Sox-n-Hawks
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oldhawkfan":35uc8xo9 said:The following is from the thread “elite” that I posted a few months ago. No matter how you slice it, Russell Wilson is elite. There can’t be many more nails left to end this debate.
The choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons.”
The above is a definition of the word elite in dictionary.com. I have seen lots of debate and opinions on this board regarding the status of Russell Wilson and even Pete Carroll as to whether or not either one is elite. I’m not sure we can even debate the merits of the elitness of a player or coach without first understanding what the term elite means.
In the definition provided, elite is the best of anything considered collectively. Using that definition, one has to take into consideration the pool from which the person is a participant in order to clearly define whether they are elite or not. What is not stated in the definition but plays a huge part in this discussion is what percentage of the pool is to be considered for elitness.
Russell Wilson consistently comes out in the top 5-8 of all QBs. Being a top 5 QB puts him in the top 15%. I have seen him rated as high as #3 in some lists. A #3 position puts him in the top 10%. In terms of production and importance to his team, he is a top QB. That in and of itself makes him elite within the pool of players that he is part of. The fact that a player is elite or not can only be based on the competition at their same position across the league. A player cannot be compared to players no longer playing or to an arbitrary preconceived notion of what a player should play like or how their physical measurable stack up.
What I think many fans determine elite to be is based less on a players rank within his own pool of players and more of a subjective analysis based on how they think a player should be. For example, most draft lists would put a player at 6’3” and a “prototypical “dropback passer as a more desirable draft pick than a 5’11” scrambling QB regardless of their on field productivity. This player bias plays into the psyche of coaches and fans alike and predetermines to an extent a players potential to be considered elite.
There is no formula to determine whether a player is elite other than how they stack up against their peers. Is Russell Wilson considered one of the best QBs in the NFL? Yes he is. Is he the best QB in the NFL. Probably not. That honor has to fall on Aaron Rogers and/or Tom Brady which makes them the elite of the elite. Maybe Russ isn’t elite, but he’s at the doorstep.
He's outperforming both of them this season. He's certainly outperforming their first 6 years of play. Heck, did I just see that Tom Brady JUST hit 1,000yd career rushing? You'd think an ELITE QB could make something happen with his legs when coverage was too good or protection breaks down. That guy must really suck.