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Oakland Raiders' JaMarcus Russell : Anatomy Of a Quarterback

Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell has endured a lot of criticism in his brief time in the NFL.

By holding out on his first contract, Russell not only gave fans and media ammunition to deride his desire and motivation to play the game, but suffered a serious setback in his development as an NFL quarterback.

Going into his third official year, but only his second as a starter, there are still a lot of concerns and questions regarding Russell's skills, desire, potential, and maturity.

While few question his arm strength, pretty much every other part of his body has been criticized or under scrutiny.



HEAD

Any Raiders fan worth their salt should have the most concern with this part of Russell's anatomy.

Thus far he has struggled to grasp a majority of the playbook, limiting offensive versatility.

The pictures of him partying aren't of much concern, because frankly, he's 23 and has a ton of money. I'd be partying too.

Russell is not known to be a film buff nor much of a vocal leader. His confidence is high as evidenced by the way he carries himself, and he seems impervious to criticism.

He appears to have the right kind of mentality to succeed in that he has thick skin and confidence. But he needs his football IQ to improve to match those attributes.

His ability to go through reads and progressions is sorely lacking, and with the O-Line struggling the last few years, getting the ball out quickly is of paramount importance. His lack of understanding of NFL defenses to this point make this a virtual impossibility.

Hackett and Tollner are working hard with J-Rock to improve his reads and his understanding of NFL defenses and blitz pickups. But it is on J-Rock himself to put in the extra work he needs to get his head to the level it needs to be.

Film study, meetings, discussions with Tollner and Hackett and full dedication to being the best he can be are the only way this is going to happen.

Which brings me to:



HEART

The other part of Russell's anatomy with which we in the Nation have concerns.

Will JaMarcus ever have the desire to be great? Does he already have it and just not show it? When is he going to step up and be the kind of leader we need?

Russell thus far has shown he's a cool customer, but his unflappable nature also gives the appearance of indifference at times.

Every fan wants their QB to be the most passionate, most vocal guy on the field, and J-Rock simply doesn't operate that way.

Thus, we are all a little curious as to his motivation and desire to play the game.

The addition of Jeff Garcia was meant to give a jolt to Russell's development as added motivation and learning from example.

By all accounts, J-Rock is slowly grasping what he needs to do to be successful. He took a giant step in the head and heart department by indicating he was going to have a private workout session with tight ends and receivers.

If that happens, and if it's done well, then concerns about his heart should begin to wane a little.

If it doesn't happen, or if it's not done very well, then the questions will amplify. He needs to show desire, passion, and the want to be great before his teammates or the Nation will buy into him completely.



RIGHT ARM

There are no concerns with how hard or how far J-Rock can throw the ball. None. The guy has one of the strongest arms anyone has ever seen, and some of the lasers he fits into tight coverage are a glimpse of why we drafted him. No, arm strength is not a concern.

Accuracy, on the other hand, is a major concern.

As a very strong-armed QB, it's understandable that J-Rock throws the lasers quite well. His touch passes, however, leave a lot to be desired.

He either overthrows or underthrows targets when he's asked to put any kind of touch on the ball, and quite often he isn't even close to his target unless it's a zip slant pass or a long bomb.

For a strong-armed QB, he's also shown a concerning lack of accuracy on his long passes.

The talent in the arm is there, and the accuracy will come as his mechanics improve. He does fumble an awful lot for a guy with hands the size of Saturn, but the arm is not a concern. Nor is:


THE GUT

Smaller than critics and detractors would have you believe, but not small enough for the Nation, honestly.

Russell was never 300 pds last year. That was a complete fabrication. But he was heavier than he should've been, and those pictures from his night of partying don't look good either.

Granted, it was May, and he's got another month to get into full playing condition.

The gut is synonymous with the head and the heart for this kid. Critics say he's lazy, he's not motivated now that he's paid, and he likes food and good times too much to be a success.

His lack of being in shape shows his lack of desire and understanding of what it takes to be great.

