It might be time for the Oakland Raiders to consider starting rookie (and franchise) quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Here’s my main concern. The Raiders stink at fundamentals and it wouldn’t matter who the QB was when you’re committing the most holding and false start penalties in the NFL.

Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown have tried their best while the team has struggled to a 2-6 start. But they’ve spent a lot of time on the ground. The Raiders are giving up the seventh most sacks in the league so far. Does the team really want JaMarcus out there running for his life? An offense is only as good as their linemen allow them to be, and when you make as many mistakes as Oakland does, it becomes very hard to find any kind of rhythm or consistency, no matter who is playing quarterback. Two steps forward, one step back. Or one step forward, two steps back depending on the week. The QB usually takes some punishment in the process. The Raiders can run the football (they’re 4th in the league at 140 ypg), but when it comes to costly transgressions, they simply make too many of them to be any good.

Of course, the argument in favor of starting JaMarcus is that he simply makes too much money to stand around and watch. And I agree. Whether he has the talent around him or not (that’s debatable — Randy Moss disappeared in the Black Hole), he needs to be on the field. If that means he takes his lumps in the process (and he will), well … he’s got $29 million guaranteed. He’ll learn from taking his lumps. Or here’s an idea. Maybe the coaching staff can spend more time concentrating on fundamentals until the team makes fewer mistakes. They really need to get back to basics before they become good at anything else.

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Should the Raiders Start JaMarcus Russell?

Miami Dolphins QB Trent Green suffered a serious concussion and was wheeled off the field strapped to a cart during the first quarter of his team’s 22-19 loss to the Houston Texans today. Trent was trying to make a block when the injury occurred. The big concern here is in knowing Trent’s history. He suffered a highly publicized, very serious concussion with the Chiefs last year and missed most of the season. The good news: Trent did return from a local hospital and was driven to the locker room in time to board the buses with his teammates.

The further we get into this 2007 season, the more it looks like the Dolphins made a bad decision in letting Daunte Culpepper go in favor of Trent, who has thrown five TDs but has also been intercepted seven times with no wins. Trent is 37-years-old and I’m not sure he can recover from many, if any, more of these types of injuries.

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Trent Green Suffers Serious Concussion

As you can see, Oakland Raiders rookie QB JaMarcus Russell was all smiles at his press conference today. I can understand why. The official numbers of his richest-ever rookie contract: six-years, $61 million with $29 million guaranteed. He practiced today, but I predicted he might not even see the field during the regular season this year. We know JaMarcus won’t play for at least two weeks because he won’t officially be in the roster until then. Daunte Culpepper will start this weekend against the Denver Broncos. But if things go south for Daunte or the Raiders, #2 will get his chance. A $29 million clipboard is too expensive.

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JaMarcus Russell Practices With Raiders

After drafting JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders assumed their quarterbacking questions had been answered. They had found the face of their franchise. Three games into the preseason, they still don’t know who their starting QB will be.

With JaMarcus still at an impasse in contract talks, Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown and Andrew Walter (in no particular order) have been given the chance to win the starting spot. Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin said:

“This competition, as I said a long time ago, it’s going to be about guys that make the right decisions. It’s not going to be about the biggest arm or the best stats. It’s going to be about the guys that make the right decision, put us in position to score and don’t give the ball to the other team.”

Daunte Culpepper is the obvious choice. He seems to be 100% healthy and if he can clean up a few botched snaps, he’s been getting the job done (112.2 QB rating, three TDs, no INTs). He also has the most experience. Josh McCown and Andrew Walter are decent backups in this league. But not starting quarterbacks.

What disappoints me the most about the Raiders’ QB situation is JaMarcus’ absence. He’s missing out on a tremendous opportunity to learn from Daunte — a proven talent with a very similar makeup who could show him more than a thing or two about playing QB in the NFL. And JaMarcus is missing valuable practice and game reps with the rest of his teammates. In fact, even if he does sign a contract in the near future, I don’t see him getting on the field this season unless Daunte is injured and/or the Raiders are out of the playoff race.

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JaMarcus Russell Continues Holdout, Daunte Culpepper Takes Over Oakland Raiders

Daunte Culpepper is getting help from the NFL Players Association in his quest to be released from the Miami Dolphins. The NFLPA filed a grievance today on Daunte’s behalf, with hopes that the matter can be resolved within a week. The Dolphins are apparently breaching Daunte’s contract by refusing to employ him or letting him go somewhere else. The grievance is similar to the one filed by the NFLPA last year against the Tennessee Titans after the team barred Steve McNair from working out at its facility. McNair was eventually traded to Baltimore for a fourth-round Draft pick. With the NFLPA involved, expect the matter to be resolved within the next couple weeks, if not sooner. But I wonder. Will Daunte be released or traded? He wants out on his own terms, but certainly the Dolphins know they can get something in return.

