You can feel Russell Wilson’s legend building. You can feel Pete Carroll’s NFL legend building. Like the sensation of being swept out to sea, there is a sense of power and force at work that is beyond our ability to control or even fully understand. We already knew something special was happening in Seattle after seeing how the Seahawks closed out last season. Now we’ve seen that catalyst moment. Some may say “it’s only the preseason,” but the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson are the talk of the NFL right now. I suspect many of you will not remember another Seahawks’ preseason game like you’ll remember this game tonight.
Wilson has just one final test- doing it in a “real” game.
Of course, you know he will pass it.
He played against a real starting defense tonight, and an above average defense at that, on the road, in a place that is one the most intimidating places to play in the league. The Chiefs had the 12th best defense last season by weighted DVOA. They were shorthanded in the secondary, but actually played outstanding coverage anyway (and got away with way more contact than they should have). Wilson had just one drive that did not end in points, and it was a missed field goal that didn’t miss by much. For the preseason an almost unbelievable 67% of Wilson’s drives have resulted in scores, most of them touchdowns. No other preseason Seahawks QB this year has even led a touchdown drive.
I don’t even want to entertain thoughts of Wilson not starting at Arizona or for the majority of games over the next decade. It does not take a ton of insight to see the path Wilson has ahead of him. Greatness. Carroll may act coy, but we all know the Russell Wilson era in Seattle has begun. Doing anything else would make a mockery of his “earn everything” mantra. Even Matt Flynn knows that this competition is over.
What an amazing time to be a Seahawk fan. This team isn’t yet complete, but it already feels like the 90’s Cowboys. Seattle’s starters flat out embarrassed the Chiefs starters. By the time Kansas City cracked 15 yards of total offense, they were already down 16-0. And not because of turnovers or 80 yard lightning-in-a-bottle plays, but by pure, honest, truly dominant football.
I have never been this happy to be rooting for this team. Not even after the Saints playoff game. Not even after the 2005 superbowl berth. As someone that believed Russell Wilson to be the next Brees/Brady type draft steal months before he was drafted, the process of seeing him get surprisingly drafted by my team, then beat the odds to be in the position he is in right now, it’s so storybook that even Hollywood execs are probably watching this story unfold with interest. Especially if Wilson and the Seahawks have the kind of season I believe they are capable of. And the kind of decade I believe they are capable of.
I just can’t believe this is really happening. This is happening… to a Seattle sports team!
Regarding Wilson’s performance, I would have been excited by any good performance tonight, but the way that Wilson played went above and beyond as to leave no doubt. He pretty much destroyed the Chiefs, posting an astronomically high ANYA (adjusted net yards per attempt: think of it as a “smarter” passer rating) of 10.95, which is almost twice as high as Wilson’s debut against the Titans. For comparison, Matt Flynn’s historic 6 TD game against Detroit had a ANYA score of 11.06. If it felt like Wilson was really good tonight, he might have been even better than you thought.
Some people have called Aaron Rodgers a “robot” for how effortlessly great he is. Tonight Wilson, a rookie, was that same kind of robot. Even his post game interview was stone cold serious and devoid of emotion- when you know that any of us would be flipping out like we just had the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes van pull up our driveway. He did end his interview with “go hawks” though. Even robots can be cool cats.
There is much more to say, but this is all I will say for now. This is history in the making, my fellow twelves. Soak it up. Enjoy it. Remember it well.
I was just telling my wife that this team looks and feels different than any Seahawk team I have watched in recent memory. To see the Defensive guys reacting to Wilson shows what type of leader he is. Something is happening in Seattle.
This stuff is making me…. well watch the video…
http://vimeo.com/22582951
Honest, nothing naughty just funny…
Kip – I’ve got to give you major props for calling Wilson an potential NFL stud before anyone else I can remember. It will be funny to see all the national media who said he couldn’t make it – start jumping on the Russell Wilson band wagon. I can just see Mel Kiper’s redraft grades now – ranking the Hawks having the #1 overall draft class after giving the Seahawks his worse grade immediately after this past draft. And you and Rob where calling it all along.
