Quote Originally Posted by Rich View Post
I think it's fake news. The word at training camp was what an amazing physical specimen this guy was. I don't think he had very many extra pounds to lose. He sure doesn't look any different physically than he did at the start of the season.

To me it's obvious that the difference with Wilder is that the o-Line is opening up some beautiful holes for him that they weren't doing nearly as much before. In preseason and in the first part of the season Wilder had 4 or 5 brilliant carries which provided hints that he could be a very special back. But more often than not he was getting stuffed, and he was hesitating too much, because the openings simply were not there. Now they are.
That's a big part of it, but it's also tough to be instinctive when you are only getting 4 or so touches a game as he was early. I think that Trestman made him earn his way into a starting spot by doing hard work on special teams. Writing him off prior to seeing him really play was a knee jerk reaction, of which you will see plenty on message boards of every team.