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SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks are reportedly on the verge of making Russell Wilson the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
Maybe you think that’s crazy because it's hard to argue Wilson is the best quarterback in the NFL, but the Seahawks have to see it as a wise investment.
We’re two Seattle wins from recalibrating where Wilson is among all NFL quarterbacks, current and past. With two Super Bowl rings he’d join a special club. And the way the Seahawks handled the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, and the way they steamrolled everyone else in a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, there’s no reason to believe they can’t repeat. Especially with the Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers winner on Sunday having to come to CenturyLink Field on Jan. 18. The Seahawks are pretty amazing here.
The defense still is the centerpiece, and the fans love to go crazy when Marshawn Lynch breaks into the open and seeks out defenders to destroy, but drafting Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft looks like one of the great all-time picks.
“There is a reason why they’re in the situation they are,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said after listing all the ways Wilson beat them.
When the Seahawks need a play, he makes it. He has done that throughout his career. He did it in the Seahawks’ playoff opener, especially with some huge third-down completions.
“Sometimes I think I’m made for these situations,” Wilson said. “I just try to be prepared for it. If you’re prepared you’re never scared. You trust your teammates, you trust the guys around you, you trust the preparation, and you trust the ball is going to bounce your way. I believe that.”
The Panthers made sure Wilson, who had 849 rushing yards in the regular season, didn’t beat them with his legs. They played the read-option plays most of the time to force Wilson to hand the ball off, then go play the handoff. So Wilson had three nice touchdown throws instead. He was tremendous from the pocket – which he said was a focus this week – getting the ball out quick and to the right person.
On the first, he stood in against the blitz and lofted a pass to Doug Baldwin, letting his receiver beat man coverage and haul in the score. Wilson changed the play, seeing the Panthers were blitzing with no safety. He said the Panthers beat him on a “zero blitz” back in the regular season.
“I wanted to make sure I was prepared for that,” Wilson said.
The second throw was beautiful, right over the defense to Jermaine Kearse for a 63-yard score, the longest in Seahawks playoff history. The third was a throw a good NFL quarterback makes, immediately recognizing the defense and getting the ball out quick to Luke Willson for a 25-yard score that put the Seahawks up 24-10.
And the Seahawks are back in the NFC championship game, and look just as strong as last season, when they beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl. And that brings us back to Wilson and his growing legacy, and soon-to-be bulging wallet. NFL Network reported that the Seahawks are prepared to make Wilson the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL when they can, after this season ends. Teams can’t give extensions to players until they’ve completed their third season.
Wilson doesn’t shine the light on himself, almost in a comical way. Here’s the list of players he thanked or patted on the back after the Panthers’ win: Kearse, Baldwin, Willson, the offensive line, the offensive line a few more times, center Max Unger and his backups who played when he was out with injury, the defense, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Steven Hauschka, quarterbacks coach Carl Smith, assistant quarterbacks coach Dave Canales and backup quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and B.J. Daniels.
Whew.
So we know Wilson is the most thankful quarterback in the NFL. Is he the best quarterback in the NFL, to match his reported future paycheck? Likely not. But what are Super Bowls worth? Joe Flacco got about $120 million with $52 million guaranteed after he led the Ravens to a Super Bowl, and there’s no question a big part of that was inflated by the title run. Aaron Rodgers, who has one ring, signed a $110 million deal in 2013 that is the biggest contract in NFL history on a per-year basis, at $22 million annually.
Wilson is already in that class, with one ring. Now what about two? He just turned 26 during the regular season. He’s already the third-youngest quarterback to lead a Super Bowl champion; he’d be the youngest to do it twice. And he’s going to go from making a little more than $662,000 this season to about $20 million annually.
What historical path is Wilson on? Is he Joe Montana? He has won in all but one of his six playoff games, and the loss he played great in the second half only to have the Falcons hit a game-winning field goal at the end. Is he Terry Bradshaw, a great quarterback in his own right but also fortunate to land with a team that has a defense that might rank among the all-time greats when they’re done? It’s tough to say. If he joins the two-Super Bowl club, there just aren’t many comparisons. Especially for someone who might join the club in three NFL seasons.
Steve Young earned just one Super Bowl ring, but playing-wise maybe he’s the best comparison. While other mobile quarterbacks regressed this season, Wilson is going to start in the NFC championship game. Greg Cosell, a senior producer at NFL Films, said earlier this season that Young is really the only “dual-threat” quarterback to be a true success in the NFL as a great pocket passer and a dangerous runner. It seems like we have to be close to adding Wilson to that list.
He can probably thank the preparation he talks a lot about. He said being unprepared is his only fear in life. On Saturday night, he had nothing to be worried about. And if the Seahawks don’t win a second straight Super Bowl, it won’t be because Wilson isn’t ready.
“I’m pretty critical,” Wilson said. “I think we played a lights out game, to be honest with you.”
Maybe you think that’s crazy because it's hard to argue Wilson is the best quarterback in the NFL, but the Seahawks have to see it as a wise investment.
We’re two Seattle wins from recalibrating where Wilson is among all NFL quarterbacks, current and past. With two Super Bowl rings he’d join a special club. And the way the Seahawks handled the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, and the way they steamrolled everyone else in a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, there’s no reason to believe they can’t repeat. Especially with the Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers winner on Sunday having to come to CenturyLink Field on Jan. 18. The Seahawks are pretty amazing here.
The defense still is the centerpiece, and the fans love to go crazy when Marshawn Lynch breaks into the open and seeks out defenders to destroy, but drafting Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft looks like one of the great all-time picks.
“There is a reason why they’re in the situation they are,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said after listing all the ways Wilson beat them.
When the Seahawks need a play, he makes it. He has done that throughout his career. He did it in the Seahawks’ playoff opener, especially with some huge third-down completions.
“Sometimes I think I’m made for these situations,” Wilson said. “I just try to be prepared for it. If you’re prepared you’re never scared. You trust your teammates, you trust the guys around you, you trust the preparation, and you trust the ball is going to bounce your way. I believe that.”
The Panthers made sure Wilson, who had 849 rushing yards in the regular season, didn’t beat them with his legs. They played the read-option plays most of the time to force Wilson to hand the ball off, then go play the handoff. So Wilson had three nice touchdown throws instead. He was tremendous from the pocket – which he said was a focus this week – getting the ball out quick and to the right person.
On the first, he stood in against the blitz and lofted a pass to Doug Baldwin, letting his receiver beat man coverage and haul in the score. Wilson changed the play, seeing the Panthers were blitzing with no safety. He said the Panthers beat him on a “zero blitz” back in the regular season.
“I wanted to make sure I was prepared for that,” Wilson said.
The second throw was beautiful, right over the defense to Jermaine Kearse for a 63-yard score, the longest in Seahawks playoff history. The third was a throw a good NFL quarterback makes, immediately recognizing the defense and getting the ball out quick to Luke Willson for a 25-yard score that put the Seahawks up 24-10.
And the Seahawks are back in the NFC championship game, and look just as strong as last season, when they beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl. And that brings us back to Wilson and his growing legacy, and soon-to-be bulging wallet. NFL Network reported that the Seahawks are prepared to make Wilson the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL when they can, after this season ends. Teams can’t give extensions to players until they’ve completed their third season.
Wilson doesn’t shine the light on himself, almost in a comical way. Here’s the list of players he thanked or patted on the back after the Panthers’ win: Kearse, Baldwin, Willson, the offensive line, the offensive line a few more times, center Max Unger and his backups who played when he was out with injury, the defense, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Steven Hauschka, quarterbacks coach Carl Smith, assistant quarterbacks coach Dave Canales and backup quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and B.J. Daniels.
Whew.
Wilson is already in that class, with one ring. Now what about two? He just turned 26 during the regular season. He’s already the third-youngest quarterback to lead a Super Bowl champion; he’d be the youngest to do it twice. And he’s going to go from making a little more than $662,000 this season to about $20 million annually.
What historical path is Wilson on? Is he Joe Montana? He has won in all but one of his six playoff games, and the loss he played great in the second half only to have the Falcons hit a game-winning field goal at the end. Is he Terry Bradshaw, a great quarterback in his own right but also fortunate to land with a team that has a defense that might rank among the all-time greats when they’re done? It’s tough to say. If he joins the two-Super Bowl club, there just aren’t many comparisons. Especially for someone who might join the club in three NFL seasons.
Steve Young earned just one Super Bowl ring, but playing-wise maybe he’s the best comparison. While other mobile quarterbacks regressed this season, Wilson is going to start in the NFC championship game. Greg Cosell, a senior producer at NFL Films, said earlier this season that Young is really the only “dual-threat” quarterback to be a true success in the NFL as a great pocket passer and a dangerous runner. It seems like we have to be close to adding Wilson to that list.
He can probably thank the preparation he talks a lot about. He said being unprepared is his only fear in life. On Saturday night, he had nothing to be worried about. And if the Seahawks don’t win a second straight Super Bowl, it won’t be because Wilson isn’t ready.
“I’m pretty critical,” Wilson said. “I think we played a lights out game, to be honest with you.”
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab