While watching Russell Wilson on Monday Night Football a few things occurred to me. . . The first of many things is that the NFL and it’s fans love / hate quarterbacks. The position of quarterback is easily the most overly glorified and overpaid in probably all of sports. Do you need a quarterback to win in the NFL? Duh. I’m not saying the position isn’t important – just overly glorified and overpaid. Keep up with me here. . .
Whoever started giving quarterbacks credit for “wins” deserves to be shot. Starting quarterbacks are not the equivalent to starting pitchers in baseball. There is not a win-loss column tied in with their stat sheet. Another notion that needs to be faded away is how quarterbacks fare when playing “head to head.” It’s ridiculous. When football pundits bring up records of Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, it’s the most absurd concept because the only time they are on the field together is when they shake hands at the end of the game. . . Peyton Manning versus Ray Lewis is a better head to head match up; or even Tom Brady verses Rex Ryan is a headline more worthwhile.
The second thing that came to my mind was how quarterbacks are “sheltered” and protected when they are struggling. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck have come under some criticism this season (fairly and unfairly). In the case of Tannehill, who was just inked to a contract extension before the season started for six years and $95 million – has looked flat out bad. In the midst of his struggles, those running to his defense have said – he has no weapons, it’s bad coaching and it’s a bad offensive line. Oh really? So he’s having the same problems Carolina’s Cam Newton is having and he seems to be just fine. Maybe its just a point of ability. Cam, has been making due with very little for his whole career it seems and he just makes it work. Tannehill has the same issues as Cam but looks bad handling it. That’s not saying Tannehill can’t be a starting quarterback in the league – he just may be in a class with many starting quarterbacks, who needs a better cast around him. The same can be said for Andrew Luck. Since Luck has arrived in Indianapolis he has carried this franchise. With the Colts off to a slow start, the pundits started tossing shots at Andrew Luck and his interception rate this year. Slow down. Luck has to throw the ball at a much higher rate than the Russell Wilson’s and Ryan Tannehill’s in the league, and he – much like Tannehill and Newton – doesn’t have much to work with. So why does one excuse work for one and not the other? Furthermore, why doesn’t that elevate the perception of one like Cam Newton?
The third issue that came to my mind had me focused right back on the Monday Night Football game between the Seahawks and the Lions. While Jon Gruden and 80% of social media were drooling over every little thing Russell Wilson did on the field – nobody was seeing the big picture. Russell Wilson was playing against a bad Detroit Lions defense and the Seahawks offense seemed to be relying on broken plays, in order to move the ball downfield. When Russell Wilson was ducking, dodging and chucking – sure it was getting the job done, against a terrible Lions team – but for how long will that realistically take you? Lately, Wilson seems to do enough to get his team into field goal range, while his defense handles the opposition. If that formula sounds familiar, there’s good reason why. It was the same formula that Tim Tebow and the Broncos had a few years back that wasn’t embraced by the media and social media alike. It’s the same. damn. thing.
The NFL quarterback is the equivalent of a spoiled kid who is called an under-achiever. If he doesn’t achieve anything, it’s not his fault and when he does, he is carried on the shoulders of those who support him. Let your eyes be the judge, it’s really not difficult. Or just keep pacifying the reality that the era of “quarterback nurturing” has gotten out of control.
G.W. Gras
twitter @GeeSteelio
