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Can Seahawks' Russell Wilson change definition of 'franchise QB'?

 
With a run-and-gun style, 5-10½ Russell Wilson seeks consecutive Super Bowl wins.
With a run-and-gun style, 5-10½ Russell Wilson seeks consecutive Super Bowl wins.
Published Jan. 31, 2015

PHOENIX — He is 5-10½, he has unapologetic faith and he will scramble to all corners of the map before connecting on another touchdown pass for the Seahawks. When the pressure builds, like when he had thrown four interceptions in the NFC Championship Game, he will focus on a remote part of the stadium to steady his nerves and bring him "back to zero," almost willing his team to victory.

"I visualize success every day. I never visualize failure," Wilson said. "I visualize being at the top every time, that's just my mind-set. I never waver from that. I think it's a credit to my parents for the way they raised me. They taught me the discipline of getting up every morning, the discipline of doing things the right way, the discipline of having the right people surround you. Surrender and surround. It's about surrendering to a bigger cause."

It may also be time for the NFL to surrender its long-held notions that a vertically challenged, run-and-gun passer can't be considered a franchise quarterback.

If the Seahawks beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Wilson will become the first quarterback to win back-to-back NFL titles in 10 years since the feat was accomplished by Tom Brady, everybody's pocket passing prototype.

With more and more quarterbacks, such as Oregon Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, playing exclusively in the shotgun and running a spread option offense, the league may have to change the way it evaluates the potential for success at the next level.

"I think he is changing the conversation about it," Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "I think that when a lot of people looked at it before they just looked at that number, 5-10 and a half, and that knocked him down, including us. We took him in the third round, which we felt like we were kind of pushing the envelope to get him there. But that is the first conversation that happened. So now it has started to change because of how he plays.

"He is playing really well, playing at a high level. He is the winningest quarterback at this time in his career. So yeah, it is definitely going to change how people look at the position. There are still going to be traditionalists who look for certain things, but really you are looking for a guy who can win games. And however he can do it, you have to be able to bring those skill sets out."

Of course, it could well be that Wilson is just special. He has always been special.

That's what his father, Harrison Wilson III, told Russell his entire life. "Why not you?' Why can't you be both a professional baseball and NFL player?''

Harrison played both sports at Dartmouth before becoming a lawyer. Shortly after Russell was drafted by the Colorado Rockies when he was a junior at N.C. State, Harrison died at age 55 from complications related to diabetes.

Despite his football success at N.C. State, with the Wolfpack going 9-4 and Wilson throwing 28 touchdowns and rushing for nine, coach Tom O'Brien wanted a starting quarterback completely committed to football and went with Mike Glennon. Wilson had already gotten his undergraduate degree, enabling him to transfer to Wisconsin, where he passed for 3,175 yards with 33 touchdowns and four interceptions.

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This has been a year of overcoming adversity for Wilson, starting in the spring when he filed for divorce from his wife, Ashton, and culminating with the miraculous 16-point comeback in the overtime win over the Packers two weeks ago, which reduced the normally stoic passer to tears.

"I think the culmination of that game kind of told the story of our season," Wilson said. "But more importantly, just think about my life the last year. I'm only 26 years old but I think about all the things my parents taught me, just all of the things I've been through. I think that's what hit me, really. I'm thankful my dad, I felt like he was right with me in that stadium for that game and I'm grateful to have the influence I have because I play football."

The biggest influence Wilson may have is changing the traits the NFL values in a franchise quarterback.

"It demonstrates that there's not just a perfect model for how quarterbacks come together," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.