UK_Seahawk":xm2wj307 said:
I was going to say lets be honest here who really thought RW was going to be the stud that he is? John Schneider and Kearly and that's about it.
I'll say this as respectfully as I can. I understand Kearly knows his stuff and this is not directed at him at all. But, he's not the only fan on .net that knows a thing or two about football. He does put in a lot of time and has written many appreciated and valuable posts for the benefit of the .net community (and perhaps a larger audience, as some have suggested that's a pursuit.) Seems like whenever someone wants to make a blanket statement about who knows what... this is the assumption and default thing to say. It's simply not true. (Again, nothing against Kearly. He most definitely knows his stuff.)
There are others who were very excited to see the potential of Wilson drafted to the Seahawks. I'm certainly not the only one, but I literally jumped for joy (yes, for a 3rd round pick!) and may have even shed a tear when they made that bold move. I was convinced that other than the negativity about his height, he was a starting NFL QB that QB needy teams would very likely regret passing on him. (I even told a friend who is a Browns fan that Wilson should be their guy since they were going to miss out on A. Luck and RGIII - and instead of Weeden - before someone else could get him in the 2nd or 3rd rounds.)
I have watched the draft for as many years as I can remember. When a guy like Gruden identifies a player with off-the-charts leadership, it gets my attention. This was a discussion topic (I think last year) about "who knew" sort of thing. The point is, there are more people than you think that speculated just as much (especially with all the "other than his height" discussion going on leading up to the draft.)
I don't think ANYONE honestly "knows" for certain (unless they are a time-traveler) about any player. There are even high first round busts (sore subject, I know.) Really, it's guys like Schneider and his staff that deserve the credit. It's those that prepared Wilson and got him recognized that deserve credit. Not any of us... including (no offense, Kearly) the mighty .net Kearly. It's nice of you (and others) to compliment Kearly and perhaps you and others mean it that way, but seems like it's done so to the degree of almost completely dismissing any other knowledgeable fans.