Since when did someone have to be perfect before you could root for him? I feel that our emotions about players and teams have gone off the tracks. It's fine to be disappointed when your team loses, but those feelings of hatred and disgust is going too far.
Agree 100%
When Zorn was QB, I pulled for him and thought that on any given Sunday, he could be magic. He was the team's QB, it's leader, and I wanted him to succeed. Zorn was also flawed.
When Kreig took over, I told everybody I could that in any year, he could be a top 5 QB. When he was hot there were only a handful better. When he struggled, he lost games for us - on his own. But I pulled hard for the dude, loved what he did well, cringed at his TOs and tendency to look like he was clueless every now and again.
The next bunch... McGuire, Stouffer, Kemp, Friez... None were ever good long enough to think they good make it for us and all cale at a dark time for the franchise. But as bad as they were, I never hated them.
Kitna - one of my all time favorite Hawks QB for his fight and grit. He was so lacking in almost every key QB metric but he just went out and played hard and won the games he could.
Moon- I was ecstatic when he took over. He ran the offense like a HOFer and although he was definitely on the decline by the time he got here, for the first time in forever, I felt as though if we put a team around him, we could be great. And then he was gone. He was the first QB we ever had who I thought was good enough all around for us to be a contender.
Hasselbeck - streaky. Master of Holmgren's offense. As hot as anyone when the O was clicking. But damn could he make the untimely mistake. And when the offense was off time, so was he. I loved Hass's game, but the dude was never on his own, a game changer. Rooted for him anyway.
Russ - the dude was magic and had a rabbits foot stuck up his ass for the first 5 or 6 years here. THE PLAYS AND HIGHLIGHTS he made are second to none. His ability to win a game on his own, off script, just making stuff up... Amazing. But like the others, he was flawed. Let him play his way, all was good. Need him to play in a way that allowed for balance and schemability... Not so much. I loved what he did when he was great and the league had figured him out. I tired of his play after that and saw him as a liability as much as a piece to build a team around. But again, like the others, he was our QB.
Geno - ultra talented and it's a shame he didn't land in a spot where he could have started before he ended up calling the shots for us. Incredibly underrated. And also maddeningly self destructive. He could make every throw, anywhere on the field and thread the needle. He could also just randomly toss one up to the opposition when he lost his discipline... Or inexplicably scramble out of bounds for a 12 yard loss in a critical moment. But for the first time in a dozen years, we had a QB who could run the offense and who had the XS and OS accumin to do whatever was asked of him. He just didn't have the leadership or maturity of judgement that a QB needs to be elite. Still appreciated everything he did for us when he was here because for almost 3 years, he was the only thing in this team that consistently worked.
sam - he can do most of what every one of his oredecessors could in terms of being able to escape when he has to, diagnosing defenses, making every throw, and hitting the big play. His accuracy, timing, and arm strength all flirt with the elite category. AND he has an uncanny ability to brain fart and forget everything he has learned in the most inopportune moments. But by all accounts the players respect him and believe in his ability to shake if mistakes and keep fighting. That means a lot. And on this team, the combination of his strengths, his flaws and the team he plays for could combine to create a transcendent moment for him and the franchise. Or. He could implode and everything we could have had this season ... Lost. But he is our QB, and I hope to hell his fate is the former and not the latter.
In all the years I have watched this team I have done so as a fan of the team, of the sport, and of the strategies that go into building winning teams and resilient cultures. I always rooted hard and literally cried the first time we made the SB, sobbed when we won in our 2nd appearance - and I won't talk about our 3rd trip, but cried tears of joy 2 weeks prior when we came back to beat the Pack in the NFCCG. Regardless of how I ever felt about any of our QBs capabilities, I never rooted against them. I was never happy when they failed. I never saw the need to drag any of them down based on their character or who they were off the field. I was disappointed with all that came out about Russ and his 'charity work' as well as his he departed. I felt it was anti-team. But when he was here, my honesty in assessing his play (or any of the others that came before him or have played here since) was just honest criticism.
None of the guys who have ever suited up at QB in the history of this franchise has had it all. Maybe Moon would have been the closest in his prime, but we got him well after that. None were above honest and obvious criticism. But never had honest and objective debate been so twisted and taken as offense - as if criticism is slandering the person and discarding the good aspects of their game - anti player, anti Seahawk.
I guess it's a symptom of society overall because you feel and hear the same kind of division everywhere. We have become to quick to draw lines and have forgotten about the value of the word AND... that two things CAN and often Do exist at once. In football terms, that a player can be great and flawed at the same time.