hawktawk wrote:Russ working hard is a myth
c_hawkbob wrote:I've been trying to stay away from your blatant Russ hate but this is just a lie. Nobody that Russ has ever played with or for has ever said that he was anything but one of the hardest working players they'd ever been associated with. He may well have hit his wall (though I doubt it) but this is just makin' sh!t up. Kicking a man while he's down is bad enough, but lying to make the kick that much harder is just embarrassing. I'd say you're better than that but the way you've acted this year I'm not so sure that you are anymore.
I'm with Cbob on this one. I don't see any evidence that Russell has lost any of the work ethic that allowed him to overcome the odds and play professional football at a very high level when he broke into the league as a rookie.
It's not clear to me who's decision it was for him to sit out the preseason. It was likely a joint decision between him and his coaches. IMO it was a mistake that he didn't as he was learning a new offense and new teammates, but I see nothing to indicate that it was Russell being lazy. Most starting QB's don't play, or at least don't play very much, in the preseason.
You can't take a random photograph of Russell sitting in a lounge chair and project it over 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I'm not saying that Russell hasn't lost any of his work ethic, only that you cannot say with any degree of certainty that he doesn't work as hard today as we all know that he once did.
But I do disagree with Cbob about Russ hitting a wall. His skill set has diminished, and he has yet to adjust his game for it. Although I don't think he's going to be out of the league in two years like HT does, he's going to have to re-invent himself if he wants to regain the magic, something I said over a year ago. I have my doubts that he can do it.