Seattle Seahawks Roundtable: Week 3 – Minnesota Vikings
5. Does Russel Wilson’s penchant for extending plays and looking for the home run contribute to the offensive struggles by missing short gains while looking for the deep ball?
Ed: I think Wilson is smart enough to take what the defense gives him. If he can get eight to ten yards a completion, he’ll do it. With that in mind, he’s got a pair of big-play receivers and uses them accordingly. I have a suggestion, though. Let D.K. Metcalf run the “Jerry Rice slant route” more often. Suck the defensive back toward the middle and then burn them deep down the sidelines.
Chris: Sure. I think also the game situation plays into his thinking. Probably even the type of offenses he’s run in his career. Even going back to Wisconsin, all were run the ball, then take deep shots and play tough defense. It could just be a habit or maybe even, to some degree, a lack of skill/ability.
Andrew: I think the “let Russ cook” mentality has become a bit of an issue. There are consistently open receivers he’s missing in the 7-10 yards out area of the field. It would be fine if both the deep ball and the outlet were covered or open, but he’s missing the open man to throw into tight windows. Can he be successful that way? Yes, he’s proven that, but he’s unnecessarily raising his degree of difficulty.
Look at DK Metcalf's reaction to the Russell Wilson moon ball to Tyler Lockett. He knew before the ball had even started to come down that they got them pic.twitter.com/PSwIR4ORbT
— Parker (@ParkerLewes) September 22, 2021
Predictions for Sunday’s game
Ed: Except for three or four players, I don’t think very highly of Minnesota. They have more to fear from the Seahawks than Seattle does about them. What keeps the game close is the Seahawks’ penchant for playing to their competition. I’ll take the Seahawks 27-19.
Chris: 30-16 beatdown handed out by Seattle
Andrew: I think you guys are underrating the Vikings offense and overeating Seattle’s defense. Minnesota went shot for shot with Arizona and lost by a field goal to Cincinnati. If Seattle wins, it will be a shootout, and I’m iffy on if they can do that. Watching the Seattle offense is like turning the ignition on an old car. When you need to get to work on time, the engine will turn, but it fails you just enough so that you are never totally confident. Seahawks 35-31.