Russell Wilson and His Divisive Entourage

[wppete]

3 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

And Bills players have to brush off their own vehicles when they get back into town after a flight... I bet Russell Wilson gets his vehicle cleared of snow. 

 

Anyway... DIYing it with others builds comradery... Glad the Bills have it:

 

 

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/buffalo-bills-dig-cars-out-of-snow-on-christmas-after-storm-delays-return-home/4014163/

Got to love Shaq! He loves Buffalo.

[mannc]

16 hours ago, Doc said:

Good luck coming back from that. That’s a mistake/sunk cost that’s gonna hamstring them for years. 

Swindling the Dolphins into trading them a first for Brad Chubb, is a start…

[BobbyC81]

19 hours ago, freddyjj said:

done!

 

That pic is actually scary.

[MAJBobby]

Russ needs to get to throwing more TDs than Bathrooms. 
 

such a fall for a guy completely built and held up by his other franchise.

 

Pete Carroll knew enough about Russ to say Deuces. (smartly) 

[Airseven]

15 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

What's with the fascination around here with Russell Wilson?

 

Or Tua for that matter?

 

Personally, I find myself spending ZERO time thinking about either unless they are playing football at that moment on my TV.

 

 

Finding misery in others allows one to minimize their own predicaments.

[bobobonators]

20 hours ago, HOUSE said:

My wife shovels the driveway 

I must say your posts crack me up pretty often. That was great. 

[97bills]

47 minutes ago, BobbyC81 said:

That pic is actually scary.

He got rid of her quick lol 

[dhbGT500]

Didn't someone say that none of his teammates have his personal phone number...and they have to go through his agent, to contact him?

If true, that tells us everything about this dude...he's all about himself!

[frostbitmic]

Rodgers used to have that State Farm guy following him around, but that guy seems to have left him for Mahomes.

[Big Blitz]

Cam Newton was the Russel Wilson cautionary tale.  
 

Only difference is Cam is openly a diva - what is the difference between the 2?  
 

Does Cam come across as a team guy with great rapport with his teammates?  
 

 

I’m not sure it was Cam’s injuries as much as no Coach or team wanted his act around.  Plus, he was never good as a passer imo.  Just average.  Made all kinds of plays with his legs sure but maybe had one or two seasons where his passing was just good.  Only 2 years with more then 3800 yards passing - a career 59% completion percentage and only 3 seasons above that.  Maybe he was always a fraud.  
 

Wilson isn’t much different - he’s just minus the ridiculous clothes and wants to come across as clean/humble.  But it doesn’t come across that way.  Not genuine.  
 

When did you ever head either of them talking about themselves playing like ***t or give all kinds of props to the all world defenses they had?

 

I can’t think of any.  
 

Teammates eventually resent the look at me crap when they feel you’re a phony but especially if you seem to not truly care about them.  

Edited December 28, 2022 by Big Blitz

[dakrider]

Broncos have a lot more problems than just Russell Wilson.  Their running game is abysmal this year, ranked in bottom 9.  They have 1 good healthy receiver most the year. Their TE's can't catch a ball and their offensive line is terrible.  Their defense was pretty good much of the year but they've ran out of steam now and they look pretty average out there.  And of course horrible coaching situation.  They need to overhaul their O-line next year and build from there.  And if Russell Wilson stinks next year, they can always go get Baker Mayfield. 😆

[dollars 2 donuts]

 

 

I love you guys and gals, but I would give my left nut to have a divisive entourage around here.

 

 

[Beck Water]

On 12/27/2022 at 11:13 AM, The Frankish Reich said:

I somehow didn't know this, but the collapse of the Broncos has people talking. Russell Wilson has a whole entourage surrounding him, including:

- personal QB coach, often onsite (whose advice may conflict with the official coaching staff)

- social media assistants, also getting in the way

- personal office in the team training complex, so he can, umm, attend to his other commitments

- nutritionist/personal chef

 

Not to mention his wife, and the more typical demands like extra hotel suites when on the road.

