Farewell from Hawktawk

[Hawktawk]

I joined in 99 or 2000 on the pi forum . Still remember my first post , suggesting we trade springs after he got burned by TO and stood laughing as TO pulled out a Sharpy and autographed the ball . I started out Tawkhawk. I was banned after XL along with others as the mods allowed a steeler troll named doctor happy bus to taunt hawks fans on the forum. I was absolutely an filthy and vulgar and deservedly was banned . I’d met whatsyrpob that year and he showed me how to get back on as Hawktawk . 23 years , maybe 8 k posts , 3 coaches , 3 Super Bowls winning one . My time in here coincided with the golden age of Seahawks football for sure .
But my problems started in OT when Trump appeared and this lifelong Republican said oh hell no , sensed in my soul how terrible he would be . I started losing people rather soon . Then last year , one of the craziest in team history I had a premonition, the strongest gut hunch I’d had since 2005 when Prob and I were hammering shots and taking turns wearing his Largent autographed helmet and screaming go hawks in a bar . I knew we would over perform .

I was hammered , ridiculed , sworn at . Then the season happened . Then last week I posted a response on a thread about optimism after reading account after account that Geno would fail. So I posted I think Geno might make some people eat crow again . For that I was attacked by 4 posters , one 3 times . It’s clear to me that my writing doesn’t translate well in the stark antiseptic world of print social media . I don’t do a lot better talking politics on FB either . Regardless I don’t have fun here anymore being ripped , called out in the third person , told what to say . It doesn’t work for me in real life and I’m done doing it here . I appreciate the forum and those who made the shack happen for us all . And with that best of luck and go hawks .

HT signing off .

[tarlhawk]

Hoping you reconsider...this is a sports forum foremost and you are a valued passionate poster. I remember we sometimes "bumped heads" but even then I felt your ability to reason once your passion gave way to reason. Social media is a haven for hate to replace reason and consideration to hear views that don't represent an echo chamber for our own individual viewpoints. Confrontation is merely a disagreement of opinions not a vehicle to character assassinate opposing views. I hope you'll change your mind.

[c_hawkbob]

Later HT, you do what suits you. If you change your mind you know where to find us.

[RiverDog]

I'm hoping you reconsider, too. We are a very small group and the loss of even one poster puts the forum at risk of losing steam and folding. In addition, you're a good football mind and a valued contributor, both in the Seahawks forum as well as the Off Topic side.

I went back and re-read a few of your comments, and yes, you are correct, you did say that "Geno" was going to make us eat crow, not you personally, so I can see how you feel that your "eat crow" comment was misinterpreted as coming directly from you, and for that, I do apologize. You've aligned yourself so closely with Geno that at times, I considered you and him to be one and the same, something that I shouldn't be doing. But all I did was ask you, and did so by saying "please," not to tell others that they're going to "eat crow" no matter what the reference is. I wasn't the only one that felt we were keeping score on our opinions and forecasts. We got into that mode at the end of last season, and I did not wish to go down that same rabbit hole again this year.

You might have been mis-interpreted, but you weren't attacked. No one called you names, no one insulted your intelligence, and no one made any threats. It's not very convincing to claim that you're being attacked when your assailant is using terms like "please" and "in all sincerity".

If you decide not to return, I want to thank you for all the good times that we've had and for your insights both here and over on the OT side. It's been fun. And if you want a suggestion for another Seahawks forum, send me a PM and I'll give you a link to the other one I frequent. But you're going to have to develop a little thicker skin. That place makes the HawkShack look like Sunday school.

But like I said, I hope you reconsider.

[mykc14]

I wish you would reconsider as well, I think you have a valuable perspective to add to this group, but if you are sensitive enough to leave over "4 posters" saying something about your "Geno will make some of you eat crow comment" then maybe it is time to take a break? Why let somebody else stop you from doing something you enjoy? If you enjoy posting on this forum why let a few pretty innocent comments stop you? Doesn't make much sense to me, but only you know what is best for you so, although I hope to read some of your posts in the future, at the end of the day I really hope you live out the rest of your days as happy and healthy as possible... Good Luck and Go HAWKS!

