Which moment sold you on Wilson?

[vin.couve12]

Not any one real game. I learned not to do that over the years. What eventually struck me though is the repeated ice cold performances down the stretch. Given that I'm not even sure that a soph slump is remotely possible.

 

[tooshort]

broke my ankle/fibula october 2011..watched WAAAY too much tape during the downtime and was sold on the IDEA of RW before the draft.

The preseason highlights and the final drive vs the Cards definitely increased my belief in Dangeruss as an immediately functional pro. Soon the final drives vs. the Packers,Pats,Lions and Bears cemented the REALITY of Wilson's ability to "tilt the field".

Sitting 2nd row in Atlanta watching him progress to the point where he was the most dominant player on the field (and the resulting comeback) left me in serious jaw to the floor awe.

 

[Smoke]

I was worried about the Sweezy/Wilson rookie starting combo, and during the opening AZ game, they were terrorizing us at that spot. I was really scarred for Clay Matthews and Raji that game. I saw RW's rapid progression with getting better line protection calls in that game in, and of course beating the Pack ith a game winning INT really made it clear that he has the power of Tanzania on his side....That game really sold me.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

All of them.

 

[ErikG803]

KC game made me root for him to be the starter, the Lions game was when I was sure I wanted him to stay there. (I was close after New England but the TNF against the 9ers was extremely frustrating, even if it wasn't completely his fault)

 

[olyfan63]

"With the 75th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select...."

Ditto. I'd watched his Wisconsin highlights (un-freakin-believable) and was hoping and praying the Seahawks would snag him. My mock had the Seahawks selecting him in the 3rd round. Blind luck, not claiming any special skill, just a hunch. I somehow knew that if we got him, he would do amazing things here.

The kid is a gunslinger. Watch his college highlights. When he's your QB, you always have a shot.

 

[cacksman]

Like many others, I was pretty "meh" when we drafted him. Not disappointed, but not giddy like I should have been.

I went back and found a post on a fantasy football message board which I posted on April 30.

Russell Wilson highlights from last season in Wisconsin.

http://www.youtube.c...player_embedded

Some notes from watching:
His play action? Sick, seems like everyone on D bites. Could be important with Lynch and Turbin.
Way faster than I expected.
Great pocket skills (granted these are highlights but judging from his numbers, most of his plays were highlights)
+ arm strength and touch on his throws.

I've also read that Wilson had maybe the biggest hands of any QB in the draft, which can help in rainy Seattle for holding on to the ball.

Also, due to his high release point, his release point compares to RGIII and last season he had less passes batted down than Luck and Griffin.

The reason he fell in the draft is solely on height but Wilson is superb at finding throwing lanes, something Brees has been able to do in his time in the NFL.

I haven't even covered his character yet, he was named team captain within 20 days of being on the Wisonsin football team.


One of the huge things Pete Carroll preaches is limiting turnovers and Wilson is a master at this. His freshman year at NC State the dude threw for 17 TDs and 1 INT! Last year, 39 total TDs, 4 INTs.
$$$$$$$

I was a little intrigued by that point.

I was sold on Wilson once he was named the starter over Flynn. The Dallas game cemented it. I knew he could be special once he went 15-20 with a TD and no INT's during his 2nd NFL game.

 

[ivotuk]

Late in the opening game at Arizona. That defense was decimating our offensive line and he was under constant pressure, getting hit, huge defensive linemen coming from any and all directions, and dude hung in there cool as a cucumber making throws, keeping plays alive and giving 3 different receivers the opportunity to win the game at the end. Wow, just f*cking wow! I think on that last pass Braylon Edwards wanted to :escape:

 

[themunn]

I said the Atlanta game but when I think back to how I felt during that game... every time Wilson got the ball I expected us to score. So it must have happened before then.

Then again, I expected us to score against Chicago, but still had that lingering fear that I might just end up disappointed. Maybe it was the 49ers game. 12-13 on third down or something.
4 TD passes against one of the best defenses in the league

 

[Anonymous]

He had me at "hello"

This post best sums my feelings as well.

As others have indicated, his Gruden show stood out for me as well. The way in which he recognized coverages and the responsibilities of the individual defensive players within a given alignment was head and shoulders above the other "contestants" JG had featured. His off-field knowledge of th X's and O's being so dialed in, I just knew he was going to have the mental part down before he even hit the field.

Success: where preparedness meets opportunity.

 

[volsunghawk]

"With the 75th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select...."

Yup. That was it for me. I had paid attention to Wilson after he left NC State. Obviously, not on the level of Kip or any draft-centric guy, but I had heard that this phenom of a QB had left NC State and was trying to decide where to finish up. My alma mater was on the short list, apparently, but he didn't choose them. So I sorta/kinda watched him a little at Wisconsin and was really impressed. Figured some team would get a steal with him. SO glad it was us.

And on top of that, I was never in Flynn's camp (as I'm sure some folks might remember). So when we drafted Wilson, I was already ready to ship Flynn out of town.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I was sold when he was at NC State. Im amazed at how many were sold early on, you wouldn't have guessed that by these forums early in the season. This forum was pretty divided.

 

[Throwdown]

Kansas City preseason when he dropped a 40 burger on the Chiefs.

 

[The Yugoslavian]

I knew we had something in the pre season, but the last half of the Chicago game made me a believer.

 

[NYCoug]

I saw this play a few years ago and remembered thinking at the time that Russell Wilson was going to be a beast. He just had a way of making crazy, unbelievable things happen. Things that at first you would write off as fluke, but then over time you'd realize he had a knack of doing it again and again. And that was at NC State. I had no clue back then that he would go to Wisconsin, end up a Seahawk. I didn't think he'd end up a Seahawk because I figured the NFL was so rigid in it's thinking that he wouldn't get a chance because of his height. When I heard his name called on draft day, in the 3rd round, I was in a pure state of amazement. I seriously couldn't believe that the dude I thought would never get a shot was about to get a very real one and with our favorite team. It was one of my favorite moments as a Hawks fan and it was then that I knew that the Seahawks/Wilson marriage was too perfect and that the starts must be aligning for Seattle after years of abject misery. Here's the play I'm talking about that told me Russell Wilson was the real deal Hollyfield...

[youtube]pch-yYmCy98[/youtube]

 

[hawkfan68]

The Monday night game against Packers. He held his own against them. Even if they had lost that game, it was apparent that Wilson had taken over this team.

 

[Killa Kam]

He has me sold at the Kansas City game that he should be our starter and the Patriots game that he was our future.

 

[Hawknballs]

I was actually pretty excited when we drafted him, and was rooting for him all along but took some time to be sure about him. I love underdog stories and wanted to see him succeed where everyone else said he would fail. And after getting to know him more through interviews and stuff how can you not want him to win?

 

[Killa Kam]

He had me sold at the Kansas City game that he should be our starter and the Patriots game that he was our future. Not going to lie though, I did start to question if we jumped the gun on making him the starter after the first St Louis game, and if we were better off with Flynn; which is funny because I hated the Flynn signing

 

[MANUNITED23]

As soon as I saw him speak.