Per SI: Steelers Done with Russell Wilson

[IndyHawk]

@Ozzy would like to know your thoughts! Thanks!

Oh he already knows, credit to him though because he stands by
his QB ..
I just can't do it, I'm the worst person when it comes to QBs ..
I like maybe two to three in all of the NFL.

 

[toffee]

Are you part of Team3s media mouthpiece?

I applied but sadly wasn't honored with an interview. The rejection letter was kindly worded, the reason was there are already enough resources on .NET

 

[RiverDog]

So now Wilson has worn out his welcome with three teams in just over three years despite playing the most in-demand position in the sport. The front offices of the three NFL teams that know Wilson and his ability best don't want him near their teams. I greatly look forward to the Russellettes' explanations of why those teams are wrong and don't understand how to evaluate a player like Wilson as well as the Russellettes do.

Wilson only lasted two seasons (instead of just one) with the Broncos because the dead-money hit from cutting him was so enormous that they held out as long as they could and prayed giving Wilson the head coach he had wanted since he was with the Seahawks would at least push him up near the average-quarterback range. After two years, there was just no way to justify continuing with that contract for a lower-third-quartile (sixth-octile) quarterback. And despite the Russellettes telling us Wilson had actually played well in 2023, the Broncos were less unhappy taking an $85M dead-cap hit over two seasons than keeping him around. The Broncos will still have a $32M hole in their 2025 cap because of Wilson. Given how much and how quickly the team improved between 2023 and 2024 by replacing Wilson with a rookie quarterback who could actually run the head coach's system, imagine how strong the team could have been if the Broncos hadn't made the two biggest mistakes in franchise history - trading for Wilson and giving him a contract extension. Yikes.

I'm probably about 80% in with your line of thinking, but you are making quite a few assumptions.

Russell's biggest problem is his inability and/or unwillingness to change his style of play to account for his advancing age. Especially given his size limitations, he has to get the ball out of his hands much quicker. IMO that was one of his biggest problems with Sean Payton in Denver, that Payton wanted him to pull the trigger on pre-determined routes while Russell was always looking for the home run. He throws the prettiest deep ball in the game, and it has him addicted to it.

 

[Kamcussionator]

It's going to be telling when he hits the open market and Pete Carroll gives him the Taylor Mays treatment...

 

[keasley45]

I'm probably about 80% in with your line of thinking, but you are making quite a few assumptions.

Russell's biggest problem is his inability and/or unwillingness to change his style of play to account for his advancing age. Especially given his size limitations, he has to get the ball out of his hands much quicker. IMO that was one of his biggest problems with Sean Payton in Denver, that Payton wanted him to pull the trigger on pre-determined routes while Russell was always looking for the home run. He throws the prettiest deep ball in the game, and it has him addicted to it.

Its not that he isnt unwilling to change his style of play, he CANT change it. For years the dude pined for a Drew Brees styled offense. He lobbied openly for Sean Peyton thinking SPs genius could elevate him in ways PCs couldn't. But the fundamental flaW in Wilson's game has been there from the beginning- he simply cannot process information quickly enough to succeed in a typical NFL scheme that requires the QB to make quick decisions, react according to what he is seeing, and distribute the ball on time within the flow of the play-call. Russell NEVER did that. Not in 2013, not in 2017, not in 2019 or 2020... never. He simply overcame this inability by extending plays with his legs and finding success on a play by virtue of his other talents.

But functioning in a traditional offense, let alone one that is sophisticated (read qb friendly, but reliant on fast decions) was never in the cards for Russ. He (just like 95% of qbs who try to do what the great pocket passers in league history do) cant see the game quickly enough in that first 3 seconds after the snap to operate in a 'standard' NFL offense.

The fact that he succeeded in playing his style of football and that he did so in a system that bent itself sround his shortfalls for so long is utterly amazing and flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

He is 1 of 1 in the history of the league. And that is a mark to be proud of.

AND - he cant read defense.

 

[toffee]

Its not that he isnt unwilling to change his style of play, he CANT change it. For years the dude pined for a Drew Brees styled offense. He lobbied openly for Sean Peyton thinking SPs genius could elevate him in ways PCs couldn't. But the fundamental flaW in Wilson's game has been there from the beginning- he simply cannot process information quickly enough to succeed in a typical NFL scheme that requires the QB to make quick decisions, react according to what he is seeing, and distribute the ball on time within the flow of the play-call. Russell NEVER did that. Not in 2013, not in 2017, not in 2019 or 2020... never. He simply overcame this inability by extending plays with his legs and finding success on a play by virtue of his other talents.

