QB Sam Bradford

The year was 1984 and the Dallas Cowboys organization was on the market. H.R. “Bum” Bright purchased the franchise for $84 million dollars from previous owner, Clint Murchison. Fast forward 25 years — in the coming weeks the NFL will see former University of Oklahoma quarterback, Sam Bradford receive about $50 million for the opportunity to play pro football. Bum Bright paid a total $84 million dollars for an entire franchise. With that he received stadium usage rights and a solid revenue stream by being the new owner of America’s Team. Sam Bradford will receive half that amount and might — might play quarterback for the St. Louis Rams.

Assuredly the economic landscape has undergone dramatic changes these past 25 years, but to that extent? The answer is an emphatic, NO! Rookie player salaries have spiraled out of control to the point that the highest paid player on many teams is a guy who has never played a single down in the NFL. Reality is, he may never play a down in the NFL. Teams that draft and subsequently pay these top draft picks are surely hoping they see the field of play. They further hope that these gentlemen will fill their multi-million dollar stadiums with fans, sell tons of jerseys, become the face of their franchise for a solid decade, and hopefully take them to the promised land of the Super Bowl.
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Posted by Jeff on May 7, 2010
Tags: Rams • Rookies • Salary Cap • Sam Bradford

JaMarcus Russell

Somewhere in Los Angeles, Lane Kiffin is having the last laugh. The Oakland Raiders finally released quarterback JaMarcus Russell. What took them so long?

In three seasons, actually two and a half since he held out his rookie season, Russell never lived up to the hype created by the Al Davis hype machine. Davis, in the famous over-head projector press conference said to then fired head coach Lane Kiffin about Russell,

He is a great player. Get over it & coach this team on the field.”

Basically, if Al Davis is giving up on him, there is not much hope for JaMarcus Russell to find another team to play for in the NFL.

Since 1970, spanning 41 NFL Drafts, there have been 18 quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall. That list includes QB Sam Bradford, who was drafted this year by the St. Louis Rams. Of those 18, JaMarcus Russell is the only QB to only last 3 years with the team that drafted him. The next closest player is Jeff George who played only four years with the Indianapolis Colts before being traded to the Atlanta Falcons.

Since 2007, Russell ranked dead last in completion percentage (52.1), passing yards (4,083), yards per attempt, passer rating and tied for last in TD passes. This was among 31 quarterbacks that had a minimum of 600 pass attempts during that time span.

Posted by Steven on May 6, 2010
Tags: Al Davis • JaMarcus Russell • Lane Kiffin • Raiders

WR Limas Sweed

The Pittsburgh Steelers do not need any more bad news, but that is exactly what they got as they ended their three day minicamp. WR Limas Sweed injured an Achilles tendon and it appears to be serious.

Sweed was the Steelers second-round pick in the 2008 draft, and has had his struggles. Sweed needed this to be a breakout season, however if it is revealed that his Achilles is ruptured, it would likely be the end of Sweed’s third season and be the second time Sweed is placed on the IR.

In 2009, Sweed had some emotional issues which caused him to miss the final three games of the season when the Steelers placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list on December 22nd. He only managed to catch one pass in the nine games he played in last year.

To go along with wide receivers Hines Ward and Mike Wallace, the Steelers added Antwaan Randle-El and Arnaz Battle via free agency and Emmanuel Sanders and Antionio Brown via the draft. Even without this injury, Sweed was going to have a difficult time securing a roster spot this season.

Posted by Steven on May 2, 2010
Tags: Limas Sweed • Steelers

WR Dez Bryant Watches Draft at Home

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports wrote an article yesterday where he recounts speaking to former Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant (drafted 24th overall by the Dallas Cowboys) prior to the draft. During that conversation, Bryant told Silver that during one of his pre-draft visits, a high-level executive of one NFL franchise had asked Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.
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Posted by Steven on April 28, 2010
Tags: Cowboys • DeMaurice Smith • Dez Bryant • Dolphins • Jeff Ireland • Stephen Ross • Toby Gerhart

The phrase “franchise quarterback” is thrown around as commonly as kids tossing the pigskin in backyards across America. Legends like Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Bart Starr, George Blanda, and Y.A. Tittle; they, along with more recent greats; Roger Staubach, Bob Griese, Fran Tarkenton, Warren Moon, Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath and John Elway are just some who have been worthy of the label Franchise Quarterback. They have subsequently been deemed deserving of football’s highest honor, enshrinement in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. These were truly great players who led their respective franchises to the highest plateaus.

What does it mean to be worthy of the label Franchise Quarterback? This issue came to a head last season when the Denver Broncos were roundly chastised for trading their Franchise Quarterback, Jay Cutler, to the Chicago Bears. The condemnation involved the fact that, everyone knows you do not let go of a Franchise Quarterback. Is it possible the Broncos did not let a Franchise Quarterback go? Rather, they parted ways with a disgruntled mid-level quarterback? The Bronco’s current leadership has, in my opinion, made many missteps (look to the most recent NFL draft); but moving Jay Cutler was not one of them.
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Posted by Jeff on April 27, 2010
Tags: Brett Favre • Hall of Fame • Payton Manning • Tom Brady

ESPN’s John Clayton just reported on NFL Live, that the Oakland Raiders are preparing the process of cutting QB JaMarcus Russell. Clayton also said that it was not a question of if, but of when they would cut Russell.

As you will hear on the show tonight, the trade the Raiders pulled during the draft to acquire QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins was the writing on the wall for Russell, and Jeff has even said that Russell would be out of a job.

If you are asking yourself, “Why are the Raiders simply cutting him and not trading him?” That answer is an easy one. Russell has no trade value. The Raiders have tried, but there is not a market in the NFL for quarterbacks that tip the scales at 300 plus pounds. Unfortunately for Russell, the #1 overall pick in 2007 Draft, his NFL playing days might be over, as I doubt there will be other teams willing to give him a second chance.

By cutting Al Davis‘ hand picked QB, the Raiders will save over $6 million this season.

Posted by Steven on April 27, 2010
Tags: Al Davis • JaMarcus Russell • Jason Campbell • John Clayton • Raiders