Wrong on Wilson

SkinsGuru":1m1mflzs said:

why did wilson quit football to play baseball?? not trying to knock on him or start anything, just curious if it was football or baseball that was his first choice??

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Hey didn't really 'quit football.' He had a 1 million dollar offer from the Colorado Rockies and wanted to try his hand at that. He still intented play out his final season of eligibility with NC State, but the coach didn't want him if he couldn't make all of the camps and practices.

While in the farm league, he had time to reflect and decided football was his first love, so he made a big gamble and went to Wisconsin.

Right, and since he had graduated, he just had to find a school that had a graduate program not offered at his undergrad school. He enrolled at Wisconsin and memorized the playbook in about a week and was off and running as their starter. NC State = Massive Fail.

RiggoReincarnated":291ys73u said:

I can't find anything bad to say about Wilson. Its like he's RGIII's brother or cousin. Heck, both of them even earned their degrees in 3 years. How many college NFL players do that?

I thought for sure you guys would start Flynn at the beginning of the season at least. Props to Carroll for doing what he thought was best for your team - it could have easily backfired on him had Wilson not progressed the way he has.

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I said this same thing several times. They both look like quiet hard working players that just want to be left alone to play football at a high level.

And neither can understand what all the excitememt is about.

SkinsGuru":2t5qjqi9 said:

SharkHawk":2t5qjqi9 said:

He quit baseball to play football. Baseball season (short season minors) doesn't overlap with football. He had graduated in NC and went and played pro ball, and then went to Wisconsin and decided not to play baseball so he was ready for his senior year. He did both sports. Many guys do. It is a great way to get a summer job and not have to worry about scholarships covering the bills.

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kewl . . . thanks!! . . . i thought i heard he played football and quit to go off and play baseball, then when he didn't make it in baseball he went back to football . . . probably the Chinese telephone thing or something . . .

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He was playing both football at NC State, and minor league baseball during the spring/summer. Coach at NC told him that he had to quit baseball if he wanted to play his senior year because he wanted him for spring ball. Russell chose to play one last season of minor leagues and transfer to Wisconsin.

rsm650":39xa3la7 said:

Also, of all things, Bleacher Report predicted this when grading our draft picks: "But that is where Wilson's height is misleading. When reviewing footage of his throwing motion, Wilson has a distinct overhand throw...possibly related to his days as a minor-league baseball player and aided by an ample 31" arm length... However, don't be surprised to see him starting for the Seahawks and becoming the steal of the 2012 NFL Draft." http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1166 ... ick/page/6

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Wow I can't believe somebody nailed it. Now if that site wasn't so buggy I could actually go there.

Missing_Clink":37qwmue8 said:

You know something is wrong when Kiper actually sounds like the most reasonable draft pundit

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Scary and true. The Bleacher Report (Darin Pike) nailing it, just about all the Seattle picks, is possibly scarier.

I wrote a post on this board a day or two before the draft where I predicted the 'Hawks would draft Russell Wilson in the 3rd round, that PC/JS were just blowing smoke on the Ryan Tannehill idea. I'd like to find that post, for my own amusement value, but don't know how to get the search feature to find it, as anything with "Russell Wilson" is dismissed by the search engine as too common. If anyone knows how to find that post, please message me.

It was this video that led to my hope the 'Hawks would draft him: Ultimate Russell Wilson 2011 highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8r7wLnb1xc
How can someone watch that video and NOT be mesmerized by this kid, absolutely lighting up Big 10 competition like that? The games against Michigan State, especially the Big 10 Championship game, were extremely compelling, jaw-dropping affairs, watching Wilson just put the team on his back, and carry them, by force of will, to victory. I think the scouts were guilty of the "confirmation bias" in dismissing Wilson; their beliefs about short, athletic QBs led them to only see another athlete-first, Seneca Wallace, too-short-for-the-NFL QB, instead of seeing what was *really* there, and the incredible specialness of Wilson's play.
At the same time the Wisconsin games lead to a man-crush on Russell Wilson, seeing the way Kirk Cousins competed for MSU against Wisconsin could just as easily lead to a man-crush on Cousins. Kudos to the Redskins on picking up Cousins, who wound up saving their season.

I recall there was a newspaper/media photo of Pete at the scouting combine, for QB's, with discussion about Tannehill, and in the background of that photo, Russell Wilson was throwing or speaking or something, and Pete was trying to look nonchalant and pretending not to be checking out Wilson. I remember being so happy to see that, that the 'Hawks were aware of Wilson, that I knew right then they would pick him.

I recall PC/JS saying, after the draft was over, that they had Russell Wilson graded as the 3rd player on their draft board. The way I understood it, 3rd wasn't meaning "3rd round" or "3rd Quarterback", but rather they had Wilson graded out as the 3rd best player OVERALL in the draft. (Which still may have been the 3rd best QB grade, given this year's crop) Anyone else remember that quote (I think it was Pete) and can verify that was what was meant, 3rd overall?
I started getting nervous in the 2nd round, because I was worried some other NFL team might snatch Wilson before Seattle got him. In fact, I'd almost bet that Washington would have taken Wilson instead of Cousins in the 4th round, if he had dropped to there.