[Aseahawkfan]

If you're counting the number of posters who have a problem with you on a public forum, you need a break. That shouldn't even be something you spend any mental energy on.

[TriCitySam]

Will miss your posts....some of these guys I don't even bother to read. There was a moderator on another Seahawk form who was chastising a rude poster, basically said "If you want to act that way, go over to Hawkshack, they don't care how disrespectful you get..."

[Old but Slow]

Take a break if you need to. I did. But come back stronger, your point of view is needed. If I was one who offended you, I am sorry. Besides, you have helped me develop some pretty good crow recipes.

[obiken]

HT, I think like River, you should reconsider. Yes I thought you were delusional last year saying we would win 10-11 games, but I manned up and said I was wrong. The ONLY thing I stand by is that I still think you tried to shrink Russ to a nonessential entity in the title years and demeaned him later, I stand by that. It got a little thick between you, ASHF, and River but I never saw it as personal I am sorry you did. No question on Pete I still have a mixed bag view on the guy, but it was just a difference of opinion.

Live long and prosper.

[NorthHawk]

When HT first said 10 or more wins and Geno would lead the team, I thought that was so far out in left field that the idea was preposterous.
As it turns out, it was me in the 'Bob Uecker' seat, not HT.
At minimum with that call last year and standing firm on his prediction he has earned the right to make his call this year. And he may be right again as Geno will have a couple of additional weapons to get the job done. But a lot depends upon whether Pete lets the Offense reach its full potential and whether we will see the better Geno or the average Geno.

[RiverDog]

When HT first said 10 or more wins and Geno would lead the team, I thought that was so far out in left field that the idea was preposterous.
As it turns out, it was me in the 'Bob Uecker' seat, not HT.
At minimum with that call last year and standing firm on his prediction he has earned the right to make his call this year. And he may be right again as Geno will have a couple of additional weapons to get the job done. But a lot depends upon whether Pete lets the Offense reach its full potential and whether we will see the better Geno or the average Geno.

Ahh, the Bob Uecker seat. When we first got season tickets in '84, we were in the very top row off the corner of the end zone and I used to call them the Bob Uecker seats: "He missed the tag!"

I had the Hawks at 5-7 wins, so I wasn't that far off as it turned out. But HT pretty much nailed it, especially his call on Geno even though he cooled down significantly in the 2nd half of the season. One of the interesting dramas will be which Geno shows up. IMO the changes in the receiving corps won't be the difference maker. He had a very good receiving corps last season. The key will be his protection and if we can establish a consistent running attack.

This season, it's not completely outrageous to predict success for the Hawks as it was last year. I've seen some publications predict a Super Bowl appearance. I just have this feeling that a Pete Carroll coached team can't break loose of the .500ish, one and done mode that we've been in for a number of years now.

[NorthHawk]

If they use the RBs as occasional pass catchers, it can be a real difference for pass blocking as the DL/LBs have to take that option into account. So that type of dropoff could be mitigated. Both McIntosh and Charbonnet did well in College at that part of the game so there's hope that can translate to the NFL.

[mykc14]

At minimum with that call last year and standing firm on his prediction he has earned the right to make his call this year.

Everybody has the right to make a prediction every year. I honestly don't know what the big deal is. He made a prediction... he was right- most of us congratulated him... he wanted people to eat crow... many people admitted they were wrong. People think that maybe Geno's second-half of the season wasn't great and that he will play poorly this season. He says Geno will make them eat crow. People say they are tired about hearing him making people eat crow. He leaves.

A few things: Many people make predictions... Some predictions are correct... Most of us say "good job" to those who made the predictions... NOBODY else cares about making other people EAT CROW or admit they were wrong. If you can't stand the very small and timid response that happened after his post then it probably is time to take a break.

[mykc14]

Will miss your posts....some of these guys I don't even bother to read. There was a moderator on another Seahawk form who was chastising a rude poster, basically said "If you want to act that way, go over to Hawkshack, they don't care how disrespectful you get..."

