ringless":3c4ay3o0 said:
In regards to Wilson I can't deny that there isnt a QB that can do as much with so little, but I also wonder if Russel is part of the pass blocking problem. It seems like he scrambles outside of where a pocket would normally develop early and often which means the line doesnt get to block with normal pass pro techniques. I wonder if he has some of the blame.....
Russell Wilson is 26 years old, my age, he is most likely at his Physical peak right now. What happens when is elusiveness and scrambling ability decline by 5 points on Madden? A lot of those plays that defenders miss by an inch become tackles.... I dont know, just some random thoughts and wishful thinking.
I've appreciated your history of rival fair-devils-advocate voice of reason posts here 8)
I think you WERE right about Russell being part of the pass-blocking problem this season. That first Cards game, where he took 7 sacks... no more than 2 were truly on the O-Line. Scottemojo started a great thread on that, with snapshots of the 7 sacks and what led to them. Very revealing thread, got past the assumptions and cliches about the "crappy" O-Line and showed what was actually happening in the game.
I said WERE right, because Wilson/Bevell/Cable/WR's/TE's seem to have cleaned that up a LOT the last few games. I think part of that was the emergence of Paul Richardson as a quick go-to target. With Richardson out, maybe SOME of that problem comes back. However, Bevell/Wilson/Willson have also figured out how to use Luke Willson's strengths. That's helped too. Russell now knows he has to throw floaters to Willson or well within his body frame, not extend-your-frame bullets like he had been. Willson was dropping those. Britt has also improved his pass-pro a bunch the last few games. Bottom line, I think this issue is 80% resolved going forward. The other 20% is a risk-reward thing that comes with the territory; the play breaks down, and Russell does his Houdini act.
You're right, Russell will need better from his O-Line as he hits 30 or slows down a half step due to wear and tear. Today's Houdini escapes do become tomorrow's sacks. That said, I think our O-Line mostly stays together and keeps improving. We got Britt for 3 more years he'll get better; Sweezy keeps getting better; I think we keep Okung and get better health from him, and either Carpenter or Bailey stick around and play well, and the unit as a whole gets better together. I don't know how much more Unger has in his tank; a couple seasons maybe; so we'll need an answer at center.
I still agree with the idea that Russell allows us to underspend a little on O-Line and WR, by getting beastly run blockers that need development as pass blockers, and having a swiss-army knife approach to receivers instead of HAVING TO have a "True #1" WR. We definitely need more WR help though... Offseason priority. Just not a break-the-bank thing. I don't know how much the combined OL + WR savings is, but it could be as much as $10-15M/season I suppose, compared to having an elite-paid OL guy or two plus an elite-paid #1 WR. We don't have to have a Larry Fitzgerald at WR; we get by with Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. We can get by with a Russell Okung who seems to miss half the season hurt, on average, and plug in a UDFA rookie or 2nd year guy, and get by, with Russell using his legs more.
The bigger problem is that Russell is currently overperforming his contract by $20M per year. So that's allowed us to pay guys on D and have quality depth AND survive the Percy Harvin fiasco, and still have a shot. When we don't have a $20M outperform advantage over every other team at that key position, it makes it way harder.
If you guys in AZ had that $20M outperform advantage, maybe you spend it on healthy, high quality depth that helps you guys win an extra game this year. Your 2nd string depth played amazing, but when spots got to 3rd string, esp. QB, there was finally a big dropoff. And maybe with $20M, Arians and Cards FO go shopping for some spendy OL protection for Palmer that keeps him upright. OK, moot, you guys don't have that $20M outperform room, WE do. But only for one more year, and even then, it's more like 15M next year, considering extensions.
Anyway, between the $20M outperform factor, and the ability to save $15M in elite OL and WR talent, Wilson gives us nearly a $35M salary cap advantage over most other teams in the NFL. Considering all that, possibly the best draft choice in NFL history.
Since we're allowing high-round draft choices, then fellow 3rd-round, pick #82 (7 spots after Wilson), 4 Super Bowl rings, 3-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana should be added to the conversation. I'm not intentionally limiting it to the QB position, but no other position really has that ongoing game in game out, year in year out impact on wins, losses, and playoff success. And Troy Aikman, overall pick #1, was a bust compared to Montana, only 3 SB rings and 1 SB MVP.