 

This is all fine and dandy when you're winning (right, Tom Brady?).

https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/08/26/russell-wilson-entourage-seattle-seahawks

 

 https://denverfan.com/2099516/why-its-no-big-deal-that-russell-wilson-has-an-entourage-with-him/

 

But when things go south, the resentment over preferential treatment bubbles up to the surface. And it's boiling over right now, with lots of local Colorado media talking openly about it, and about how the new coaching staff needs to rein this stuff in (assuming that it's not written into that now-horrific Wilson contract).

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/broncos/news/russell-wilson-jake-heaps-involvement-broncos#:~:text=Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson's,Broncos News%2C Analysis and More

 

Question: which other NFL QBs have similar "teams" surrounding them? I know Mahomes has his official groupies, but what about Josh? Rodgers?

 

 

I think a lot of QBs these days have a personal QB coach.  The main thing is working it out with the team what the R&R will be and ensuring that the personal QB coach isn't speaking against what the team QB coach is coaching, especially during the season.  For that reason, I don't think most QB have a personal QB coach in the facility.

 

A lot of players have a nutritionist/personal chef/personal trainers/massage therapist.  They usually are off-season or, outside the facility, and don't typically cause confliction.  Josh has mentioned on the Kyle Allen show having a massage on Tues at his house before the show.  Diggs and Davis use Darian Bryan.  Not sure what Allen does.  Of course, the team will work out a training and nutrition plan for every player, so again, issues would arise if the personal trainer/nutritionist and the team goals promoted by the team nutritionist/trainers differ. 

 

I don't know why they need to be in the facility - again, unless they just aren't on the same page with the goals the team works out for the player.

 

I think a lot of players also have a social media/personal brand or marketing/pr rep.  Sometimes this is a service provided by the player's agent, sometimes it's a separate agency.  Feliciano used Frances Reimers (Firestarter).  It makes sense to 1) hand over social media to a pro and not get into back-and-forth with fans on it 2) have someone out there looking for marketing and PR opportunities (or fielding/triaging them).  Again, it really shouldn't need to come into the facility during the season.  A competent rep should be able to manage opportunities according to parameters worked out with the player, and maybe come to them an hour a week during the season, on the player's day off, with a "yes/maybe/no" pile for review.

 

The decision a young player like Josh needs to make, as success comes to him, is, "what are his priorities?"  Does he want to let endorsement deals and appearances and advertising spots encroach on his prep and training time during the season, or his down-time and rehab/training during the off-season?  Or does he want to set strict limits and make prep and training his first priority, then personal life/down time his second priority, and ring-fence a smaller amount of time for marketing?

 

I think the paradox faced by Russ Wilson was that he was still a young guy on his first contract as a 3rd round pick, when he won his Superbowl and then went back (and lost) the following season.  So he was earning very little from the Seahawks with little guaranteed - I think I remember $700k salary.  His agents and marketing people would likely advise him "get your bag while you can" because anything can happen - injury, rest of the team falls off - and there's no guarantee he'll be able to get that lucrative 2nd contract OR be as marketable then as he was at the time. 

 

Now Josh has already been Paid, big time.  So he can look at marketing deals with a more discerning eye, and more easily set limits on how much of his time they eat up in season and out (and I hope he does).  When you're earning $20M or $40M or $50M a year, it's easier to say "I'd rather be playing golf" or "I'd rather be tuning up my throwing mechanics" when offered a bunch of endorsement deals, than it is when you're earning $700k.

 

Anyway, I don't think the entourage is that unusual.  What's unusual is:

1) having the personal QB coach in the facility

2) having the social media assistants and anyone else (chef/trainer) in the facility

3) having his own office in the facility - Cousins does, not sure who else.

[JohnNord]

On 12/27/2022 at 12:13 PM, The Frankish Reich said:

I somehow didn't know this, but the collapse of the Broncos has people talking. Russell Wilson has a whole entourage surrounding him, including:

- personal QB coach, often onsite (whose advice may conflict with the official coaching staff)

- social media assistants, also getting in the way

- personal office in the team training complex, so he can, umm, attend to his other commitments

- nutritionist/personal chef

 

Not to mention his wife, and the more typical demands like extra hotel suites when on the road.

