Jamarcus Russel aka JaMonster

[Bay Area Jat]

INDIANAPOLIS -- Random thoughts on quarterback day at the NFL Scouting Combine. Or rather, the day we get to chat up the quarterbacks. Those who will deem to work out here won't start airing it out until Sunday ...
� Whether or not LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell is the real deal remains the biggest question swirling this draft season.
We in the media got our first real look at him Friday -- all 6-5, 265 pounds of him. And while he's not much of a talker, he sure has NFL types lining up to say plenty about him. And so far, I can't find many doubters when it comes to the big-armed passer, who most are projecting to go first overall, to the Oakland Raiders.
"He's got the most spectacular physical skill set of any college quarterback I've ever seen,'' said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who, for my money, is the most credible of all draft experts. "He can make every throw. He's got better touch and accuracy than I expected for a guy his size, who has a minimal number of snaps. From a physical perspective, he's scary good.''
Mayock does have some reservations about Russell, but they deal more with how instant riches might affect the LSU junior's desire to improve and succeed, and what kind of coaching he'll receive once he gets to the NFL.
"If a team is going to hand him $20 million to $25 million, it has to know, 'How much this kid loves the game?''' Mayock said. "And wherever he ends up, the situation will dictate whether he becomes a perennial all-pro or just a guy. Because I think he has to be involved with a quarterback coach or a coordinator who sits on him every snap of practice. If he doesn't get that, there could be a tendency for him just to coast or get by on natural ability.''
But what natural ability it is. Russell won't throw or run at the Combine, and has been counseled to wait to work out until his March 14 Pro Day at LSU. You can be sure that NFL personnel men and coaches will begin to pick Russell's game apart in the coming weeks; but right now, his powerful right arm and eye-opening size has elicited more awe than anything else.
"When you consider his size and couple that with some of the things he's done on the field, it becomes pretty impressive,'' new Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt told me Friday. "Byron Leftwich was a big guy coming out a few years back; but this guy's not that same guy. He's a big guy, but with a different body type. He's not just a good pocket guy, like Leftwich.
"You watch him and you see him move well in the pocket, and you see him make some throws on the move, and on a line. You also see him make a throw on the move that involves touch. He can do all of that, and he's hard to bring down in the pocket. It makes for quite a combination.''
It's early, but this is a league that hasn't found much not to like about Russell so far. Unlike the past couple of years, we may actually have no real issue about who goes No. 1 in April. Everyone else's candidacy may end up relegated to the sizable shadow cast by Russell.

[Bay Area Jat]

By Peter King

The Raiders have debriefed the new mentor of JaMarcus Russell, leading to
rampant speculation (mine) that the fix is in and that Randy Moss is about
to be a very happy man.

You may have heard that California quarterback consultant Tom Martinez, the
mentor of Tom Brady since Mr. Super Bowl was 13, worked with Russell for a
week at the Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona and came away highly
impressed. You have not heard that the Raiders, prior to the Combine,
summoned Martinez to ask him about Russell. Martinez says he told the
Raiders, "There's nothing you'll ask him to do that he can't do. Nothing.''
Here are some other interesting tidbits Martinez shared with me Sunday
night:

a. He told Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to remember how good
Russell is, and he's only 21.

b. He told Russell after analyzing LSU tape he too often looked sluggish,
like he was carrying too much weight. And the one thing he stressed with
Russell is consistency with the passing motion. "Like a golf swing -- you
get really good when the swing's exactly the same every time.''

c. "I told the Raiders, 'The worst thing you could do with this kid is give
him four coaches in his first four years,' " said Martinez. "He needs
stability. He needs the right guy coaching him the first two or three years,
where he'll be taught consistency and stay on him about his technique.
That's what every young quarterback needs.''

d. Everyone's talking about how well Russell throws the deep ball, and
they're right. "But he makes such beautiful throws on the curls and the
comebacks," says Martinez, "like an outfielder hitting the cutoff man
perfectly. And his touch is so good. He throws it short with touch, deep
with touch. Every throw looks so natural.''

e. Martinez worked with Russell on throwing the ball more over the top.
"When Tom Brady throws an interception, it's very rarely a tipped ball
because he's releasing the ball high, so it's hard to deflect it." said
Martinez. He said the 6-5 1/2 Russell, releasing the ball high over his
head, would, in effect, make him about 7-3 and make it very hard for
defenders to tip his passes.

[Bay Area Jat]

A safe bet: Russell is a draft-day gemGIL LeBRETON
In My Opinion
Two things have been made abundantly clear at this year's NFL Scouting
Combine.

One is that LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell is going to make an intriguing
first-round draft choice for the NFL team that selects him.

