Record-breaking Russell Wilson, ‘Mr. Unlimited,’ says he, Seahawks offense can go higher
“Mr. Unlimited” thinks there is no limit to how good he can be.
His so far ain’t bad.
An NFL-record 14 touchdown passes through three games, breaking Patrick Mahomes’ mark. The first quarterback in league history with four or more TD throws in each of his team’s first three games. Consecutive games with five touchdown passes, including last weekend in a shootout win over Dallas, for only the fifth time ever in the NFL. A close-to-perfect passer rating of 139.0. Uncanny efficiency and accuracy, particularly on throws 30 or more yards down field.
Seattle’s first quarterback to be NFC offensive player of the month since Matt Hasselbeck in 2004. And the Seahawks’ first 3-0 start since 2013 — the only Super Bowl-winning season in franchise history.
Yet Russell Wilson, the hottest quarterback in the world entering his next chance to wow Sunday at the Miami Dolphins (1-2) at 10 a.m., thinks there’s more to do.
And be.
“I think first two games are pretty spot-on, in every way. But in this last game we kind of left some things out there,” Wilson said Thursday. “I had the third down that I missed and threw a little low. ... We had that one play (that DK Metcalf pranced and turned into a fumble and touchback) that could have been a (sixth) touchdown. So there’s some things out there.
“I think for me, though, there’s always room for improvement. I think there’s always room for growth. ...The biggest part of consistency is consistently growing. Consistently elevating. It’s not just staying consistent and keep doing the same thing. It’s consistently elevating your game. And I think, can I elevate everybody else?
“I believe there’s a whole ‘nother space that we can go to with this offense. And that’s what I’m searching for. That’s what I’m passionate about right now.”
That’s why a couple hours after his latest, greatest passing day in the NFL, he went home and studied film of the Dolphins. He did more of that through Monday. By Tuesday, he had written his 15-page assessment of Miami’s defense, as he does for every foe. He distributed that to every offensive player, as he does every week.
He went swimming. He intensely stretched and did physical therapy with his personal PT he flies up from Southern California to basically live with him in or near his Bellevue home on Lake Washington during each season.
Excellence? As Wilson loves to say, there’s “no time to sleep.”
“You can’t take a day off. It’s an everyday thing. It’s commitments,” he said. “And that’s the mentality. It’s the focus level. It’s a lifestyle. Can’t be random.
“There is no other space for anything else, other than greatness. I think that’s just kind of where my mindset’s been, you know, this whole offseason, this whole, really, my whole career.”
Wilson, now 31 in his ninth season as Seattle’s starter and most successful quarterback ever, mentioned again how he is seeking to “separate himself” from all other quarterbacks and players this season and beyond. He says the ultimate way to separate himself in the 2020 season is not NFL records or his long-awaited vote, let alone award, for league most valuable player.
For him, it’s winning the Super Bowl for the second time.
He said the NFL offseason canceled by the coronavirus pandemic gave him time to process how to improve and to gain even more appreciation for this elite time in his elite career.
“I get to do this one more time, what’s it gonna look like?’ he said, “And so I want to make sure that I make it special.
“How much further can we go? We’ve been darn near great, you know. Almost perfect in a lot of different ways. But there’s still a lot more room to grow.”
So many points
The way the Seahawks’ defense is (not) playing — giving up the most yards passing in league history through three games (1,292), turning every game into a quest for Wilson to outscore the other team — Wilson might have to keep being “almost perfect” to win.
Throwing more on early downs and attacking defenses deep down field with precision strikes and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s more aggressive play calls this season, Wilson is commanding an offense that has scored 38, 35 and 38 points in the first three games.
“Sometimes you’re up there calling plays and you are like, ‘Wow!’” Schottenheimer said Thursday.
This is the first time Seattle has scored 30-plus points in each of the first three games of a season. It’s the first time the Seahawks have scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games since December 2015, when Seattle scored 30-plus in four straight weeks. Wilson had 16 touchdown passes over those four games in 2015.
If he throws for two touchdowns Sunday at Miami, Wilson will tie Peyton Manning for the NFL record for most touchdowns over the first four games of a season, with 16.
“I think there’s a difference between streaks and just being in the zone. And I think that we’re definitely in the zone,” Wilson said. “We want to stay in that zone, stay locked in.”
Tyler Lockett set his career high with three touchdown catches from Wilson last weekend against Dallas — in the first half.
He agrees with his quarterback that Seattle’s offense is definitely “in the zone” heading to Miami.
“I think the biggest indicator is just as many points as we’re putting up. I think that’s something that we haven’t done a lot of since I’ve been here,” Lockett said. “We’ve been able to do this (one time), but being able to do it back to back to back, I think it really says a lot about our offense.
“... just depending on who the defense tries to take away, we have a whole bunch of play makers who can be able to make plays at any moment. And so it didn’t matter if they stopped the run or if they stopped the pass, we have a lot of other guys.
“So I think that’s what he means by ‘we’re in the zone,’ is that whatever they throw at us, we’re gonna figure out how to capitalize off.”
‘Separation is in the preparation’
Lockett says Wilson is playing with “no fear” and that he is maximizing his “limitless mind.”
Wilson has been preparing for this since the start of the pandemic.
While the NFL closed team facilities from March until the end of July, Wilson got what he calls his “performance team” of personal trainers, mental-conditioning coaches, fitness experts plus receivers such as Metcalf, Greg Olsen, Will Dissly and the exiled Antonio Brown together in his offseason home in Southern California and at a resort in Mexico. He flew for one day to Arizona to meet with Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.
All to train — his body and his mind — for what he is doing right now.
“I told my performance team ... ’Listen, the reality is that, the ball is going to be kicked off in four months. I’m gonna have to be ready to play it at the highest level. So we’re gonna do everything we can to stay as safe as possible and everything else — the same time we’ve got to get to work and we got to be ready to play. We’ve got to.”
Wilson said he told his performance team: “We’ve got to practice like it’s a game. So I was wearing shoulder pads, pants, everything. I’m playing the game when I’m practicing, running routes and doing stuff. Because reality is that you’re not going to get those reps, you don’t really get to do that in the offseason.
“Every time I was throwing I pretty much had pads on, for the most part. ...
“It’s a commitment. It’s a lifestyle, you know. And lifestyle can’t be random. ...
“You know, there is no other space for anything else other than greatness.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 9:35 AM.
