Riq Woolen Apology

[Nv_Hawks]

Any chance of him resigning here is gone. That money is now going to Walker.

 

[Tusc2000]

I think the part of this that makes me think he might be gone is that once team mates call you out for doing stupid shit - and it appeared there were multiple around him doing so - you don't continue to argue. You say "My Bad" and then shut your fool mouth and sit the **** down. He did not appear to do that - he kept jawing at his teammates. Not saying he cannot be saved - but it is a bad look.

When a rookie chews you out on the sidelines, well, that's something you don't see every day.

 

[LeveeBreak]

The problem is that this isn't the first time this kind of crap has happened. They've been told all season long and have seen that garbage called against themselves as well as their opponents. When will he learn? What's it going to take?

Some things in life just aren't forgivable, and in my book, that was one of them.

Having said that, I think that the refs did a very good job of officiating. There were a lot of close calls, in particular PI calls on both sides, that they could have called but let go.

Glad you and MM don't read from the same book.

 

[Torc]

No, what he was saying is the refs gave him every reasonable chance to not be penalized and were finally basically forced to throw the flag.

I get that. I was going for some sarcasm and that didn't translate well.

 

[LeveeBreak]

The impressive part is a rookie confronting a veteran for being a complete idiot during the biggest game of the season.

Yep...Emm just vaulted himself into team leadership.

 

[TwistedHusky]

We are better with him than without him.
We don't make the SB without him. Period.

He acknowledged the mistake. He owned it. Apologized. Hopefully to the team too.

Not clear what else people want. Him to cut off a finger? Ritual blood sacrifice? What?
If we lost because of him. thats one thing. But if every time he does it we win - I'm fine with it.

This might make him easier to re-sign + keep. So it could be a blessing in disguise.

 

[LeveeBreak]

I can't imagine how thick the .net vitriol would have been regarding the taunting penalty had Seattle lost. Would have been one of the most ballistic things we've ever seen around here, and entirely justified. Fortunate we stayed with it and kept them scoreless in the final quarter.

Riq will almost certainly finally "get it" now, and I don't think trying to unload him should be a priority, if at all.

This^^^^^

MM will use this as a catalyst to put Riq's maturation on hyperdrive. The market might force him to go somwhere else, but if he's bought in to the program, he should be in the 2nd tier priority signings.

 

[pmedic920]

I've changed my mind somewhat. I still don't forgive Woolen, at least not at this time. What he did was inexcusable, and damn near cost us a trip to the Super Bowl. No thanks to him, we were able to persevere. But that could change depending on what he does from here on out.

If he goes into the Super Bowl and plays his a$$ off, puts his heart and soul into playing all around defense instead of loafing like he's done so often in the past, shuts down his receiver, sacks the QB, makes sharp, crisp tackles, makes an interception or two, then I'll re-assess my position as far as forgiving him goes.

Actions, not words, is what it's going to take for me to forgive him. Don't come to me begging for forgiveness by crying on my shoulder and saying you're sorry. Suck it up, Buttercup, and go play football!

I also stated that if he stays we will see some very good play from him.

But that doesn’t solve the problem.

His liabilities outweigh his upside.

Not sure there is the perfect answer, for me it’s adios MF

 

[pmedic920]

We are better with him than without him.
We don't make the SB without him. Period.

He acknowledged the mistake. He owned it. Apologized. Hopefully to the team too.

Not clear what else people want. Him to cut off a finger? Ritual blood sacrifice? What?
If we lost because of him. thats one thing. But if every time he does it we win - I'm fine with it.

This might make him easier to re-sign + keep. So it could be a blessing in disguise.

Not me, I don’t want dirty players either, even if we win with them.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

He's a lucky boy. If we had lost he would have been chased out of Seattle and been infamous. It's hard to get near or to the top of the mountain and many teams don't ever get back, especially with such a bone headed mistake. Look at how many teams that lose the AFC/NFC championship game that never get back there.

I hope he balls out in the super bowl now. He went from probably getting a bumper contract with that 3rd down stop to probably losing a lot of money.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

The big problem I see is what happens in Santa Claus. Does New England taunt him and we draw a penalty that we can or may not recover from? That is my concern.

 

[Fresno Hawk]

All we need is for him to play one more game with no stupidity. Then let uppermanagemnet deal with it. We need him this next game and he needs to understand that. 1 more freaking game.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Not me, I don’t want dirty players either, even if we win with them.

Is Woolen 'dirty'?
Is taunting 'dirty'?

You must have hated Browner then. He WAS dirty. But not to injure, just loved to fight people. And man, I loved that dude. He was also good for 1-3 penalties per game. But God it was worth it. (You could easily argue that losing Browner was one of the biggest reasons we lost that SB). I miss that dude and I don't care how many people he killed or didn't kill.

