How to resurrect Wilson's career?

[Spin Doctor]

1. Fire Hackett
2. Bring in a hardass head coach that is real with Wilson and holds him accountable. Right now he has no accountability with his "partnership" that he has with Hackett. I think someone like Jim Harbaugh would be a good match.
3.Bring in Schottenheimer again to call plays for Wilson, he seemed to know how to best maximize his skill set out of all the OC's Wilson has been through.

Wilson needs tough love and structure right now. He's being left to his own devices and self-destructing. I think Carroll even coddled him too much. He needs cold hard reality. He's not a movie star, he's a B grade celebrity that needs to focus on his craft. He's surrounded himself with the wrong people. He's in a position where he can't leave Denver either. So if he gets a real hardass like Harbaugh he's stuck with him. Nobody is going to be willing to take on that contract, it's either play or sit on the bench and get fined by the team.

Get rid of the office and come down hard on him and team 3.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Beg PC to take him back and put him in an offense akin to the kiddy lane at the bowling alley that has the inflatable bumpers in the gutters.

Short of that? Sometimes the best way to save a career is to end it. He helps his legacy most by bowing out while he can still attribute his struggles to a HC who's on the hot seat (albeit largely because of him), and an offensive line and backfield that's dinged. up. Do that... and rely on the short attention span of the media to forget how bad he really was without his Seattle safety net.

Hackett is not a great HC either. He's made several decisions that have lost them games. He didn't even call plays in GB. I also don't think his coaching style is what Wilson needs. He needs a real scorched earth hard ass at this point in his career. He's stuck in Denver and they need to bring someone that will enact constraints and give him tough love.

 

[GemCity]

1. Hire a coach who has had major success including a super bowl. Extra credit if he coached a shorter QB to do it. Extra extra credit if you hire Sean Payton.
2. Payton has the credibility to sit Russ down and tell him what's going to happen instead of Russ dictating to him. Drew Brees 'happens' to give Russ a call and helps convince him to buy into Payton's program.
3. Payton has already said how he would coach Russ - go through film of all of his successful plays in Seattle and build an offense around that.
4. Seriously Russ. Do what we tell you. You're not Tom or Aaron, you're Russ.
5. Payton has a chat with Ciara and Russ's nutritionist, and mandates that Russ lose 30 pounds (or whatever will put him at an appropriate weight to get some of his agility back).
6. Payton kicks Team3 out of the building, tells Russ he can visit them on his day off. No, he can't call them during lunch, because....
7. Russ is eating with his teammates from now on. No hiding out in his office with his team.
8. At the start of training camp, Payton meets with the Broncos players and tells them that the team is resetting, and that they need to buy into that. 2022 is over, time to start fresh for 2023. Bury any grudges, buy into the new program.

I think Russ has the discipline to come back, he's proved it. But he needs a coach with as much or more success as he has so that he has to respect him. Hackett is a pushover. Coach and QB can't be partners/peers - the QB wants himself to succeed and thinks that's how the team wins. The coach has the big picture in mind and wants the team to succeed. QB success is a result of winning, not the other way around.

 

[SantaClaraHawk]

He eats nine meals a day, 5000 calories, to lose weight.

NFL quarterback Russell Wilson eats 9 meals and nearly 5,000 calories a day to lose weight

Eating nine meals a day isn't a weight loss tactic for the average person, but for NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, it works.

www.insider.com

 

[FrodosFinger]

We have enough Wilsoncologists on dot net, so a question for all you experts: How would you resurrect Wilson's career? This good thing is that he can't drop much lower, he is currently the laughing stock in football world. On ESPN he is #30 ranked (QBR - 32.2) or #29 (RTG - 82.3); on PFF he is #41 (OFF - 62.7) #42 (passing - 63.4); he is facing hostile teammates and ineffective coaching. Even Colin Cowherd turned against him.

If the Denver Bronco would to pay you, the Wilsoncologist, say $2 mil a year to design a plan to resurrect Russ's career, or at least improve enough so he could have some trade value. What would you suggestions be?

I would tell him to cut the tip of his middle throwing finger off because he has no feeling in it. Can’t spin it. By removing it he can learn to throw with 3 fingers and turn him into a wobbly slant and screen passer like Jimmy G. Oh wait that won’t work Jimmy is 6-2” and Russ is 5-8” with stiletto pumps and can’t see over the line.

 

[James in PA]

I don't think an accomplished coach like Payton touches the Denver job. Wilson is not Brady, Rodgers, Mahomes, etc. but he's being paid like he is. He really weighs down that franchise (no pun intended). The thing that made him a top-tier quarterback at one time was his escapability, but I'm not sure how much of that he can get back even if he loses 20 pounds, simply due to his age. If I'm a guy like Sean Payton, I would much rather have a young quarterback that I can mold and have the cap flexibility to build around him.