I would say Mel Kiper actually had the fairest prediction of the lot - essentially saying that if Wilson can't do it as a short QB nobody can, but at the same time questioning the value of the pick because he, like a lot of others though we had "the guy" in Matt Flynn. At the same time though, how anybody could consider Flynn "the guy" based on 2 starts is beyond me (as good as the Detroit game was, the NE game was a decent but not fantastic performance, I was never convinced by it).

Jason Cole's is by far the worst, Seneca Wallace "at best" is essentially what he's saying. Wilson has always looked like he'd have a greater career than Wallace has had.

Brett Bielema (former Wisconsin coach) in May on a Seattle talk show. "If I could I would bet a large sum of money (I can't, because I am a college football coach) that Russell will be a multi-year starter and lead his team to several championships of some sort." "This kid is so special, just wait til you guys meet him. I have never been around a kid so ready to be an NFL player in all my coaching years."

sumos2005":3l8ssvn5 said:

Brett Bielema (former Wisconsin coach) in May on a Seattle talk show. "If I could I would bet a large sum of money (I can't, because I am a college football coach) that Russell will be a multi-year starter and lead his team to several championships of some sort." "This kid is so special, just wait til you guys meet him. I have never been around a kid so ready to be an NFL player in all my coaching years."

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I remember hearing that interview and getting stoked.

Hawknballs":i5805equ said:

RiggoReincarnated":i5805equ said:

Props to Carroll for doing what he thought was best for your team.

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Carroll deserves some credit, but most of the credit should go to Wilson. It's not like he won the job just by having a few good pre-season games. He won the job because of his work ethic and leadership from the first day he got here. If he had played the same in pre-season, but hadn't had that same dedication and ability to lead, he wouldn't have started.

It was clearly the difference in training camp. I like Flynn, and I think he'll be a good QB somewhere, but anyone who attended multiple training camps can tell you the difference was obvious. Wilson is born to lead.

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Comon MAN some credit??? On most teams Wilson doesnt even get a sniff. It was PC that had the BALLS to start a rookie and stick with him when the world said it was wrong. Hail to PC

If it wasnt for PC, Wilson would never, I repeat NEVER had seen a starting gig in this league to show his stuff.

rainger":38vj5m1p said:

Hawknballs":38vj5m1p said:

RiggoReincarnated":38vj5m1p said:

Props to Carroll for doing what he thought was best for your team.

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Carroll deserves some credit, but most of the credit should go to Wilson. It's not like he won the job just by having a few good pre-season games. He won the job because of his work ethic and leadership from the first day he got here. If he had played the same in pre-season, but hadn't had that same dedication and ability to lead, he wouldn't have started.

It was clearly the difference in training camp. I like Flynn, and I think he'll be a good QB somewhere, but anyone who attended multiple training camps can tell you the difference was obvious. Wilson is born to lead.

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Comon MAN some credit??? On most teams Wilson doesnt even get a sniff. It was PC that had the BALLS to start a rookie and stick with him when the world said it was wrong. Hail to PC

If it wasnt for PC, Wilson would never, I repeat NEVER had seen a starting gig in this league to show his stuff.

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Not one coach in this league would of handed the starting job to Wilson after signing Flynn to that big contract. It took big balls to do what Pete did. There is absolutely no BS about this open competition stuff that Pete preaches.

rainger":2y45xxpo said:

Hawknballs":2y45xxpo said:

RiggoReincarnated":2y45xxpo said:

Props to Carroll for doing what he thought was best for your team.

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Carroll deserves some credit, but most of the credit should go to Wilson. It's not like he won the job just by having a few good pre-season games. He won the job because of his work ethic and leadership from the first day he got here. If he had played the same in pre-season, but hadn't had that same dedication and ability to lead, he wouldn't have started.

It was clearly the difference in training camp. I like Flynn, and I think he'll be a good QB somewhere, but anyone who attended multiple training camps can tell you the difference was obvious. Wilson is born to lead.

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Comon MAN some credit??? On most teams Wilson doesnt even get a sniff. It was PC that had the BALLS to start a rookie and stick with him when the world said it was wrong. Hail to PC

If it wasnt for PC, Wilson would never, I repeat NEVER had seen a starting gig in this league to show his stuff.

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Bullcrap. Sorry, but that is utter and complete garbage. He would have competed on any team and gotten a chance. He would have at worst been the #2 QB on a majority of teams. You don't think he would have played in Kansas City this year? Or Arizona, or New York, or about 10 other teams? Get real. He would have been the starter by mid-season on a lot of teams and not let the job go. This year was amazingly bad for QB's, and you see the fallout in how many heads have rolled in the last week. Russell would have played on a lot of teams and had a stranglehold on the starting job by probably week 8 in about 8 or 9 different cities. The Redskins themselves were going to draft him instead of Cousins, but lost the chance. He would have started games as a backup for sure and done just great. He wouldn't have been a permanent starter, but his performances as RG3's backup would have put the "can he play?" questions to rest in a hurry, since they are running the offense he runs here. I have no doubt that any team that had drafted him would have seen his value quickly. He wouldn't be starting for the Giants or Packers or Falcons, but Andrew Luck wouldn't be either.

