There are question marks for the Oakland Raiders heading into the 2008 season. JaMarcus Russell is hoping not to be among them.
His throwing accuracy has come into question by many. He started in just one game last season, the inconsequential season ender against the division rival San Diego Chargers, in which his first throw was an interception (a la Brett Favre). Some would say we shouldn't read too much into that; after all, San Diego led the league in team interceptions and Antonio Cromartie led the league in individual interceptions, so they're obviously very good at confusing the quarterback and generating turnovers. He threw a touchdown pass to Ronald Curry later in the game (although, admittedly, Curry almost had to dig six feet underground to catch that throw). Still, JaMarcus will have to learn to be more careful with the ball, especially since he'll be facing the Chargers twice a year as a division opponent.
His outings where he came in as a "reliever" weren't too stellar, either. A game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, with a pass defense far less vaunted than the Chargers, resulted in three interceptions, a fumble, and two sacks for the young LSU product, who missed all of training camp in a contract dispute. The hope among the Raiders team, staff, and fans is that Russell, 22, will learn the system and find some composure through training camp and the pre-season.
Still, head coach Lane Kiffin is hopeful training camp will allow Russell the time to become acclimated with playing football, something he did very sparingly over the course of the 2007 off-season heading into the tail-end of the 2008 regular season as a result of his contract dispute.
Kiffin has commented that the lack of training camp and overall playing time over the course of the season gave Russell some rust; he hopes that rust was shaken with JaMarcus' outings at the end of the season.
Some believe that his four NFL appearances will be a reality check for the young quarterback; that he's no longer playing against college-level defenses. Perhaps that wake-up call is all he needed to settle in. It will be interesting to see if he can learn from the mistakes he made last season and develop a sense of leadership on an offense that has no true leader headed into the 2008 season.
As is the case with any number one overall pick, the expectations are extremely high for success early, since the contracts are generally enormous and eat away at a team's salary cap. Therefore, it doesn't take long to label a high pick as a "bust", simply because they don't meet the ludicrous expectations set for them by virtue of the money being spent on them. A look back at quarterbacks taken with the first overall pick shows the likes of Peyton and Eli Manning, who both struggled in their first seasons (and beyond for Eli), but eventually grasped the system, learned to be cool in the pocket, and make the right choices.
Russell will not be without help; his chances for success skyrocketed when the Raiders drafted Darren McFadden with the fourth overall pick. Rewind two years and put McFadden and Russell in the same backfield in a college setting, and that could have been the most lights-out offense that college football has ever seen. Teams would have had no idea how to defend against such a tandem; load up the box to prevent a game-breaking run by McFadden, or allow Russell to find a man deep and unload his stunningly powerful arm. Oakland obviously hopes that the college success of these two young stars can translate to the NFL. The threat of McFadden in the backfield may take some of the pressure off of Russell when teams begin to load up the box with seven defenders to stop the run, allowing the young quarterback more open space to work with in the secondary.
The Raiders also made a very wise decision by picking up veteran wide receiver Javon Walker in free agency. Though Walker has had morale and injury issues in the past, he gives Russell a tall reliable option to throw to. If Russell and Walker can develop a little rapport in training camp and pre-season, Russell's chances to develop will greatly improve.
Still, the front office failed to address the dismal situation at the offensive line. Russell will have to use his legs to avoid the pass rush, which shouldn't be an issue for the young man who earned a great reputation as a scrambler in his time at LSU. It does present problems, however, for Darren McFadden, who will need people to create holes for him to use his breakout speed. Ultimately, problems with the running game could result in problems for the passing attack if opposing defenses spot the offensive line as the Raiders' biggest weakness. The Raiders will simply have to assess their talent in training camp and find the best ways to utilize that talent and maximize team potential.
