In a surprisingly candid assessment of a third-year quarterback who was the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, Raiders passing game coordinator Ted Tollner said Thursday that quarterback JaMarcus Russell is regressing.
“That’s an accurate assessment because we really felt like we were making some real strides and the area was anticipation and turning the ball loose and trusting,” Tollner told the media, per Nancy Gay of FanHouse. “Are [the passes] going to be where they belong? Can I turn it loose when the coaches want me, or do I have to wait and use my big arm? We were making some real strides along those lines because you have to at this level. . . .
“You can’t wait till people are open,” Tollner said. “We made strides and last week we fell back in all those areas. That’s disappointing to all of us and we’ve got to get back on track. The answer? I don’t have the answer other than what I just said. It’s a number of things that happen and there has been a major emphasis on him, on JaMarcus, we’ve got to give [him] a foot rhythm that allows [him] to turn the ball loose on time and [he needs] to buy into that.
“And he has, to repeat myself -- we were making strides and -- bam -- we stepped back, and I don’t have the answer other than what I already said.”
The candor from Tollner is stunning. But since the Raiders don’t have a viable candidate on the roster to push Russell to get better, they need to do something to get the kid on track.
Whether calling Russell out gets it down remains to be seen.
But, let’s face it. He can’t get much worse. Through two games, Russell’s passer rating is 46.6. He has completed less than 36 percent of his passes.
Still, there’s cause for hope. Late in both games, Russell led his team to go-ahead scores. Eventually, the light that comes on when the game is on the line might activate at some point during the first three and a half quarters of the game.
