In a surprisingly candid assessment of a third-year quarterback who was the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, Raiders passing game coordinator Ted Tollner said Thursday that quarterback JaMarcus Russell is regressing.
“That’s an accurate assessment because we really felt like we were making
some real strides and the area was anticipation and turning the ball
loose and trusting,” Tollner told the media, per Nancy Gay of FanHouse. “Are [the passes] going to be where
they belong? Can I turn it loose when the coaches want me, or do I have
to wait and use my big arm? We were making some real strides along
those lines because you have to at this level. . . .
“You can’t wait till people are open,” Tollner said. “We made strides and last week we fell back in all those
areas. That’s disappointing to all of us and we’ve got to get back on
track. The answer? I don’t have the answer other than what I just said.
It’s a number of things that happen and there has been a major emphasis
on him, on JaMarcus, we’ve got to give [him] a foot rhythm that allows
[him] to turn the ball loose on time and [he needs] to buy into that.
“And he has, to repeat myself — we were making strides and — bam –
we stepped back, and I don’t have the answer other than what I already
said.”
The candor from Tollner is stunning. But since the Raiders don’t have a viable candidate on the roster to push Russell to get better, they need to do something to get the kid on track.
Whether calling Russell out gets it down remains to be seen.
But, let’s face it. He can’t get much worse. Through two games, Russell’s passer rating is 46.6. He has completed less than 36 percent of his passes.
Still, there’s cause for hope. Late in both games, Russell led his team to go-ahead scores. Eventually, the light that comes on when the game is on the line might activate at some point during the first three and a half quarters of the game.
This kid is going to be a bust……. you can’t fix stupid!
how can JaMarcus regress any more than where where he has been.
Watching JaMarcus throw a short touch pass is like watching Shaq shoot a free throw.
Time to call up Jeff George???
Player gets taken in draft. Player hold out for more money. Player ends up underperforming. I see a trend starting here.
jemarcus russell stinks, it is pretty obvious at this point. i am glad garcia left there, because if he stayed, he would take that job, and this team would be dangerous. i hate to admit it, but the raiders should be happy to know that all they really need at this point is a qb. that is the one area that they just suck. their receivers arent so great either, but good qb’s can make average receivers look good(see deion branch, david givens, troy brown, all pats receivers who excelled because of brady) add a good qb, and the raiders might just be the class of the west(i cant believe i just typed that).
and he still works there?
BUST
I wonder what Colt McCoy’s 40 time is?
Who’s gonna be the first bonehead to post that they’d still take him over Vick?
Well, playing my Donks seems to get terrible players on track. Although the D this year is the crown jewel so perhaps that argument doesn’t hold merit–at least not yet.
Nancy Gay really can’t be trusted not to be biased. Jerry McDonald has the entire transcript on his blog and I don’t think Tollner was nearly as critical as Gay makes it sound.
Sorry Raider fans, but JaBust will never make an elite NFL QB. He’ll be doing good to make an average QB.
He may the worst quarterback to ever put on an NFL uniform, but they should get his eyes checked. He’s missing guys by a mile. Something’s not right there.
Stunning that a coach would actually speak truthfully to the media. That should tell you all you need to know about the No Fun League.
“Through two games, Russell’s passer rating is 46.6. He has completed less than 36 percent of his passes.”
I keep reading from, the vocal minority of Raider fans, how good crazy uncle Al’s drafts have been the past few years.
I just don’t see it…and as this weeks game is blacked out, a lot of people agree.
I’d still take him over Vick.
JaMarcus called out his receivers after the game last week so this is only fair to do to him. Stupid is forever.
Is this the same Nancy Gay who reported that National Football Post reported that Tom Cable had “punched” Hanson when the NFP story never used that work, or “hit” or anything of that nature, only saying he was involved in an incident in which Hanson’s jaw was broken? What Tollner said was accurate, but there was a lot more Gay left out that would put above comments into context … And Gay? Didn’t she get fired, errrrrrr, take the “buyout” from the Chron? She’s a crappy reporter who will soon be writing for CompuServe.
At least we know that the raiders are not afraid of recognizing their mistakes. If JM is really holding back the team, Al Davis will not hesitate to can him next season.
