Why I am disappointed in Russell Wilson?

[SeaToTheHawks]

The recent contract talks have caused most of us a good deal of angst and I found myself unconsciously blaming RW. As I listened to the arguments from the "pay-the-guy-whatever-it takes" camp, I found myself questioning my POV. I began to realize that I should not really care about the process/outcome of the contract negotiations so much as feel disappointment at the erosion of the image I had built of a larger than life persona.

The only person to blame here is me since the mental image was my construction, what I hoped it would be. RW did not explicitly claim that self-image. The key here is explicitly.

There was and still is an implication that RW is a team-first guy. From his cultivated demeanor on camera, the organized team practices in Hawaii, to his visits to children's hospitals and more importantly - his signature sign-off post interview line "Go Hawks". They all bespoke what "most of us assumed" to be a team guy. That assumption is contrary to the reported contract demands from his agent. The switch-over to a "me-first", I get sole credit for wins argument eroded the team-first image. Recent statements by both player and agent seem to confirm that this line of argument originates from them.

RW has to know the impact of his contract on the ability of this team to sustain success in future. He also has to know that this is a team (owner, GM & coach) that will spend all it can to ensure continued success - this is not the Cincinnati Bengals or the Pittsburgh Pirates. Assuming these statements, I cannot but feel disappointment that he does not feel the need to share that burden/further that goal.

RW has the right to extract every dollar that he can sell this or any other team on. That said, would I feel cynical the next time he says "Go Hawks", you betcha!

Good post, and I was in the same place a while back. Big fan of RW, steadfast in my support even though a part of me recognised he had some struggles. Then a report (correct or otherwise) came out saying he wanted to be the highest paid QB in the NFL, which made me think of Baltimore and Flacco and how they had to pay him top QB money even though he's nowhere near the top QB in the NFL in my opinion.

So I thought of that in terms of Wilson, and I don't believe that Wilson is the top QB in the NFL, either. In fact, over the past year he has raised several questions that I'm really needing to see answers to this year:

1: Is he a pit bull or a golden retriever? Loyal to his team, or is his loyalty transferable to whoever has the food (money)?

2: How unsettled is his private life? After the divorce, he's been hanging out with his entourage and celebs and is now dating a minor celebrity, placing himself squarely in that ring. How many distractions come with that?

3: Slow starts. Is this a correctable issue? Because if anything it seems to be getting worse.

4: Game-winning drives. Relates to slow starts in that he digs himself a huge hole to come back from, then gets praise for coming back from it. How about we just thrash the hell out of some teams and win comfortably?

5: Has he plateaued? His thing seems to be to hold the ball until all the routes break down then play sandlot ball until he finds an open guy. Can he improve on his read times and hit receivers on their routes? Or is this just his thing, and as good as its going to get?

6: Is Wilson genuine? The receivers like Baldwin and Kearse seem like a tight group, but are rarely associated with Wilson outside of game time. Is there chemistry there or do the "real" guys like Baldwin not relate to the cliches. Do they see a real person or a pretender? Do they buy in to his shtick?

7: The dude is hearing voices. Says it's god telling him the interception was His will, says it's god telling him to be celibate with his model GF. Look, people can have their religion and it doesn't bother me, but literally hearing voices? That's going off the deep end a bit.


My "faith" in Wilson is severely shaken compared to what it once was. I still recognise him as a talent, but am no longer defensive of his flaws. Where once I would have blamed some starts on Bevell or scripted plays or whatnot, I now see it as a flaw in Wilson's game. Where once I would have excused the SB interception, I now believe he wanted to win the game as an ego thing and forced a pass that wasn't on. And what I used to see as using cliches as a defense mechanism that allowed him to be more confident to the media, I now see as a cheap plastic veneer and wonder how deep the person is inside.

Literally one of the worst posts I've ever read.

 

[brimsalabim]

The guy is happily fulfilling his crappy contract and somehow that isn't enough!

This pretty much says enough on the subject. Russ does all the things mentioned above happily and represents the hawks well in every instance even though he has been the lowest paid starting QB in the league for the past three seasons and will be again this year.

 

[Tical21]

If half of the guys that the public believes were choir boys actually were, this would be a much different era. You can't let these types of things form your opinion of a guy. Do I really need to be the guy that builds Russell Wilson back up? C'mon.

The one only reason that I dislike Russell less now than I did a few months ago is because I believe the Seahawks have offered him something in the 22 mil per year range, and he has turned it down. That would be pretty disappointing.

Source?

C'mon now. Everybody in the world besides Russell and his agent know what the right number is. I'll ask you. Do you think there is any chance whatsoever that they haven't offered 21-22?

There are clear numbers on both sides of the equation. This should have been a three day negotiation. For it not to be, one of the sides must be truly unreasonable, and unreasonable to me doesn't fit what Schneider and Carroll have been doing on the contract negotiation side, for the players that they would like to keep. Unless they have identified Russell as a player that they really don't want to keep, which risks a public lynching, the only conclusion to draw is that they have been fair in their negotiations. Fair meaning 21-22 with a good portion guaranteed and a healthy signing bonus. I, as pessimistic as I am, literally think there is a 0% that this has not been offered. They wouldn't have offered 20 per year without being willing to go up to 22. No chance.

This is all about Russell wanting 25-30 APY, guaranteed in a way that nobody has ever done before. This is not negotiating, this is holding a franchise hostage. It isn't about "get what you can" anymore. It isn't about "pay me for my play, Mr. fringe-elite QB." This is about being a bit of an arrogant jerk solely because you are a franchise QB for a team that doesn't have another one to replace you with.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Truth is, you cannot be disappointed with Wilson yet because he has surpassed most reasonable expectations.

If by disappointed you mean disappointed on a personal level? I am not sure where to go with that because the reality is unless you know the guy - you have no idea who he really is. Neither do I. So you are just disappointed that he does not meet the standards of the illusion you created, or does not mesh with current branding that Wilson and his team built for him.

Most of highly visible celebrities are nothing more than branding exercises. Very little light will be shined on who the person actually is, just a carefully crafted persona built instead to capture marketing dollars, appeal to certain segments etc.

Is he getting too deep into character to the point that his projected image starts taking on undertones that are less attractive to the general consumer/ fan? Possibly. Maybe that can work in our favor though.

Regardless we need him to meet or exceed expectations, even as our expectations rise with success - because we are faced with the reality we will have to let some of our draft successes or FA successes go to better paychecks or bigger contracts. Right now, the plan is to offset that with Wilson doing even more to help us win than he is.

If he can do that, you have no reason to be disappointed.

 

[Year of The Hawk]

Do you think we would have the success the last 3 years if we had paid RW top tier money those 3 years? Cuts would have been made somewhere else. We got him this year for 1.5 million. Sweet. Most teams would sell there souls for a elite QB for that money. We should be signing and saving for when his contract does come up for real. Good quarterbacks are expensive. That is just the way it is. IN RW position I would take a media black eye for several more million in negotiations. Wouldn't you? They will figure all this out. Till then it is all just pure speculation on who is not being fair in negotiations.

IMHO I think he knows they will not give him more money this year so lets start the negotiating this year for big money for the next off season.

 

[pmedic920]

I like many .netters have been a Seahawk fan from day one.
This "Pete Carroll" era, so far has been the most enjoyable.
The optimism that I had for last season and have for this upcoming one, is strange. Very pleasant and enjoyable but strange. Not to mention how it felt to see in person, my team beat the 9ers in the NFCCG and go on to win SB48.
I'm on record many times stating that I love our ownership and trust our FO. I can't control even the slightest aspect of any players contract negotiations, and I'm not going to allow any worry of such, to mess up how I'm feeling.
I fully understand why so many get caught up with it but I'm not doing it.
Personally, I think they all are way over paid but I support them getting all they can get. My hope is that the FO will keep things in order and won't allow any 1 or 2 contracts derail the train.

See my sig :{)

 

[AROS]

Nothing about the contract negotiations has changed my opinion on Russell Wilson.

