Jeff Otis? Well, that’s a start … I guess

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, March 27, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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It's never fun to mull over worst-case scenarios if you're an NFL team. With just 16 contests on the schedule, every second of every game counts.

The way things have gone for the Oakland Raiders over the past five years, however, seemingly everything has turned into a worst-case scenario. The Raiders are 19-61 since 2003 and have had 11 different quarterbacks attempt passes since the team's 27-point trouncing in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Now imagine JaMarcus Russell getting injured early in the 2008 season.

With Oakland's current QB lineup, they'd be lucky to win four games, like they've done three times in the past five years.

Behind the 6-foot-6, 255-pound Russell sits a short list of untested, not-so-impressive names. Two were signed just this week; one has endured a very bumpy road thus far in his short career.

On Monday and Tuesday, the Raiders reached deals with free agent quarterbacks Erik Meyer and Jeff Otis, respectively. Neither has attempted a pass in the NFL.

The 25-year-old Meyer was first signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals back in the 2006 offseason, but was released prior to the regular season. A year later, the Seattle Seahawks gave him a shot, but also opted out of keeping him for the year. The only professional experience the 215-pound passer has is in the now-extinct NFL Europa league, where he saw time with the Cologne Centurions.

With Meyer's short bio as a backdrop, Otis looks like a seasoned vet. Unlike the unlisted Meyer, the 25-year-old Otis has his very own NFL.com player page. Yes, all his ... and all blank.

Also an undrafted free agent, the former Columbia Lions standout began his career on the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad before being allocated to the NFL Europe league in '06. A year later, Otis was picked up by the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs to join their practice squad. Then, last season, the Raiders gave the 6-foot-1 QB a look during training camp, but released him prior to the start of the season. Now they're giving him a second glance.

Leaps and bounds ahead of Meyer and Otis -- and Russell, for that matter -- in terms of actual NFL playing time is soon-to-be-fourth-year quarterback Andrew Walter, who holds career records at Arizona State for passing yards, completions, attempts, touchdowns and interception percentage.

The former third-rounder has, by comparison to his counterparts, thrown an astronomical amount of passes in the NFL. Walter, with eight starts and 12 appearances under his belt, has completed 152 passes on 284 attempts for 1,715 yards, three touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Russell, who's slated to start in 2008, has thrown just 66 career passes.

With a 55.9 career passer rating, though, Walter certainly isn't the type of player you'd want to rely on in the unfortunate, but highly realistic, circumstance that Russell suffers a multiple-game injury.

The Raiders will certainly build their offense around Russell's ability to move around the pocket and make on-the-move decisions. If Walter enters the game, that plan goes out the door. No. 16 isn't leaving the pocket. That became apparent in 2006.

That last thing Oakland needs is a repeat of the 2006 season.

New worst-case scenario: JaMarcus Russell gets hurt and Aaron Brooks is re-signed.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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