“I know he’s the Super Bowl champion, but it wasn’t a great pass” – When Russell Wilson broke 'Entourage' star Kevin Connolly’s leg on set
Russell Wilson has taken a lot of heat for some bad passes this season, but if Kevin Connolly is to be believed, the Denver Broncos quarterback wasn't all that great previously, either. The Entourage star famously broke his leg while trying to catch a pass from the former Seattle Seahawks player.
As it transpired, Russell Wilson was hanging out with the cast and crew of Entourage, and he became an accessory to settling a bit of beef. Kevin Connolly and Jerry Ferrara were castmates for the hit show and disagreed on who was more athletic.
Having the quarterback on set back in 2014 allowed them to test out who the real deal was. As Entourage creator Doug Ellin narrated, they decided the best way to settle the argument was by having the two play with Russell Wilson. When Jerry Ferrara lined up as a receiver, Wilson would throw him the ball and Kevin Connolly would tackle, and vice versa.
Ferrara went first, and Wilson threw the ball, which went smoothly. When it came to Kevin Connolly's turn to receive, he went through the same process but broke his leg in two places. At first, Connolly tried to shrug it off even though it was swelling up right on that day. He spent some time trying to walk it off until a visit to the doctor brought out the news of his fractures.
Asked about it later, Kevin Connolly was adamant that it was Russell Wilson's fault for throwing a bad pass. He said:
"I know he's the Super Bowl champion, but it wasn't a great pass... It was a bad pass, I'm not gonna lie."
What was supposed to be a friendly argument settled by the star quarterback turned out to have more devastating consequences than originally intended. The injury also pushed back some of the work he was supposed to do on set for a couple of months.
How true are Kevin Connolly's assertions that Russell Wilson is a bad passer?
Not only Kevin Connolly, but a lot of NFL fans are saying that Russell Wilson is not all that he is made out to be. Considering that the Denver Broncos are dead last this season in terms of points scored, they may have a point.
But one fact this argument ignores is that no quarterback can succeed with poor coaching. Fans will naturally use that to say Pete Carroll was the reason Wilson became a star quarterback and that it was all the coach's success. The Seattle Seahawks' performances this season with Geno Smith could point one to that conclusion.
However, we are fresh off seeing Baker Mayfield conjure up something special for the Los Angeles Rams against the Las Vegas Raiders yesterday. He had been with the team for a mere 48 hours and was still unfamiliar with the playbook. But a quarterback who had looked completely wasted at the Carolina Panthers suddenly started playing as a former overall first pick and showed his worth.
That is why Russell Wilson's talent might equally be getting undermined by Nathaniel Hackett and his current inability to lead the team as a head coach. So, to determine how good the current Denver Broncos quarterback is at throwing, we have to look at his throws in last season's Pro Bowl.
@DangeRussWilson won the Precision Passing competition with a record 29points at the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown. (via ESPN) https://t.co/Ak38zvfv9w
Wilson showed incredible accuracy and poise and was the best quarterback among all the other Pro Bowlers. Sure, he is having a bad season, and Kevin Connolly might blame him for a broken leg. He is still one of the best in the business when it comes to throwing a spiral.