FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 11/16/2009 5:04pm et

The National Football Post reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell said he is not sure why he was benched in Week 10. 'I really can't explain it. I really don't know what to say about it, but that was his decision, and just move on from it,' Russell said. Russell has completed only 47.1 percent of his passes this season and has thrown two touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Huddle Take: If Russell can't understand why he was benched, then maybe we should question more than just his football IQ.

Posted: 11/1/2009 10:07pm et

The Associated Press reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell was 14-for-22 for 109 yards with an interception Week 8 against the San Diego Chargers. He was sacked five times in the game.

The Huddle Take: Despite the poor performance by JaMarcus Russell the Oakland offensive line has to shoulder an equal amount of the blame for his dismal outings. Russell continues to get pounded week in and week out as was evident by the five sacks against San Diego this week. He should not be considered as a starter for any fantasy team at this point.

Posted: 10/26/2009 12:27pm et

NFL.com reports Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable said he will stick with QB JaMarcus Russell as the team's starting quarterback. Russell was pulled from the game in Week 7 midway through the second quarter after completing 6 of 11 passes for 61 yards with two interceptions and a fumble.

The Huddle Take: It's not as if the Raiders' offense improved dramatically with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm. And Oakland has plenty invested in Russell, so despite all the evidence he's already provided he probably hasn't exhausted his opportunities to be the Raiders' quarterback of the future—however bleak that future may look.

Posted: 10/6/2009 12:27pm et

Jerry McDonald, of ANG Newspapers, reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell has been fined by the team for being overweight and being late for team meetings, according to Boomer Esiason, of CBS Sports. 'I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but it's come to my attention that he has been fined heavily already for being overweight and for being late to meetings. And, he's already missed one meeting. I'm telling you right now, the other 52 guys on that roster are looking at (head coach) Tom Cable. They're looking at Al Davis, and they're saying we deserve better than this. That's why every time he goes on the field, what's the quarterback's job? To be the leader of the other men on the field with them; to inspire them to greater heights. Right now, he is holding them back,' Esiason said. When asked whether Russell had indeed been fined and missed meetings, Cable said, 'I'm not going to talk about our internal stuff that way.'

The Huddle Take: Just remember, no matter how bad it may be going for either your hometown or Fantasy NFL teams, it could be worse. You could be a Raider fan. What an absolute joke of a franchise.

Posted: 9/21/2009 10:50am et

Jerry McDonald, of ANG Newspapers, reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell has completed seven of 33 passes to wide receivers through two weeks.

The Huddle Take: Russell hasn't exactly established a reputation as an accurate quarterback thus far, and hitting on less than one in four of his deep balls isn't going to help.

Posted: 9/15/2009 8:51am et

Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell was 12-for-30 for 208 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions during the team�s Week 1 game.

The Huddle Take: Even though Russell performed somewhat admirably, the Raiders are probably second-guessing their decision to let Jeff Garcia go

Posted: 8/24/2009 11:27am et

David White, of the San Francisco Chronicle, reports Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable said QB JaMarcus Russell will be the team's starting quarterback for the regular-season opener. Cable had hoped QB Jeff Garcia would push Russell to improve, but Garcia was unable to compete during training camp. Cable said, "I've said that it's his job and we'll see how it goes. Unfortunately, Jeff hasn't had much work. We've been fortunate in that JaMarcus has improved. It would have been nice to have someone really pushing him. Maybe we could get him to improve a little bit more."

The Huddle Take: This battle isn't over, assuming Garcia can get healthy. We'd say he has a fighting chance to overtake Russell, but given Cable's current off-field issues "fighting" might not be the best choice of words. At a minimum, Garcia will be ready in the bullpen if/when Russell struggles.

Posted: 8/12/2009 7:08am et

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell continued his ongoing trend Tuesday, Aug. 11, of following up a good practice with a pretty bad one. The team is looking for Russell to put together two consecutive good practices. Timing is a big issue for Russell, as the receivers are on time with their routes but Russell isn't always on time with his throw. He holds onto the football too long still, hoping his arm strength will buy him the extra second to deliver the football. Head coach Tom Cable said Russell needs to speed up and he keeps reminding his quarterback of that. Russell also had trouble getting the football to the receivers Tuesday. Of his 13 attempts to receivers, only three of them were completions.

The Huddle Take: The good news for Russell is that Jeff Garcia hasn't been healthy enough to give him much competition. If he were, he could already have claimed the starting job. Russell needs to prove he's got what it takes and soon, or he'll start looking the the second coming of Ryan Leaf.

Posted: 7/30/2009 4:22pm et

ANG Newspapers reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell said he is probably a little heavy reporting to training camp but not as heavy as he was last season.

The Huddle Take: The window is closing rapidly on whatever viability Russell may have left as an NFL quarterback. Showing up to camp overweight -- even if he's "not as heavy as he was last season" -- is one sure way to make that window close even faster. Russell's nothing more than an afterthought from a Fantasy standpoint anyway.

Posted: 6/20/2009 8:08pm et

Steve Corkran, of the Bay Area News Group, reports Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell is in the midst of arranging a week of practice for any of the other quarterbacks and all the wide receivers and tight ends, at an undisclosed location. "We're going to get the receivers and tight ends a week away from everything, just go along by ourselves and accomplish something that would make us a lot better during the year," Russell said. "Just work on our own, with nobody out there but us, get ready for camp, get ready for a new year." Head coach Tom Cable said he was glad to hear of Russell's plan as it shows that he is growing into his role as a starting quarterback and team leader. "It's a big step," Cable said. "It's kind of what we've been talking about all along. It will be good to hear how that goes and what his plan is."

The Huddle Take: So if you see a bunch of really fast guys catching passes from a big guy about 70 yards away... maybe you'll have stumbled upon the Raiders' secret workouts. All kidding aside, this is exactly the kind of extra work Russell needs to live up to the expectations of a first-round quarterback. Though he'd benefit from some good coaching, too.