rcaido":1g3wvvjz said:
I'd hate to be your son. In 4 years he has broken pretty much every record for the first 4 years. Has been in the playoffs 4 for 4. Gone to two Superbowls. Won one & is currently a top 5 QB...
For me, i never saw him play in college but i was really rooting for him to get the starting job over Flynn. Ever since he continues to amaze me. As a sports fan, we are lucky & blessed to have Wilson play for our state. He will go down as one of the best of all time.
Are you saying it is wrong for me to hope for him to become an elite pocket passer, with the potential for long-term success, in addition to being one of the best young, scrambling QBs in history? That I shouldn't expect any improvement in his game after the first three years? Just because he set such a high threshold as a foundation, doesn't mean we shouldn't look for areas of potential growth.
Wilson has negotiated the second highest contract in the history of the NFL. He behaves like he believes he is one of the all-time greats. I believe he will be one of the all-time greats. My expectations of him are commensurate with his demands of the team, and our apparent shared belief in his potential.
My son is 10. He is a gray and white belt in Jiu-Jitsu. My expectations of him are commensurate with his current potential. I am proud of him when he wins a consolation round at a tournament. In school, I expect straight A's in math, science, and spelling, but am happy with C's in handwriting. I have slightly different expectations for my daughter. My differing expectations are commensurate with their differing aptitudes.
In spite of a league average offensive line, and a group of second and third tier receivers, Wilson has arguably had the best first four years of any NFL QB in history. Certainly his team statistics exceed those of any other QB in history.
He has had the luxury of the #1 defense during that stretch, as well as the support of a RB that masks many of the deficiencies in the offensive line and the game plan, at least up until this year. Combine this with the fact that most scrambling QBs experience a steep drop off when they lose a step, and are required to carry the team on their arm, and perhaps you can understand why someone might want to see more success in the passing game from a guy who will be tying up a huge percent of our salary cap for the foreseeable future.
What he hasn't done, until the second half of this season, is demonstrate his ability to excel in the skills that will be necessary to have long-term success in the NFL. I believe, and I think he believes, that he can be an elite passer. He will need to be able to dissect a defense with his arm, instead of his legs, to maintain his current level of success when he loses a step (unless you think his success is, and will be, attributable to his supporting cast).
This last five games, he has demonstrated these abilities. If my expectations for Wilson are sky high, that is because they match the expectations that Wilson has for himself. The fact that I am critical of his areas of weakness in no way belies my opinion that Russell Wilson will be competing for a position in the pantheon of the ten best quarterbacks to ever play the game. If other quarterbacks went from average first four years to elite careers, just imagine what Wilson can do with the foundation of success that is represented by his first four years.
- bsd