If people are saying this place is disrespectful then they need to grow thicker skin or get off internet forums. We are about as nice to each other here as you will find on an online forum.

[Stream Hawk]

Yeah, HT is always good for a solid read. He knows his s*** and I love the enthusiasm We both were big Penny supporters, that I appreciate. I don't frequent this forum much in the offseason, so must have missed all of the drama. I know he and Asea's constant debates/arguments became a little ridic last summer. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion; that is the point of a forum.

Anyway, I eat crow for any Geno smack I did before last year. My biggest issue with Geno was his "ignored" DUI and how immature he was acting. That still remains unresolved; pretty poor leadership IMO. However, the team loves him so I will give him another chance.

[RiverDog]

Anyway, I eat crow for any Geno smack I did before last year. My biggest issue with Geno was his "ignored" DUI and how immature he was acting. That still remains unresolved; pretty poor leadership IMO. However, the team loves him so I will give him another chance.

Me, too. Not exactly the type of behavior you want out of your 'face of the franchise", huh? And I wonder what ever happened to that DUI? I know that they had a huge backlog in BAC testing, but it's been over 15 months. Did they just say 'oh, well' and let it slide due to lack of evidence? Or is it part of a larger philosophy of not prosecuting nonviolent crimes?

[Aseahawkfan]

HT, I think like River, you should reconsider. Yes I thought you were delusional last year saying we would win 10-11 games, but I manned up and said I was wrong. The ONLY thing I stand by is that I still think you tried to shrink Russ to a nonessential entity in the title years and demeaned him later, I stand by that. It got a little thick between you, ASHF, and River but I never saw it as personal I am sorry you did. No question on Pete I still have a mixed bag view on the guy, but it was just a difference of opinion.

Live long and prosper.

A Spock reference. My favorite Trek character. Well done, obiken, well done.

[RiverDog]

Will miss your posts....some of these guys I don't even bother to read. There was a moderator on another Seahawk form who was chastising a rude poster, basically said "If you want to act that way, go over to Hawkshack, they don't care how disrespectful you get..."

If people are saying this place is disrespectful then they need to grow thicker skin or get off internet forums. We are about as nice to each other here as you will find on an online forum.

I completely agree. That's what's so frustrating about Hawktawk getting upset and leaving. I honestly tried my best to be as polite and respectful as possible, yet he accused me of 'attacking' him. It makes me wonder if there isn't something else going on in his life. I sure hope he's OK.

[Aseahawkfan]

Yeah, HT is always good for a solid read. He knows his s*** and I love the enthusiasm We both were big Penny supporters, that I appreciate. I don't frequent this forum much in the offseason, so must have missed all of the drama. I know he and Asea's constant debates/arguments became a little ridic last summer. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion; that is the point of a forum.

Anyway, I eat crow for any Geno smack I did before last year. My biggest issue with Geno was his "ignored" DUI and how immature he was acting. That still remains unresolved; pretty poor leadership IMO. However, the team loves him so I will give him another chance.

HT went over the line with his Russ criticism and made it personal. I called him on it along with a few others.

I'm glad Geno is doing well enough. He ain't The Guy until he gets us to the Super Bowl. We've all tasted the Promised Land and a Lombardi. Once you taste that, everything else is failure. If Geno can't elevate his game to get us to the Promised Land with better weapons than Russ ever had in his career here and a better line, then on to the next guy.

[obiken]

HT went over the line with his Russ criticism and made it personal. I called him on it along with a few others.
I'm glad Geno is doing well enough. He ain't The Guy until he gets us to the Super Bowl. We've all tasted the Promised Land and a Lombardi. Once you taste that, everything else is failure. If Geno can't elevate his game to get us to the Promised Land with better weapons than Russ ever had in his career here and a better line, then on to the next guy.

