a lot of hard work all year long.He should be devolopeing some chemistry with his WRs.Hopefully thats who he was at the boxing match with,that would be a good thing no matter what he’s draped in.GO RAIDERS!!!
i hope russell does well but i’ve never liked him. some players are athletes and then there are QBs. he should be a LB. Garcia wk 3. oh and here’s a scary thought. i guarantee you davis has looked into aquiring the rights to vick.
Its the curse of the black quarterback and we have it. Anyone that can honestly say they see “leadership” qualities in JR needs thier head examined. I don’t want him to fail, but the guy is too GHETTO and way to IMMATURE to except this responsability. Guys like Manning, Flacco, Brees & Ryan busted thier asses and stay away from the chinchillas and cigars and keep thier heads in the playbook. JR wants to be a Harlem Kingpin not the Leader of the Raiders. All that said I do hope he leads us to the playoffs, but its not lookin too good.
Russell will be just fine.
All this talk about football being a year round sport now is hogwash. Sure you still have to stay in shape, but how long does it take to work out? The guys only work 6 months out of the year. There is plenty of leisure time. I am sure even Payton Manning, whom I respect as the best QB in football today, still has plenty of leisure time with his family or whatever his off-field pursuits are.
Russell will be just fine.
All this talk about football being a year round sport now is hogwash. Sure you still have to stay in shape, but how long does it take to work out? The guys only work 6 months out of the year. There is plenty of leisure time. I am sure even Payton Manning, whom I respect as the best QB in football today, still has plenty of leisure time with his family or whatever his off-field pursuits are. As “competitive” as Manning is, I am sure his head is not in the playbook all of the time.
I work full time and am going to night school full time, and on my nights off and on weekends, I still have plenty of time to do what I want to do. People are not robots, and I am sure if you pinch Manning, he is still human. And with all of the maturity and experience of Garcia, he still makes stupid mistakes, and a young quarterback named Russell still beat him last year knocking him out of the playoffs.
I can’t believe all the hysteria over JaMarcus. I kept reading about these scandalous pictures of him partying. I figured they must have been pretty bad. Finally I went and checked them out … it’s him with about 4 or 5 friends hanging out having a few drinks. It’s nothing.
All this is is the media trying to manufacture stories since there are very few legitimate NFL stories going on in mid-May. Fans are craving any news because it’s such an f-ing great game and we all wish the season would get here already. So we go to sites and comment about this or that item of the day. But in reality all this stuff is inconsequential.
Pay more attention to the fact that Russell showed a lot of improvement in the 2nd half of last season — his first season under center in the NFL — and less attention to his wardrobe, having a good time in the off-season and unlit cigars.
Let’s face it … JaMarcus may be great, he may be good, he may be average or he may be a bust. But don’t fool yourself into thinking these pictures or what he wore to a fight or the 2nd or even 3rd hand accounts of how he threw in a May minicamp are reasonable evidence upon which to make a projection. Wait until actual games start before you do that.
And remember, the list of Hall of Fame great QBs who played worse than JaMarcus in their first pro season is a lot longer than the list of ones who played better.
whats with j russ and the cigar does he really think he thats cool..too be taking pictures with a unlit cigar looking like a over grown jay z..pretty sad with a designer back pack i know hes not carrying the play book with him ..with his fingers crossed for his gang hes in ..lol..he needs too get his fat ass in the gym and get his act together hes no longer in college hes the so called leader of the oakland raiders..but from the pictures hes looks far from it ..with his stomach hanging out he needs too be moved too OT and have Garcia start..
this is the raiders not the cubscouts,lighten up everybody were the outlaws……..look what the original rebel says about JR-
——->>On familiarity with JaMarcus Russell: “I watched him through his high school career (in Mobile) and called games he played in at LSU (while Stabler worked Alabama radio broadcasts). He is a great kid with a lot of ability. I would love to see him do well. I’ve talked to him on occasion and interviewed him and he’s a great kid, with great character and tremendous ability.”
To all my Raider nation brothas, the bottom line is that our franchise qb is a f’n cheesecake! The boy is not on the same page. This fella needs to prioritize his life with the hope that football is included. When he was drafted, I like many others was very excited but now I just wish that we could have pushed for Jay Cutler. Russell doesn’t know his own strength, this man boy will sail the football five yards ahead of you. The dude needs to step up or go back to lsu and help coach the water boy.
I SIT BACK A LISTEN TO THIS DUMBASS COMMENTS WHO CARES WHAT HE IS WEARING OR HOW HE DRESSES IF HE WINS GAMES. EVERY OTHER COMMENT SOUNDS LIKE A RACIST SLUR. WHY ALL OF YOU ARE RIDING THE GROINS OF MANNING AND BRADY FLACCO WHO’S NUMBERS JUST BARELY WERE BETTER THEN J-RUSS NUMBERS AND EVEN WORSE DOWN THE STRETCH WHEN THE NUMBERS MATTERED HE IS NOT THOSE GUYS HE DOES NOT PLAY ON THOSE TEAMS. AND IF GARCIA WAS SO GREAT HE WOULDNT HAVE PLAVE FOR A 1/3 OF THE TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE. YOU GUYS ARE WORSE THEN THE MEDIA HAVE NOTHING TO DO SO YOU FEED INTO BS. THE KID HAS 30 MILLION THAT HE CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL HE WANTS WITH IT BECAUSE ITS HIS. YOUR JERKS PROBABLY DONT HAVE 30 DOLLARS SO YOUR OPINIONS MEAN NOTHING!!! THE BLACK QB SYNDROME HOW DUMB A THING TO SAY AND THIS WILL BE THE SECOND BLACK QB THAT THE GREAT GARCIA CANT BEAT OUT ONLY REASON HE PLAYED IN PHILLY MCNABB GOT HURT. IF GARCIA IS THE STARTER BY GAME 3 THEN THAT MEANS WE ARE 0-2 AND NOT EVEN IN TO THE HEART OF THE SCHEDULE AND THAT DOESNT BOLD WELL FOR THE SEASON IDIOTS!!
The only numbers taht matter are W-L numbers!
If the guy wins then who gives a rat’s ass what he wears.
At least give him the chance to either suck or not.I cannot believe how many fuckin’ morons on here can’t do the math on THAT!
If he is a bust , send him to live somewhere with Marc Wilson in the “who in the hell is that guy” file.
Black QB Curse? Like the one Doug Williams had while celebrating his super bowl victory over the broncos?
Stupid asses!
Did the WHITE QB curse doom Todd Marnovich Jeff George , and Rusty Hilger’s careers?
Hey all you REAL Raider fans-How many of tou have ever actually been to a raider game?
That’s what I thought!
ATTENTION CLASS :
Here’s your homework assignment for the season -
1) Get off of your ass and actually GO TO SEE A RAIDER GAME.
2) Tell that big Mofo Russell what you think off him.
(if J-Russ wins the game go back to step one)
3) Wait in the parking lot for J-Russ to SLAP YOU WITH HIS WALLET!
4) Seek IMMEDIATE medical attention.
Class dismissed!
wave invite…
Awesome article. I was going through a similar situation a little while back and can totally relate to what your talking about! I’m going to link back to your blog so my readers can read your topics….