 

This is all fine and dandy when you're winning (right, Tom Brady?).

https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/08/26/russell-wilson-entourage-seattle-seahawks

 

 https://denverfan.com/2099516/why-its-no-big-deal-that-russell-wilson-has-an-entourage-with-him/

 

But when things go south, the resentment over preferential treatment bubbles up to the surface. And it's boiling over right now, with lots of local Colorado media talking openly about it, and about how the new coaching staff needs to rein this stuff in (assuming that it's not written into that now-horrific Wilson contract).

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/broncos/news/russell-wilson-jake-heaps-involvement-broncos#:~:text=Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson's,Broncos News%2C Analysis and More

 

Question: which other NFL QBs have similar "teams" surrounding them? I know Mahomes has his official groupies, but what about Josh? Rodgers?

 

I’m not sure why Denver loves GM Colonel George Patton so much.  This trade for Russell Wilson not only depleted the teams draft capitol over the next few years but he also signed him to a franchise QB contract that is going ruin the salary cap over a minimum of the the next 2-3 years.  Because of this, knowing that a coach is stuck with Russ as his QB for next year is really going to eliminate some HV candidates.  
 

Yet, ownership loves the guy responsible for this mess.

[BigAl2526]

It's easy to get caught up in one's own success.  When you build yourself a tall, tall pedestal, you make it more likely that you'll eventually fall off.  It's going to hurt when it happens.

[Richard Noggin]

These criticisms of Wilson's special treatment ring a little truer when we remember some of the noise that came out of Seattle over the years, about defensive players resenting Carrol's coddling of Wilson, the ways he was shielded from criticism in front of the team, etc. I don't have an immediate published example to cite here, but I KNOW I read about this kind of thing a while back. 

 

Pretty sure it was some of those Legion of Boom standouts who spoke out, like Chancellor and/or Sherman, perhaps?

[mabden]

On 12/27/2022 at 12:21 PM, Captain Hindsight said:

Asking for Special hotel rooms is also pretty cringy. You are there for what, 30 hours? And travel like 12 times a year? Cmon man 

Not like Wilson can't afford to pay for the extra rooms.

[Beck Water]

8 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

These criticisms of Wilson's special treatment ring a little truer when we remember some of the noise that came out of Seattle over the years, about defensive players resenting Carrol's coddling of Wilson, the ways he was shielded from criticism in front of the team, etc. I don't have an immediate published example to cite here, but I KNOW I read about this kind of thing a while back. 

 

Pretty sure it was some of those Legion of Boom standouts who spoke out, like Chancellor and/or Sherman, perhaps?

 

Here's an example from 4 years ago, 2018

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/09/07/seattle-seahawks-dismantling-rift-russell-wilson-pete-carroll

 

Quote

But a dozen sources with direct knowledge of the Seahawks’ internal dynamics who spoke to Sports Illustrated this summer also pointed to a locker room they contend had fractured last season, with private spats spilling into public view and a rift deepening between those who supported Wilson and those who felt the coaches held him to a different standard.

 

Quote

The dismantling of a great defense dates back to one random 2014 practice, which ESPN first reported last summer as a catalyst for the Seahawks’ rift. That afternoon, Sherman intercepted Wilson, the two traded words and Sherman yelled “you f------ suck” as he flipped the ball back at the quarterback.

 

The pick itself wasn’t as important as what happened afterward, when several players who spoke to SI said Carroll gathered his offensive and defensive leaders and told them they needed to protect Wilson, to treat him more gently than they would their other teammates. Those same players had been indoctrinated into the NFL the exact way they were trying to teach Wilson, with merciless competition as the way to bring out the best in each other, by never letting a lapse slide, by talking s--- after interceptions, even in practice. In the meeting, they told Carroll exactly that. “This is making him one of our own,” one player said, while several others nodded, according to two who were in the room. “He’s got to go through the process.”

 

No, Carroll told them. Not Wilson. “He protected him,” one Seahawk says. “And we hated that. Any time he f----- up, Pete would never say anything. Not in a team meeting, not publicly, never. If Russ had a terrible game, he would always talk about how resilient he was. We’re like, what the f--- are you talking about?”