JaMarcus Russell may be in good shape; teammates lack faith

[Over-Head]

Sorry if re-post

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3jhP


JaMarcus Russell may be in good shape; teammates lack faith


Oakland Raiders "quarterback" JaMarcus Russell(notes) missed the opening of voluntary offseason workouts Monday, and his teammates didn't seem to know where he was. Via David White at SFGate.com, they didn't seem to believe that he was out doing something productive, either.
No visible sign of JaMarcus Russell, though. Several players who have been at the facility for weeks said they have not seen the former No. 1 overall draft pick.

When asked if he'll show today, one starter laughed and said "That's a horror show." Another starter said "don't hold your breath."
Raiders director of squad development Willie Brown said Tuesday, though (via Jerry McDonald at Inside the Oakland Raiders), that JaMarcus was in Alabama closing on a house. He said JaMarcus was getting back in Oakland Tuesday, and would be working out Wednesday. He also added when that JaMarcus does work out, he'll be doing so as a slimmer, fitter, more streamlined version of himself.

"You’ll be surprised when you see him," Brown said. "It’s quite a bit of weight that he’s lost ... I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared to last year.
"The most important thing is he’s getting in shape. Not only losing weight, but getting in shape. He’s watching his diet, he has special meals brought in that he’s eating, and we have one of the Raiders, a former player there with him to monitor him and make sure things are going fine. The weight thing, he’ll get it down. He’ll get it down."

Well, good for him. It's probably best for everybody if JaMarcus shows up in good shape. It's one thing to skip workouts if you're Ty Warren, and you've proven throughout your career that you'll put in the work and do the right thing. It's quite another if you're JaMarcus Russell and you've proven only that you can sometimes throw tight spirals while being intercepted.
So I hope the reports of his offseason commitment are true, and I hope, more importantly, that it's a sign of a change in mindset in JaMarcus Russell, toward a new dedication to football.

If I had to put money on it, though, I'd still bet that Bruce Gradkowski(notes) will be your opening day starter.



Russell gets with the program

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 10:17 am in Oakland Raiders.

JaMarcus Russell is on site and particpating in the Raiders’ offseason program, the club confirmed without any other comment.

The Raiders have no plans to make Russell available to the media, so there won’t be any opportunity to see if the weight loss alluded to be director of player development Willie Brown is obvious to a casual observer.

Regardless, the Russell story will play out over a protracted period of time and probably won’t get really interesting until he is first viewed in public setting during the first open minicamp.

[Bane]

IMO if they start Gradkowski,they could compete for the AFCW.There's no doubt in my mind that if they had started him vs JaPorckchop,it would have been the Raiders vs the Chargers last season instead of the choketastic Donkfukks.

[stevieray]

what is he? ten years old?

man, we've so lowered the bar in this country.

[Over-Head]

Originally Posted by bane_58

IMO if they start Gradkowski,they could compete for the AFCW.There's no doubt in my mind that if they had started him vs JaPorckchop,it would have been the Raiders vs the Chargers last season instead of the choketastic Donkfukks.

THIS