Yes he does have weaknesses all players do even the supposed goat Brady, Mahomes, Rodgers etc. I would say it depends on how they address it. for example he has struggled at times against cover 2. this is true. He cant play against cover 2 this is incorrect. Of course, all of this doe snot take into account play call and design.
Except those QBs tend to adapt to the opponent’s defensive scheme much better, take what they can get and navigate down and distance situations through the entirety of the play-design much better than Russ has shown. No offense Russ is an elite yards through the air QB, was an elite runner and escape artist in his athletic prime but he’s extremely flawed more so in the last 4 year at moving the offense forward by taking what he can get, flawed at throwing his receivers open, I say this because Russ tends to force things into coverage and put his WRs into harm’s way.
When he was younger I thought he would progress more has an all-round QB capable dismantling defenses inside and out, short, intermediate, and deep but his awareness and anticipation as a thrower is just not elite and won’t ever be. He’s an escape artist QB that survives too much on his bread and butter elite deep passing touch.
It’s obviously a blanket statement to say he struggles against all Cover 2. Because has you said factually that is untrue. However, he does struggle against good to great defenses that have the personnel to run the cover 2 effectively… that factually has been his kryptonite.
It’s a big reason why he cannot overcome the cream of the crop in the Play-Offs. Those 2013 and 2014 teams, specifically in the NFC CGother than two big throws, (4th and whatever, Aldon Smith offsides free play and OT dagger to Kearse vs Packers), it was the Lynch led Running Game and dominant Defense and Special Teams that won those games.
Even both SB, vs Denver, if TJack was the QB, Seahawks still win that game. Easily. Vs NE if the LOB was playing injured or if Avril wasn’t forced out we aren’t even talking about having to come back and the 2 yard line. And again Russ didn’t even get going until Chris Mathews mismatched the Patriots defensive scheme until they figured out a counter, some clutch catches by Baldwin and Kearse, and when Lynch finally got going in the 2nd half.
Russ is a great QB, greatest to ever put on a Seahawks uniform, one of the greatest in the last decade but I think he is just not one that can shoulder the whole team to a championship and if he continues to be the same QB, using the same old tricks, he likely won’t be a QB capable of leading his offense to the Post-Season unless everything around him is great to elite and he has easy schedule of teams and defenses he has to play.
Just my opinion whether it will be correct or not, I just don’t see how he’s going to get better with age anymore, he’s past that potential to grow into anything different. Just look at Hackett, he wanted Rodgers but had to settle for Russ and be forced to play an elite but really flawed QB and build the offense around his strengths. If Hackett had Rodgers, I’m sure, and again just my opinion, Hackett would have something alongs the lines of …my offensive vision is capable of doing anything.
