ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

When a No. 1 overall pick throws for 31 yards and leads his team to three first downs in a game, he becomes a popular topic.

And that is certainly the case for JaMarcus Russell. Check out these takes on Russell on ESPN.com today. Is it piling on? No. It's warranted. Russell has been a disappointed since Oakland took him as the No. 1 overall last season.

He has no receivers and his line often betrays him. But he isn't helping himself much, either. The biggest problem is his lack of progress. Improvement is key for a young quarterback. Russell is stagnant at best.

Here are a couple of thoughts of Russell's situation.

Maybe Lane Kiffin was right. Kiffin wanted to protect Russell. He didn't throw the ball much under Kiffin. When interim coach Tom Cable took over, he said the leash would be off Russell. Maybe Russell just isn't ready.

There is no question the Raiders' next head coach (it doesn't look like Cable will be retained at this point barring a major turnaround) has to have a background coaching quarterbacks. Russell is the key in Oakland. If the Raiders have any chance of turning it around, Russell will be the centerpiece.

He needs to be around a quarterback guru. Who knows who that might be? There won't be a huge line waiting for this job.

I think the Raiders needs to get tight end Zach Miller more involved in the offense. He has 22 catches and he is averaging 14 yards a catch. This can be a 60-70 catch a year player. Miller and Russell had a nice chemistry together in the preseason and in training camp. Yet, in the regular season, Miller hasn't been a huge factor. It seems to me that Miller is the receiver Russell trusts the most. The coaching staff has to take advantage of this young pairing. Perhaps that will be the spark.

Finally, it's very interesting that Russell's struggles are coming when Brady Quinn is about to become the starter in Cleveland. The Raiders considered taking Quinn instead of Russell in the draft. But after Oakland took Russell, Quinn tumbled to No. 22. If Quinn has success like Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, there will be even more pressure on Russell.