 

[Aircrew]

You're just pi$$ed off because Ciara didn't invite you to the birthday party..!!

And set up a batting order.

 

[Cyrus12]

1. Divorce his wife.
2. Fire all the people around him.
3. Lose a lot of weight.
4. Be a better teammate.
5. Actually listen to coaching.
6. Get rid of the clothing line and focus on football.

 

[Jac]

I think it's probably too late to really build out the mental part of his game. That's part of the growing pains that teams go through with young QBs. Wilson was supposed to be delivering a SB-contender now. Plus, he's been through a number of offensive coordinators, and that light bulb has never completely gone on. Nor will he ever really be comfortable throwing to the middle of the field.

From the Broncos POV, I think demanding that he lose weight/improve agility (and designing an offense around that) could help make things salvageable enough to survive the next couple of years until his contract is cuttable (i.e., that style of play isn't feasible for the duration of his contract).

 

[keasley45]

Hackett is not a great HC either. He's made several decisions that have lost them games. He didn't even call plays in GB. I also don't think his coaching style is what Wilson needs. He needs a real scorched earth hard ass at this point in his career. He's stuck in Denver and they need to bring someone that will enact constraints and give him tough love.

Hackett might not be 'great', but the games they've played have been good enough schematically to win. the execution on offense, starting from the QB position has been less than what youd expect from a late round rookie. That's why they've lost.

And to say that Russ needs someone to be a hard ass... Wilson has been in this league for 11 years. If he needs a disciplinarian to help him 'get right'... he's not worth the paper his quarter of a billion dollar contract is written on.

And Hackett is EXACTLY the kind of coach he said he wanted. And the plays that Hackett has implemented, have for the most part been EXACTLY the kind of plays Russ was clamoring for and accusing the Hawks of not running and as a result, wasting his career over.

Its not like a Rex Ryan type is going to come in and tie the dude to a desk and all of a sudden get him to learn how to play the position. What's a hard ass going to do to get Russ to see his receivers running wide open all over the field? ... Other than bench him... which is exactly what SHOULD happen. But whats benching going to do to get him to figure out qb'ing in year 12?

But yes, that hard-ass is going to look at the situation there and say 'screw that, if the QB cant make basic reads, then give me someone who will... pre-school is over'.

Its beyond apparent how lacking Wilson is in being able to play the position in a traditional way. I'd wager the only place he could have accomplished what he did, for a coach that embraced the way he played was in Seattle.

Its simply not possible for him to rewind the clock to regain his strength and speed, nor realistic to assume he can pop back into an offense that the entire league has already figured out, and flourish again.

A coach like Peyton - his creativity and infinite talent would be wasted on a player that isnt capable of picking up basic concepts.

Hackett said it himself this offseason when he was asked how he was working with Russ.
His answer - that he was trying to get him to understand what his first and second reads were...

let that sink in for a sec before claiming all Wilson needs is another coach. ... In year 11, he's spending his preseason having his coach explain to him where his first and second reads are.

And while at the time, folks thought it was taken out of context to assume Hackett meant Russ 'wasnt getting it', it is now plainly obvious in week 12 that the guy still doesnt understand what he needs to do. And its not like he 'got it' in Seattle either. It is literally why he was pulled from 'cooking' in 2020 and why the offense was so inconsistent last year. He doesnt know how to run an offense.

Its not a question of motivation. Its simple ability... or lack thereof.

 

[IndyHawk]

He's not going to quit and lose the money that his wife has her talons in lol.
I think he will piss away the HOF chance and so called legacy with it.
Going back to BTalon reply on my post:
He could regain some "magic" until he fools himself again into thinking he is a
pocket passer.
This is why I call him Bi Polar in some posts he can't stick with any plan or maybe
he just has ADD.

 

[keasley45]

1. Divorce his wife.
2. Fire all the people around him.
3. Lose a lot of weight.
4. Be a better teammate.
5. Actually listen to coaching.
6. Get rid of the clothing line and focus on football.

Whats with all the Ciara hate? You do understand that she came alonmg just when all of the personalities on the team that kept Mr Unlimited, 'limited', ego wise, were politely permitted to leave, right? So between Russ having to check his 'persona' at the door (and along with it, maintain accountability for his play) because he had teammates calling him out when necessary... and then all of that going away and being replaced by a coach who enabled him, and Ciara somehow influencing him in a way that apparently caused him to lose the mental focus to play the game... which do you think is MOST plausible?

AND... Russ sought out Ciara. That's well known. He WANTED whatever you want to call the lifestyle they have together. And there are plenty of A-list athletes who are also off the field celebs and red carpet regulars who manage to maintain a high level of play.

Russ's issue is Russ.. Not his coach, or his coordinator, or his wife.

