Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson
The Raider Nation, as expected, is not too keen on the idea of giving JaMarcus Russell a second chance. Russell will start Sunday at San Diego despite being benched in the second quarter against the Jets after he committed three turnovers.
Yes, the Raiders are sticking with the No. 1 overall draft pick and the sound-off question to Raiders’ fans was if they are happy Russell is getting a second chance. For the most part, Raiders fans are far from happy about it.
I can’t blame Raiders fans for being upset about this. But it is in the best interest of the Oakland organization that Russell is given the rest of the season to show if he can salvage his career. The Raiders have too much invested in Russell to just bounce him now. But I get why Oakland fans are fed up.
Here are some of your responses. Thanks to everyone who participated:
Michael Palm from Silver Spring, MD: If Jamarcus Russell had taken any responsibility for his breakdown against the Jets Sunday I would be all for his getting another shot. He hasn't had that much time in the league and the Raiders lack of consistency in the coaching staff, poor offensive line, and inexperienced receiving corps make it tough to develop a QB. Unfortunately, he does nothing but make excuses and blame his teammates while playing a position in which the great, or even just good, are expected to fall on their sword for their teammates. Because he continues to show this immaturity and complete lack of leadership I think the Raiders would be better off parting ways with Russell as soon as possible.
Jeremy from Haledon, NJ: I have been a loyal fan of the Raiders my entire life. I will always be loyal no matter how terrible they may be, but they need to pull Jamarcus Russell. It's blatantly obvious he cannot play football in the NFL. He is definitely not worth what they are paying him. The biggest mistake they made was letting go of Jeff Garcia. They also need to take the power from Al Davis in order to start winning games. It is not the 60's anymore Al. Time for a new face in the box.
Josh from Chico, Ca: It is abundantly clear that Jamarcus lacks vision. If he cannot see that HE is the main reason this team is soo bad, then he does not deserve to be in the NFL at any capacity. If the raiders are to have any hope to "just win" then we should save face, sign Garcia, and have Jamarcus learn from someone that wants to be in the league and shows it everywhere he goes. I admire the loyalty the team is showing Jamarcus, now he has to show it back by accepting responsibility and show an improvement week to week.Thank you,Josh-Chico, CA
Jon Franswah from Phoenix, AZ: Don't want to kick a dead horse, but with regards to Jemarcus Russell, he lacks motivation to me. I know his situation is not the best for a rookie, but still he seems to lack spark. He needs better blocking up front and his receiving corp is lacking experience, but still he has to assume the role of leader sooner or later. I would at least experiment with the likes of Frye or Grabowski for a little while. Try to trade for Favre in the off season, lol.
Brad from Chicago, IL: I really don't think Cable has any other choice. I'm sure that less than halfway into the season, Al Davis isn't quite ready to give up on his franchise player. I wouldn't be surprised if he made that known to Tom Cable (and also probably had a few words with him about all that blitzing against Philly...). And it's not like Bruce Gradkowski showed he can do much better. Honestly? As a fan I'm glad Russell is going to be back on the field. If he can't hack it in the NFL, the Raiders need to know sooner rather than later. And with half the season left to play, he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself.
Noke from Browns Mills, NJ: JaMarcus Russell being benched was the right move but reinstating him as the starter was not. Russell needs to sit and the Raiders need to go with Bruce Gradkowski. I think Gradkowski gives the Raiders a better chance to win and the Russell experiment should be over. Russell is a BUST and may be a good backup somewhere else. The fact that he took no responsiblitity for Sundays loss is unexcusable. Saying it wasn't him, is this guy serious? He's clearly not a leader and never will be. Time to move on Mr. Davis. They passed on Adrian Peterson for this bum, horrible.
Marcus from San Diego: I really dont think that it matters if us raider fans are dissappointed with cables move to stick with russell... Cause by the stadium field with boo's everytime russell sees the field, people know how we feel. To me, I knew that this was gonna happen. If they stuck with him through this mess then why not just keep going to him. He is the #1 pick so you got to see if he'll ever get out. I mean its not all of his fault. They got no running game, the o line is not playing up to par and Wr's are starting to drop a lot more balls then normal. I'll say 75% russells fault 25 % everything else. Cause I think good QB play could help fix those other things. So I guess lets just see where this goes, cant really get any worse.
