FanPost

RW and the expectations

RW and the expectations - sounds a new rock band

However, that’s not really the point here. The point is that after having this amazing rookie season RW is taking some heat (Chadiha) trying to worn us he is not a guaranteed elite QB just yet.

At first I was rather pissed with that article cause it was plain dumb. It was focusing on RW having more to prove then Luck and RG when it's just the opposite. The 3rd round QB does not have more to prove then the guy they sent Payton away to make room for or the guy they gave a decade worth of top picks to get. On the contrary, whatever RW showed us all last is so far beyond anything anybody expected that he is the one with nothing to prove. The rest of the article was full of stupid statements trying to make a point that can't be made.

After my initial reactions calmed down I started thinking about it from a very different point of view. You see, while the "facts" he was mentioning did nothing to support his view – they actually added to mine.

Yes, I don’t think RW is an elite QB just yet. I think he will be but he is not there just yet. I understand why the view of his whole season is in some way affected by his first games. Let's be honest, the first 4-5 games were not exactly a Payton/Brady/Rodgers type of performance. Nor can you expect it from a 3rd round rookie who got a third of the snaps in training camp. On the other hand – Those just show you how much he progressed during the year. Way more then Luck or RG progressed from game one till the end of the season. Is there anything to indicate he will not continue improving (scary) or have a drop in performance? anything? I don't think so.

A 2nd point in there that was mentioned by others was – Let's see how he performs this year against teams that have the tapes to learn all about him find his weak spots and force him to win on his owns etc. etc. etc.

My immediate reaction was – ARE YOU NUTS ? What kind of argument is that? I'm sure that teams facing the seahawks last year did their best to shut down the running game and force the rookie 3rd rounder to win on his own. He did, 11 times. But being me I had to admit that not everything in RW was top notch perfect. He does keep the ball longer then any other QB in the league. His progression was less then perfect by far missing on open guys at times etc. His foot work in the pocket was a bit slow and inaccurate. His passing deep to the right side was significantly less affective then to his left. His short-medium work over the middle into tight windows and timing patterns has a lot to improve etc. etc. etc.

In a funny way – it made me happy to remember all those. Why? Because I know he'll be working his ass to improve all those and other points of his game. Because it means he can and will be better in 2013. He has room to grow. Remmembering his last 10 games last year and adding a potential improvement on those made me very very happy.

So, we had an imperfect QB leading us to that amazing 2nd half of the season and he'll only get better. Great.

Then came another thought…and it was mirrored by something else in that article. "he has a top 5 defense and a top 5 running game to back him up"

It was supposed to indicate that RW's performance should not be so highly praised because he has a great team around him. I had to give it 10 points on accuracy of the facts and zero as far as supporting the view presented.

It made me even happier. If that 2nd half performance was aided a lot by having a great team around him then we have no worries at all. After all, we'll have a top 5 defense this year too and a top 5 running again once more. We may even have a top 5 Receiver crew and a top 5 Oline. So, the notion that teams may find a way to stop RW sounds even more farfetched. He did it with a team around him and that team will be there next year again.

Summery : A great team led by an imperfect ex-rookie QB that will only get better on his way to true greatness playing at the best home field in the world sounds really good to me.

Expectations can be what others impose on us or they can be what we ourselves aspire to achieve. In RW's case, as well as the seahawks as a team and organization, I feel that they are driven by their own aspirations rather then by what this or that reporter, analyst or web site writes.

RW may become a legend for ages as one of the truly greatest ever. He may also "just" become our version of that Super bowl MVP that has twice the number of rings on his fingers then his esteemed elite older brother who's tied with RW for most TD in a rookie year. Either way I know I'll be very very very happy with him for many years to come.

Damn that feels good.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAWKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS