Assuming that the Raiders finally wise up and cut Jamarcus Russell and he never plays again, who's the bigger bust- Jamarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf? For years, Ryan Leaf was the gold standard of NFL busts- the cautionary tale of falling in love with the physical tools and ignoring the intangibles. Ryan Leaf may have been the bigger jerk, but Jamarcus Russell may still be the bigger bust as well as alienating his fair share of teammates and fans. I don't know if anybody else here watched ESPN's OTL, but I can't see any other team willing to put up with that behavior, especially if they haven't invested all that money in him like the Raiders did. Concerned about his short attention span, the Raiders would need to give him constant breaks during the meeting or else he'd nod off and fall asleep during meeting and film study. The problem was that Russell would sneak off during those breaks to the locker room to take a nap, and the Raiders would need to send somebody to fetch him to wake him up so they could finish the meeting. Did Jamarcus Russell go to Africa, and catch African trypanosomiasis or something?
Reportedly they hired someone specifically to babysit him this offseason for OTAs and camp. Hard to imagine anything worse than Ryan Leaf.
According to OTL, the Raiders also needed to hire somebody to babysit him in the past to make sure he'd do simple stuff like get on the team bus when the Raiders played a game. Jamarcus Russell is a man-child. Physically, he looks like a 30 year old. But, mentally and emotionally, he's still a child. When teams deal with him and have to decide whether or not they need to hire a babysitter for him, they should use the eleven year old test. If they left a eleven year old boy alone, would you trust that eleven year old to do it? And, if they don't think a eleven year old boy can't do it, then they need to hire a babysitter and make sure Russell does it. Would you trust a eleven year old boy to eat his vegetables and not pig out on snacks? No, then you hire a babysitter for Russell to make sure he doesn't balloon up. They had a clip of an interview with him immediately after he got drafted, and he sounded like a little kid at thanksgiving saying how he was going to pig out on this and that now that it didn't matter how much he weighed. Would you trust a eleven year old boy to do his homework and study a thick playbook? No, then you assign somebody to tutor and keep an eye on Russell to make sure he actually studies in preparation for the game. Would you trust a eleven year old boy to get on the bus by himself? No, then you hire a babysitter who can remind Russell its time to leave.
Per Rotoworld: Former teammate Dominic Rhodes confirmed on ESPN's Oustide the Lines that JaMarcus Russell fell asleep in Raiders team meetings. Rhodes also revealed that Russell would have to be tracked down when he took breaks from meetings and forgot to come back. "I don't think he has the mindset to be great," Rhodes added. One former coach called Russell a "binge eater" while another former teammate said he "looked like a lineman" and was "more comfortable with a role as a backup." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/raiders/detail?blogid=11&entry_id=62794
WTF? Look, having an obviously jealous domer on here ripping on the guy that EVISCERATED HIS TEAM in the Sugar Bowl in '07 is a JOKE. I was there, and seeing all the domers seeing their team getting their collective @sses handed to them was MARVELOUS. As to J-Marc, we will judge our own, we don't need you stumbling around here like your football team has over, like say, the LAST TWENTY YEARS. Go away with your ripping on OUR GUY, domer. And take TuskTimes with you.
Saw the show and two of his former Raider teammates really painted a clear picture. Neither sounded bitter, complimented him on his extreme talent, but it was clear they couldn't believe his lack of commitment. It was really sad to hear that he would leave meetings and couldn't find his way back without help.
look at it this way. its like the wanna be at a party walking around with his double layer collar pop and his chest puffed out. he's hoping that the collars and puffing will hide the fact that he's insecure and has a little dick. that, in a nutshell (pun intended) is a domer.
Not really a fair comparison for Leaf. I mean Leaf was bounced around the draft a bit, rejected and traded, then bounced around the field like a little rag doll, losing all confidence and becoming an overhyped, overpaid wimp. Russell on the other hand was built up to be more than he is, put on a horrible team that noone could be a winner, was paid way too much, and instead of excelling at being the best QB in the NFL he excelled his buffet pass and has turned into what could be, if given the opportunity, the best offensive tackle in the NFL. Really though, Russell just doesn't care, nor does he seem to have the desire to be the best. I don't think the same was true of Leaf. To me, sadly, Russell thus far is the bigger bust. He has been paid, substantially more than Leaf was, and to this point hasn't shown any glimpse of even really caring about trying to shed the image he has gained as an NFL starting QB. Leaf just didn't have the talent to backup the hype, Russell has lived up to the concerns that some had about him, that he lacks motivation. A sad path he has created for himself, one that only he can change. I don't think all the babysitters in the world can give an individual drive, and JR just doesn't seem to have it.
