Undlin the Elixir?

Posted: July 6th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 95 Comments »

Cory Undlin is the Eagles new DBs coach. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but the secondary was so bad last year that his hiring has generated lots of discussion. Most people think hiring Undlin was a great move that will help the Eagles secondary to play better in 2015.

Dave Mangels wrote a very interesting piece for BGN recently about Undlin. He compared this hire with bringing in Todd Bowles to fix the secondary in 2012. (here are some snippets, but do yourself a favor and go read the whole piece)

Undlin is seen as the breath of fresh air who will correct the flaws of a broken secondary. And he very well may be. But we’ve seen this story before, and it had a bitter ending.

Todd Bowles came to the Eagles with an even better reputation than Undlin. Bowles had been the assistant head coach/secondary coach for the Dolphins and was elevated to interim head coach after Tony Sparano was fired in December of 2011. He interviewed for head coaching jobs and was considered a prime candidate to be a defensive coordinator. He wound up taking the Eagles DB coach job and was tasked with improving a poorly performing secondary. Expectations and plaudits were high.

And

Todd Bowles was and remains a good coach. He came into a helpless situation and couldn’t improve it. When he was given complete control of the Eagles defense, it actually got worse. “Players would play hard for Bowles” was the key talking point when he replaced Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator, but they didn’t and the Eagles continued to spiral into the abyss. Since then he put together a terrific defense with theCardinals and then was deservedly hired as head coach of the Jets. Todd Bowles wasn’t the problem, but he wasn’t the solution either, the systemic problems of the end of the Andy Reid era were too great for a position coach to correct.

Mangels makes a great point that we cannot count on a position coach to magically fix a unit, no matter how good his resume is. However, he is a bit off with the Bowles discussion.

Bowles actually did help the secondary. He was strictly the DBs coach for the first 6 weeks. Then came the bye, when Juan Castillo was fired. Bowles took over as DC after that.

In his 6 weeks as just the DBs coach, the defense was ranked 12th in yards and 13th in points. The Eagles gave up 6 TD passes and had 7 INTs. QBs completed just 52.7 percent of their passes. And the Eagles were facing 38 passes a game. Teams were trying to throw on them. Rookie Brandon Weeden was especially awful, but the Eagles also faced Eli, Big Ben, Joe Flacco and Matt Stafford.

Castillo’s firing changed everything. Some players were very bothered by it, most notably DRC. He wasn’t the same guy after Juan left. Making matters worse, his position coach now ran the defense and had less time to spend with him. The Eagles then gave up 7 TD passes in the next 3 games. They didn’t have any picks. There was the infamous run of QBs compiling passer ratings of 125 or higher. The season became a real nightmare.

Bowles was trying to run a scheme he didn’t believe in and doing so in a toxic environment. DL coach Jim Washburn loved his players, but didn’t help to unify the defense. There was his DL and then the rest of the defense and then the rest of the team.

The results were predictably bad.

Had Castillo not been fired and Bowles stayed strictly as DBs coach, that defense doesn’t fall apart like that and give up those gaudy numbers. There would have been some bad games to be sure, but nothing like that epic collapse.

I feel pretty confident in saying that Bill Davis won’t be fired at the bye week this year and that Cory Undlin won’t be running the Eagles defense. Reid was a desperate coach. He thought firing Castillo might spark the defense. He was…wrong. Chip Kelly is desperate to win, but not because his job is on the line. He wants to win, but doesn’t have the normal 5-year plan that so many NFL coaches talk about.

There are no guarantees that Undlin is going to turn out to be a good hire. He does have a good track record. He does seem to fit the scheme. Most importantly, he does have some new talent to work with. If Kelly had handed last year’s secondary to Undlin and said “Fix it!” then I think this situation would be a lot more iffy.

The 2015 secondary doesn’t have to be dominant. They just need to cut down on the long pass plays. Eliminate some key mistakes and the team should be that much better. A couple of plays may have cost the Eagles a couple of wins last year.

