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Did you see the story out of Pittsburg, that the Steelers don't want Russell at all. In short it said, 1) the story that OC Arthur Smith wouldn't let RW audible is false. It was put out there by RW's team (to make him look better). that the truth from inside the team is that 2) RW wasn't following the play calls, 3) was holding the ball too long and 4) he can no longer escape defenders.

I doubt any of us doubt this report - we heard this in Seattle, and in Denver. The thing that is dumbfounding, is that because he had trouble with Pete and Sean Payton because of these tendencies (1-3), why in the world didn't he learn?? Is it because he isn't capable of execution (mentally) or he thinks he's smarter?

Who knows what's going on with Russ. It's all rumor with him. It's obvious he's so set in his ways that he can only play one way. If his ego is so big he can't accept that he can't do what he used to do and adapt, then his best option is as a backup somewhere. If he can't do his running around and he can't play out of the pocket, then he can't be a starter in the NFL.

We do have another Russell Wilson thread going on that's about 30 pages long, but maybe it's time for a new one.

To give the conversation some context, here's the story reported in the OP:

Earlier this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that sources told him that there was existing tension between Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith because Smith was taking away Wilson’s ability to check at the line of scrimmage and wanted to stick to the gameplan of being a run-first team. However, those claims got disputed very quickly by NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala who says it was all “patently false.”

“It is patently false,” Kinkhawbwala said in an appearance on 93.7 The Fan. “Completely inaccurate... I’ve been hesitant from the very beginning. We go all the way back to the spring where I was very honest with all of you about what I had been told in meetings in Denver. From players, from coaches, from people who had played with him, what I had been told in Seattle. Why those two teams that had chosen to move on from Russ and what were certain things that he struggled with. Obviously, it wasn’t anything that the fan base necessarily wanted to hear. I’ll say this straight up: Russell Wilson is a very, very nice human being and none of this is meant o be malicious in any way, but he is clearly looking for another contract.”

This would make a lot of sense, especially because shortly after the Dulac report came out, Mike Tomlin’s closest media confidant, Jay Glazer, went on NBC and said he doesn’t think Wilson will be back in Pittsburgh.

This all feels like a very calculated move by Wilson’s camp to try and make him look as blameless as possible as he seeks another contract elsewhere.

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/p ... e-steelers

It's getting more and more difficult for even the most enthusiastic Russell Wilson admirers to keep denying what many of us have seen for years as this story dove tails perfectly with the problems Russell was known to have had in both Seattle and Denver of always wanting to go off script, ie the let Russ cook motto that we were all too familiar with. That's why we saw Sean Payton blow up at Russell on the sideline shortly before Payton benched him despite Russell having a relatively good statistical season. If the shoe fits, wear it.

Our old friend Hawktawk was right on the money about Russell, although he was way too dramatic and went over the top in his characterizations.

QB's, OC's, and HC'x never always see eye to eye. There are always differences of opinion and passionate views. How those differences are presented is quite another thing, but most QB's want to have the option of changing the play if they see something that is obvious and even rookie QB's get that option as they develop. There might be a difference of opinion about the game plan and that is serious, but the story presents itself as only giving Wilson the play and he has no choice or say in the matter after they see the opposing Defense and its formation. If that is in fact the issue then I would see most veteran QBs not being happy about it.

NorthHawk wrote:QB's, OC's, and HC'x never always see eye to eye. There are always differences of opinion and passionate views. How those differences are presented is quite another thing, but most QB's want to have the option of changing the play if they see something that is obvious and even rookie QB's get that option as they develop. There might be a difference of opinion about the game plan and that is serious, but the story presents itself as only giving Wilson the play and he has no choice or say in the matter after they see the opposing Defense and its formation. If that is in fact the issue then I would see most veteran QBs not being happy about it.

IMO the proposition that any quarterback, whether it be a rookie or a 15-year veteran, is going to be told that he can't option out of a play if he sees something obvious is absurd. No coach or OC is going to put that kind of restriction on his quarterback.

With Russell, there is a clear pattern of him wanting more control and/or decision-making authority than the coach or offensive coordinator is willing to give him. We saw it here in the last few seasons that led to his departure, we saw it in Denver with Sean Payton benching him then taking a massive financial hit just to get rid of him, and now we're seeing it again in Pittsburgh with this rub between Russell and the Steelers OC that seems to be contributing to yet another break-up.

If a man goes through 3 divorces in 4 years, it's a pretty good bet that it's not the woman's fault. Russell's career is beginning to look a lot like that of Jeff George, a very talented quarterback who could never get along with his coaches.

