JaMarcus Russell takes Oakland to the head of the class
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
JaMarcus points at a receiver 80 yards down field and says “He is open!”
You will be brow beaten.
After a month of nothing but Mock drafts, you will now be submitted to a week of nothing but draft evaluations.
So we might as well get started.
Maybe we better get the Oakland Raiders out of the way first, because they had the first pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.
In two moves to be remembered, the Oakland Raiders picked JaMarcus Russell with the first pick of the draft and traded Randy Moss for a fourth pick in the draft. (CB John Bowie)
This is how Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports sees the NFL world:
When you have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, it’s easy for people to like what you do. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell is a wonderful physical talent, far and away the most gifted passer the league has seen in years.
As for the rest of the draft, the Raiders got a lot of players who have star potential, such as defensive end Quentin Moses, who had a first-round grade on him going into last season before dropping down the board. Mario Henderson is a terrific left tackle prospect. If running back Michael Bush ever returns to health, he’s a guy who had first-round talent before getting hurt and could be a bruising power runner. Getting Zach Miller was nice, especially since the Raiders were able to trade down and still get him.
The bottom line is that 10 of the 11 picks could easily make the roster.
Grade: A source
Wow, are you kidding me? 10 of the 11 should make the roster? The Raiders are really in bad shape.
Let’s take a look at how Mike O’Hara of the Detroit News sees the Raider picks:
Oakland Raiders: B-
JaMarcus Russell is their franchise QB, and they traded with the Lions for two players who might help them — QB Josh McCown and WR Mike Williams, if he wants to play. RB Michael Bush of Louisville was a good second-day pick. source
Mike has seen the two Lions that Oakland picked up and knows their value. Josh has 22 NFL Starts and can be a mentor to JaMarcus Russell and Mike can really play ball.
Coach Marinelli had problems with Mike’s weight and work ethic, but believe me, he can really catch a ball. How motivated he will be is another question, but remember Mike Williams played for Coach Lane Kiffen at USC. So Oakland knows what they are getting.
What does Pat Kirwan of NFL.com see about the Oakland draft?
Oakland
Changing the face of the organization overnight … Four draft picks, two players in a trade and probably moving Randy Moss by the end of Sunday … Today a DT and an OG … McCown will start in September until Russell is ready. source
Kirwan actually sees Josh McCown as the starter over JaMarcus, which makes sense with all his experience.
The Lions had to let Josh go, because next year is his contract year and McCown is going to start somewhere. So combine the contract signing coming up with the fact that he was not going to move ahead of Jon Kitna and you have to say good bye.
Better check this out though. Nancy Gay of SFGate.com says this:
They gave up a fourth-round pick for two players the Lions were about to cut anyway. And McCown can’t be thrilled about this — in 2006, he told his agent he’d rather be one of a dozen or so backup quarterbacks in Detroit than sign as a free agent in Oakland. source
Nancy was not done there as she continued on her tirade.
they drafted a slow, pass-catching tight end (Zach Miller), an underachieving defensive end (Quentin Moses) and two more wide receivers they don’t need.
…
Picking Louisville running back Michael Bush with the 100th overall selection. A 1,143-yard rusher in 2005 who had an NCAA-record 23 touchdowns, Bush broke his leg in the opening game of last season and required two surgeries and a titanium rod to repair the damage.
Ouch!
Still, all in all, if you are a Raider fan and watched JaMarcus Russell on ESPN throw a ball 64 yards in the air, you have to be happy.
What, only 64 yards? Big deal, you say?
JaMarcus was on his knees when he threw it. Hopefully ESPN will show it on one of their draft shows this week. It was quite simply, amazing!
NFL Football Fan Question Will JaMarcus Russell develop quickly or will Lane Kiffen take his time bringing the youngster along?
As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.
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6 opinions for JaMarcus Russell takes Oakland to the head of the class
footballblogger.info » Late breaking news | » Late breaking news
May 1, 2007 at 2:46 am
JaMarcus Russell takes Oakland to the head of the class …
Ron B Free
May 1, 2007 at 11:12 am
Oakland and Detroit have both retched for most of my years on this rock. Both teams get high draft choices every year and don’t seem to get any better. Both teams seem to change coaches every few years and have little stability. Both teams have owners that don’t seem to have a clue. One is quirky the other is clueless. The highlightof the season(NFL Draft time) is over for fans of both teams. Each year we seem to have little to cheer for once the season starts and we start loosing again. Sad but true, especially given the passion of both the Raiders Nation and Lion Fans. We deserve better.
Justin
May 1, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Hi James,
Excellent wrapup of the early draft returns. I was very disappointed with my Eagles’ draft, aside from the pick of Tony Hunt. I would like to invite you to check out my site, http://www.JaMa... for more info about the #1 Overall pick for the Raiders. Thanks!
James
May 1, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Only one point of disagreement. Al Davis has had some great years. Try 3 Super Bowls and 4 AFC titles and one AFL title. Only problem is the last title was in 1984.
Ron B Free
May 2, 2007 at 6:19 am
Yep, 23 long years ago and most of those teams were BAD.
James
May 2, 2007 at 10:20 pm
One of my all time favorite players, the Mad Bomber, Daryle Lamonica played for some of those teams.
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