HawKnPeppa":1uezozok said:

SkinsGuru":1uezozok said:

why did wilson quit football to play baseball?? not trying to knock on him or start anything, just curious if it was football or baseball that was his first choice??

Click to expand...

Hey didn't really 'quit football.' He had a 1 million dollar offer from the Colorado Rockies and wanted to try his hand at that. He still intented play out his final season of eligibility with NC State, but the coach didn't want him if he couldn't make all of the camps and practices.

While in the farm league, he had time to reflect and decided football was his first love, so he made a big gamble and went to Wisconsin.

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He wouldn't say whether he was going to come back and play football or not, and it appeared as though he was done with football. The NC State coach had to install a new offense for the immobile pocket passer who had been behind Wilson. Only after struggling mightily against minor leagues competition did Wilson decide to come back and play football.

Russell had every intention of playing his senior year. He was in short season minors. There's no reason he wouldn't play his senior year, except his coach was a moron. So he graduated, enrolled in a masters program, and went to Wisconsin. If he were done with football he wouldn't have had that all lined up. Be serious. In order to make it through life you have to take opportunities. Plenty of college football players play in the baseball minor leagues and still continue their education and play football. They just miss some of the workouts. When they are multiple year lettermen you don't need to worry about them missing a beat. They are doing conditioning everyday and typically already have the playbook down.

What it comes down to is a power struggle. The coach wanted to be thought of as master of all, and Russell wanted to make a living and continue his education. You can have both and many do. When the coach balked Russell made the wise decision to use his option to move on. If he hadn't been such a good student, then the coach conceivably could have prevented him from earning a living in the summer playing in the minors and that's what is really pathetic. Russ did right by himself and his family. His work habits in the classroom and the field had afforded him the opportunity to do precisely what he did, but his coach who was a butthead about it shot himself in the foot and in the process increased Russ's profile tenfold. So he loses. He loses badly, and Russ did the right thing.

I've known lots of guys that have gone and played in the minors to supplement their income. It has helped tremendously. Many of them have been able to pay for advanced degrees by doing so. They had no intention of being major league superstars, but they hated being hamstrung by NCAA amateur eligibility rules preventing them from making enough money to survive and move on to a master's degree after exhausting their athletic scholarship. Going off to play baseball is one sure way to make the money that is required to get an advanced degree and not violate any NCAA rules, and also be working only in time where school is out and you won't be impeding your education at all by going off for the summer to play baseball.

pocketprotector":g30w6efp said:

Only after struggling mightily against minor leagues competition did Wilson decide to come back and play football.

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If by "come back" and play football you mean go to an entirely new school, in an entirely new conference, learn a new offense, take the reins of a new team, be voted captain by his new teammates within a couple weeks, then proceed to win 11 games, win this new conference while setting a handful of school records, then get picked in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, costing his team a shocking ONE draft pick, then win 11 games and tie the all-time NFL rookie TD passing record, then yes. He did decide to come back and play football. You get a cookie.

HawkAroundTheClock":2fgsksh2 said:

pocketprotector":2fgsksh2 said:

Only after struggling mightily against minor leagues competition did Wilson decide to come back and play football.

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If by "come back" and play football you mean go to an entirely new school, in an entirely new conference, learn a new offense, take the reins of a new team, be voted captain by his new teammates within a couple weeks, then proceed to win 11 games, win this new conference while setting a handful of school records, then get picked in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, costing his team a shocking ONE draft pick, then win 11 games and tie the all-time NFL rookie TD passing record, then yes. He did decide to come back and play football. You get a cookie.

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Heh heh. Owned.

SkinsGuru":2xq5gqfy said:

why did wilson quit football to play baseball?? not trying to knock on him or start anything, just curious if it was football or baseball that was his first choice??

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lots of athletes in high school are tri sport athletes, his height prolly sorted him out in basketball which left him more time to excel in baseball and football, baseball would have left his leadership skills in the locker room so he may have decided to do what was best for him and his future? sides baseball can be rather slow and unexciting at times..

Russel saw and created more excitement in his first NFL season than most players see their entire career,

c'mon you cant say the cardinals opener wasn't exciting despite the loss, then curbing the cowboys, then the Green Bay game at home? man

I watch football mainly for the excitement and the showcasing of skill, and as a Seahawks fan I sure got my moneys worth this season. :shock:

I was right all along on Wilson, after only seeing his pre-season highlight plays I knew right then this guy was a phenom, a different kind of player, heart, mind, and soul, the stuff that rare men are made of, the stuff winners are made of, that rare awareness.. I saw it right away and it hit me like a ton of bricks... :th2thumbs:

Ask Jeremy Lin what it takes to get an opportunity if you don't fit the mold... How many teams cut him? How long did he sit on the bench? ..... May not be a long term star but he should not have been cut if he had gotten a fair chance. If PC coached basketball and Lin was on his team then things would have been different

PC deserves a lot of praise. If he goes 6-10 this season people would have wanted to fire him.

Do what you believe and at least you can walk through life knowing you had faith in yourself.