When the Raiders released JaMarcus Russell, former first overall pick of the 2007 draft, there were questions whether or not he would ever play in the NFL again. While he’s still quite young, a lot of people consider him the biggest bust in the history of the game. At this stage, those considerations may not be too far off base.
But there is some talk now that he may land on an NFL roster at some point in 2010. NFL networks Jason LaCanfora tweeted earlier today that there is indeed enough interest in Russell to make one believe he could get signed at some point this year.
Should a team sign him though? The biggest question with Russell is if he truly has a passion for the game. He hasn’t shown any signs of being committed to becoming an elite quarterback, so what makes anyone think he’s changed now that he’s been dropped by the lowly Raiders?
Why sign a guy that you don’t think has any desire to be there? Assuming he does sign with someone, he’ll be nothing more than a backup. One would assume that, in order to be a backup quarterback in the NFL, you would have to have a strong work ethic. Learning the playbook, running the second team offense in practice, only to wait and hope you get an opportunity. If JaMarcus isn’t committed as a starter, why would he be committed to backup duty? Sure a team could sign him, but why waste a roster spot on someone who doesn’t want to be there when there’s other guys that would kill for the opportunity.
What you don’t see a lot of today in football, or any pro sport, is players getting black balled. This is a business, and some teams just don’t pass up on an opportunity to get potential. Maybe they should though. Wouldn’t it be a good play by the other 31 teams in the league to step up and say “Hey, nobody sign this guy this year. If he truly wants to play, he’ll prepare all year until the 2011 season comes up. If he truly wants to play, he’ll use his time off to get in shape and to refocus his commitment.”.
Letting him sit on his ass for a year with nothing but free time will truly show whether or not he wants to play football. He’ll either focus or fail. Yea he could go and play in the AFL or CFL but let’s be realistic, it would be like college for him where he could clearly get by on just athletic ability. The true test for JaMarcus would be a complete dissociation with football. Desire is the fuel for success, without it a person won’t work hard. If JaMarcus wants it bad enough he’ll go out and get it. But you have to see how bad he wants it, because up until this point he hasn’t wanted it bad enough.
Technorati Tags: JaMarcus Russell, NFL, Oakland Raiders
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Will JaMarcus Get Another Chance This Year?
When the Raiders released JaMarcus Russell, former first overall pick of the 2007 draft, there were questions whether or not he would ever play in the NFL again. While he’s still quite young, a lot of people consider him the biggest bust in the history of the game. At this stage, those considerations may not be too far off base.
But there is some talk now that he may land on an NFL roster at some point in 2010. NFL networks Jason LaCanfora tweeted earlier today that there is indeed enough interest in Russell to make one believe he could get signed at some point this year.
Should a team sign him though? The biggest question with Russell is if he truly has a passion for the game. He hasn’t shown any signs of being committed to becoming an elite quarterback, so what makes anyone think he’s changed now that he’s been dropped by the lowly Raiders?
Why sign a guy that you don’t think has any desire to be there? Assuming he does sign with someone, he’ll be nothing more than a backup. One would assume that, in order to be a backup quarterback in the NFL, you would have to have a strong work ethic. Learning the playbook, running the second team offense in practice, only to wait and hope you get an opportunity. If JaMarcus isn’t committed as a starter, why would he be committed to backup duty? Sure a team could sign him, but why waste a roster spot on someone who doesn’t want to be there when there’s other guys that would kill for the opportunity.
What you don’t see a lot of today in football, or any pro sport, is players getting black balled. This is a business, and some teams just don’t pass up on an opportunity to get potential. Maybe they should though. Wouldn’t it be a good play by the other 31 teams in the league to step up and say “Hey, nobody sign this guy this year. If he truly wants to play, he’ll prepare all year until the 2011 season comes up. If he truly wants to play, he’ll use his time off to get in shape and to refocus his commitment.”.
Letting him sit on his ass for a year with nothing but free time will truly show whether or not he wants to play football. He’ll either focus or fail. Yea he could go and play in the AFL or CFL but let’s be realistic, it would be like college for him where he could clearly get by on just athletic ability. The true test for JaMarcus would be a complete dissociation with football. Desire is the fuel for success, without it a person won’t work hard. If JaMarcus wants it bad enough he’ll go out and get it. But you have to see how bad he wants it, because up until this point he hasn’t wanted it bad enough.
Technorati Tags: JaMarcus Russell, NFL, Oakland Raiders
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