The JaMarcus Russell trainwreck

[FredFromDartmouth]

So anyone care to opine on how this happened? Most of the draft pundits had him rated very highly but now his house is being foreclosed on. Everyone is now going to say that they saw this coming but I won't believe it unless I see the post.

I should note that he did own a full-length fur coat; usually a bad sign (although Ty Law had one he worked out OK). I usually associate full-length fur coats with the type of WR that draftnics love and I (and the Patriots) hate so imagine my surprise when I found out that Jamarcus had such a coat.

As I have said before first round QBs and WRs are highly risky. RBs also these days.

 

[Sciz]

It's a lot harder to change character and commitment level than a lot of coaches/GMs think.

 

[Gunnails]

Russell and Ghoulston in my mind are some what similar, both have all the talent needed, just no desire to focus and commit after they got payed.

No eye of the tiger, no nasty, no pride.

 

[Gunnails]

Joe Namath rocked a full length fur coat.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Joe Namath rocked a full length fur coat.

No substance abuse issues there...or public spectacles

 

[jmt57]

JaMarcus Russell was a guy people rated highly because of the success of his college team, LSU, and Russell's performance against a relatively subpar opponent (Notre Dame) in the Sugar Bowl. On top of that he was 6-5 and did have a strong arm. Comparisons to the next best QB (Brady Quinn) made him look even better. So for average fans (and the Raiders) it made sense to draft him first. For those that scratched the surface his mechanics weren't that great. He had a slow delivery and often threw off his back foot. His decision making was mediocre and he threw into coverage far too often; something he got away with in college but not in the NFL.

As far as the work ethic thing I do recall a couple reports of that being an issue before he was drafted but it's a bit difficult to do an internet search finding those articles now, since so very much has been written about him since. I did find at least one though, so it's not as if there was not anybody questioning Russell's work ethic prior to his being drafted:

JaMarcus Russell wants to be NFL's No. 1 priority - USATODAY.com - 2/25/2007

There were questions about his footwork, his experience and his work ethic.

I seem to recall one of the big names (Mayock?) bringing up his work habits but can't swear to it. More than one report of him being last guy to arrive/ first to leave got swept under the rug by most because of his physical abilities and highlight reels.

Russell was in the right place/right time. Raiders picking first and you know how Al Davis loves that vertical passing game; Russell is a guy who can throw the ball sixty yards from one knee. On top of that it was a relatively poor QB class - the other QB's were Brady Quinn, Kevin Kolb, Trent Edwards, John Beck, Drew Stanton, Tyler Thigpen, etc.; they just made Russell look even better. Throw in Quinn having a bad bowl game head to head against Russell having a good game and the divide grows larger. And don't forget Russell had some pretty good receivers in college (Dwayne Bowe, Early Doucet, Brandon LaFell), which helped him out too.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Joe Namath rocked a full length fur coat.

Sure did and he got lots of side action wearing that uniform.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Sure did and he got lots of side action wearing that uniform.

Ah but was it mink or fox fur or racoon? Racoon seems not as bad (esp. with a racoon hat); sort of an Ivy league college fan uniform from a bygone era. Mink is bad and fox is really bad.

I seem to remember that he wore racoon or faux fur....wait I checked and saw him in two different furs including what looked like fox on the sidelines. From Wikipedia: "He originated the fad of wearing a full-length fur coat on the sidelines, a habit which was adopted by many players after him. The NFL [No Fun League] has since outlawed this..."

Joe:

And in faux fur:

 

[upstater1]

Do we know that JaMarcus has money problems?

A lot of rich people with plenty of money are deciding to take the credit hit rather than pay mortgages on houses whose value is underwater.

They're rich, what do they care about bad credit?

 

[West Philly Patriot]

Let's place the blame exactly where it belongs..... On da purple drank!!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

So anyone care to opine on how this happened? Most of the draft pundits had him rated very highly but now his house is being foreclosed on. Everyone is now going to say that they saw this coming but I won't believe it unless I see the post.

