Russell Wilson came into the 2009 season with a lot of fanfare. The sophomore quarterback finished out the 2008 regular season with a bang as he led the Wolfpack to four consecutive wins before leaving with an injury in the bowl game against Rutgers last season. Many media sources tabbed Wilson as the favorite for ACC player of the year. Almost everyone expected a gigantic season from the young signal caller, but after a season opening loss to South Carolina in which the Pack could only muster 3 points and saw Wilson struggle on his way to 74 yards in the air and not a single yard on the ground, questions began to arise.
People began to second guess the preseason hype that surrounded Wilson. Was his injured knee from a season ago still giving him trouble? Was the coaching staff holding him back by not allowing him to improvise outside the pocket? Was he playing timid to avoid injury? Russell spent the week leading up to the matchup with Murray State answering these question. Each time downplaying his performance in the opener, reminding reporters that it was one game against a good defense and promising he'd keep working and that the results would be there when the smoke cleared.
Wilson wasn't lying. It took him only three plays to make the Wolfpack Nation forget the questions from a week earlier as he hit a streaking Jarvis Williams for a 27 yard touchdown. Everything he touched turn to gold on Saturday as he made the right decision time after time. When he was flushed from the pocket he made plays with his legs. When a receiver was open downfield Wilson found him time after time. When the clock hit zero in the second quarter Wilson had already amassed a gaudy 142 yards and 4 touchdowns and led the Pack to a score on every possession he was behind center. It was vintage Russell Wilson from the beginning to the end against Murray State. Wilson finished the game throwing for 228 yards and four scores, leaving everyone who questioned him feeling foolish, and although the stats tell an entirely different story from week one, Coach Tom O'Brien feels as if Wilson was the same player then as he was in week two.
"I don't know what you guys saw or watching in the first game, but he didn't do anything different than he did before. It's a difference in the speed of the game and everything else that I think changes. I don't think he played any different than he played the first week. He played his game. "
However, Wilson certainly looked more sure of himself on Saturday and seemed to trust the instincts that made him the newcomer of the year last season. Just as before, Wilson noted that this was only one game and he promised again to keep working hard and that the results would be there. "We're not satisfied, we're never satisfied. We have to keep keep getting better. Murray State came in here and played hard, I have to credit them for that, but we have to get better each and every week." he said in his post game interview.
With a stellar performance this past Saturday, with every eye watching his every move, Russell Wilson quieted his critics. When asked how he felt about the questions about his health and his play prior to the Murray State game, Wilson said it like a true team leader when he summed it all up by saying "There's always going to be some people that always support you, some that never support you, and some that support you only when you're going good. That's just how it is. I don't worry about that stuff I can't control. I just go out and work hard and try to make myself and my team better every week."
I believe that's Russell Wilson's subtle and polite version of "I told you so."
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9 Responses to "Wilson Quiets Critics"I will wait until after the Pitt and WFU games to get a good idea of just how good the offense and defense are. I don't know that a FCS team gives a lot to evaluate.
I think Russell Wilson came in from Prep ranks as fundamentally sound as anyone; continues to improve on his basic fundamental mastery of the game; uses preparation and practice opportunities to the fullest and competes like a champion should.
His faith in his team and above all else God, accompanied with these individual attributes mentioned above are strong enough counter points to what any of the critics have to say IMO.
My quick awarding of the Jose game balls for the Murray State contest.
-The Offensive line. The biggens' came hungry and were tough enough to dominate the way they should have. Like to single out the efforts of the two T's, Williams and McCuller, for completely neutralizing #97 for the Racers w/o much if any help from extra blocker. He is a quality player that our line knew had to be taken out of the equation early. Also another great step forward for Mattes as he was able to seal off a lot of the inside and allow for our RB's to get some lanes- not just holes.
Honorable mention to the 2nd team OL and a shout out to RS Jr Henry Lawson. He came in as the C and made the calls for blocking assignments well enough to not even notice that a new crew was in there.
State's 9 TD's and 1 FG the first 10 possessions are the result of this OL domination. The passing game was pitch and catch, like summer 7 on 7 drills and the RBs had opportunities to really build up a head of steam.
On D the game ball clearly goes to Bobby Floyd. He was terrific as a S and as usual on special teams. He blew up #66 of a kick return like a wedge buster on Sundays does. He can come up and lay big licks from his safety position and give his teammates a real boost, which is very much needed in the absence of a Nate Irving.
Also have to throw "Big LeRoy" his game ball. Not only was he in the back field every snap and recovering fumbles but he really was showing a heaping amount of emotion and positivity. Last year seemed like he was really at a loss at times making the adjustment from JuCo. At times it seemed he was pretty discouraged leading to some inconsistency. Against USC he let his emotions get the best of him and it cost the team 15 yrds.
Coach Willis for the DL really has a passion for the game and loves what he's doing helping these young men. I've always had the sense from what he has expressed about Burgess that if the pieces could fit together right the dominance would soon follow. Hopefully this game is the start of a HUGE Sr year for him and maybe a chance to play on professionally afterward. There is not doubt that physically he has all the makings of a great DT.
