Raiders and a QB

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Blog from Sacramento Bee:



JaMarcus Russell may have just given Tom Cable the ace up his sleeve to keep his job as head coach and force Al Davis to choose him over the purported franchise quarterback.

As first reported by Contra Costa Times columnist Cam Inman this afternoon, Russell has checked into the Maloofs' Palms Hotel and Casino a day after skipping the Raiders' final team meeting and further angering teammates with his obtuse ways.

If true, it just shows - again - that Russell prefers to party than to pontificate a lost season. Yes, I know the season is over. And yes, I get it that Russell's absence was "excused" due to "personal reasons," according to Cable in his Monday presser. But this just sends all the wrong messages. As I wrote this week, Davis should cut Russell and keep Cable. And as I add now, Cable should have his play-calling duties stripped and hire an offensive coordinator. And Davis should hire a General Manager. But I digress...

At least one of Russell's teammates was fed up enough with Russell's absence to not-so-subtly point it out to reporters Monday in the locker room. And if you believe the other, thus far uncorroborated rumors, it's just the latest in a long line of stories floating around showing off Russell's "I've-got-$30-million-reasons-why-I-don't-have-to-work-as-hard-as-you" stance.

Cable could take that into his scheduled meeting with Davis next week. He wouldn't even need an overhead projector to show the chasm developing between Russell and his teammates, and that Cable was right to bench Russell, whom Davis has said will be "great." Then again, it would also prove Lane Kiffin was correct about Russell.

Unfortunately for Russell, what happens in Vegas, gets Blogged about in Silver and Blackdom. Stay tuned...
Posted by Paul Gutierrez

[Crucifax Autumn]

What a doosh. I hope he spends a ton of money while he's here.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

thats why guaranteed contracts for rookies is ridiculous, why al should go away, and why I have nightmares...

Sad thing is they have too much money invested to cut him

[SoonerLB]

If the NFL were ever to receive an enema, the insertion tube and Al Davis would be a perfect match.
Just sayin' ..... ;)

[ouleaf]

Are we to the point where Russell has eclipsed Leaf as the all time biggest bust for a top QB 1st Rd Draft Pick? I know technically Leaf was drafted No. 2 behind Manning, but still. Numbers wise, Leaf was worse, but for the money Russell got, you have to take that into heavy consideration.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

actually Leaf was number 2 behind manning

[ouleaf]

actually Leaf was number 2 behind manning

fixed. thought about that immediately after I posted it.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I think what makes Leaf/Russell deals different is that the NFL'ers were split down the middle on who was better, Manning or Leaf.. and that both teams that had the 2 picks would end up with great qbs... Dont forget SD traded away about 3 picks and 2 players to get that pick...

To be surprised that an Al Davis pick is a bust...well most arent surprised really....He is a huge bust, but not as disappointing as leaf...

[Frozen Sooner]

I think what makes Leaf/Russell deals different is that the NFL'ers were split down the middle on who was better, Manning or Leaf.. and that both teams that had the 2 picks would end up with great qbs... Dont forget SD traded away about 3 picks and 2 players to get that pick...

To be surprised that an Al Davis pick is a bust...well most arent surprised really....He is a huge bust, but not as disappointing as leaf...

Fortunately the Chargers have a competent front office these days.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Oakland will one day...

[badger]

I think David Carr turned out to be a big No. 1 bust for Houston. I know it wasn't entirely his fault he was sacked so much those first few years in the franchise, but WOW.

The one even worse than Carr would have to be Tim Couch to the Browns in their first franchise year (the newer Browns, that is). Wow, did he suck. Someone named Ki-Jana Carter also sucked for another Ohio pro team :D

As for the Raiders, they should have known better... but they have Al Davis calling the shots, and we all know that he knows no better and that nobody can convince him otherwise :rolleyes:

[jrboomersooner]

yes but carr had that hair.....

[beer4me]

Being a Charger fan I think the raiders should get gonorrhea and burn in hell :D

[TMcGee86]

I have never understood why Ryan Leaf gets all this bust talk and yet you never hear anyone mention Akili Smith in the same breath.

The only reason I can think of for why people consider Leaf to be the biggest bust of all time is that he was such an ahole. And dont get me wrong, he was definitely a bust, but I'm sorry, no matter which way you look at it, Akili Smith was a much MUCH bigger bust than Ryan Leaf.


THE TALE OF THE TAPE:

Ryan Leaf was picked 2nd.
Akili Smith was picked 3rd.