And two, I'm about to collect on a bet for a free steak dinner.

For those of you in burnt orange who are still watching replays of the 2006
Rose Bowl, let me explain that Russell is the tackle-sized, big-armed
behemoth who quarterbacked LSU to a 41-14 Sugar Bowl victory over Notre
Dame.

He dropped anchor on the NFL Combine scale last weekend at 6 feet, 5˝
inches, and 265 pounds. The assembled media gasped. Draft experts covered
young children's eyes.

No one that big, it seems, has ever been polished enough or mobile enough to
make the transition from college -- or from the National Museum of Natural
History -- to the NFL.

Russell says that he can throw a football 50 yards -- while kneeling.
Standing, he can heave it 80.

And thus, the no-longer-mighty Oakland Raiders are rumored to be keenly
interested in making Russell the first pick in the April 28-29 draft.

I can smell the steak already.

Let me explain. We were riding back to the hotel in New Jersey after last
December's Cowboys-Giants game. The rental car was full (read: witnesses).

A colleague was aghast to hear me say that Russell likely would not return
for his senior season at LSU.

"Why would he come out?" my friend argued. "What's he ever won?"

"Why wouldn't he come out?" I replied. While Russell didn't win any Rose
Bowls, his record as a starter in college was 25-4. His strong performance
in November all but assured that he would be a high first-round draft pick.

And so we bet. My colleague, who shall remain nameless -- for the sake of
this story, though, let's call him "Clarence" -- wagered that (1) Russell
would not be foolish enough to declare for the NFL Draft, and (2) if he did,
he wouldn't be selected in the draft's first three rounds.

"He won't get picked on the first day," my friend insisted.

"First day?!" I argued. "Clarence, he'll get picked in the first 15
minutes!"

Or something like that.

I'll soon be having, therefore, the filet mignon, cooked medium, with a
small salad. Remind me to send JaMarcus a thank-you note.

But I'm no draft genius. Nor is my colleague draft-impaired.

What I realize is that he was simply giving me the stark, national, public
conception of what had been an enigmatic young quarterback. My interest in
Russell and his team was personal, and so I didn't expect my fellow wagerer
to know first-hand about the transformation that JaMarcus had made, the
increasing maturity that he had shown as LSU won its last seven football
games.

Six games into the LSU season, I thought Russell was a tad fat, too. I
wondered why he couldn't get the ball into the end zone at Auburn, and I
blamed his fumble at the goal line for costing the Tigers the game at
Florida.

And I wondered why Matt Mauck once had quarterbacked LSU to a national
championship, and high school All-American JaMarcus Russell hadn't.

But Russell's performance at Tennessee -- and in the month that followed --
silenced all those questions.

In the Tennessee game, the LSU coaches seemed to turn Russell loose. He was
already difficult to bring down in the pocket. Russell is so big, he truly
does shrug away tacklers, allowing him more time to find his pass receivers.
But against the Volunteers, Russell reminded everyone that he knows how to
run.

He threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns that day and rushed seven times
for a net of 71 yards. Defenses never played Russell the same for the rest
of the season.

NFL scouts need not worry about Russell's extra 10 pounds. He'll shed them.

This is a mature 21-year-old who had the sense this winter to hire coach Tom
Martinez, the man who helped mold Tom Brady into a Super Bowl quarterback.
This is a grounded young man who worked with the medical people in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina. Russell opened his own apartment door for 20 relatives
and friends who fled flooded New Orleans. His most famous boarder, you might
recall, was New Orleans blues legend Antoine "Fats" Domino, a relative of
his girlfriend.

There is nothing wrong with either Russell's maturity or his work ethic. LSU
fans can attest to that.

"Somebody's going to get a hell of a player," Martinez told Glenn Reeves of
The Oakland Tribune.

"He moves well. He's very fluid, very strong, very agile with great touch.
He's not fat.... If he had thick legs, he'd weigh 300 pounds.

"I know who I'd take," Martinez said. "A JaMarcus does not come along very
often. There have been a lot of Brady Quinns."

JaMarcus Russell, in other words, is about to lose 10 pounds in winter fat,
but gain it all back in his wallet.

First day? He'll be the first quarterback, if not the NFL Draft's very first
pick.

Pass the steak sauce, please.

["THE" MoSav]

lets see if he can read coverages in the NFL. Cuz in college he couldnt that well. Im telling you, people got a false sense of Russell seeing him against ND

[Bay Area Jat]

lets see if he can read coverages in the NFL. Cuz in college he couldnt that well. Im telling you, people got a false sense of Russell seeing him against ND

nothing watching a lil game film can't cure.

