Although Russell says he is coming back to play in the fall even after being drafted in the 4th round of Major League Baseball’s Draft, it may be time for Tom O’Brien to dust off his Contingency Plan. After all, professional athletes NEVER posture and use leverage to get the maximum salary they can pull…
So the potential question now arises… what does the 2010 Football squad look like without Russell Wilson? Not good, it turns out.
If there was ever a time where we NEEDED an experienced quarterback, it would be this year, the year where we basically have a stable of unused and unproven running backs. Wilson would be able to use his plethora of weapons to keep defenses honest allowing the running game to get some reps and mature.
Enter Glennon, an unused and unproven quarterback. All of a sudden and despite Glennon’s tremendous upside potential, the offense looks anemic due to an utter lack of experience. It’s tough to have building years on both arms of the offense and it looks like we may have just that.
This scenario looks a lot like the first year post Rivers. Jay Davis was a highly recruited quarterback with all of intangibles and even said to have been “better than Rivers” at the time. Hah. Yea. But we drank the kool aid (at least to some extent) and believed that we would probably be ok even after losing one of the best quarterbacks the league had ever seen. Jay Davis would at least be competent while he gained experience.
It didn’t turn out that way for Jay Davis. And consistently bad quarterback play was a major nail in Chuck Amato’s coffin. Now I don’t want anyone to think I’m jumping to any conclusions as there’s a lot of “ifs” in this situation (IF Wilson doesn’t return, IF Glennon doesn’t turn out to be a standout quarterback, IF Tom O’Brien has consistently bad quarterback play).
However, looking at this season without Wilson doesn’t look good for Tom O’Brien. O’Brien has so far posted seasons of 5-7, 6-7, and 5-7, another sub .500 season may have Coach O’Brien’s seat getting mighty hot. How we improve upon last year’s bad season by removing the most athletic and talented guy on the field is a mountain that will be tough to climb.
Now, I am not advocating the firing of Tom O’Brien nor am I hoping or wishing that he has a bad season so he would get fired. I am merely pointing out a scenario that may very likely, and unfortunately, play out.
On the upside, Glennon does offer an extreme upside potential that I am sure he will no doubt fulfill. But to ask him to carry a weak team (on both sides of the ball) having never played a meaningful snap of college ball… may be asking a little too much and setting him up for ultimate failure. If Wilson does not return, I say we all temper our expectations and give Glennon the room and the time to grow. Rome wasn’t built in a day and NC State won’t be a national contender in a season.
One thing that Chuck Amato had the first year post Rivers… was a history of going to Bowl Games (and winning them).
