Thanks for the treatise on NFL quarterback play, but none of that changes the fact that JaMarcus Russell was a great QB at the college level. I still find it hilarious that none of the flaws that were oh so apparent to some of you while he was at LSU can be supported with empirical evidence. I hear things like "He took too many sacks" then point out that he took only 16. "He was careless with the ball", but he only threw 8 interceptions...I hear "He couldn't read a defense" but he somehow managed to set single-game and single-season records for completion percentage. I hear "he didn't know how to win" yet is the only Tiger QB to lead the team to back-to-back 10 win seasons....Guess that was all an accident. Sure, he's a terrible NFL quarterback, and that has pretty much everything to do with work ethic. Doesn't change the fact that he was 25-4 as a starter and one of the most productive QBs LSU has ever had. If he was such a rock head who couldn't put the team in position to win, how the hell was he 25-4 as a starter? I didn't intend for this to turn into a Flynn v. Russell debate, obviously I love Matt Flynn and will always appreciate his contributions. It just annoys me when people refuse to admit how great Russell actually was, whether its due to personal agendas, some vague subjective measure such as 'headiness', or how he's played as a pro. Russell is the best QB of the Saban/Miles era, and no amount of bad mouthing will change that. The numbers speak for themselves. Let me guess, you think Tee Martin was a better college QB than Peyton Manning too huh?
Why....I do believe that's Stevescookin (in the purple shirt) talking to Crip...in Q-Ball's avatar !!! .
to me, JR was neither as good, or as bad as people make him out to be. he was a physical freak, and that is enough to excel on the college level. Flynn was not as good nor as bad as people make him out to be either. The offense in '07 fit his style perfectly. As a result, he was successful. Rohan was better than all of the above.
No matter what, he'll always go down as the greatest LSU QB to lose to UAB and then start openly wearing USC gear.
At the 2001 Spring Game Rohan led his team down the field for a last minute game winning touchdown. At that point I predicted a 2001 SEC championship.
I think your problem is you're attributing much of JaMarcus' "greatness" to him individually, instead of realizing just how ridiculously talented the team he had around him was that led to a great deal of his success. Seriously, we lost 7 to 3 against Auburn. A team with two first round pick wide receivers and the number one overall player at QB in JaMarcus managed 3 whole points at Auburn. Three! If that's not the very definition of not getting it done I do not know what is. If I recall correctly, right before halftime we had an opportunity to score a field goal, but Russell mismanaged the clock and was unaware of the game situation and we missed out on kicking the field goal. This would become a trend in LSU football in the years to come, but that doesn't take away the fact we only managed 3 points with such a potent offense. We went four deep at receiver with NFL players. Russell had a very impressive record while quarterbacking LSU, but don't for a moment think it had more to do with JaMarcus than it did with every player on that LSU roster at the time. The talent was unrivaled in Baton Rouge at the time. I also did not suddenly come to this conclusion either. I was baffled that Oakland chose him #1 overall, but was pleased an LSU player was selected. I always felt Flynn gave us a better chance to win, despite never being as flashy. That Peach Bowl performance I felt showed what Matt could do when he knew he was the guy and got the snaps in practice. The fact he helped win us a BCS title without Early Doucet most of the season and LaFell dropping passes like crazy with Bowe and Buster gone to the NFL speaks volumes.
Yeah, Saban sure seemed to like physical specimens to be his quarterback. It rarely served him as well as when he got a little bit more of an athlete with moxie. Imagine if he had chosen to go with a guy like Drew Brees. Moxie and an athlete personify Drew. He just didn't fit Saban's mold. I do believe Nick has learned his lesson, though, finally. He saw what a disastrous move it was to take Culpepper and in the NFL if you make a mistake at quarterback you're probably out of a job because you just can't recruit another one or get one out of JUCO. He fled back to college and refined what he wanted in a QB it would seem.
I honestly think that Saban prefers a heady type of QB that simply doesn't make mistakes. He won BCS championships with two of them, and I think that he would have easily taken Brees over Culpepper if not for his misjudgment of the injury. Heck, he even went undefeated in the regular season with a QB in Wilson who was neither physically imposing nor too intelligent. But Saban molded him into a good enough game manager. Rohan was clearly the best QB on the roster when his time came, and Jamarcus was one of the most highly sought-after QB recruits ever. So I don't know if it's fair to use their profile to characterize his preference.
