Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) addresses the media after the 2013 NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks are juxtaposed quite often, because they have plenty of similarities that make the NFL’s best rivalry all the more enticing. Not only do they play each other twice (thrice this season) a year, but they both have great running backs, great head coaches who had big-time success at college programs in California, two of the league’s best defenses, and two of the league’s best young quarterbacks.
Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson will probably always be compared to each other throughout their careers, and the 49ers-Seahawks rivalry has a lot to do with that. While Wilson’s numbers on the stat sheet from the Seahawks NFC Championship Game victory look better than Kaep’s, I thought Kaep played a better game (the 130 rushing yards made up for Frank Gore’s poor day and Marshawn Lynch’s monster day for the ‘Hawks) and was the reason why the 49ers were even in it (the Seahawks defense did an impeccable job of shutting down the 49ers skill position players, most prominently Gore).
Much has been made of Richard Sherman’s comments about Michael Crabtree, and I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to make too much of a deal out of trash talk. But I’m also one of those people who appreciates classy comments, and Kaepernick’s kind words for Russell Wilson ooze with class,
According to CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, Kaepernick said to Wilson after the Seahawks 23-17, last-gasp win, “Hey, good luck to you. Go get yourself a ring, baby.”
Let’s see if Wilson and the Seahawks can do it, and I have them winning it all (I’m not going to back down on my preseason prediction now).