 

[SantaClaraHawk]

Whats with all the Ciara hate? You do understand that she came alonmg just when all of the personalities on the team that kept Mr Unlimited, 'limited', ego wise, were politely permitted to leave, right? So between Russ having to check his 'persona' at the door (and along with it, maintain accountability for his play) because he had teammates calling him out when necessary... and then all of that going away and being replaced by a coach who enabled him, and Ciara somehow influencing him in a way that apparently caused him to lose the mental focus to play the game... which do you think is MOST plausible?

AND... Russ sought out Ciara. That's well known. He WANTED whatever you want to call the lifestyle they have together. And there are plenty of A-list athletes who are also off the field celebs and red carpet regulars who manage to maintain a high level of play.

Russ's issue is Russ.. Not his coach, or his coordinator, or his wife.

His wife is a coenabler. These ads under the WilsonFamily Twitter of them supposedly having sex doggie style to sell your jointly owned perfume brand is just like ewww.

She’s like him in that she’s rode hard and still thinks she can be an aging superstar.

 

[Boycie]

Honestly I like the idea of him taking a pay cut and recruit some talent...it worked for John Elway.

It would get better players around him and help his image.

Can he actually take a paycut on his current and new contract without screwing up the cap with dead money and all of that stuff that I have no idea about?

 

[SantaClaraHawk]

Can he actually take a paycut on his current and new contract without screwing up the cap with dead money and all of that stuff that I have no idea about?

You ever see Breaking Bad? The scene where Skyler has 80 million stacked in a storage unit? “Where she says, “How big does this pile have to be?”

 

[GemCity]

Hackett might not be 'great', but the games they've played have been good enough schematically to win. the execution on offense, starting from the QB position has been less than what youd expect from a late round rookie. That's why they've lost.

And to say that Russ needs someone to be a hard ass... Wilson has been in this league for 11 years. If he needs a disciplinarian to help him 'get right'... he's not worth the paper his quarter of a billion dollar contract is written on.

And Hackett is EXACTLY the kind of coach he said he wanted. And the plays that Hackett has implemented, have for the most part been EXACTLY the kind of plays Russ was clamoring for and accusing the Hawks of not running and as a result, wasting his career over.

Its not like a Rex Ryan type is going to come in and tie the dude to a desk and all of a sudden get him to learn how to play the position. What's a hard ass going to do to get Russ to see his receivers running wide open all over the field? ... Other than bench him... which is exactly what SHOULD happen. But whats benching going to do to get him to figure out qb'ing in year 12?

But yes, that hard-ass is going to look at the situation there and say 'screw that, if the QB cant make basic reads, then give me someone who will... pre-school is over'.

Its beyond apparent how lacking Wilson is in being able to play the position in a traditional way. I'd wager the only place he could have accomplished what he did, for a coach that embraced the way he played was in Seattle.

Its simply not possible for him to rewind the clock to regain his strength and speed, nor realistic to assume he can pop back into an offense that the entire league has already figured out, and flourish again.

A coach like Peyton - his creativity and infinite talent would be wasted on a player that isnt capable of picking up basic concepts.

Hackett said it himself this offseason when he was asked how he was working with Russ.
His answer - that he was trying to get him to understand what his first and second reads were...

let that sink in for a sec before claiming all Wilson needs is another coach. ... In year 11, he's spending his preseason having his coach explain to him where his first and second reads are.

And while at the time, folks thought it was taken out of context to assume Hackett meant Russ 'wasnt getting it', it is now plainly obvious in week 12 that the guy still doesnt understand what he needs to do. And its not like he 'got it' in Seattle either. It is literally why he was pulled from 'cooking' in 2020 and why the offense was so inconsistent last year. He doesnt know how to run an offense.

Its not a question of motivation. Its simple ability... or lack thereof.

I agree on all of your points. I think some of us replied with changing coaches as they are stuck with Russ.
That doesn’t mean an established coach would want to take that on.
It doesn’t mean that Russ would change.

Regardless of what they try, I think Russ is washed.

But if I had to change one thing…..

 

[bigskydoc]

If I had to rehab his career, and I had complete authority to do so, I would do the following.

1 - Bench him for the rest of this season.

2 - Fire Hackett, and bring in a hard nosed, smash mouth, traditional football coach. Jim Harbaugh, Nick Saban, Greg Roman. None of this is Hackett's fault, but he won't resurrect Wilson's career now.

2 - Sit him down, and tell him that he is no longer "partners" (or whatever they called it) with the head coach. He is a Bronco. He is a team-mate. He is an on-field lieutenant, not an on-field general.

3 - Force him to give up anything that distances him from the team (office, entourage, etc.) while on company time. Reinforce with him that he is a team-mate. Period.

4 - Sit with him, and tell him that if he has aspirations of entering the HOF, winning another Super Bowl etc, he must restructure his contract, to bring in help.

