Let’s get it out of the way first. JaMarcus Russell’s passing was, well, it was awful.
There’s no other way to put it.
Coach Tom Cable...said Russell was better today than he was Tuesday and he expects him to be better still on Thursday. Would have hated to see Tuesday if he was worse.
Of Russell’s two interceptions, one _ a swing pass which bounced out of the hands of Louis Rankin and to strong side linebacker Jon Alston _ was not his fault. The other sailed well over the head of Johnnie Lee Higgins and was stolen by Stanford Routt.
There was also a near pick in a red zone drill by Kirk Morrison, who dropped the ball. Linebacker Thomas Howard was closer to the play than any intended receiver.
Darrick Brown also dropped a potential interception which was thrown directly to him.
During one 7-on-7 drill, Russell threw four passes, completing one for about two yards to Justin Fargas. The other three passes? One at the feet of Fargas, a slant behind Todd Watkins that was broken up by Hiram Eugene and the Alston interception which bounced off Rankin’s hands.

The Raiders blame it on installing more of a vertical offense, but the terminology is the same and this is Russell's third year in the league. Some blame Russell's "lack of weapons," but good quarterbacks make the receivers around them better. Others blame Russell's rookie-year holdout (as if that's still an issue). Coaching staff turnover certainly hasn't helped, but a good quarterback at least flashes.

Russell hasn't, aside from maybe three games to close out last season. But that's history when Russell doesn't carry it over into the following spring. Russell has serious accuracy issues, mostly stemming from his atrocious footwork.

At what point can we acknowledge that Russell is a bust? When he's benched for Jeff Garcia at midseason? Obviously, no Rotoworld reader is going to take him in their re-draft league, but is anyone still hanging on in dynasty? If you ask Wesseling, Russell is barely even a QB2 for the future.