No coach is going to limit his QB to only 1 play at the LoS and yet the article says the following:

… because Smith was taking away Wilson’s ability to check at the line of scrimmage and wanted to stick to the gameplan of being a run-first team.

That suggests to me that this may be one of those stories that’s taken a smaller issue and made more of it than there is.
But it’s true that Wilson has wanted more control in past situations but it wouldn’t be too smart when he wants to stay with that team. The worst time to make a power play when your position is weak.

North Hawk wrote:No coach is going to limit his QB to only 1 play at the LoS and yet the article says the following:

… because Smith was taking away Wilson’s ability to check at the line of scrimmage and wanted to stick to the gameplan of being a run-first team.

That suggests to me that this may be one of those stories that’s taken a smaller issue and made more of it than there is.
But it’s true that Wilson has wanted more control in past situations but it wouldn’t be too smart when he wants to stay with that team. The worst time to make a power play when your position is weak.

And as the article goes on to say....

However, those claims (that Smith was taking away Russell's ability to check at the LOS) got disputed very quickly by NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala who says it was all “patently false.”

“It is patently false,” Kinkhawbwala said in an appearance on 93.7 The Fan. “Completely inaccurate... I’ve been hesitant from the very beginning. We go all the way back to the spring where I was very honest with all of you about what I had been told in meetings in Denver. From players, from coaches, from people who had played with him, what I had been told in Seattle. Why those two teams that had chosen to move on from Russ and what were certain things that he struggled with. Obviously, it wasn’t anything that the fan base necessarily wanted to hear. I’ll say this straight up: Russell Wilson is a very, very nice human being and none of this is meant o be malicious in any way, but he is clearly looking for another contract.”

This would make a lot of sense, especially because shortly after the Dulac report came out, Mike Tomlin’s closest media confidant, Jay Glazer, went on NBC and said he doesn’t think Wilson will be back in Pittsburgh.

This all feels like a very calculated move by Wilson’s camp to try and make him look as blameless as possible as he seeks another contract elsewhere.

So, who are you going to believe? What I'm saying is that over the past 5 years or so, that Russell has developed a track record of wanting to go off script more than multiple HC's/OC's are willing to, and that fact leads me to believe that the claims of him being unreasonably limited at the LOS by Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith are false.

Russell is always going to say that he wants to "remain a Steeler" just like he said that he wanted to "play for the Seahawks for another 10 years," until he signs a deal with another team, or the Steelers cut him. It's Russell's camp, Team 3, that's putting that message out there. It's a foregone conclusion that he won't be coming back to Pittsburg.

River Dog wrote:We do have another Russell Wilson thread going on that's about 30 pages long, but maybe it's time for a new one.

To give the conversation some context, here's the story reported in the OP:

Earlier this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that sources told him that there was existing tension between Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith because Smith was taking away Wilson’s ability to check at the line of scrimmage and wanted to stick to the gameplan of being a run-first team. However, those claims got disputed very quickly by NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala who says it was all “patently false.”

“It is patently false,” Kinkhawbwala said in an appearance on 93.7 The Fan. “Completely inaccurate... I’ve been hesitant from the very beginning. We go all the way back to the spring where I was very honest with all of you about what I had been told in meetings in Denver. From players, from coaches, from people who had played with him, what I had been told in Seattle. Why those two teams that had chosen to move on from Russ and what were certain things that he struggled with. Obviously, it wasn’t anything that the fan base necessarily wanted to hear. I’ll say this straight up: Russell Wilson is a very, very nice human being and none of this is meant o be malicious in any way, but he is clearly looking for another contract.”

This would make a lot of sense, especially because shortly after the Dulac report came out, Mike Tomlin’s closest media confidant, Jay Glazer, went on NBC and said he doesn’t think Wilson will be back in Pittsburgh.

This all feels like a very calculated move by Wilson’s camp to try and make him look as blameless as possible as he seeks another contract elsewhere.

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/p ... e-steelers

It's getting more and more difficult for even the most enthusiastic Russell Wilson admirers to keep denying what many of us have seen for years as this story dove tails perfectly with the problems Russell was known to have had in both Seattle and Denver of always wanting to go off script, ie the let Russ cook motto that we were all too familiar with. That's why we saw Sean Payton blow up at Russell on the sideline shortly before Payton benched him despite Russell having a relatively good statistical season. If the shoe fits, wear it.

Our old friend Hawktawk was right on the money about Russell, although he was way too dramatic and went over the top in his characterizations.

Dude wasn't "Right on the money" about s*** other than Russ was falling off. He character assassinated Russ and we still have no proof of that other than the usual rumor and innuendo that even this reporter is disputing. Some reporter making claims with neither Russ nor the team validating them.