Now choosing not to have sex with Ciara certainly has! :stirthepot:

 

[Anonymous]

(*cough, cough... his agent... cough, cough...*)

Duh.

 

[HommyHawk]

If half of the guys that the public believes were choir boys actually were, this would be a much different era. You can't let these types of things form your opinion of a guy. Do I really need to be the guy that builds Russell Wilson back up? C'mon.

The one only reason that I dislike Russell less now than I did a few months ago is because I believe the Seahawks have offered him something in the 22 mil per year range, and he has turned it down. That would be pretty disappointing.

Source?

C'mon now. Everybody in the world besides Russell and his agent know what the right number is. I'll ask you. Do you think there is any chance whatsoever that they haven't offered 21-22?

There are clear numbers on both sides of the equation. This should have been a three day negotiation. For it not to be, one of the sides must be truly unreasonable, and unreasonable to me doesn't fit what Schneider and Carroll have been doing on the contract negotiation side, for the players that they would like to keep. Unless they have identified Russell as a player that they really don't want to keep, which risks a public lynching, the only conclusion to draw is that they have been fair in their negotiations. Fair meaning 21-22 with a good portion guaranteed and a healthy signing bonus. I, as pessimistic as I am, literally think there is a 0% that this has not been offered. They wouldn't have offered 20 per year without being willing to go up to 22. No chance.

This is all about Russell wanting 25-30 APY, guaranteed in a way that nobody has ever done before. This is not negotiating, this is holding a franchise hostage. It isn't about "get what you can" anymore. It isn't about "pay me for my play, Mr. fringe-elite QB." This is about being a bit of an arrogant jerk solely because you are a franchise QB for a team that doesn't have another one to replace you with.

Always Compete....in all aspects of life ,he's the epitome of Pete Carroll's philosophy.#championatlife

 

[Hawkfan77]

The recent contract talks have caused most of us a good deal of angst and I found myself unconsciously blaming RW. As I listened to the arguments from the "pay-the-guy-whatever-it takes" camp, I found myself questioning my POV. I began to realize that I should not really care about the process/outcome of the contract negotiations so much as feel disappointment at the erosion of the image I had built of a larger than life persona.

The only person to blame here is me since the mental image was my construction, what I hoped it would be. RW did not explicitly claim that self-image. The key here is explicitly.

There was and still is an implication that RW is a team-first guy. From his cultivated demeanor on camera, the organized team practices in Hawaii, to his visits to children's hospitals and more importantly - his signature sign-off post interview line "Go Hawks". They all bespoke what "most of us assumed" to be a team guy. That assumption is contrary to the reported contract demands from his agent. The switch-over to a "me-first", I get sole credit for wins argument eroded the team-first image. Recent statements by both player and agent seem to confirm that this line of argument originates from them.

RW has to know the impact of his contract on the ability of this team to sustain success in future. He also has to know that this is a team (owner, GM & coach) that will spend all it can to ensure continued success - this is not the Cincinnati Bengals or the Pittsburgh Pirates. Assuming these statements, I cannot but feel disappointment that he does not feel the need to share that burden/further that goal.

RW has the right to extract every dollar that he can sell this or any other team on. That said, would I feel cynical the next time he says "Go Hawks", you betcha!

Good post, and I was in the same place a while back. Big fan of RW, steadfast in my support even though a part of me recognised he had some struggles. Then a report (correct or otherwise) came out saying he wanted to be the highest paid QB in the NFL, which made me think of Baltimore and Flacco and how they had to pay him top QB money even though he's nowhere near the top QB in the NFL in my opinion.

So I thought of that in terms of Wilson, and I don't believe that Wilson is the top QB in the NFL, either. In fact, over the past year he has raised several questions that I'm really needing to see answers to this year:

1: Is he a pit bull or a golden retriever? Loyal to his team, or is his loyalty transferable to whoever has the food (money)?

2: How unsettled is his private life? After the divorce, he's been hanging out with his entourage and celebs and is now dating a minor celebrity, placing himself squarely in that ring. How many distractions come with that?

3: Slow starts. Is this a correctable issue? Because if anything it seems to be getting worse.

4: Game-winning drives. Relates to slow starts in that he digs himself a huge hole to come back from, then gets praise for coming back from it. How about we just thrash the hell out of some teams and win comfortably?

5: Has he plateaued? His thing seems to be to hold the ball until all the routes break down then play sandlot ball until he finds an open guy. Can he improve on his read times and hit receivers on their routes? Or is this just his thing, and as good as its going to get?

6: Is Wilson genuine? The receivers like Baldwin and Kearse seem like a tight group, but are rarely associated with Wilson outside of game time. Is there chemistry there or do the "real" guys like Baldwin not relate to the cliches. Do they see a real person or a pretender? Do they buy in to his shtick?

7: The dude is hearing voices. Says it's god telling him the interception was His will, says it's god telling him to be celibate with his model GF. Look, people can have their religion and it doesn't bother me, but literally hearing voices? That's going off the deep end a bit.


My "faith" in Wilson is severely shaken compared to what it once was. I still recognise him as a talent, but am no longer defensive of his flaws. Where once I would have blamed some starts on Bevell or scripted plays or whatnot, I now see it as a flaw in Wilson's game. Where once I would have excused the SB interception, I now believe he wanted to win the game as an ego thing and forced a pass that wasn't on. And what I used to see as using cliches as a defense mechanism that allowed him to be more confident to the media, I now see as a cheap plastic veneer and wonder how deep the person is inside.

Literally one of the worst posts I've ever read.

I second that

 

[erik2690]

C'mon now. Everybody in the world besides Russell and his agent know what the right number is. I'll ask you. Do you think there is any chance whatsoever that they haven't offered 21-22?

There are clear numbers on both sides of the equation. This should have been a three day negotiation. For it not to be, one of the sides must be truly unreasonable, and unreasonable to me doesn't fit what Schneider and Carroll have been doing on the contract negotiation side, for the players that they would like to keep. Unless they have identified Russell as a player that they really don't want to keep, which risks a public lynching, the only conclusion to draw is that they have been fair in their negotiations. Fair meaning 21-22 with a good portion guaranteed and a healthy signing bonus. I, as pessimistic as I am, literally think there is a 0% that this has not been offered. They wouldn't have offered 20 per year without being willing to go up to 22. No chance.

This is all about Russell wanting 25-30 APY, guaranteed in a way that nobody has ever done before. This is not negotiating, this is holding a franchise hostage. It isn't about "get what you can" anymore. It isn't about "pay me for my play, Mr. fringe-elite QB." This is about being a bit of an arrogant jerk solely because you are a franchise QB for a team that doesn't have another one to replace you with.

Jason at OvertheCap said on the Fieldgulls podcast that he figured they would have made RW highest paid right away. So this "everybody in the world" isn't quite as true as you might think. If he thinks he's better than Cam by a decent margin then the logic really isn't too convoluted. I don't know where you are pulling these 25-30 numbers from. That isn't widely reported at all. How does he possibly get "holding hostage" blame when the team has the guns? They can franchise him and he's on a 1.5 this year. How is this different than what Flacco did assuming he doesn't sign this offseason? Except Flacco was making more on that last year I believe.

 

[Hawkfan77]

If half of the guys that the public believes were choir boys actually were, this would be a much different era. You can't let these types of things form your opinion of a guy. Do I really need to be the guy that builds Russell Wilson back up? C'mon.

The one only reason that I dislike Russell less now than I did a few months ago is because I believe the Seahawks have offered him something in the 22 mil per year range, and he has turned it down. That would be pretty disappointing.

Source?

C'mon now. Everybody in the world besides Russell and his agent know what the right number is. I'll ask you. Do you think there is any chance whatsoever that they haven't offered 21-22?