As for our second QB options, I prefer charlie fry over gradkowski, but still think JM will pick it up to at least make a respectable play action pass. We are seeing too many 8-9 man in the box…
He definitely didn’t play well vs. KC but still managed to turn it on and engineer a game-winning drive with some nice passes. The week before he struggled but again, led a come from behind drive to put the team ahead in the waning minutes.
He played well in the preseason. He played well in the second half of last season when he was completing passes at above 60% rate.
He deserves more time. Just because Matt Ryan and Flacco played well their rookie years and Mark Sanchez has had a pair of Dilferesque wins doesn’t mean every QB is either good or sucks depending on their first 20 games.
– FACT: JaMarcus’ first two starts were statistically better than Sanchez’s.
– FACT: JaMarcus had one of the highest passer ratings in the league over the 2nd half of 2008.
– FACT: JaMarcus has hands down the best arm in the league.
– FACT: In the last two weeks, JaMarcus has led drives to take the Raiders from trailing to being ahead within the last three minutes of a game. That’s only happened one other time this decade in Oakland.
– FACT: Eli Manning didn’t start playing well until the end of his 4th season.
– FACT: Drew Brees — hands down the best QB in the NFL right now — finished his 3rd season in the NFL with a 67.5 QB Rating. This led the Chargers to draft Rivers in the top-10 as his replacement.
If Rivers didn’t pan out the Chargers would be mocked endlessly for giving up on Brees too soon. Yet, everyone is screaming about how the Raiders need to give up on JaMarcus just two games into his 3rd season when he’s won 3 of his last 4 games and came within a play or two of being 4-0 over that stretch.
Give me a break.
I think it’s fairly obvious that J. Russell, V. Young, and M. Vick all suffer from what I like to call “Man Among Boys Syndrome”.
In high school and even in college, Russell and company were so physically superior to most/all of their opponents that they felt like they didn’t need to work on “the little things” that “unathletic” QBs have to master.
That is to say, because they were the biggest/fastest/strongest players on the field, they didn’t worry about improving their footwork, or developing a better throwing motion, or learning the entire playbook, or studying film.
To put it bluntly, Russell, Young, and Vick – to varying degrees – played streetball in college.
Texas coach Mack Brown said during VY’s senior season that the Longhorns simplified their playbook to take advantage of their QB’s “athleticism”, and Vick has admitted that he’s been a lazy professional.
While “athleticism” can be an asset in helping an NFL QB improvise his way out of a busted play, it has little to do with his primary job, which is executing plays the way they are designed to be executed.
Thanks to their “athleticism”, Russell and company will provide the occasional highlight reel play, but they will never become championship-caliber QBs until they display the work ethic and football intelligence that is necessary to win at the NFL level.
I don’t take any pleasure in it, but they’ve set themselves back a few years again.
They’ll need to decide on him this year or it will be longer.
Not a Raiders fan, but the whole League is better if there aren’t perennial bottom feeders.
bluenorge says: September 25, 2009 2:13 PM
Time to call up Jeff George???
Answer: Yes!
BaldingersPinky says:
September 25, 2009 2:34 PM
JaMarcus called out his receivers after the game last week so this is only fair to do to him. Stupid is forever.
————————————–
Let’s not forget, JaMarcus is the only QB playing with two starting rookie WRs. I wouldn’t say he “called them out.” He was asked about it and said that the WRs were not always where he expected them to be and they all needed to get the timing down. Tollner said in the same interview that it’s not just JaMarcus, the WRs are a big reason for the low completion percentage.
To the average fan the passes that sail over the receiver’s head look insanely inaccurate, but Russell is throwing that pass in anticipation of where the WR is going to be. It’s obvious he expects them to be in one place and they are in another. Not to say it’s the WR’s fault, they’re just out of sync.
Also, despite the inaccuracy, JaMarcus has thrown 2 INTs this season. One was on a hail mary at the last play of the Chargers game. The other was on the first drive of the Chargers game on a perfectly thrown pass that Murphy ran a sloppy route and didn’t go after the ball aggressively for and the DB outhustled him to the spot. Neither pick was J-Russ’s fault.
I like your name though.
And to think, the Raiders could have drafted A.D. or Megatron instead of Jamarcus that year. Peterson is already the best pure runner in the league and Calvin Johnson would get much higher props were he in a higher profile market with an established QB.
