As the Seahawks struggle to improve their won-loss record and likewise to get beyond the rumors of dysfunction that have emerged in the aftermath of the Percy Harvin trade, the answer apparently will come from within, via the emergence of new leadership in the locker room.
Former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who continues to juggle his on-air duties at NFL Network with his friendships and loyalties in Seattle, explained during GameDay First that the team is undergoing a transition from strong voices like defensive linemen Red Bryant and Chris Clemons (both of whom were cut after the 2013 season) to players who have not yet fully embraced the role of leader.
At the center of the current change is quarterback Russell Wilson. Dogged by reports of resentment that may be rooted in matters of race (as in whether he’s “black enough”), the deeper issue could be (in our view) that Wilson needs to take charge of the team in the way Peyton Manning would. To get in guy’s faces. To tell them not what you think they want to hear but what they need to hear.
Consider Peyton Manning’s recent decision to publicly call out the team’s scoreboard operator. Manning takes charge without regard to whether he’ll be liked or how his comments will be received. He doesn’t care about those things. Wilson, based on a recent Sports Ilustrated profile, seems to spend plenty of time and effort playing the role of good-guy quarterback, who always says and does things that are regarded as nice and positive and non-controversial. The goody-two-shoes image creates natural friction with guys who suspect that it’s not genuine or who believe that Wilson, by making himself seem like such a great guy, in a roundabout way is making his teammates look like something less than that.
At one point, Robinson referred on the air to Wilson as an “outlier.” While that makes Wilson special and unique and, from an athletic standpoint, incredibly effective, it possibly also makes it harder for him to relate to the non-outliers in the locker room the way Wilson needs to.
While Robinson said “nothing’s going on” in the locker room, he at one point acknowledged that the team is “working through issues.” The biggest issue seems to be whether Wilson will be able to lead the locker room as currently constituted and, if not, whether the Seahawks will retool after the season with players who will more inclined to follow him.
