ESPN piece on Seahawks Wilson breakup

[Lagartixa]

Wow! Featured story on ESPN.com! This has some great insight on the break up. I'd really recommend the article and it made me open my eyes. Not a good look for Russ.

Look at this quote about Russell after the 2019 game vs the Falcons:

"He threw two touchdowns as the Seahawks jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead but attempted only five passes in the second half.Afterward, according to a source who spoke with the quarterback, Wilson was livid at how Carroll had taken his foot off the gas, believing it had cost him a chance to grab hold of the MVP race."

Look at that. What a selfish guy. Talks about team team team but gets mad we didn't keep crushing a team that was down 24-0 because he wants to... win MVP? It's not all about you Russ! Sad!

I think the part about the Rams game from the "Let Russ Cook Interceptions" era is much more damning:

One of Wilson's seven interceptions in that stretch came in a loss at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10. Trailing by a touchdown, he scrambled to his right and had a massive swath of empty turf in front of him. He bypassed the rushing yards, uncorking a deep heave back across the field that was picked off in the end zone.

"What are we doing here?" one source in the Seahawks' front office remembers thinking at the time. "Are we trying to win games or are we trying to win MVP?"

That seems significantly worse to me than the example from the Falcons game.

 

[toffee]

S

I started seeing him differently in 2016 when I saw them play in person on Monday night against the Lions (the game where we won with the forced fumble as Megatron was about to score the winning TD... KJ knocked the ball out thr back of the endzone for a touchback).

I remember having just bought my Authentic Wilson jersey... got to our seats and started chatting folks up and to a man, they were sooo down on his play. Then, for the first time, I saw for myself what I couldn't on TV... he made his plays, but for about 55 minutes, missed more than he hit.

But yeah, I thought Wentz was the benchmark for being butthurt about your FO looking to the future. His tantrum doesn't compare to what went down here.

Brady was challenged when they brought Garappolo in as his heir apparent and he promptly sent him packing. He didn't disparage the FO. He didn't sew division. He just went out and balled.

It will be interesting to see how Russ handles the pressure of the truth about him coming out. I mean, it was Pete who identified early on that his psyche was shakey when it came to hyper criticism. Now, he's made his bed and put a fence around it.

I dont think it's a coincidence that he played so poorly last year - I think the fact that the house of cards was crumbling and even DK was frustrated with him internally, folks outside were questioning his greatness, and he wasnt comfortbale with Shane's playbook, directly led to what Hass described as not even high school quality execution.

Hes also the same guy who KNOWS the league has him figured. B Baker pretty much summed up the strategy against Russ when recapping their victory against us in OT in 2020... that their defense knew that when they brought enough pressure, he'd start to panic and make mistakes.

That formula is no different. We've been on the receiving end of it for 3 years now. When Russ was ok making way with his legs, he could buy more room to execute. But since he stopped doing that and tries to sit back and just deal... he doesn't have the anticipation or the ability to progress through his reads quick enough. He'll pull the ball down and try to make space. Force him to make a mistake in confusion, throwing to an area he isn't comfortable with, and his confidence will be shaken.

We just need to get to him a few times.

Salute! You were a few years ahead of me on this one, back in 2016, Russ could do NO wrong in my book. I was the John63 back then

 

[bigskydoc]

So just remember who it was that helmed that 4th quarter comeback, not assuming any game is won or lost after three quarters.

Good point. Pete really did keep the players focused on staying in the game, and winning all three phases of that game. It took execution in all three phases to pull us out of the early hole that Wilson put us in.

 

[keasley45]

I think the part about the Rams game from the "Let Russ Cook Interceptions" era is much more damning:


That seems significantly worse to me than the example from the Falcons game.

Exactly. I remember this. He did the same thing against the Vikings in 2020.

And his pointless toss up INT (absolutley pointless. Zero excuse) against the cards in the OT game in 2020 gave them the ball back, kept us off the board, and led to their comeback.

It was the same game where he lobbed the softball to B Baker that he almost took to the house.

That game is a great example of what happens to him when things begin to go poorly.

Folks might point to the NFCCG against the Pack as a counter to that statement, but we came back I'm that game because of our D , running game and special teams.

Shake his confidence and I think things unravel quickly. And if they unravel for him, they'll unravel for the guys around him who will be wondering whoTF this guy is that their franchise just traded for.

If only Schneider had gone with his gut. I'd give back all the crazy highlights over the last 3 years for a few 6 and 10 seasons that would see us ready to compete again now.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Says the guy who is excited about Geno fricken Smith.
Meh, not worth the energy.

 

[Mistashoesta]

He put ambition in front of team. There is something wrong with that. It's selfish. This is a team sport.

It must be a cold day in hell because for once, I agree with Welshers.

 

[Cyrus12]

5 Days. Dear God, get over it and move on. Glad he's gone, it was mutual. Next

Its all about getting the hype going for increasing viewers for the game. Good vs evil...as in seahawks vs russ..the devil.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

True. The NFL knows what they're doing. Of course this would be the first MNF game of the season.

 

[ZorntoLargent]

It's not surprising to me at all.
Not many people actually got to see who Russ really is when he was out promoting himself at Children's Hospital.
Example:
His ROOKIE year, BEFORE he started a regular season game:
He and or his agent agreed to sign autographs for a local sports cards store. Owner does this often to RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY..........
Upon showing up to sign, Russ tells the store owner, "It's going to be $XXXX more than that" after being handed a check.
This is again the day of the signing. Now he wants more money when there is a line of people out the door.
Tells the store owner, "I'm not dumb, I know what my autographs go for these days". In quotes, but I'm paraphrasing.

Again, 100% of the proceeds going to a charity that helps couples adopt kids as it's quite expensive. This is through a church. You know, cause Russ is such a Christian with his wife constantly posing half naked all the time.

In the end he payed Russ MORE than was agreed and greatly cut into any profits for said charity.
This was BEFORE Russ was even really famous.

 

[Rock_the_Hawk]

Yup

It's interesting the way things happen. Nobody is perfect in the pursuit of perfection, trying to make the right choice whether it be Russ or Caroll or JS. I think from my perspective it's the guys that are really honest with themselves and take responsibility for the mistakes they make to themselves as to not make those mistakes again.

You made the comment the Carroll screwed us in his assessment of the situation. Maybe his mistake was NOT creating as much competition as he could for Russ so rather than screwing us, I think he screwed himself by NOT living up to his own plan always compete.

The kicker is we don't know what's going to happen maybe Geno will fill the role left by Wilson good enough or long enough for Lock to get good enough to be the starting QB for this team or maybe until they draft another franchise QB and maybe in years to come we will look back and say man they made all the right choices...

The one thing I can say for Pete is there isn't too much the man has NOT seen he has made just about every mistake a coach can make as well he has made just about every good choice a coach can make... I just hope that this experience adds to his process as I don't see Pete as someone who doesn't grow and learn... I'm really curious as to how this season is going to play out I just keep thinking they are going to surprise us and I don't know how really but I just have this overwhelming feeling that this is going to be a wild season

I am intrigued

I am attentive

I am curious

I am very much excited for this next game vs Russ

 

[Throwdown]

Lol imagine blaming the team cuz your not good enough to win a MVP

 

[FattyKnuckle]

that's one my biggest gripes with his handling of the offense and defense. literally taking what got the team into a winning position, whether its an aggressive offense or aggressive defense, and then changing the playstyle- playing not to lose rather than continuing to destroy the other team. it's lunacy. it also demoralizes the team that worked hard to obtain that lead, that leverage. you can see the team get tentative, and start to look at the scoreboard and clock, rather than be in the moment. i get the need to protect the football, limit big plays, run clock, etc... it just that it works against us more often than not... imo . add in that we get behind in games because we are too passive and run against 7 man fronts, letting the other team dictate the scoreboard... seems like we are always behind at halftime, even to scrub teams because of this passiveness.

...KEEP YOUR F*CKING FOOT ON THE GAS...

Holmgren did it too. Drove me nuts.

 

[TwistedHusky]

It was a clear for a while. This shouldn't be a shock.
Russ wants to be great. He doesn't care as much if the team is great.
This isn't even that uncommon. A few people I knew worked with NFL QBs and shared with me personally that more QBs care about going to the HOF than winning a SB.

The big tell for me was when he set a goal of having a certain % completion rate for the season. You can see where there are a number of in-game moments where throwing the ball incomplete or with lower % could benefit the team while still hurting that goal. It was a weird goal to have, honestly.

BUT He does want to be great. And he is exceptionally talented/skilled. You can ride that to wins. But you need to be adept at handling that. Carroll used to be exceptional at this kind of thing. But his impact wears off over time. (Sort of like Wilson in that respect)
Again, the biggest error in this whole thing was Pete deciding to give the keys to his QB.
Understand why he did it, the NFL is pushing every advantage to the QB. You won't be able to win without a top-tier QB soon enough. Playing and winning the old way won't work.

We had Lynch and the LOB. We WOULD have ridden that to another 2 if not 3 SBs by focusing on that. But instead, we raced to put Wilson in the driver's seat. And he literally warned us, 'the separation is in the preparation'. We knew damned well that as soon as all the extraneous things that tug at a star QB's shirt happened, his production would go down too. Lynch and the LOB wouldn't have lasted forever, but 2-3 more years of them with Wilson would have gotten us 1 or 2 more SBs.
Now, I think Wilson knows this. He might be full of himself but he wants to be great. And that means he needs a coaching structure that facilitates his production, that allows him to prosper. Someone like a Reid, instead of a Carroll.

