5 Reasons Why JaMarcus Russell Shouldn’t Get a Second Chance
5 Reasons Why JaMarcus Russell Shouldn't Get a Second Chance
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is a no-nonsense type of guy. He has worked tirelessly since replacing Paul Tagliabue on Sept. 1, 2006 to rid the league of delinquents, drugs and foul play. Overall, he has done a marvelous job getting his message across to players that the league will not tolerate misbehavior and criminal acts.
However, there will always be those guys who take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for granted. It is not a birth right to play in the NFL, or any professional league, it is a gift. And that gift can be taken away in a heartbeat. Such is the case for the former No.1 overall pick and Oakland Raider JaMarcus Russell.
Where to start with this guy? To put it in a nutshell, he was detained for possessing codeine syrup without a prescription, his work work ethic and character were a shade over none and he ran a struggling franchise into the ground further. But hey, why not give the guy a second chance, right? As Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend. This guy did enough damage in just three years to one franchise to cover an entire career.
The following list provides reasons why this troubled quarterback should not get a second chance with another team. From a laundry list of reasons not to roll the dice on Russell, these are the top five reasons on why not to allow this guy to be a complete joke again, because it was not even funny the first time.
Bryan Heater is an AAC basketball and football, and NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, Friend him on Facebook or add him to your Google network.
No. 5 Over Hyped
Yes, Russell was much too over hyped coming into the 2007 NFL Draft. Granted, at LSU he had two very good seasons as the starter for the Tigers, in which he threw for a combined 5,572 yards, 43 touchdowns and 17 picks. But it was just two seasons and the big thing for scouts that they liked about his game was his arm strength. If we've learned anything over the past two decades, it's that arm strength does not guarantee any success in the NFL.
His accuracy was good in college, but the NFL is a whole new monster where quarterbacks who do not have great decision-making skills are quickly exposed. There many more things that go into a quarterback being successful in the NFL and we saw in a short time that all the hype around Russell was smoke.
No. 4 Previous Play
Do we really need to go too much in depth with this one? Probably not, but we'll take a quick look just for argument's sake. Russell may not have been as terrible as Ryan Leaf, but his stats over three seasons were pretty awful. He completed a miserable 52.1 percent of his passes for 4,083 yards, 23 interceptions and just 18 touchdowns.
A comeback would mean teams would want him to come in and contribute in some form or fashion. If they are looking for a guy who can miss targets routinely and give the opponent the ball, then this is your guy.
No. 3 Time Off
If his stats were not enough, Russell has been out of the game for over three years. Unless he has been secretly working day and night during that time on his game, which is highly unlikely, he's probably gotten even worse. The guy could not even improve with tutelage from coaches in the best football league in the world, so what makes anyone think he has done so on his own?
No. 2 Work Ethic
This should be one of the biggest red flags for any franchise thinking about bringing Russell on their team. His work ethic during his short stint with the Raiders was constantly questioned by not only his coaches, but also his teammates. When your teammates say you have a bad approach to getting better, there is most likely a problem. It makes sense, considering how poorly he played as a starter.
To add on to that, he came back to camp on more than one occasion overweight. You can't teach work ethic and Russell does not have it.
No. 1 Character
Russell's character is the biggest problem. You think that after completely blowing a once in a lifetime chance to play in the NFL, Russell would have realized he needed to make some changes. Low and behold, he was arrested on July 5, 2010 for having codeine syrup without a prescription. Though he was not indicted by the grand jury, those are the exact situations that keep you out of any professional league.
He even tested positive for the substance after he was drafted. To this date, Russell has shown he's nothing more than a lazy, unmotivated and troubled quarterback. He got $31.5 million guaranteed and pretty much made off with the money as he set a bad franchise back even further at the time. Even with all of this, some NFL franchise will take a look at him, but buyer beware. You have been warned.
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