more legs on this Bryant story. rumour goes the conversation where he was asked if his mother was a prostitute came about this way:
âWhat did your dad do for a livingâ
âMy dad was a pimp.â
âWhat did your mom do [for a living]?â
âShe worked for my dad.â
âYour mom was a prostitute?â
âNo, she wasnât a prostitute.â
Well well well, Raiders release Russell. Also, Lawrence Taylor has been charged with the rape of a 16 year old.
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) â Three years, more than $39 million and only seven wins as the starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders.
The verdict is in on JaMarcus Russellâs career in Oakland and he just might be the NFLâs biggest draft bust.
The Raiders released Russell on Thursday, just three years after making him the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
The decision came less than two weeks after Oakland acquired Jason Campbell from Washington to take over at quarterback. It signifies that owner Al Davis finally lost patience with the immensely talented but unproductive player he drafted in 2007 against the wishes of former coach Lane Kiffin.
âWe wish him well,â senior executive John Herrera told The Associated Press.
Russell will now be considered one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history, joining the likes of Ryan Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith, Tony Mandarich, Charles Rogers, Heath Shuler and Blair Thomas on that list.
Russell showed up at last weekâs minicamp, saying he would keep coming to work until told otherwise. He looked decent in the first of five practices last weekend, but got less work as the weekend went on, and the decision to cut ties finally was made.
The Raiders paid Russell about $36.4 million through last season. They still owe him $3 million more, putting the final tally on his earnings at about $39.4 million. But the team saved $6.45 million by not having him on the roster in 2010.
Since the start of the common draft in 1967, only one other No. 1 pick was released this quickly in his NFL career. Indianapolis cut 1992 top pick Steve Emtman after three seasons, but that was more because of injuries than production.
Emtman played three more seasons for Miami and Washington. It remains to be seen whether any team will give the 24-year-old Russell another shot.
Davis believed Russell could turn the fortunes of his struggling franchise when he drafted him. He stood by him during his struggles, revealing when he fired Kiffin in 2008 that the coach did not want him.
âHe is a great player. Get over it and coach this team on the field,â Davis read from a letter he sent Kiffin before the firing. âThat is what you were hired to do. We can win with this team.â
But the Raiders were unable to win with Russell at the helm and Davis allowed coach Tom Cable, Kiffinâs successor, to bench Russell midway through last season. The move was popular in the locker room and gave the team a spark on the field as Bruce Gradkowski led comeback wins over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Davis was not satisfied with Gradkowski as his standard bearer and the Raiders were linked to possible offseason deals for Donovan McNabb and Ben Roethlisberger. While the Raiders downplayed how serious those talks ever got, they did make the move for another quarterback when they acquired Campbell from Washington for a 2012 fourth-round draft pick.
The team showed confidence in Campbell by extending his contract through 2011, giving him a $4.5 million deal for that season on top of the $3.14 million he is owed this season.
Russell won only seven of his 25 starts as the Raiders extended an NFL-worst streak to seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses. He completed just 52.1 percent of his passes in his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a passer rating of 65.2.
That means Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion.
While Russellâs numbers are superior to Leafâs, he was paid considerably more money to do it and was picked first overall instead of second. Leafâs rookie contract guaranteed him only $11.25 million.
Russellâs tenure in Oakland got off to a rough start and never got much better. He held out his first season, not signing a contract until after the first game of the regular season. That made his rookie season almost a complete loss, as he started only one game.
He showed some signs of progress in his second season, especially in winning the final two games against Houston and Tampa Bay. But the problems of work ethic and his weight never disappeared and his third season was an utter disaster.
He was fined for being overweight when he showed up at training camp. He then put together one of the worst seasons in recent memory for an NFL quarterback. He completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest since Leaf, Bobby Hoying and Craig Whelihan all finished below 50 in 1998.
Good readâŚ
NFL Films guru uses coachesâ tape to break down hot league topics
One of the things I miss most about playing is the unlimited access to all of the coachesâ tape teams use to evaluate players and game plan for opponents. Watching games on television with the ever-increasing technology is outstanding, and you can certainly glean some information about players and teams in this manner, but it just isnât the same as the coachesâ tape. To truly critique players and coaches at a deeper level, you have to check out the âall-22â and âend zoneâ cuts that are only available at NFL team training facilities and NFL Films headquarters in Mount Laurel, N.J.
The âall-22â look is a wide view from the sideline that allows one to see what every player is doing on every play. It is especially helpful in the passing game to identify coverages and evaluate receivers and defensive backs. The âend zoneâ angle is just that, a camera in the end zone that focuses on offensive and defensive linemen.
A guy who watches plenty of coachesâ tape is Greg Cosell, an NFL Films employee who also happens to be both the creator and executive producer of the NFL Match-Up show that is popular among NFL players and coaches. I spoke with him recently to get his take on a few burning NFL questions. The beauty of Cosell is he does not work for an NFL team, thus he has no agenda, unlike some of the players and coaches I talk to around the league. He simply offers his opinions based on what he sees in his exhaustive film study with the likes of Ron Jaworski and Merrill Hoge in preparation for Match-Up.
Based on your film study, do you think the Eaglesâ trade of Donovan McNabb within division to the Redskins had more to do with their confidence in Kevin Kolb or their lack of faith in McNabb?
"I think the Eagles feel extremely comfortable with Kolb and that fueled the decision to trade McNabb. Once they made the decision to trade McNabb, it didnât matter to them where they traded him.
"I think Kolb allows the multi-dimensional West Coast offense to work more efficiently because he is a quicker decision maker and a more accurate short to intermediate passer.
