Both Brady Quinn and JeMarcus Russell will be successful in the NFL, but since the Sugar Bowl drubbing that Quinn and ND took at the hands of Russell and LSU, Quinn's status in the draft has 'plummeted' to as low as 10th whereas Russell is pretty much assured to go the Raiders as the #1 overall pick in the draft. Let me just say that money aside, I might be counting my blessings if I were Quinn. For one, I can't imagine anyone could legitimately want to play for the Oakland Raiders after this last season. To go in there as the anointed savior AND rookie QB carries the foregone conclusion of failure (perhaps of Ryan Leaf proportions...by the way, kudos to Leaf who is coaching college football in West Texas and enjoying his life again...cheers) and I don't care of it's Russell or Quinn or Tom Brady's baby boy on the way. And going to Cleveland for Quinn, which seems likely, would be a relative homecoming, seeing as it's 140 miles north of his hometown of Dublin, OH. It would be a little ironic if Charlie Weis' first NFL product ends up in the loving arms of Romeo Crennel, wouldn't it?
But I believe that both men will succeed in the NFL for the following reasons:
!. Russell is the next Duante Culpepper, but he's had better coaching and college and will be a factor much sooner. Sure, Culpepper is looking up at (gulp) Joey Harrington right now, but in his prime he was a damn good quarterback who could use either his legs or his arm to beat you. Russell isn't the athlete that Vince Young is but he's close and he's a lot stronger. With proper coaching from the Rrrrrrrraiders and help from his receivers, he should be the rookie of the year. Interesting that he could also be aided by the freakish Randy Moss, as Culpepper was during his success at Minnesota. But I'm not counting on it...Moss might not even be drafted in some fantasy leagues next year.
2. Quinn is too smart and works too hard to fail if given the right opportunity. Weis has him going into the NFL with a working knowledge of an NFL offense already, which is a lot more than most QB's can say when entering their first training camp. He threw to NFL-caliber receivers and ends at ND in Jeff Samardzjia, Rhema McKnight and John Carlson and again, was under the tutelage of Charlie Weis for a few years. Wait, who's the last Weis-bred quarterback...can't recall if he panned out...who was it...OH RIGHT...TOM BRADY. I won't get into the whole Brady/Brady thing, don't worry.
3. Vince Young proved that a rookie QB can carry a team on his shoulders and to the brink of the playoffs. What if Vince had started from the get-go? I don't really understand why he didn't, but he still got a good amount of time under center and he was owned by many fantasy owners and starting for a few by the year's end. Why can't Russell and Quinn have the same success? Well, the Browns and Raiders have zero running game, so that could be a tough one. Cleveland has a solid D that will keep Quinn in games and the Raiders D actually isn't too bad either. Look for both to upgrade their running games on draft day as well, with either backs or OL.
I'm not saying either of these teams will even sniff the playoffs next year. Heck, there's a good chance that Quinn won't even go to the Browns if they decide to stick with Frye/Anderson at the helm (for Browns' fans' sakes, I hope this isn't the case). And again, Russell is walking into an absolute circus in Oakland, and that's not a good place for any rookie to start his career. Maybe it'll make him better though, who knows. I just feel like they will both turn out to be leaders and producers in the NFL in a relatively short amount of time.
A Few Odds and Ends:
1. Manny reported to camp today...now EEI will have to find something else to talk about. Good for Manny, though. Can you really blame the guy for enjoying his time off? I hate working. I show up late sometimes and I could easily be accused to of not giving 100%. Granted, I'm not one of the highest paid salespeople in the world and there's not too many people that really give a shit about how I do my job. I don't think anyone has ever thought about slitting their wrists because I failed to land a client, either. I'm just saying...I sympathize, Manny. I do.
2. This is going to be one of those winters that drop some snow, but never enough to shut anything down and make it fun. Scraping my windshield has got to be one of my least favorite things to do. I also hate driving in this shit, walking in it, etc. Remember how awesome it was when your mom or dad would come into your room to tell you that school was cancelled due to snow? Man, I used to get so excited. i think of all those times that my father had to pull me out of bed to get up, and I think that if he had simply told me that school was cancelled, i would have woken up immediately in excitement. I don't care how often he may have given this lie to get me out of bed, either...it would have worked every, single time. That reminds of something truly underrated about my childhood...I used to watch Sox games with my Dad every night but rarely could I stay up for the whole game because it was beyond my bed time...I'd get the score update first thing in the morning from my dad along with a quick recap of how it happened. That went under appreciated on my end, but certainly amply valued. Thanks Pop.
3. Dice-K throws BP for the first time today, including to Papi. Who do you think is more confident in that matchup? Well, I don't care who you are on the mound...there's no way you're not a little bit intimidated by someone who's 7'5, 577 lbs. and carries a billy club. Advantage: Papi.
4. I heard an interview with Larry Bird as given by Dale and Holly on EEI this weekend...Bird recounted the 'steal' and eventual DJ 'layin' that beat the Pistons that fateful night in 1987 during Game 5 of the Eastern Conf. Finals...Bird's recollection was so awesome...I believe it's online somewhere, so find it and listen. You won't be disappointed.
