Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is playing the best football from the pocket of his already-impressive, but short, career.
Wilson's passing numbers from the past three games are gaudy and downright MVP-talk like. He has 979 passing yards in those three games with 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions.
There is no denying the Seattle offense is his now with Marshawn Lynch on the sidelines. I would like to say Wilson has taken that opportunity to make it his and run with it, but that's not what he's doing. The running isn't as big a part of it anymore.
Wilson is doing a much better job of making plays from the pocket, rather than leaving clean pockets and turning the structure of the offense into a freelancing style that has worked for him, but might not work in the long run. You don't get faster as you age, so the instinct (or desire) to leave and make plays outside the pocket won't be as easy as he ages.
So, like all good quarterbacks, it appears Wilson has made a concerted effort to stand in and make throws, rather than leave and create with his legs. That might not be as exciting to the fans of the Wilson cult -- including many in the media, and you know who you are -- but it's the right move for a quarterback who has the smarts to make it work.
I have been one of the most vocal Wilson critics. I think he's a good quarterback, while most think he's great. My biggest criticism of his play has been that he isn't great from the pocket. I don't care how his cult twists numbers, but he's not a stand-in-and-make-reads-and-throws quarterback.
He still isn't.
Before studying every throw he's made the past three weeks, I went in with the idea that he would wow me with his ability to stand in the pocket, go through progressions and make pinpoint throws.
There was a ton of data that raved about his pocket throws. He's completed over 80-percent of his passes from the pocket with 810 yards and 10 touchdowns the past three games. That's unreal.
But those numbers can also be misleading. When I went back and studied his games, what I saw was a quarterback making easy throws and easy decisions. The Seahawks staff has done an incredible job of helping Wilson get the ball out to make those plays. They tweaked the offense, giving more to him, after Week 9 and it's paying off.
And Wilson has done an unreal pre-snap job with his decisions, making it look like pitch-and-catch a lot of the time in the past three weeks. Guys are wide open, in large part because of his ability to decipher what's going on before the snap.
There are a lot of plays that twist the in-the-pocket numbers. For example, some of his biggest plays against the 49ers were simple quick-screen throws that receivers turned into long gains. There was a 21-yard catch-and-run by Doug Baldwin that was thrown 4 yards behind the line.
That's scheme, not read.
There's a 31-yard touchdown throw to Thomas Rawls, who ran 25 yards after catching it. He was so wide open that it was a simple, easy toss for Wilson to make the play. In fact, Wilson had two guys on that side of the field he could have thrown to, which is how good that play schemed the receivers open.
Credit goes to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for making it work, but it also goes to Wilson for making it look so easy.
Even so, if you expect to turn on the tape and see Wilson standing in, scanning the field, making pinpoint throws between defenders, you would be wrong. That's not who he is, and it seems the Seahawks understand that.
That doesn't mean he can't or won't take shots down the field. He does, and when he does he usually wins with his pre-snap decisions, which are impressive. There is no doubt, he understands the pre-snap game and it's obvious he puts in tons of film work.
Seattle has also done a better job of spreading teams out and allowing Wilson to play without as much play-action and zone-read type of stuff. It's still a part of the offense, but they've also gone empty at times and Wilson has handled that just fine.
I've had several offensive coaches on other teams tell me they would use Wilson that way. I've always debated that, but they could be right. He looks comfortable doing it now. The one caveat is this: Will it work when his ability to take off and improvise isn't as good? Teams have to account for that now, which helps open up the passing lanes some.
Wilson's pre-snap decision making was on display last week against the Vikings. It led to a touchdown throw to Baldwin, even though he later admitted he ran the wrong route. It sure looked like the right one, and it looked like Wilson expected him to be where he was to catch the pass.
Here's a look at that play:
- Play: Second-and-1 at the Seattle 47 with 1:08 left in the third quarter
- Offense: Kings (4WR, 1TE) empty, shotgun
- Defense: Nickel, man-to-man, zero coverage, six-man rush
The first thing that stood out to me was how Wilson motioned receiver Tyler Lockett, lined up wide left, inside to the slot. When he saw the corner go with him, he knew it was man coverage with no safety help.
Then he saw an overload blitz coming from that side, so he moved tight end Luke Willson closer in-line to help pick it up. That's the pre-snap winning that Wilson has really improved on in the past month.
What Wilson didn't account for was Eric Kendricks coming clean from his right because right guard J.R. Sweezy did a poor job of identifying the blitz.
Even so, Wilson stood in, knowing he was going to take a shot, and lofted a perfect pass into the hands of Baldwin, who beat safety Antone Exum. Baldwin raced in for a 53-yard touchdown catch.
After the game, Baldwin said he ran the wrong route. If he did, maybe they need to work on that play. Without help over the top, it was an easy win for him, but it was Wilson's pre-snap reads that made it work. And he stood in the face of getting blasted by Kendricks.
This, of all the plays I watched from the past three games, might be my favorite of any of his pass completions. It's what great quarterbacks do. They win with their minds, then their snap decisions, and then their toughness to stand in until the last second and take a big shot.
Against the Steelers in Week 12, Wilson threw five touchdown passes. When I watched that tape, the thing that stood out was how bad the Steelers' secondary was that day. There were so many busts, so many open receivers, they basically laid out the cutlery and told Wilson to carve them to shreds.
Wilson obliged with gaudy numbers and impressive plays. The play from that game I wanted to highlight here was the game-clinching touchdown, again to Baldwin. With Seattle holding a two-point lead, they needed a first down. They got a lot more.