Jose, as always I enjoy your "game ball givaway"
For those of us unable to attend the game last saturday, its nice to get some tidbits you normally wouldnt read in the N&O or Gopack.com!!!
Dont worry next week ill be in attendance so I can had in PL's Game Ball aswell haha!!!
I'm a little iffy on the game ball for the OL. They played well, but if you look at the averages our RBs had it wasn't pretty other than Baker. They still have a ways to go in my opinion. Getting Vermiglio back will help.
Good post, Jose. I agree with you on your game balls. Albeit, in a game like this, there are not enough game balls to go around. The only negative was a couple of silly penalties, one of which allow the Racers to continue their scoring drive. That will be corrected, no doubt. And, I really hope that Clem Johnson's Hammy is going to be okay for Pitt.
A few points about thin game. (I posted yesterday via Crackberry, but it never reached it's destination.) The first play of the game was a bit unfair. The Apache fly-over was absolutely awesome. But, the plane carrying the parachutists had to make a second pass, and I'm sure that it created a re-routing of the choppers. In turn, the War Birds didn't show up until just before the first play from scrimmage. the Murray St. QB looked like he was calling an audible, but I think he was looking to the sidelines to see if he should actually run the play! the Pack had the ball before anyone in my section was finished watching the fly-over. The drubbing was on.
And, poor Murray St. I honestly thought that they might not come back for the second half! the ran into a very motivated team that was not about to be challenged, even. The D-line didn't give the LB's and Safeties an opportunity to look too good. The ran things up front, and the M. St. Qb's and RB's were running for their lives from the snap of the ball.
Things didn't get any easier for them when the likes of J.R. Sweezy came into the game. I think I mentioned before, the resemblance of Audi Cole to 'Lattimer' from the movie, "The Program?" Screw that. Sweezy IS Lattimer (minus the steroids and face paint)! Dude is gonna be a monster!
Ditto on Burgess. Can't you already hear his name being called on Sunday's? I think our D- line is going to help the rest of the defense look good, all year!
TJ Graham is really good at what he does. (News Flash, right?) But, you can see that he has some work to do at receiver in order to improve.
All-in-all, we beat the crap out of on out-manned squad. It is hard to get too pumped about that, just as it is too hard for me to get too down about the U of SC loss. But no matter what, it's better than struggling like UVA. I just hope that we can carry this momentum through the rest of the season. If we can stay hungry, then I think that we are going to be fine.
And, I love to see UNC struggle against a team like UConn. Their O-line is going to have TJ Yates running for his life for the rest of the year. Their receivers couldn't catch a cold. Of course, they are as 'green' as Chapel Hill itself. No wonder. My pre-season predictions regarding to Holes stands. By the time we face them, they will be fighting for a bowl birth, and grabbing their collective shorts trying to catch their breath!
10-12 Win over UConn < 7-3 Loss to U of SC!
Go Pack!
A few things...
First, Sorry about all of the typos, Anon. I'm trying to get through my rants in a timely fashion, so that I can get back to work.
Secondly, I forgot to mention Glennon's performance. He played relatively well. He wasn't spectacular, with the exception of "The Play." If you haven't heard about it, (PackLeader) Glennon stood in the pocket, checked down, looked right, shuffled right and moved out of the pocket as if to scramble for the yardage needed, saw nothing was there, turned and scrambled left keeping his eyes up field and just before he crossed the line of scrimmage, he spotted D. Davis on the sidelines for a tightrope catch and a 17 yard gain. It was impressive.
You can tell that this opponent provided the correct game speed for him to be effective. he would struggle, right now, with some better than average D-1 teams until the game slows down a bit for him. he's getting there, though. And this process of getting him repetitions is going to help tremendously. If I recall correctly, when Butch Davis was asked if his back-ups would be getting live rep's in games, he said that he didn't think that it was necessary! Bunk. That's why I love TOB, in a nutshell.
Thirdly, I saw why Washington is ahead of Barnes. The O-line weren't world beaters on the run blocking, still. But, Washington found holes and made good and quick decisions. Barnes will get there, just not this year.
TJ Graham = Devin Hester
You cant cover him... but he has alot of work to do to become a true WR Threat... Kick Returner is obviously under control
Sorry, but I disagree. I did not "forget the questions from a week earlier".
Saturday was a "push". No new questions arose, but based on the level of competition, no existing questions were answered.
I'm a big Wilson fan, and think he played pretty much flawlessly Saturday, but what does that tell us? I, for one, still have concerns... concerns for him, not about him.
The reasons can be debated, but he IS running and scrambling slower than he did last year.
T, There are concerns, to be sure. And, we SHOULD have looked damn good against that team. Yet, in the past few years, we haven't. I thought that is was a good sign that we were able to stay motivated enough to keep our foot on the gas, make blocks, reads and tackles.
Russell has got to get his legs back. Whether he is a step slower due to lingering effects from his knee injury, or the fact that he is being asked to take longer in the pocket to make his reads, the same holds true. He needs to be, at least close to, the Russell Wilson that we all saw last year in order for us to win games.
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