Here you are carrying on the rumor rubbish when what is really happening is as simple as "Russ got old and can't perform any more." Happens to every single QB.

That's what really happened to Russ. He just got old in football years and a scrambling QB who can't play out of the pocket has a much shorter shelf-life than a pocket passer. Though the reality is there are a rare few QBs that can play at a high level past a decade. Really, almost any position in football rarely lasts even as long as Russ.

Russ got old and can't scramble any more. The rest of the rubbish from Hawktawk and these stories is just rubbish.

You keep claiming you don't like conspiracy theories, but you sure love them when it comes to Russell Wilson.

Aseahawkfan wrote:Dude wasn't "Right on the money" about s*** other than Russ was falling off. He character assassinated Russ and we still have no proof of that other than the usual rumor and innuendo that even this reporter is disputing. Some reporter making claims with neither Russ nor the team validating them.

Here you are carrying on the rumor rubbish when what is really happening is as simple as "Russ got old and can't perform any more." Happens to every single QB.

That's what really happened to Russ. He just got old in football years and a scrambling QB who can't play out of the pocket has a much shorter shelf-life than a pocket passer. Though the reality is there are a rare few QBs that can play at a high level past a decade. Really, almost any position in football rarely lasts even as long as Russ.

Russ got old and can't scramble any more. The rest of the rubbish from Hawktawk and these stories is just rubbish.

You keep claiming you don't like conspiracy theories, but you sure love them when it comes to Russell Wilson.

Hawktalk was more right about Russell Wilson than anyone else in this forum, including me.

And what Russell Wilson conspiracy theory is it that I believe in? That his camp leaks information? I'm not sure if that qualifies as a conspiracy theory. And yes, they're rumors, but there is good reason to believe that they're true as it fits a pattern.

And IMO there's more to Russell's declining performance than simply getting old. He cannot, or will not, adjust his stye of play to compensate for his advancing age. There are a lot of other quarterbacks have been able to play at a high level well into their 30's, including current QB's like Mathew Stafford and Jared Goff.

In the other situations he had leverage but he has none in Pittsburgh so it would be counterproductive to rock the boat or demand any type of changes. All starting QBs have ideas to help their Offense and some are not in step with the OC, but that’s how the NFL works. It’s a constant give and take in an effort to find a winning strategy.

NorthHawk wrote:In the other situations he had leverage but he has none in Pittsburgh so it would be counterproductive to rock the boat or demand any type of changes. All starting QBs have ideas to help their Offense and some are not in step with the OC, but that’s how the NFL works. It’s a constant give and take in an effort to find a winning strategy.

Russell is done in Pittsburgh so there's absolutely no harm in rocking the boat there. In an effort to win a contract with his next team, he, or rather his camp, are trying to put out the narrative that the rumored problems between him and the OC were mostly the OC's doing, that Russell was quite reasonable in wanting to change plays at the LOS. At least that's the takeaway I got from the article we've been discussing, and it's a POV that I think is very possible, if not likely.

The Steelers are going to have to make a decision on Russell by March 12th, the beginning of free agency. If Russell becomes a free agent, then the next drama will be whether or not Pete offers him a contract in Las Vegas.

And here's another report from a local beat writer by the name of Dejan Kovacevic that supports the one posted previously:

“I’ll keep this short and very much to the point: Russell Wilson’s not wanted by the Steelers. Like, at all. I had multiple conversations with people inside the team and the universal sentiment among them regarding the player who quarterbacked the offense to a five-loss collapse to close the season was this: Don’t try here what you tried in Denver upon that ugly exit from the Broncos after a public spat with Sean Payton, which was to blame others for your shortcomings.”

In this last part of his report, Kovacevic refers to the fact that within the organization, many people believe Wilson has been the one spreading rumors about Arthur Smith not wanting him to change plays at the line of scrimmage. This could be a way for Wilson to justify not winning the Super Bowl in order to secure a contract extension with another team.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will not be giving Russell Wilson a contract extension, according to Kovacevic’s report. In fact, Mike Tomlin and the organization are very upset about the wave of rumors surrounding Arthur Smith.

“I’m here to state as firmly as I possibly can that this nonsense that was echoed by a local newspaper earlier this week about how Wilson was suddenly handcuffed by Arthur Smith after a strong showing in Cincinnati was exactly that. Meaning nonsense. I’m told that Wilson’s agents, part of his voluminous entourage, put forth that narrative, and they did so in an apparent attempt to either preserve his status in Pittsburgh or enhance the chance that another team might want him as a starter. It won’t be here (Pittsburgh). No chance. None.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nf ... ngNewsSerp

They're for sure rumors, but it's getting to one of those 'where there's smoke, there's fire' sort of thing.