The next four picks after Leaf were: Andre Wadworth, Charles Woodson, Curtis Ennis, and Grant Winstrom. Two of those were total busts and only one of those (Woodson) ever made the ProBowl.

Whereas the next four picks after Smith were: Ederrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey. All FOUR were preinnial probowlers.

Leaf appeared in 25 games and made 21 starts. He completed 315 of 655 passes for 3,666 yards, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions, and was sacked 65 times.

Smith appeared in just 22 games and made 17 starts. He completed 215 of 461 passes for 2,221 yards, with 5 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was sacked 59 times despite being a "mobile" quarterback.


Obviously the fact that Leaf was picked just one spot ahead of Smith should not suddenly eliminate Smith from bust contention.

But it gets worse.


One thing most might cite as another reason for Leaf's lofty status is the fact that the Chargers traded up one spot to get him, and gave away a first round pick the next year, plus a second round pick and two players.

Granted, this does lend some credibility to Leaf's bust status.

But then you look at Smith.

The Saints, in a desperate attempt to land Ricky Williams, offered Cincy NINE DRAFT PICKS, including their entire 1999 draft, and their first, third and fourth in 2000.

So basically the Bengals traded nine draft picks, including two first rounders, two thirds, and two fourths, for the right to draft Smith.

If that's not the biggest bust in history I don't know what is.

It only gets worse when you consider who Washington got with those picks, Champ Bailey, Jon Jansen, and Lavar Arrington, among others.

Arizona merely picked up fellow bust Andre Wadsworth and David Boston with the picks they got in the leaf trade.



Any way you slice it, Akili Smith was a bigger bust than leaf. I know Leaf was an a-hole, but really that only makes it less of a bust in my mind, the kid had talent he just had no mental capacity for the game. Smith on the other hand was a moron and could never grasp the play book, much less actually make plays in the NFL. He was a one year wonder in college and a total flop in the NFL. He couldn't blame it on poor attitude, he just sucked.


Not to go all Rush Limbaugh but I think race probably plays some factor in this as you are always treading on thin ice when you bring up black QB's. Couple that with the fact that Leaf was not only White, but a total and complete a-hole, it makes it much easier to hate on him.


But I still say Akili Smith was the biggest bust in the history of the NFL.

[badger]

So you're saying he's the Sam Bowie of the Neffel - not the top pick, but still the most notoriously bad draft pick in the history of ever? :D

[TMcGee86]

heh, great example.

[Frozen Sooner]

So you're saying he's the Sam Bowie of the Neffel - not the top pick, but still the most notoriously bad draft pick in the history of ever? :D

And I still dispute that. Like the Blazers were going to spend the #1 pick to replace a young Clyde Drexler.

Funny story-Akili Smith was considered an OU lock for a long while. Only reason he went to Oregon is he could enroll faster, since they were on the quarter system.

The NBA has plenty of examples of worse draft picks than Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, especially when you consider needs.

Michael Olowakandi ring any bells?
Greg Oden over Kevin Durant?

[badger]

C'mon Frozo... it's not a knock on the pick itself, it's a knock on who they could have taken instead.

Who cares if Portland would have two star guards IF ONE OF THEM IS MICHAEL FREAKIN' JORDAN?!?

As for Olowakandi... sure, it was a bad pick, but in order for it to be notoriously awful like the Bowie pick, someone uberly better had to go after him. Was there a Jordan taken after Olowakandi? Vince Young might have been labeled the next Jordan for awhile... until he left Canada :D

Nothing against the OKC kid Durant, but it's too early to label Oden a bust... 2007 wasn't THAT long ago, and that's when they were drafted.

All draft critique aside, I mentioned Bowie specifically because he wasn't the top pick, like Akili. Please return with examples that are not the top picks, Frozo.

[westcoast_sooner]

Oakland will one day...

Not as long as Al Davis runs the franchise.

[Frozen Sooner]

C'mon Frozo... it's not a knock on the pick itself, it's a knock on who they could have taken instead.

Who cares if Portland would have two star guards IF ONE OF THEM IS MICHAEL FREAKIN' JORDAN?!?

As for Olowakandi... sure, it was a bad pick, but in order for it to be notoriously awful like the Bowie pick, someone uberly better had to go after him. Was there a Jordan taken after Olowakandi? Vince Young might have been labeled the next Jordan for awhile... until he left Canada :D

Nothing against the OKC kid Durant, but it's too early to label Oden a bust... 2007 wasn't THAT long ago, and that's when they were drafted.

