End of an Error

So at long last, the JaCarcass Russell era has come to a suitably ignominious -- if belabored and long-overdue -- end in Oakland. Let a thousand post-mortems begin in earnest.

One of the more entertaining -- and by "entertaining" I mean "ludicrous" -- assessments of Russell is that of SF Comical root vegetable Zennie Abraham, who manages to be wrong about a variety of subjects with stunning regularity:

In 2007, the Raiders Drafted Jamarcus Russell and before they selected him there was a big splash about his size and talent. The choice for the Oakland Raiders was between Russell and then-Notre Dame Quarterback Brady Quinn, who's [sic] stock had risen after a very good performance at the NFL Combine. At the 2007 NFL Draft Luncheon at Chelsea Piers, Russell said he'd heard "nothing" from the Raiders. The word around the NFL Draft was that the Raiders were set to take Quinn.

Nonsense. Every team plays their draft preferences close to the vest (duh), and few more so than the Raiders, invested as they are in cultivating their "mystique", even after a miserable 2-14 abortion of a season. The 2007 draft class was pretty thin at QB to begin with, and none of the marquee names from that year -- Russell, Quinn, Matt Leinart -- have been worth a shit. Quinn's stock was boosted because he had run the closest to a legit pro offense at Notre Dame, briefly overshadowing his noodle arm, mediocre decision-making, and lax work ethic. But Quinn wouldn't have been any better with Oakland, because he was even less suited for Al Davis' archaic offense.

To everyone's surprise, the Raiders took JaMarcus Russell. I felt then and now that Russell was the better choice. JaMarcus has the rare combination of size and speed. He's the best talent to run a short passing game designed around his abilities.

Note, short passing game.

The Raiders under Lane Kiffin inserted Russell into an offense not designed for him and at that incredibly inept in it's [sic] function. On one particularly memorable play, the Kiffin-led Raiders asked Russell to call a weakside bootleg out of I-Formation against the Denver Broncos and while the Broncos had an obvious blitz called to that weakside.

Kee-rist. First of all, the Raiders haven't run a short-pass offense -- or anything resembling a "west coast" style -- since Gruden was coaching, and it ended up costing him his job, and costing the Raiders their last decent record. Second, Russell is precisely not suited for a short passing offense, which is exactly why Davis wanted him.

Third, what a piss-poor example of a play with which to defend Russell, when a competent quarterback should be able to pick up an "obvious" blitz. And it means nothing, one play in the course of three phenomenally bad seasons of play.

True, Russell has had little or no continuity at coach, a problem that is amplified when the player in question is notorious for his lack of motivation. True, Davis is a capricious, meddlesome owner who toys with his fan base routinely. And true, Tom Cable was a terminal fuck-up as nominal OC last season, regularly finding his offense's back to their own end zone, and instead of using his three decent running backs to methodically, patiently build a drive, eat up the clock, and give his incompetent quarterback at least a glimmer of confidence, frequently chose to have Russell heave it forty yards downfield, to clank off one of the young, inexperienced receivers if they were lucky.

But Russell is the one who chose to hold out his rookie season. Russell is the one who quickly gained a rep for walking through practices, showing up late and falling asleep in meetings, and not having the playbook tight. Russell is the one who lackadaisically deflected any and all critiques of his performance, no matter how objective and legitimate. Russell's the one who chose to flash his bling in public appearances, like a fucking buffoon, without having earned the right to. People flicked Joe Namath shit for wearing a fur coat back in the day, and he actually won a fuckin' Super Bowl.

Most damning of all, Russell got fined in last year's training camp for showing up overweight. I think most fans ran out of patience at that point. Look, I may talk trash about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady when the occasion arises, but there's no doubt in even the most ardent hater's mind that those two earn their keep (and they make about as much money, so the argument of money as a demotivator is a non-starter). They show up for work, they know the plays, they know the system, they know their shit so that when the play breaks down they find something to make it work. And their teammates know it, and they play harder as a result. By mid-season, every time Russell came in the o-line's shoulders collectively slumped, and they transformed into turnstiles as Russell went fetal trying to hold onto the ball. The problem was as obvious as it was intangible -- Russell's lack of self-accountability had become contagious.

Debates will be had among football fans for some time: Was Russell a bigger bust than Ryan Leaf (about tied, but Leaf was a bigger asshole)? Will Russell ever play again (maybe for the league minimum, and only for a desperate team)? Why did he fail so badly (many reasons, the main one being poor work ethic)? Is Russell Exhibit A for a rookie salary cap (hell yes)?

But there's a larger argument to be made about how interdependent talent and management really are, how a dysfunctional organization can bring out the worst in people, no matter how much raw talent they may have. It's true in just about any walk in life -- sports, music, business, politics. It's always a risky proposition to give a 21-year-old kid $30+ million guaranteed, before he's ever taken a snap or run a drill or done a goddamned thing.

Either way, it's Christmas Day in Raider Nation.