Me too! I had to eat crow on Russ as a person but come on, numbers do not lie! With gadget WR's and TE's that would make Mahomy puke, Russ put up numbers and wins that outdo anyone in the first 7 years of his career. No question marrying a star and getting massive moola, would corrupt most players, we just didnt think it would with Russ, we were wrong. IF however he overcomes all of that and takes a team to the 2nd round of the playoffs, argument is over, he is in the Hall and HT loses.

[Aseahawkfan]

Me too! I had to eat crow on Russ as a person but come on, numbers do not lie! With gadget WR's and TE's that would make Mahomy puke, Russ put up numbers and wins that outdo anyone in the first 7 years of his career. No question marrying a star and getting massive moola, would corrupt most players, we just didnt think it would with Russ, we were wrong. IF however he overcomes all of that and takes a team to the 2nd round of the playoffs, argument is over, he is in the Hall and HT loses.

I don't know what you mean by corrupted. You act like the guy is Greg Hardy or Brett Favre. He isn't, never was, and never deserved to treated as such. You really trying to judge Russ based on what? What exactly did he do wrong? I sure haven't heard of any Tiger Woods or Eugene Robinson type of behavior. Russ takes care of his family, raises his kids well, stays faithful to his wife, helps his community, and works hard to be a good QB.

Russ is a good man who carries himself well. So he wanted to go somewhere else, oh well. Still not sure why some want to pile on the guy for wanting to leave. And as far as what he said in public, I've heard way worse from players.

Unless Russ does something truly wrong, I'm not going to look at him any differently than I do just because he left Seattle and did PR in the press. What was he supposed to say? "I don't agree with Coach Carroll. I'm going to do anything I can to get out of here" why things behind the scenes were not set in stone?

People really need to stop blurring the lines between a guy wanting to leave your team and actually being a bad person. Russ is to anyone's knowledge in no way corrupted, a bad person, or anything of the kind.

As far as the football business, it is what it is as Holmgren used to say. A business and lots of factors go into wanting to leave or do something different.

We got a great bunch of picks for Russ. He seems to have fallen off a cliff. Even if he comes back this year, Russ has given us nothing but positives whether setting the QB bar high for the next guy, winning a Super Bowl why here, 8 of his 10 years in the playoffs, and at the end a nice bunch of draft picks to rebuild on.

Russ being in Seattle has been nothing but positives as far as I'm concerned. I have zero reason to think poorly of the man unless something we don't know shows up.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

I don't know what you mean by corrupted. You act like the guy is Greg Hardy or Brett Favre. He isn't, never was, and never deserved to treated as such. You really trying to judge Russ based on what? What exactly did he do wrong? I sure haven't heard of any Tiger Woods or Eugene Robinson type of behavior. Russ takes care of his family, raises his kids well, stays faithful to his wife, helps his community, and works hard to be a good QB.

Russ is a good man who carries himself well. So he wanted to go somewhere else, oh well. Still not sure why some want to pile on the guy for wanting to leave. And as far as what he said in public, I've heard way worse from players.

Unless Russ does something truly wrong, I'm not going to look at him any differently than I do just because he left Seattle and did PR in the press. What was he supposed to say? "I don't agree with Coach Carroll. I'm going to do anything I can to get out of here" why things behind the scenes were not set in stone?

People really need to stop blurring the lines between a guy wanting to leave your team and actually being a bad person. Russ is to anyone's knowledge in no way corrupted, a bad person, or anything of the kind.

As far as the football business, it is what it is as Holmgren used to say. A business and lots of factors go into wanting to leave or do something different.

We got a great bunch of picks for Russ. He seems to have fallen off a cliff. Even if he comes back this year, Russ has given us nothing but positives whether setting the QB bar high for the next guy, winning a Super Bowl why here, 8 of his 10 years in the playoffs, and at the end a nice bunch of draft picks to rebuild on.

Russ being in Seattle has been nothing but positives as far as I'm concerned. I have zero reason to think poorly of the man unless something we don't know shows up.

I think Hawktawk was too hard on Russ, but Russ has definitely changed a great deal. Big drop off in play and a deliberate effort to set himself apart from his teammates in Denver (personal staff in the team training facilities and personal office). Some criticism is justified, but it doesn't make Russ a bad person.

