Major League Soccer announced Monday that Seattle’s Eddie Johnson has been voted the league’s Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). Johnson scored the opening goal in a 4-0 victory over the LA Galaxy Sunday night at CenturyLink Field, his fourth game-winning goal this season.
This marks the first time this year that Johnson won the honor. He is tied for fifth in MLS with 10 goals and scored seven of the team’s last 12, including six in his past seven games.
The award is the fourth of Johnson’s MLS career. He won three times during the 2007 season with the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City). He is the second Seattle player named this season, following David Estrada in Week 2.
The award is selected each week by a panel of print, television, radio and online media.
The Sounders left Monday for Kansas City and the championship match of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Seattle’s attempt to win it for an unprecedented fourth straight year starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Sporting Kansas City.
15 Comments
Have to admit I hadn’t watched a game yet because I don’t get too excited about the preseason, but I did tune in for a couple of quarters last night. VERY impressive. I’d thought the Seahawks might’ve gotten a third-round steal in Wilson because of what he did in one year at Wisconsin on and off the field (I don’t listen to the “too small” worries…a player is a player), but I never expected Wilson to do this well this soon. It IS the preseason so a lot of this might be taken with a grain of salt, but Wilson surely does look like the real deal.
A side note: Would he become the first QB ever to tell Terrell Owens to shut the hell up if/when TO starts shooting his mouth off about him? I don’t get the impression Wilson is the kind of guy who’ll put up with that. even from a Hall of Fame WR. Wilson showed very soon after arriving as a transfer in Madison last year that he can make a team “his team” in short order.
Those who’ve followed him closely will say they’re not surprised. He’s had “it” since grade school. He seems to have won over the locker room to the point where other vets would get in Owens face before Wilson had to speak. But I don’t think Wilson will have to worry about TO after next week.
Art, after watching Wilson’s post-game press conference, I think you should sit him down and show him the classic Hank Stram “keep matriculating the ball down the field” clip from NFL Films. It was pretty funny to see him use the line (in a Kansas City Chiefs post-game, no less) but it’s clear he has no idea where it comes from (or what ‘matriculate’ means).
These kids today.
http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/videos/Press-Conference-Russell-Wilson-Preseason-Week-3/f56c3beb-989f-4846-9233-ad1e92652944
If that’s his only flaw, I’ll see you in New Orleans for the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl.
Excited but trying not to get too excited :) Wilson looked d**n good last night. I want to see more!
Carroll will see to that.
Jackson and Flynn will have to flip a coin to see who rides tge bench this year.
Yeah, Flynn might’ve Wally Pipped himself out of a starting job by sitting out last night.
Marshawn Lynch better get over his back problems or he’ll find himself Wilsonned by Robert Turbin.
Then again, why not trade Flynn? Just sayin’.
Wilson has such awesome footwork! Like a boxer or really good point guard in bball, he is always setting him self up for his next move. Not sure how he sees defenders so well without seemingly moving his head around like other QB’s do.
Best part of all this: here it is late August and the term “game manager” hasn’t been used in weeks!!!!
Not only are his feet fast, he has a quick release. That’s how he compensates for shortness. The only time height is a factor is when the bodies back up into his face. If Wilson gets the ball off a half-second faster, the crowding becomes less of an impediment. Notice how he doesn’t have to set himself before h throws. He has big hands and big arms that make for a fast trigger.
Art, in light of all the post-orgasmic glow from Seattle fans over Wilson’s performance last night, I have to ask you as an insider, Do you see a weakness in Wilson’s game? The only reason why I ask is because you mentioned in your last Seahawk’s related post that you thought Wilson would struggle against the ones. Are we justified in going completely gaga over him, or do people in the know think he has weakness to address before he can become a legitimate NFL QB?
I think I wrote that the Seahawks need to find out if he will struggle against ones. But to your point: Carroll was worried that Wilson would tend to run before a pass play gets fully developed. He’s a good runner, but NFL defenses will account for it if he bails too often. Wilson came through. He ran only twice, and the 59 yards proved the wisdom of his choices.
The other concern is reading sophisticated defenses. KC ran a lot of stuff, and the entire offense handled it well. Inevitably, he will misread things he’s never seen, but Carroll is so impressed with his quick uptakes that they will live with the mistakes, knowing it will happen once and Wilson will have solved for it.