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NFLPA Files Grievance for Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Culpepper’s entire career has been based on teammates blocking for him. Now he’s the one doing the blocking as the Miami Dolphins QB says he’s going to put the snafu on any trade the Dolphins might be considering for him.

In a weird day of minicamp practice in South Florida, Culpepper walked off the field escorted by security after being told by QB coach Terry Shea that he was being barred from any quarterback drills. What gives? If the guy is on your team and he’s cleared to workout, why have him stand around and watch everyone else practice? Apparently this was the team’s way of dealing with Daunte’s trade tenacity. Childish behavior by the Dolphins, yes. But I guess this is how they want to handle the situation — to make a spectacle of Daunte by making him “stand in the corner” so to speak. Daunte (who doesn’t have an agent, he reps himself) is owed $5.5 million for the upcoming season and said the structure of his current deal — which runs through 2013 and is worth $51.5 million — will make it nearly impossible for another team to trade for him. If Daunte doesn’t restructure that deal, it’s a virtual certainty that no other team would be willing to make a trade with Miami for him. Plus, Daunte wants to be able to pick what team he plays for. So, we’ll see where this goes, but I believe Daunte Culpepper has taken his last snap for the Miami Dolphins in a short-lived South Florida career that saw him start only four games and get sacked 21 times.

I guess at this point the question is whether Daunte Culpepper can still be an effective QB in this league. Obviously, he still thinks so, but he’s going to need to make some adjustments in his game if he’s going to be a quality starter. In his younger days, Daunte did have the luxury of Randy Moss at his disposal. As a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, I would watch in awe as deep ball after deep ball was literally heaved in the direction of #84 who nine times out of ten would come down with it for a long gain or touchdown. It really was a thing of beauty and it made Daunte look like he could do no wrong. But without Randy Moss to bail him out in those situations, Daunte was really only an average quarterback. Don’t get me wrong. Daunte was solid. But Randy Moss made him better. A lot better. In his final season with the Vikings (without Randy, of course), and before his knee injury, Daunte was playing some of the worst ball of his life and it was painful to watch. That being said, if he thinks he’s going to get some kind of $50 million deal from any team, he’s dreaming. It isn’t going to happen. But he will play again. I’m certain of that. He looks to be in great shape although he says he still has a ways to go on the road to complete recovery. To take advantage of what he has left of his NFL career, he hopes that road isn’t much longer.

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Daunte Culpepper Leaves Minicamp Practice, Says He’ll Block Trade From Dolphins

After three months of trade talks, Trent Green is now officially a Miami Dolphin. And it looks like QB Daunte Culpepper is on his way out of town despite receiving news that he has been cleared to test his surgically repaired knee. Miami will give up a conditional 2008 fifth-round draft pick that can increase to a fourth-rounder if Trent meets certain performance standards (he just needs to play in 70% of the offensive snaps this season). So why not keep Daunte as an insurance policy at the quarterback position? Here’s why. He’s due to make $5.5 million in base salary this season. Plus, they just resigned backup QB Cleo Lemon to a one-year deal and drafted Brigham Young quarterback John Beck. You do the math.

The questions that remain are: 1.) is Trent 100% after missing half of last season with a serious concussion? and 2.) does Trent have enough talent around him on offense to make that much of a difference?

Only time will tell if there are any lingering effects from last season’s brain trauma, but Trent will be the starter and a great teacher for the aforementioned John Beck, the supposed QB of Miami’s future. But let’s look at the offensive line. Trent’s protectors in Kansas City were some of the best to ever play the game (eg. Will Shields and Willie Roaf). I like the “skill position” players in Miami (Ronnie Brown, Ted Ginn Jr., Chris Chambers), but I’m not sold on that O-line. Why would I be? They gave up 40+ sacks last season. Kudos for drafting center Samson Satele from Hawaii, but that’s not good enough. Miami’s offense isn’t going to set any records just because they signed Trent. He’ll help, but he’ll also need help. And I don’t think he’s got enough of it.

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Miami Ink: Trent Green Signs With Dolphins, Daunte Culpepper on Trading Block