Skins work out JaMarcus Russell (and a bunch of other free agents)

so we would cut the guy we benched a 5 time pro-bowler for in order to make room for a 300-lb bust with a horrible work ethic?

if this happened, the only logical explanation would be that, in the year 2050, an old vinny cerrato transferred his consciousness into a killer cyborg that looks like mike shanahan back, then traveled back in time to kill the present day to kill mike shanahan and assume his identity. of course, this only goes to show how inept cerrato really is. he could have just gone back in time to tell his former self not to make the dumb moves that got him fired in the first place.

I thought just yesterday you were in favor of signing him??

If we were to sign Russell, my guess is the QB depth chart will look a little less sexy

idk man, im always a big believer in having backup vets who are well versed with whatever coaching staff and scheme we run. particularly when its new coaches and schemes.

your guess is more educated than mine but idk, i cant see rex getting let go only 8 games into the shannys regime.

idk man, im always a big believer in having backup vets who are well versed with whatever coaching staff and scheme we run. particularly when its new coaches and schemes.

your guess is more educated than mine but idk, i cant see rex getting let go only 8 games into the shannys regime.

My guess isn't based on anything other than just a pure guess. Personally, I'm not sure what they see in John Beck but Kyle at least supposedly sees something. Also, having a veteran backup QB has never necessarily been a huge deal to Mike Shanahan. And, while I don't see all that much in Beck I could see another team taking a chance on him and locking him up. Grossman? Yeah someone might pick him up for the remainder of the year but I'm sure he'll be available next spring if we really want him back.

He could have woken up when he was benched and like Vince Young, have an epiphany. It apparently didn't happen.

Also, who are these QBs who stunk it up and then proceeded to light it up later? And by "stunk it up" I mean play terribly, not so-so or "ok".

I guess I'll never convince you that the NFL has missed on QBs, because I'll name guys like Brad Johnson, Trent Green and Tony Romo and you'll just say something about how you knew all along they were better than terrible.


Oh, and the body language and play of his teammates when he walked into the game against us last year? Any willingness to play for him apparently flew out the window.

Isn't it possible the body language and play of his teammates had something to do with poor leadership and the fact they were going nowhere?


It's quite clear that he was wallowing in the life of his 50 mil and couldn't give a damn about football.

This you are right about, and it's actually the point I have been trying to make. He was immature, like most young adults, and it's possible that has changed (or could in the future). Don't write him off just yet. That's all I'm saying.


So what if the organization is dysfunctional, Russell could have been motivated by the simple desire to get back the starting job. A benching should be a huge wake-up call to the QB to play well or else. Even that wasn't enough.

You act as if the only thing that matters for success is a good QB. You act as if Russell just had to make the decision to be good, and they would have won the Superbowl, regardless of how bad the rest of the organization was.

I don't think Shanny really gives a shit what the.....Pundits think of his actions. The same pundits who universally lined up to annoint the cowboys Super Bowl champs.
AND hey, they pulled Brandon Banks and Anthony Armstrong from the trash heap...so I'm good with checking out Russel

Exactly. This is what it's all about. I admire it actually.

Do the Colts or Patriots do this?

No, they both have HoF quarterbacks who consistently produce.

No, that's why they are winning franchises on a consistant basis. They wouldn't have brought in Shanny to coach their teams either.

See above.

Jamarcus could lose more weight, but honestly at 6 ft 6 and 286lbs, he is at least 30 pounds less than he weighed with Oakland, and is probably only about 20 pounds out from being seriously fit for a guy his size.

Nobody on here has questioned Russell's skillset. He has the biggest arm in the NFL and probably is one of the toughesst QBs, but it was all mental with him, and if he is in better mental shape, which it sounds like he is, then he could still turn into a great quarterback.

If he is signed, I want him to do nothing else but try and get good workout habits in his mind, and for him to do as much as he can to learn the offense. If he is a quick learner, then he may be ready to be the #2 by the very end of the season. He could possibly see playing time even at #3 QB if we are totally out of the playoff picture and playing in meaningless games.

If Russell somehow works out here, then I hope that nobody even thinks about starting him until at least 2012, and unfortunatley, Shanahan might not even be here still, so it wont matter.

I'm all for signing JR if Shanahan believes in him and thinks that he can reclaim what should have been a great QB...

Didn't you say this earlier in the thread?

http://www.thewarpath.net/redskins-locker-room/39616-skins-work-out-jamarcus-russell-bunch.html#post755418

I'm confused...

idk man, im always a big believer in having backup vets who are well versed with whatever coaching staff and scheme we run. particularly when its new coaches and schemes.

your guess is more educated than mine but idk, i cant see rex getting let go only 8 games into the shannys regime.

Considering all the odd circumstances surrounding the current QB situation, will Rex Grossman get the opportunity to start one or more of the eight games remanining on the schedule?

I guess I'll never convince you that the NFL has missed on QBs, because I'll name guys like Brad Johnson, Trent Green and Tony Romo and you'll just say something about how you knew all along they were better than terrible.


First of all, talent is a "natural ability or quality of a person". Work ethic, is not something like arm strength or pocket presence.

You keep on citing flaws in talent evaluation, but you keep on missing what flaws you actually are citing and not making the actual connection between evaluating Russell and a Romo.

The difference in the flaws regarding Romo, etc were a matter of overstating lack of physical ability and lack of popular media exposure. They had, however, the mental intangibles to QB in the league. Not just from a work ethic, but instincts like pocket presence, etc.

The flaw in evaluating Russell's talent was overstating his PHYSICAL attributes and overlooking his mental areas. . People saw physical talent in Russell. They still do now. They didn't get that wrong.

They WERE wrong that he would have the work ethic to pan out.

As for actual MENTAL TALENTS, like pocket presence, he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. It's up to him to prove he actually has the ability to go through his progressions, etc, AFTER shoring up his work ethic, IF he ever does. I'm pretty sure everyone was hollering that he was mentally talented too, but he hasn't verified that expectation either.

I wasn't into football around 2007, but I'm pretty sure a lot of people thought Russell was going to be a sure thing. You're right that people didn't evaluate Russell correctly. Incorrect in the sense that they thought he was going to be any good.

Isn't it possible the body language and play of his teammates had something to do with poor leadership and the fact they were going nowhere?No, they played like they gave a damn when Gradkowski was in there. They still do now. He also displayed a "deer in headlights" way of playing. He took sacks after holding the ball for a long time.


You act as if the only thing that matters for success is a good QB. You act as if Russell just had to make the decision to be good, and they would have won the Superbowl, regardless of how bad the rest of the organization was.You're extremely vague in how this "toxicity" provided such a huge disincentive for Russell to do anything that even his pride of losing the starting job and job insecurity were not enough to provide a counterincentive and start working his ass off.

Vince Young woke up in part because of that and some other reasons.

Didn't you say this earlier in the thread?

http://www.thewarpath.net/redskins-locker-room/39616-skins-work-out-jamarcus-russell-bunch.html#post755418

I'm confused...

I did say that. But i also think that if there is any chance at all they can rehabilitate him, then go for it. I think it is a bad decision to sign him, based on his past body of work, BUT....he has an unbelievable amount of raw ability and just maybe Shanahan is the kind of coach that can bring out the best in him.

I still think it is a bad idea, but if he can help our team somehow, i can put my biased attitude towards him behind me.