But functioning in a traditional offense, let alone one that is sophisticated (read qb friendly, but reliant on fast decions) was never in the cards for Russ. He (just like 95% of qbs who try to do what the great pocket passers in league history do) cant see the game quickly enough in that first 3 seconds after the snap to operate in a 'standard' NFL offense.

The fact that he succeeded in playing his style of football and that he did so in a system that bent itself sround his shortfalls for so long is utterly amazing and flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

He is 1 of 1 in the history of the league. And that is a mark to be proud of.

AND - he cant read defense.

OK, I will bite on a slow processor, but I am not buying into him can't read defenses. I think it's one thing reading and knowing what the defense was trying to do, but formulating a plan to the advantage or counter the defense takes longer with Wilson't processor.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Laughable take on Russ. Yet if someone has a negative take on Geno.........people lose their minds.
The gift that keeps on giving, 3 years later.

 

[pittpnthrs]

Russ has been broken for a long time. His tenure in Seattle was ravaged with terrible OL's in which he was running like a chicken with his head cut off and game plans that were doomed to fail and depended on him to improvise for quarters at a time in order for the team to have any chance at winning. He is locked into that style of play and trying to change his game at this point is useless.

 

[IndyHawk]

Russ has been broken for a long time. His tenure in Seattle was ravaged with terrible OL's in which he was running like a chicken with his head cut off and game plans that were doomed to fail and depended on him to improvise for quarters at a time in order for the team to have any chance at winning. He is locked into that style of play and trying to change his game at this point is useless.

From what I have read, he has always run to open passing, this is going
back to college.
So, tell me how does any OL block for someone who holds the ball too long
and runs wherever?
Pete gave him the simplest offense to thrive out of with OL blocking the best
they could.

BTW
You ever look at his sack numbers? They are high every year

Russel Wilson Sacks By Year | StatMuse

Russell Wilson was sacked 33 times in his rookie season in 2012.

www.statmuse.com

 

[Cyrus12]

Laughable take on Geno. Yet if someone has a negative take on Russ.......people lose their minds.
The gift that keeps on giving, 3 years later.

Fixed it

 

[Cyrus12]

Russ has been broken for a long time. His tenure in Seattle was ravaged with terrible OL's in which he was running like a chicken with his head cut off and game plans that were doomed to fail and depended on him to improvise for quarters at a time in order for the team to have any chance at winning. He is locked into that style of play and trying to change his game at this point is useless.

So not coachable...old dog and new tricks apply

 

[toffee]

Laughable take on Russ. Yet if someone has a negative take on Geno.........people lose their minds.
The gift that keeps on giving, 3 years later.

But we have geNOs to keep them honest.

 

[keasley45]

Russ has been broken for a long time. His tenure in Seattle was ravaged with terrible OL's in which he was running like a chicken with his head cut off and game plans that were doomed to fail and depended on him to improvise for quarters at a time in order for the team to have any chance at winning. He is locked into that style of play and trying to change his game at this point is useless.

He ran like a chicken half the time because thats how he plays. If he'd gotten the ball out when it was supposed to, he wouldnt suffer the sacks he does. He's had high sack numbers everywhere because no line can protect him from himself.

 

[toffee]

He ran like a chicken half the time because thats how he plays. If he'd gotten the ball out when it was supposed to, he wouldnt suffer the sacks he does. He's had high sack numbers everywhere because no line can protect him from himself.

You might nail it, accidentally or purposely, when the defense figured out how to catch a chicken when it was running in circles, Rocky's oooops, Wilson's magic days were over.

 

[RolandDeschain]

From what I have read, he has always run to open passing, this is going
back to college.
So, tell me how does any OL block for someone who holds the ball too long
and runs wherever?
Pete gave him the simplest offense to thrive out of with OL blocking the best
they could.

