Recently, former Raiders wide receivers coach James Lofton (former Eagle too.  Remember when he dropped that pass on third down at home against the Dolphins when Don Shula got his 300th win years ago?) went on the Dan Patrick Show and talked about JaMarcus Russell.Russell is an unmitigated disaster at QB and probably the worst starter in the NFL.  Did I mention that the Eagles play the Raiders this week?  Here is what Lofton said regarding the man who makes Ryan Leaf smile every time he takes the field. 
“Obviously JaMarcus has the talent, but the biggest, fastest guy is not always the best football player,” Lofton said. “I think with JaMarcus Russell we see this huge man _ he is big, and he might be 10, 15 pounds heavier than what his ideal weight would be. But he isn’t the fat slob people are painting him.
“He doesn’t have a quick throwing motion. He doesn’t have quick feet. These are things that need to be pushed on him when he’s training, and I know the guys who have coached him at quarterback have tried their best. But for some reason, it doesn’t translate into game time.
“Now, to his small defense, he has not had great pass protection, and still the Raiders are a team that wants to hold the football a little bit and throw down the field, and that’s always tough on a young quarterback. His best ally has been Zach Miller the tight end.”
But, it’s not like the Raiders have a better option at QB.¬† JaMarcus’ backup?¬† Bruce Gradkowski.¬† He’s the guy that led the Bucs to a 2006 victory over the Birds with that 62-yard field goal by Matt Bryant.¬† But…he stinks.¬† Lofton was asked if JaMarcus should be starting for the Raiders.
‚ÄúWell, with what they have behind him, he should be starting,” Lofton replied.¬† “He should be playing better. There‚Äôs got to be somebody who is able to snap him into doing better. I have not watched a lot of their games this year. I know he has been off target more than he‚Äôs been on target, and that was the case during practices.‚Äù
If there is ever a reason to make the argument against these huge salaries for rookies (this stink bomb is guaranteed $30 million after being the #1 pick in 2007), it wears #2 for the Oakland Raiders.
