Mad Dog":kkp0q6r8 said:
QB weaknesses are many? I mean other than being a little short and occasionally holding the ball too long, what are Wilson’s “many” weaknesses?
Wilson was his usual solid efficient self today. Made throws on time. Hit some tight windows. Avoided turnovers. That’s the Wilson we want. Warts and all, apparently.
Russell Wilson has a lot of weaknesses as a passer. Right now Schottenheimer is trying to hammer some of those out of him. If I had to pin down his weaknesses, the first would be his footwork in the pocket. This is something Schottenheimer even mentioned, and what he has been working on with Russ all offseason long. Footwork is very important for a QB, it is a vital skill set that affects a QB's ball placement and power. If a QB doesn't have proper footwork you see errant balls, and things such as over throws and under throws, both of which we have seen from Wilson when he has been confined to the pocket. His ball placement can be suspect at times as well, which this directly relates to footwork.
The second problem I've been seeing is lack of awareness in the pocket. He doesn't seem to have that same internal clock that most Quarterbacks possess. A good example of this is last week. The bears were bringing obvious blitzes, and Wilson wasn't aware when the corners were bearing down on him. The thing about Wilson is before he would just be able to scramble out of situations like that and make them pay for having one less man in coverage. The thing I've been noticing about his scramble lately, is that teams are starting to get a good idea of where he is going to go to, and where he is going to be. They're coming at him with a controlled rush and just collapsing the pocket rather than trying to jail break him. This forces him to beat teams from the pocket. It's always how teams like the Rams have had our number.
Now, that being said Russell has shown some improvement this game in these areas. Schottenheimer called a quick hit passing game. Russell didn't try to do anything cute, and he executed it. He checked down when he needed to and he had a better grasp of when people were bearing down on him. It was the first glimpse we've gotten of his work in the offseason. One play really stuck out to me. He was in the pocket, and the Seahawks had run a play action from under center. The defensive ends were closing in on him, in the past he would have retreated back into the open field and played a game of matador. Instead he simply stepped up into the pocket, and made a slick slide to set up his blockers and delivered a bullet with a guy in his face. It was the best throw Russ made all game, and it hit Lockett in stride and when he wasn't necessarily open. He was thrown open by Russell.
The significance of this routine play was how fluid Russ looked in that moment. He looked like Tom Brady manipulating the pocket. There was no wasted movement, everything was smooth. He simply stepped up and messed up the defensive ends pursuit angles. THIS is the kind of play you need if you want consistency from quarter to quarter, game to game. It is an element that was missing in Russ's game. If Schottenheimer is able to unlock his potential as a pure pocket passer and merge it with his scrambling abilities then we have another Steve Young on our hands.