Talk me off the CHAZz ledge, but Wilson...

[lobohawk]

Guessing, much as he improves as a game goes on, that he will continue to get his groove on as the season evolves.

heck, in the second half he threw it what 9 times and hit on 6. Many for crucial 3rd downs and that doesn't include runs for first downs. Regardless of how a run game is going, it's got to be hard on any QB to throw so few times and expect them to be in rhythm on all of them.

 

[nanomoz]

Has looked flat the last 2 games, yes, he passed 320 yards and yes its ealry but he's been having a bad-ish start, not a SB contending start IMO.......Yes we have 2 wins but 80% off it is due to our outstanding defense, I fear a day when the D is a bit of their game and the game gets put back into RW's hands.. Am I crazy?

Yes 2-0....

Nope. You aren't crazy. And I, personally, appreciate the willingness to put him under a microscope for further scrutiny, when necessary. He, himself holds his performance to a lofty standard. Nothing wrong with you doing the same. His perplexing tendency to throw high, at times, and to open games with less than 'Wilsonesque' acuity has happened with enough frequency as to constitute a trend-and this from a guy with a reputation for not making the same mistake twice. Which makes it a curiosity.

Of course we all know how his overall performance as a Seattle Seahawk grades out. That doesn't mean we must blind ourselves to any and all 'shortcomings' when they occur.

Slow clap. Thank you.

 

[Hawknballs]

It's not "complaining" to scrutinize your QB's play in a year you think you have your best shot to go to the superbowl.

I don't lay the majority of the blame on wilson though. Obviously he has missed on some reads and throws, so there is something there he needs to work on.

The first week we had no running game and his pocket was collapsing the whole day. The fact that he was able to throw for his highest total in the regular season while having his running game shut down to me gives him a pass. There was hardly a pocket to throw from. The only negative mark I can give him on that game was the fumble in the red zone; he had more awareness than that last season. Typical case of "trying to do too much" and not prioritizing taking care of the football.

This past game wasn't great but it was also against one of the best defenses top to bottom in the league. The O-line had a better game overall but you can't say he played with a clean pocket for a large part of the game. His primary reads had a really hard time getting open. 3 catches by wide receivers tells me that they weren't getting separation. They looked a lot like they did down in SF last year. I remember on the tate interception where he fell down, looked a lot like the pick he threw down there when rice went one way and wilson threw the other.

I know a lot of that sounds like I'm taking blame off Wilson; however he was making plays last year in these situations. I almost feel like he's trying to prove himself to be a pocket passer too much. Like he's hesitating too long to pull the trigger on trying to make a play with his feet or a throw on the run like he would have at the end of last year because he wants to refine his pocket passing game. And then the line isn't as steady as he'd like and he gets uncomfortable, but doesn't want to give him, making everything a bit late.

I think it'll get better as he and the line see more games, so I'm not super concerned about it. It is something they need to work out this week against a weaker opponent at home.

 

[jlwaters1]

Y'all see what Kaepernick did last week or what RG3 did the last two weeks or how Luck took an L at home vs. Miami? Maybe I should show you Cam's stats this season...

Seriously, chill.

Good point. It's crazy to be worried. It takes some time to get things clicking on all cylinders. We're not playing anywhere near our potential and are still finding ways to win. So I'm not concerned at all.

It usually takes several weeks before the OL get playing up to their level- It happened in 2011 and in 2012 where the OL played significantly better in the 2nd half of the season. I think that's a factor in all of this.

Jacksonville should give the offense plenty of confidence.

 

[samwize77]

Has looked flat the last 2 games, yes, he passed 320 yards and yes its ealry but he's been having a bad-ish start, not a SB contending start IMO.......Yes we have 2 wins but 80% off it is due to our outstanding defense, I fear a day when the D is a bit of their game and the game gets put back into RW's hands.. Am I crazy?

Yes 2-0....

Nope. You aren't crazy. And I, personally, appreciate the willingness to put him under a microscope for further scrutiny, when necessary. He, himself holds his performance to a lofty standard. Nothing wrong with you doing the same. His perplexing tendency to throw high, at times, and to open games with less than 'Wilsonesque' acuity has happened with enough frequency as to constitute a trend-and this from a guy with a reputation for not making the same mistake twice. Which makes it a curiosity.

Of course we all know how his overall performance as a Seattle Seahawk grades out. That doesn't mean we must blind ourselves to any and all 'shortcomings' when they occur.

I agree with BFS. Theres no denying what I see. Am I worried?..only very slightly, and I'm hoping the Jags game will help out. I keep seeing him hold on to the ball to long, maybe thats because he thinks he can scramble to get out of trouble. Maybe he's waiting for deeper routes to develop. I'm not sure. But if Pete and Bevel don't want him to run to avoid unnecessary hits, then he's still taking them when he gets sacked.