There are clear numbers on both sides of the equation. This should have been a three day negotiation. For it not to be, one of the sides must be truly unreasonable, and unreasonable to me doesn't fit what Schneider and Carroll have been doing on the contract negotiation side, for the players that they would like to keep. Unless they have identified Russell as a player that they really don't want to keep, which risks a public lynching, the only conclusion to draw is that they have been fair in their negotiations. Fair meaning 21-22 with a good portion guaranteed and a healthy signing bonus. I, as pessimistic as I am, literally think there is a 0% that this has not been offered. They wouldn't have offered 20 per year without being willing to go up to 22. No chance.

This is all about Russell wanting 25-30 APY, guaranteed in a way that nobody has ever done before. This is not negotiating, this is holding a franchise hostage. It isn't about "get what you can" anymore. It isn't about "pay me for my play, Mr. fringe-elite QB." This is about being a bit of an arrogant jerk solely because you are a franchise QB for a team that doesn't have another one to replace you with.

The Hawks organization and FO have been tight lipped about everything. But now all of the sudden everyone knows for a fact every little detail and aspect of this contract negotiation? I don't buy it.

 

[Donn2390]

The guy is happily fulfilling his crappy contract and somehow that isn't enough!

It wasn't a crappy contract three years ago when he was a nobody and would have gladly played for minimum wage ($9.75 an hour, not NFL minimum!) just to get the opportunity to be allowed to step foot on the grass.... Had he been a bust, he would be overpaid at a mil and half a year. Both he and the team took a gamble at that time, it's good that both won the gamble.
I read somewhere sometime back that one of his life's goals is to own an NFL team someday. It looks like he is trying to get his down payment saved up in a hurry.
I can completely understand the OP's opinion, his image has been tarnished in my eyes, also. Hopefully when the negotiations are all over with, he will make us all forget and put the shine back on the image.
I will say he is getting to be a little too Tebow for my liking. I would prefer he stuck to talking X&O's, and leave his personal life and beliefs for the pulpit... I'm not interested in his g/f, his sex life, or his religious views. That goes not just for him, it's goes for my friends, family and acquaintances, anyone whom I come into contact with..
I understand that is impossible when someone is constantly sticking a mic in your face, just expressing an opinion...
I see from many of the posts above that people aren't allowed to their own opinion, so I apologize in advance to those of you who only want to read opinions that parallel your own...

 

[Rocket]

7: The dude is hearing voices.

Uh, that's not how the whole "God told me" thing works. You get a sense of things... God doesn't appear as a faceless voice from the heavens. I was an Altar Boy... for years.
Duh

 

[nanomoz]

The recent contract talks have caused most of us a good deal of angst

I've got to disagree, very strongly, with the above premise. :thirishdrinkers:

The only angst it's caused those of us with perspective that didn't grow up on the teat of Twitter is the endless stream of drivel its inspired in less-seasoned fans.

Russell is essentially signed for three or four more years due to the franchise tag. This has all been noise (signifying nothing).

 

[erik2690]

It wasn't a crappy contract three years ago when he was a nobody and would have gladly played for minimum wage ($9.75 an hour, not NFL minimum!) just to get the opportunity to be allowed to step foot on the grass.... Had he been a bust, he would be overpaid at a mil and half a year. Both he and the team took a gamble at that time, it's good that both won the gamble.
I read somewhere sometime back that one of his life's goals is to own an NFL team someday. It looks like he is trying to get his down payment saved up in a hurry.
I can completely understand the OP's opinion, his image has been tarnished in my eyes, also. Hopefully when the negotiations are all over with, he will make us all forget and put the shine back on the image.
I will say he is getting to be a little too Tebow for my liking. I would prefer he stuck to talking X&O's, and leave his personal life and beliefs for the pulpit... I'm not interested in his g/f, his sex life, or his religious views. That goes not just for him, it's goes for my friends, family and acquaintances, anyone whom I come into contact with..
I understand that is impossible when someone is constantly sticking a mic in your face, just expressing an opinion...
I see from many of the posts above that people aren't allowed to their own opinion, so I apologize in advance to those of you who only want to read opinions that parallel your own...

