What Makes Russell Wilson Special

What Makes Russell Wilson Special

For starters read this:

3^rd round 12^th pick 75th overall

Pick Analysis: Wilson is this year's big-time question mark at quarterback. Unlike those who have held this title in the past, Wilson is a stellar passer who shows arm strength and accuracy when he is able to deliver the ball without a hitch. The North Carolina State transfer has outstanding football intelligence, as he picked up the Wisconsin offense in a short time and was the opening-day starter. But teams will have concerns whether Wilson can see over the pocket to make the throws at the next level. He is a mechanical mover who has strong technique and leadership qualities. If Wilson were three inches taller, there would be debate at the top of the draft as to where he fits. But look for teams to take a flier on him in a late round to see if he can develop and outplay his size.

The above was the analysis of Russell Wilson after the NFL scouting combine of 2012. Before the NFL draft. When the Seahawks made him the 75^th overall pick, many thought it was a little ahead of where he should be. Everything’s good, they would say, but his height, or lack thereof, would make it hard for him at the next level. The Seahawks had after all, just signed career backup Matt Flynn to a big free agent contract from Green Bay.

Now four years into Wilson’s career, you probably couldn’t get anybody to confess writing the above. He has, in my opinion, had one of the most unexpected rises of any quarterback, ever. In all four of those years, he has led the Seahawks into the playoffs; playing in two Super Bowls. He has set or tied numerous “quickest to” NFL records; tied for most TD passes by a rookie, First and only quarterback in NFL history to throw 3+ touchdowns and no interceptions in five consecutive games^,, most regular season wins by a quarterback in his first 2 years, 3years, and four years. The list goes on and on.

Russell Carrington Wilson was born in November of 1988, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of a lawyer (Harrison) and a legal Nurse consultant (Tammy). Russell played four years of college football and baseball at North Carolina State, redshirting his freshman year. Wilson graduated after three years at NC State, with a BA in communications. He took graduate courses (business) during the fall of 2010, during the football season.

After the 2010 season, Wilson announced he would be going to spring training with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. Unable to get an invitation to the NFL scouting combine of 2011, and with the baseball experiment having run its course, Russell committed to Wisconsin for the 2011 college football season. The Badgers were 11-3 overall that year, including winning the Big 10 Championship game and losing to Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

When the Seahawks made Wilson the 75^th overall pick, they received a ton of criticism. Having just signed Flynn, most fans an ‘experts’ thought it was a wasted pick, mostly due to Wilson’s anonymity. He quickly shut up most of the naysayer’s, though.

Before the regular season opener, the Seahawks announced Wilson would be the starter. I, like many others, was quite surprised by this. First, why did we sign Flynn to a big free agent contract, and then give the job to some third round pick we hadn’t heard of? Thankfully, the coaches and staff of the Seahawks know a lot more than me about talent! 

It was a little rocky at first with the Seahawks. The coaches seemed to cut the playbook down, so there wouldn’t be a huge learning curve for Wilson. This seemed to be the right thing to do, as by the season’s midway point; I and most Seahawk fans could see that this kid had something special.  He finished the regular season with a passer rating of 100.0, also setting a new NFL rookie record.

Russell led the Seahawks to the playoffs in his rookie season. The wild card game and the divisional round game were both amazing games. The Seahawks fell behind the Washington Redskins 14-0, but come back to win 24-14. The following week, against the Atlanta Falcons, we fell behind 20-0, before storming back to take a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds left. The defense then allowed the Falcons to drive down the field and kick a game winning field goal with 13 seconds left. As a fan, the feelings after that game were extremely mixed. Yeah we should have won it, but who expected the Seahawks to get that far with a rookie quarterback? It gave many fans, myself included, extreme optimism for the future. This was well deserved.

The 2013 season, Russell’s second in the league, was an amazing year, both for Wilson and the Seahawk franchise. Winning their first four games, and eleven of the first twelve, the Seahawks won the NFC west division title, and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round, and the San Francisco 49ers in the Conference Championship. The Seahawks then obliterated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48. Russell finished the year with a quarterback rating over 101.0, was elected to the Pro Bowl, and became the shortest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, at 5’11”.

In 2014 Russell led the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl, only to lose on a last minute interception at the goal line. I’ve written a previous post about this game, so I’m not going into it here. Russell finished the year with a QB rating under 100.0, the only year he hasn’t been over 100.0. It was a great year overall, just the way it ended left an extremely sour taste in our mouth.

In the 2015 season Wilson set many new Seahawks single season passing records; most passing yards (4,024), most touchdown passes (34), and highest passer rating (110.1). After an extremely poor start by the team (4-4 midway) the offense came alive in the second half of the season. After losing starting running back Marshawn Lynch and his backup, rookie Thomas Rawls, and losing tight end Jimmy Graham, the offense came alive under Wilson. This is where I think he showed the rest of the league what we fans had figured out. He could take over a team, and continue to win. In games 10 through14 of the season, Wilson threw 19 touchdowns and no interceptions.

In closing, I’ll say that I think Wilson can have one of the greatest careers of any NFL quarterback. Obviously no one can see the future, and an injury can happen on any play in this league. I believe what Wilson brings to the table, besides the strong arm and quick legs, is what’s between the ears. I’ve watched a lot of QB’s over the years, and you don’t see Russell make many dumb mistakes, which normally plague young quarterbacks. Especially for a scrambling quarterback, nobody seems to get a clean hard hit on him. Not to say he hasn’t had his bell rung a few times, but he has an ability to make a last second move to avoid the big hit. Be it from the coaching of the Seahawks, or just what he was born with. He never seems to get too rattled while on the field. He can make quick decisions, most of which are the right decision, and knows when to throw it away, scramble etc. With the run the offense went on last year, after losing our top two running backs and having a piece work offensive line, this may be the team that doesn’t have to rely so much on the ‘3 yards and a cloud of dust’ game plan.

We’re a long way from the 1-15 and 2-14 years, and we seem to have plotted a course to the elite status of the NFL. Only time will tell, but I do believe we have the perfect man steering the ship-DangeRuss!! I’m very excited for the 2016 season. When we get our injured starters back, and if we can get an offensive line that can protect Russell, and get another amazing year from our receivers, this could be something special. We know the defense will be adequate, as it’s led the league for 4 years in a row now.

So until next time……………..#Go Hawks!!