Rodrigo Zermeno from Lancaster, CA: The Raiders QB job has to be the most dreaded in all of football. Thanks to Mr. Davis' love of the deep ball, the Raiders QB has plays that call for the long ball more often than not. Add in 2 rookie WR starting, the absence of a running game, a ragtag O-line, and rabid fans hungry for success after 7 years of failure and Russell has an awful lot to overcome just to be average. This team could make Peyton Manning look bad now, imagine how bad he would look when he was 24.
Jabari D. from USS Cleveland: Of course disappointment is the right word regarding the decision to make Russell the starter again. Big Daddy Al and his perpetual mistake process is no doubt driving this oversized boat of failure. If you starting QB averages less than 200 passing ypg why wouldn't you give a reserve a chance to shake things up? How do you fire coaches left and right but not give them the players to win? Russell is awful, and you can't go worse with Gradkowski. Maybe maybe Mark Wilson is available, he certainly can't be much worse.
Man-E from Sacto, CA: I am so tired of seeing fumbling tumbling Russell getting so manny chances. Second chance by the way he has played he has gotten a new undeserved chance for the past 5 weeks. I think its time to let someone else get some paractice time with the starting squad and see if they can make something happen. Second chance c'mon.
Pete from S. Lake Tahoe: I think he's done, JaMarcus (Big Baby I like to call him). But Gradkowski did not show much. I'd like to see what Frye's got to offer. Russell's lack of focus and 'want to' seems to permeate the entire team. this team is in bad shape. years of bad personel moves and continued turmoil are ruining this franchise. even local fans are now staying away: did you see how empty the second deck was? Keep Cable, dump Russel. I've blead all my silver and black, there's nothing left.
Tony Laughlin from The Bay: What a nightmare. This goes way past this year. Bruce Gradkowski is not going to be our savior and Cable is not going to be our coach next year. That means a whole new staff to coddle JRuss. So do you yank him now and let him get the taste of the bench or do you let him play so that there is more tape for the next Coach. I have no idea. I think he will never be any good and the more he stinks this year the stronger a case the next coach will have to bench him. So let him play, and bring in some real compitition next year.
The Raider Nation, as expected, is not too keen on the idea of giving JaMarcus Russell a second chance. Russell will start Sunday at San Diego despite being benched in the second quarter against the Jets after he committed three turnovers.
Yes, the Raiders are sticking with the No. 1 overall draft pick and the sound-off question to Raiders’ fans was if they are happy Russell is getting a second chance. For the most part, Raiders fans are far from happy about it.
I can’t blame Raiders fans for being upset about this. But it is in the best interest of the Oakland organization that Russell is given the rest of the season to show if he can salvage his career. The Raiders have too much invested in Russell to just bounce him now. But I get why Oakland fans are fed up.
Here are some of your responses. Thanks to everyone who participated:
Michael Palm from Silver Spring, MD: If Jamarcus Russell had taken any responsibility for his breakdown against the Jets Sunday I would be all for his getting another shot. He hasn't had that much time in the league and the Raiders lack of consistency in the coaching staff, poor offensive line, and inexperienced receiving corps make it tough to develop a QB. Unfortunately, he does nothing but make excuses and blame his teammates while playing a position in which the great, or even just good, are expected to fall on their sword for their teammates. Because he continues to show this immaturity and complete lack of leadership I think the Raiders would be better off parting ways with Russell as soon as possible.
Jeremy from Haledon, NJ: I have been a loyal fan of the Raiders my entire life. I will always be loyal no matter how terrible they may be, but they need to pull Jamarcus Russell. It's blatantly obvious he cannot play football in the NFL. He is definitely not worth what they are paying him. The biggest mistake they made was letting go of Jeff Garcia. They also need to take the power from Al Davis in order to start winning games. It is not the 60's anymore Al. Time for a new face in the box.
Josh from Chico, Ca: It is abundantly clear that Jamarcus lacks vision. If he cannot see that HE is the main reason this team is soo bad, then he does not deserve to be in the NFL at any capacity. If the raiders are to have any hope to "just win" then we should save face, sign Garcia, and have Jamarcus learn from someone that wants to be in the league and shows it everywhere he goes. I admire the loyalty the team is showing Jamarcus, now he has to show it back by accepting responsibility and show an improvement week to week.Thank you,Josh-Chico, CA
Jon Franswah from Phoenix, AZ: Don't want to kick a dead horse, but with regards to Jemarcus Russell, he lacks motivation to me. I know his situation is not the best for a rookie, but still he seems to lack spark. He needs better blocking up front and his receiving corp is lacking experience, but still he has to assume the role of leader sooner or later. I would at least experiment with the likes of Frye or Grabowski for a little while. Try to trade for Favre in the off season, lol.
