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Russell Wilson’s legacy in Seattle: 104-53-1 regular season; 9-7 postseason with two SB appearances and the only SB win in franchise history. That’s impossible to trash.

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The only reason I'll be keeping an eye on Wilson is the remaining draft picks we got from Denver. I want them to be as high as possible, so although I have nothing against him personally and don't care what he says to the media, I don't want him to have any success this year in his new gig. But once the season's over, I'll stop caring about him.

Re the "last" receiver spot: I hope it goes to someone who can play the slot but have no preconceived ideas about who best fits that description.

And I hope we can find a better backup center than Kyle Fuller. I'll be rooting for Shepley to beat him out, but I understand John's logic on this.

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(Banned)Jun 18, 2022·edited Jun 18, 2022

Wilson's comments are a big nothing in my book. Just blowing smoke. As you point out, he's always talked like that. Very positive, very light. More cheerleader than analyst. I think Denver will get at least a couple of really good years out of him, as they should given what they gave up to get him.

Were I a Denver fan, I'd be concerned about his loss of speed and quickness with time. He remains sturdy (despite last year's weird injury -- Donald evening the score after Wilson broke his ribs butt slamming him during a take-down in the playoffs). I'm noticing a bit of a belly. He had that last season too but it looks more pronounced now. The metabolism slows with age. Wilson's a super hard worker who's big into nutrition and conditioning so I imagine he'll do what he needs to do. Having said that, it surprises me that he's allowed himself to get heavy. He's always been sturdy but heavy is new. It's not helping his speed and quickness. I hope his myriad of interests isn't distracting him from football but it isn't our problem. Our problem is not having a Russell Wilson.

As for receivers and late picks and free agents, I agree (for the most part). Most guys show what they have early. When a kid develops later, he's generally at least showing flashes in year two. It's not too late for Eskridge but he has to stay healthy. He showed at least one big flash in his first NFL game but has not shown he can stand up to the pounding at this level. We'll see.

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84 days now?

I think the most underrated part of the Hawks off season will be Pete's reappearance. He went on for quite a while about 2nd chance sounding like he had just emerged from his library having read about 5 John Wooden books (with accompanying VCR recordings of Coach).

Pete wants guys who will run through a wall for his brother next to him. He wants a team full of guys that sell out all for the guy next to them, a brotherhood that extends beyond football. He'll draft a Bruce Irvin or even Malik M because he believe his system teaches, makes better men, better citizens.

If Drew Lock is being thrown on the proverbial NFL trash bin because he's not accurate enough yet and he has a little hip hop in his celebration (which old school coaching types might take exception to), well, we'll take you, adjust the chip on your shoulder so your passes are a little more accurate, and you can celebrate with your 'brothers' all you want.

I'm confident Russ and Pete's relationship is just fine behind the scenes, and Russ 'outgrew' Pete's philosophy opting for his own. He wants to ESPN award shows, build his brand (whatever that means), fly off with his wife to start a new adventure, and prove his dad right that he can do anything he sets his mind to. Pete might even be proud of what Russ has become 'under his watch.'

I am too. Loved watching Russ succeed as an athlete in Seattle, and I also staled on the rest and am glad he moved along. It'll be fun seeing how that long ball does in the mile high air. I don't wish him success of failure, he's an athlete/entertainer so I'll watch. He will do what he does.

I'm super excited about the construction of this team.

I'll tell you one I'm interested in. I think Bobby's greatness was much less visible than Russ, but I think his leadership attitude and investment in DK and J Brooks (as just two examples) will pay dividends in Hawksland for some years to come.

I don't believe the NFC West or anyone else won't respect Lock's abilities to a point of stacking the box. If they do, Seattle will be very good. Listen to some Dave Wyman. He often says how you can read the papers and see what others say about guys, but when you're watching film, everyone's a pro and can beat you.

It's why if Smith hadn't had that bad DUI that I don't believe he's shown much remorse for, I'd actually be intrigued by his 2nd chance. Because, at age 31, he's actually in that age range where you start figuring stuff out. He looked really good at times in relief last year. He moves well in the pocket, this offense doesn't have to have the deeeep ball, but he can still make the plays like he did to DK against the Rams for the TD.

But I'm more excited because Lock's size, athleticism, arm strength, and now 3 years experience is the type of second chance putty a coach can mold. Will it happen? I'm going to watch and see--and root for the kid.

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My take on the Wilson pre-trade situation changed when, and I'm sorry but I don't remember the exact game (did try to find it, though), he threw an incomplete sideline pass to Lockett in an insanely tight window to give up possession when we only needed to move the chains. There was even an open receiver over the middle that would have gotten us the 1st and extended the drive. After the game, Pete said that we need to recognize the game situation there, but Wilson claimed he wasn't going to change "because he knows how to win games". That's when I realized that Wilson just wasn't buying in to the program, and that it was a big problem.

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Jun 18, 2022·edited Jun 18, 2022

I am looking forward to the first (and last) matchup with the Broncos this coming season. I hope the Hawks win, for sure, but won't be devastated if they don't. After that I will have no reason to keep up with Wilson's future. The Broncos are behind a lot of what is being posted, especially those draft day videos of Russell calling their choices to welcome them with "let's ride" - hard to resist laughing at those. Russell wanted more say in coaching and front office decisions. He has not been quiet that he wants his entire life in football and to be an owner at some point in the future, so he's looking for opportunities to be mentored in that direction. I understand why that's good for him, but I don't know how it's good for the team of players who are relying on him. That's for the Broncos to deal with. If it works for both team and QB, that's greats.

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I wonder...hmmm - I wonder if the fans of Denver Broncos will appreciate hearing about 'nano-bubbles' as much as the 12's did...

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Update on Russell’s comment: The tweeter omitted a key qualifier. The actual quote: “Once the trade was going to happen, I said, ‘Hey, listen, I want to make sure that I go to a city that wants to win. I want to make sure that I go to a team that wants to win. And I want to go to a city that knows how to win.’ And all those three things were checked off the box here in Denver.”

Thus, the context of the quote was about his input into a preferred destination and has nothing to do with Seattle. Basically: “Since this was going to happen, I made it clear that I wouldn’t accept a trade to just anywhere.”

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Agree with everything you said but one. I've long stopped even thinking about Wilson. Not sayin he's dead to me, just that I'm more focused on who's gonna replace him. Even while he was here, his nano bubbles got the best of him in public.

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