The Case for JaMarcus Russell and Why He Can Still Succeed

He's a bust. He sucks. He will never be a good quarterback, ever. He will never succeed. Worst draft pick in Raiders' history. Worst quarterback ever. Number one bust of all-time.

These are just some of the few comments recorded Raiders' quarterback JaMarcus Russell for his three total seasons in the NFL. But some of these comments, in my opinion, are people taking it too far.

Really, I am serious. I like JaMarcus Russell. I don't consider him a bust at all. I wouldn't say he sucks right now. He does kind of, but not as much as the critics claim. Worst draft pick in Raiders' history, I don't think so. Worst draft pick of all-time? There's been worse. Worst quarterback ever...seriously?

Let's go on a case, a case for JaMarcus Russell.

Is He Really a Bust?

No, not necessarily.

Okay, sure, we didn't expect him to be what we thought as being a number one draft pick. Truly, he's only played two seasons, and I think that's early for being a bust.

In his last four games or so with the Raiders in his rookie year, Russell had thrown for 373 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. That resulted in a 55.9 QB rating. That really didn't count as a year to me.

First of all, there were money problems, and the Raiders decided to go elsewhere with playing their other QB's. Russell really started during the 2008-09 season. And I really didn't think he was that bad.

He put up 2,423 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight picks for a 77.1 rating. Wouldn't you think that would be pretty good for a rookie quarterback? I mean, Mark Sanchez had worse stats and we don't see him being called a bust.

Then why Russell?

Sure, his next season was just terrible, but he got pressure. How about Alex Smith? He had that one season with only like one touchdown and eleven interceptions and now he is returning and people aren't calling him a bust anymore.

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