All draft critique aside, I mentioned Bowie specifically because he wasn't the top pick, like Akili. Please return with examples that are not the top picks, Frozo.

1. No, it's not too early to label Oden a bust. He's played in like fifteen games over his first three years and he's never going to be healthy. He's a bust.

2. OK, you want an example that's not a top pick? How about Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony AND DeWayne Wade? Xavier McDaniel over Karl Malone? Jerry Stackhouse over Kevin Garnett? FIVE Quarterbacks taken before Dan Marino, including Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, and Ken O'Brien (to be fair, John Elway and Jim Kelly were the other two, which are pretty defensible picks)

Saying that nobody's as incredible as Michael Jordan is both fatuous and beside the point. Nobody knew that Michael Jordan was going to be Michael Jordan coming out of college-they knew he was DAMN good (he did win the Wooden and Naismith awards), sure, but I don't think anyone foresaw that he'd be the hands-down best player ever.

[Frozen Sooner]

Pardon me. Oden has played in 82 career games in three seasons. He's averaging a whopping 9.4 points per game and a respectable 7.4 rebounds per game. There's a decent chance he never plays up to an All-star level, particularly because big men don't have a lot of success coming back from the kind of knee injury he suffered. If a #1 overall draft pick doesn't make an All-Star team, he's a bust.

Durant, on the other hand, has a decent chance at being an NBA player of the year down the road.

Players taken after Michael Olowakandi:

Dirk Nowitzki
Paul Pierce
Vince Carter.

OK, 1998 was a kind of weak year. Still, you can't tell me the Clips wouldn't have been better with Nowitzki. Hell, Brad Miller was undrafted that year, and he's 10x the player Olowakandi is.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I've had basically the same knee surgeries Oden has...Its not like all of a sudden he will get good knees

[Curly Bill]

Oden's like 50 years old. They should have known he'd have bad knees. ;)

[tulsaoilerfan]

Why is this on the Sooner football board?

[Leroy Lizard]

Better yet, why is it in a thread on the Raiders?

[beer4me]

Not as long as Al Davis runs the franchise.


I hope Davis runs the franchise for eternity, as long as he is there they will suc.

[badger]

1. No, it's not too early to label Oden a bust. He's played in like fifteen games over his first three years and he's never going to be healthy. He's a bust.
Yeah, I was just being devil's advocate on this one. I think Paul Allen wanted Greg Oden because he knew the kid wouldn't grow up to be a "Jail Blazer," which I think really embarrassed and disappointed Mr. Microsoft.


2. OK, you want an example that's not a top pick? How about Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony AND DeWayne Wade? Xavier McDaniel over Karl Malone? Jerry Stackhouse over Kevin Garnett? FIVE Quarterbacks taken before Dan Marino, including Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, and Ken O'Brien (to be fair, John Elway and Jim Kelly were the other two, which are pretty defensible picks)
Those are all good examples! See, we're making progress, and not just because it's probably colder in Tulsa now than it is up there!


Saying that nobody's as incredible as Michael Jordan is both fatuous and beside the point. Nobody knew that Michael Jordan was going to be Michael Jordan coming out of college-they knew he was DAMN good (he did win the Wooden and Naismith awards), sure, but I don't think anyone foresaw that he'd be the hands-down best player ever.

That's the trick to recruiting in college and scouting in the pros, isn't it? It isn't about who is awesome now, but who will be awesome when they play for you in the future.

I would rather not talk about the Kandi Man draft ever again, because my lovable loser Bucks, who usually make pretty good draft decisions, but made arguable one of their worst when they traded the rights to Dirk and another first rounder for the rights to Robert "Tractor" Traylor. Gahhhh. Arguably a worse decision than taking Kandi first overall than one of the other handful of future all-stars in that draft :(

[SoonerDood]

Have either of you read The Book of Basketball? Simmons highlights the'84 draft, and how MJ was the star of the Olympic Team that summer. Bobby Knight called his friends in Portland and implored them to take Jordan. They said, "We really need a center." Bobby Knight replied, "Well then play him at CENTER!" But yeah the Oden/Durant draft is eerily similart to Bowie/Jordan.

[SoonerDood]

and continuing with an earlier point in the thread, yes Akili Smith was a much bigger draft bust than Cryan Leaf. Smith also got a 9 on the Wonderlic.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

I thought the point of the thread was to belittle Jamarcus Russell especially since he's a former tigger.

You suck and you're lazy Jamarcus.

HAHAHAAHA Al Davis