["THE" MoSav]

lets see if he can read coverages in the NFL. Cuz in college he couldnt that well. Im telling you, people got a false sense of Russell seeing him against ND

nothing watching a lil game film can't cure.

for sure. But his work ethic has already been questioned, and he came into camp 15 lbs overweight with a little jelly round the belly no homo.
Film can cure things, if he takes advantage of it. Hopefully he doesnt think hell get by on his arm and athleticism alone, like he did in college. Remember most of top drafted Qb's end up not living up to the hype. Im not saying he wont be succesful but i am saying i think hes overrated. And not the best QB in the draft

[Bay Area Jat]

^^ your right but i think all that worth ethic crap the media is drumming up imo is cause hes black. from what i've heard hes hella dedicated and willing to work to become great. hes got the best arm the nfl has ever seen the only way the raiders dont draft him is if they trade randy moss and go with johnson and try to pick up a free agent QB but i dont see that happening

[R-Tistic]

I have never been a fan of Randy Moss...so even when he got signed, I was like "eh....I guess I can like him now" but after seein his performance and attitude, I was really like "nah....somebody else can have him". However.....if Al Davis and the rest of those idiots do decide to actually draft Russell instead of somebody who should be #15 pick like they usually do, I am eager to see Russell and Moss on the field together.

And to the Raiders fans....how do y'all feel about pickin Gallery at #2 in 04? The ONLY reason I wasn't completely mad as fucc and yellin at the TV is because I said hey....maybe we got the next Orlando Pace, Lincoln Kennedy, Steve Wisniewski or somethin....but he still hasn't done much of anything to help us as a lineman, so it makes me even more pissed off when I see Rivers, Roth, Larry Fitz, and everybody else who was drafted after him ballin. Even Deangelo Hall might have been a better pick for us.

[Bay Area Jat]

^^ i think every raider fan thought the left side of the o-line was gonna be sewed up for the next 12-15 years. i'm hoping that gallery gets out of his funk and can someday hopefuilly live up to even half his expectations. the scouting reports on that guy were fuckin awesome but than again the draft is like a box of chocolates u dont know what the fuck your going to get

["THE" MoSav]

I have never been a fan of Randy Moss...so even when he got signed, I was like "eh....I guess I can like him now" but after seein his performance and attitude, I was really like "nah....somebody else can have him". However.....if Al Davis and the rest of those idiots do decide to actually draft Russell instead of somebody who should be #15 pick like they usually do, I am eager to see Russell and Moss on the field together.

And to the Raiders fans....how do y'all feel about pickin Gallery at #2 in 04? The ONLY reason I wasn't completely mad as fucc and yellin at the TV is because I said hey....maybe we got the next Orlando Pace, Lincoln Kennedy, Steve Wisniewski or somethin....but he still hasn't done much of anything to help us as a lineman, so it makes me even more pissed off when I see Rivers, Roth, Larry Fitz, and everybody else who was drafted after him ballin. Even Deangelo Hall might have been a better pick for us.

he def would have been better NOW. But at the time, that was the smart pick. If you have a chance to take a LT thats suppose to be special, you DO IT! That can be huge for 10-15 yrs for ur team. A great LT is irreplacable. IT sucks he never panned out, but he is still young and he is getting moved to RT so maybe that will help him. Hes got alot of years left. IF the next few years dont work out after the side change then hell probably never be great or even good.

And Moss is guna be gone..Porter and Curry are more then capable tho.

["THE" MoSav]

^^ your right but i think all that worth ethic crap the media is drumming up imo is cause hes black.

haha yeah right. If its crap whyd he come into the combine 15 lbs overweight with a belly that was very noticeable?
Other top picks were fuckin shredded. Can you explain that? Dude admit it, his work ethic probably isnt what it should be, hes always been able to out athletic people, and shit, so hes probably always been fairly lazy. I dont think his old coaches and scouts and such say it cuz hes black. I didnt hear that shit about Vick or Vince Young when they came out...

[Bay Area Jat]

the media is always gonna find the one thing wrong with high drafts picks and run with it. something they can be like see i told u so. they did the same thing with Young's wonderlic score thats all they fuckin talked about before he came out. JaMonster is prolly 10 lbs overweight. i'm sure he will shed the weight and be ready for camp for whatever team drafts him. i just dont see al passing up on this kind of talent even though he's known for not drafting Qb's with high draft picls

[Don Jacob]

the raiders are a mess, i'm not even sure it's going to make a difference if we get rid of moss to greenbay or not

[Bay Area Jat]

^^ it sure as hell would free up a whole lot of money to sign someone else that actually wants to play

[R-Tistic]

And seein that Joey Porter and Joe Horn got released today....I could see us gettin one of them. Especially Porter...his image fits the old school Raiders defense to a T.