The Raiders are stuck with Russell’s fat contract. Dwayne Bowe’s assessment of Jamarcus was spot on last week. He needs to put in as much extra time as possible. And dude needs to get into shape; he looks like Richard Seymour out there, except with a different number.
@ItalianArmyGuy – well said!
“You cannot change the stripes of a leopard.”
The mind-numbing parade of fools on these boards who constantly attack the ‘journalistic integrity’ of the writers, apart from taking up a lot of space and being very boring to read, are missing something important.
There, at the top of the screen…look for it…”Latest News & RUMORS”. And the name of the site… Pro Football TALK. This isn’t Water Cronkite–it’s closer to the NFL gossip site. And it’s basically a blog. Why does this seem to constantly surprise most people? You want dry, bland, safe, league-approved stories, go to ESPN or SI. This is quick hit and quick react.
You don’t like the approach they take here? Fine. Just don’t waste our time with your comment-board-bloating exercises in self-aggrandizement, because nobody cares what your editorial opinions are.
Comment on the substance of the story, or stop wasting our time. PLEASE.
well why did they cut garcia 2 weeks ago if thats what they thought of him?
JaMarcus JaSucks and anyone who says otherwise is just playing a game for the cameras. He’ll eventually get run out of Oakland and probably some day down the line after two or three teams he back his way into a starting job on a lower-level team (read as Byron Leftwich).
Make all the excuses you want for him, but the man has developed zero touch on his passes. Yes, I bet he can throw the ball out of the stadium, but he cant lay it in a guys breadbasket from 5 yards away.
Try reading the entire interview, I think you’ll get a better feel for what was actually said. Tollner clearly stated that it’s not entirely Russell’s fault which is what he was referring to when he said, “…I don’t have the answer other than what I already said.”
That said, Russell needs to improve in order for the Raiders to continue to grow as a team. But hold back the bust label until the kid has at least a couple of years under him. Technically he’s in his 3rd year but with spot duty and only 1 start at the end of his rookie year I wouldn’t call him a 3rd year QB. He only has 18 starts. He’s a second year QB with his 3rd QB coach, 2nd Head Coach and even more coordinators.
If he doesn’t improve then by all means label the guy a bust, but you have to give him more than 18 starts. Shoot, he has a better passer rating than Manning did in his first 18 starts.
Are you really taking that much of your day to defend Jamarcus Russell…wow. There is hope for Akili Smith just yet.
“He may the worst quarterback to ever put on an NFL uniform, but they should get his eyes checked. He’s missing guys by a mile. Something’s not right there.”
You might be on the money with this one. If I remember correctly, he had lasik eye surgery right after he was drafted or right before. Maybe it didn’t take.
I hate to say it but is it something with black quarterbacks??
I’ve spent the last five years trying to figure out just what the hell a “JaMarcus” is and now you throw the term “passing game cooridnator” at me??????
No sleep for me tonight. Thanks Florio.
7 for 24 passing in a game isn’t acceptable coming from a franchise qb. should’ve plead with garcia to stick around for a bit more.
Don’t forget about Daunte Culpepper(who should probably be starting for Detroit)…who else is out there that could jump right in and start?
Russell will be better than vick in the long run ……..WHAT
Jamarcus has thrown footballs that Yao Ming would have a hard time catching. I think if Jamarcus starts aiming for the feet, he’d be right on the money and all our problems will be gone. Think about it. Imagine our defense getting 30 minutes of rest a game like every other team does? We’d be unstoppable.
It’s his footwork.
He isn’t blind and he doesn’t even make bad decisions most of the time. He is not comfortable pulling off a 3,5, or 7 step drop and so even his good reads end up off-target or (whenever he tries to use arm-strength to compensate) over-thrown.
There’s a reason he has performed much better at the end of both games: he’s working from the shotgun. That means no drop to foul up his mechanics and timing.
I have no idea if he can learn proper footwork, but that’s what what will decide whether his career takes off or flames out.
The Eagles will trade you Jeff Garcia- for a 2 or Kevin Kolb for a 1….391 yards passing may be more the JR threw for last year.
“Watching JaMarcus throw a short touch pass is like watching Shaq shoot a free throw.”
I agree! His mechanics are so terrible! He relies far too much on his strength! If he could learn to have better foot work those short passes would be less painful!
I think he’s fat, lazy and really just a turd.