 

[Tech Worlds]

Should have never traded Matt Flynn.

 

[brimsalabim]

It has looked to me like the game plan has been of the “ultra conservative, stay on schedule, don’t make a huge mistake, and let the D handle this” nature so far. Russell hasn’t looked sharp either but as others have mentioned we have had an iffy pass pro performance by the OL coupled with a lot of Run, Run, Pass, series. It’s got to be difficult to find a rhythm.

 

[fenderbender123]

I think our passing game level is due to few things.

-Run game hasn't really opened up, although it looks to be improved against San Francisco.
-We had a few dropped passes against San Francisco, including a slip and fall by Tate that led to an INT (don't think he could have caught the ball but at least defended against the INT).
-Separation...is Wilson struggling to find an open receiver or are our receivers struggling to get open? Seems like a lot of attempts to throw into tight coverage.
-Pass blocking. Either needs to step up or Wilson is going to need to learn a few new things about moving around in the pocket to avoid the pressure and find an open receiver.

Now...my NUMBER ONE reason (or excuse, whatever) for Wilson's "slow" start: 2 weeks against good defenses to start the season. I've always thought that a QB needs to have a good game to get into a rhythm. Practices aren't the same as actual games, so when you play against two great defenses such as Carolina and San Francisco, it's tough to find that rhythm and get things going. The game against Jacksonville will establish that rhythm.

 

[Sarlacc83]

I believe I saw this on ESPN this morning:

1st quarter: 4 QBR

4th quarter: 98 QBR

I expect that trend to be a microcosm of the season. D-coordinators are throwing a lot of new crap at Wilson, and it's taking him a couple quarters to adjust. But we're seeing that even in-game, he's making them. By the middle of the season, I think we'll look back on these few games with a sense of relief.

 

[volsunghawk]

I believe I saw this on ESPN this morning:

1st quarter: 4 QBR

4th quarter: 98 QBR

I expect that trend to be a microcosm of the season. D-coordinators are throwing a lot of new crap at Wilson, and it's taking him a couple quarters to adjust. But we're seeing that even in-game, he's making them. By the middle of the season, I think we'll look back on these few games with a sense of relief.

Another thing to consider is the "beat the crap out of the marquee team" factor. You know how people talk about the difficulty of making it back to the SB because every team on the schedule is giving that SB team its best shot? Well, think about how much press the Seahawks got this offseason. We're the media darlings, and you'd better believe that every opposing coach is giving their squads the "crown their asses" speech before they face us.

 

[Jazzhawk]

Has looked flat the last 2 games, yes, he passed 320 yards and yes its ealry but he's been having a bad-ish start, not a SB contending start IMO.......Yes we have 2 wins but 80% off it is due to our outstanding defense, I fear a day when the D is a bit of their game and the game gets put back into RW's hands.. Am I crazy?

Yes 2-0....

Nope. You aren't crazy. And I, personally, appreciate the willingness to put him under a microscope for further scrutiny, when necessary. He, himself holds his performance to a lofty standard. Nothing wrong with you doing the same. His perplexing tendency to throw high, at times, and to open games with less than 'Wilsonesque' acuity has happened with enough frequency as to constitute a trend-and this from a guy with a reputation for not making the same mistake twice. Which makes it a curiosity.

Of course we all know how his overall performance as a Seattle Seahawk grades out. That doesn't mean we must blind ourselves to any and all 'shortcomings' when they occur.

Slow clap. Thank you.

 

[SeaTown81]

There is nothing wrong with being critical of a good or popular player. Like BFS said, it doesn't serve us any good to blindly ignore such things. But the inclusion of the Charlie Whitehurst references are baffling to me. With those and your title, you lose me entirely. That's just stupid.

Go Hawks.

 

[dbsn2420]

In this game against the 49rs, as far as penalties are concerned, Rice had a couple, Unger had a couple, Sweezy had a couple, Davis the new TE had one or two, and there were others I can't find the specifics on at the moment. These freaking penalties are drive killers! Wilson also took a couple sacks, one of which pushed them out of field goal range. It was week 2, now week 3, by week 4 or 5, I would expect those penalties will be essentially eliminated all together. Mcquistan stepped in for Okung against Smith without taking a single snap all week in practice at LT.

I'm confident if they clean up the sloppy, stupid penalties and put points on the board in those situations, we're having an entirely different discussion right now.

 

[mikeak]

I was concerned in the 49ers game but then they threw the kitchen sink at RW in a blitz and Lynch stepped out just the way he should and RW knew where he was going and lofted it over the defender and we had a touch-down. And then I thought at the end of the day his film watching and study of the game just makes him make the right decision.

he wasn't at the top of his game against the 49ers but he avoided mistakes. I don't put the int against him as I think Tate had the path to that ball when he tripped.