- Play: Third-and-10 at the Steelers 21 with 2:14 left in the game
- Offense: Posse (3WR, 1TE, 1RB) -- Shotgun, offset back
- Defense: Nickel, man-free, six-man rush
Before the snap, Wilson motion running back Fred Jackson from lined up wide right to inside next to him because he saw the blitz coming from that side. Seattle was outnumbered until Jackson moved inside. That's good quarterbacking.
After taking the snap, Wilson knew he had man coverage. He also saw that Baldwin beat Antwon Blake inside.
With Bud Dupree coming inside, ready to blast him, Wilson stood in and made a pinpoint throw on a crossing route that turned into an 80-yard touchdown.
Again, it was the pre-snap reads, the accuracy and the toughness that made this play work.
There are still flaws. Like him leaving clean pockets, passing on potential plays, to get out and try and create. That's a part of his game that's always been a problem, although the design of the offense has helped limit those situations the past few weeks. The offensive line woes have forced him into that at times this season, but I think it's been a fault for three years in part because he doesn't see that well from the pocket.
Wilson is now getting the ball out quickly, in a rhythm, and accurately. His receivers are making plays once they get the balls in their hands. P.S.: His receiving group is underrated, despite what the Wilson cult would make you believe.
Here's a look at a play from the 49ers game where he left yards and a potential touchdown on the field. He completed a 7-yard throw to Baldwin, but it should have been a touchdown to Luke Willson, but Wilson's impatience, which shows a few times a game, took over.
Here's a look:
- Play: Second-and-5 at the San Francisco 18 with 9:05 left in the second quarter
- Offense: Posse (3WR, 1TE, 1RB), spread, offset back
- Defense: Nickel, Cover-3, four-man rush
After he motioned receiver Tyler Lockett from the right side to the left, he had a situation that pressed the outside corner in Cover-3.
Both Lockett and tight end Luke Wilsson ran deep routes, and the corner had to make a decision. He actually didn't make one, which is why Willson was open up the seam route for what should have been an easy touchdown. There was also no pressure. So all Wilson had to do was wait until Willson cleared the linebacker, but he didn't.
He did look that way, but then immediately started bouncing around in the pocket in a weird way he sometimes does, and then he started to move.
Why? There was anybody coming at him who wasn't being handled. The threat was minimal. Stay there, make the throw to the tight end and put the points on the board.
Instead, he left the clean pocket, scrambled to the right, kept his head up, and found Baldwin for a first down. Good play. Should have been great.
Those are the plays in my view that keep him from being great. I've said all along I thought he was a good quarterback, not a great one. I still feel that way.
Wilson is playing good football right now, but before watching the tapes from the last three games, I expected it to be even better. Maybe it's because it's looked so easy. The game plan has been precise. The defenses he's faced have been awful. And his pre-snap reads are improved.
But it's rare in those three games to find plays where he's sitting in and reading the field after the snap and firing shots into tight windows. It just doesn't happen much.
So give him kudos for playing well. Give the Seahawks credit for letting him play a different, faster, way -- and him taking advantage of it.
But let's slow the roll on him being this great pocket passer all of sudden.
Numbers can be misleading.
He's been good. Not great.
More observations from watching tape this week
The weekly J.J. Watt review: In my weekly look at Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, the best defensive player in the league, I came away from the Buffalo game almost feeling sorry for him. The Bills did everything and anything to take him out of the game. They often had two and three guys on him. When they ran, they tried to run away from him. They also did something I think more teams should do, which is to let him charge up the field, then wham block him with a tight end. The Bills did that a couple of times.
Watt did get a sack, but it was negated by offsetting penalties. Watt was in an up position over center Eric Wood and then looped around to the left, outside two Texans, and was able to dive at Tyrod Taylor's feet and drop him for a loss. He showed off his effort and athletic ability on that play.
Watt did play a role in Jadeveon Clowney getting a sack. With both lined up on the left side of the defense, the Bills doubled Watt with the guard and tackle. That left tight end Chris Gragg to block Clowney, who knifed past him for an easy sack of Tyrod Taylor.
Clowney is improving each week, and the more times he lines up on the same side as Watt will help his production. It makes it tough to pick your poison.
Buffalo has something in Taylor: I was really impressed with Taylor. He made some pinpoint throws in that game. His deep ball to Sammy Watkins for a 53-yard gain was a great throw. He put it right over the head of safety Quintin Demps and into the arms of Watkins, who was in tight man coverage with corner Kevin Johnson. He made another nice deep throw to Watkins on the sideline later in the game.
Taylor also did a nice job of staying in the pocket and letting plays develop. On one of those plays, he hit Charles Clay for what should have been a huge play, but Clay dropped it.
He came back to Clay for the game-clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter when the Texans busted in the secondary and Taylor lofted an easy throw to Clay for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
What's going on with Mario Williams? The Bills can't be happy with what they are paying Mario Williams. He got that $100-million contract a few years ago, but he isn't doing much this season. He had one play of note against the Texans when he came underneath tackle Derek Newton to make a play in the run game. He also had one small pressure on a bull rush.
That's it.
There were actually plays where it appeared that Williams wasn't exactly going 100 percent. He let up some. That can't happen.
He should take a look at some Watt tape. He will see how effort late in plays can translate to making sacks and tackles. Newton handled Williams for much of the day in pass protection.
