Wilson's Speed/Quickness Yesterday

[JimmyG]

Anyone else think Wilson looked really slow yesterday? On a few of those sacks he took he looked really slow and lethargic. Over time his cat-like agility has slowed down a bit, but yesterday was quite jarring for me. He looked like a totally different player.

A lot of sacks Wilson takes are because he holds onto the ball too long; regardless, sometimes that makes for really entertaining football, because he's dancing around and making defenders look silly. I can't remember any instances of his signature "Houdini escapability" yesterday, but maybe I'm just not remembering some.

I know about 70% of the replies in this thread are going to be "well you'd look slow too if you had no offensive line and defenders were in the backfield within .000001 milliseconds of the snap!" Even if you think the offensive line was terrible, the line being terrible and Wilson looking like he's lost some agility are not mutually exclusive. So please, spare me the apologetics, this isn't a discussion about our OL, it's about his quickness.

 

[2_0_6]

NO

 

[irfuben32]

It looked like he didn't play in the preseason.

Russell is a slow starter. I wish they would draw up some designed runs for him in the first quarter to get his blood flowing.

 

[HawkerD]

When he has that escapability aspect it is usually as his internal clock is about to expire. Yesterday the pressure was from everywhere and he was barely back in his drop. The oline was about as bad as it has ever been. Or maybe that was selective memory.

In any case Russ is likely slowing down. He is in his thirties and has taken quite a number of hits. I couldn't tell you how many times he was on the ground yesterday but it seemed like a lot. We are very lucky to have a QB as durable as RW, especially considering the state of our oline over his career. If he was brittle as say Nick Foles, we'd be in deep trouble.

 

[Spin Doctor]

He did look noticeably slower, he also didn't look like he had the same change of direction. Whether he really is slower or not we shall see play out over the season. It was a very small sample size.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

There were a couple plays early where Wilson looked a little hesitant when in the past he would have spun out and scrambled.

Not sure if that's a quickness thing, or indecision thing.

But in general, no he looks like the same as he has the past couple years. He's never going to look like he did his first 4-5 years, he's just not.

Having said that, I'm tired of waiting until the 4th quarter for him to keep the ball on the zone reads. At LEAST 3-4 times he could have kept in the first three quarters and got some yards, the defense isn't even respecting him running anymore.

So either keep it more Russell, or stop calling the RO plays.

 

[TreeRon]

I thought he looked less quick when evading the rush. I was also surprised to see him caught from behind by a D lineman on a RO. I don't know if that would have happened with a skinnier younger RW.

 

[Seymour]

You too would look very slow when completely surrounded by the enemy with nowhere to go. ukeface:

 

[rcaido]

Nope, i think the Cinci D was just really fast and great tacklers....Look at Carson who look very pedestrian yesterday. Scary D-line.

 

[xray]

I looked at some Wilson highlights from past seasons and he has definitely lost a couple steps . He has gained weight over the years and that hasn't helped him either . I wonder if the play calling is affecting his reaction time too ; he looked confused at times . IMO

 

[Shanegotyou11]

He is slower and its obvious. It was obvious last yr even with the big run vs the vikes. Some people are in denial. Its ok he has slowed down, he isnt super young anymore. Its what it is.

 

[rcaido]

Maybe blame Ciara...Women weaken legs

 

[DomeHawk]

I thought so and several people sitting nearby mentioned it also.

 

[2_0_6]

As long as he stays healthy and moves the ball down the field, I have no issues with him being a step or two slower.

 

[blazen2392]

He's Just getting older. He wasn't always going to be the same scrambler forever. Even with our front office knowing this they still haven't found him the protection he needs.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Maybe blame Ciara...Women weaken legs

I believe this is the first blame Ciara post..............Si, tell rcaido what he's won!

 

[Bobblehead]

I think he's transitioning to something more traditional and may through the process be a little indecisive with his decisions. He seems like he really wants to stay the pocket ala Rivers or Brady, but I don't think he's totally confident about it yet... it's just a matter of time until he learns and will then execute it. Kind of tough with Ifedi breaking down like that as well.

 

[Sports Hernia]

There were a couple plays early where Wilson looked a little hesitant when in the past he would have spun out and scrambled.

Not sure if that's a quickness thing, or indecision thing.

But in general, no he looks like the same as he has the past couple years. He's never going to look like he did his first 4-5 years, he's just not.

Having said that, I'm tired of waiting until the 4th quarter for him to keep the ball on the zone reads. At LEAST 3-4 times he could have kept in the first three quarters and got some yards, the defense isn't even respecting him running anymore.

So either keep it more Russell, or stop calling the RO plays.

Yep, he needs to keep it a lot more on the RO. Most of the time the opponent isn’t even pursuing him on the play.

 

[AROS]

He's noticeably slower. It doesn't help when his OL says "COME ON THROUGH BOYS!"

 

[BamKam]

Yea it is called getting older. Once you approach the 30 mark, you slowly but surely start to lose that early to mid 20s speed. Luckily, his passing has improved to balance it out.