Bob S. says:
September 25, 2009 3:04 PM
well why did they cut garcia 2 weeks ago if thats what they thought of him?
Jeff Garcia asked for his release, they were not going to release him otherwise.
If Jamarcus can play good at the end of games it shows the ability to play well is there, he just has to learn to get himself in the correct mindset to play at that level consistantly. If he can he will be fine if he can’t it will be very sad to waste such talent.
“I hate to say it but is it something with black quarterbacks??”
You clearly don’t hate to say it, because you are a racist troll. Go back under your rock.
Russell will mature and be better than Big Ben ..
I’m not sure I understood anything Tollner said, except that he said ‘strides’ alot.
Here’s hoping Russell continues to regress against the might Broncos this weekend.
L.A. Raiders says:
“Russell will mature and be better than Big Ben ..”
The clock in London?
But did ya know JaLardAss can throw a football 60 yards from his knees??
Sucks to be Raider fan with this slug as our QB. But ya just gotta laugh seeing JaLardAss try and complete a pass to dhBUST.
But he can throw a ball 70 yards while standing on one leg……
@ AutumnWind: Perfectly said man! It’s hilarious to me how many people are so quick to give up on a player so easily. But when he starts doing good, act as if they were behind them the whole time! The fact of the matter is, most old time QB’s will tell you that there such a huge jump in the learning curve from college to the Pro’s. It takes anywhere from 5-6 years for QB’s to get to the level you should be at in the Pro’s. Of course there are some QBs that have great systems already in place around them that catch on quicker. In Oakland this was hardly the case, up until late last year, we had no offensive line, and our recieving corps was so pitiful that are best WR was our TE. And he lead everyone by 300+ yards. We finally got a lot of the pieces in place for Jamarcus to succeed and we still dont even have our #1 WR Chaz back yet! How many other teams QB’s out there lead there team to TD’s in the final 3 minutes of there last 2 games? Granted he is shaky at times, but he’s still a kid. It’s going to take time for him to develop and he’s got some of the best coaching available to do that with. Dont give up on this kid yet Nation, I promise he will be the leader of this team! And he will take us to the promised land!
Yes, he looks very bad right now. Any MORON can see that. However the interesting thing is, that Nancy Gay is reporting this as she never has anything negative to say about the Raiders.
AutumnWind999 says:
September 25, 2009 2:41 PM
– FACT: JaMarcus’ first two starts were statistically better than Sanchez’s.
——————————
FACT: JaMarcus’ stats through his first two games this season pale in comparison to either of those stat lines.
———————————
AutumnWind999 says:
September 25, 2009 2:41 PM
– FACT: JaMarcus has hands down the best arm in the league.
——————————
FACT: If arms were measured 100% by strength and 0% by accuracy, that might be true. As it stands, arm strength is overrated and accuracy is underrated. Look at the top passers in the league. None of them are completing passes at 50%. And JaMarcus’ career completion percentage is 51.8 %.
———————————
AutumnWind999 says:
September 25, 2009 2:41 PM
– FACT: In the last two weeks, JaMarcus has led drives to take the Raiders from trailing to being ahead within the last three minutes of a game. That’s only happened one other time this decade in Oakland.
———————————-
FACT: You think his performance in the last three minutes of a game excuses his performance for the prior 57.
———————————
AutumnWind999 says:
September 25, 2009 2:41 PM
– FACT: Eli Manning didn’t start playing well until the end of his 4th season.
———————————
FACT: By the end of Eli Manning’s 4th season he had three 3,000 yard seasons to his name. By the end of JaMarcus’ third season he will have 0. And by the end of his career he’ll likely have 0 as well.
———————————
AutumnWind999 says:
September 25, 2009 2:41 PM
– FACT: Drew Brees — hands down the best QB in the NFL right now — finished his 3rd season in the NFL with a 67.5 QB Rating. This led the Chargers to draft Rivers in the top-10 as his replacement.
——————————-
FACT: At the end of Drew Brees’ third season in the league he had started only 27 games (the equivalent of one and two-thirds full seasons). In Drew Brees’ third season as a starting QB he had a 104.8 QB rating with 27 TDs and only 7 INTs and he completed over 65% of his passes.
Bonus FACT: Comparing JaMarcus Russell to Drew Brees makes you look like a retarded monkey.
