People Outside Seattle Just Do Not Understand Russell Wilson

[warden]

Football is a team game. I am glad we have a very good team to support Wilson. There is nothing but awesomeness going on with our team, who gives a chit what the media says.

 

[MarylandHawk]

The reality is a lot of country is still uncomfortable with the idea of a black QB, even someone as likeable as Russell Wilson.

That is incorrect. He's 'not black enough.' :lol:

The ignorance is coming at him in both directions.

The 'not black enough part' is what irks me the most. He's supposed to purposely dumb himself down so he doesn't make his bros look bad. Did you notice how many of his teammates gave him props in the EZ when after the Juke-stiff arm-juke? One guy...our Stanford-grad WR. Perhaps he needs to go heavier on the Ebonics to gain some acceptance.

Black people do NOT say Russell Wilson is not black enough. That crap was either completely fabricated or taken 100% out of context. As for the play, everyone was on the other side of the field, Inside the NFL showed him getting plenty of props from the team after the move.

 

[Trenchbroom]

We don't know what Wilson becomes down the road. The man has the ability to be whatever type of QB he wants to be. Right now he provides for Pete what Pete wants his QB to be. Absent PC, maybe he would provide a Sean Payton the type of QB Payton wants?

Just like Tom Brady. His first two seasons he was the poster boy for a "point guard" QB while his D and running game dominated. Then he worked hard enough to get the game to slow down for him and BOOOOOOOOOOOM...

 

[LoneHawkFan]

All you have to do is take a one hour drive to figure out what the median intelligence level of the general populace is. Many folks drive at the level of their incompetence, so they are easily exposed.

It applies to everything including politics. My own opinion is that we have collectively gone away from fact based intellectualism, and dove into a world of popular opinion propped up by the interconnected consciousness called the internet. There is money to be made from access to a large group of easily accessible dimwits. Hence, the infrastructure reinforces it. Clicks = $$$$ so the dimwits get an uninformed voice.

This example of the Minnesota fan is the smallest of sample size, but very representative. The fact that we are constantly exposed to it collectively pollutes our minds. Clayton should know better than to give the guy a forum, except that he used it as a platform to debunk his argument.

Post of the year. Period. Couldn't agree more nor could I have said it any better.

 

[SeaTown81]

Funny thing is, Wilson has actually been a stud in fantasy football this year. He currently ranks 3rd among QBs, and he actually has an outside shot at #1 if Luck and Rodgers fall flat again in week 17.

Wilson also put up 36+ points in week 16 which is the championship round for most leagues. To put that in perspective, 20 points is considered to be a good outing, like 100 yards for a RB/WR or 300 yards for a passer. In the game that matters the most for fantasy football, he had nearly double that amount.

Wilson is currently better in fantasy football than the consensus #1 drafted QB in August, Peyton Manning.

The antipathy for Wilson definitely isn't coming from fantasy football people. It comes from incurable laggards, who almost 100% of the time also happen to be huge morons in general. It also comes from ESPN analysts who are stuck in the 90's and oughts, and think that a QB is measured by how many 300 yard games he puts up, but not by how much he produces per snap.

Also, there are some others who know damn well that's he's good, but come up with fake reasons to hate him. This is true for 'cheat Carroll' and 'Dick Sherman' as well.

When people point to fantasy football as being the reason it's not as specific as you are taking it. It's popularity of fantasy football and the general trend from it towards volume stats being how you judge and value players. Yes, Russ' running makes him actually a more valuable player. But only his specific owners will realize this. The golden volume passers will continue to get drafted ahead of him next year. Just watch. Perception still remains in his mostly 200 yard passing games. The magical 300 yard game has always been easy standard to say a qb had a good game. And until Russ hits it routinely, lazy ignorant fans will continue to miss the train on this dude.

 

[Laloosh]

Gets a lot easier to handle this stuff when you stop caring what they think. We have a winner... Period.

 

[Scottemojo]

It isn't fantasy football.

It is a mix of football traditionalists, Carroll haters (he is the devil here in the midwest) and people who watch mostly one team, suffering from tribalism, and Russ isn't their tribe.

 

[olyfan63]

It isn't fantasy football.

It is a mix of football traditionalists, Carroll haters (he is the devil here in the midwest) and people who watch mostly one team, suffering from tribalism, and Russ isn't their tribe.

So, are the Seahawks taking over for the Raiders, the new "in" gear to be seen as "defiant", as anti-establishment, as "bad boy", by wearing Seahawks gear? And Lynch or Sherman jerseys for gangstas, but Wilson jerseys to back off that edge just a little bit?

 

[kearly]

When people point to fantasy football as being the reason it's not as specific as you are taking it. It's popularity of fantasy football and the general trend from it towards volume stats being how you judge and value players. Yes, Russ' running makes him actually a more valuable player. But only his specific owners will realize this. The golden volume passers will continue to get drafted ahead of him next year. Just watch. Perception still remains in his mostly 200 yard passing games. The magical 300 yard game has always been easy standard to say a qb had a good game. And until Russ hits it routinely, lazy ignorant fans will continue to miss the train on this dude.