Wilson, in the right hands, is a HOF talent even now. He throws well on the run, has incredible accuracy on long passes, great ability to diagnose the defense post-snap, and seems to harden under pressure. But he is a home run hitter, not a guy that hits for average.

Carroll is a loyal guy. He wanted to support Wilson. But he wanted to support Wilson playing the way Carroll wanted. Carroll could not adapt to the new NFL. That was always the problem. The old way won't work anymore.
Both Carroll and Wilson are weirdly flawed in some of the same ways, but Wilson needed an offensive guru and Carroll wasn't one.

 

[Maelstrom787]

It's not surprising to me at all.
Not many people actually got to see who Russ really is when he was out promoting himself at Children's Hospital.
Example:
His ROOKIE year, BEFORE he started a regular season game:
He and or his agent agreed to sign autographs for a local sports cards store. Owner does this often to RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY..........
Upon showing up to sign, Russ tells the store owner, "It's going to be $XXXX more than that" after being handed a check.
This is again the day of the signing. Now he wants more money when there is a line of people out the door.
Tells the store owner, "I'm not dumb, I know what my autographs go for these days". In quotes, but I'm paraphrasing.

Again, 100% of the proceeds going to a charity that helps couples adopt kids as it's quite expensive. This is through a church. You know, cause Russ is such a Christian with his wife constantly posing half naked all the time.

In the end he payed Russ MORE than was agreed and greatly cut into any profits for said charity.
This was BEFORE Russ was even really famous.

I have a story like this too.

I had seen Russ at a grocery store some time back. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.

He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”

I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face.

I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.

The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.

When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.

It was a sight to behold.

 

[toffee]

I have a story like this too.

I had seen Russ at a grocery store some time back. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.

He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”

I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face.

I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.

The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.

When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.

It was a sight to behold.

Now imagine you are his teammate !!

 

[TwistedHusky]

The most disgusting part of that story is he eats Milky Ways.

Gross.

Well, I have stories from people that knew him back at NC State and we will just say that the whole 'good guy' persona is carefully crafted...including the Chidren's Hospital thing.

I never said he was a likable guy. But he is a HOF QB, and we should have been able to make it work.

 

[Fade]

One sided hit piece, put out by the team.

I like this excerpt though:

"Schneider later apologized to the Saints and other teams…
…because Drew Lock was the QB Schneider wanted in return."

Way to go Schneids! Could've gotten more picks, but screw that, I must have Drew Lock!

No mentions of the poor roster construction, vapid drafts, the dated coaching, the lackey assistants that can't hold their positions anywhere in the league but on the Seahawks staff. The lack of building properly around the QB. The mismanagement of football operations over the last seven years that led to this dumpster fire.

If you believe Wilson was the problem, you've gotten your wish. But I have a sneaking suspicion the Hawks are going to keep losing under this failed management. While Wilson is going to continue winning with his new team and much better management.

The Seahawks have been getting it mostly wrong for years now. They better be right on this or they will be the laughing stock of the league.

 

[toffee]

One sided hit piece, put out by the team.

I like this excerpt though:

"Schneider later apologized to the Saints and other teams…
…because Drew Lock was the QB Schneider wanted in return."

Way to go Schneids! Could've gotten more picks, but screw that, I must have Drew Lock!

No mentions of the poor roster construction, vapid drafts, the dated coaching, the lackey assistants that can't hold their positions anywhere in the league but on the Seahawks staff. The lack of building properly around the QB. The mismanagement of football operations over the last seven years that led to this dumpster fire.

If you believe Wilson was the problem, you've gotten your wish. But I have a sneaking suspicion the Hawks are going to keep losing under this failed management. While Wilson is going to continue winning with his new team and much better management.

The Seahawks have been getting it mostly wrong for years now. They better be right on this or they will be the laughing stock of the league.

Could you elaborate why Broncos' management is superior? Quite curious about that.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Way to go Schneids! Could've gotten more picks, but screw that, I must have Drew Lock!

Huh. Looks like Fade didn't read the article, guys.

 

[Cyrus12]

Anyone with eyes would of seen the last few years that once RW was out of the mvp convo his play dropped off dramatically. I think it was fine searching for another QB. His running and elusiveness were diminishing and he is obviously not coachable. Trade him while his stock was at an all time high is not a bad thing to do especially when you have a player that obviously is all about himself and his brand first. I liked him for many years but the cracks in his fake personna were becoming blatantly obvious. He is all about himself and everything he ever said was bullshit. Just really glad he didn't get that 50 mill a year in Seattle. Sorry Tyler...I'd boo his fake ass if I was at the game.