FOXBORO, Mass. — This might come as a shock, but there were topics discussed Thursday at Gillette Stadium that did not involve deflated footballs.
For members of the New England Patriots’ defense, much of that talk centered around Russell Wilson, the dual-threat Seattle Seahawks quarterback whom the Pats’ D will be tasked with containing next Sunday in Super Bowl XLIX.
“He hurts you so many ways,” cornerback Kyle Arrington said of Wilson, who is looking to repeat as Super Bowl champion in just his third NFL season. “He’s almost like a sixth receiver once he gets out of the pocket as far as throwing, and he has the option to run for the first down.”
In a league full of pocket passers — New England’s Tom Brady included — Wilson is one of the few signal-callers who forces opponents to game plan around his ability to make plays with his feet. Wilson’s 849 rushing yards during the 2014 regular season led all NFL quarterbacks and tied him for 16th among all NFL rushers.
San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick (tied for 27th) and Carolina’s Cam Newton (34th) were the only other QBs to rank in the top 40.
“He does everything,” safety Devin McCourty said. “I got to play against him in college (at Rutgers), and what he did in college, he was able to still do in the NFL — whether it’s buying time to throw the ball down the field, or escaping and get a big gain or even sit in the pocket and throw great balls from there.
“He’s tough because he can do everything well. He’s a guy I think that people probably doubted because of his size, but he’s proven that there’s nothing at the quarterback position that he can’t do.”
Seattle is renowned for its defense, but Wilson’s mobility allows the Seahawks to employ a read-option scheme popular in the college ranks but seldom seen in the pros. Patriots defensive end Rob Nikovich, who saw the offense during a 24-23 loss to the Seahawks in 2012 (Wilson’s rookie season), said the key to stopping it is being aware of the opposing quarterback’s skill set.
“I mean, we’ve seen a couple of guys that can scramble a little bit and have some ability to make plays with their legs and can throw,” Ninkovich said. “So again, you have to be smart in the way that you attack a guy like that. You can’t just let him run around and make plays, because that’s what he’s really good at. He’s got great awareness (about) when to get out, when to stay in, so I think that as a D-line we just have to be smart and understand what your job is.”
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
