If you asked me who Russell Wilson’s biggest hater was, I would say Mark Schlereth. All offseason, Schlereth took every opportunity to take potshots at Wilson and call out his leadership, his play, and his inability to take coaching. Wilson has played one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding another score on the ground in a 37-15 win over the New York Jets, and Schlereth’s tune has changed.
“Mike Tomlin, I bow down to your superior knowledge of the game, because Russ Wilson was pretty outstanding last night. Throwing the ball outside the numbers, Steelers just punched the Jets right in the mouth,” Schlereth said on FS1’s Breakfast Ball. “He took coaching. And this has been my biggest criticism of Russell Wilson.”
Schlereth praised Wilson for throwing outside the numbers since Wilson struggles throwing over the middle of the field, and then said that Wilson throws the best deep ball in the NFL.
Schlereth admitted he couldn’t believe he was defending Wilson.
“Bizzaro world. I’m defending Russell Wilson. Bizarro world.”
Hey, give Schlereth credit for at least being self-aware and not continuing to try and play a schtick and keep criticizing Wilson. Schlereth’s disdain for Wilson in the past came from his stint with the Denver Broncos, particularly last season as Schlereth thought Wilson wasn’t taking coaching well from Sean Payton.
I think he saw last night what Wilson is capable of when he does play within a system, and while the claim that Wilson’s deep ball is the best in the league might be a little bit far-fetched, his deep ball was on display last night and it was impressive. Pat Freiermuth praised it and the nuance behind it, Wilson adjusting his throw deep to Freiermuth because he saw him get grabbed early in the play, and it’s an asset for a Steelers team that could use more splash in the passing game.
What Wilson did last night was undoubtedly impressive, and it quieted a lot of people who didn’t like Mike Tomlin’s decision to turn away from Justin Fields. My biggest concern was going to be Wilson in the pocket behind a banged-up offensive line, but he moved well enough and only took one sack. Once he shook the rust off, he got rolling and the offense as a whole followed suit. It was the type of performance that can carry over and give a team confidence in what they can do for the rest of the season, and Wilson deserves a lot of credit for how he played.
And if Schlereth is the one praising him, you know it was a performance worthy of some love.
