When you’re failing badly, the first thing you should look at is yourself. The Oakland Raiders’ former quarterback JaMarcus Russell(notes) has apparently not learned that life lesson yet. Russell is blaming his failed NFL career on everyone but himself.

The only person who has any control of what happens in their life is that person. Russell was released by the Raiders over a year ago, after winning only seven of the 25 games he started in. But he blames Oakland’s former coach, Tom Cable, for betraying him and his Raiders’ teammates for a lack of support.

Russell also complained that he had to be there at 6:30 a.m. before practice and spend time on the treadmill. Afterwards, while the team watched film, Russell would fall asleep. He says he was later tested and discovered to have sleep apnea.

Is it any wonder that his teammates felt that their quarterback just didn’t care? When his coach asked him what he was doing at night he said he was, “just chilling.”

At the end of 2009 when Russell was benched after playing atrociously, he dug his own grave by saying he would refuse a pay cut to stay in Oakland. Russell finished the season with the lowest quarterback rating in the NFL. He also had the fewest passing yards, fewest touchdowns and lowest completion percentage.

In March of 2010, he allegedly arrived at the Raiders’ mini-camp weighing nearly 300 pounds. I suppose he is blaming Cable for that one too. Or maybe sleep apnea? Russell was released in May.

Russell says he is serious about getting back and playing in the NFL, but he won’t consider options that have been presented to him that would allow him to prove himself and rebuild his reputation, including the UFL and CFL.

Sounds like the 26-year-old needs to take a look in the mirror and see what he needs to change inside himself. He may need a complete attitude turnaround as well as medical intervention for his sleep apnea, or his most likely path will be one where Russell is soon forgotten, and any chance at a football career has completely faded away.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett .

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders Fan: A Look Back at the Last Three and the Next Three Scheduled Games

Oakland Raiders’ Hue Jackson Takes the Blame for Horrific Loss: Fan’s Look

Oakland Raiders fan: A win for Al against the Texans

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The days of shoddy quarterback play, overmatched coaches, wasted draft picks and free agency blunders appear to be over in the Bay Area.

For eight years, the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders had far more than their share of each of those to contribute to a playoff drought in what had for decades been one of the NFL’s most successful regions.

Led by energetic first-year coaches in San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh and Oakland’s Hue Jackson, the 49ers and Raiders finally appear ready to escape a nearly decade-long stretch of losing and compete for championships, which used to be so routine around here.

The 49ers (5-1) have been the surprise of the NFL with a fast start that has included three wins in the Eastern time zone and a 2½-game lead in the NFC West.

The Raiders (4-2) are in the thick of the race in the AFC West with quality wins over the Jets and Houston and now have a potential big-time quarterback in the fold after trading for Carson Palmer.

“There’s an excitement that the Raiders and 49ers are back,” said NFL Network analyst and former 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, who still lives in the Bay Area. “I hear more of that now. There should be an excitement. It’s well deserved. This is good for the entire league and obviously it’s good for the Bay Area because the Bay Area loves its football.”

There was plenty to love in the past, from the dominant teams of the 1960s and ‘70s that Al Davis built in Oakland to the 1980s dynasty started in San Francisco by Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.

In a 19-year period starting in 1976, the Raiders and Niners combined for eight Super Bowl titles, including one for the Raiders in Los Angeles; 16 division championships; 22 playoff berths and 33 postseason wins.

But since both teams made it to the playoffs in 2001 and ‘02, with the Raiders winning the AFC title that second season, there has only been failure.

The teams combined for an 83-173 record the past eight years, with Oakland ranking 31st in the league with 37 wins and San Francisco only slightly better at 29th with 46 victories.

Neither team posted a winning record in that stretch and there were four seasons where the teams combined for nine or fewer wins — a total already reached before the halfway point this season.

“Well, we’re both off to good starts,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know how much it means right now. … We’ll look up in December, see how many we have and see how many we need.”

For most of this stretch of losing, the only time the national spotlight shined on the Bay Area was for ridicule: bizarre news conferences in Oakland to fire old coaches; sideline fights between players and coaches in San Francisco; coaching and personnel decisions that bordered on the ridiculous.

Both teams made their share of big personnel mistakes that led to this losing, from the Raiders using the No. 1 overall pick to draft JaMarcus Russell in 2007, trading for DeAngelo Hall and then cutting him after eight games, and signing Javon Walker to a $55 million contract.

The Oakland Raiders acquired
quarterback Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals two days
after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone.

In exchange for Palmer, the Bengals get two draft picks
from Oakland — a first-round choice in 2012 and a second-round
selection in 2013.

Palmer, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, hasn’t played since
after requesting a trade from the Bengals after a 4-12 record
last season. Palmer told Cincinnati television station WCPO in
March that he’d rather retire than return to the Bengals, who
replaced him with rookie Andy Dalton and have a 4-2 record this
year.

“Several factors made us believe that trading Carson to
Oakland was the best move for the Bengals at this time,” Bengals
President Mike Brown said in a release. “The principal
development has been Andy Dalton, who has shown himself to be
one of the best and most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL.
We have a good, young football team, and Andy can be the
cornerstone of that team for a long time.”

Palmer, 31, had 22,694 passing yards and 154 touchdown
throws over seven seasons in Cincinnati and gives the Raiders an
experienced replacement for Campbell, who had led the team to a
4-2 start.

Oakland, which featured quarterbacks such as Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler and Jim Plunkett in the 1970s and ‘80s,
hasn’t finished with a winning record or made the National
Football League playoffs since the 2002 season.

When Campbell was injured in last week’s win over
Cleveland, the Raiders’ remaining quarterbacks were Kyle Boller
and Terrelle Pryor. The Raiders last year released quarterback
JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, after he won
seven games in three seasons with the team.

By trading next year’s first-round pick for Palmer, the
Raiders would be left with only fifth- and sixth-round
selections in 2012. Oakland previously dealt a fourth-round pick
to the Washington Redskins to acquire Campbell last year and
gave up their 2012 third-round choice to take Pryor out of Ohio
State in the NFL’s supplemental draft.

Palmer played at the University of Southern California and
was the first pick in the 2003 NFL draft. He’s agreed to
restructure the $118.75 million contract extension he signed
with the Bengals in 2005, ESPN said, citing unidentified people.

Palmer has been working out in Southern California with
former New York Jets quarterback Ken O’Brien, ESPN said. Palmer
previously worked with Raiders coach Hue Jackson in Cincinnati,
where Jackson was the Bengals’ receivers coach from 2004 to
2006.

Palmer passed for 3,970 yards, 26 touchdowns and 20
interceptions for the Bengals last season. He was voted to the
Pro Bowl for the first time in 2005, when he threw for 32
touchdowns and 12 interceptions to lead Cincinnati to an 11-5
record, and topped 4,000 passing yards in each of the next two
seasons. Palmer had a 46-51 record as the Bengals’ starter.

The NFL’s trade deadline is at 4 p.m. New York time today.
The St. Louis Rams yesterday acquired wide receiver Brandon Lloyd from the Denver Broncos for a 2012 draft pick.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Matuszewski in New York at
matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

OAKLAND — On a day of immense emotion, the Oakland Raiders suffered a crushing blow that will force them to make a huge decision in the post-Al Davis era.

Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell is expected to miss the rest of the season with a broken collarbone. Campbell was injured in the second quarter of the Raiders’ 24-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. A source close to the situation said it is unlikely Campbell will return this year. Raiders coach Hue Jackson did not give a timetable for Campbell’s injury, but he sounded like a man who knows he needs to make other quarterback plans.

The injury put a damper on what is developing into a very strong season for the Raiders, as well as on a poignant day where the Raiders paid tribute to Davis. Oakland’s owner died Oct. 8 at the age of 82. It was the Raiders’ first home game since Davis’ death.

Campbell was one of the Davis’ favorite players and his acquisition in 2010 helped the Raiders begin a revival as they moved away from colossal draft bust JaMarcus Russell. Campbell was making great strides under Jackson and offensive coordinator Al Saunders this season and was the perfect game manager for an offense that features the NFL’s best running game.

Now, the Raiders have to quickly figure out what they are going to do. For now, it looks like backup quarterback Kyle Boller will be given the first opportunity to start.

The Raiders must decide now if they think Boller is capable of keeping them in contention. Oakland is 4-2 and trails San Diego (4-1) by a half game in the AFC West. The Raiders host Kansas City next week, then have their bye. They then host Denver. So, the Raiders — who are two games over .500 for the first time in nine years — have a manageable next few weeks.

Boller was just OK Sunday as the Raiders won on the steam of a kick return for a score by Jacoby Ford, a touchdown pass on a fake field goal from punter Shane Lechler to Kevin Boss and improved defense. Boller was 8 of 14 for 100 yards. He missed badly on some passing attempts.

Still, Boller is experienced. He has started 46 NFL games, the last coming while with the Rams in 2009. He played under Jackson in Baltimore. Several Raiders receivers said Sunday they will have confidence in Boller if he is their starter. Ford said he will expect to see Boller as the starting quarterback “until I’m told otherwise.”

Ford should expect Oakland to consider other options in the next couple of days.

This is the first big personnel challenge for the Raiders since Davis’ death. Jackson and Mark Davis — Al Davis’ son — are currently making decisions with input from others including former Raiders employees John Madden, Ron Wolf and Ken Herock.

If the Raiders decide to pursue a quarterback outside of the organization who can start, the list probably will begin with David Garrard. He is a free agent who was cut by Jacksonville. He would give the Raiders a veteran presence. But he hasn’t played in six weeks, so there is a rust factor.

Perhaps Oakland would consider calling Denver about Kyle Orton, who was replaced by Tim Tebow last week. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday morning that the only way Denver would trade Orton is if a team suffered a major injury and called the Broncos.

Would the Broncos deal the free-agent-to-be inside of the division, though? I bet they would.

I’m sure the quarterback Jackson would most like is Carson Palmer. He coached him in Cincinnati. Yet, the Bengals have maintained they won’t deal Palmer. The trade deadline is Tuesday. Yahoo is reporting the Raiders are already trying to get Palmer.

Of course, there’s another name out there. Yes, Brett Favre. He is 42 and has maintained he is retired. But wouldn’t that be the ultimate tribute to Davis, adding a beaten-up gunslinger to save the season?

That scenario is much more of a pipe dream than reality and the Raiders must face reality in this situation.

If they stick with Boller, I could see them bringing back Trent Edwards to back up Boller. Boller beat out Edwards for the backup job this summer. The Raiders also probably will try to speed up the developmental of rookie Terrelle Pryor. He is expected to be activated from the roster-exemption list Monday. His five-game NFL suspension ended last Monday.

Pryor was expected to be a project. He is still a project, but if other options fail, he could be pressed into action. But he is far from being ready.

This major flux at quarterback is definitely not what this team needed. It’s also devastating for Campbell. He fit in well with this team after not succeeding in Washington. Now, the future of Campbell, 29, is up in the air. His contract expires at the end of the season. There were indications that the Raiders could give him a new deal. Now, that is likely on hold.

Jackson said Sunday the biggest thing the team will miss is Campbell’s leadership.

They also will miss the balance he gave the Raiders’ offense. With Campbell out, teams will key on stopping the running game, which could limit the offense. The ever-optimistic Jackson vowed that his team will “be just fine.”

There is a lot to like about this team. But the loss of Campbell certainty casts a cloud over this season.