The funny thing about that game for me was – it felt like he still has room to grow. He missed some passes and could still do better. He still has a higher ceiling and I can’t wait to see where it ends up.
Robert Turbin, anther guy who you really liked before the draft – also preformed well. It was awesome to see that the Hawks can move the ball well with Russell and WITHOUT their Pro Bowl RB Marshawn Lynch even seeing the field.
The Seahawks have so much potential this season. I can’t wait to see it.
Speaking of Plugs Kiper…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2LQqnTDck
I gotta stick up for Mel on that one. He said all along that Wilson was a 3rd – 4th round guy, and it sounds like that’s where most teams had him pegged. All Kiper really said is that Wilson has a disadvantage to overcome with his height, and that makes him a gamble. I thought Gruden was just being defensive.
Disclaimer: I loathe Jon Gruden.
IIRC, Kiper had Wilson #150 overall, so mid 5th round roughly.
Also, I love John Gruden, but that’s just my opinion.
Wilson, Turbin, Wagner, Sweezy, and even Irvin showed good things last night with the starters. I was not expecting five rookies to be making an immediate impact on this team. Something tells me Schneider and Carroll know what they’re doing.
It’s impossible not to be excited. That’s for sure.
And before Wilson sucks all the oxygen out of the room (and rightfully so), how about the job that Sweezy has done? The battle between he and Lutui may be the most underreported story of camp. Sweezy might be an even better story than Wilson, just at a non-glamour position. He’s not only going to make the team, but it Moffit isn’t 100% he could easily start at Arizona. And I don’t think a single Seahawk fan out there would bat an eyelash.
Think about that. Some Seahawks fans think Flynn should still be the starter. But if for some reason Moffit went on the PUP (heaven forbid) and Sweezy was named starter, I doubt you’d hear a peep.
There really does seem to be “something” about this team, doesn’t there? I mean jeez, TO is a non-story.
It’s over. Russell Wilson will be the starting QB for this team week 1.
I’ll admit, I was on the Flynn bandwagon before this game. I thought it was better to play the conservative guy, the guy who won’t make the silly mistakes, the guy who will replicate Alex Smith.
Screw that. I’m hooked on Wilson. The moment is never too big for this guy. He’s going to make some mistakes, sure, but you can also count on him to make plays.
There’s no guarantee Lynch plays week 1. Can we really count on Alex Smith 2.0 to get us a victory, although against a mediocre Cards squad, down in the desert? Hmmm.
And, I think the biggest difference between Wilson and Flynn is quite simple:
Flynn can lead us to the wildcard this year.
I believe Wilson could up us to a division title.
Count me in as a fan of Russel Wilson! I am making it official that I have flipped from Finn. Wilson has an unbelievable QB rating. The highest of any QB in preseason.
I’m rooting for Sweezy. Should be real interesting to see which receivers and running backs make the cut.
Think about the horrible draft grades all the “experts” gave us? P/C and J/S are buiding a dynasty up here in my opinion. We are becoming the OKC of football. Thats only fair since OKC are our beloved Sonics. I had butterflys in my stomach as the game started wanting Wilson do well but what he did was just unreal. Before game one I will proudly wear my #3 Wilson jersey. When J/S talked about getting his hands a QB that “tilted” the field, WOW!!!!!!!!!
PS-his stat line would have been even better if it werent for the drops by TO and the two holding penalties by the KC D that were not called as they mugged our recievers. As a side note the NFL better get the real Officials back by the time the season starts. You arent hearing about how horrible they are because it’s only pre-season but when the season starts the results of their mistakes will be costly in every way.
so you are saying the seahawks are moving to OKC? fuck
DON’T even joke about that.
typing on one of these sites without spell checker is like high wire walking without a net…
BTW-great comments from all of you. Kip, you called this before anyone. Rob and Kip should work as advanced scouts for the Seahawks.
google chrome man, spell checker is built in. saves my life every day.
