Why would anyone even consider such a thing. Now if we were talking the long line of mediocre QB's this team has had suffer through to finally land a Russell Wilson, I'd click on Absolutely, trade every single QB we have ever had from day one except Russell.
I don't know if anyone else is paying attention, but this kid is the heart and soul of the present day Seahawk's. Is he perfect? no! does he make the right decision every play? No!. He is human, but he is a nearly perfect athlete, that is infectious on the field and in the locker room. His teammates respect him and are willing to sacrifice for him, because it's obvious he is wiling to sacrifice himself for them.
There have been games where it's been painfully obvious that Russ is having a bad hair day and things are not going his way. He is incredibly hard on himself, harder than his worst critics for that matter. If there was one thing I could change about him, is that when he is having one of those days, he'd just loosen up and trust in himself a little bit more. He is so worried about letting all of us down and his teammates down that he nearly becomes crippled by it all, and "polls" like these don't do a whole lot to help lift his spirits or signal to him that the 12 "have his back", when his sugar turns to chit, as it sometimes will.
When Russell is in his space, he is unstoppable, and everyone on his team knows it. He won't quit until there is not one second left on the game clock to turn it around. Russell Wilson has much unfinished business in his NFL career, and with the Seahawk's, he has a few more Super Bowl Titles to put under his belt before he's through.
I'd hate to think that in our ignorance and intolerance, that he would go on to accomplish that, with some other team. Fortunately the head office, the general manager and head coach aren't, entirely blinded and guided in their decision making by disgruntled fans, intent on trying to throw players off or more accurately under the bus. Albeit I'm sure in many instances believing they are right to do so, and with motives that are sincerely directed at what they believe is best for the team.
I'm much more concerned about the motives of the instigators of these player vigilante polls, than I am the members who vote on them, who I think, no matter which way they vote are doing so with some forethought , and often times not realizing that they are being played and used by others who have a much more sinister agenda.
Every time I see one of these "vigilante" "polls" pop up, I interpret it as a tool being deployed, to plant seeds of thought in peoples mind and gather support for the eventual career beheading that they have in mind for the player down the road a piece. As in the previous cases of Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, Darrell Bevell, Tom Cable, and the list goes on. I will say that the tenacity of some of these folks does impress me, it seems that they won't rest until they succeed in sabotaging someones career, all in the name of bettering the team for the future
The sad part, in my experience, is that all the seed planting achieved by these polls, do seem to produce their desired effects and outcomes. Perhaps the next time you find yourself wondering what happened to all the spirit, determination, and swagger that has defined the Seahawk's for the past 5 or 6 years, you could all look back to our own forum post, for those answers.
A player can only withstand so much of a beating by the media, when they are struggling, and then they come here to their team forum, looking to their fans for a little ego and confidence boost, only to read a post or one of these "just asking pretend polls" where their 12's are turning on them, and voicing that they have lost confidence in them, it's bound to drag them down further than they are already. Hell they are only human, and I'll guarantee they aren't making excuse for themselves, they are ten times harder on themselves that we will ever collectively be.
On the opposite end of that thought process is that a little bit of support goes a long ways, but equally so a little bit of criticism and negatively goes a whole lot further in driving their spirit and self confidence into the dirt. An athlete who has lost self confidence and his or her spirit to keep fighting is done, it's only a matter of time, and I'd hate like hell to think that I in anyway contributed to them arriving at that place in their life.
It seems to me that sometimes we stand around in a circle and kick the crap out of our players when they are down, and then complain all the more while they struggle to pull themselves back up and regain our confidence in them and our support for the roll they play on our teams and in our lives. I vote we get behind our players, whoever they may be and offer them the only thing we really have as fans to offer, that is of any real value and that is our support and confidence in them for so long as they are with us.
Maybe create a poll to see how many of our members still believe that Russell Wilson is the greatest QB the Seahawks have had in franchise history and may likely be in my life time as a fan of the Seahawks. How many of us believe that given the right people behind him, that Russell still has the magic and promise of bringing multiple Super Bowl titles back to the Emerald City before his career is completed?
If my guess is right, there would be a great many of us who still believe in this kids spirit and capabilities, and that his seeing that from his fans, would go along ways toward helping him to regain and rekindle some of his lost confidence and swagger, that was beaten out of him the past couple of years, while trying to give the 12 and himself what he knows he is capable of and what he dreams of accomplishing in his lifetime as well.
He fought almost single handedly, against nearly all odds to try and deliver winning scores to us in every game he played, and never gave up until the last second on the clock of the last game ending the season. How in Gods name we could even consider turning our backs on him now, is simply incomprehensible to me.
I don't know how many of you in this forum have ever competed in a sport like football, but if you have, you will acknowledge what I'm saying is true. If you feel like your fans are behind you, you will literally die for them, trying to earn and maintain that support from them. Equally so, if you feel like they have given up on you, it's that much easier to give up on yourself.
I'm human, I know there are times when we all need to accept that a player is done or just can't give the team what they need, and decisions have to be made and are made. I still shudder to think that we would keep Walsh as a kicker, but can you imagine what it must have been like for him last year reading through this forum. Christ every time he took the field to kick a critical game changing score, I can only imagine all the crap that was whirling around inside that head of his. It's amazing he didn't miss kicking the ball all together, much less put it between the uprights. Hell I kept expecting him to somehow kick the ball the opposite way eventually.
In summary I guess I'd just like to see a lot more positive accolades and supportive type threads popping up in the forum instead of the constant grind, of which player do we drag kicking and screaming to the guillotine next. If you want to kick a Seahawk player, wait until he gone, then kick away if it makes you feel better. But while he's playing for us, get behind him and offer him all the encouragement and support you can muster. That is the stuff that championship teams are made of.
Hey Russell, "I got your back" for as long as you are with us, and we all know that you "got our backs" as well. I for one never doubt, that you are giving us and your teammates any less than 110 percent of yourself, every time you take the field. I wish you a long and success filled career as the QB for the Seattle Seahawk's.
I've not posted in a while, but everyone who knows me, knows when I do, I'm pretty long winded. That hasn't changed much LOL.
Go Seahawks !
