JaMarcus Russell

Greetings, it's your old pal McLean Stevenson here, the king of career choices and being the king allows me to make fun of other people who are making bigger mistakes than I ever did. This is the part where I would link back to my own personal blog, but I don't update it because I have a life. Just kidding. It's because I'm dead, people. I only make rare appearances here because the traffic from heaven is, frankly, hell. (Thankfully, Hal Fishman has offered to give me a ride back to heaven today on his plane, so I'm all good there.)

Anyway, let's move on to JaMarcus Russell. His career already started behind the eight-ball because he was drafted by the Raiders, meaning he will receive no coaching. Lane Kiffin took a program that was unbeatable a few years ago and then lost to Texas in the Rose Bowl and lost to UCLA last season, preventing another national championship. That is why I am applauding this move. Most of the time, you don't want a quarterback to miss any training camp because they have to learn the playbook and get up to speed. The less time Russell spends in Raiders camp, the better off he will be.

The best possible solution here is that Russell misses all of training camp and sits on the bench for the entire season. Then he goes out and struggles during his second year, prompting the Raiders to cut him. Russell can then move on to another team where he will receive some actual instruction and the opportunity to be a real NFL quarterback. No, this is a very coy move by Russell and one that I enthusiastically give a thumbs up.