His release does nothing to disprove their contention that Russell was a victim of a poor offense, hostile mediots, and a disloyal fan base. The problem with charges, such as those levied by his supporters, are that they can never be proved or disproved. Like many allegations, founded upon opinion, they will simply live on in perpetuity.
Thankfully, for the Raiders, it was never incumbent on Al or Raiders management to demonstrate in a court of law the reasons for it's decision to release JaMarcus Russell. It was only necessary that a decision be rendered and carried out.
As I pointed out in another article , Russell's performance (7-18) was very similar to that of Kerry Collins (7-21). Collins, of course, was released following the conclusion of his second season with the Oakland Raiders. It should be noted that Collins had successfully demonstrated that he was a much more prolific passer than Russell was at the time of his release.
One of the arguments advanced by Russell supporters was the fact that the Raiders have been losing for the last seven years and Russell was being blamed for all of the losses. In other words, Russell was, at most, responsible for two losing seasons out of seven losing seasons.
I would concur with this argument. I would also point out that Russell was never blamed for the losses that occurred prior to his becoming a Raider. He was blamed for the losses that occurred during his tenure.
Russell's selection as a No. 1 draft pick was indicative of some of the erroneous thinking that went into the seven-year losing streak. His supporters have argued that he was raw and needed to sit behind a veteran quarterback until he...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