From all accounts, he's in better shape this season and is showing more quickness and speed in his legs. That's good news. J-Rock is a very big man for a QB, and he'll never have the look we expect. As long as he doesn't actually approach 300 pounds in reality, everything should be fine.

The bigger he is, the harder he hits opponents.



FEET

Mad scientists Tollner and Hackett have the biggest challenge from a physical perspective with Russell's dogs.

He has poor footwork coming away from center, as evidenced by how many times he's slipped or tripped, and he gets into his drops a little more slowly than he should.

He's not smooth and agile; more often, he looks clumsy and disoriented. That's a big problem, one that is simple fundamentals and needs to be quickly and efficiently addressed.

He throws off his back foot far too often, much like many strong-armed quarterbacks, thinking that his arm strength will compensate for his weak base.

But that's when disaster happens. Tollner and Hackett are breaking his mechanics down and rebuilding him slowly.

All indications are that he's picking up his footwork quite well, and showing a lot of improvement in his foot positioning when he throws from various angles.

That's good, because he seems to naturally want to throw off his back foot, and poor fundamentals like that can cause arm injuries, or at the very least, bad throws and interceptions.



RUSSELL'S BODY OF WORK

Russell has a lot of work to do in a lot of areas, but with his natural gifts, he has the ability to make quick improvements in all these areas.

Tollner and Hackett are well known quarterback gurus, and Mr. Hackett especially will be key in identifying what fundamentals J-Rock needs to improve, how he needs to improve them, and the best way to improve them.

He's finally got some specialized coaches, some continuity on the line and the coaching staff, and some weapons on offense. Everything is in position for him to succeed.

If he doesn't, then he can blame himself for not getting his head and his heart to the same level as his physical talent.

Oakland Raiders' JaMarcus Russell : Anatomy Of a Quarterback | Bleacher Report

Then why did the Raiders draft this clown?

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www.790thsfs.com

Excellent question!!!

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PEACE RAIDER NATION!

Great article from the BR best so far, It reads like speedy. Perfect breakdown and as we all know it leaves way more questions than answers. This year is make it or break it for the jolly QB. If the rock starts off slow Garcia has to go in. Or there will be sniper fire from mount davis

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Who the fuck hijacked my login!!!!

This is the problem I have with this clown...
He came into the league holding out for more money, like he was a pro bowl QB. And than when he was given his chance, he played like he was some practice squad QB!!!
Demanding more money like he was gonna tear shit up!!!
Fuck that...
He played some of the worst football of any QB last year!!!
Everytime I see his face I get pissed...
Honestly, I think he doesn't even care about getting better, all he's trying to do is ride out his contract, get all the money he can get, and quit football, and live of the money!!!
That's what I honestly believe...
This dude is exactly why the raiders have sucked for years now!!!
Cause they get guys like this fool, and hope he is the answer, this is apart of the problem....
I still have no hope for this clown!!!
I hope he proves me wrong, but I'm gonna be right on this one...
Fucking X is blind as a bat!!! Jabusto is what he is!!! A fucking lazy ass no passion having scared ass lil bitch!!!!!!

the bleecher report writer of this must have lost it.

The Young soon to be Icon JaMarcus Russell is on the verge of being the greatest people have seen next to young, payton, and Farve.

Everyone who is anyone knows that JaMarcus is a Beast, Can Read Defenses, and makes limited mistakes.


this article is pretty much a bad opinion from someone who needs to take a break from football.

We have the Best Quarterback of his class and The Best Wide receiver of his Class.

JaMarcus Russell 7th Best QB as of now, ready to move up. King Russell.

Geaux Raiders


X

Damn dude I like JaMarcus Russell but WTF is your inhalant?

JaMarcus Russell needs to show me more. I know what the kid can do and it is out of control. He needs to get his head in the game and win us some football games.

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JaMarcus Russell 7th Best QB as of now, ready to move up. King Russell.

X, how about giving me some of what U are smoking! I got a feeling that the Raiders will be drafting there QB of the future in 2010 draft....Hope I'm wrong.

If I could have any QB, it would be Mark Sanchez.

So much passion, and so vocal.

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holy shit!!!!!!
i agree with you 100%.....