As the old saying goes, success has a hundred fathers, but failure is an orphan.

 

[SanAngeloState]

How is it a trainwreck? He lets a house go into foreclosure? Big deal, he could have 20M in cash in the bank for all you know. It is most likely a tactical decision...he owes more than it's worth and doesn't want it anymore. "It's the smart move" as Michael Corleogne said.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

How is it a trainwreck? He lets a house go into foreclosure? Big deal, he could have 20M in cash in the bank for all you know. It is most likely a tactical decision...he owes more than it's worth and doesn't want it anymore. "It's the smart move" as Michael Corleogne said.

Is it? If the foreclosure sale doesn't bring in enough proceeds to cover the mortgage, couldn't the bank sue him for a deficiency judgment to make up the difference? Often it's not done because the borrower doesn't have the assets. IF in this case, he has the money, don't you think the bank would go after him for it?? Russell would end up paying more with the extra interst, penalties and legal fees tacked on......

 

[upstater1]

Is it? If the foreclosure sale doesn't bring in enough proceeds to cover the mortgage, couldn't the bank sue him for a deficiency judgment to make up the difference? Often it's not done because the borrower doesn't have the assets. IF in this case, he has the money, don't you think the bank would go after him for it?? Russell would end up paying more with the extra interst, penalties and legal fees tacked on......

Maybe because he's a star, yes, but normally they don't even for the people with assets.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Maybe because he's a star, yes, but normally they don't even for the people with assets.

Mortgage lenders pursue homeowners even after foreclosure - Feb. 3, 2010

Didn't realize that California doesn't allow deficiency judgments which may explain his actions....Guess he doesn't plan on applying for any mortgages anytime soon because his FICO score is about to take a major hit....

 

[Snake Eyes]

How is it a trainwreck? He lets a house go into foreclosure? Big deal, he could have 20M in cash in the bank for all you know. It is most likely a tactical decision...he owes more than it's worth and doesn't want it anymore. "It's the smart move" as Michael Corleogne said.

How are you determining the "likelihood" that it's a tactical decision?

 

[SanAngeloState]

How are you determining the "likelihood" that it's a tactical decision?

I think it's more likely that then that he went through 30M in cash or whatever it was

 

[Snake Eyes]

I think it's more likely that then that he went through 30M in cash or whatever it was

Again, more likely based on what? You're just pulling out of thin air with nothing hard to base it on.

Take whatever money he's getting paid and you can cut it in half with all the taxes, union dues, agent fees, etc. Then you factor in the incredible stupidity of someone who starts his career overweight and gets busted for purple drank, and combine that stupidity with a desire to look cool and all sorts of users coming out of the woodwork because they want to get hooked up and you have a recipe for financial disaster.

My money is on him blowing most of his, but what do I know? It's not like we have any evidence of him blowing money on bling and nonsense, oh wait...

 

[Off The Grid]

I think he spent it on Cheese Burgers.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

LOL
Here are what the draft "Experts" said about him before the draft (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mu...05/nfl.jamarcus.russell.hype/content.4.html):

"JaMarcus Russell is going to immediately energize that fanbase, that football team -- on the practice field, in that locker room. Three years from now you could be looking at a guy that's certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league. ...You're talking about a 2-3 year period once he's under center. Look out because the skill level that he has is certainly John Elway-like."

-- ESPN's Mel Kiper

"The workout Russell had was Star Wars. It was unbelievable."

Then-Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden


"This year, I can't get over how good and talented JaMarcus Russell is. It just blew me away. If I had the first, second, third, fourth, fifth pick in that draft, I would be tearing apart his personal life trying to figure out whether or not I could trust this kid with $10-million ... From a physical skill set perspective, I've never seen a college quarterback with more ability than Russell. You put the tape on and it's frightening. The only thing that's going to keep [Russell] from being great is him. What it comes down to is you've got to figure out whether or not this kid wants to be the best quarterback in football. If he wants to be the best quarterback in football, he can be."

-- NFL Network's Mike Mayock