Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
For the NFC Championship we’re ranking the quarterbacks. Who do you want? Colin Kaepernick (49ers) or Russell Wilson (Seahawks). The NFL sports debate heats up as Dan Salem and Todd Salem tackle this topic head on in part one of this week’s TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.
TODD:
For the NFC championship this Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will be traveling to Seattle to take on the Seattle Seahawks. On the surface, the matchup seems dead even, with the slight edge going to Seattle because it will be playing at home.
However, if you dig deeper, the matchup…still seems pretty damn even. Both teams run the ball very well and struggle through the air. Both teams have exceptional defenses as well. Which brings us to the only logical point of contention in this game: the quarterback position. So, who ya got?
Allow me to set the scene in the choice between Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.
Age and experience: Kaepernick is 26 years old with 32 career games played in the regular season but just 23 starts, and five postseason games up to this point.
Wilson is 25 years old, has also played in 32 career games, starting them all, but has just three postseason games.
Outlook: Colin is a 6’4″, 230 pound behemoth behind center, who runs like the wind and doesn’t wear sleeves in negative degree weather.
Russell is 5’11” on a good day, slipped to the third round of the NFL draft because teams didn’t believe he was big enough to play quarterback, and just plain wins football games!
Stats: Kaep in the regular season has thrown for 5046 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 59.8% completion. He’s also ran for 937 yards and 9 touchdowns, while fumbling 15 total times.
For Wilson, the regular season has produced the following numbers: 6475 passing yards (as his 32 career games supplied a considerably higher amount of actual game time), 52 touchdowns and 19 interceptions on 63.6% completion. On the ground, Wilson has run for 1028 yards and 5 touchdowns, but has fumbled the ball 15 times.
As for the postseason, the sample sizes are so small, it hardly makes sense to compare total stats. However, Kaepernick has accumulated a quarterback rating of 87.6 and 82.2 respectively during his two postseason runs. Russell Wilson’s two postseasons have only produced QBRs of 68.1 and 25.9. But, again, those numbers aren’t all that valuable, especially considering Wilson’s 2013 “playoff run” was just their most recent game when the passing offense did nothing.
Nevertheless, here we are. And back to the question we come. Who ya got? The specimen that is Colin Kaepernick or the immeasurable quality that is Russell Wilson?
I’d say this is the ultimate choice between tangibles and intangibles but that would be leading the witness. So I will not say that.
DAN:
This is way more fun that trying to pick a winner! That debate is like deciding between pancakes or french toast for breakfast. Both are super unhealthy, but of course the obvious choice is pancakes for their ability to be stuffed with things.
Seahawks and 49ers was a predictable matchup. What wasn’t predictable was Frank Gore’s resurgence and Seattle’s ability to win every close game imaginable. That certainly leaves us with Kaepernick and Wilson and a slew of wonderful stats to dissect these men. Football traditionalists and NFL Draft aficionados lean heavily on “statistics” and “information.” That type of stuff heavily favors the 6’4″ gentleman who rushed for 4 more touchdowns in nine fewer games. It favors the gentleman with the higher QBR in the playoffs. However, completion percentage favors the shorter gentleman, as does the touchdown to interception ratio. Good thing I’m more interested in “facts” than in “stats.”
The facts show Russell Wilson winning, winning the close games, winning in overtime and consistently proving doubters wrong. The facts are simple. The intangibles are unavoidable. And my decision is final. I’ll take Russell Wilson and enjoy the show. He may not see over the center so well, but who needs vision when you have precision.
TODD:
I enjoyed your attempted rhyming scheme, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that you can so obviously stuff french toast.
Maybe that was the point of your failed analogy. There is one obvious choice (Seattle because it is at home), but the obvious is not always correct since, in fact, San Fran has been playing as a road favorite for a couple of weeks now. Although I’m sure I am giving you too much credit for this breakfast conundrum.