I would say my opinion is pretty much unchanged. Barring injury, he will be competing for a spot amongst the top ten QBs to ever play the game*. Hig biggest obstacle will be the historical bias against scrambling QBs. Even if he concludes his career with elite passing numbers, there will be those who view him as a scrambling QB. He will need better numbers than the classic statues to get the consideration he will deserve.
I have had my criticisms, especially early this season, about his struggle to play up to what I believe is his potential, and his lack of progress as a passer. I think some people, in this hyperbole driven board, have interpreted that as me thinking Russ is a bad QB or something. (Kind of like people think I am criticizing Russ when I say that he makes his offensive line look worse than it really is)
Even though I thought it was, perhaps, premature to offer him the contract they did, I didn't think it was a bad decision to lock him up. The contract signed is probably a little low for his potential, a little premature given his lack of progress as a passer before this season, but necessary to prevent a bidding war next year. In retrospect, the Hawks look like they got a great deal.
The biggest change I have been looking for (and have started to see since mid-season) is in his early game confidence and calmness. He has always excelled once he settled down into a game and got into his rhythm, but frequently struggled and played tight early in the game. Errant early passes were pretty common, especially overthrowing wide open receivers. He also tended to be less patient in the pocket early in the game. He has made big strides in improving this part of his game. Certainly other team aspects have helped (pass pro, game plan), but I really think his early game accuracy and patience is markedly improved.
He still needs to get better about stepping into his deep throws and getting them past the receiver. Compared to other elite passers, his receivers too frequently need to adjust their routes (either slowing down or coming back for the ball). If he starts hitting those guys in stride...
All in all, my opinion isn't much changed, but that is because I have had extremely high expectations for him, probably similar to his expectations of himself, and my criticisms have come when he doesn't meet up to these expectations.
-bsd
*My official position. Feel free to quote it back to me at any time.
