Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll are beefing … over a wristband.
Who knew a game full of grown men who run around a field smashing into each other as hard as they can could produce such petty individuals? We all did.
Wilson is tired of the slander, coded messages and trash talk directed his way by a bevy of ex-teammates and media talking heads since joining the Denver Broncos.
He isn’t playing well at all, and the Broncos as a unit aren’t good. The defense has its moments, but it hasn’t produced many wins.
The Seahawks, on the other hand, are playing like one of the top teams in the NFL behind a career year by journeyman Geno Smith. Smith just so happens to wear a coach’s wristband on his arm during his games. It helps him memorize plays, and call them more accurately, and ideally, it makes the play-calling process smoother as a whole.
Wilson, on the other hand, hardly wears those wristbands, but in the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Oct. 30, he confidently wore the wristband en route to a Wilson-like win.
Russ tossed for 252 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while winning 21-17. A very underwhelming game, as most Broncos games are, but the team improved to 3-5 this season.
On Monday, Pete Carroll joined the Seattle Sports 710 AM show to applaud Geno Smith for wearing the wristband over the course of the season.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold Carroll also threw a slight dig at Russell Wilson.
Carroll said, “there had been “resistance to that, so we didn’t do that” in the past. While Carroll did not refer to Wilson by name, Wilson missed only three games at quarterback for the Seahawks in the previous 10 seasons.
Wilson had a response to those words by Carroll.
“I don’t know exactly what he said, but [we] won a lot of games there without one on my wrist,” Wilson told reporters this week before practice. “I didn’t know winning or losing mattered if you wore a wristband or not. I think I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that we’re rolling, and moving, and everything else. The few times I’ve definitely worn a wristband depending on the game plan, what we’ve got called and all that stuff.”
A very petty slight indeed and Pete Carroll clearly has no love lost for Wilson, and probably doesn’t miss him. Can you blame him? Everyone thought Russ was leaving Seattle in an unmanageable situation, but Smith has outperformed Wilson in almost every way possible, and that includes team success, with the Seattle Seahawks sitting at 6-3, and first in the NFC West.
Perhaps the coach’s wristband will elevate Wilson’s game and his understanding of this Denver Broncos system. At this point they need to do everything they can to try to win. The move to get Wilson in the offseason was a win-now move by the Broncos, so to be in the position they’re in is concerning.
If the Broncos’ win in London was any indicator of change, we’ll be seeing Wilson rocking the wristband much more. Hopefully, Pete Carroll doesn’t notice.
