The Raiders were very disappointing with the QB play they got in 2009 specifically with 24-year old JaMarcus Russell who was pathetic.  He played in 12 games this season for the Raiders and he completed 120 of 246 passes (48.8%) for 1,287 yards with 3 TD passes and 11 INTs (50.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for only 44 yards (2.4 ypc) this year.  Russell has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has completed 354 of 680 passes (52.1%) for 4,083 yards with 18 TD passes and 23 INTs (65.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 40 times for 175 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career so far.  Russell really sucked in 2009 so his future as a Oakland Raider is likely up in the air.

26-year old Bruce Gradkowski was by far the best QB the Raiders had in 2009 before he blew out both knees.  He played in 7 games for the Raiders this year and he completed 82 of 150 passes (54.7%) for 1,007 yards with 6 TD passes and 3 INTs (80.6 QB Rating).  Gradkowski also carried the ball 18 times for 108 yards (6.0 ypc) this year.  Gradkowski has now played in 26 games in his NFL career and he has completed 279 of 523 passes (53.3%) for 2,824 yards with 15 TD passes and 16 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 67 times for 291 yards (4.3 ypc) without a TD run in his career.  The Raiders should try to keep Gradkowski around as he really played well for them this year.

28-year old Charlie Frye was third in line for the Raiders this season.  He played in 3 games in which he completed 53 of 87 passes (60.9%) for 581 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (65.3 QB Rating).  Frye also carried the ball 4 times for 41 yards (10.3 ypc) last season.  Frye has now played in 26 games in his NFL career and he has completed 419 of 677 passes (61.9%) for 4,154 yards with 17 TD passes and 29 INTs (69.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 72 times for 347 yards (4.8 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his career.  The Raiders should really look in a different direction than keeping Frye in 2010.

28-year old J.P. Losman signed with the Raiders after Gradkowski’s injury and he only got into 1 game throwing 1 incomplete pass.  Losman has played in 43 games in his NFL career and he has completed 558 of 942 passes (59.2%) for 6,211 yards with 33 TD passes and 34 INTs (75.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 489 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  The Raiders would have little to lose in giving Losman a legit chance to make the team in 2010.

The Raiders will choose between JaMarcus Russell and Charlie Frye some time late in this week.  Russell would appear to be the favorite because of the fact that he has played this season while Frye has not yet.  Russell has played in 10 games for the Raiders this season and he has completed 106 for 221 (48%) for 1,138 yards with 2 TD passes and 10 INTs (47.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 39 yards (2.4 ypc) this year.  Either way, I think the Raiders’ offense loses because Russell has the superior arm but Frye is likely a better all-around QB and that’s all you need to know about these two guys.

UPDATE:  The Raiders are rolling with Charlie Frye as the starting QB this weekend.  Frye has a similar skill set to that of Bruce Gradkowski so he might be able to run the offense better than JaMarcus Russell.  This development leads me to believe that the Raiders are done with Russell after this year is over.

Starting QB JaMarcus Russell has really stunk this season for the Raiders.  He has completed 88 of 182 passes (48.4%) for 1,000 yards with 2 TD passes and 9 INTs (48.3 QB Rating).  Russell has also carried the ball 16 times for 39 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this season.  The Raiders can’t be happy that Russell continues to point fingers not blaming himself for anything.  What Russell doesn’t realize is that when you point a finger at someone else you have three fingers on your own hand pointing at you.  He is a HUGE part of the problem for the Raiders on offense.  It’s too bad that Jeff Garcia decided to leave the Raiders because there is little doubt that he would be starting by now.  The Raiders have absolutely nothing to lose by giving Bruce Gradkowski a start to see if he can do any better than Russell.  Gradkowski has completed 12 of 21 passes (57.1%) for 114 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (72.3 QB Rating).  Gradkowski has also carried the ball 2 times for 25 yards (12.5 ypc) so far this season. 

When the Raiders selected the super fast WR Darrius Heyward-Bey with the 7th pick of the first round of last April’s NFL Draft they were expecting him to contribute this season and start down the road.  But to this point he has shown no signs of being a good WR any time soon.  Some of that blame has to go to JaMarcus Russell but Heyward-Bey’s hands are like a pair of bricks.  He has caught 4 passes for 64 yards (16.0 avg) and he has carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) this season.  The amazing thing about Heyward-Bey’s numbers is that he is third on the Raiders in receiving yards this season which is incredible as it says quite a bit about the offense.

The Oakland Raiders need to do something about JaMarcus Russell and that should be to bench him.  He has completed 51 of 121 passes (42.1%) for 606 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs.  He has also carried the football 10 times for 30 yards (3.0 ypc) this season.  Russell has now turned the ball over 8 times already this season as he has lost 4 fumbles in addition to all of his pickoffs.  It’s really too bad that the Raiders don’t have much of an alternative to playing Russell.  I mean, Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye also stink.  Maybe the Raiders are thinking about making a trade for Brady Quinn of the Browns.