‘The separation is in the preparation’ not just a Russell Wilson line in Seahawks’ opener
Russell Wilson says it so often, it may be on the welcome mat at the front door of his waterfront Bellevue home.
“The separation is in the preparation.”
The preparation separated Wilson, Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf on two plays Sunday in the Seahawks’ season opener. Those plays became the touchdowns that separated Seattle from the Indianapolis Colts in its 28-16 win.
“It’s just practice and preparation, man,” Lockett said of the play he made over his left shoulder, then his right, for his first of two touchdown passes from Wilson against the Colts.
Lockett had never played a game in Lucas Oil Stadium before Sunday. He entered the NFL in 2015 as Seattle’s second-round draft choice. The Seahawks hadn’t played in Indianapolis since 2013. Lockett was in his next-to-last year playing at Kansas State then.
During pregame warm-ups Sunday, Lockett had his wide receivers coach Nate Carroll (the head coach’s son) loft rainbow-like passes to him high toward the domed stadium’s steel-girder roof.
“I was in pregame and I was working on just trying to catch deep balls,” Lockett said. “I had Nate just throw the ball up in the air and I was just kind of looking up in the air trying to be able to find it.
“And who would have known I was going to have one of those throws today.”
It came from Wilson on a third and 6 from the Colts 23-yard line late in the first quarter and Seattle trailing 3-0. From preparing through his film study of the Colts, Wilson anticipated the Colts would blitz left cornerback Kenny Moore to the Seahawks’ slot-receiver side, after Lockett lined up slot right against a safety. That’s what Indianapolis did.
Lockett being alone against safety Khari Willis gave Wilson and Lockett the entire middle of the end zone to work on single-man coverage. Wilson lofted a Nate Carroll-like balloon ball toward that steel roof. As in pregame, Lockett turned over his left shoulder. He then turned over his right shoulder. He leaned back, while still running, and found the ball. He contorted his body in such a way to make an exquisite athlete feat look almost routine.
Routine, that is, if you are Willie Mays.
“Or maybe he’s like (Ken) Griffey (Jr.), I don’t know, a Seattle thing,” Wilson said.
Lockett’s crazy catch, just as he’d practiced pregame, gave the Seahawks the lead for good.
“The one against the blitz, the throw, you’d be surprised how we practiced that throw and that catch,” Carroll said. “And if you looked at pregame, you know we worked on that exact catch the ball coming in like that.”
Early in the fourth quarter the Colts were threatening to make it a game. Down 21-10, they reached Seattle’s 18-yard line with 10 minutes left and faced fourth and 2. But Seahawks defensive end Darrell Taylor, who missed his entire rookie season of 2020 following leg surgery, zoomed in for a huge sack in his first NFL game.
Wilson responded with a 33-yard strike to Metcalf on the next play.
Metcalf had been the target of Colts double coverage throughout the first half, when Lockett had his two touchdown catches of 23 and 69 yards, instead.
On the second and 6 in the fourth quarter, Wilson found Metcalf alone one on one with the overmatched Moore. Wilson and Metcalf knew from film prep Moore was likely to have no safety help in the middle of the field.
He didn’t. Touchdown, 15 yards. Seattle 28, Indianapolis 10 with 6:45 left.
Game over.
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“It was a regular seam ball that we worked back in San Diego,” Metcalf said. “It just played out perfect.”
San Diego is where Metcalf spent days upon days with Wilson again this spring into summer, at the quarterback’s offseason home and training place in southern California.
“Just the small details,” Wilson said.
“The touchdown to DK, I mean, it was perfect. We spent probably an hour and a half one day on just seam routes, and spending time together early in the morning in San Diego.
“I mean, it literally came to life. That’s the best part, when you get to spend that much time on stuff, visualizing then watching on film...and then it shows up.
“That’s the mastery we want to get to, of the thought process when we are playing. And it showed up tonight.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 4:47 PM.
