What about Russ?

[Hawktawk]

Maybe it's just post season blues but I went back and watched yesterday's game again.
Russ was under duress quite a bit to be sure. He was the best all year at burning people with his wheels and showed tremendous courage taking a huge shot trying to get the first down.
That said there were 4 plays at least where his misses killed Seattle.

The first miss to Baldwin after the Hester punt return was unforced and no duress. He missed it by 6 feet inside and would have gotten Baldwin killed had he gotten a hand on the ball. The next miss to Baldwin was even worse, a ten yard miss high to a wide open Baldwin with no pressure on Wilson to speak of.

The first pick was really the nail in the coffin. Russ had avoided pressure and stepped up nicely then threw a wobbler more representative of a rookie than a 5 year vet. At a minimum the inexcusable misses to Baldwin cost the team 8 points . They were approaching field goal range on the pick, another possible 3 point or maybe more.

I love Russ and I'll always be thankful for whatever he's already done but is there a higher ceiling or is this it?

In some respects he seems to have regressed, if nothing else his will to win and anger at losing seems less. I check Facebook and there's a loving tribute to Ciara"I'm always a winner with you babe love you. No more "no time to sleep" no more we will be back. It's like they eye of the tiger is closing.

I've attacked every sacred cow on this team but Russ needs to take it to another level as this historic defense fades or its over for this run.

[RiverDog]

Maybe it's just post season blues but I went back and watched yesterday's game again.
Russ was under duress quite a bit to be sure. He was the best all year at burning people with his wheels and showed tremendous courage taking a huge shot trying to get the first down.
That said there were 4 plays at least where his misses killed Seattle.

The first miss to Baldwin after the Hester punt return was unforced and no duress. He missed it by 6 feet inside and would have gotten Baldwin killed had he gotten a hand on the ball. The next miss to Baldwin was even worse, a ten yard miss high to a wide open Baldwin with no pressure on Wilson to speak of.

The first pick was really the nail in the coffin. Russ had avoided pressure and stepped up nicely then threw a wobbler more representative of a rookie than a 5 year vet. At a minimum the inexcusable misses to Baldwin cost the team 8 points . They were approaching field goal range on the pick, another possible 3 point or maybe more.

I love Russ and I'll always be thankful for whatever he's already done but is there a higher ceiling or is this it?

In some respects he seems to have regressed, if nothing else his will to win and anger at losing seems less. I check Facebook and there's a loving tribute to Ciara"I'm always a winner with you babe love you. No more "no time to sleep" no more we will be back. It's like they eye of the tiger is closing.

I've attacked every sacred cow on this team but Russ needs to take it to another level as this historic defense fades or its over for this run.

Those weren't the only misses Russell had. There was a play, a sort of wheel route to Baldwin down inside the Falcon's 30 where instead of putting it more towards the sidelines where Baldwin could run away from the defender, he put it back towards the center of the field and led him back into the defender. Then there was that scramble drill inside the 10 that he had both ADB and Graham open in the end zone and put it over the heads of both. Like I said in another thread, Russell wasn't the cause of our loss, but he damn sure didn't do as much to help win that game as he could have.

But in his defense, the fact that he was under almost constant pressure has to affect his accuracy. The problems with our failures to protect him causes that internal clock inside of every quarterback to lose a second or two. He knows that as a rule, he doesn't have a lot of time to go through his progressions.

[Hawktawk]

4 or 5 bad throws at least 4 which were unforced. You're blaming the line for speeding up his clock .

Great qbs get hammered like Brady yesterday and they stand in and make the throws anyway
I'm getting tired of saying nice year we almost had it. Without a miracle in 2014 the team is gone in the divisional 4 of 5 years .
Forget the line for a minute. Did Russ get better this year?

He played some of his worst ball after recovering from injuries and was the difference in a beatdown vs a competitive shootout yesterday.
Can he take another step? Ryan was sacked 3 times and still kept taking his drop, planting his foot and letting it fly. Russ seems to double clutch too often . It needs to improve imo.

[NorthHawk]

Every QB when under constant pressure lowers his eyes. Even Brady does it, but their OL is consistent enough to give him confidence when it does happen that it probably won't happen again next pass play.
He (Russ) did make mistakes, but everyone is human and when the thought to escape is high on his checklist every pass play, it's going to happen.

