Raiders Gave JaMarcus Russell Blank Tapes To See If He Watched Film, According To David Diehl
The Oakland Raiders coaching staff went to some extreme measures to test if quarterback bust JaMarcus Russell was watching game film, according to Russell’s former teammate — and offensive lineman — David Diehl. They gave Russell blank tapes to watch. Russell returned the next day and told the coaches that he had watched the blitz packages that he was assigned — which was, of course, impossible.
Diehl recounted the story in an interview with New York’s WFAN on Sunday, according to NBC Sports.
Russell was a star at LSU, named All-Southeast Conference and the MVP of the Sugar Bowl, and left school ranked in the top five of every career passing category. He was the only quarterback in the storied program’s history to lead the team to back-to-back 10-win seasons. In his final season, Russell set the school single-season passing records for completion percentage — at 67.8 percent — and touchdowns, scoring 28.