Brad from Chicago, IL: I really don't think Cable has any other choice. I'm sure that less than halfway into the season, Al Davis isn't quite ready to give up on his franchise player. I wouldn't be surprised if he made that known to Tom Cable (and also probably had a few words with him about all that blitzing against Philly...). And it's not like Bruce Gradkowski showed he can do much better. Honestly? As a fan I'm glad Russell is going to be back on the field. If he can't hack it in the NFL, the Raiders need to know sooner rather than later. And with half the season left to play, he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself.
Noke from Browns Mills, NJ: JaMarcus Russell being benched was the right move but reinstating him as the starter was not. Russell needs to sit and the Raiders need to go with Bruce Gradkowski. I think Gradkowski gives the Raiders a better chance to win and the Russell experiment should be over. Russell is a BUST and may be a good backup somewhere else. The fact that he took no responsiblitity for Sundays loss is unexcusable. Saying it wasn't him, is this guy serious? He's clearly not a leader and never will be. Time to move on Mr. Davis. They passed on Adrian Peterson for this bum, horrible.
Marcus from San Diego: I really dont think that it matters if us raider fans are dissappointed with cables move to stick with russell... Cause by the stadium field with boo's everytime russell sees the field, people know how we feel. To me, I knew that this was gonna happen. If they stuck with him through this mess then why not just keep going to him. He is the #1 pick so you got to see if he'll ever get out. I mean its not all of his fault. They got no running game, the o line is not playing up to par and Wr's are starting to drop a lot more balls then normal. I'll say 75% russells fault 25 % everything else. Cause I think good QB play could help fix those other things. So I guess lets just see where this goes, cant really get any worse.
Rodrigo Zermeno from Lancaster, CA: The Raiders QB job has to be the most dreaded in all of football. Thanks to Mr. Davis' love of the deep ball, the Raiders QB has plays that call for the long ball more often than not. Add in 2 rookie WR starting, the absence of a running game, a ragtag O-line, and rabid fans hungry for success after 7 years of failure and Russell has an awful lot to overcome just to be average. This team could make Peyton Manning look bad now, imagine how bad he would look when he was 24.
Jabari D. from USS Cleveland: Of course disappointment is the right word regarding the decision to make Russell the starter again. Big Daddy Al and his perpetual mistake process is no doubt driving this oversized boat of failure. If you starting QB averages less than 200 passing ypg why wouldn't you give a reserve a chance to shake things up? How do you fire coaches left and right but not give them the players to win? Russell is awful, and you can't go worse with Gradkowski. Maybe maybe Mark Wilson is available, he certainly can't be much worse.
Man-E from Sacto, CA: I am so tired of seeing fumbling tumbling Russell getting so manny chances. Second chance by the way he has played he has gotten a new undeserved chance for the past 5 weeks. I think its time to let someone else get some paractice time with the starting squad and see if they can make something happen. Second chance c'mon.
Pete from S. Lake Tahoe: I think he's done, JaMarcus (Big Baby I like to call him). But Gradkowski did not show much. I'd like to see what Frye's got to offer. Russell's lack of focus and 'want to' seems to permeate the entire team. this team is in bad shape. years of bad personel moves and continued turmoil are ruining this franchise. even local fans are now staying away: did you see how empty the second deck was? Keep Cable, dump Russel. I've blead all my silver and black, there's nothing left.
Tony Laughlin from The Bay: What a nightmare. This goes way past this year. Bruce Gradkowski is not going to be our savior and Cable is not going to be our coach next year. That means a whole new staff to coddle JRuss. So do you yank him now and let him get the taste of the bench or do you let him play so that there is more tape for the next Coach. I have no idea. I think he will never be any good and the more he stinks this year the stronger a case the next coach will have to bench him. So let him play, and bring in some real compitition next year.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bill Williamson
Williamson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post. He previously covered the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
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