The Oakland Raiders had, by all accounts, a successful draft. A hard hitting middle linebacker. A versatile defensive lineman. Two promising bookend tackles. And to cap it off they made a trade to settle their quarterback situation.
When it was announced that the Raiders traded for Jason Campbell, Head Coach Tom Cable came out and announced that Campbell would be the starter. The incumbent quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, seemed to be on his way out of town. The only question was when.
Then a curious thing happened. Tom Cable discovered that he does not have as much pull with the team as he thought. Now Cable has come out and stated that there will be an open competition for the starting quarterback job. The man with all the power in the organization had to have told Cable that JaMarcus Russell still has a job, and that man is Al Davis.
When the Russell Release Watch started, you could find video all over the place of Al Davis at the infamous news conference after he fired Lane Kiffen making a statement that Kiffen wanted to draft Calvin Johnson, and that even though Kiffen didn't want Russell, that he was the starting quarterback. Get over it. I wonder how many times Davis watched this.
Davis had to have seen it and thought 'No one tells me what to do here!' So Russell stays with the Raiders and gets his roster bonus. It doesn't matter that Russell has been an unmitigated bust. No one tells Al Davis what to do.
For his credit, Russell has come out ans stated the he is going to work his butt off. The problem is that his lack of work ethic has enabled his butt to get so big that he probably never will be able to work it back into decent playing shape. Now the Raiders have a problem that many teams have had over the years and never did handle properly. They have 2 quarterbacks. And when you have 2 quarterbacks you don't have A QUARTERBACK.
I have always liked Jason Campbell. I think he is in a situation out in Oakland where he can get settled into the starters position and be the quarterback that the Redskins thought he would be when they drafted him in the first round back in 2005. Now his hardest task awaits. He needs to convince Al Davis that he is the man for the job. I don't see it happening any time soon.
Showing posts with label Jason Campbell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Campbell. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Next stop for Jimmy Clausen
Mike Shanahan seems to be channelling his inner George Allen. The Future Is Now. Many believed that the Redskins would draft Jimmy Clausen with the fourth overall selection in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft. Now that Washington has made the trade for Donovan McNabb, where Clausen lands in the draft could very well be determined by what happens to Jason Campbell.
The Redskins have two options with Campbell. Keep him as a backup, or trade him. The offseason signing of Rex Grossman seems to be the indicator that the backup role is already filled, so now they are looking to trade their former 1st Round pick. Going down from Washington on the draft board, it will be interesting to see if any of the teams in the top half of the draft will make a deal.
Kansas City has Matt Cassell, so that doesn't look like a team that would pick up Campbell. Seattle just traded for Charlie Whitehurst, and they also have Matt Hasslebeck, so their quarterback situation looks to be set. Then there is Cleveland. They released Derek Anderson and traded Brady Quinn, then signed Jake Delhomme and traded for Seneca Wallace. Since Mike Holmgren coached Wallace at Seattle, he knows what he is getting in him and I can't see the new General Manager looking to muddle the quarterback situation there even more by adding another ingredient to the mix. Oakland has JaMarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski. They seem to be upset that McNabb did not land out on the West Coast, and they have to decide whether trading for Campbell is the move that will help them win now.
Buffalo can sit and wait at the ninth slot. They might see Campbell as an improvement over Trent Edwards, or they can select Clausen as their franchise quarterback. A week ago Jimmy Clausen looks to be signing a $20 million plus signing bonus if Washington were to select him fourth overall. Now he might fall out of the top ten if Bufflao looks in another direction. But I don't see Clausen falling too far, and some team is going to get a quarterback who played in a pro style offense in college and now has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. But Clausen will need to hit the ground running. I thought the same thing about Brady Quinn three seasons ago when he fell to #22, but he and his agent overestimated his worth and a holdout cost him dearly. If Clausen gets signed and in camp early, look for him to have an immediate impact with the team that he falls to in the draft.
The Redskins have two options with Campbell. Keep him as a backup, or trade him. The offseason signing of Rex Grossman seems to be the indicator that the backup role is already filled, so now they are looking to trade their former 1st Round pick. Going down from Washington on the draft board, it will be interesting to see if any of the teams in the top half of the draft will make a deal.
Kansas City has Matt Cassell, so that doesn't look like a team that would pick up Campbell. Seattle just traded for Charlie Whitehurst, and they also have Matt Hasslebeck, so their quarterback situation looks to be set. Then there is Cleveland. They released Derek Anderson and traded Brady Quinn, then signed Jake Delhomme and traded for Seneca Wallace. Since Mike Holmgren coached Wallace at Seattle, he knows what he is getting in him and I can't see the new General Manager looking to muddle the quarterback situation there even more by adding another ingredient to the mix. Oakland has JaMarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski. They seem to be upset that McNabb did not land out on the West Coast, and they have to decide whether trading for Campbell is the move that will help them win now.
Buffalo can sit and wait at the ninth slot. They might see Campbell as an improvement over Trent Edwards, or they can select Clausen as their franchise quarterback. A week ago Jimmy Clausen looks to be signing a $20 million plus signing bonus if Washington were to select him fourth overall. Now he might fall out of the top ten if Bufflao looks in another direction. But I don't see Clausen falling too far, and some team is going to get a quarterback who played in a pro style offense in college and now has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. But Clausen will need to hit the ground running. I thought the same thing about Brady Quinn three seasons ago when he fell to #22, but he and his agent overestimated his worth and a holdout cost him dearly. If Clausen gets signed and in camp early, look for him to have an immediate impact with the team that he falls to in the draft.
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