I'll explain it this way. There are certain players who are thought little of around the league that are heroes in fantasy football. Maybe the best example ever: Tony Romo. To the rest of the world, Tony Romo is the guy who chokes in December and January, and who always finishes 8-8. But in the FF world, Romo is the 8th round pick who always produces like a 4th round pick. If anything, the FF community actually acts as a counter-balance to the rampant anti-Romo sentiment you find everywhere else.

With Wilson being a perenial late round pick and now finishing very close to #1 in scoring, he's going to be the guy that takes the mantle from Romo as the QB that FF GMs like more than ESPN does. FF players would be the last people on earth to bash Wilson at this point.

I realize the point you are making, that "fantasy football culture" is more metaphor than fact, but for clarity's sake I'm just pointing out that this is an ironic metaphor at odds with reality.

The idiots who cite 300 yards have nothing to do with FF. They are probably fans of teams who build their franchises in the typical, unimaginative way... with pure passing offense and 1st round draft pick QBs. The Falcons, Packers, Broncos, Colts, etc. They think drafting a QB #1 overall and aiming for 5000 yard passing seasons is the way it's supposed to be done (and then hope to get lucky on defense), because so many teams do it that way.

Let's be honest, the Seahawks used to be this kind of team too, albeit with a 6th round QB they traded for. When your team is having success with a formula, especially when it's a formula that 90% of the league pursues, it has a way of making fans think that their way of winning is inherently superior.

 

[Ad Hawk]

When people point to fantasy football as being the reason it's not as specific as you are taking it. It's popularity of fantasy football and the general trend from it towards volume stats being how you judge and value players. Yes, Russ' running makes him actually a more valuable player. But only his specific owners will realize this. The golden volume passers will continue to get drafted ahead of him next year. Just watch. Perception still remains in his mostly 200 yard passing games. The magical 300 yard game has always been easy standard to say a qb had a good game. And until Russ hits it routinely, lazy ignorant fans will continue to miss the train on this dude.

I'll explain it this way. There are certain players who are thought little of around the league that are heroes in fantasy football. Maybe the best example ever: Tony Romo. To the rest of the world, Tony Romo is the guy who chokes in December and January, and who always finishes 8-8. But in the FF world, Romo is the 8th round pick who always produces like a 4th round pick. If anything, the FF community actually acts as a counter-balance to the rampant anti-Romo sentiment you find everywhere else.

With Wilson being a perenial late round pick and now finishing very close to #1 in scoring, he's going to be the guy that takes the mantle from Romo as the QB that FF GMs like more than ESPN does. FF players would be the last people on earth to bash Wilson at this point.

I realize the point you are making, that "fantasy football culture" is more metaphor than fact, but for clarity's sake I'm just pointing out that this is an ironic metaphor at odds with reality.

The idiots who cite 300 yards have nothing to do with FF. They are probably fans of teams who build their franchises in the typical, unimaginative way... with pure passing offense and 1st round draft pick QBs. The Falcons, Packers, Broncos, Colts, etc. They think drafting a QB #1 overall and aiming for 5000 yard passing seasons is the way it's supposed to be done (and then hope to get lucky on defense), because so many teams do it that way.

Let's be honest, the Seahawks used to be this kind of team too, albeit with a 6th round QB they traded for. When your team is having success with a formula, especially when it's a formula that 90% of the league pursues, it has a way of making fans think that their way of winning is inherently superior.

The difference, obviously, is that Russell has done nothing but win both on the real field and on the virtual field. Fantasy stats are good, win column looks good, and he's a great overall football player. He's so clutch that I'd take him on the field in a 2-minute drive over Romo any day.

Romo? We'll see how far he goes this year on the field.

 

[Scottemojo]

It isn't fantasy football.

It is a mix of football traditionalists, Carroll haters (he is the devil here in the midwest) and people who watch mostly one team, suffering from tribalism, and Russ isn't their tribe.

So, are the Seahawks taking over for the Raiders, the new "in" gear to be seen as "defiant", as anti-establishment, as "bad boy", by wearing Seahawks gear? And Lynch or Sherman jerseys for gangstas, but Wilson jerseys to back off that edge just a little bit?

I'm in the midwest. Gangstas are kind of a rare commodity. So, to answer, I have no idea.

 

[AROS]

All you have to do is take a one hour drive to figure out what the median intelligence level of the general populace is. Many folks drive at the level of their incompetence, so they are easily exposed.

It applies to everything including politics. My own opinion is that we have collectively gone away from fact based intellectualism, and dove into a world of popular opinion propped up by the interconnected consciousness called the internet. There is money to be made from access to a large group of easily accessible dimwits. Hence, the infrastructure reinforces it. Clicks = $$$$ so the dimwits get an uninformed voice.

