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I didn't see this posted anywhere yet, so thought I would bring it to people's attention who hadn't seen it yet. Pro Football Focus just put out an interesting analysis piece on Russell Wilson under pressure this season. Here is the link to that article ...
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/12/27/seahawks-russell-under-pressure/
They noted that Wilson is the most pressured QB in the league (on 46% of his dropbacks, he faces pressure from defenders).
Wilson averages 2.90 seconds from snap to release (longest of any QB in the NFL).
When Wilson gets rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds or less ... he has a QB Rating of 113.2 and a pass completion% of 73.9%
When Wilson holds the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds (which happens 54% of the time) ... his QB Rating falls to 75.7 (17th in the NFL)
Do we need any clearer indicator of just how badly this WR corps (as a whole) is in need of being upgraded? Can you imagine what Russell Wilson would look like if he had a Larry Fitzgerald (in his prime), a Calvin Johnson, etc. to throw to? What would Wilson look like if he had that elite #1 receiver --- someone whom the defense had to really respect, back off of, and as a result made the entire rest of the receiving corps better? I don't know if Richardson can be that guy or not, but if I'm John Schneider I'm not putting all my eggs in that basket. Upgrading the receiving corps and the offensive line have to rank priority #1 and #1A. We can debate the order, but I doubt few will disagree those are the top priorities (outside of getting Wilson and Wagner signed to long term deals, that is).
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Since a lot of people seem to only read the initial OP post in a thread, I'll go ahead and post my follow up post with additional thoughts/comments (that I have posted below) here as well ...
The numbers that Pro Football Focus cites simply underscore what many of our eyes have told us for some time -- that Russell Wilson (when he gets rid of the ball quickly) is an amazing QB. When he holds on to it, look out.
But WHY is Russell holding on to the ball so long on so many plays? That is the key question. I would say that the problem has been twofold ...
1) Offensive Line play -- the line has been pretty shoddy all season long. Due to Unger's injury and Sweezy's and Carpenter's inconsistent play, teams have been able to get pressure right up the gut. Justin Britt has struggled quite a bit in pass protection as well this year. As a result, Russell has been running for his life a good percentage of the time. Part of the reason that he holds the ball so long is that he's spending a lot of time dodging and running away from defenders. During those few times he's actually had a clean pocket, he's looked pretty good. Outside of re-signing Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, addressing the woes of this offensive line has to rank as priority #1 this coming offseason.
2) That said, production from the WR spot has been the other part of the issue. Russell is also holding the ball so long because many, many times guys simply aren't getting open. Sidney Rice was brought up and that's precisely the point. Since 2012, this team has missed Sidney Rice from an offensive standpoint. It's missed a receiver who can really stretch a defense -- someone whom the defense has had to respect. Why did Carroll and Schneider invest so much to bring in Percy Harvin? That's exactly why. Those guys know that this receiving corps (as a whole) benefits from having a real big play making WR out there. A Sidney Rice type -- someone with great hands who can consistently beat press coverage, has the moves to juke opposing DB's out of their socks, and who has the instincts to consistently bail the QB out when he's in trouble -- is exactly what this Seahawks team has been missing. A guy like that makes the entire offense better because he makes those DB's back off and creates space for everyone else.
And I'm obviously not the only one who believes that this team needs that #1 play making receiver. Several people in this thread and out there have argued that point. Our old friend Doug Farrar was in for Jerry Brewer on KJR on New Year's Day ... and he and Matt Waldman from Football Outsiders talked about that at length. Waldman discussed guys like Kasen Williams, Duke Williams, Jalen Strong, and Dorial Green Beckham (a very intriguing guy if he can put his issues behind him) in connection with the Hawks.
Rob over at Seahawks Draft Blog has a great article up right now on Minnesota TE Maxx Williams of the Gophers -- a very intriguing possibility that could help to actually cure some of both ills.
Now, we can all argue if Darrell Bevell is going to have the wherewithal to utilize a WR of that magnitude correctly (his simplistic route concepts drive me nuts at times) ... but as SDHawk pointed out, Bevell's passing offenses have put up good numbers in the past.
As far as the "can we keep" such a guy long term -- I would say that we at least have him under club control for 3-5 years. You can win a whole lot more NFC Championships and Super Bowls during that time. If this Seahawks team develops a deadly offense to go along with its already deadly defense -- Look Out!