[c_hawkbob]

While it's true that Russ failed to "transcend the situation" and win the game by sheer force of will as many have come to expect of him, our problem yesterday was our defense and our O-line, not our QB.

[Oly]

I saw the same thing you did, Hawktalk. Russ was just off when he wouldn't have been in previous years.

I think the line was part of that, but the bigger issue is that the entire offense just never found a rhythm all year. The OL was inconsistent, Russ often bailed the pocket when he could have stepped up, Bevell consistently was inconsistent in his use of the run game, injuries made gameplans screwy all year, Kearse--who has been a clutch receiver in past years--wasn't a consistent target, etc. And each of those influenced each of the other ones, so while each should shoulder the blame for his part, it's hard to say any of them was "the" cause.

[RiverDog]

Every QB when under constant pressure lowers his eyes. Even Brady does it, but their OL is consistent enough to give him confidence when it does happen that it probably won't happen again next pass play.
He (Russ) did make mistakes, but everyone is human and when the thought to escape is high on his checklist every pass play, it's going to happen.

Precisely. There was a point in the New England game when Brady was standing flat footed for what seemed to be an eternity where I said out loud to my wife "why in the hell can't we give Russell that kind of time?!"

I firmly believe that Russell's play yesterday, and throughout the past season, is a symptom of our poor OL play. Give him some confidence in his OL and he'll play like he's capable of, like he did in 20012-2014. He's not the one that's changed over the past 2 seasons, it's the OL that's been in constant turmoil.

[savvyman]

Maybe it's just post season blues but I went back and watched yesterday's game again.
Russ was under duress quite a bit to be sure. He was the best all year at burning people with his wheels and showed tremendous courage taking a huge shot trying to get the first down.
That said there were 4 plays at least where his misses killed Seattle.

The first miss to Baldwin after the Hester punt return was unforced and no duress. He missed it by 6 feet inside and would have gotten Baldwin killed had he gotten a hand on the ball. The next miss to Baldwin was even worse, a ten yard miss high to a wide open Baldwin with no pressure on Wilson to speak of.

The first pick was really the nail in the coffin. Russ had avoided pressure and stepped up nicely then threw a wobbler more representative of a rookie than a 5 year vet. At a minimum the inexcusable misses to Baldwin cost the team 8 points . They were approaching field goal range on the pick, another possible 3 point or maybe more.

I love Russ and I'll always be thankful for whatever he's already done but is there a higher ceiling or is this it?

In some respects he seems to have regressed, if nothing else his will to win and anger at losing seems less. I check Facebook and there's a loving tribute to Ciara"I'm always a winner with you babe love you. No more "no time to sleep" no more we will be back. It's like they eye of the tiger is closing.

I've attacked every sacred cow on this team but Russ needs to take it to another level as this historic defense fades or its over for this run.

I don't think you and others are going to like what my best "Guess" as to the cause of the problems that Russell had this last year - And I was not going to mention it - but since the subject has been brought up - see next post.

[savvyman]

His Wife - She by all public indicators is a very high maintenance energy consuming type of woman.


Here is the drama that she has introduced to Rusell's life:

http://www.tmz.com/2016/07/05/ciara-russell-wilson-future-threat-violence/


Yesterday there were two of her former boyfriends - the excellent type of gangster rappers who make ideal partners - were on the sidelines of the Atlanta Falcons - refer to the link above for one of them earlier involvement with Russell:

http://www.complex.com/sports/2017/01/future-atlanta-falcons-russell-wilson-seahawks-bow-wow


For those who have not experienced - these type of women will drain every ounce of energy out of your body. So this is my thesis has to why Russell was not Russell this past season.

[Hawktawk]

I've resisted that theory thinking the man has a right to his private life.
But hell it isn't private it's splashed across the media and it is a hip hop gangsta rap fringe from where she came.
It's easier to get drug down then lift someone up . The guy worked his butt off with injuries during the season but something extra seemed off late in the year.
Brady didn't exactly marry a low key mop squeezer either but it hasn't affected him a bit.
A couple of years Russ said he wants to be the best qb in history.
He seems to be further away than ever.
It's tough to get better living a jet set celebrity lifestyle during the season.
I hope to be dead wrong but this is the first time in 5 seasons I've felt the future is less bright than the year before

[RiverDog]

For those who have not experienced - these type of women will drain every ounce of energy out of your body. So this is my thesis has to why Russell was not Russell this past season.