This example of the Minnesota fan is the smallest of sample size, but very representative. The fact that we are constantly exposed to it collectively pollutes our minds. Clayton should know better than to give the guy a forum, except that he used it as a platform to debunk his argument.

Brilliant. Well put.

 

[Hawkscanner]

No, you're absolutely right Seatown ... a great many fans outside of Seattle just flat out DO NOT GET IT when it comes to Russell Wilson and just how great he truly is.

So many fans (especially the 20-something fans of other teams) are just programmed in to thinking that "elite" equates to 300 yards + passing ... 4 TD's passing a game ... etc. That's what elite is in their minds. They hop on ESPN.com and see that the Seahawks average only 201.9 Yards/Passing Game (29th in the NFL) and automatically think -- Russell Wilson, game manager -- that's all he is. Those guys never seem to stop to think for 1 second that establishing the run first and foremost is a function purely of Pete Carroll's philosophy of what makes for sustained winning football. Rather, those fans see those numbers and automatically think that somehow that's more a reflection on Russell Wilson's lack of passing ability.

Anyone who has watched this Seahawks team for any length of time however has that delusion disappear real quick. As we all know, this guy is one of the smartest most savvy young field generals out there. How many examples can we point to now where he has taken over a game, put the team on his back, and carried them to victory?

Go back and look at the stats of some of the greats from the 70s and early 80s -- Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, John Elway, and even Joe Montana -- all Super Bowl winning QB's that Russell Wilson has comparable (or better) numbers than.

The only cure for such ignorance on the part of such people ultimately, I think, is time. At the end of his career, after Wilson has 3, 4, or more Super Bowl rings in hand they might just finally put down those half-empty lenses for a second and admit to themselves, "Hey, he was a pretty good QB after all".

 

[Veilside]

It's been mentioned before but the way I've seen it since his rookie year is...

Andrew Luck = Peyton Manning
Russell Wilson = Tom Brady

If you really think about it, the similarities are kind of crazy. The relationship won't be the same due to being in different conferences though.

 

[Our Man in Chicago]

Save for Wilson's rushing ability, our team carries the oldest mindset in the game: a smash-mouth D (#1 in the league), a grinding run game (#1), and a timely pass when needed, but only then (#4 in offensive effiency at Football Outsiders). Additional old CW: low turnovers (#2 to Green Bay). No tricky plays or outlandish audibles. Merely: "beat us with what you have."

The fancy uniforms must have everyone confused.

 

[scutterhawk]

It's a height thing coupled with the fact that he's a Seahawk, if he was 6'4 and played for the Cowboys (but had an otherwise identical career thus far) he'd already be being talked about as potentially one of the greatest of all time.

People struggle to accept things that are different and Russell Wilson is not a prototypical QB.

All Of This ^

 

[scutterhawk]

The problem for the common fan is what helps them identify an elite QB. The magical 300 or 4K/5K passing a year is the best they can use to know given lack of true study of the game's best. I would imagine if a QB was putting up 100 yds/game he would be judged a game manager, so what is the line of demarcation to help those that just don't want to invest the extra effort to truly understand the game?

We could say look at the YPA, but what if the number of attempts are 15-20 a game? It seems most folks want to use volume passing as an indicator that the QB is elite and not one of those "running" QB, which has its own code word associated with it.

At the end of the day you have to leave a fool to his own folly. There is no educating you can do for those who have their own preconceived concept of what makes an elite QB.

We don't know what Wilson becomes down the road. The man has the ability to be whatever type of QB he wants to be. Right now he provides for Pete what Pete wants his QB to be. Absent PC, maybe he would provide a Sean Payton the type of QB Payton wants?

I saw the disaster that was Atlanta and this man almost made a legendary comeback, only to be robbed of glory by the now world renown LOB (or Bradley's pucker job). Braylon Edwards stole his legendary pro career storybook beginning. Such is the way of the Seahawks. We do nothing without drama.

I count my lucky stars to have this "game manager" leading the Seahawks in the twilight of my life. Pound sand haters!

Wilson is MORE than a Passer, he is an athletic Ball Mover.

 

[Geologic]

If we did not have Russell Wilson, we would be like the Arizona Cardinals (without Carson Palmer) or the St Louis Rams (without Sam Bradford).

 

[Our Man in Chicago]

If we did not have Russell Wilson, we would be like the Arizona Cardinals (without Carson Palmer) or the St Louis Rams (without Sam Bradford).

I disagree. We have the number one rushing offense - which would still be good without Wilson - and the number one defense in the game.

 

[-The Glove-]

If we did not have Russell Wilson, we would be like the Arizona Cardinals (without Carson Palmer) or the St Louis Rams (without Sam Bradford).

I disagree. We have the number one rushing offense - which would still be good without Wilson - and the number one defense in the game.

So we're a plug and play type team...any decent QB would suffice?