Russell Wilson

[River Dog]

They give game balls to the former players of teams they just beat. That's their tradition. They didn't just start doing it for Russ.

True. But that wasn't the point. The point is that they gave Russ a "pretty ball." Whassup with that?

[c_hawkbob]

Bleacher Report trying to generate clicks would be my guess.

[River Dog]

Bleacher Report trying to generate clicks would be my guess.

It's more than just BR. It's all over the internet. Besides, it's a direct quote from Justin Fields.

But I do want to correct something that I had assumed which now appears in error. I thought that only Russell got a game ball that was called "pretty", and that perhaps they called it that due to Russ's sideline attire. It now appears that the ball that all the players got was called "pretty.".

[4XPIPS]

Jeez now y'all are really gonna add on to the anti Russ crap in here over a weird Steeler tradition that has nothing to do with him?

I am far from anyone being the "Anti Russ". I put out an argument he deserves to be in the HOF, and I have hopes he can have a great run with the Steelers. However, yes I agree my last post with the bleacher report link does shade some of that cringy perspective of Russ that I have tried to ignore. I will admit I am Russ fan, and I want to see him go out with a bang and I am not for one to celebrate his failure.

[River Dog]

The thread is approaching its 2nd birthday, contains 1085 posts, and is on its 28th page. It's a more popular topic than the interception in SB 49.

[trents]

Russ showed some of the old magic against the Jets tonight. He still throws a good long ball. He obviously doesn't have the wheels he used to have and you could tell he wasn't about to put himself in harms way by trying to scramble for yardage but tonight his team's ground game tonight made that unnecessary. With him at the helm, the Steelers moved the ball much better than they had been doing with Fields, at least against a depleted Jets defense.

[Aseahawkfan]

Cool. I'll always have love for Russ. I still don't get the hate for him, but whatever. Some people will take something someone said and spin it into something much bigger than it is. Russ always seemed like a good guy to me. Got us our first Super Bowl win. Set a nice high bar for a future QB. I wish him nothing but success and will welcome into the Ring of Honor when it's his time.

Kid was considered to be too short to be an NFL Pro. Here he is still playing 13 years later trying to live the dream. Maybe a bit more reality in his mindset, but still giving it his all for whatever team he's playing for.

I really do miss that team of personalities we had during our peak.

[River Dog]

That was one of Russell's better games since leaving the Hawks. He adds a dimension to the Steelers offense that Fields doesn't give them, and that is one of the best deep balls in the league. But we do have to qualify his performance by noting the fact that he got some spectacular help from his receiving corps last night. He's not going to be able to count on efforts like that in every game.

The Steelers are right in the thick of things in the AFC Central, tied with the Ravens for the division lead. But they have yet to play a single divisional opponent and won't play one for another two weeks.

[NorthHawk]

Their Offense is much like the old Seattle Offense with throwing for chunk plays and running the ball, so he should feel fairly comfortable. He was throwing over the middle more than he did here and to the TE as well.
Add in their Defense and he might be in the right place at the right time to succeed.

[HawkSis]

I’m in a place now where I can root for him to do well. When he went to the Broncos, I wanted him to suck because it mattered to our draft slots. And, I didn’t care for the way he shot himself outta town. But I love the guy and hope for a HOF for him. It was nice to see him play well.

But “let’s weld?” He just needs to focus on ball and realize he sucks at marketing. Let’s weld. Hahahahahaha

[River Dog]

I’m in a place now where I can root for him to do well. When he went to the Broncos, I wanted him to suck because it mattered to our draft slots. And, I didn’t care for the way he shot himself outta town. But I love the guy and hope for a HOF for him. It was nice to see him play well.

But “let’s weld?” He just needs to focus on ball and realize he sucks at marketing. Let’s weld. Hahahahahaha

He didn't actually use that as a catch phrase, did he? Russell isn't that cringy or is he?

I'm about 45%-55% as far as my feelings towards Russell goes. I don't like the way he behaved those last few years with us, with the "I'm getting hit too much," the rumors about his trying to get Pete fired, his outright lying to fans about his intentions, has caused me to lean slightly towards rooting against him, but not to the point where it's a fist pumping high five type of rooting when he does poorly, more like a little chuckle under my breath.