I'm not going to call you or Hawktalk out for your thesis except to say that I think that you're wrong. IMO there were three factors as to why Russell wasn't the same Russell this season as we've seen in past years:

1) The offensive line.

2) The diminished effectiveness of our defense, which puts more pressure on the offense to score points.

3) Russell's health, which hindered him for all but the last couple of games.

[Hawk Sista]

RW is a grown man. He didn't have to marry a famous Prima Donna w/ a gangster rapper x (with whom she had an infant/toddler child). She didn't expose him to anything, RW CHOSE her and all the trappings there may be by being married to a celebrity - especially one w/ an X who has threatened to 86 our guy. I'm not going to blame Ciara like Romo lovers blamed Jessica what's her name. I will, however, say that RW has A LOT going on. I used to love his simple press event ending - "thank you guys, Go Hawks!" Every time. Simple and team centric. Now it's evolved to: "thank you guys - go hawks, pass the peace, cure cancer, Soto arena, etc....."
All of that cannot help but raise questions about being spread too thin.

I don't know that it is the case, but it's a fair question. RW was not THE problem yesterday. He also wasn't the answer he has been in situations a lot like the one the team found themselves in yesterday. This was a team loss, really.....across the board. Timely and costly penalties, the offense couldn't score and the defense couldn't stop this year's offensive juggernauts in their house. That first drive was the way to win and I thought we might after watching it....but the wheels came off quickly. Even so, I had hope until the second INT. Not our day or year.

I'm never fine with losing. I always see the warts and flaws like everyone else. After the consistent and sometimes sizable road-losses, I started to see this team as less deep and less capable of making a solid run, starting in Tampa. That they made it this far is a testimony to the fact that a lot is right w/ this team. 24 others would have loved to have played this weekend. That they were twice blownout in the same season (which hasn't happened in a loooong time) will point the decision makers to some different choices this off-season, me hopes.

Having to pay RW (we did and we should have) just erases 18M in other signings that JS/PC had been able to make. It is what it is. It was a disappointing season and yet we made it to the divisional round....w/o some key people. Let's remember how healthy we were for 48.

Go Hawks, take it from here Atlanta (just this year).

[Hawktawk]

He wasn't THE problem but he wasn't the answer. Exactly.
This team does not resemble in any fashion the team that won 48 other than the names and numbers on the jerseys. Its as much about heart and togetherness and family as players or injuries.
Can that be recaptured? Everyone has good players but its the team aspect that dictates success or failure.

Tweeting about other guys salaries like some defenders or popping off to coaches and other players is not helpful.
Being spotted at a blackjack table with your voodoo queen late Thursday before a saturday loss to AZ that cost us
the 2 and being home yesterday like Russell did is not what got RW or this this team to the top of the mountain.

Take it from here Atlanta. Indeed but I fear its for much longer than this year.
Quinn took a traditionally soft team and QB and within 2 seasons transformed them into a team that can smash mouth you or blow by you.
The defense was twice as good late in the season with young defenders flying around.
They will be a force for years. They are who we once were except for a traditional pocket passer who has found his perfect coaching staff and his courage.

[Hawk Sista]

I agree. The locker room division and off the field distractions didn't help.

In yesterday's post game interview, I heard hints at something that I didn't much care for. It "seemed" like RW's comments were passive aggressive humble brags.

We have the talent and like others have pointed out, so do others. It's the creation of a brotherhood that resulted in Ws. The boys seem fragmented. I hope I'm wrong.

[Hawktawk]

I agree. The locker room division and off the field distractions didn't help.

In yesterday's post game interview, I heard hints at something that I didn't much care for. It "seemed" like RW's comments were passive aggressive humble brags.

We have the talent and like others have pointed out, so do others. It's the creation of a brotherhood that resulted in Ws. The boys seem fragmented. I hope I'm wrong.

Sis I listened to the press conference. You are absolutely right. This isn't the same humble kid we drafted.
Here he is 10'minutes after getting blown out in embarrassing fashion he's more busy bragging about himself and how far he's come than truly analyzing what happened .

Late in the press conference he was asked about missing Baldwin. His answer"we didn't come down with it" . Everything about the loss was "we" and everything positive about the season was "I".
In almost 12 minutes he did not apolgize for his play or accept one bit of responsibility for the loss.

He has changed . I hope he will re-energize this offseason but saying things like "we got better all season" is delusional whistling in the graveyard .
I think there is trouble brewing with our qb.

[savvyman]

RW is a grown man. He didn't have to marry a famous Prima Donna w/ a gangster rapper x (with whom she had an infant/toddler child). She didn't expose him to anything, RW CHOSE her and all the trappings there may be by being married to a celebrity - especially one w/ an X who has threatened to 86 our guy. I'm not going to blame Ciara like Romo lovers blamed Jessica what's her name. I will, however, say that RW has A LOT going on. I used to love his simple press event ending - "thank you guys, Go Hawks!" Every time. Simple and team centric. Now it's evolved to: "thank you guys - go hawks, pass the peace, cure cancer, Soto arena, etc....."
All of that cannot help but raise questions about being spread too thin.

I don't know that it is the case, but it's a fair question. RW was not THE problem yesterday. He also wasn't the answer he has been in situations a lot like the one the team found themselves in yesterday. This was a team loss, really.....across the board. Timely and costly penalties, the offense couldn't score and the defense couldn't stop this year's offensive juggernauts in their house. That first drive was the way to win and I thought we might after watching it....but the wheels came off quickly. Even so, I had hope until the second INT. Not our day or year.

I'm never fine with losing. I always see the warts and flaws like everyone else. After the consistent and sometimes sizable road-losses, I started to see this team as less deep and less capable of making a solid run, starting in Tampa. That they made it this far is a testimony to the fact that a lot is right w/ this team. 24 others would have loved to have played this weekend. That they were twice blownout in the same season (which hasn't happened in a loooong time) will point the decision makers to some different choices this off-season, me hopes.

Having to pay RW (we did and we should have) just erases 18M in other signings that JS/PC had been able to make. It is what it is. It was a disappointing season and yet we made it to the divisional round....w/o some key people. Let's remember how healthy we were for 48.

Go Hawks, take it from here Atlanta (just this year).

If things continue (Russell lack of focus - Inconsistent performance and just general looking tired all season) next season like this last season - she will be be known as the "Yoko Ono" of the once great Seahawk dynasty. For the record I like Yoko.

[Hawktawk]

"Looking tired all season"
Indeed. I never thought of him as a party animal but it might be changing now.

[c_hawkbob]

Yeah, Brady being married to Giselle has ruined him too ...

[savvyman]

His Wife - She by all public indicators is a very high maintenance energy consuming type of woman.


Here is the drama that she has introduced to Rusell's life:

http://www.tmz.com/2016/07/05/ciara-russell-wilson-future-threat-violence/


Yesterday there were two of her former boyfriends - the excellent type of gangster rappers who make ideal partners - were on the sidelines of the Atlanta Falcons - refer to the link above for one of them earlier involvement with Russell:

http://www.complex.com/sports/2017/01/future-atlanta-falcons-russell-wilson-seahawks-bow-wow


For those who have not experienced - these type of women will drain every ounce of energy out of your body. So this is my thesis has to why Russell was not Russell this past season.

Exhibit A - Prima Donna always needing attention Wife - Every other player is using social media to communicate about football right after the game - Russell feels that he has the need, duty, obligation to shower attention on the attention and publicity needing wife. This is what I mean - these type of women will suck all the energy out of you all day long. You can date them and even make them short-term girlfriends - but you sure as hell don't marry them - even dopes with stupid names like "Bow wow" and "Future" know that.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/nfl/seattle-seahawks/seahawks-insider-blog/article126712169.html


It looks like Russell had all that crap about his wife and her prior poor choices of "Baby Daddy's" and boyfriends who were on the opposing sidelines and who had been instigating crap towards him and his wife for the past few months on his mind instead of having his mind 100% clear and focused on football like the old russell wilson would have.

[Hawk Sista]

Blaming her for his actions is not holding HIM accountable. He's a grown up. If he tweets what he thinks she needs vs. what he thinks his fans, peers, bosses and bill payers (21M per) need in this moment, that's on RW. He's still young....(and admittedly, he's seemingly more mature than I was at his age - me w/ zero media attention following me or my significant other), but it's HIM. He should own his two costly ass INTs rather than act like he did as well as he could considering his injuries and line.

RW is accountable for RW. Ciara should be held accountable for hers.

Edit - not blaming him for this loss. At least no more than anyone else. I just didn't appreciate his post game humble-brags and looking forward to things not called Hawk football in THAT moment.

BOB - I am no Brady fan, but he didn't "seem" to be distracted by the glitz of it all. I would hope this loss would serve as a wake up call to RW. So far it seems like, oh well, I tried when injured behind a crappy line... time for the Grammy's, Hollywood award season and his growing family.

[Hawktawk]

Good point. When Russ got paid I said it was a safe investment because he would never change from the team first mentality and incredible work ethic.

I can't say either has changed but his attitude has.
Fans don't want to hear it's his marriage making him a winner after a road rash he contributed quite a bit to.

It's not like him not saying one thing about his own poor play being a factor in the loss.
He had plenty of opportunities to say so over a 12 minute presser.its like he was almost happy the season was over in a way.
Very UN Russell .

[Hawk Sista]

Very true. Here is to hoping PC can get his signal caller to realize it.

[Hawk Sista]

Very true. Here is to hoping PC can get his signal caller to realize it.

[Anthony]

LOL wow a whole lot of people making comments about something they know nothing about. Lost of making crap up LOL. You know I am listening to the presser after the game and no he did not say he could have played better he instead said we could have played better. Not one-time did he throw anyone under the bus instead it was all we. Seems to me some here are just looking for some BS and since there is none they decide to make it up.

[Hawktawk]

He never accepted any personal responsibility or said "I overthrew him" or " this game is on me or" I could have played better" .its the wierdest press conference I ever heard him give .

And ending it with a reference to Sodo???? I don't want to hear about Fing Sodo after that game the whole team minus Hester took a dump on the field .
He's got way more than football on his mind obviously .

[Anthony]

He never accepted any personal responsibility or said "I overthrew him" or " this game is on me or" I could have played better" .its the wierdest press conference I ever heard him give .

And ending it with a reference to Sodo???? I don't want to hear about Fing Sodo after that game the whole team minus Hester took a dump on the field .
He's got way more than football on his mind obviously .

Oh obviously I mean the game and season is over he should have nothing els eon his mind but football, not getting healthy, not enjoying a little down time just football 24/7 365. Wow you guys are unreal. So he did not take personal responsibility, this time, maybe is is trying to send the team a message like hey guys I am not going to keep taking all the blame while you guys just coast, so instead we get a we. Maybe because no one asked him a question like did you think you could have played better or did you play the best you could. Like I said you are going to think what you want, but your make a big ado about nothing at all, and doing a lot of assuming. Are you upset that Bennet did not say he could not have played better or whatever. I mean I have listed to about 10 players and not one said they played bad only "WE". But hey lets just find stupid reason to upset because he did not say what you wanted to hear so you can ASSUME what you want.

[savvyman]

Blaming her for his actions is not holding HIM accountable. He's a grown up. If he tweets what he thinks she needs vs. what he thinks his fans, peers, bosses and bill payers (21M per) need in this moment, that's on RW. He's still young....(and admittedly, he's seemingly more mature than I was at his age - me w/ zero media attention following me or my significant other), but it's HIM. He should own his two costly ass INTs rather than act like he did as well as he could considering his injuries and line.

RW is accountable for RW. Ciara should be held accountable for hers.

Edit - not blaming him for this loss. At least no more than anyone else. I just didn't appreciate his post game humble-brags and looking forward to things not called Hawk football in THAT moment.

BOB - I am no Brady fan, but he didn't "seem" to be distracted by the glitz of it all. I would hope this loss would serve as a wake up call to RW. So far it seems like, oh well, I tried when injured behind a crappy line... time for the Grammy's, Hollywood award season and his growing family.

Yours are well thought out observations. I commented in another thread a couple? weeks ago that I think Russell between attending to his high maintenance wife, brand building empire and being a starting QB for a Super Bowl Contending team - well no man or woman has the energy to pull all three off successfully - something has to give somewhere - and lets face it - Russell was not as sharp and focused this season as he was in past seasons. He went from Arguably the 2nd best QB to around 10th - 11th - and yes I am factoring in the poor pass protecting Offensive line. Quite simply - he just looked and played "Tired" all season long.

I wish he had chosen better for his wife - in my opinion Russell Wilson was the Most eligible bachelor "In the Nation" - Can anyone really make the case that Ciara is really the most Eligible Bachelorette? However we are now stuck with her - Hopefully she changes and becomes a great wife who will give Russell his energy back in his off hours instead of sapping it with her own attention needs, drama and career ambitions.

For the record - the only time I have ever expressed these type of thought about a local celebrity choice of spouses was for a guy named Kurt Cobain (RIP Legend).......but before anyone jumps on this - Ciara is like Mother Theresa when compared to Kurt's choice for his spouse.

[Hawktawk]

I agree with the yoko Ono comparison. But as sis said Russ made this seemingly bizarre choice with the town bike of the hip hop industry.

And cheerful post game comments demonstrating no real anger at losing or accepting personal responsibility along with promoting his arena project just shows the fire isn't as bright .

He's making these decisions , not Ciara .
I hope it turns around . We need a 100'pefcent committed Russ or this run is over with.

[Anthony]

let the factless assumptions about his personal life continue, I guess its all some have.

[mykc14]

I have to laugh at this a little, I mean don't get me wrong, he didn't have his best game/season but to put that on his personal life is a bit extreme. I mean has there been any stories about him putting less time in at the facility? Has there been any insider information about him no longer being the first one in and the last one out of the facility everyday? When he was injured early in the season the man spent weeks getting round the clock health care, not even getting to sleep more than 2 hours at a time because of his treatments. That doesn't sound like a guy who is putting himself or his personal life in front of football.

Let's think about what might be the most likely explanation of his 'down' year. A) his personal life has gotten in the way and he isn't as focused as he has been in the past. B) he was playing behind a bad pass blocking online, got injured early in the year, and never was able to get in a good offensive flow because of protection issues and a complete lack of a running game. Seems like we should start with B.

As far as his post game presser I didn't have too much problem with what he said. I have heard him say things like 'we just missed' etc... multiple times l. I have also seen him say 'I just missed' multiple times. Maybe this time he felt it wa that they bothjust missed, not on the same page, etc...

[mykc14]

Maybe it's just post season blues but I went back and watched yesterday's game again.
Russ was under duress quite a bit to be sure. He was the best all year at burning people with his wheels and showed tremendous courage taking a huge shot trying to get the first down.
That said there were 4 plays at least where his misses killed Seattle.

The first miss to Baldwin after the Hester punt return was unforced and no duress. He missed it by 6 feet inside and would have gotten Baldwin killed had he gotten a hand on the ball. The next miss to Baldwin was even worse, a ten yard miss high to a wide open Baldwin with no pressure on Wilson to speak of.

The first pick was really the nail in the coffin. Russ had avoided pressure and stepped up nicely then threw a wobbler more representative of a rookie than a 5 year vet. At a minimum the inexcusable misses to Baldwin cost the team 8 points . They were approaching field goal range on the pick, another possible 3 point or maybe more.


I've attacked every sacred cow on this team but Russ needs to take it to another level as this historic defense fades or its over for this run.

I agree that Russ didn't play his best game yesterday but I really only saw 1 bad miss, the one to Baldwin towards the enzone that you and river mentioned. It was a little late, overthrown, and inaccurate. It was bad because the play was there and we had to settle for a FG. The ball in the endzone that he 'overthrew' to Baldwin was not an overthrow at all as it was clear he was a high lob to Jimmy and wasn't throwing to Baldwin at all. The deep ball to Baldwin was a miss, but if you re-watch the play Baldwin gives the LB who was covering him an extra little move, at the top of his route after the ball was in the air, causing him to slow a step. Again not a great throw, but also not terrible IMO.

As far as the first pick he threw, I agree it was a bad pass, but it also was a pass that he 'forced' because of the game situation. It was third and long, needing two TDs. He doesn't make that throw in normal situations.

After saying all that I think he really made some other big mistakes, mainly holding onto the ball too long and scrambling instead of hitting an open guy early for a shorter gain. That is what we have been having success with over the last year and a half and what we did on the first drive. After we sort of fell behind and stopped moving the ball he bagan to look past the initial open guy for a bigger play, something he used to do in his first few year. It hurt the rhythm of the offense and IMO will be what Really shows up on tape as far as things Russ could have done better.

[mykc14]

I would also add that I think Russ is a little off mechanically. Playing through injuries is great but sometimes it forces you into bad mechanics to compensate for your injuries. Those don't usually go away just because you get better they take time to get back to normal again. Wouldn't at all be surprised to see him get that figured out this offseason.

[Anthony]

I have to laugh at this a little, I mean don't get me wrong, he didn't have his best game/season but to put that on his personal life is a bit extreme. I mean has there been any stories about him putting less time in at the facility? Has there been any insider information about him no longer being the first one in and the last one out of the facility everyday? When he was injured early in the season the man spent weeks getting round the clock health care, not even getting to sleep more than 2 hours at a time because of his treatments. That doesn't sound like a guy who is putting himself or his personal life in front of football.

Let's think about what might be the most likely explanation of his 'down' year. A) his personal life has gotten in the way and he isn't as focused as he has been in the past. B) he was playing behind a bad pass blocking online, got injured early in the year, and never was able to get in a good offensive flow because of protection issues and a complete lack of a running game. Seems like we should start with B.

As far as his post game presser I didn't have too much problem with what he said. I have heard him say things like 'we just missed' etc... multiple times l. I have also seen him say 'I just missed' multiple times. Maybe this time he felt it wa that they bothjust missed, not on the same page, etc...

Best post of the thread

[Hawktawk]

I hope so. It's easy to be critical after a tough loss and everyone understands the stuff he had to go through. He made lots of mistakes and some bad throws but also some great plays as well. It was a team loss. As I've said its more on the defense yesterday than anything . Allowing Atlanta to answer seattles awesome opening drive then giving up a 99.5 yard drive. The offense needed to be perfect to win with the sieve on the other side of the ball. I hope Russ gets recharged and comes back strong . Watching guys like stork ostweiiler and Alex smith reminds me of what we have real quick.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!

[Hawktawk]

Although it is both A and B imo. It's hard to deny when your wife's gangster exes are trolling you on the sidelines. It doesn't help.

[mykc14]

Although it is both A and B imo. It's hard to deny when your wife's gangster exes are trolling you on the sidelines. It doesn't help.

LOL at future! I wouldn't be surprised if there were an aspect of A going on in some way. It's almost impossible to get married and find out you are going to be a first time father without it having some effect on your overall life/priorities. I would just say that I need more evidence of him not putting in the hours etc... to pin it on his personal life, especially when he had been injured and stuff. Nothing in my life changed my priorities more than when my first child was born and I expect that will happen with Russ, but that doesn't mean that he will necessarily neglect his QB duties, it just means that he is going to have to figure out what it will all look like on a daily basis.

[Anthony]

LOL at future! I wouldn't be surprised if there were an aspect of A going on in some way. It's almost impossible to get married and find out you are going to be a first time father without it having some effect on your overall life/priorities. I would just say that I need more evidence of him not putting in the hours etc... to pin it on his personal life, especially when he had been injured and stuff. Nothing in my life changed my priorities more than when my first child was born and I expect that will happen with Russ, but that doesn't mean that he will necessarily neglect his QB duties, it just means that he is going to have to figure out what it will all look like on a daily basis.

what more proof do you need it is well documented he was getting woke up every 1.5-2 hours every day getting treatment so he could keep playing were almost every other Qb would have sat out. That is all the proof you need his head is on football and his personal life is not an issue, enough said can we stop making crap up now.

[mykc14]

what more proof do you need it is well documented he was getting woke up every 1.5-2 hours every day getting treatment so he could keep playing were almost very other Qb would have sat out. That is all the proof you need his head is on football and his personal life is not an issue, enough said can we stop making crap up now.

That's what I was saying. I would need a lot more evidence to think his personal life is getting in the way. I don't think that evidence exists, but at the same time he is going to have to adjustchis time/priorities in the next few months as he becomes a father. I think he will make this adjustment just fine, personally, but it's not like it will have zero impact on him at all. I don't think we will see his play deminish from it or anything.

[Anthony]

That's what I was saying. I would need a lot more evidence to think his personal life is getting in the way. I don't think that evidence exists, but at the same time he is going to have to adjustchis time/priorities in the next few months as he becomes a father. I think he will make this adjustment just fine, personally, but it's not like it will have zero impact on him at all. I don't think we will see his play deminish from it or anything.

agreed.

[NorthHawk]

If everything else was the same, maybe a case could be presented, but with the OL, Russ's injuries, and RB injuries, too many variables are in place to suggest his marriage is a major factor.
That being said, there have been players throughout sports who changed after getting married, finding religion, or other major lifestyle change. I doubt it's the case with Russ, though.