Tag: football

JaMarcus Russell facing lawsuit over missing donation to high school football program  jamarcus,russell,facing,lawsuit,over,missing,donation,to,high,school,football,program,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl

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Former first-overall NFL Draft selection JaMarcus Russell is facing a lawsuit over a check written to him in the summer of 2022, and allegations that the former NFL quarterback misappropriated donation funds for weight-room equipment at the school where Russell was a football coach for his benefit.

As first reported by WKRG it is alleged that Russell approached Chris Knowles seeking a donation for the football program at his alma mater, Williamson High School, where the former LSU passer was a volunteer coach. According to court documents obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation Knowles wrote a check to the retired quarterback, which he deposited at Navigator Credit Union (NCU) in July of 2022.

According to Simone Eli of WKRG, Knowles stopped payment on the $74,000 check when “ … Russell wouldn’t provide a receipt of the donation and quit returning his phone calls.” NCU then filed a Complaint against Russell in the Circuit Court for Mobile County in March of 2023, alleging that Russell breached the terms and conditions of his demand deposit account. Specifically, NCU alleges that Russell “ … breached the agreement by failing or refusing to comply with its payment terms and conditions and by specifically drawing a check on his account with [NCU] for which payment was stopped.”

The lawsuit filed by NCU against Russell — Case No. CV-2023-900559.00 — is seeking $56,826.08 in specific damages, plus “attorney fees, punitive damages, and costs.”

Russell, in his Answer to the Complaint which was obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation, generally denied the allegations set forth by NCU in the lawsuit. While admitting that he deposited the check, Russell, through counsel, asserted that he did not stop payment on the check. Russell has also demanded “strict proof” of the allegations set forth by NCU in their Complaint.

Furthermore, Russell has since filed a Third-Party Complaint against Knowles and Selwonk Enterprises, asserting that Knowles “ … stopped payment on the check causing substantial losses” to the retired QB.

The matter is set for a trial in October of this year.

According to WKRG Russell lost his volunteer position with Williamson High School last fall. “JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School during the fall of last year,” Mobile County Public School officials confirmed to WKRG.

WKRG also reports that Williamson High School “never saw any of the money.”

Derrick Henry and Ravens are match made in smash-mouth football heaven derrick,henry,and,ravens,are,match,made,in,smash,mouth,football,heaven,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,draftkings

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When running back Derrick Henry signed with the Baltimore Ravens, it was immediately lauded as an extremely good choice. The powerful back is moving on from a storied career in Tennessee in hopes of finally winning a title with a Ravens team that is consistently on the brink of a breakthrough.

It’s fairly simple on the surface why this signing will work out for Baltimore: QB Lamar Jackson plus Henry in the run game equals instant success, right? However, there’s even more to it that I think makes this signing have the potential to elevate the Ravens’ offense to a new level.

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In the offseason, the Ravens lost RB Gus Edwards to free agency. Edwards was the hammer of the Raven’s run game, taking most of the carries between the tackles with Jackson and Keaton Mitchell (pre-injury) provided the lightning and explosion in the offense. According to Sports Information Solutions, Edwards led all ballcarriers on runs in between the tackles, and was second on the team in Positive Play Rate. Edwards ability to simply always fall forward kept the offense humming and allowed the Ravens to singles and doubles, as well as home runs.

Now that Edwards is on the Chargers, the Ravens needed someone who could keep the run game on track while keeping hits off of Jackson. Enter Henry, one of the better between the tackles runners in the entire NFL. Henry’s ability to get downhill and make life difficult for second level defenders is going to play perfectly with Jackson and Mitchell’s big play ability in the backfield.

Although when Henry takes snaps in the backfield for Baltimore, they’ll probably see even more loaded boxes than they did in the previous season. Last year, Baltimore finished second in the NFL in rushing attempts into a box with seven or more defenders and finished fifth in Positive Play Rate. Gus Edwards took most of those carries with him to Los Angeles, but in 2023 Henry had the most carries in the league into loaded boxes behind a Tennessee offensive line that was poor for most of the season, but behind a much better line in Baltimore, he should be able to be more effective than he was in 2023.

Where the rubber really hits the road for the Ravens and Henry is with their use of the pistol offense in 2023. With more offenses wanting to run traditional under center run game stuff like duo and counter, but still wanting to have RPOs built into the offense with a mobile QB like Jackson. I believe NFL offenses are going to start leaning more into the pistol offense in 2024, and that’s going to really benefit the Ravens and Henry. Henry led the NFL in under center rushing attempts, and while that’s something the Ravens don’t exactly major in (28th in the NFL in total under center rushing attempts), Henry and Edwards both were near the top of the NFL in snaps from the pistol, which is a great blend of both their skills.

The Ravens ran a lot of power and counter out of the pistol, a great way to get backs downhill in a hurry without sacrificing the RPO or shotgun diet of most offenses today. Edwards was really good at getting downhill out of pistol, not wasting any time and getting right into the gaps to keep the offense humming.

While both the Titans and the Ravens ran a lot of the pistol offense on the ground, what they ran out of this formation was a bit different. The Titans were big on running duo out of pistol, a staple of that part of their offense. It really worked with Henry because when you give Henry a runway, he can build up that speed and power and become more of a force. Tennessee did run counter out of pistol as a changeup, though, and you can see where Henry fits within the meshing of this part of the Raven’s offensive game.

What Henry brings to this offense is essentially a super version of what Gus Edwards brought to Baltimore: tough inside running and the ability to win in the red zone. Among all players with 20 or more carries in the red area, Henry was ninth in the NFL in Positive Play Rate. Combining his physicality with Jackson’s ability as a runner will make the Ravens more dangerous there, a scary thought for opposing defenses.

What Baltimore will have to do is continue to monitor Henry’s carries to keep him fresh for those early down and red zone opportunities. This is where Justice Hill and hopefully a healthy Keaton Mitchell comes into play. While Henry isn’t a guy who will carry a team to victory anymore, where Baltimore can really use him as the thunder to everyone else’s lightning.

And that’s some thunder I wouldn’t want to get in front of.