If I'm ever in a stadium when Russell announced, I won't boo him nor will I cheer madly, rather politely applaud in recognition of all the great things he did for us. And just a FYI, trust me, our friend Hawktawk was not alone in his hatred for Russell. There's a significant percentage of the fan base who feel as he does.

[Aseahawkfan]

He didn't actually use that as a catch phrase, did he? Russell isn't that cringy or is he?

I'm about 45%-55% as far as my feelings towards Russell goes. I don't like the way he behaved those last few years with us, with the "I'm getting hit too much," the rumors about his trying to get Pete fired, his outright lying to fans about his intentions, has caused me to lean slightly towards rooting against him, but not to the point where it's a fist pumping high five type of rooting when he does poorly, more like a little chuckle under my breath.

If I'm ever in a stadium when Russell announced, I won't boo him nor will I cheer madly, rather politely applaud in recognition of all the great things he did for us. And just a FYI, trust me, our friend Hawktawk was not alone in his hatred for Russell. There's a significant percentage of the fan base who feel as he does.

I like Russ, but he is that dorky to use a catchphrase like that. You saw his Subway commercial?

[River Dog]

He didn't actually use that as a catch phrase, did he? Russell isn't that cringy or is he?

I'm about 45%-55% as far as my feelings towards Russell goes. I don't like the way he behaved those last few years with us, with the "I'm getting hit too much," the rumors about his trying to get Pete fired, his outright lying to fans about his intentions, has caused me to lean slightly towards rooting against him, but not to the point where it's a fist pumping high five type of rooting when he does poorly, more like a little chuckle under my breath.

If I'm ever in a stadium when Russell announced, I won't boo him nor will I cheer madly, rather politely applaud in recognition of all the great things he did for us. And just a FYI, trust me, our friend Hawktawk was not alone in his hatred for Russell. There's a significant percentage of the fan base who feel as he does.

I like Russ, but he is that dorky to use a catchphrase like that. You saw his Subway commercial?

We have to be a little bit careful about attributing some of this weird stuff to Russell. A year or two ago, there was a rumor out that Russell had said that on his diet, that he didn't take a crap for 3 days. It turned out that was false, made up by a troll as there's no evidence of him actually saying that. I can't find anything that documents Russell as having said "Let's Weld." As strange and cringy as Russell can be, I don't think that even he would say such a silly thing.

But the Subway commercials, the "Let's Ride", the knee highs on the airliner to Europe, were all true. His saying and doing silly stuff like that is a magnet for rumor mongers that like to troll him. The problem is that he's set himself up for these trolls, that if somebody says something outrageous about anyone else no one would buy it. But the fact that Russell has been so goofy in the past that it makes it believable.

[4XPIPS]

Russell's second start looked like vintage Russ. You had some sacks, a lost fumble, but mixed in with some pretty lob passes. A nice TD toss to inside left side end of the endzone. Unfortunately, there are only a few QBs in the modern day era that can throw with touch and accuracy, and Russ still has it. However, he does look so slow out there. I think the Steelers made the right choice with Russ over Fields, and I am rooting for him to do well in Steeler Nation.

[River Dog]

I thought Russell looked very good. Crunching the numbers, I've been trying to find some stats on his time to throw number, if he's improved it any, but I can't find anything, likely because he hasn't had enough snaps to qualify. Just by watching him, he looks like he's getting rid of the ball a little quicker than in the past. That's been the one thing about his game and likely one of the reasons why he and Sean Payton didn't mesh in Denver. PFF did give him a really bad rating for his running, something that meets the eye test. However, his passer rating is very good, 3rd highest in the league if you ignore minimum snaps. He hasn't thrown an interception in his first two games and is averaging 9.5 yards per attempt, best in the league.

Overall, I thought Russell looked really good. He continues to get great help from his receiving corps, and if he can take the Steelers deep into the playoffs, it might resurrect his HOF chances of which have taken a huge nosedive over the past 3-4 years.

[NorthHawk]

From what I've seen of his play, it looks like they have him moving more than trying to stay in the pocket. He was always good at roll outs and throwing and it seems they are going back to that formula.
He sure throws a pretty long ball, though so I would think his receivers are starting to love it. As well, they probably know that if they beat their man or coverage, they stand to have a good chance to get thrown the ball.