The problem with blaming Wilson is that typically at end of games or in the final minutes of a half, if we needed a drive to score...Wilson delivered.
Weirdly, the less opportunity he had to consult with his coaches and the more he had to run on instinct - the better he seemed to do.
This even included passing to the TEs and using the middle of the field.
So it is possible that all of this problem scoring is the result of Wilson's weaknesses. But then we have to account for the above issue.
The less Carroll and his coaches were able to touch the offense, the better Wilson seemed to do.
This whole thing about blaming Wilson for all the problems with the offense is going to be proven if the the Broncos have a good offense (not this coming season but the one after that).
And we won't be able to use the excuse that we have a new QB in another year, so I guess we are stuck waiting 2 years to find out who is right.
But it feels like a lot of this cannot be explained away as being a problem with Wilson, because he seemed to produce well when they relied on him.
We've gone over this issue ad nauseum, and we won't know for 2 years. But I don't think people will EVER consider offense a strength for Carroll and nothing in the recent past gives us a reason to expect he will even be average.
Wilson succeeded at the end of halves because it was then that he would usually be more willing to scramble and buy time. It was then that he would stop running the game plan that he struggled with and basically made sh!t up. For years, players on opposing defenses would go on and on about how what made Wilson dangerous was his knack for going off script and creating. There was no planning for it. If russ could intentionally buy himself 4 seconds, someone would be open, pretty much without fail. Before that 4 seconds, hitting receivers when they were coming open on something other than a fly or curl or quick slant... not so much.
The offense we ran here was Wilson's. Last year was evidence of that. Same plays. Same style. Same stuff Wilson's been going to for years. Wilson got one guy ehoncalled him on his BS fired and then rsn what he wanted, ratherbthan ehat the new OC thought was best.
There was an article written a few weeks ago breaking down exactly what Wilson ran here and how if Denver feels as though they're getting some dynamic, unleashed Rodgers or Mahomes styled play, they're going to be disappointed. Wilson is Wilson and has been from the beginning.
The LOB never once expressed criticism for outdated game plans or schemes that didn't work. They DID express criticism for a coach who wouldn't come down on his qb when he sucked. They knew that the problem wasn't the scheme, but a player who didn't do his job, but got a pass because he'd find a way to make up for it with his incredible talent. But in the meantime, the defense was responsible for keeping games close and even Makin it possible for Russ to have a chance to put together a game winning drive in the end.
It is beyond doubt that Pete coddled and protected Russ to the end. So if the offense wasn't moving the ball through the air to keep the chains moving, but Russ worked his magic, there was zero talk about why the offense stank, because that would expose Russ. Rather, Pete went on about how the game was just 'beautiful '.... 'exactly the way he wanted to see it'. Do you honestly think if the score was 33 to 14, instead of a 17 to 14 nail-biter, Pete would have ever said... 'well, I don't know why we had to score that much... it's risky'?.. hell no. He re-framed his assessment of the performance based on what he knew it would only ever be with Russ - close, because we could never move the chains through the air, but perfect in that we'd 'find a way'.
It was exactly that messaging and lack of accountability for the qb that brought down the house. The D got tired of carrying the water for the team.
Russ's game was and is improvisation, play action, and a handful of 'alert ' audibles that work when a lesser defense shows its hand.
That's it.
And if you watch tape of games where over and over and over and over again, there are plays that worked but weren't executed... it becomes a whole helluva lot clearer. It was clear to Tate. It was clear to ADB. It's been made clear to DK. The only dude that has managed to flourish in Russ's scheme is Tyler because of his uncanny connection with Russ. He ran the play, and then quickly freelanced himself to find the opening in coverage that he knew Russ would see too.
Will we become an explosive dynamo under Geno or Lock? Probably not, because they will give Pete the same cause for caution that Russ did - limitations in hitting the risky throws with anticipation. Russ was deadly accurate in throwing the plays that HE was comfortable with. The rest, he'd bail on, buy time, and hit the guy he wanted when he was open.
But if either Geno or Lock show a knack for moving the chains, getting us in scoring position, and cashing in 3s and 6s when we are there, Pete will take whatever the gameplan yields, without a doubt.
The truth of what went down here won't take 2 years to show itself. Watch the tape, it already has. Denver and everyone else will see by season's end.
And when it does, the cries of how Pete ruined Russ's career and turned him into a shell-shocked shadow of himself will begin. For many, that will be easier than admitting Mr Unlimited was anything but.
