It is only one game in, so take a heaping helping of salt, but:
JaMarcus Russell is a freakish physical specimen, and the Raiders (Al Davis) were dazzled by the big arm, by what it might do. The clarion call of the vertical game still echoes around Davis, "If we throw it deep, we win." But I agree with the most recent criticism to a large degree. Russell, two years in, still has a sandlot habit of locking on to his target and making ill-advised throws. His receivers do sometimes run bad routes, sure, but Russell has never been, and doesn't look to be from the gate, an accurate passer. He'll hover around 48-50%, get hot, and finish around 53%. In this day and age, unless he is directing a truly effective vertical offense (or is a Vick-like running threat himself), that is lousy.
He is, in fact, kind of like the love-child of Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper, but really with only the worst football traits of both. He doesn't have Vick's running skills. And he certainly is not near the passer that Culpepper was at his peak (OK. Culpepper had Carter and Moss, true. But this is a guy who was completing at 62% from the moment he took the field. I don't think Russell could come close to matching that with the same corp of receivers.)
The Raiders have a potentially dynamic running game to build around, but Russell is a lazy play-action artist at best. The fake is a lost art in the NFL for the most part, there is no Boomer Esiason type left, but it didn't seem to me that Russell ever tried to really sell play action. It was all perfunctory. Nod to the back, lock on, roll out, and misfire. If I have the kind of ground game the Raiders appear to have, I want to develop a world-class fake artist behind center.
And, ideally, I want someone who can move the chains with accurate passes.
All that said, I don't think Russell is a lost cause. Great accuracy may or may not come. But if they can get Russell to play of his running game a bit more effectively, that should open up a few huge vertical shots in the game. As long as Russell hits enough of those to sting his opponents, that will be enough to keep teams from committing totally to the run. And I think the Raiders will end up being a pretty surprising team.
In other words: Russell is a predictable sandlot gun and not much else. If he gets some wiles, some real game intelligence, or becomes accurate, he might just turn out. The same could just about be said for any QB project ever.
