I am sure that everything that was wrong with the Raiders during the JaMarcus Russell tenure wasn’t his fault, but when you are the Quarterback you have to be able to accept the praise and deal with the criticisms.
No one wants to hear excuses especially from a player like JaMarcus who did not put in the work to be a quality starting quarterback in the NFL.
I assume he is trying to repair his image, but it is too late for that. Here is what he had to say to Sports Illustrated.
“I stuck my neck out for him,” Russell said of Cable. “Didn’t complain when he benched me as the starter. Didn’t complain when he called the same plays five damn times. Didn’t [badmouth] him to other coaches. When the [media] asks me, I say, ‘He’s a good coach, a good guy.’ Then I hear he says I was the worst thing ever happened to the Raiders, if it weren’t for him we’d be in the playoffs?
“Things weren’t going right, and it felt sometimes like everything fell back on me. I take some responsibility, but I was one guy. . . . I may have missed a throw, but I didn’t give up 42 points, I didn’t miss a block.”
Russell also blames sleep apnea for his “lack of preparation” and focus.
I am not calling him a liar, but no one is going to have sympathy for someone who collected over $30 million while yielding very little results.
He needs to come to grips that his career is over and the reason it is over starts when he looks in the mirror.
Original Story:
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October 26, 2011
