JaMarcus Russells' Numbers Cause For Conern?

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Many were predicting a break-out season for the young quarterback from LSU, but so far, JaMarcus Russell has not gotten off to a good start on the 2009 season. In a heart-breaking loss to San Diego on Monday Night, JaMarcus Russell went 12-30, 208 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT's.

Whether it was miscommunication with his receivers, or accuracy on his own account, the ball was not getting where it needed to go. Under-thrown, overthrown, or the wrong shoulder, our receivers were constantly needing to reach behind them to make the catch. 12-30.

That's good for a 40 completion percentage. Not good against a team that ranked 31st against the pass just a year ago, or not good to silence the critics, who had already sent the hounds after him for a 53 completion percentage just a year ago. 

However, JaMarcus made the big plays when we needed them most, and the defense lost us the game, so we let it go. Fast forward to Week Two:

In a 13-10 win over Kansas City, JaMarcus went 7-24 and 109 yards, good for a 29.2 CMP%.

Downright awful, especially against a team that was ranked 30th against the pass a year ago. Late fourth quarter heroics by the quarterback himself, saved the game for us, a drive in fact, where he got 4 out of his 7 completions.

During this drive is when I saw the JaMarcus Russell we drafted #1 overall in the 2007, poised, calm, and collected. Making the right throws, and putting them right on the numbers.

The quarterback I saw for the first three quarters was nervous, missing wide-open receivers, and forcing the ball into heavy traffic.

The Verdict:

I'm concerned, but it's nowhere near time to hitting the panic button. We just need to be seeing the fourth quarter JaMarcus for all four quarters of the game.

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