Oakland Raiders chaos could sabotage JaMarcus Russell's development

Photo by Patrick A. Patterson/TFDSsports.com

The Oakland Raiders future rests upon the right arm of JaMarcus Russell. He was the first overall pick in the 2007 draft who held out his rookie training camp. He was touted as the best quarterback prospect to come out in years, and received a $60 million contract following his holdout. The Raiders will either succeed or fail for the next decade depending on whether or not Russell can develop into the quarterback he was advertised to be. 

Russell's development was hurt by his prolonged holdout that cost him his rookie training camp. That is the time where he missed an opportunity to live, breathe, eat, and sleep football. He could have gotten several live repetitions and likely would have seen live action long before he finally did. He would have been much further along in his progression that he currently is.

Another concern with Russell's development is his targets. A young quarterback needs to build chemistry with his receivers. The only one he has seemed to truly develop a rapport with is fellow second year player tight end Zach Miller. This combination looks to be lethal for years to come, but he needs to have a connection with his wide outs. The problem is that the Raiders are currently paper thin at that position. Ronald Curry, who had been the most reliable receiver for the Raiders for the past couple of years seems to have developed teflon hands and can't hold on to the ball. Javon Walker, who was acquired to be a veteran deep threat has more issues than Time. For Russell's sake, the most important thing the Raiders can do is get him a young wide receiver to connect with this coming offseason.

If the Raiders want Russell to become the next great Raider quarterback, they have to look back to one of the biggest keys to success for Kenny Stabler and Jim Plunkett, and make sure he gets protected. Stabler and Plunkett spent the bulk of their Raider careers with a Hall of Fame caliber offensive line. Without protection, even quarterbacks like Dan Marino or Peyton Manning would struggle. Russell has the skills to become one of the greats, but if the Raiders don't reinforce their offensive line he will not reach that pinnacle. He needs to have that confidence that he will have the time back there to go through his progressions to hit his receivers. Once he has that, he will be able to be more decisive as to what he is going to do with the ball.

The single biggest obstacle to the proper development of JaMarcus Russell is the current instability surrounding the Oakland Raiders. A player needs proper coaching to transition from the NCAA level to the NFL. As it stands, to describe the Raiders coaching situation as tenuous would be stretching it. It has the makings of a disaster that rivals the Hindenburg. he Raiders need to figure out what they are going to do, and allow this young team time to grow up together. Russell needs that consistency so that he can keep building on what he has learned. He has already shown himself to be a hard worker, who is trying to become one of the greats. He can accomplish this if the organization gives him that opportunity rather than sabotage him by continuing the chaos.