Woolen is more a talker than a fighter. I've never once seen him try to injure or hurt an opposing player. Has he ever even punched an opponent? (Myles Garrett swung a helment at a QB...and I love watching that dude too. Would LOVE to magically get him on the Seahawks)

Woolen is mouthy. And honestly, he has been through a lot. Used to make a ton of mistakes. Was mercilessly ripped here and by his coaches. Somehow put it together (this year!) and became our best corner. But he still yaps like a little dog too much. If that is the cost of his play? Might be worth it. MM knows how good he is. Know how? MM kept putting him on Puka...even in man. (Yes, he immediately gave up that TD...but you could argue the coaches failed him there. Also Puka has burned enough corners this is not an indictment). The rest of his play was key to keeping the Rams from coming back.

 

[NoGain]

The first thought that comes to my mind about that Riq penalty was thank god the folks I was watching the game with were good friends of mine and fellow Seahawk fans because I went apoplectic when it happened. Anyone else might have thought I was crazy. I was so beside myself I couldn't calm myself down. All I could think of was if we lose this game because of that royal act of stupidity it would be placed on the Seahawk wall of infamy to live forever along with the ref loss to the Stealers and the play call against the Pats.

 

[Ad Hawk]

Shaking McVay's hand was a whole lot easier because we won.

Swallowing his pride and approaching McVay after losing, and possibly because of his inability to control himself when needed? That would have been far harder.

 

[RiverDog]

I also stated that if he stays we will see some very good play from him.

But that doesn’t solve the problem.

His liabilities outweigh his upside.

Not sure there is the perfect answer, for me it’s adios MF

I agree 100%. He has one more game to prove himself and if he doesn't show some significant improvement, it's "Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya!"

Regarding his apology, I will say that it's a good sign that he admitted that he's to blame and that he owns it. It's no different than drug rehab. The first step towards recovery is recognizing that it's a problem and that you're the only one who can solve it.

 

[RiverDog]

Not clear what else people want. Him to cut off a finger? Ritual blood sacrifice? What?

I don't want a frigging apology. I want him to play his a$$ off, blanket receivers, sack the quarterback, put the hit on ball carriers. I want him to earn whatever forgiveness I'm willing to give him. Actions speak louder than words. I hope that's clear enough.

This might make him easier to re-sign + keep. So it could be a blessing in disguise.

If he doesn't turn things around, I'm finished with him. He was a borderline player to start the year, had been benched for sloppy tackling by two different coaching staffs, improved mid-season to the point where he was a decent starter, and now he's a liability again, damn near cost us a trip to the Super Bowl. He'd damn well better prove his worth in the Super Bowl.

 

[TwistedHusky]

I don't want a frigging apology. I want him to play his a$$ off, blanket receivers, sack the quarterback, put the hit on ball carriers. I want him to earn whatever forgiveness I'm willing to give him. Actions speak louder than words. I hope that's clear enough.

If he doesn't turn things around, I'm finished with him. He was a borderline player to start the year, had been benched for sloppy tackling by two different coaching staffs, improved mid-season to the point where he was a decent starter, and now he's a liability again, damn near cost us a trip to the Super Bowl. He'd damn well better prove his worth in the Super Bowl.

He's our best CB, in terms of coverage.

His worth is being one of the pieces that GOT us to the SB. If the Defense was a big reason we went to the SB - starting CB is a big piece of making a defense successful.

 

[RiverDog]

He's our best CB, in terms of coverage.

His worth is being one of the pieces that GOT us to the SB. If the Defense was a big reason we went to the SB - starting CB is a big piece of making a defense successful.

He's so-so in pass coverage. PFF graded him out at a 62.1 in coverage, which is average to below average. His overall defense earned him a 60.1 grade, or 65th out of 112 ranked cornerbacks that met the minimum snaps threshold. When you consider that there's 64 starting cornerbacks in the league, being ranked 65th isn't much to brag about.

Our top cover corner was Devin Witherspoon, who was PFF's top ranked cornerback in the league. His coverage grade was 88.6. Woolen definitely contributed like all of the guys did, but not to the level at which I think you're suggesting IMO.

Having said that, Woolen improved immensely over the course of the season, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he'd better damn well play like he's possessed in the Super Bowl.

 

[Torc]

Woolen is mouthy. And honestly, he has been through a lot. Used to make a ton of mistakes. Was mercilessly ripped here and by his coaches. Somehow put it together (this year!) and became our best corner. But he still yaps like a little dog too much. If that is the cost of his play? Might be worth it. MM knows how good he is. Know how? MM kept putting him on Puka...even in man. (Yes, he immediately gave up that TD...but you could argue the coaches failed him there. Also Puka has burned enough corners this is not an indictment). The rest of his play was key to keeping the Rams from coming back.

Macdonald called out that play in his radio show and said that he called a bad play.