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/12/27/seahawks-russell-under-pressure/
They noted that Wilson is the most pressured QB in the league (on 46% of his dropbacks, he faces pressure from defenders).
Wilson averages 2.90 seconds from snap to release (longest of any QB in the NFL).
When Wilson gets rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds or less ... he has a QB Rating of 113.2 and a pass completion% of 73.9%
When Wilson holds the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds (which happens 54% of the time) ... his QB Rating falls to 75.7 (17th in the NFL)
Do we need any clearer indicator of just how badly this WR corps (as a whole) is in need of being upgraded? Can you imagine what Russell Wilson would look like if he had a Larry Fitzgerald (in his prime), a Calvin Johnson, etc. to throw to? What would Wilson look like if he had that elite #1 receiver --- someone whom the defense had to really respect, back off of, and as a result made the entire rest of the receiving corps better? I don't know if Richardson can be that guy or not, but if I'm John Schneider I'm not putting all my eggs in that basket. Upgrading the receiving corps and the offensive line have to rank priority #1 and #1A. We can debate the order, but I doubt few will disagree those are the top priorities (outside of getting Wilson and Wagner signed to long term deals, that is).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since a lot of people seem to only read the initial OP post in a thread, I'll go ahead and post my follow up post with additional thoughts/comments (that I have posted below) here as well ...
The numbers that Pro Football Focus cites simply underscore what many of our eyes have told us for some time -- that Russell Wilson (when he gets rid of the ball quickly) is an amazing QB. When he holds on to it, look out.
But WHY is Russell holding on to the ball so long on so many plays? That is the key question. I would say that the problem has been twofold ...
1) Offensive Line play -- the line has been pretty shoddy all season long. Due to Unger's injury and Sweezy's and Carpenter's inconsistent play, teams have been able to get pressure right up the gut. Justin Britt has struggled quite a bit in pass protection as well this year. As a result, Russell has been running for his life a good percentage of the time. Part of the reason that he holds the ball so long is that he's spending a lot of time dodging and running away from defenders. During those few times he's actually had a clean pocket, he's looked pretty good. Outside of re-signing Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, addressing the woes of this offensive line has to rank as priority #1 this coming offseason.
2) That said, production from the WR spot has been the other part of the issue. Russell is also holding the ball so long because many, many times guys simply aren't getting open. Sidney Rice was brought up and that's precisely the point. Since 2012, this team has missed Sidney Rice from an offensive standpoint. It's missed a receiver who can really stretch a defense -- someone whom the defense has had to respect. Why did Carroll and Schneider invest so much to bring in Percy Harvin? That's exactly why. Those guys know that this receiving corps (as a whole) benefits from having a real big play making WR out there. A Sidney Rice type -- someone with great hands who can consistently beat press coverage, has the moves to juke opposing DB's out of their socks, and who has the instincts to consistently bail the QB out when he's in trouble -- is exactly what this Seahawks team has been missing. A guy like that makes the entire offense better because he makes those DB's back off and creates space for everyone else.
And I'm obviously not the only one who believes that this team needs that #1 play making receiver. Several people in this thread and out there have argued that point. Our old friend Doug Farrar was in for Jerry Brewer on KJR on New Year's Day ... and he and Matt Waldman from Football Outsiders talked about that at length. Waldman discussed guys like Kasen Williams, Duke Williams, Jalen Strong, and Dorial Green Beckham (a very intriguing guy if he can put his issues behind him) in connection with the Hawks.
Rob over at Seahawks Draft Blog has a great article up right now on Minnesota TE Maxx Williams of the Gophers -- a very intriguing possibility that could help to actually cure some of both ills.
Now, we can all argue if Darrell Bevell is going to have the wherewithal to utilize a WR of that magnitude correctly (his simplistic route concepts drive me nuts at times) ... but as SDHawk pointed out, Bevell's passing offenses have put up good numbers in the past.
As far as the "can we keep" such a guy long term -- I would say that we at least have him under club control for 3-5 years. You can win a whole lot more NFC Championships and Super Bowls during that time. If this Seahawks team develops a deadly offense to go along with its already deadly defense -- Look Out!