Sgt. Largent":dy54zjoh said:TwistedHusky":dy54zjoh said:Wilson is a winner. He isn't Elite but he is close and on his good days, he is better than any of the Elite - even on THEIR good days.
But if you pay him $30M, you have to make choices that prevent you from getting:
A good OL
A good D
A good run game
A good receiving corps
You might be able to get 2 of the above, but otherwise, you have to sacrifice.
We've already been wrestling with this since we gave him his first big contract.
This is really the elephant in the room with Russell. Is he the kind of "elite" QB you can build a high powered offense around, pay elite $$$ to, and still win because that greatly compromises your defensive budget.
Let's be honest, we went to two SB's because yes Russell was good, but #1 was our elite defense. It's not a coincidence that as soon as that elite D started to crumble, so did our playoff success.
I honestly don't know if Russell is the kind of Rodgers/Brady/Brees slam dunk elite QB that you can pay crazy money to and still win consistently.
I'll come right out and say it - he's not.
He's a solid QB who had some great athleticism which could thrill at times but as he ages/slows, his lack of true QB talent is being more fully exposed. Was sounding the alarm on this a couple seasons back. To even consider paying him 'elite' money at this point?
No-no-no. In fact, I'm open to shipping him off and doing a total retooling with Russ and Pete gone.
Reset button should have been hit after last season. It was partially done but time to finish it after this year. If we end up with a 4 or 5 win season (and that is looking increasingly likely) you'll see a lot more Hawk fans willing to see that happen.
Hey, even New England is looking at that kind of reformation in the not so distant future so we're in good company! :lol: