Raiders’ Russell plays it safe in first NFL start

By Anthony Carroll  |   Monday, December 31, 2007  |  Comments( 17 )

Oakland Raiders
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You can say the Oakland Raiders finally unleashed JaMarcus Russell in Week 17.

Depending on your definition of the word "unleashed."

The No. 1 overall pick of the '07 draft received his first NFL start Sunday over three months after signing a six-year, $68 million contract. Russell had attempted just 35 passes prior to Sunday's 30-17 defeat at home against the San Diego Chargers, but he attempted 31 throws in the losing effort.

The 22-year-old finished the game with a 91.3 passer rating and a 74.2 completion percentage. However, you certainly can't say he "aired it out."

Of Russell's 23 completions, 14 went for 10 or fewer yards, and 22 were fewer than 20 yards. The sole completion that went for more was a 32-yard touchdown to Jerry Porter in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

"It was good, my first touchdown pass in this stadium," the ex-LSU standout said after the game. "It was fun. I had a lot more time to see everything and really get a feel."

Porter was one of only three wide receivers to catch a ball from Russell, with his other 20 completions going to either running backs or tight ends. Rookie target Zach Miller led the team with a career-high eight grabs for 84 yards, with halfback Dominic Rhodes close behind with six catches for 42 yards.

Rhodes also rushed 29 times on the game for 122 yards and a touchdown. The 5-foot-9, 205-pounder finished off a rather uneventful first season in Oakland with two consecutive starts, both of which he surpassed 100 yards on the ground.

Despite Rhodes' effort, however, Russell was unable to exit the '07 campaign with his first career win.

The Raider 'D' managed to hold LaDainian Tomlinson -- this season's NFL rushing leader -- to just 56 yards on 16 attempts, and it also limited quarterback Philip Rivers to 13 completions for only 135 yards. However, costly mistakes ultimately made the difference.

Rookie return man Johnnie Lee Higgins muffed a punt, Rhodes lost a third-quarter fumble and Russell lost a fumble deep in Raiders territory that resulted in a Chargers TD. Russell also kicked off his career as a starting quarterback by throwing an interception on the game's first pass. Nine plays later, San Diego turned the Igor Olshansky INT into six points.

Despite the rocky start, head coach Lane Kiffin admitted he saw a much-improved performance from Russell's four-turnover game in Week 16.

"I think JaMarcus did some really good things today," Kiffin commented. "His decision-making was night and day from last week."

Certainly, that's an encouraging way to end yet another disappointing season in Oakland.

The Raiders have now lost nine consecutive games to the Chargers and have registered a 19-61 record since losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21, on Jan. 26, 2003 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

With a 4-12 record, Oakland will be at home for the fifth consecutive postseason.

Well, at least Kerry Collins is headed to the playoffs.

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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CommentsComments: 17  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
gzup		04:05 AM
12/31/2007
first. he didn't do bad for his first career start though, and why show it off now, learn, practice, and commit and we'll be good...
No.2
The Shape		05:48 AM
12/31/2007
Congrats to Russell. I can't wait for next year to see him play. I guess on Nfl.com/videos there's Kiffens press conference where...
No.3
neil b		07:57 AM
12/31/2007
AC,you didn't mention that Miller set a new Raider record for a rookie with 44 catches,just beating Tim Brown by 1.
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