# JaMarcus Russell Released by Raiders **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 6, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549 "2010-05-06T20:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/21 "2010-05-07T14:31:24Z")
Dollar for Dollar Russell seems a bigger bust than Leaf, but has he had a massive tantrum/outburst in the locker room yet? And he better get working on pulling B&E’s to match Leaf’s post-NFL career. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/22 "2010-05-07T19:01:24Z")
Well, he did publicly say he didn’t think it was his fault when the Raiders lost horribly because of repeated failures on his part. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/23 "2010-05-07T19:13:01Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I still have a weird irrational optimism that the Raiders would be a good team if only they had a quarterback, and now that they do I expect them to at least contend for a wildcard spot. I have no rational basis for this feeling, but I’ve had it all offseason long. > > EDIT: For the record I’m a Giants fan who doesn’t care a whit about the Raiders. That’s part of the “weirdness” of my “optimism.” Even weirder is that as a secondary Jets fan I hate the Raiders thanks to all those losses in the early 2000s. I guess it just boils down to I think the league is better when the Raiders (, Steelers, Packers, Bears, and Giants) are good. I’m a Giants fan too, and I actually agree with you. The Raider’s defense was very good to begin with, and they were competitive in most of the games Gradkowski started for them. They’re not a great team, but they’re far from bad. In a weak division like the AFC West, I see no reason they couldn’t go 9-7 and make the playoffs, so long as they have a quarterback who isn’t actively undermining them. Thing is, Al Davis was the one who fell in love with JaMarcus Russell and kept him in the starting lineup. And Al has been the one making all those terrible draft picks. But this year? The Raiders made some very good draft picks, and dumped Russell. It makes me wonder if someone else in the Raiders front office has pushed Al aside and is now making the decisions? ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/24 "2010-05-07T20:09:12Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’ll give you guys in on the SD on JC: you’d better have a good OL in front of him or the results aren’t going to be much better than Russell. Okay, they’ll probably still be better than Russell, but in any case JC tends to stare down his #1 receiver and hold on to the ball just a _bit_ too long, i.e. just long enough for the defense to get to him and sack/strip the ball away from him. Your TE (Zach Miller?) will have a good year; he’s going to be catching a lot of balls over the middle 3 yards short of a 1st down. He’ll be better than Russell, but he plays indecisive and a bit scared. I definitely liked the trade for Jason Campbell, but I’m a bit hesitant for precisely those reasons. The drawbacks in Washington were no OL, not a great receiver corp, constantly changing coaches… that sounds a lot like Oakland! The Raiders still have holes, primarily on both lines (DE might be fine, but we need a run-plugging DT… McClain won’t be able to do it on his own) and to a lesser extent, at WR and safety. All those positions minus DT are filled with young guys though, so hopefully someone can step up. And honestly, getting rid of Russell is addition by subtraction. You could just see the team sag whenever he came in (I still don’t know how Russell beat the Broncos after Charlie Frye got injured). Just replacing him with someone of Campbell/Gradkowski’s level should add a few wins. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/25 "2010-05-13T22:11:47Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > He’ll probably be another Bengals reclamation project… > ☹ From [PFT](http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/11/ochocinco-claims-that-the-bengals-are-bringing-in-jamarcus-russell/): > [@](#): > > Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, who launched the Ocho Cinco News Network last year as part of a brilliant personal marketing campaign, has dropped a very strong hint regarding the next destination of former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. > > Ochocinco says to Russell, “I’ll see you at minicamp” and then, “Oops, did I just leak that info?” (Which is dangerously close to, “Did I do that?” . . . which makes us think that Chad perhaps should be doing the Urkel on Dancing with the Stars.) > > In response, ESPN’s Adam Schefter claims that the Bengals and others have called Russell, but that “there are no plans for him to be at any minicamps now.” He probably won’t see the field, but at least he’ll be a great locker room presence. And if he does see the field… even better! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/26 "2010-05-13T22:50:24Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > From [PFT](http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/11/ochocinco-claims-that-the-bengals-are-bringing-in-jamarcus-russell/): > > He probably won’t see the field, but at least he’ll be a great locker room presence. And if he does see the field… even better! Yeah, I knew about that awhile ago. Bengals insider board and everything. Its super stealthy. 🙂 Anyway, if the Bengals do sign him, I hope he works out. He’s got a great arm but by all accounts has no head for the game, isn’t a good leader and is lazy. The Bengals are really taking on or considering taking on a huge amount of low risk/high reward players. ETA: HILARIOUS! I’m looking at an ad for giraffe boards, one of our splinter boards at the bottom of the page right now…it says “Giraffe Boards: We have your cat”. I haven’t seen that one, and I can’t help but wonder what keywords in a thread about JaMarcus Russell triggered that one…Bengals? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/27 "2010-05-13T23:19:08Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > He probably won’t see the field, but at least he’ll be a great locker room presence. And if he does see the field… even better! Russell is a “great locker room presence”? If he brings a couple hundred donuts (one for the Bengals. One for me. Two for the Bengals. Two for me) or builds himself a Barcolounger to relax in during games, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/28 "2010-05-13T23:23:01Z")
Yeah, he seems like an exceptional football player and teammate. And I was totally serious about things being better in the event that he sees the field. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/29 "2010-05-13T23:29:52Z")
He meant “great locker room presence…for the Bengals”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549/30 "2010-05-14T00:54:01Z")
…as a Cleveland Browns fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamarcus-russell-released-by-raiders/538549.md?page=1)