SO I agree OP - had hoped for a bit more but overall not worried and as just pointed out above me we had several penalties that really hurt drives

 

[Bigpumpkin]

It's been well documented by most here that virtually all of our Offensive players have not "played to their potential". From now on.....we ought to spend more time focusing on the future play...beginning with this Sunday. It seems clear to me that once Russell relaxes and can focus more clearly, we will see the "Russell of old". This weeks opponent has glaring weaknesses that ought to be exploited. Failure to do so might indicate that there really is a "Sophmore Slump".

 

[Schadie001]

Offenses are usually behind defenses in terms of clicking...far more complicated on the offensive side than on the D side. Superbowl teams figure it out throughout the year and are at their best at the end of the season. No worries on my part.

 

[drdiags]

Several bloggers have pointed out that Wilson tends to throw high when he is missing early. I think others stated that he had this issue in College. Warren Moon suggested to him last year that he would like to see Wilson get the ball out quicker. It will be interesting to see what Wilson does against the Jaguars, who have a young secondary but are not performing as bad as some may think.

Wilson is having some growing pains but I still believe the player you saw at the end of last season is ultimately the player that Wilson is. He may never change how he bails from the pocket but he is a tough little bugger, with a lot of courage. He will get the job done is how I see it.

 

[keasley45]

Glad to see good healthy debate continue on the topic. True sign of excellence and mastery is to always look at yourself critically regardless of a W or L so that you can always be in the mode of addressing your shortcomings. That's what has me most excited about this team is that it seems as though these guys are playing against themselves, not the opponent.. I think that mindset has alot to do with the success they had toward the end of last year. When we blew AZ out at home they didnt just sit back and not study film because they won and therefor criticism wasnt justified. They went back to work and destroyed Buffalo the next week, then came back home and annihilated the 49ers. You only get the sustained level of excellence by measuring yourself against perfection and not W's and L's. Good to see fans open to doing the same.

As far as Wilson. I think he'll be ok but am worried about what seems to be playcalling and route trees that are lacking in diversity / flexibility. Granted, ive seen on quite a few occassions JW miss a read because he plain didnt see it or hesitated to pull the trigger. Not sure if his hesitation is lack of confidence in what hes seeing or an emphasis and mandate from the coaching staff to play it safe and not force anything. But i've rewatched a few games now and it looks as though some of the WR routes arent helping our QB out much. In fact in some, he doesnt even have an outlet option other than the RB - again, not sure if this is the WR not reading pressures correctly and turning around or whether the routes just dont have hots built in (which would seem a bit hard to believe). I think the routes 1) rely entirely too much on the WR getting 1 on 1 separation 2) Are built for someone with Favre's, fearless, gunslinger mentality where minimal separation isnt as big an issue because the ball is coming out @ 120mph and in 1.5 seconds. Seems in my opinion that we could use some of the scheming the 9ers used week 1 or that the Pats use (crossing routes, rubs, etc) to free some of our guys up a bit more.

 

[SeaTown81]

Several bloggers have pointed out that Wilson tends to throw high when he is missing early. I think others stated that he had this issue in College. Warren Moon suggested to him last year that he would like to see Wilson get the ball out quicker. It will be interesting to see what Wilson does against the Jaguars, who have a young secondary but are not performing as bad as some may think.

Wilson is having some growing pains but I still believe the player you saw at the end of last season is ultimately the player that Wilson is. He may never change how he bails from the pocket but he is a tough little bugger, with a lot of courage. He will get the job done is how I see it.

:13: :13: :13:

I really don't quite understand the whole "Yay, we finally got our QB of the future!....Wait, what?!!?! He makes mistakes?!?!?!?! I thought we were past this! This wasn't what I signed up for!" line of thinking. Wilson is a great young qb. But he's not some perfect golden god. And he's still young, regardless of how he doesn't seem it.

RW's going to have bumps along the way. He's not going to be perfect. And no, that doesn't mean we should gloss over shortcomings or problems. But acting like there's some sort of larger problem is very weird to me. Drew Brees had more than a half season of bumps in the road until he reached his peak potential as a pro. Same goes for most qb's. Look it up.

RW is a great qb and is only going to get better as he gains experience in the NFL. But to expect him to be pitch perfect every game is asking to be disappointed. I get that he was absolutely on fire at the end of the season and in the playoffs last year. And that is indicative of the qb he is and can be. But to expect that all the time isn't realistic. He's going to have off games, just as any young will (Have you been watching RG3 lately?). But if RW's off games are ones where he is able to game manage wins and plays super clutch in the 4th qtr, SIGN ME UP.

I'm still annoyed that Charlie Whitehurst's name was ever mentioned in this thread.

Go Hawks.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

I'm still annoyed that Charlie Whitehurst's name was ever mentioned in this thread.

I'm more than just "annoyed"....I'm pissed off!! it seems as though some folk just enjoy "twisting the knife"!