Jamarcus Russell is on his way out in Oakland and it’s about time. This guy has been and is the poster child for why you have a rookie salary cap in professional sports. Russell has been paid, get this 36 million dollars to date and is due another 3 million in guaranteed money from the Raiders. That’s 39 million dollars to be one of the worst qb’s in the NFL.

That means Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion. Amazing figures from a player that was expected to carry the Raiders out of the league gutter but instead has only solidified the team near the dog crap.

This is a great move for the Raiders. Cut your losses and move on and keep the distraction and attitude away from everyone else. Jamarcus can sit back as a bench qb now if that and live financially stable for the rest of his life.

I had a lot of fun watching the BIG TEN network on Saturday as a number of schools held their spring games. It was fun to see a bunch of the new players and new coaches trying to mix in the offense and defense.

Is spring football a good thing? It could be a good thing…What if?

In spring football the teams were allowed to scrimmage against other schools?

Teams could play 3 scheduled games during May that don’t count. Call them exhibition games and let them sell tickets and everything. It would help toward the early season rankings I’m sure and also build program excitement. I know it may kill excitement also but it would be good nonetheless.

MLB has spring training where games are played daily and I’m not saying that football has to do the same thing but it the games were scheduled the same way it would build a lot of excitement for the sport. Let’s say that on Monday Ohio st. scrimmages Bowling Green. They could split squad it and go to different schools throughout the area. Illinois could play Northern Illinois on Tuesday so that games are being played througout June. We might have some more injuries than normal but teams get sick of hitting and pounding on each other for a month so why not let them scrimmage and make some money in the meantime.

NO JIMMY CLAUSEN? A while ago we were hearing the talking heads talk all about how Clausen might go higher than Sam Bradford. For sure he would go higher than Tebow but he didn’t. In fact, Tebow went 25th to the Broncos somehow. Why?

I know that Tim Tebow has the intangibles that coaches look for and that he’s a winner. I get that, but he has never proven he could throw. He had a decent pro day workout and he jumps from round 3 to 1 and the Broncos even traded up to get him. Clausen has been groomed for this and is a modern day Todd Marinovich in that he has had brothers play the position before him and been to every camp available to get him ready for this yet Tebow goes ahead of him because he showed an improved throwing motion? Not sold on it with Tebow but some team is going to be very happy today getting Clausen in round 2.

I’m surprised that Dez White fell to Dallas and I’ll bet they are happy about that pick. He’s a talent and to fall to the Cowboys so late in the first round is a steal. I was surprised to see Taylor Mays not get taken either. He was a player that had he come out last year would’ve been a top 10 pick but scouts noticed some chinks in the armor and it cost Mays some money. Still, he’s a guy who can hit you and run and some team will love to take him today in round 2.

I love the draft and seeing real emotion from kids who worked hard and have achieved a big goal of theirs. To see that big Oklahoma kid taken and start crying was great tv to watch. I wish all the players selected well.

This year the draft schedule has changed from 2 days to 3 days with round 1 being all by itself and rounds 2-4 being the next day. We are going to see a lot more deals done.

We normally see a lot of trade activity in the NFL around the draft and the 1st round gets enough action in that regard. Where we will see a lot of trades are the night after the 1st round is over. GM’s will be in the same location and able to get together more frequently. Gm’s will have time to evaluate who they got in the first round and be able to plan accordingly. IN the past these things had to be almost immediate but now given a full night to talk and plan we are going to see some trading.

We’ve read that the depth of this draft is incredible and I have to agree. We will see all conference players taken in the 5th-7th rounds so teams will want to get in this draft. Teams will be trying to acquire 5th-7th round picks like they never have before and the more time the gm’s have to talk the better. The new draft schedule gives it just that and I love it.

I’ve got a problem today with the general media and some headlines. Today I went to Espn to get ideas for a blog and one was given to me by a irresponsible headline.

Before I give the headline let me say that I understand why they are written and the purpose behind them. I know that they want to entice someone to read the article and that’s fine but not at the expense of someone’s character or reputation.

The headline: Georgia Tech’s Dwyer tests positive at combine. If I’m just looking at the headline I can come up with all sorts of thoughts about the talented running back. If I don’t read the article I could think that this cat must be pretty dumb knowing he is going to the combine and that he’ll be tested in every way but still fail a drug test. True?

In reality the kid has been taking a certain medicine that has been prescribed to him since the 5th grade. All 32 teams received documentation saying that this might happen and everything. I’m glad that part is in the article of course but some people only read headlines and they should match to some degree. This one sends out the wrong message completely.

With the NFL draft coming up in a week the sites out there are really buzzing with who is going to go where. I love watching the shows that project where players will go and i’m amazed at how much Mel Kiper and Todd McShay really know their stuff.

Does Kiper have the best job in the world or is it just me? He makes great money scouting football players and teams needs all for a couple days a year. He took an event that lasts 2 days and built a career out of preparing for it. That’s impressive but it wouldn’t work if he weren’t so good at discussing the player and projecting where they will go.

For those that watch the draft Saturday pay attention to how many times Trey Wingo or Suzie Kolber will say a name and Mel will go on and on about the guy even though most of us are just happy to know what school they go to.

I’m excited for Sam Bradford and his probably number 1 status. I was very vocal against him going back to school and even more so when he got hurt but he’s a great qb and a great kid and I wish him well.

The Broncos are loaded with picks and the Dolphins got one of the top 5 receivers in the NFL. Brandon Marshall was dealt for the Dolphins 2nd round pick in the next 2 drafts in a move that is sure to make Marshall happy and also to keep the Dolphins competitive in a division that has seen the Jets be as aggressive as any team in recent history.

With the Jets getting Braylon Edwards late last season and Santonio Holmes earlier in the week, the Dolphins made an aggressive move going after Marshall. Teams with high draft picks appreciate their value and worth but when you get a chance to acquire a player like Marshall you jump at it and that’s what they did.

The Dolphins receivers have been a source of problems for years with nobody really claiming a spot as a #1 receiver. This gives them a threat and a playmaker that they have lacked and will help their already impressive running game. I love the move for both teams.

I love this trade for the Jets. They only gave up a 5th round pick to the Steelers for a player who could be an all pro wide receiver should he ever get out of his fog.

2 seasons ago we watched as Santonio Holmes made himself a legend by catching that touchdown pass against the Cardinals that won the game for the STeelers. If he isn’t careful we are soon going to be seeing Santonio Holmes trying to stick around in the Canadian league after learning that he will be suspended during the 1st 4 games for a league violation of some sort. This is an ongoing problem for Santonio but how does his situation differ from Big Ben’s. Big Ben has had his run in’s with the law and could face a possible suspension from the commish and the STeelers aren’t dealing him anytime soon.

For the Jets, they took a chance and just got much better. With Santonio they will have some solid wide outs who can make big plays and help support a stalwart up and coming defense. The Jets are players again in the NFL.

Something is wrong. You know how some players just look funny in other uniforms. Emmitt Smith ended his career as a Cardinal and looked ridiculous. Willie Mays as a Met was funny. Imagine Cal Ripken as a Yankee and try not to vomit. I know that I mentioned McNabb in the class of some pretty good athletes but isn’t that what McNabb was to Philly?

In his career the Eagles became very relevant and had a chance to win every time he stepped out on the field with his team. He guided them to several championship games and a super bowl. He will go down as one of the best qb’s in the franchise history.

So now the guy ends up as a Redskin within the same division with the chance to stick it to his old team twice next year and I like his chances. The Redskins have a proven coach and some proven talent on their team. They have ownership willing to spend money and take chances to get better and that is just what they did. The Eagles are going to throw Kevin Kolb out there for his first real season and we’ll see what he is really made of.

Either way, McNabb looks funny as a Redskin but i’m looking forward to seeing him play.

Every spring college football teams gather for their allowed spring practice sessions. It’s always a bright time for most schools where kids that have worked hard over the offseason get a chance to really show their worth while others who don’t work as hard slip on the depth chart.

It’s the time when Freshman that got into college early are humbled by the fact that they might not be ready for big time college football yet and other Freshman show that they can play. Coaches that are on the hot seat preach try anything to show that they are the right fit for the job whlie coaches who were part of the carousel are happy to have landed at another school for another season. It isn’t easy.

I look forward to college football season and this time of year helps that. I love following the recruiting and see who is projected to go where and be the best teams in the country. In the end, I would wish that come January we had a playoff that is as special as march madness but that won’t happen.