Too much public discussion of a raging controversy – even when it involves Super Bowl XLIX – can be … deflating. I think we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns already with DeflateGate.
Not that the issue is going to go away.
You think we’ve been overwhelmed with coverage of the under-inflated footballs the Tom Brady and the Patriots used in their blowout victory against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game? Just wait until thousands of media representatives from all over the world converge on the Phoenix area next week.
But … can we please talk about something else?
Amid all the noise about balls, we might be missing something big. As the teams remain in their respective corners of the country in preparation for their flights to Arizona on Sunday, we might be forgetting that one particular player – Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson – is making history.
Let’s break it down as Wilson, 26, heads into this second Super Bowl in three NFL seasons:
- Last season, Wilson joined Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner as the only quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl in their first or second seasons in the NFL.
- Wilson was the only quarterback in NFL history to record a passer rating of 100 or better in his first two seasons (and he “fell” all the way to 95.0 this season).
- Wilson’s 36 regular-season victories are the most by any third-year quarterback in the Super Bowl Era (since 1966).
- Only five quarterbacks had more TD passes in their first three seasons than Wilson’s 72 – Dan Marino, 98; Andrew Luck, 86; Peyton Manning, 85; Andy Dalton, 80; Jeff Garcia, 74.
- Wilson became the first player in NFL history to pass for 300 or more yards and rush for 100 or more yards in a single game on Oct. 19 against the Rams.
- Only Wilson and Luck have guided their teams to 10 or more victories in each of their first three seasons in the NFL.
- Only Brady (160-47, .773) has a better win percentage than Wilson (36-12, .750) among active QBs with 20 or more starts.
- Wilson has engineered 15 fourth-quarter comeback victories in 55 career starts (regular season and postseason), the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2012.
OK, I hear you. Quarterback is not the first thing you think about when you think about the defending Super Bowl champions. These Seahawks are as much about defense and the running game as anything else – a team built around Coach Pete Carroll’s ideas about how to win in the NFL.
Wilson is, in many ways, overshadowed by players and units with catchy nicknames:
The Legion of Boom. Beast Mode.
Wilson doesn’t really have a nickname, although actor and Seahawks fan Chris Pratt dubbed him the “real Captain America” during a little Twitter banter with Captain America actor and Patriots fan, Chris Evans.
Wilson quotes Bible verses and people like UCLA coach John Wooden on his Twitter feed (@DangeRussWilson), and visits Seattle Children’s Hospital every Tuesday during the season.
Russell Wilson — the 20th QB in NFL history to start multiple Super Bowls.
Every Tuesday.
Here’s what Wilson told reporters this week in Seattle when asked to talk about playing in his second consecutive Super Bowl:
“There’s only so many people and so many times that you get to play in the Super Bowl and you don’t take that for granted,” he said. “I personally think about I’m one of 32. I’m one of 32 guys in the National Football League that get to play the great position of quarterback. Two of 32 to play in this game. To play against or with a guy like Tom Brady is a tremendous honor. He’s a great football player and I think about that. That excites me. I think that’s something you don’t take for granted and puts a smile on your face when you wake up in the morning.”
So, being a good guy doesn’t make Wilson a historic figure in the NFL. His accomplishments on the field have done that.
And yes, I get it when you say the success is not all Wilson’s. He gets that, too.
While the Patriots might fail or succeed primarily because of the things Tom Brady does or doesn’t do, not every Super Bowl winner has reached the pinnacle strictly because of superior quarterback play. I give you Trent Dilfer and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, for example. He made it to (and won) the Super Bowl once. So did Mark Rypien and Brad Johnson. They each did it once.
Wilson, who will never be considered the most physically gifted quarterback of his generation, has the chance – in only his third year in the league – to join Brady (3-2), Joe Montana (4-0), Terry Bradshaw (4-0), Roger Staubach (2-2), Troy Aikman (3-0), Bob Griese (2-1), Roethlisberger (2-1), Bart Starr (2-0) and Eli Manning (2-0) as the only starting quarterbacks in history to win multiple Super Bowls.
I don’t think anyone can (or would) argue that the Seahawks win in spite of Wilson. They win because he makes plays with his arm and his legs that put the team in position for success at the end of games.
Witness the 16-point comeback against the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, which required three great fourth-quarter throws, one fortunate heave on a two-point conversion and a nifty quarterback sneak to complete.
This is historic. I’m not saying he’ll keep it up, or that 10 years from now we’ll be watching Wilson guide a new generation of teammates to ever greater NFL glory. I’m not saying he’ll ever approach Brady in terms of overall historic achievement. After all, Brady might be the finest QB ever to play the game.
I’m not saying that about Wilson.
I’m saying that what’s happening right now, this season, is worth paying attention to. Because we’ve never seen a quarterback do what Wilson is trying to accomplish this quickly in his young NFL career – and we might never see it again.
Think you know who’s going to win Super Bowl XLIX? Here’s your chance to test your NFL knowledge against other Life of Dad readers. Leave a comment below OR comment on next week’s in-depth Super Bowl preview with your pick to win Super Bowl XLIX – New England or Seattle – along with a final score. The reader who picks the winner and comes closest to the total points will get to pick one (1) SWEET item from the Life of Dad Store. If more than one person picks the correct winner and total points, the contest winner will be determined by random draw. Big thanks to the Life of Dad crew for making this giveaway happen!