Pocket Presence: JaMarcus Russell May Keep Starting Job in Oakland

It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.

How would you feel if you were an ineffective starter who may only keep his job one more week because the backup is injured? Worse, what if you were so bad that you lost your job to a guy who was injured? Well, Oakland's JaMarcus Russell may be on the verge of finding out how that feels.

Oakland Raiders: JaMarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski

Russell has been nothing short of miserable this season, completing just 46 percent of his throws over his first nine starts. The Raiders are 2-7, have no playoff hope, and they stand just a mathematical chance of finishing even close to .500.

Things are so bad in Oakland that they're considering giving the start Sunday to Gradkowski, who has a career passer rating of 58.7 and threw two picks in just nine passes last week against Kansas City. Oh, and he's injured, battling a hamstring strain.

It's entirely conceivable that Russell could actually keep his job only because his backup is dinged up. It would be the perfect way to continue this amazing string of futility by the former No. 1 overall pick.
Status update: White-hot

Cleveland Browns: Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson

Quinn was awful Monday night, but let's face it: He didn't get any help. The Browns can't run the ball, they don't have any great playmakers on the perimeter, and they can't figure out ways to get their best player -- Joshua Cribbs -- the ball more often. Seven touches in 61 offensive plays doesn't seem like enough for Cribbs, especially when only one of those touches came on a reception.

The Browns have to solve that issue (assuming Cribbs is going to play after that nasty shot he took at the end of the game), and they have to convince Quinn that it's okay to throw a 40-yard bomb and give someone a chance to make a play -- even if the odds are against them. One thing should be clear by now, and that is that Anderson will only return if Quinn gets hurt. It would be a huge error for coach Eric Mangini to overreact and go back in that direction, though anything is possible.
Status update: Very warm

Buffalo Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards

Perhaps a coaching change will turn the Bills around. On the other hand, the quarterback situation there seems to dictate that any coach will fail in Buffalo. Perry Fewell isn't going to magically make either of these guys any good, and he's not going to suddenly revamp a moribund offense into something passable. The Bills, despite their skill-position personnel, are a failure on that side of the ball. Fewell might rescue them from the abyss, but he's not going to get the offense averaging 25 points a game at the snap of a finger.

For now, it appears Fitzpatrick is the starter. That doesn't appear to be a bad call, given the situation and the competition he faces. However, Edwards could very easily end up playing again, as it's not like Fitzpatrick lit the world on fire while Edwards was out.
Status update: Very warm

Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme and Matt Moore
Washington Redskins: Jason Campbell and Todd Collins
Tennessee Titans: Vince Young and Kerry Collins

These guys are listed together because the starters are all playing pretty well right now after having been listed here earlier in the season. It doesn't mean they won't show up in the crosshairs again, but it looks like there are at least some teams who have answered questions at the quarterback position, whether it was by making a change or avoiding the great temptation to do so.