Raiders Need To Return Russell To The Bench

Call me crazy but I’ve got a solution for the “disaster” known as the Oakland Raiders.  No hating here, just offering some good old fashioned common sense.

First order of business is to get JaMarcus Russell to the bench and fast, he’s quickly becoming the Raiders equivalent of Ryan Leaf.

I'm not saying give up on the former No. 1 overall pick, but something has to happen here.

Russell could regain his confidence if he knows it's time to live up to the team's expectations of winning.

John Elway, Terry Bradshaw and Steve Young all had to overcome adversity in their careers before they could really blossom, and that's whats required of Russell now.

Where’s Steve DeBerg when you really need him?

Step No. 2 is to insert Charlie Frye as the starter.

I know Bruce Gradkowski is the backup quarterback, but let’s face it, Gradkowski hasn’t got the arm nor the inclination to lead the Raiders out of the abyss.

Frye, a third round pick (67^th) out of Akron, has been there before. 

In 2005, Frye took over as the Browns starter in week 13 and led Cleveland to a victory over Jacksonville, he  threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

The former Akron Zip also established a new team record in that game with a 136.7 passer rating. It was the highest single game mark for any rookie quarterback in team history.

Frye led the Browns to a promising 2-3 record at the end  the '05  season and then was named the starter in 2006. But for what ever reason, Cleveland regressed with Frye as the starter, going 4-12.

Still, having any kind of success in Cleveland is reason to consider Frye as a temporary fix at quarterback.

Frye started 22 games in Cleveland and went 6-14 with a mediocre offensive line, a rookie wide receiver in Braylon Edwards and Rueben Droughns running the ball. Ugh!

By Russell’s standards, six wins is ground breaking and the way things are going so far this season,Oakland is looking at 3-13. So what does Al Davis have to lose?

Realisticlly the Raiders have two more winnable games, home to Kansas City on Nov. 15th and then at Cleveland on Dec.27th. 

If it’s about respectabilty, then let Russell learn while Frye regains his

quarterbacking mojo.  Then maybe the Raiders can take it to the next level and “just win baby”.