:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57882873/885052168.jpg.0.jpg)
As a keen observer of the National Football League, I am appalled at some of the things defensive coordinators fail to recognize when trying to exploit matchups against the top quarterbacks in the business. Russell Wilson may be the greatest quarterback in Seattle Seahawks history, and potentially on his way to winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, but he is not without his faults.
I shouldn’t be unveiling such secrets on a site that covers the Seahawks, as this is borderline treasonous, but I feel that it is my duty to report such critical findings. So without further ado, my message to coaching staffs around the league is as follows...
If you want to fluster Russell Wilson, spam the hell out of those Cover-0 blitzes. For the layman, “Cover-0” is not the same as “Cover zero receivers,” a coverage scheme commonly deployed by the Oakland Raiders. In the “Cover-0” blitz, there is no deep safety help over the middle of the field, so the offense has to deal with an overload of oncoming rushers, and the receivers face man-to-man coverage.
Wilson, who is only good because of Mike Davis, is simply too short to see over these blitzers, which leads to him throwing some panicky passes. These videos by Parker Lewis Jr. show just how poorly Wilson reacts to not being able to handle the pressure situations, as well as the fact that the Seahawks have a pedestrian #1 wide receiver who is bad at exploiting one-on-one matchups.
@DannyBKelly @hwkbgr Here's a little video mashup of why you should never, ever, play Cover 0 vs Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin. pic.twitter.com/D8giy4MF9F
— Parker Lewis (@ParkerLewisJR) December 4, 2017
Good call. I forgot about this one. It might be the most impressive one out of them all. Carolina did a great job of disguising their blitz look. Amazing that Wilson still sniffed it out. pic.twitter.com/aSufhLz6Jx
— Parker Lewis (@ParkerLewisJR) December 5, 2017
Mr. Lewis also forgot about this play, which further solidifies the idea that Wilson cannot make the necessary throws from the pocket.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, and any potential playoff opponents might as well just keep sending the house against Wilson. You know how they always joke about making the whole plane out of the black box? Seahawks opponents should make their whole defense out of the Cover-0 blitz for as long as Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin are on the roster. It’s a foolproof plan.