I think Russ is a great guy, honestly. I also think he's been caught up in trying to secure his legacy and place as one of the top 'throwers of the ball' in the NFL - not manager QB, not scrambling QB. And even more so, I think he's trying to destroy the perception that he's good, but not the same guy when he doesn't have a great defense and running game. He's been on a mission over the last 3 years to throw himself into the MVP / HOF conversation and when in conversation, says thing like 'I'm still great... I know I'm great..'. 'I want to be the MVP...'. If you ask me ( and nobody did) I think he's caught up on the idea that he will always be the asterisk qb, in the same way Terry Bradshaw was / is. Great Qb. Yup. HOF good, sure. But woukd you want him over Staubach or Stabler?? Hell no. Terry had a HOf coach guiding a HOF defense and HOF running back and rushing attack. He ran the offense effectively, hit some all time great highlight reel passes to guys like Swann. But Terry's accolades are always are sung in chorus with his those of his equally accomplished teammates.
I think Russ is hell bent on getting out of the shadow of Pete's brainchild, and a team, that if it wins again, will be because he falls back in line, and plays alongside the running game and defense, not in front of it. Which, in a way, is still losing for him in terms of his legacy.
I understand his frustration, but have to agree that it is now very much more about him than it is the team. And I can't begrudge him that. Honestly. Its his career. He has his talents and his shortcomings. If he spends the next 5 years wondering about what might have been if he'd played somewhere else, I think he will regret it for the rest of his life and will have no one to blame but himself.
