Following a disastrous rookie season and his self-promoting swagger, Russell Wilson got off to a rough start as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. While many have attributed his poor performance to the baffling play-calling and coaching strategy of current Jets offensive coordinator and former Denver Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett, Wilson’s slogan “Let’s Ride” quickly became a punchline throughout every social media site on the market. Clearly some of that resentment has carried over into 2023 as well.
Former Broncos Super Bowl Champ has his take on the situation
While Wilson has turned around his fortunes and has actually been playing pretty good football in Denver, a former fan favorite of the Mile-High City certainly has a harsh opinion of the elusive quarterback.
Former Denver offensive lineman and three time Super Bowl Champion Mark Schlereth certainly doesn’t like how the former Seahawk has handled the situation with his former team. Following Wilson’s rough game where Denver lost 22-17 to the Houston Texans, Schlereth went on a local radio show 104.3 The FAN’s Schlereth and Evans Show and made his opinions on the Denver gunslinger known.
“I could get a quarterback from Smoky Hill High School to do what Russ does… It was bad. It was just awful,” Schlereth said. “First off, let’s talk about how many times you run yourself into trouble. How many times do you escape from the back of the pocket? How many times do you allow yourself to be forced out of a play? You scramble, you make a few yards, and everybody lauds you on your ability to get out of there. You are the one that put yourself into trouble.”
After this brutal take on the former Seahawk superstar, Schlereth went on to compare Wilson to one of the most controversial quarterbacks to ever play the game:
“It’s Tim Tebow-esque when you talk about 55 minutes of dreck, and we are going to praise you for the five minutes of good play at the end of the game? You’re the one that started the inferno,” Schlereth said. “If you start the fire and you finally douse out the ashes with water. You’re not the hero for putting the fire out. When it’s burned through all the fuel, and it no longer can burn anything, and it’s just ash; you don’t get credit for putting it out when you are throwing a bucket of water on ashes.”
Schlereth usually makes his opinions known on the rest of the Denver roster, including wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and left tackle Garrett Boles. While he did acknowledge that the line certainly was part of the problem, Schlereth certainly reserved the primary blame for the starting quarterback.
“The amount of times you create the pressure, you create the sack. I am not saying that McGlinchey didn’t get shoved into the backfield a couple of times,” Schlereth said. “I am not saying that they picked up every twist game because they didn’t. They got some pressure up front…. But the amount of times you put yourself or your team in harm’s way is quite frankly sickening, and as a former offensive lineman, it pisses me off because it’s just not right because those guys take the brunt of the criticism. But it’s the quarterback.”
Many fans have attacked the way Wilson’s play has developed into more of a game manager than an elite passer. Part of that is simply the way Denver has been coached under Hackett and legendary head coach Sean Payton during his tenure but part of it is simply Wilsons scrambling and short pass game. While the 2022 version of Wilson certainly deserved some blame, the veteran quarterback has turned it around this season and the above vehement is completely unfounded.
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