5 - The hardest part - sign a Derrick Henry caliber runner in free agency.

6 - Bring in Schotty, Bevell, or Roman to develop a simple, run heavy, play action based offense, utilizing pistol formations, rollouts and basic misdirection passes. Simplify the routes your receivers are running. Give Russ time and space to do the one thing he still does well, throw a deep miracle on "broken" plays.

7 - Lean heavily on your defense to carry the team, and remind Wilson that the defense is protecting his legacy.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Hackett might not be 'great', but the games they've played have been good enough schematically to win. the execution on offense, starting from the QB position has been less than what youd expect from a late round rookie. That's why they've lost.

And to say that Russ needs someone to be a hard ass... Wilson has been in this league for 11 years. If he needs a disciplinarian to help him 'get right'... he's not worth the paper his quarter of a billion dollar contract is written on.

And Hackett is EXACTLY the kind of coach he said he wanted. And the plays that Hackett has implemented, have for the most part been EXACTLY the kind of plays Russ was clamoring for and accusing the Hawks of not running and as a result, wasting his career over.

Its not like a Rex Ryan type is going to come in and tie the dude to a desk and all of a sudden get him to learn how to play the position. What's a hard ass going to do to get Russ to see his receivers running wide open all over the field? ... Other than bench him... which is exactly what SHOULD happen. But whats benching going to do to get him to figure out qb'ing in year 12?

But yes, that hard-ass is going to look at the situation there and say 'screw that, if the QB cant make basic reads, then give me someone who will... pre-school is over'.

Its beyond apparent how lacking Wilson is in being able to play the position in a traditional way. I'd wager the only place he could have accomplished what he did, for a coach that embraced the way he played was in Seattle.

Its simply not possible for him to rewind the clock to regain his strength and speed, nor realistic to assume he can pop back into an offense that the entire league has already figured out, and flourish again.

A coach like Peyton - his creativity and infinite talent would be wasted on a player that isnt capable of picking up basic concepts.

Hackett said it himself this offseason when he was asked how he was working with Russ.
His answer - that he was trying to get him to understand what his first and second reads were...

let that sink in for a sec before claiming all Wilson needs is another coach. ... In year 11, he's spending his preseason having his coach explain to him where his first and second reads are.

And while at the time, folks thought it was taken out of context to assume Hackett meant Russ 'wasnt getting it', it is now plainly obvious in week 12 that the guy still doesnt understand what he needs to do. And its not like he 'got it' in Seattle either. It is literally why he was pulled from 'cooking' in 2020 and why the offense was so inconsistent last year. He doesnt know how to run an offense.

Its not a question of motivation. Its simple ability... or lack thereof.

Hackett isn't even good, he's a pushover and even his offensive scheme has been questionable at times. He's running LaFleur's system, which is notoriously hard to pick up. It took Rodgers awhile to get it down, albeit he never looked as helpless as Russell Wilson. In addition to this, Hackett is a pushover that is clearly in over his head. Sometimes the Denver receivers don't even look like they know what they're doing. The whole offense looks disjointed and out of synch. Part of that is Wilson for sure, but the receivers, the line all of it look to be struggling in picking everything up as well. In addition to this, his situational calls and time management are quite possibly among the worst in the NFL.

Wilson is being left to his own devices and he's grenading himself. He needs someone to give him accountability. No more of this "having your own office" in the Denver building, no more of this "partnership" arrangement. He needs somebody to ride him hard and show him the hard reality. Sure, he's not grasping the offense, but don't you think some of that could be on Hackett himself as well?

Russell Wilson has no accountability right now. He can pretty much do or say anything he wants. He really needs someone to reel in these delusions of his. 'Team 3' should not be allowed on Denver practice premises, only number 3. This whole arrangement is patently absurd. Russell Wilson isn't even doing the basic things that he was able to do in Seattle over in Denver.

I think more than anything, Wilson needs someone to be real with him. Carroll coddled him and protected him from criticism. I get why Carroll did it, but I think it is now time for a reality check for Mr. Wilson. It's better than just trotting out a scheme that he clearly is unfit for.

You can want to be good at something all you want, but it's also very easy to be delusional about what you can and cannot do, which is Russ's case. I think at this stage in his career he needs someone to ride him hard. Hackett not a leader, hell his record as an OC outside of GB is pretty miserable, turns out he wasn't even calling the plays in GB.

 

[BlueTalon]

2. Payton has the credibility to sit Russ down and tell him what's going to happen instead of Russ dictating to him. Drew Brees 'happens' to give Russ a call and helps convince him to buy into Payton's program.

I think it might be worthwhile to bring in Drew Brees as a QB consultant. He is someone Russ has previously said he respects, and he has the body of work to demand respect. And he played the position as someone who is vertically challenged.

 

[SantaClaraHawk]