âThat being said, I believe where McNabb went, working under Mike Shanahan, will be an excellent fit. Shanahan is as good as there is when it comes to personnel packages, different formations and dictating matchups in the passing game that allow the QB to be very quick with his decision making.â
Speaking of the Redskins, how much of an upgrade is former Washington signal caller Jason Campbell over the quarterbacks the Oakland Raiders had last year?
âHe is a huge upgrade. Campbell was a square peg in a round hole in Washington. He is not a West Coast QB. A West Coast QB requires very quick feet and a quick delivery. Campbell is not that guy. He is a five-step and seven-step drop QB who can work effectively off of play-action, which better defines the reads and allows him to be better protected to throw the ball down the field.â
What major schematic trend do you see teams doing offensively?
"The game has evolved into a chess match between spread concepts on offense and pressure concepts on defense, which is why it is so important to come up with pressure concepts that rely on fewer defenders rushing, not more defenders rushing. The poster-child for that is Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. The whole idea is to rush as few as possible while still getting someone free to the quarterback.
âI think because of the emphasis on pressure with fewer people and a lot of times smaller people, the trend will be on lighter and quicker offensive linemen who can adjust to the movement.â
Given the NFL is a passing league, would you rather have an elite cover guy like Darrelle Revis or a stud pass rusher who demands double teams like Jared Allen?
âIf the players are equivalent in terms of skill set and impact, I think you always have to go with the pass rusher. The goal is to speed up the quarterback. The quarterback is the most important part of the passing game, not the receiver. Everything you do defensively is predicated on hurrying the thought process and physical reactions of the quarterback because that tends to create problems for them.â
What are the biggest areas second-year quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez need to improve upon, and did you see enough late last season to think they will?
"Stafford is a more gifted passer than Sanchez. He has a more complete skill set for the position. His issue, which was a function of his team last year, is that because of his big arm he has a tendency to too often try to make âstickâ throws into tight windows. Normally, that trait is a positive in the NFL. When you are forced to do it too often because of the score of the game, it can become a negative.
"Sanchez is a complementary offensive piece. He has above-average arm strength but not much more. He needs to be part of an offense whose foundation is the running game. They got guys like Santonio Holmes because Rex Ryan believes you have to create and dictate explosive plays in the pass game to become a top level offense.
âThere are different ways to do that. You do not have to spread the field formation-wise to do that. You can do it out of base personnel. While I think the Jets will try to expand their pass game concepts, I believe they have to be careful. Sanchez is a quick rhythm timing quarterback. He needs the offense to stay on schedule.â
What did you see from Tim Tebow on tape and were you surprised the Broncos made the bold move to get back into the first round to snag him?
"On film, there is very little in Tebowâs game that projects well at this point to the NFL. I could never draft a quarterback in the first round who does not show on tape the skill set and physical attributes that are demanded in the NFL.
âNumber one, he has questionable and limited arm strength with a slow and ponderous delivery. Number two, in college he did not throw with timing or anticipation because the offense that he was in did not require it. In the NFL, there are certain throws in certain situations that necessitate that the ball is delivered before his receiver makes his break. He wasnât asked to do that at Florida. Thirdly, pocket movement in the NFL is far more important than running. Pocket movement is the ability to move within the confines of an area about the size of a boxing ring while at the same time maintaining your downfield focus so you can deliver the football. Tebow did not exhibit that trait in college, probably because he was a runner. Nobody is a great NFL quarterback because of the way that they run.â
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ross_tucker/06/02/greg.cosell/index.html#ixzz0pmXKddG9
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I donât get the Jason Campbell bit if anyone would care to explain. I would have thought if heâs not a West Coast QB that heâd have been better at the Redskins than at the Raiders. Or are the Redskins a West Coast team for some reason?
The popular term âWest Coast Offenseâ is more of a philosophy and an approach to the game than it is a set of plays or formations. Traditional offensive thinking argues that a team must establish its running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up vertical passing lanes downfield; i.e., passing lanes that run perpendicular to the line of scrimmage.
Bill Walshâs West Coast Offense differs from traditional offense by emphasizing a short, horizontal passing attack to help stretch the defense out, thus opening up options for longer running plays and longer passes that can achieve greater gains. The West Coast Offense as implemented under Walsh features precisely run pass patterns by the receivers that make up about 65% to 80% of the offensive scheme. With the defense stretched out, the offense is then free to focus the remaining plays on longer throws of more than 14 yards and mid to long yard rushes.
a west coast offence Rocko is a way of playing. rather than location. WCO is basically more pass plays and horizontal wide pass plays to open up the middle for bigger plays. When teams have styles, some go with running the ball up the gut to create space. WCO uses more passing in is set up. Running Quarter backs are also suited to a WCO. might clear small bits up for ya
Ah right, I figured it might be something like that. If I was a coach Iâd use a WCO. Then maybe charge one up the middle on 1st and 10 in the Superbowl to blow everyoneâs minds.
Is Favre a WCO QB?
to an extent yeah. he won the superbowl playing under a WCO, but its more to do with the team strategy than the actual QB.
The Pats arenât a West Coast Offence team and look what they did in 2007 with the passing game. Booya! WCO is a state of mind.
Patriots use the Erhardt-Perkins system Flano, get with it! 
Ah I know that, a Weis man once said it 
Saw an ad on ESPN saying they now have Monday Night Football.
Ah yeah, Rocko confirmed that a while ago alright. Thatâll be handy. I hope it has the full US ESPN coverage. Gruden and Jaworski and the other fella whose name I canât remember.
Got this in an email today. Iâm intrigued
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Saturday 7th August 14.00.
Barrup!
Anybody who wants discount tickets ask Howard Webb.
Jones_Drew32
âThe hardest thing in the world is a black man catching a cab in new york cityâ
:ph34r:
Itâs actually happened. Man itâs going to be fun times in Cinci.
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Some serious banter between Ochocinco and Ochouno on twitter.