Don't Call JaMarcus Russell a Bust Just Yet

Calling a second-year quarterback a bust after just eight starts would be more than a little short-sighted. But, as sports fans, we demand instant results, and when a No. 1 overall pick is pulling in millions of bills before he's really "earned" it, well, 2-6 records just aren't going to cut it. That's when the four letter B-word tends to get thrown around. Unfair as that may be, that's current sports world we live in.

This of course brings us to Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and an article in today's Sacramento Bee by Paul Gutierrez, asking fans to please show a little patience in their 23-year old quarterback.

Since the draft began in 1936, 27 quarterbacks have been taken No. 1 overall and just three are in the Hall of Fame: Terry Bradshaw (1970), John Elway (1983) and Troy Aikman (1989). Russell, who has completed 53.5 percent of his 228 attempts for 1,482 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions in his first eight career starts, has better numbers than them through the same time frame. Bradshaw's passer rating was a miserable 28.8 through his first eight starts. Elway's initial eight-start rating of 48.8 belied his future success, and Aikman was winless in his first eight starts. That holy trinity went on to win a combined nine Super Bowls.

Here's the problem with that comparison: Russell's NFL is vastly different from Bradshaw's NFL, or, heck, even Aikman's NFL. When Terry Bradshaw was playing, defense was all-out anarchy where Jack Tatum and Jack Lambert were splitting people in half and laughing about it, and there was no Roger Goodell waiting on the other side to fine/suspend them. Today, players are getting fined for, well, anything, and you can't touch a quarterback unless you hit him between the waist and bottom of his numbers, no more than a thousandth of a second after he releases the football. And that doesn't even get into the pass interference and illegal contact rules for receivers. Let's put it this way: Jack Tatum wasn't worrying about whether he hit a receiver more than five yards down field.

During Terry Bradshaw's rookie season he posted a passer rating of 30.4 in his first eight starts. That's awful, and naturally Russell's 69.7 mark is more than double that in his first eight starts. Trouble is, in 1970, a 69.7 passer rating would have been just outside the top-ten in the league, right behind Bob Griese and Len Dawson. In 2007, a 69.7 passer rating would have put you No. 32, between Brodie Croyle and Kellen Clemens. Bottom line: It's an apples and oranges comparison.

That's not to say I disagree with main point of the article, which is it's just a tad bit early to be calling a 23-year old quarterback a bust. Russell has made eight starts for a very bad, and often times very dysfunctional franchise. He's already on his second head coach, may see his third before the start of his third season, and is throwing to a collection of fellow first and second year players, and guys like Javon Walker. Many established veterans would struggle in such an environment.