Oakland Raiders must bench JaMarcus Russell

October 6, 7:21 PMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

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The Oakland Raiders offense is off to a horrifically bad start. They have only managed a total of three touchdowns in four games, with none of them coming in the past two games. They have by far the worst passing game in the league, and the running game is not much better. If the Raiders want to avoid yet another lost season, they have to take bold action. At this point, sitting JaMarcus Russell is the move that makes the most sense for the health of the franchise going forward both in the short term, and in the long term.

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Russell's struggles this season have been well documented, yet the team doesn't seem willing to push him to get better. To add fuel to the flame, it has been reported that Russell has been fined for being overweight, being late to meetings and practice, as well as missing meetings.

In yesterday's press conference offered a classic non-denial denial of that report. "I'm not gonna talk about our internal stuff that way." Translation, "That's true, but I saw how Lane Kiffin was run out of town on a rail last year for telling the truth."

This is beyond a concern, and has become a full fledged problem. By nature of his position and contract, Russell is supposed to be the leader of that offense. By blowing off meetings, and apparently not putting in the work to live up to the team's standards, he is giving off the aura of "I don't care." That aura rubs off on his teammates.

Coach Cable conceded that there is no leadership on offense, "The reason I'm OK with [Defensive end Greg Ellis telling the offense to 'play with heart'] is that until the offense finds their leaders, who those guys are going to be, I think you're leadership's gotta come from anywhere on this football team. Not just your coaches. Whether it's Lechler doing it, he's a very valuable guy on this team. Greg is very valuable, very well-respected, so I don't know that it really matters where it comes from. The thing that matters is that it happens."

What matters is that the sixty million dollar face of the franchise is not showing up for meetings, nor providing any leadership. However, Cable had this assessment of Russell, "He was on target all but really two throws. When you have that many drops - I think there were nine that I counted - if you put nine completions or at least the opportunity of nine completions on his deal, you'd say he might have been as good as anybody in pro football yesterday. If you know what you're looking at."

When Rich Gannon was leading the Raiders to three division championships, he was always the first one in the building and the last one to leave, so that he knew that he was outworking his opponents and it showed in his ability to lead the team to wins, as well as bring home a league MVP trophy, despite not having nearly the physical abilities that Russell was blessed with.

Playing the "if only" card is not the stuff upon which championships are built. If the drops are truly the problem, then why is last year's leading receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins not getting any action on offense? Cable says that he is not fully back from the injury, but he had only one ball thrown to him in the opening game, and that was the play where he got hurt as Russell led him right into a defender. Javon Walker has a history of being a Pro Bowl receiver, but he has only been active for one game, and in that one on the field for maybe three plays with no balls thrown his direction.

For the good of this team, it is time to send a message and bench JaMarcus Russell. Cable spent training camp talking about playing as a team and getting their minds right. That is a lesson that Russell has apparently yet to learn. First and foremost, a leader leads by example, as Gannon did.

At this point, benching Russell would have a two-fold effect on the team. First, and most importantly, it would show whether or not Russell had that 'it' that all of the great quarterbacks have. If Russell has that 'it' he would take a benching as a challenge, and work his butt off to get his starting job back and prove that he can be the one. However, if his response would be to sulk and not change anything, then it would be obvious that it would be time to move on with a new quarterback.

The second benefit would be it would be an undeniable signal to the entire roster that there was no individual who was above the team. It would put every single player that if they didn't bring it every day in practice and in the game that they could be next. Instead, as it stands, that accountability does not exist.

To see the benefits of benching a former first round quarterback, one need not look any further than the other side of the bay, where 2006 first overall pick Alex Smith is on the bench behind Shaun Hill. The Niners have stepped beyond the bust of Smith and are one piece of Brett Favre magic away from being 4-0.

That's not to say that benching Russell, would have the Raiders instantly in the playoff hunt, because that is not likely. However, it would show that the Raiders are serious about having the long rumored "commitment to excellence," and were willing to do whatever it takes to "just win, baby."

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You can also find Patrick Patterson on Thoughts from the Dark Side.