* * * * *

An interesting comparison for Undlin might be Howard Mudd. He took over the OL in 2011. The Eagles had Jason Peters at LT and Todd Herremans somewhere. They drafted Danny Watkins to be the RG and Jason Kelce to be the C. The team signed mostly unknown Evan Mathis to compete for a job and he ended up winning the LG spot. When no one else worked out at RT, Herremans was moved there and the OL had a good year.

The right position coach can lead to a big turnaround. And sometimes giving that coach new pieces to work with can make a big difference. Mudd shuffled his guys around until he found 5 he liked and he figured out how best to configure them.

Undlin will have a versatile secondary to work with this year. He can move players around until he finds the right 4 to 5 guys and the best way to use them.

If Walter Thurmond turns out to be the Safety version of Evan Mathis, we’ll all be ecstatic. If he turns out to be Ryan Harris, that’s not so good.

* * * * *

Bobby April ran the Eagles STs from 2010-2012. He was thought of as one of the 2 or 3 best STs gurus in the NFL at that time. I thought hiring him was a brilliant move.

Oops.

The Eagles were ranked 17th in STs in 2009. April was hired to get them up among the best in the league. There was improvement in 2010 as the Eagles finished 14th. Things went horribly wrong after that. The Eagles fell to 20th in 2011 and then plummeted to 28th in 2012.

April had no excuses. He had some good pieces to work with and just didn’t get results. Reid might not have focused on STs the way Kelly does now, but April should have produced better results.

To me, April is the best recent example of a coach that was hired to fix a unit, but didn’t. Good intentions. Bad results.

95 Comments on “Undlin the Elixir?”

1 Mark Sitko said at 12:41 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Tommy – spot on sir – I saw that same article and thought…”yeah, but Bowles had to drop the DBs when Juan got fired” – great article and written beautifully as always – thanks for the words brother, you get us through the last of this offseason – TRAINING CAMP STARTS THIS MONTH!!!
2 Joe Minx said at 2:19 PM on July 6th, 2015:
It actually starts next month, but I echo your excitement.
3 Mark Sitko said at 2:40 PM on July 7th, 2015:
I meant the NFL training camp – I know the eagles camp is late and starts on the 2nd – I think I was clear and accurate, but thanks for the incorrect correction…hehe
4 T_S_O_P said at 1:37 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Refreshing commentary as always Tommy. Thank you.
5 Ben said at 2:05 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I echo the previous posters in that I am thankful we have you Tommy, to fill the gap between now and TC.
I was really looking forward to this piece as Undlin has been praised by many of our players as a guy who is teaching them the proper techniques with an extreme emphasis on the technique, rather than just saying “go out and play”.
If we can get the defense to play anywhere near the level that I feel our offense will be playing at, then we should expect to have a much improved defense as a whole.
I feel that our D line is regarded as one of the best in the league and with the addition of Kiko and having several players returning, this LB group should also be one of the NFL’s best.
Now the only thing that could hold us back from being a top ten D was this secondary and I am more than just confident that Chip has gone to great length to improve this secondary with all the subtractions and additions that took place this off season.
I feel this team has a chance to be either really really good or perhaps great.
I trust that Chip has picked the right kind of coaches to make this happen and basically dedicated this years entire draft and free agency to do all he could within his power to fix this part of our team.
This makes me feel really good as Chip can see what needs fixing and had a clear plan on how to do it, then he went out and executed his plan.
The speed at which he did all this, left us all gasping for air, which to me. is just another way Chip took his uptempo attack and used it to improve the team.
6 TypicalDouche said at 2:20 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Well said. As I am not totally sold that this current group of players as currently constructed is not on the “great” level yet like the Seahawks and Packers. Every team has holes and every team can win with said holes but if the secondary can play at an above average level as well as the o-line then this Eagles team will be very close to “great”
7 MattE said at 2:36 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I agree, however I have this argument all the time with my buddy (whom of which is a Packers fan). Do you think the Packers are a good TEAM or is it all Aaron Rodgers? Because personally I don’t think extremely highly of Mike McCarthy as a coach (he’s ok), and when Aaron Rodgers gets his annual injury every year it seems like GB falls back to Earth for those few weeks, but they do build through the draft extremely well and have not reached for free agents (Julius Peppers was pretty good last year for them)…..personally I think we have a potentially better all around roster than GB, but Aaron Rodgers tips the scales.
8 TypicalDouche said at 2:45 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I agree with you somewhat. I would take the Eagles roster over the Packers roster outside of Rodgers and Mathews. I do not think the Packers are a great team but again Rodgers is so good that he skews the scale in the favor of greatness over average. Mike McCarthy is extremely overrated as a coach.
9 MattE said at 2:54 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Another interesting angle:
1) Is it Brady or Belichick that you give more credit to?
2) Manning/Dungy?
3) Luck/Pagano?
4) Rodgers/McCarthy?
5) Jimmy Johnson/Aikman?
….what I am getting at is that of those combos Belichick/Johnson were the masterminds, whereas the others are more QB talent driven and a decent coach, dynasties are achieved when it is truly the coach at the helm NOT a really good QB, but not to say that the other combos couldn’t have most things go right 1 year in the ten years that these combinations would be together and win a SuperBowl, if you give me 10 chances at something over ten years, chances are I can get it right once.
10 TypicalDouche said at 2:57 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Brady/Belicheat = Great
Manning/Dungy = Also great because Tony was one of the catalyst of the Tampa 2 Def.
Luck/Pagano = Luck is great but Pagano is not a good head coach at all.
Rodgers = great McCarthy = Average coach.
JJ/Aikman = As hard as it is to admit both great.
11 MattE said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I think Manning would have just as many rings with Belichik
12 Bert's Bells said at 3:21 PM on July 6th, 2015:
10 clones of me with Nick Foles and a half decent videographer would have just as many rings with Belichick.
13 Bert's Bells said at 3:21 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I agree there. Dungy gets too much criticism because Manning was so good.
14 TypicalDouche said at 3:35 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I totally agree with that statement BB. I never understood the backlash that Dungy would get at times in Indy. As people have now noticed Payton is a great player but also wants to play his own ways in his own kind of system and runs the plays he wants to call, when you have a QB that is so good at doing that you have to give him the power to do so. Dungy was a key member of the great Bucs defenses back in the day and people tend to forget those things.
15 Bert's Bells said at 2:55 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Mathews hasn’t been so great in the past couple of seasons. Fair to say he may have peaked.
But put Rodgers out there with 10 clones of me, and he’s still going at least 8-8.
16 MattE said at 2:57 PM on July 6th, 2015:
….plus they moved Clay last year inside
17 TypicalDouche said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Yea I think moving Clay around between outside and inside have been hurting his stats but he has still been a beast when playing OLB and even while playing ILB he has been a beast against the run.
18 botto said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
but what if you are covered by 10 clones of ME?
or me from 10 years ago?
hahah
19 Bert's Bells said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I’m sticking with 8-8
20 MattE said at 2:45 PM on July 6th, 2015:
…you know it’s bad when I am scouring BleacherReport and ESPN for something to read while extremely hungover from 4th of July weekend lol.
21 Javi Echie said at 2:52 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I’ve been doing the same exact thing since I got to my desk this morning.
22 MattE said at 2:55 PM on July 6th, 2015:
i sweated out all my booze on a service call this morning, now I am back at my desk lol
23 Bert's Bells said at 2:53 PM on July 6th, 2015:
The one thing Reid did that was dumber than promoting Juan Castillo to DC was firing him as DC.
24 TypicalDouche said at 2:55 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I would go as far as to say the hiring of one Jim Washburn was worst then both the hiring and firing of Castillo.
25 Bert's Bells said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I wouldn’t argue against that. Castillo was a sign of dysfunction, Washburn a cause of it.
26 MattE said at 2:58 PM on July 6th, 2015:
wide-9 ruins all lol
27 Bert's Bells said at 2:59 PM on July 6th, 2015:
‘cept STATS!
28 MattE said at 2:59 PM on July 6th, 2015:
conceptually it sounded good, but then again Communism sounds good on paper.
29 TypicalDouche said at 3:00 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Jason Babin is a HOFer if the wide nine had its own HOF.
30 MattE said at 3:00 PM on July 6th, 2015:
yeah it’s located in Jacksonville, just like Babin
31 TypicalDouche said at 3:01 PM on July 6th, 2015:
He plays for the Jets now but I get and like the joke.
32 MattE said at 3:02 PM on July 6th, 2015:
oh yeah the Jets…. another respectable organization lol
33 MattE said at 3:03 PM on July 6th, 2015:
i fixed it, see above lol
34 A_T_G said at 7:11 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I heard they had started construction on a building to serve that purpose, but it was always unstable in the middle and eventually collapsed.
35 TypicalDouche said at 7:12 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Hopefully it collapsed with Washburn and Babin both in it.
36 Charlie Kelly said at 9:23 PM on July 6th, 2015:
i heard he is in the bad tattoo HOF lmfao if there was a bad tattoo HOF
37 FairOaks said at 5:19 PM on July 6th, 2015:
It may not even have been Washburn in particular… when you hire a DL before the DC (particularly one which basically dictates the style of defense) you won’t get any DC worth his salt to join the team. DCs want to run their scheme, not someone else’s. Seemed like a decent idea at the time (get better coaches because ours had gotten terrible) but the consequences were a disaster.
38 TommyLawlor said at 7:32 PM on July 6th, 2015:
That’s kind of a brilliant comment.
Kudos.
39 Charlie Kelly said at 9:22 PM on July 6th, 2015:
juandamentals, smfh.. say what u weill about him as DC, but his PCs were the worst EVER!!! lmfao
40 botto said at 2:59 PM on July 6th, 2015:
we should pick up JPP now, he’s injured…
41 TypicalDouche said at 2:59 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Well I guess as one burned malcontent he’s the better to option to another burned malcontent in Dion Jordan.
42 Bert's Bells said at 3:19 PM on July 6th, 2015:
When you say “burned malcontent” you must mean Cary Williams.
43 TypicalDouche said at 3:25 PM on July 6th, 2015:
You can interpret it that way because Williams was that in every way but meant the literal form of burned malcontent when referring to JPP almost getting his hand blown off and Dion Jordan has half a arm burned due to an accident as a child. But I do like where your head is at with your reference.
