During Sundays game, the announcers compared RW to Tarkenton. I remember back in the day that Zorn was sometimes referred as a poor mans Tarkenton. As high as I have been on RW, I never even thought of this comparison. What surprised me the most was the revelation that Tarkenton was only 5'11"! So Brees was not the 1st sub 6' QB to be successful. Not as rare as we have been led to believe.

Fran Tarkenton was amazing. Loved watching him. Vikings were my second favorite team ... behind the Packers.

From day one, Pete compared him to Tarkenton.

I saw Tark through nearly his entire career (his first season was '61 and I started watching NFL in '64) including his Super Bowl seasons (all 4 of them). To my eyes there are quite a few similarities, but I think Russ has a much stronger arm than Tark did. His arm was about average IIRC. I also think Wilson scrambles with gaining yards with his feet as his main purpose (right now) whereas Fran used to scramble around to buy time for a receiver to get open more often than not. We'll likely see that as Russ's main purpose for scrambling soon as well so as to keep himself from getting injured running for yardage (and hopefully cuz the o-line improves to the point of him not needing to scramble nearly as much).

Terrible comparison. Tarkenton was white. Seneca Wallace with talent is a better comparison.

The similarities they showed during the broadcast were pretty amazing.

and they both from Richmond Virginia.

Personally, I think Tarkenton took off running a LOT more, but other than that, I like the comparison. What scares me about it, however, is that Tarkenton never won a SB.

I always thought Tarkenton scrambled mostly to get a chance to throw the ball. I don't remember him trying to run as much as not getting sacked.

Remember in those days there were none of the "pink tutu's" rule about tackling QBs as there are now. If you were on the field you could get blasted anytime and double that if you tried to run.

And the not winning any SBs those teams survived a lot because of him and no matter what they say now about Minnesota's Purple Gang, they weren't as good as our guys were earlier this year. And teams ran more "down the field" offenses in the passing game. If you couldn't give your QB time to throw he was dead if he couldn't scramble.

envision Dick Butkus tackling a scrambling Fran Tarkenton......

When Fran retired he had the most passing yards and rushing yards for a QB all time.

I like the comparison.

Wilson started out the season bailing from the pocket early, rolling out, looking for another option, then taking off.

Now, he buys time in the pocket, scrambles looking to throw, and after all that, then takes off running. It's part of his progression, and a part of his game that I really like. He's a good enough passer that he doesn't have to rely on his athleticism, it enhances his game. Another big thing I like about Russell is that he is really smart about running out of bounds, sliding, or knowing when to put his shoulder down. I haven't seen him get blasted once on a run yet; he's taking bigger hits in the pocket. His entire game is just so....smart.

HawkFan72 wrote:The similarities they showed during the broadcast were pretty amazing.

That's what I felt like. Especially when Wilson turns his back to the D. It was like a mirror image.

Yeah, but could Fran Tarkenton's wife do this:

oldhawkfan wrote:During Sundays game, the announcers compared RW to Tarkenton. I remember back in the day that Zorn was sometimes referred as a poor mans Tarkenton. As high as I have been on RW, I never even thought of this comparison. What surprised me the most was the revelation that Tarkenton was only 5'11"! So Brees was not the 1st sub 6' QB to be successful. Not as rare as we have been led to believe.

Nobody, at any position, was as big as they are now.

SalishHawkFan wrote:Yeah, but could Fran Tarkenton's wife do this:

My beating heart be still...

sutz wrote:

oldhawkfan wrote:During Sundays game, the announcers compared RW to Tarkenton. I remember back in the day that Zorn was sometimes referred as a poor mans Tarkenton. As high as I have been on RW, I never even thought of this comparison. What surprised me the most was the revelation that Tarkenton was only 5'11"! So Brees was not the 1st sub 6' QB to be successful. Not as rare as we have been led to believe.

Nobody, at any position, was as big as they are now.

In the first Superbowl, the Packers heaviest player was 260 pounds.
In 1970 there was one NFL player over 300 pounds.
This year, there are right at 400 players that weigh over 300 pounds.

chawx wrote:

SalishHawkFan wrote:Yeah, but could Fran Tarkenton's wife do this:

My beating heart be still...

It's a good thing Russell has big hands.