And he was right about Geno, but it was far from a given. As much as he viewed himself as getting blasted, he blasted right back at people for having reservations that 5 games of relief duty could reasonably be extrapolated to a full season of success once teams start compiling tape on him. There's still a twinge of reservation with Geno with his drop off in the back half of last season, but there's more to like than not at this point in my book, and it's no slight to say that Geno is talent-dependent more so than your Tier 1 QBs.

To Hawktawk, life's too short to participate in anything that doesn't bring you joy. We have all tapped into our equine posterior side at some point on this forum, myself included, so I didn't take your stances personally. Do what's best for you. Come on back if you feel it again.

[NorthHawk]

It would seem that money and fame (including his Wife's fame) went to Russ's head a little.
That doesn't mean he turned into a bad person. He's still generous with his time at childrens hospitals but sometimes getting married and having kids changes the priorities for athletes. Not all, but some change enough to affect their professional career. This past year may have reset his focus on football to some degree. It has to be humbling for a guy who has made it to the top. I hope he regains his mojo and becomes the QB we all knew in his best years here. After all he did give us the best decade of QB'ing we've had in this franchises history.

[RiverDog]

Last season, we had a vested interest in how Russell and the Broncos fared, but now that the draft choices have all been exhausted, I'll be approaching this season with a more passive attitude. It will be an interesting drama, seeing of Sean Payton can 'fix' Russell, but I don't have any emotional capital invested in how well Russell does. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate what he's done for us in the past.

Hawktawk and I shared a common opinion of Russell's diminishing skill set, but where we differed was that he had a genuine dislike for him that ran very deep and caused him to rub a lot of us the wrong way and likely contributed to his feeling that he was being 'attacked' or ganged up on.

Russell as a quarterback has some work to do. He has failed to adjust his game to compensate for the fact that he's no longer a spring chicken, having lost a step and not nearly as elusive as he once was. In his last few seasons with us, he consistently was in the bottom 1/4 in the time it takes for a quarterback to get rid of the ball with the only ones slower being significantly younger than him. It was the same story in Denver last season. In 2022, 34 year old Russell Wilson's TT was 2.98. There were just 3 QB's with 200+ attempts that had a longer TT: Lamar Jackson (age 25), Justin Fields (age 23), and Zach Wilson (age 23). The quarterback who got rid of the ball the quickest? 45 year old Tom Brady. It's one of the primary reasons why Russell led the league in sacks and sack yardage.

Unless and until Russell is able to change his game and not hold on to the ball so GD long, it's going to be the same old story. It's why I wasn't at all disappointed when we traded him as I felt that his game was broken and that he had yet to make the commitment to fix it.

[Aseahawkfan]

I'll keep an eye on Russ. I'd like to see if his favorite coach Sean Payton can get him turned around.

[obiken]

I'll keep an eye on Russ. I'd like to see if his favorite coach Sean Payton can get him turned around.

Oh I think he will, its just a matter of how much. With SP if he doesnt start running when the lanes are open he will move off him in 2 years max.

[RiverDog]

I'll keep an eye on Russ. I'd like to see if his favorite coach Sean Payton can get him turned around.

Oh I think he will, its just a matter of how much. With SP if he doesnt start running when the lanes are open he will move off him in 2 years max.

That's going to be one of the dramas that will be interesting to see develop. Russell is pretty stubborn, didn't recognize the problem when he was with us and didn't last year with the Broncos. Will his epic face plant from last season cause him to have a "come to Jesus" moment and do a little soul searching? I have no doubt that he can, but as we all know, sometimes it's tough to admit when you're wrong about something.