Why is it when there is a negative post about oakland all you numnuts chime in. Its plain to see that the raiders have been kickin your teams d@#$% in the dirt for years. Russell has been struggiling but he has come up big on 2 late drives . Give him some time really this is only his second year. I am not saying he is going to be a star but its to early to tell.
@49er girl
Its funny to hear criticizm about someone who plays a professional sport for a living being a Fat, Lazy, Turd, coming from some chick that sits her fat ass on the couch watching that fat, lazy turd.
Worry about your own teams QB, Mr.checkdown, I mean Mr.Hill before you jump on ours! Just be happy Gore took the heat off of Hill the last 2 weeks…..now were gonna see how he handles a good defense finally.
Adam-Chris Scheftersen says:
September 25, 2009 5:54 PM
——————————
FACT: At the end of Drew Brees’ third season in the league he had started only 27 games (the equivalent of one and two-thirds full seasons). In Drew Brees’ third season as a starting QB he had a 104.8 QB rating with 27 TDs and only 7 INTs and he completed over 65% of his passes.
——————————————-
FACT: Russell only has 18 career starts and is a 2nd year starter.
The point is, don’t be so quick to judge and you did a great job demonstrating that fact. Good job Adam-Chris Scheftersen
LOL … people still making excuses for JaMarcus.
FACT … JaMarcus is one of the highest paid QB in the league
FACT … JaMarcus is at the bottom of QB rating.
FACT … that’s a bust … if it takes you 5-6 years to develope … you SHOULD NOT be paid like a top QB.
FACT … If the Raiders had an average QB … they wold win the AFC West.
BaldingersPinky says:
September 25, 2009 2:34 PM
Also, despite the inaccuracy, JaMarcus has thrown 2 INTs this season. One was on a hail mary at the last play of the Chargers game. The other was on the first drive of the Chargers game on a perfectly thrown pass that Murphy ran a sloppy route and didn’t go after the ball aggressively for and the DB outhustled him to the spot. Neither pick was J-Russ’s fault.
__________________________________________
If the Chiefs defense could catch a ball … JaMarcus would have had 3 more INTs … what’s your point?
To SFTitan:
I hate to agree with you, but the only black quarterback in NFL history that you could count on for being consistently competent over the long term was Warren Moon, and and he was no blacker than President Obama (whom I just happened to have voted for and would vote for again).
I don’t like to see someone being called a racist simply for pointing out a rather obvious (and undeniable) fact, so I have to reluctantly admit to being in your corner on this one. The real question is why is this the case………..
To RedSquare:
Thanks for your excellent comment. My sentiments exactly.
Most of the responders here can’t string together a two word thought coherently and when they do rarely spell all the words correctly. I still say that they are simply envious that they can’t earn a living writing about pro football and therefore hate those who do……….
SFTitan says: September 25, 2009 3:17 PM
“I hate to say it but is it something with black quarterbacks??”
===========
Yes, why DID Warren Moon and Doug Williams set so many NFL passing records? Is it because of their skin color?
To Bubba Maximus:
Excellent, excellent analysis. Intelligent, insightful posts like this is why I read this blog
BTW, I couldn’t agree more with your analysis of why MOST black QB’s simply won’t cut it in the NFL. It’s their football background, one that can serve them well at the collegiate level, but that simply doesn’t work and will never work in the pros.
Most white QB’s begin playing a pro type style while still in high school, which long term, works much, much better at preparing them.
I would really like to see Mr Florio weigh in on this very touchy but worthwhile and interesting topic.
Russell is better than Alex Smith will ever be… I wonder why we don’t see Florio talking about how He’s regressed… or Hasselbeck….. or Delhomme… or Matt Cassel…
Hmmm….
BleedColtsBlue says:
September 27, 2009 7:10 AM
Russell is better than Alex Smith will ever be… I wonder why we don’t see Florio talking about how He’s regressed… or Hasselbeck….. or Delhomme… or Matt Cassel…
Hmmm….
——————————-
Hmmmm…. Alex Smith isn’t a starting QB. Hmmmm… Hasselbeck has completed 35 of 54 passes in the first two weeks for an 88 passer rating. Has he regressed? If so, his lows are higher than JaMarcus’ highs.
As for Delhomme: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/09/13/nine-picks-in-51-passes-for-delhomme/
Hmmm… It must be a conspiracy.