What is the truth about the Seahawks? Plenty of people not to ask

It was frustrating listening to Brock and Salk begging Pete Carroll to confirm their belief that Wilson isn't to blame for anything that is wrong with the Seahawks; in fact Salk went so far as to insist that the team doesn’t need to change “anything” about its offensive game plan, that the onus was on the players around Wilson, who had to step-up their play—apparently to compensate for Wilson’s inadequacies. In regard to Wilson’s three interceptions against the Rams, Salk pitiably beseeched Carroll to tell everyone that they were not “really” Wilson’s fault. Although Carroll wasn’t willing to go that far, it is doubtful that Brock or Salk heard even his tepid critique of Wilson’s play. If Carroll goes into the meeting room and actually says this, then he shouldn't be coach. As Hugh Millen pointed out on KJR (the ESPN affiliate lacks any competent play analysts) the interceptions could have been avoided if Wilson had thrown a more accurate pass in the first instance, in the second instance if he not wasted time moving around to find his "spot," and in the third if Wilson had made the proper read of the "cloud" coverage he had seen all day, in which a DB sat on McCoy's route (so close McCoy stepped on the defender’s foot) ready to make a play on the ball because he knew he had safety help--but which left the middle of the field open for Baldwin; instead of throwing to the wide-open Baldwin, Wilson made a risky throw clear across the field. In all instances, Wilson’s height issue and inability to see the field in front of him played a factor in the result. 

The fact that Wilson is averaging less than 10 yards per completion (less than 6 per pass attempt) is telling. Teams that do that generally use short passes as virtual run plays because they are high percentage plays; in Wilson’s case, it is because it is a matter of his limitations. This is the likely reason why the playbook hasn't been "opened-up" for Wilson; trusting his down field vision is risky, and unfortunately this is going to be a career-long issue with Wilson. It also suggests that his true future is that of a back-up who plays well in spot starts if teams have not game-planned for him. Why should we be attacked for pointing out the truth? Isn't "winning" the ultimate goal?

But what really disturbs me is that you really can't believe anything that Carroll says (let alone Brock and Salk). When are they going to stop treating us like we are mentally-challenged? Over on KJR again, they dug-up an interview that Carroll gave on September 20 before the Packer game, in which he said the complete opposite of what he said about Flynn being physically unable to play today. He said that Flynn was physically ready and raring to go against his old team, and that he was ready to step-in in the first quarter. He said Flynn had been doing his best Aaron Rodgers impression for the defense all week (frankly, I'd take a Rodgers imitator any day). Carroll's only caveat was that Flynn still has to "compete," which is frankly offensive after what we've seen from Wilson so far. The truth may be in between, but there is some speculation that Carroll will sink the team ship to prove he is "right" about Wilson, and I wouldn't put it past him to deliberately limit Flynn's reps in order to get Wilson "right." Frankly, I am willing to bet if you got Flynn on the phone right now, he would tell you that not only is he ready to go now, he has been ready for some time.

It should be clear now that Wilson’s preseason performances gave a false impression of what he would do in the regular season. Nevertheless, Wilson’s partisans say he’s just a rookie, all he needs is “seasoning.” Yet Wilson’s fourth game was his worst outing so far against a team that was awful last year, and there has been little indication that he has been “growing.” What will it take to convince people to grudgingly accept the fact that Flynn is more polished than Wilson is, and that it wouldn’t kill them to see what Flynn can do? Why are they so afraid to see what Flynn can do?  Are they so enamored with Wilson that they are willing for the team to potentially throw away the season just because they don’t want to see better quarterback play—from another quarterback?  And it angers me that people insist on ignoring Flynn’s starts against New England and Detroit as if they never happened. This guy is a trained pure passer from an outstanding organization that has produced one Hall of Fame quarterback, and another who sat on the bench for three years who will likely be one; is there something wrong with that?