44 A_T_G said at 7:06 PM on July 6th, 2015:
And here I thought you meant burned out by drug use. Wow, so many interpretations.
45 TypicalDouche said at 7:08 PM on July 6th, 2015:
lol so many is correct and re-reading it its hard to believe I meant that in the most literal form possible.
46 Insomniac said at 7:37 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Is he at least almost 30 and white? You know that Chip’s preference.
47 Media Mike said at 6:13 AM on July 7th, 2015:
No thanks.
48 CrackSammich said at 3:32 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Random offseason thoughts: I really hope that Clowney is healthy this year. Especially since Houston doesn’t play the Eagles.
49 Dave said at 4:15 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Meh, most of the stuff posted on BGN is written to generate page views. It’s hard for me to take any of their articles seriously.
50 TypicalDouche said at 5:00 PM on July 6th, 2015:
What do you expect when we are in the “dead” part of the NFL season?
51 Dave said at 5:33 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I feel the same way about BGN during the peak season.
52 TypicalDouche said at 5:37 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Yet you still visit the site?. That doesn’t make sense friend.
53 Dave said at 7:16 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Nope, stopped being a daily reader last season. I do visit it occasionally when a headline on http://profootballzap.com/philadelphiaeagles catches my curiosity.
54 Michael Winter Cho said at 4:30 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Trying to attribute unit performance to position coaches, either proactively or retroactively, seems to be a bit like reading goat entrails or tea leaves. More about constructing narratives than anything that could be proved with any sort of confidence.
55 BobSmith77 said at 5:30 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Castillo being named the DC was still the single oddest thing this team has done the past 10 years. Also a very strong contender for the oddest thing that has happened (beyond token player moves) during the Lurie regime too.
56 Mitchell said at 6:08 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I remember being excited for April and then after a couple years asking on this very board, ” What the heck is going on with special teams?” As far as Washburn,Castillo and Bowles go, Andy should have just hired Washburn to be the dc in the first place. His Wide 9 was so fundamentally unstable that it wasn’t fair to let rookie defensive players and coaches figure out the mess behind the line. Its as if Washburn said,” We’ll get the sacks but you figure out the rest of the crap.”
57 D3FB said at 5:47 AM on July 7th, 2015:
The Wide 9…
Burn it.
Burn it with fire.
58 Media Mike said at 6:12 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Or hired Dick Jauron as the DC right away and let him figure out the line coaching.
Or hired a guy from the Titans coaching tree who was used to coordinating around use of the wide 9.
59 unhinged said at 7:14 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I find it difficult, if not impossible, to form an expectation of how Cory Undlin will pan out as a secondary coach by reviewing the dysfunctional mess that Andy Reid created in his last years here. The context within which Todd Bowles was made the DC could have been just another chapter of “The Dan Snyder Chronicles”, but for Reid, who brought an as-yet-unseen level of structure and professionalism to the whole Eagles franchise, it was the equivalent of burning down your own house.
I find the comments from the players that Undlin is coaching to be encouraging, but I am more optimistic about that unit because of what Kelly did at ILB this off-season. The secondary that got burned over the top repeatedly in 2014 was not exactly the same, but essentially the same as the unit that protected the deep field better in 2013. Clearly, CB’s were encouraged to give less pad to their assigned receivers, and, presumably, the support for middle field was emphasized even more when Ryans went down. Undlin has made “no X plays” a mantra that all DB’s are hearing on a daily basis in training, and this whole effort has to impact the accountability of every position coach as well as every player on the D. Kelly doesn’t duck accountability, and he won’t leave his comments at “I’ve got to do a better job”. Unlike his predecessor, Kelly knows enough about what he wants from his defense to enunciate it clearly, in detail, to Davis and every position coach under Davis. More than Undlin’s performance as secondary coach, I am awaiting the competition amongst the newbies, and wondering who will show us all something to turn the page.
60 Michael Winter Cho said at 12:07 AM on July 7th, 2015:
I wonder if the secondary really got burned as much as we think, or if it’s more that we remember the times they did because they cost us so dearly. I’m sure those stats are available somewhere online…?
61 Media Mike said at 6:11 AM on July 7th, 2015:
I still wish I knew why they didn’t hire Dick Jauron as the DC after they fired idiot McDermott.
62 OregonDucker said at 7:48 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Gary Undlin is your NEXT DC unless Davis can show leadership. As in leadership to win a SB. Nothing less will be good enough.
Believe…. in the pursuit of greatness. If Davis does not show greatness, this year, he is history.
63 Avery Greene said at 8:11 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Davis might get a coaching offer this year anyway.
64 eagleyankfan said at 7:58 AM on July 7th, 2015:
I’m not so sure on that. I’m wondering how many GM’s are sitting around saying — wow, what a great job he’s done in Philly, we need him here.
65 Avery Greene said at 9:58 AM on July 7th, 2015:
His defense got pressure on the QB. The secondary was the problem, and if that looks better this year (which it should), then I def think he gets a job somewhere.
66 eagleyankfan said at 11:49 AM on July 7th, 2015:
all NFL teams are saying the same thing about their DC. Getting QB pressure is nothing special….I’m not saying he can’t or won’t do a wonderful job. Right now, nobody is being wow’d.
67 Mac said at 12:25 PM on July 7th, 2015:
I agree with your point. Any good franchise isn’t going to look exclusively at Davis’ defense as a reason to make him a HC. The HC of an organization needs to be the ultimate manager and leader of the team. He needs to have the vision to see the box and be able to think inside the box and outside the box to solve problems. He needs to have the ability to hear lots of ideas and put together the ones that will work as a cohesive unit. Davis’ value as a HC is increasing the more he is around Chip Kelly… but only if he can absorb and show an ability to use what he is witnessing. Same thing can be said of Shumur. These guys will have an opportunity to show what they’ve learned if this team makes a deep playoff run.
68 BlindChow said at 9:01 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Wow, bold prediction! Not only does Cory Undlin become DC, but he also changes his name to Gary!
69 wee2424 said at 9:09 PM on July 6th, 2015:
Lmfao
70 Charlie Kelly said at 9:12 PM on July 6th, 2015:
what? lmfao Must show leadership to win SB? id say he has to have a great defense and not bad one. But to each their own
71 Anders said at 5:16 AM on July 7th, 2015:
What if the defense outperforms Kelly’s offense again?
72 Media Mike said at 6:10 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Can Undlin run a 4-3?
73 Anders said at 6:43 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Kelly will never ever run a 4-3
74 Charlie Kelly said at 9:13 PM on July 6th, 2015:
I feel rather confident in the secondary this year, and even more confident in the front 7.
We added some good players to the secondary. Walter Thurman playing S is the BIG question mark. I think eric rowe will be a stud, maybe not in year one tho
75 troy412 said at 11:17 PM on July 6th, 2015:
The thing that Undlin must do is pick the right combination of players to start.What if sheppard outplays every one and win the starting job opposite of Maxwell.Do you move Rowe to safety or keep Thurmond who can cover but can he tackle. Sheppard is a steal who could win the job.Yes Carroll looks good in camp but he couldn’t beat the two bums last year. The right combination could be the most important thing and his judge of talent or does he do what chip does go with the veteran to be safe
76 Insomniac said at 12:40 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Shepherd is all of these
a. rookie cb
b. a rookie cb with sloppy technique and below-average tackling
c. a rookie cb that needs to learn to be physical to play press in this scheme
d. a rookie cb that is honestly being overhyped just because some draftniks thought he would go higher than expected
I’m not saying that he can’t win the job but he has some major hurdles for him to do it this season.
77 troy412 said at 1:25 AM on July 7th, 2015:
True on all your points but that’s what coaching and training camp is for. The point is hope the coach picks right combination whoever he decides to start
78 Bert's Bells said at 10:53 AM on July 7th, 2015:
It’s also what scouting is for.
Scouts think Sheppard needs a lot more work than Rowe.
If he’s able to pass Rowe and rocket to the top of the depth chart in one offseason it means the scouts were tremendously off base. In a good way, for once.
79 SteveH said at 12:33 AM on July 7th, 2015:
http://deadspin.com/just-like-you-russell-wilson-is-not-having-sex-1716081857
Apparently god spoke to Russell Wilson while he was looking in a mirror and told him not to have sex with his current girlfriend.
Yep.
80 Insomniac said at 12:33 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Religious nuts will believe it.
81 SteveH said at 12:37 AM on July 7th, 2015:
I wonder if when Russell heard gods voice while he was looking in the mirror if he wondered for a moment if he was god.
82 Insomniac said at 12:41 AM on July 7th, 2015:
God demands to be paid the highest in the league but there is already a god in the NFL. Goddell doesn’t approve.
83 Bert's Bells said at 10:49 AM on July 7th, 2015:
In the future winning players will thank Russell Wilson in post game interviews.
84 Media Mike said at 6:09 AM on July 7th, 2015:
This knocks Wilson down a few pegs. I’m not sure if hearing strange voices telling him to avoid biologically normal behavior is a sign of strong leadership.
85 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:31 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Didn’t stop a certain man from getting elected President of the United States not so long ago.
86 CrackSammich said at 9:09 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Is anyone else’s gaydar going off like a tornado siren?
87 A_T_G said at 9:23 AM on July 7th, 2015:
God, the doctor treating his STD; tomato, tomoto.
88 Bert's Bells said at 10:48 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Isn’t Jesus that Middle Eastern dude who told all his bros to abandon their wives so they could tool around the desert with him like ancient Deadheads?
At least it’s not as dumb as passing the ball from the two yard line with under a minute to go in the Superbowl.
89 Mac said at 12:17 PM on July 7th, 2015:
A man has faith in God and his heart is quiet enough to hear God’s voice speak truth to him and this is how you guys respond? I guess I need to lower my expectations another notch.
90 A_T_G said at 4:08 PM on July 7th, 2015:
I am fine with a man having a moral code, and I applaud Wilson for following his faith. It is publicizing how one applies their personal beliefs to their personal life that I find odd. What leads a person, whom people follow for unrelated reasons, to announce to the choice to discontinue having premarital sex?
91 Mac said at 7:42 AM on July 8th, 2015:
Based on what I am seeing of the video clip, I think it’s safe to say that the interview was done in a church setting and used as what folks in the Christian community call a testimony. A testimony is basically a story from your own life that is shared with the body of believers with the intention of either being encouraging as a “God saw me through this, and you can get through it too” kind of thing or as a way of sharing wisdom or other experiences from your life with other believers. Plenty of just regular old people share about their choice to have or not have pre-marital sex within church groups as a way of talking about life choices, consequences of said choices, and to share what they think will help young people navigate a very difficult issue.
If Russell Wilson is just any old follower of Jesus, then this isn’t news. I’m not saying anyone who doesn’t believe needs to care about what he said, but take it for what it’s worth and the context in which it is delivered. If he had gone out of his way to bring this up in an interview where the question was “what were you thinking as you saw that pass intercepted at the goal line?” and answered with this stuff about his relationship… then that would be pretty lame. But this was part of an interview at a church, with a specific intent to encourage people to avoid having sex outside of marriage (5 out of 48 mins). And they spend an equal amount of time talking about perfection (or the lack of being perfect) later in the interview with regard to the botched pass (another 5 min chunk of time).
I think he deserves the freedom to believe what he wants to believe about God, and the freedom to talk about it within his faith community. I also believe that folks on this board have the right to talk about what they believe.
You can see the whole interview here if you want to judge better for yourself: http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/russell-wilson-ciara-dating-interview-seattle-seahawks-070615
92 eagleyankfan said at 8:18 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Why? Why must we rehash one of the most brutal seasons ever? You want to come over and kick my dog too?(figure of speech, I do not promote such things).
It is that year, that brutal year that leaves a shadow(to be kind) over AR time here. It’s a shame.
….
Count me as a believer in Bowles and thought he’d be the next HC here. I’m not a believer in Davis. Just my perception from a distance. Maybe he’s well liked by the players n CK. Results are results. From my view – nothing special.
….
When AR first got here, I do believe his thought process was to have all coaches be on the same page (like CK now). AR seemed to reach a desperation stage in his career and not longer followed that belief and hired the wrong coaches. Right now, CK seems to have the coaches he wants. Let’s see what happens when coaches start to leave and replacements are needed.
…
Count me as a believer in Bowles and thought he’d be the next HC here. I’m not a believer in Davis. Just my perception from a distance. Maybe he’s well liked by the players n CK. Results are results. From my view – nothing special.
93 GEAGLE said at 9:19 AM on July 7th, 2015:
“I have Never been around as talented of a group of Rookie DB talent like this one”- Barwin
..
“happy to see that Byron Maxwell is exactly who he was supposed to be”-Barwin
94 ac134spectre said at 11:05 AM on July 7th, 2015:
Ah, the year the offense fell apart with Vick (reversion to the mean) and Andy threw the defense under the bus.
95 Mr. Magee said at 6:38 PM on July 7th, 2015:
Little bit of a weird article… starts off ok, and then ends with Howard Mudd and Bobby April. Note sure what those comparisons bring to the discussion.