Stink going off on Wilson. Fortunately for the Steelers, they have a highly competent backup QB.
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This is ultimately the knock on Wilson. Even his own teammates don’t like him. That’s why I picked him to be benched before week 6. It would’ve been faster had Fields shown better in preseason.
Before anyone thinks this is just Broncos sour grapes, it’s not. Wilson was also disliked at the end in Seattle. I remember when Wilson got traded, I asked a coworker who was a big Seahawks fan how he felt. He said that they absolutely ripped off the Broncos, that Wilson was physically washed up and by the last season his own teammates didn’t like him. Wilson had turned into a flake, that goofy alter ego stuff he does, he really believes in it. It’s real to him.
Basically, Wilson can’t get past the fact that his Super Bowl days are long gone. He still thinks he is the same 26 year old who can turn every play into a scramble drill, and chuck up miracle bombs that will get caught. That’s what drove Payton crazy, and Russ’s personality on top of it is why the Broncos benched him, then were more than happy to pay huge money to get rid of him.
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In summary…acts like a super Star Diva but can’t back it up. Let’s ride 
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My wife is a native Pittsburgher, so I’m semi-invested as I have to root for them when not playing the Lions. I actually think he has a chance if he can manage to be a game manager type. Davenport and Warren are a formidable RB tandem. If they can get back a bit on defense and limit mistakes, they may just go further with Wilson than some are thinking right now. I think they’ll exploit Fields on offense mixed in with some gadget stuff as an additional weapon.
As to the running out of town thing, I’m old enough to remember this guy Jared Goff…
Who is Davenport? Najee Harris? Cordarelle Patterson?
It’s a solid trio. Probably not exceptional.
That’s exactly what Sean Payton thought, and what they tried to do with him. It failed, and here is why. Russell Wilson cannot throw across the middle of the field. He can only hit the random deep shots outside, or check down behind the line of scrimmage. It’s extremely predictable, and teams know what he is doing. Russell is also absolutely horrible about holding the ball too long and running backwards. No one takes 1st and 10 to 2nd and 17 as often as Wilson does. It kills the entire drive before it can even get started.
Wilson will have solid games. He can still pull off games like against the Bills, against the Chiefs, etc. He will also still have the games that make you lose your mind, just like the Lions game. I don’t even think that game was Wilson’s fault, but Payton lost his shit that game. I think that was more the culmination of the season frustrations with the offense finally boiling over and Payton benched Wilson after that game.
This is 100% my opinion, but I think Wilson’s personality is what drove Payton over the edge. It’s one thing to be even tempered and not show emotion during a game. It’s another thing entirely to walk around like nothing is your fault. Wilson is a LOT like Joey Blueskies. That first and goal series in the Lions game where the offense went 3 and out, they committed the terrible offsides, Wilson basically came off the field like he didn’t care. Something was said on the sidelines and Payton lost his shit. We will never know, but I think it’s the personality thing again. Wilson lives in his own land. That whole “let Russ cook” mantra that started with him in Seattle, that was real. Wilson is a guy who believes just let him be him and good things will happen.
It’s one thing to be confident, it’s another entirely to think you are above everything else and your shit doesn’t stink. The wild part is, it’s not like he is aggressive about it or loud and boastful. Maybe it’s more passive aggressive, or more likely it’s just him refusing to do what he is asked. One thing for sure, neither Denver or Seattle was upset when he left. That’s enough of a sign that something more is going on with Wilson.
You had to go there…
I mostly stay out of the Goff threads these days because good Lions fans understand who and what he is… He’s a very good and accurate QB that spreads the ball and plays his best in the end of games BUT he can’t be counted on to carry broken down scramble plays consistently.
It’s become quite clear that Goff was run off by an egotistical HC in McVay that once you are in his dog house, you can’t get out. I can name nearly a dozen examples. Just this season they ran off a good Ernest Jones IV because he pissed off McVay somehow. It’s a Rams/McVay thing.
As to Wilson, they knew he was a personality problem in Seattle but he kept to himself so it was begrudgingly fine. Marshawn Lynch, probably my all-time favorite Cal Bear, finally came out talking about just how off-putting Wilson is.
While I do think there is a good chance Wilson does decently with a ball control game that the Steelers play, There is enough evidence from 2 teams (Seahawks and Broncos) along with some silliness already in Pittsburg around the open QB competition, Wilson is a social problem in a way Goff never was.
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I’m hoping that Arthur Smith gets in Tomlin’s ear and convinces him to come to the conclusion, “phuck it, we’re running the veer!”
I’ve waited my whole life for an NFL approach to option football. Arthur and Justin, you are my salvation.
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I totally thought you were thinking of Najee.
How crazy is it that he was a distant fourth best RB on his college team behind Portis, McGahee and Gore?
Mostly sarcasm, but it was not “just” McVay either. I think a lot of the Rams fanbase were down on Goff as well as a guy who “folded under pressure.” We did more than just bring Goff in and turn him loose. A lot more. We rebuilt his confidence, gave him a ton of say in the scheme, built a great rushing attack, gave him an All Pro TE and high volume PB WR.
I don’t think that Seattle near the end of Wilson’s time there or the Bronco’s did as much for Wilson during his time there as we did for Goff here. I’m not saying he’s going to have the same type of renaissance Goff did. He won’t. But he may make it to game manager and limiter of mistakes, and with this Steeler team, that may be enough. SB good? No, just better than what some are predicting which is bench by week 5.
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Ha, as a kid, I always wondered why NFL teams didn’t run the option since it was so successful in college. That’s where the “it’s a different game” comes in. Your QB would never finish the season running the option in the NFL. It’s one thing to run it when everyone on the field is between 18-23 years old. It’s another entirely when every linebacker in the NFL is huge, hits like a truck and runs faster than your QB and as fast as the RB.
If the NFL ever got off their ass and allowed larger rosters for games, you could sub people in and out more to save wear and tear. That would open up a lot of opportunities for guys. Yes, I know it’s a money thing and won’t happen short of a CBA strike. Still, it would solve a lot of problems.
Yeah that’s a pretty amazing stable. Almost Thomas/Sanders at OSU but not quite as it was… OSU.
I mean if you missed the season and I told you afterward that Arthur Smith was the one to do it you’d believe me, right?
The Pickens meltdowns after running nine routes in a game would be fun too.
I would say it like this. If I went into a coma, and woke up in February and you told me that the Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs, I would say that the Steelers had to have led the league in rushing, and somehow ran a dual QB/RB system where they literally ran the ball every down and somehow no one got hurt. I would also ask how many games George Pickens made it before he demanded a trade and who actually traded for him. Had to be the Chiefs? They love mental case WR’s as reclamation projects!
That they do. But is it just me or was AB different? Like I think he legitimately had a psychotic break. Some have theorized it was a brain injury sustained on that awful Burfict hit.
Fields sucks. I bet Wilson keeps the job unless he gets injured.
That’s long been my theory. I think AB was always a different dude. He had some questionable behavior at CMU, which is how a WR as talented as he was ended up there. That being said, I think Burflict’s cheap elbow knocked something loose in AB. I think that brain injury damaged him, and it caused his personality and behavior to become even more wild and crazy cat.
I think he lacks the mental ability to temper himself. His actions, are literally his pure thoughts. In psych terms, he is all id and no super ego. I will say this, since he has absolutely no way to filter himself, he is one of the funniest twitter/instagram follows. I stay off social media platforms, but my son sends me his clips. I have to give some respect someone who is comfortable in their own shoes, and he is. Despite being called crazy, instead of running away from it, he embraces it. Everyone who has said he has clear CTE, he embraced it and turned it into his Catch The Energy thing. I have to hat tip anyone who can roll with punches like that.
I do not have any respect for him when his own crazy affects others though. Let me be clear on that. He has proven to be a menace to those around him, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.
AB just had zero foundation underneath him. Just no support network whatsoever.
Dude was homeless some of the time when he was in high school. Going from that to big-time school, to low-end school, to late-round pick, to superstar just exacerbated any bipolar-like tendencies he had.
I’ve heard some interesting stories on Fields as well. He is an athlete not a football player. I heard he struggled in CHI to break down film, and read defenses. Chicago got rid of him because he couldn’t grasp the nuances of the game and he just wanted to tuck and run. So they moved on. Chicago felt he wasn’t learning or growing as a player and his attitude towards putting in the work wasn’t all that flattering.
So PIT has a difficult situation here.
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