Why do we care about Russ anymore?

[AROS]

Honest question. I am intrigued by the amount of attention he still gets to this very day.

It's a come to Jesus question. Why do you care about him anymore?

 

[Shanegotyou11]

Scorned is why for most.

 

[AROS]

That sums it up for me. Like a scorned ex. Time to move on.

 

[Scout]

To be honest I am curious to see if R. Wilson can adapt his play beyond what he was known for earlier in his career.

 

[RiverDog]

Honest question. I am intrigued by the amount of attention he still gets to this very day.

It's a come to Jesus question. Why do you care about him anymore?

I'm surprised that you had to ask. We all have come to know Russell like we have few other players not only as a Seahawk but all sports in general. Many of us have developed strong emotions towards him, mostly negative feelings, and for good reason. There are also some, although in this forum I suspect that most are hiding in the closet, who remain big fans of his. The reasons vary from poster-to-poster, but it should be obvious why he's still very popular with Seahawk fans.

For me, I don't really care if Russell wins or loses, embarrasses the hell out of himself or wins a SB MVP and a gold jacket. I'm not actively rooting for or against him. Well, that's not quite true as I get a little 'it serves him right' chuckle when he plays poorly or things don't work out. I lost a ton of respect for the man for the way he left the team and the coach who literally made him.

But mostly, I follow his plight because it's great drama. Here you had a player that was a borderline HOF'er and supposedly the savior of a franchise that had been thirsting for a quarterback since Peyton Manning retired that was the subject of one of the biggest trades in league history. He plays poorly his first season and the team unexpectedly sinks to one of the worst records in the league, giving us a top 5 pick.

Then, they bring in this supposed quarterback whisperer in Sean Payton who is going to 'fix' Russell, and his play improves but his team misses the playoffs again and the two don't even last a full season. Now, the Donkeys sell the farm and likely their chances of a quick turnaround by dumping him at a huge cost and he signs with one of our franchise's most despised teams in the form of the Steelers. They were in the playoffs last season, so they have some very reasonable expectations of becoming a legitimate contender. Mike Tomlin hasn't ever had a losing season and it's been 3 years since Russell has had a winning one.

And the story continues.....

 

[keasley45]

Simple. It's a measure of how far a fall from grace a player can make, and how shaky the foundation of his perceived greatness was to begin with.

He played here for 10 years and for almost the entire time, how good he was was debated in a way other 'great' qbs aren't. Elway's greatness was never debated by Broncos fans. Nor was Rodgers, Paytons, Brees's, Brady's, Warner's, Roethlisberger... even guys like Luck, Eli... who they were and what they contributed to their teams winning was fairly universally known. With Russ, his STATS forced a debate that questioned his place among the greats because the numbers said so. But his play in a traditional (fundamental), sustainable sense... not so much. And so now, to a degree, sans the LOB to lean on. Sans top 10 running games to support him, sand Pete Carroll to 'hold him back', it's a bit of a truthing period, where absent the elements who made him or broke him, he can just show who he is as a qb, without the very specific stage he was provided to do his deal in Seattle.

It's interesting because now the question can be answered as to whether Russ could have ever been 'Russ' outside of the Pete Carroll Seahawks. So far, the answer is no.

I don't know how one can't care to better understand what it was they were seeing over the 10 years Pete and Russ were here together, given how hot the debate raged the entire time.

 

[Jac]

I genuinely don't care any more. I did intently during his time with Denver for all the reasons discussed over the past two years. But his failure in Denver now creates mental space between his time in Seattle and now Pittsburgh. If he goes on to have success it's Pittsburgh...then good on him. It'll be more a reflection on Denver than us and they'll be the ones financially paying for it (while we continue to reap the rewards of the draft compensation).

 

[Jac]

I don't know how one can't care to better understand what it was they were seeing over the 10 years Pete and Russ were here together, given how hot the debate raged the entire time.

That's fair. I'll still care on an intellectual/curiosity level...but no longer do on an emotional sports fan level.

 

[Chukarhawk]

It's like a train wreck, you can't not watch.

 

[LastRideOut]

Yup, a train wreck in slow motion. If he was doing well and putting up good numbers, I don't think we would see as many posts here.

But because he's stunk up the joint, and his social media antics, he draws the attention, most of it negative.

But what's happened since then has vindicated the trade. For some of us, it's just pure lolz that it happened to the 43-8 Broncos. Couldn't have scripted it any better than that.

 

[SantaClaraHawk]

Because he is a winning docudrama with intrigue on various fronts.

There are of course football questions, but how many bathrooms will his new mansion have?

 

[xray]

He left the Hawks 2 years ago , right ?

 

[bmorepunk]

I think some posters are within the "good natured fun" area of making fun of Wilson. He has set himself up for it.

Others do seem to have a negative emotional attachment and it doesn't seem healthy. I get actually having an issue with Deshaun Watson, Brandon Browner, Jerramy Stevens, and Ben Rothlesburger. Taking it to the next level, you can throw in dudes like Rae Carruth.

Sports are unimportant and the relationships between teams and the players are a business transaction. These people aren't hurting us, or really anybody else, because they're not in a position to do so. If you feel like you're getting some sort of vengance against Russell Wilson you probabably need to talk to someone about your bigger issues.

 

[bileever]

At this point, it's not just Seahawks fans. The whole NFL is intrigued by the Russell Wilson situation. Questions abound: Is Wilson finished? Did Denver do the right thing? Who will get the last laugh, Sean Payton or Russell Wilson?

It's not about Seattle anymore, but it's still fascinating. I'm sure the Broncos fans are very interested in seeing what happens. They're not in exactly the same position that Seahawk fans were in 2022, but it's similar. For Broncos fans, he's not the ex who scorned you, but the ex who made your life a living hell and now you want that ex to be miserable.

For Broncos, Russell Wilson trade could go from horrible to worse

Denver's decision to acquire — and to pay — quarterback Russell Wilson ranks among the worst NFL trades of all time.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Aircrew]

I'm no longer emotionally invested, but it's more a reality television level of amusement and curiosity than anything. And like Keasley said, it's really about a fall from grace for a guy who worked so hard to project an image of himself that is being proven, in real time, to be false. Russ is both a really good quarterback AND a fraud, a person can be both. It's really interesting, to be honest.

 

[uncle fester]

It was a train wreck that Seattle benefitted from, so the ‘eyes on the climbing draft picks’ bit was fascinating.

Now, for some, it’s a habit.

 

[bmorepunk]

At this point, it's not just Seahawks fans. The whole NFL is intrigued by the Russell Wilson situation. Questions abound: Is Wilson finished? Did Denver do the right thing? Who will get the last laugh, Sean Payton or Russell Wilson?

It's not about Seattle anymore, but it's still fascinating. I'm sure the Broncos fans are very interested in seeing what happens. They're not in exactly the same position that Seahawk fans were in 2022, but it's similar. For Broncos fans, he's not the ex who scorned you, but the ex who made your life a living hell and now you want that ex to be miserable.

Broncos fans being salty makes more sense than Seahawks fans. We got a lot of positive out of Wilson being here. I've seen people try to minimize that but it's objectively true.

Broncos fans thought they were finally getting a QB and getting out of their post-Super Bowl funk. George Paton traded away huge draft capital to get him. Then he resigned him to an insane cap-eating extension that didn't kick until this coming season. They have nothing to show for it.

Those fans had already endured a head coach and quarterback roller coster for six years. They had the defense, and they thought they could finally get over that hump with a proven QB like Wilson. They gave away so much (and will continue to pay for the next two seasons due to huge dead cap hits) and had the same type of results they've had since 2016.

 

[chris98251]

Watching a real life Emperors New Clothes Story play out is amusing as well as satisfying given our part of the story line and what he took for granted, bridges he burned, proved about himself and all. Seeing him go down like the Hindenburg is almost impossible to look away from.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Scorned is why for most.

Bingo. A lot of 12s are salty wusses.

 

[SonicHawk]

He was the notable and polarizing quarterback for almost a decade. His goings-about are interesting because of how much we cared about him when he was here. That doesn't just disappear when he leaves, especially as he still competes in this league.