[govandals]

Let me start by saying folks on this board are the most kind, nice, thoughtful folks you will find on any Seahawk board, at least the 8-10 that I've crossed over the years. I went back and re-read some the threads HT posted in. I never felt HT was attacked, ridiculed or hammered. If you want to shout from the rooftops every time you're right about something, you cannot be thin skinned when people come at you when you're wrong about something. If HT lets what people say on an open internet forum get under his skin, then it's probably time for a break. For the most part, I enjoyed his posts, he was entertaining, he certainly saw things from a different angle than I do, and that's OK, and then sometimes I would just laugh, roll my eyes and keep scrolling. And that's OK too.

Hawktawk, If your out there, take a break and I hope you come back.

[RiverDog]

Let me start by saying folks on this board are the most kind, nice, thoughtful folks you will find on any Seahawk board, at least the 8-10 that I've crossed over the years. I went back and re-read some the threads HT posted in. I never felt HT was attacked, ridiculed or hammered. If you want to shout from the rooftops every time you're right about something, you cannot be thin skinned when people come at you when you're wrong about something. If HT lets what people say on an open internet forum get under his skin, then it's probably time for a break. For the most part, I enjoyed his posts, he was entertaining, he certainly saw things from a different angle than I do, and that's OK, and then sometimes I would just laugh, roll my eyes and keep scrolling. And that's OK too.

Hawktawk, If your out there, take a break and I hope you come back.

You're right, we really do have a great group of posters in this forum. I've frequented a number of other similar forums, but this one is my favorite, and it's mostly because of the courtesy and respect that we give each other. I suppose the smallness of our group makes it a little friendlier.

[obiken]

River, should probably start a separate thread for this. I have some shocking sports news. My best friend hangs around a giant sports bar in Cleveland, where a lot of sports writers and reporters hang out. Word is, do you remember the goal line play in SB 49 when we should have given the ball to Lynch, and RW threw the slant pass? It was Russ that called the audible on that play!!! Beville and Pete covered him!! Justin asked me as a Hawks fan IF that would hurt his legacy, I said it would do more than just put a chink in it!! Have you or any of the other guys hear this story before?? IF not and IF it is true, is it being leaked to poke Russ in the chops for leaving?

[Aseahawkfan]

I have heard that story. I don't believe it, but I've heard it. Russell was in year 3 when we went to the second Super Bowl. I think in year 3 Russell was fully onboard following the plan as called.

That story is another revisionist story to further take shots at Russell by making up whatever someone can make up about him. That slant play has already been discussed extensively. It was a play in Bevell's arsenal called multiple times that year, but not in the red zone. It was normally a play Bevell used in the middle of the field with more open ground to cover with a defense that wasn't stuffed in as small a space. For some reason Bevell thought he was being clever calling that play in the red zone.

I don't think Russ did much audibling for probably his first five or six years, maybe longer. Part of the reason Russ is gone right now is he wanted more freedom with the offense and Pete wasn't going to give it. So they had a falling out over Russ wanting more control and to be more like Peyton and Pete maintaining tight reins on the offense.

So no, I don't think Russ audibled to that play. I think Russ was a perfect company man his first five or so years in the league. That play was exactly what they called in from the sidelines.

I am not sure Pete cared much if the play worked. They thought it was a very safe play with a chance to work that would either get the touchdown or stop the clock. Then they had two more downs to run Marshawn in if needed. Pete explained they were doing at least one pass play in that final sequence because they needed to make sure the clock stopped if the play didn't work. Then the would use the final few downs and time to run a couple of run plays as that would give them enough time where a run play would have kept the clock running and forced them to run the offense faster.

It's pretty clear Bevell called the play in. Pete oked it. It was a strategic pass play call to set up Marshawn run plays if the play failed by not making much time off the clock.

[RiverDog]

River, should probably start a separate thread for this. I have some shocking sports news. My best friend hangs around a giant sports bar in Cleveland, where a lot of sports writers and reporters hang out. Word is, do you remember the goal line play in SB 49 when we should have given the ball to Lynch, and RW threw the slant pass? It was Russ that called the audible on that play!!! Beville and Pete covered him!! Justin asked me as a Hawks fan IF that would hurt his legacy, I said it would do more than just put a chink in it!! Have you or any of the other guys hear this story before?? IF not and IF it is true, is it being leaked to poke Russ in the chops for leaving?

Yeah, I don't believe it, either. The play happened too quickly for it to be an audible. With all the noise and everything, Russell would have had to have taken too much time, and with the game clock running after Beast had gotten stopped at the 1, there was a sense of urgency to get the next play off to conserve their timeout.

Plus, it wouldn't have been just Bevell and Pete that would have had to have covered for Russell. The entire offense, and most likely the entire team, would have known that it was an audible and had to have cooperated in the conspiracy and keep it a secret for these past 10 years complicated by the fact that it was one of, if not the most, over analyzed plays in the game. And you know what they say about secrets: Two people can keep a secret so long one of them is dead. It's the major weakness of most conspiracy theories. I'm calling BS.

Russell Wilson is like a pinata at a 10 year old's birthday party. Everyone gets to take a shot at him.

[NorthHawk]

I read somewhere that Russ had the option to audible but didn't do it. There was mention of too much noise and time as two of the reasons, but that play should not even have been on the radar at that point in the game.

[c_hawkbob]

There are enough now retired players that were on the team and even in the huddle for that play that were/are against that call that would certainly have said it was a audible before now if indeed it were.

[RiverDog]

There are enough now retired players that were on the team and even in the huddle for that play that were/are against that call that would certainly have said it was a audible before now if indeed it were.

Yuppers. No way would they ever be able to keep something that consequential and controversial a secret. And it wouldn't necessarily be limited to those in the huddle, either. If it were an audible, they certainly would have discussed it with other players and coaches on the team. Total BS story.

[Aseahawkfan]

I've heard so many stories about that final play whether the Russ audible story or the Pete wanted to have Russ win on a pass play to pump him up story. Just bunches of stories for fans to apply blame and rage at someone.

[obiken]

I've heard so many stories about that final play whether the Russ audible story or the Pete wanted to have Russ win on a pass play to pump him up story. Just bunches of stories for fans to apply blame and rage at someone.

Good points, all you of you.

[govandals]

There was a good interview with Luke Willson maybe a year or two ago, he talked in depth about the play, very candid about it all. Going off what he said, I certainly don't think RW audibled.

[tarlhawk]

Like all topics of speculation the reasons can run from logical to ridiculous. A bad play was called whether from the sideline (logical) or just before the ball was snapped (unlikely) but whenever "excuses" are being sought to somehow "heal" the outcome of a bad play...the responsibility is overlooked. Bad plays called (if executed correctly by all involved) can still produce good outcomes. Anything that "tips" the balance of the opponent recognizing the play being called narrows the window for correctly executing a bad play being called. Their rookie who blew the play up said they had practiced that particular play before the game which enabled him to have the confidence as a rookie to JUMP the route...did RW look off the WR target? Was the outcome aided by Kearse failing to push Browner back enough to interfere with coverage (Browner didn't move at all). The result was a dagger in our chance to win back to back Super Bowl titles...who can we blame that will change that outcome? No one...

[RiverDog]

Like all topics of speculation the reasons can run from logical to ridiculous. A bad play was called whether from the sideline (logical) or just before the ball was snapped (unlikely) but whenever "excuses" are being sought to somehow "heal" the outcome of a bad play...the responsibility is overlooked. Bad plays called (if executed correctly by all involved) can still produce good outcomes. Anything that "tips" the balance of the opponent recognizing the play being called narrows the window for correctly executing a bad play being called. Their rookie who blew the play up said they had practiced that particular play before the game which enabled him to have the confidence as a rookie to JUMP the route...did RW look off the WR target? Was the outcome aided by Kearse failing to push Browner back enough to interfere with coverage (Browner didn't move at all). The result was a dagger in our chance to win back to back Super Bowl titles...who can we blame that will change that outcome? No one...

You should have been here when Anthony! was posting. He was such a Russell Wilson brown noser that he claimed that Russell had zero responsibility for that INT.

I like to think of it like Brock Huard said: If the bench sends in a skunk of a play, it's up to the quarterback to not let it stink.