So if/when RW gets the starting job, what do we do with Flynn? I would be satisfied with TJ as Wilson’s (pretty good) backup. I think Flynn could be decent trade bait, maybe we go into the season with 4 QB’s… and hold on for another team’s injury to warrant a trade?
What do you guys think? Trade Flynn? John likes his draft picks, or maybe a WR? I can’t really think of a team that might want Flynn that has a WR to give up, let me know what you guys think.
The sore elbow could make him difficult to trade. But maybe New England would take him – or Miami.
Why would you trade FLynn? Keeping Flynn would be cheaper than keeping Tarvaris Jackson this year.
Also, which would you rather have coming off the bench, Jackson or Flynn?
I would rather have a motivated/prepared TJack than a discouraged Flynn.
If Flynn displays a positive attitude, then great: he’s the better QB, easy (assuming he’s healthy). If he feels betrayed by the situation or the coach, if he resents what has taken place and the decisions made, if he is going to be a locker room cancer, then he has to go. But that goes for any player on PC’s team (see White, Housh, etc.)
Agreed. I found that Flynn’s expressions and body language conveyed utter detachment from what was happening on the field and I don’t think that’s acceptable. Even with a sore elbow, isn’t there *something* you can do to help the team succeed?
And as far as the cost, TJack has apparently agreed to restructure his contract (I can’t source it – not sure where I read it) and that makes sense. If I was him, I would insist on adding a year as part of the restructure.
TJack is emotionally prepared for this, as the writing has been on the wall for some time. Flynn, on the other hand, may feel resentful at having to compete with TJack AND Wilson. When he was signed, all he had to do was beat TJack (not a hard thing to do). He was probably unaware of PC/JS’s draft plans, and probably unprepared for PC’s surprising decision to include a 3rd round pick in the competition. He may be totally unprepared to lose to said rookie.
I wouldn’t blame him for being pissed. It’s one thing to back up JaMarcus Russell in college (top over-all pick in the draft); and Aaron Rodgers, arguably the best QB in the league. But a diminutive 3rd round pick? That will be hard to swallow.
Right now I am OK with Josh Portis being the odd man out. If T-Jack restructures his deal and that is a must to remain on the team, that would be great insurance. What is up with Flynn’s injury anyway? It could not have come at a worse time for the guy?
After Wilson starts the first two games he will have the exact same amount of NFL experience as Matt Flynn. You could argue that Flynn got all the time at Green Bay studying NFL Defenses and sitting behind Mr. Rogers and that is great and all that, but personal I learn better while playing and that is exactly what Russell Wilson has been doing too.
It has been what 5 seasons since Flynn was the man at LSU? Before last nights game I was confident with Flynn going into the season as a starter but now Russell Wilson is everything we could have dreamed up for our QB and even more! The whole team plays better with him. Did you see how his teamates reacted to him all game on the sidelines? That is what I am talking about.
We’ll see how things shake out, but it’s becoming more common for teams to just roll with two QBs these days. Seattle won’t do that, but it won’t be because they’ll carry a second backup. They always want to have a developing QB on the back of the roster just like Green Bay has done with great success the last two decades under Ron Wolf.
Something else that’s astonishing is that Schneider has built this emerging monster team pretty much on the cheap. They didn’t go out and pick up big ticket free agents like the Eagles or burn up draft capital to get superstars like Washington. Instead they’ve busted their asses researching players and pulling out gems like Sweezy. And now we’ve got a potentially elite QB from the 3rd round just because everyone else thought he was too short.
Top 10 defense, powerful run game, a QB that we can watch without cringing for the first time since about 2007. AND this is one of the youngest teams in the league AND we still have a good amount of draft capital going forward. How about that move flipping Barrett Ruud for pick? Jeez man, success is hard enough but this might even be *sustainable* success. Exciting time to be a fan for sure!
I’ll admit I’m afraid of jumping on the everything is great wagon. But I am not going to argue against it either .
I do love Kip, how you noticed and included the ” go Hawks” Wilson threw out there in his interview. It just goes along with who Wilson is.
I may be disappointed this season. But at least I have expectations. Nice change. I will no longer give two poops about draft position. Win now. I suspect they will.