BroncoJoe
10-26-2008, 10:48 AM
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/24/elway-rips-the-raiders/
John Elway feels sorry for Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The Hall of Famer sees a big, strong-armed kid who has all the physical tools to be an NFL star … but is doomed as long as he’s stuck in Oakland.
“The fastest way to ruin a quarterback is to put him on a bad team, with a bad line, with no weapons, with no continuity in the coaching staff,” Elway wrote in a column for the Sporting News (via ESPN.com). “That pretty much describes the current Raiders. The game has passed Al Davis by, and he’s the only one who doesn’t know it. Every time the Raiders get a good coach — Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Norv Turner, etc. — who doesn’t buy into Al’s outdated program, he fires him.
“It’s this kind of organizational instability that can ruin a quarterback, like the Texans ruined David Carr and the Browns ruined Tim Couch. A young quarterback, especially a No. 1 guy with the weight of a city’s expectations on his shoulders, can wilt. A young quarterback needs a calm, steady influence on and off the field. The first three years for an NFL quarterback are rocky no matter what. He needs a coach to teach him the game of football and a kind of father figure to nurture him and get him through the tough times off the field.
“Too bad JaMarcus didn’t have the leverage I had in 1983; then he could’ve avoided the Raiders all together. …
“I feel for JaMarcus. Physically, he has it all. He’s an unbelievable talent — strong arm, tall, big. In the right situation, he could have a great NFL career. In Oakland, he has almost no chance.”
Elway clearly isn’t unbiased here. You have to wonder whether he’d be as harsh on a franchise that wasn’t bitter rivals with the Broncos.
Having said that, it’s awfully tough to shoot any holes in his argument. After all, the biggest move Davis has made to help Russell is overpaying for a aging receiver who has serious knee problems and little desire to play football.
John Elway feels sorry for Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The Hall of Famer sees a big, strong-armed kid who has all the physical tools to be an NFL star … but is doomed as long as he’s stuck in Oakland.
“The fastest way to ruin a quarterback is to put him on a bad team, with a bad line, with no weapons, with no continuity in the coaching staff,” Elway wrote in a column for the Sporting News (via ESPN.com). “That pretty much describes the current Raiders. The game has passed Al Davis by, and he’s the only one who doesn’t know it. Every time the Raiders get a good coach — Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Norv Turner, etc. — who doesn’t buy into Al’s outdated program, he fires him.
“It’s this kind of organizational instability that can ruin a quarterback, like the Texans ruined David Carr and the Browns ruined Tim Couch. A young quarterback, especially a No. 1 guy with the weight of a city’s expectations on his shoulders, can wilt. A young quarterback needs a calm, steady influence on and off the field. The first three years for an NFL quarterback are rocky no matter what. He needs a coach to teach him the game of football and a kind of father figure to nurture him and get him through the tough times off the field.
“Too bad JaMarcus didn’t have the leverage I had in 1983; then he could’ve avoided the Raiders all together. …
“I feel for JaMarcus. Physically, he has it all. He’s an unbelievable talent — strong arm, tall, big. In the right situation, he could have a great NFL career. In Oakland, he has almost no chance.”
Elway clearly isn’t unbiased here. You have to wonder whether he’d be as harsh on a franchise that wasn’t bitter rivals with the Broncos.
Having said that, it’s awfully tough to shoot any holes in his argument. After all, the biggest move Davis has made to help Russell is overpaying for a aging receiver who has serious knee problems and little desire to play football.