The Pittsburgh Steelers hitched their wagon to QB Russell Wilson this season, and everyone is wondering how far they will go. Well, not everyone is wondering, but rather wildly speculating. In case you haven’t noticed, it turns out that everyone has a podcast and an opinion to go with it.
That includes former offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, who has expressed his opinion on Russell Wilson numerous times on his Stinkin’ Truth podcast. In a recent episode, he almost paid Wilson a compliment before taking a hard left.
“I will tell you that Russ (Wilson) is still very athletic. He can still move,” Schlereth stated. “All those reports that he lost athletic ability and that’s why he wasn’t playing well are just incorrect reports. But I don’t think Russ wants to become a zone-read quarterback. I think he still has that thought in his mind that he could end his career very similar to how Drew Brees ended his.”
Let’s pause for a moment and remember how Brees finished his career. He went 17-6 his last two seasons in 13 games. He was 556 of 768 passing for 5,921 passing yards, 51 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Breaking that down into 17-game averages, that translates to 4,376 yards with 38 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. That all sounds pretty good. The only problem is, that’s not Russell Wilson, according to Schlereth.
“I think when you’re deluded, you think you can point your finger at eight million different places that say, ‘That’s why this happened.’ That’s why,’” he said of Wilson, based on his belief that Wilson believes himself capable of playing in a way that he is not. “That toxic positivity and surrounding yourself with people who basically (he tells you), ‘It’s not your fault, man’ (…). I mean, that’s not even derogatory. “That’s just a fact.”
There is another thing that begs for explanation: “toxic positivity.” A quick Google search defines it as “the belief that people should maintain a positive mindset no matter how serious or difficult the situation is.” Wilson surrounds himself with “positivity” and radiates it himself, quite possibly at toxic levels. Throughout his career there have been reports of his teammates becoming fatigued by what they saw as a façade of leadership.
But what does Schlereth really say about Wilson on the field? What does it mean that he believes he can finish his career like Drew Brees, but he can’t? How did Brees end his career? Well, not unlike Ben Roethlisberger, who reduced his expected passing yards. He averaged around 33 pass attempts per game, similar to his two previous seasons, but a significant step down from before.
However, the Saints became increasingly balanced as an offense, and that’s what the Steelers are trying to do. The only question is: can Rususell Wilson be that precise pace passer? That hasn’t been his modus operandi throughout his career, at all. And Brees’ head coach Sean Payton didn’t make him one last year. But his reality does not coincide with the slander either.
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