Russell Wilson Continues His Quest

Russell Wilson has always proved people wrong, including me. I remember the first start of his career as a member of the Pack. It was a Thursday night game that kicked off the college football season. In the first series Russell suffered a concussion in a hostile environment in Columbia, SC versus USC. I never thought that Russell Wilson would go on to be such a great QB.

I was lucky enough to have a front row seat to many of his games while he was at State. I quickly warmed up to him and realized that there was something special about him. Seriously you could just tell that he carried himself in a different way, he knew that he could accomplish anything, no matter the situation.

This season will be a great test of Wilson, everyone is pumping him up, he is a staple on ESPN, and there are no shortages of news articles tracking his every move. He is coming off of a Super Bowl Championship. However this offseason hasn’t been void of potential pitfalls. The Seahawks have had a number of personnel changes; he has lost Sidney Rice and Golden Tate two of his top receivers. Tate especially was a big time playmaker and a constant threat after the catch. With these two gone, Russell will depend heavily on Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, and rookie Paul Richardson.

All of these receivers have the ability to make up for the losses of Tate and Rice. I am curious to see how well Harvin and Russell gel together given the fact that they have had a full offseason together. Another potential roadblock to Russell and the Seahawks is the depth of the offensive line. Last season the Seahawks gave up 44 sacks, mostly due to a lack of depth on the offensive line. It will be imperative for the linemen to stay healthy this season.

The biggest threat to Russell and the Seahawks is history. The last team to repeat was the New England Patriots in 2003. The last two teams to win the Super Bowl haven’t even reached the playoffs the following season. Everything out of Seattle’s camp has been positive, there have been no reports of the team not going hard or lacking focus. I know Russell has been very aware of not getting complacent. He has talked a lot about having “laser focus” and making sure every rep he takes is at a championship level.

My prediction is that the Seahawks will do what no one is predicting, winning back-to-back Super Bowl titles. As long as this team doesn’t get bit by the injury bug and can get past the San Francisco 49ers there is no other team that is as talented. Look for Russell to put up big numbers in this contract year! No longer will Russell be the cheapest starting QB in the NFL.

Catch Russell in action tonight on primetime versus the Green Bay Packers. Tune in at 8:30 on NBC.