Bold prediction considering that the Raiders have set a record for the most divional losses in a row and counting. If you can't win a game in your own division, winning 7 or 8 games is a stretch. Bad quarterback. Bad offensive line. Bad owner. Bad attitudes. Bad coach.
This year's Raiders have a bunch of aging, overpriced veterans and underachieving high draft picks (Robert Gallery, Jamarcus Russell) who play for an organization that forgot how to win. What will be different this year? Nothing. As long as Al Davis is there, the only bright spot will be the holloween costume party in the stands.
I really don't know why everyone is ripping on Jamarcus Russell so much. Granted he was signed to a huge contract and probably is not worth a #1 pick he is still gonna be a darn good quaterback.
He reminds me of Culpepper before the injuries. If Russell can stay healthy and personally everyone see's the Raiders having a terrible years this year, I don't think that is going to be the case. Russell has a strong arm, is mobile, and I personally believe way more disciplined of a passer than Vince Young.
Many people like Vince Young as a QB but I believe Russell can be much better than him seeing he has a stronger arm, most likely a more accurate passer, and less speed. Concluding that this year he is going to turn the Raider franchise around for a while or until he gets hurt.
I'd like to address a few things that are absolutely false that are being posted on this thread.....
#1 - Tyellington - No way can the jury be out on a kid who played parts of 4 games. He had a brutal game against Jacksonville, and a decent game against the Chargers. The jury will be out on him for the next 2-3 years
#2 - Pretty much everyone - According to team officials, strength & conditioning coaches and people in Russell's camp, he is at his playing weight of roughly 260, and Kiffin and Greg Knapp have both gone on record as saying he's been working hard, putting in extra time in the film room, coming in early and staying late, working out hard, and is in the best shape since they've had him on the team
#3 - Charge - Our pitiful conference losing streak came to an end last season, so it's not "and counting." I don't disagree that Al Davis had made some poor decisions recently, but all teams have their down years, and this is really the first stretch in our history where we've been really bad for very long
Point is, none of us are knowledgeable enough about either Russell or Quinn to say whether either one will be a success in this league. Russell got off to a rocky start, but that roll-out pinpoint TD bullet pass to Porter off a broken play last season gives us a glimpse of what the kid is capable of
Are you really suggesting that Culpepper's demise was due to injuries? How about his success was due to Randy Moss and his uncanny ability to adjust to poorly thrown balls? All Culpepper ever did was to chuck the rock down field and wait for Moss to grab it. Look at his ratings pre and post Moss.
Frankly, making any judgements on Russell is premature given how little experience he has to date but at least let's be fair in his performance to date. He absolutely has sucked! He doesn't read defenses, doesn't step up in the pocket, folds under pressure and is not anticipating fast enough for the NFL. Right now, he is the perfect example of a player not being able to adjust to speed and talent level of the NFL.
Will he improve? Sure. This year is an important year for his development and will go a long way in determining his future? Is he a sure thing? Not by a long shot. Is he going to be a "darn good quarterback"? Better flip a coin or use a crystal ball that making a blanket statement like that. The scouting report on him right now is that he is not very good!
What scouting report is that, Charge? Because the Raiders coaching staff are pretty excited about what he's bringing to the table. In his first career start, against your Chargers, who were jockeying for playoff position, he threw an interception on his first snap. He then proceeded to go 22-30 for a TD, and a nice one at that, improvising off a broken play.
How was Elway in his first season? Twice as many interceptions as TD passes. What about Peyton Manning? Troy Aikman? Young quarterbacks on bad teams. All with the benefit of a full training camp
The guy didn't get started on learning the plays and the playbook until the season was half over. He didn't have time to adjust to NFL speed. It was his own fault due to the holdout, but the fact remains.....you obviously have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Russell, because you keep throwing out judgments with no facts to back them up. Wait until this year when he's had a full training camp and gets all the first team reps. If he's still no good by the middle of the season, then obviously it's time for us to worry. But you have to give the kid a little bit of a break. After all, he did play well against your Chargers
I'm not knocking the kid at all and he could prove to be a good or even great quarteback. The facts are very clear right now: He is not even a good quarterback at this point in his career. As far as his coaches being excited; they sure as hell better be because when you have the top pick in the draft, he has to contribute and have an immediate impact. The Raiders have been so awful that anything short of an impact player has to be considered a huge letdown.
Russell has the tools physically to be great. The combination of size, strength and speed can not be coached. Is he an Elway, Aikman or Manning? Doubt it. You're talking the best of all time arguably and to put him in this company is ludicruis at this point of his career.
Frankly, him holding out did hurt him and he has no one to blame exept himself. I personallly hate when players who haven't played a single game hold teams hostage for huge contracts. But I'll save that for another day.
As far as no facts to back it up are concerned, his quarterback rating was one of the lowest in the league and he made mistake after mistake. The game was way too fast for him. Was that a surprise? Certainly not when you consider how late he got into camp and how hard it is to play quarterback at this level. So right now, the facts are that he is not very good at this stage of his career. Period.
You can talk all day about potential or how he though a bunch of short passes against the Chargers in one game. His team did not win and their reward is once again a high draft pick which they probably will blow by taking McFadden, a real true blue Raider type guy.
Incidently, I am giving the kid a break and have not made any judgements about his long term potential because I don't have a crystal ball. The best I can do is to see what's right in front of me right now. Don't forget that Ryan Leaf had a lot of potential as well!
I wasn't comparing him to Elway, Aikman or Manning in the scope that I think he'll be as good as them. I was simply pointing out that many people were saying the same things about them when they struggled in the exact same situation, except with the benefit of a training camp under their belt
I like how you conveniently left out the great roll-out bullet pass off the broken play that I mentioned against the Chargers. That play went for a touchdown. He looked good in the Chargers game. He looked poised, despite your assertions to the contrary. He didn't force the ball, and he made one mistake, on the first snap of the game. Encouraging to say the least.
And yes, we did draft McFadden. I would've rather had Dorsey, but McFadden is an exciting player. I love how Chargers fans are now so very cocky after having been the league's doormat for years upon years. We have hit the skids recently, so get your licks in while you can because football is cyclical and soon you'll be staring up at us from the bottom. When, I can't say, but it will happen. And when it does, it'll be all the sweeter with all the crap we've taken recently