What? Minimum wage? He was lighting it up in college he only fell because of his height. This wasn't like the Seahawks picked up a dude from 7/11 and turned him into a QB. He turned down a million dollar baseball contract, acting like he was a begger who we gave a home is an odd frame of this. Just the premise that he was a "nobody" doesn't really work unless you are saying that about literally everyone who hasn't played yet coming out of college and then it losses most of it's meaning anyway. Backups get 1.5 to do nothing so even as a bust I doubt anyone is ranking that as some immense gamble that blew up in their faces. What gamble did Wilson take? He had no control on the draft and as I just alluded the team gamble was mild at best. A 3rd rounder not being a starter is not a crazy thing.

"I would prefer he stuck to talking X&O's, and leave his personal life and beliefs for the pulpit": So kinda like how he made all these comments at a church? You're reading about him and then acting like he's trying to personally inform you instead of the media writing 20,000 articles on his church speech/interview.

 

[keatonisballin]

I love Russ but personally I've kinda grown tired of him this offseason. In reality it's the media's fault for writing about everything he does or says. But I've found myself rolling my eyes anytime I see his name pop up lately.

 

[v1rotv2]

Good grief! So I am clear on this neither the team nor RW's camp have spoken specifics about the negotiations but the OP has decided RW is not who he thought he was. Which must mean the OP thinks all that RW has done on the field and off the field is a shame.

I strongly advise that fans stop letting themselves be hostage to the media. The media promotes all things that make a fan want to read or hear thier spiel. While I'll agree RW and his agent let fly some words, nothing they have said relates to the negotiations specifically. Case in point, when everever RW or his agent are asked specifically about the negotiations they both have declined to comment or spoke in the most general of terms.

Secndly, folks have to seperate football and the business of football. RW has done nothing to promote the idea he is not a team guy. But actually he has done the opposite. He has made it clear he will not hold out. And if you look at, what he is doing is cementing his place with the Hawks for a long time. There has been not one ioda of anything that makes me think he wants to be elsewhere.

As for him damaging the SeaHawk future, BS. Look at all the teams that have high priced QBs. For the most part they seem to be finding a way to get it done. Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh and more appear to be fine.

With the cap going up every year in a cuople of years RW's deal will seem like a steal.

 

[erik2690]

I love Russ but personally I've kinda grown tired of him this offseason. In reality it's the media's fault for writing about everything he does or says. But I've found myself rolling my eyes anytime I see his name pop up lately.

He's made like maybe 6-8 "appearances" where he's spoken about anything. That's counting radio and that 2.5 minute thing on Sportscenter. Blame for any fatigue has got to be at least in large part credited to the media. It's like 1,000 articles per sentence he says. If I narrow to TV appearances it's like literally 2-3. The church was a livestream that got ripped and put online. Maybe it was naive, but I doubt he figured it would be quite this big. I guess he should know this, but I think everyone would admit the microscope has been wild on every word or tweet. I'm not arguing with you here, just wanted to tack on to your point.

 

[HommyHawk]

The guy is happily fulfilling his crappy contract and somehow that isn't enough!

It wasn't a crappy contract three years ago when he was a nobody and would have gladly played for minimum wage ($9.75 an hour, not NFL minimum!) just to get the opportunity to be allowed to step foot on the grass.... Had he been a bust, he would be overpaid at a mil and half a year. Both he and the team took a gamble at that time, it's good that both won the gamble.
I read somewhere sometime back that one of his life's goals is to own an NFL team someday. It looks like he is trying to get his down payment saved up in a hurry.
I can completely understand the OP's opinion, his image has been tarnished in my eyes, also. Hopefully when the negotiations are all over with, he will make us all forget and put the shine back on the image.
I will say he is getting to be a little too Tebow for my liking. I would prefer he stuck to talking X&O's, and leave his personal life and beliefs for the pulpit... I'm not interested in his g/f, his sex life, or his religious views. That goes not just for him, it's goes for my friends, family and acquaintances, anyone whom I come into contact with..
I understand that is impossible when someone is constantly sticking a mic in your face, just expressing an opinion...
I see from many of the posts above that people aren't allowed to their own opinion, so I apologize in advance to those of you who only want to read opinions that parallel yourx own...

J.S. wanted him with our second pick....get a clue