Seattle Seahawks Friday Fades: Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin

The Seattle Seahawks embarrassed the rival San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving in what was supposed to be a heated battle, and neutral observers will hope that the 49ers can put up more of a fight. I wouldn’t anticipate that happening, as the 49ers must travel to Seattle for this Sunday afternoon game, and the fact of the matter is that the 49ers offense just isn’t good enough to threaten the Seahawks defense. They had better be serious about allowing Colin Kaepernick to make plays with his legs, because that was the only reason why last season’s NFC Championship game was close.

1. Russell Wilson an elite decision-maker

Although the Seahawks passing attack hasn’t been as efficient as it was last season, Russell Wilson deserves more praise than he’s getting for his 2014 campaign thus far. Not only is he dazzling us with his rushing ability, but he’s playing the smartest football of his career. He doesn’t have a true No. 1 receiver on his hands and isn’t throwing as many deep passes, but Wilson is playing smarter football than most quarterbacks in the NFL this season. He has just five interceptions, which means that his INT% of 1.3% is the second-lowest in the NFL; only Aaron Rodgers‘s is lower. Thus, the Seahawks have thrown the second-least interceptions in the league this season.

Wilson is averaging a steady 7.3 yards per attempt despite the fact that his best two receivers are Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, and he’s done an especially impressive job of spreading the ball around. With a 95.2 QB Rating and an average of 210 passing yards per game, Wilson is moving the chains for the Seahawks offense through the air- and on the ground- and his decision-making also extends to his elite vision as a rusher. He’s better than just about every quarterback at knowing when to tuck it and run or stay in the pocket, but the most impressive thing to me is his ability to anticipate openings in the defense when he does run.

The Seahawks don’t have a single receiver with at least 50 receiving yards per game, and that underscores just how much Wilson is spreading the ball around among a variety of targets.

2. Doug Baldwin continues to be efficient

While the Seahawks don’t have a true No. 1 receiver, Doug Baldwin is playing some steady ball for the ‘Hawks and operates as their top guy. He broke out last season as one of the NFL’s most efficient wideouts, and he’s also one of the smartest. A solid route-runner with sticky hands who knows how to move the chains on intermediate routes, Baldwin leads the team with an average of eight yards per target, and he’s catching 68.8% of everything thrown at him. Those are impressive numbers, and I think tell us more about his play this season than his 53 receptions for 616 yards. Baldwin isn’t a true No. 1 receiver in this league, but I think he could be a nice No. 2/Z receiver for some teams in this league due to his efficient play.

3. When will it be Paul Richardson‘s time?

It seemed like Paul Richardson would be in a position to replace Percy Harvin as the team’s biggest playmaker in the passing game, but he hasn’t done much in that department this season. Although he’s caught 16 of the 25 passes thrown at him, he’s averaging just 8.1 yards per reception and hasn’t been able to break loose this season. Richardson was never expected to be an immediate success in this league, but it’s been a bit disappointing to see him struggle to show off his playmaking ability. Of course, more of that is a reflection of the Seahawks offense, which operates differently than it did last season. I wonder if we could see more of Richardson this week against the 49ers, because they struggle against No. 3 and 4 receivers, especially in comparison to No. 1 and 2 receivers. When healthy, the 49ers secondary is arguably the most underrated in the NFL, as the likes of Chris Culliver should not be taken lightly.

Although Richardson has dropped just one pass this season, he’s also averaging just 2.1 yards after the catch per reception, per Pro Football Focus. He’s been targeted on passes 20 yards downfield just three times, catching none of those throws. How much is his lack of involvement in the offense a reflection of his inability to play to the coaching staff’s liking? I think Richardson’s mostly been used on short routes as the Seahawks look to try and get him to become a YAC weapon a la Harvin, but I would rather see the Seahawks trade some of those short passes for deep throws. Of course, it’s hard to do that when he hasn’t caught any of those vertical passes.

4. Marshawn Lynch vs. 49ers Part 2

In Week 13, Marshawn Lynch got the better of rookie sensation Chris Borland and the San Francisco 49ers run defense by running for 104 yards on 20 carries. The 49ers simply couldn’t handle Lynch’s explosiveness or his strength, and it was uncharacteristically undisciplined performance from a team that is allowing under four yards per carry on the season. Lynch might not be able to go for 5.2 yards per pop and over 100 rushing yards this week, but I wouldn’t doubt his ability to have a repeat performance. This entire 49ers team is in a state of dysfunction following their loss to the Oakland Raiders, so it’s even hard to trust their defense at this juncture. Lynch is rolling right now, putting in consistent workhorse performance after consistent workhorse performance. He’s up over 1,000 yards on the season for the fourth straight season, and he’s one rushing touchdown away from making it four straight campaigns with double-digit rushing TDs.

5. Battle for a Bye

The Arizona Cardinals have lost Drew Stanton for a week or two with an MCL sprain, so it will be interesting to see how that affects their ability to hold onto their placement at the top of the NFC West. At this point in time, the Seahawks are the fifth-seed in the NFC, while the Cardinals are an undeserving first seed (the caveat is that they got an early start to that ugly, 11th win over the St. Louis Rams last night). It’s pretty obvious that the Seahawks are the better team, but the Cardinals hot start to the season still has them at the top. The Seahawks are battling for the bye week that they deserve, and the NFC playoff picture is as cloudy as the AFC’s. Even though a matchup with a struggling NFC South team seems like a free win for the fifth seed, the Seattle Seahawks know from experience that you can’t count on guarantees in the postseason. Moreover, the Atlanta Falcons beat the Cardinals and played up with the Green Bay Packers, while the New Orleans Saints beat the Packers; even these subpar NFC South teams have shown that they can play up with better opponents.

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