Finally, I saw a commercial last night for the Olive Garden. It showed a couple having dinner on a Monday night and they were super-excited that it was Monday because that's their night to go to the Olive Garden. You know, maybe the free salad and breadsticks are pretty dope there, but it's just not believable. No one could ever overlook the true shittiness of a Monday in favor of Olive Garden elation. We're not talking about the Capital Grille here, folks. How good can a $8 never-ending bowl of pasta be? I'm not buying it. However, if anyone wants to hit up the O.G. tonight, I'm down. Salad and breadsticks are on me.
But I believe that both men will succeed in the NFL for the following reasons:
!. Russell is the next Duante Culpepper, but he's had better coaching and college and will be a factor much sooner. Sure, Culpepper is looking up at (gulp) Joey Harrington right now, but in his prime he was a damn good quarterback who could use either his legs or his arm to beat you. Russell isn't the athlete that Vince Young is but he's close and he's a lot stronger. With proper coaching from the Rrrrrrrraiders and help from his receivers, he should be the rookie of the year. Interesting that he could also be aided by the freakish Randy Moss, as Culpepper was during his success at Minnesota. But I'm not counting on it...Moss might not even be drafted in some fantasy leagues next year.
2. Quinn is too smart and works too hard to fail if given the right opportunity. Weis has him going into the NFL with a working knowledge of an NFL offense already, which is a lot more than most QB's can say when entering their first training camp. He threw to NFL-caliber receivers and ends at ND in Jeff Samardzjia, Rhema McKnight and John Carlson and again, was under the tutelage of Charlie Weis for a few years. Wait, who's the last Weis-bred quarterback...can't recall if he panned out...who was it...OH RIGHT...TOM BRADY. I won't get into the whole Brady/Brady thing, don't worry.
3. Vince Young proved that a rookie QB can carry a team on his shoulders and to the brink of the playoffs. What if Vince had started from the get-go? I don't really understand why he didn't, but he still got a good amount of time under center and he was owned by many fantasy owners and starting for a few by the year's end. Why can't Russell and Quinn have the same success? Well, the Browns and Raiders have zero running game, so that could be a tough one. Cleveland has a solid D that will keep Quinn in games and the Raiders D actually isn't too bad either. Look for both to upgrade their running games on draft day as well, with either backs or OL.
I'm not saying either of these teams will even sniff the playoffs next year. Heck, there's a good chance that Quinn won't even go to the Browns if they decide to stick with Frye/Anderson at the helm (for Browns' fans' sakes, I hope this isn't the case). And again, Russell is walking into an absolute circus in Oakland, and that's not a good place for any rookie to start his career. Maybe it'll make him better though, who knows. I just feel like they will both turn out to be leaders and producers in the NFL in a relatively short amount of time.
A Few Odds and Ends:
1. Manny reported to camp today...now EEI will have to find something else to talk about. Good for Manny, though. Can you really blame the guy for enjoying his time off? I hate working. I show up late sometimes and I could easily be accused to of not giving 100%. Granted, I'm not one of the highest paid salespeople in the world and there's not too many people that really give a shit about how I do my job. I don't think anyone has ever thought about slitting their wrists because I failed to land a client, either. I'm just saying...I sympathize, Manny. I do.
2. This is going to be one of those winters that drop some snow, but never enough to shut anything down and make it fun. Scraping my windshield has got to be one of my least favorite things to do. I also hate driving in this shit, walking in it, etc. Remember how awesome it was when your mom or dad would come into your room to tell you that school was cancelled due to snow? Man, I used to get so excited. i think of all those times that my father had to pull me out of bed to get up, and I think that if he had simply told me that school was cancelled, i would have woken up immediately in excitement. I don't care how often he may have given this lie to get me out of bed, either...it would have worked every, single time. That reminds of something truly underrated about my childhood...I used to watch Sox games with my Dad every night but rarely could I stay up for the whole game because it was beyond my bed time...I'd get the score update first thing in the morning from my dad along with a quick recap of how it happened. That went under appreciated on my end, but certainly amply valued. Thanks Pop.
3. Dice-K throws BP for the first time today, including to Papi. Who do you think is more confident in that matchup? Well, I don't care who you are on the mound...there's no way you're not a little bit intimidated by someone who's 7'5, 577 lbs. and carries a billy club. Advantage: Papi.
4. I heard an interview with Larry Bird as given by Dale and Holly on EEI this weekend...Bird recounted the 'steal' and eventual DJ 'layin' that beat the Pistons that fateful night in 1987 during Game 5 of the Eastern Conf. Finals...Bird's recollection was so awesome...I believe it's online somewhere, so find it and listen. You won't be disappointed.
Finally, I saw a commercial last night for the Olive Garden. It showed a couple having dinner on a Monday night and they were super-excited that it was Monday because that's their night to go to the Olive Garden. You know, maybe the free salad and breadsticks are pretty dope there, but it's just not believable. No one could ever overlook the true shittiness of a Monday in favor of Olive Garden elation. We're not talking about the Capital Grille here, folks. How good can a $8 never-ending bowl of pasta be? I'm not buying it. However, if anyone wants to hit up the O.G. tonight, I'm down. Salad and breadsticks are on me.
1 comment:
If I were any of the Raiders' scouts, I would be more than alarmed that Russell showed up about 20 pounds heavier than he was at the end of the season. 20 pounds? How many months has it been? Two? That's not a good omen. He may come into training camp looking like Rerun from 'What's Happening'.
Shit, I just realized you may have never seen that show. Fuck, I'm old.
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