BTW
You ever look at his sack numbers? They are high every year

Russel Wilson Sacks By Year | StatMuse

Russell Wilson was sacked 33 times in his rookie season in 2012.

www.statmuse.com

A really simple offense makes the quarterback's life HARDER, not EASIER, in many ways. When defenses get to cheat a lot more by knowing what you're going to do half or more of the time, good execution becomes orders of magnitude more difficult. We can discuss Russell's flaws and shortcomings ad infinitum for the next 20 years, but absolutely NOTHING will change the fact that we had stupidly simple offensive SCHEMING to go along with way too much simplistic play calling almost every year Russell was a Seahawk, and you could still have more disguised offensive schemes even if your QB is a drooling moron. This aspect of our woes under Pete Caroll rests solely on him. Our OL was also not as bad as they looked overall because of this aspect. It's like the difference between walking up an icy winter hill where the sidewalk on the left side of the road was salted, and the right one wasn't, and we just stubbornly insisted on walking up the right sidewalk for years; you're making your life harder for no damn reason.

 

[IndyHawk]

A really simple offense makes the quarterback's life HARDER, not EASIER, in many ways. When defenses get to cheat a lot more by knowing what you're going to do half or more of the time, good execution becomes orders of magnitude more difficult. We can discuss Russell's flaws and shortcomings ad infinitum for the next 20 years, but absolutely NOTHING will change the fact that we had stupidly simple offensive SCHEMING to go along with way too much simplistic play calling almost every year Russell was a Seahawk, and you could still have more disguised offensive schemes even if your QB is a drooling moron. This aspect of our woes under Pete Caroll rests solely on him. Our OL was also not as bad as they looked overall because of this aspect. It's like the difference between walking up an icy winter hill where the sidewalk on the left side of the road was salted, and the right one wasn't, and we just stubbornly insisted on walking up the right sidewalk for years; you're making your life harder for no damn reason.

I get your blaming Pete more than Me3..
Me3 has had 7 different OCs in his time, so I think it's more on him than
the HCs.
What QB has had that many OCs?
Again, I get the Seattle offense was weak in scheme, but it was the best for
a QB who was limited.
People didn't want to see it or admit it but should have after he left.

 

[keasley45]

A really simple offense makes the quarterback's life HARDER, not EASIER, in many ways. When defenses get to cheat a lot more by knowing what you're going to do half or more of the time, good execution becomes orders of magnitude more difficult. We can discuss Russell's flaws and shortcomings ad infinitum for the next 20 years, but absolutely NOTHING will change the fact that we had stupidly simple offensive SCHEMING to go along with way too much simplistic play calling almost every year Russell was a Seahawk, and you could still have more disguised offensive schemes even if your QB is a drooling moron. This aspect of our woes under Pete Caroll rests solely on him. Our OL was also not as bad as they looked overall because of this aspect. It's like the difference between walking up an icy winter hill where the sidewalk on the left side of the road was salted, and the right one wasn't, and we just stubbornly insisted on walking up the right sidewalk for years; you're making your life harder for no damn reason.

Russel was not capable of anything but simplistic offense.

He didn't run Schotty's scheme half the time even though it worked.

He ignored what Waldron did and Russ under him looked just like Russ under Schotty.

Then Geno under Waldron looked like an actual drop back read and throw offense that was good enough to garner Geno an MVP vote - Same OC, same 'conservative' HC, entirely different results.

Meanwhile Russ goes to Denver and trues to run a scheme that was anything but conservative and fails. Then he gets an offensive genius to call in plays and famously is forced to wear a wristband because he cant get the terminology down. 15 games in, he is benched, then cut, for failing to run a real offense.

Pittsburgh? Different team, same story.

And say what you want about D Bevell, but when he left here, the offenses he called in Detroit were anything but conservative. In the two years he was there, Detroit finished in the top 10 in passing yards and both years were better than Seattle's passing offense.

The offense was dumbed down for Russ because that's what he was capable of. Since he's been forced to play within a system and actually run non simplified plays, he has been on the struggle bus and this year, tried again to live off script and ignore his OC, just like he did in Seattle.

 

[SuperSonic67]

Russell Wilson will be out of the league in 2025…and the reason we talk about him “3years later” is because he was a big part of bringing us our first Super Bowl win. The rest is history…and he’s his own worst enemy

 

[James in PA]

This is a direct quote from Russell Wilson just under three years ago:

"My goal is to play 10 or 12 more years and hopefully win three, four more Super Bowls, that's the plan," Wilson said.

 

[keasley45]

This is a direct quote from Russell Wilson just under three years ago:

"My goal is to play 10 or 12 more years and hopefully win three, four more Super Bowls, that's the plan," Wilson said.

Someone should tell him the CFL doesn't have Super Bowls...