No, Seahawks aren’t ‘resting’ struggling Russell Wilson. Carroll says he needs more work
He’s struggling more than at any other time in his 10-year career.
He’s three games — all losses — into his return from surgery on his throwing hand, a return that came in about half the time his surgeon told him he might miss.
His Seahawks have sunk to 3-8. They are resigned to playing out the final six games of the season for, as their coach said this week, “the pride of it.”
But, no, they aren’t benching, or “resting,” Russell Wilson.
Coach Pete Carroll made that clear Wednesday.
As if there was any doubt.
The coach was asked two days after Wilson again looked uncharacteristically off in his third straight loss with just 28 total points scored in that span: Have you given consideration to “resting” Wilson on Sunday when Seattle hosts San Francisco (6-5) — and if not, why not?
“He doesn’t need it,” Carroll said, flatly.
“He doesn’t need it. I’m not going there.
“He’s fine.”
Wilson said exactly that following the team’s 17-15 loss at Washington Monday night, that his repaired middle finger on his right hand is “fine” and isn’t the reason for his three straight subpar games.
The 33-year-old quarterback addressed his silent teammates in the locker room moments after the bitter defeat at Washington and took full accountability for the losses, Carroll said.
Way off on third downs
The holder of 26 team records has been inaccurate on throws he normally completes easily, particularly on third downs that continue to doom Seattle. Wilson has also been disconnected with his receivers on the locations of many of his throws.
One glaring example: a third and 5 in the third quarter at Washington, during the nearly three full quarters the Seahawks offense didn’t score a point. Wilson had time to throw. He looked for Tyler Lockett, with whom he’s had an unspoken, uncanny bond for years, particularly on third downs. Lockett was open for a first down against zone coverage along the left hash marks. Wilson threw inside, but Lockett read the coverage differently. He ran to space outside. Wilson’s incomplete pass was closer to being intercepted by a lonely defender in the middle of the field than it was to reaching Lockett outside, on the hash marks.
Michael Dickson punted for the eighth time in Monday night’s game.
Wilson also wildly overthrew open tight end Gerald Everett way high and way wide in the first half, while the Seahawks were going 2 for their first 10 on third-down conversions at Washington.
“As we went through it and we watched it together, there’s just stuff. There’s a few plays in there, really on the shorter passing game, that he really tried to just drill the football...maybe he threw it too hard, a little too hard than normal, trying to make sure the ball is there and crisp and all that.
Wilson’s deep passes wobbled and floated noticeably in his first game back, at Green Bay Nov. 14, a jarring departure for one of the game’s most accurate and lethal long-ball gunners over the last decade. He completed just 20 of 40 passes and was shut out for the first time in his career that night by the Packers.
His second game back, his deep balls were tighter yet still not as accurate as normal. He completed just 14 of 26 throws as he and Seattle lost again, at home to Arizona.
At Washington he completed 20 of 31 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
“We weren’t as sharp as we need to be,” Carroll said Wednesday. “And it showed up in particular on three third-down situations that all could have been very convertable for us. ...
“Easily corrected. Easily corrected. He feels great. He doesn’t feel like he’s burdened by the surgery from the past, and all that. He’s ready to go.
“He doesn’t need to be rested. He’s not tired, not worn down or anything. He needs the action. He needs to get back to the activity, needs to play more and get in the flow of it as much as possible.”
Wilson led five consecutive drives that ended with thudding three and outs at Washington, five third downs Carroll termed “very makeable.” The Seahawks gained a total of just 25 yards over those five possessions, from the middle of the second quarter until just over 2 minutes remained in the game. That’s how the offense was on the field for less than 19 minutes and Seattle’s defense played more than 41 of the 60 minutes while yielding yards and time late at Washington.
Seattle has run the fewest offensive plays and defended the most plays in the NFL. That alone can get a team directly to 3-8 entering December.
“We need to be consistent with the throws...specifically on third downs,” Carroll said of Wilson. “That’s been an Achilles heel for us, and we need to get out of this thing, and get going and get moving.”
Most of Wilson’s production at Washington came on the Seahawks’ final, frantic drive 96 yards in the final 2 minutes. Wilson completed 8 of 10 throws while in a hurry on that drive — though he did take an awful sack outside the pocket with no time outs, no one open and time to throw the ball away.
His 32-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left to Freddie Swain set up the two-point conversion chance to force overtime.
Swain said outside the locker room following the Washington loss “I was open” early on the two-point try. And he was. He was the second crosser behind the long crossing right of DK Metcalf left to right through the middle of the end zone. Swain was open while Wilson was noticing Metcalf had two Washington defenders on him, to Swain’s right.
Swain said Wilson didn’t see he was open because when he was, he noticed Wilson moving up in the pocket to step away from what the quarterback felt was more pressure from Washington’s pass rush that hit him 10 times, a season-high taken by Wilson. By the time Wilson got his eyes reoriented off the sack guys onto Swain in the end zone, Swain was covered.
Wilson threw to Swain. Washington’s Kendall Fuller intercepted the pass in the middle of the end zone to essentially end the game and the meaningful part of Seattle’s season.
“He had three different options on it,” Carroll said of Wilson. “He checked out one of them. He saw the other one, and Freddie flashed wide open in the middle and he went to it. Had he held the football and waited, DK might have come open in the other (right) corner, which it’s a concept and a play we run all the time and he knows really well. He saw Freddie and went through it.
“Guy made a nice play coming off DK. It looked the guy was going to be out of that play and it was going to be all Freddie. Guy made a nice play to get back on the ball.”
“I believe”
Wilson acknowledged how difficult this season has been on him, and the Seahawks.
“This journey, this season, it’s been challenging. It’s been tough,” Wilson said. “But at the same time, there’s more football left. I know for me, personally, I’m going to give everything I have like I always do, everyday every play, until the very end, until the last play of the game, just like tonight, just because I don’t know any other way. ...
“I believe in myself, I know I believe in those guys in the locker room and I know we believe in each other. There’s going to be some challenges and stuff, you know, people (saying) this and that, talking this and that, but what we know is that we’re together and we want to do everything we can to play the next game great. And that’s what we got to do.
“We got to step up to the challenge and as crazy as it may seem and as tough as it is, it’s our obligation to that.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 4:11 PM.
