Russell Wilson is a Deep Ball Master
Dec 2, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Russell Wilson is having a good season. This isn’t a controversial statement. He is third in the NFL in passer rating and is coming off a complete dismantling of a solid Saints defense on Monday. He has led his team to the best record in the NFL this season. In case anyone needs a refresher, here is his basic stat line for 2013:
Completions |
Attempts
Completion %
Yards
YPA
Touchdowns
Interceptions
Rating
198
305
64.9%
2672
8.8
22
6
108.8
Those numbers are some of the best in the business. Two things that particularly stand out are his touchdown to interception ratio and his yards per attempt. The reason that yards per attempt number is so high is that Wilson has been arguably the best quarterback in the league when it comes to the deep ball. Pro Football Focus defines a “Deep Ball” as one that travels at least 20 yards in the air. The following chart shows how effective Wilson’s “Deep Ball” has been this season. In brackets beside each number is his rank league wide among quarterbacks who have taken at least 50% of their team’s snaps.
Completions |
Attempts
Yards
Touchdowns
Interceptions
Attempt%
Accuracy%
25 (2nd)
45 (14th)
847 (t-2nd)
8 (4th)
2 (t-7th)
14.8% (5th)
60.0% (1st)
For the record, the only difference between Accuracy percentage and Completion percentage is that Accuracy percentage includes balls the wide receiver drops as “accurate”. It’s worth noting that not only is Wilson the most accurate deep ball passer in the NFL in 2013, it isn’t close. The next highest number was 53.3%, put up by Aaron Rodgers, and Alex Smith is the only other quarterback above 50%.
To be fair, you can’t give Russell Wilson all of the credit for the deep pass success. The receiving core, despite the injuries, has been fantastic this season. The chart below shows how the Seahawks receivers have done of those 20+ yard passes:
Players |
Targets
Catches
Yards
Touchdowns
Catch Rate Total
Doug Baldwin
11
9
302
2
81.8%
Jermaine Kearse
6
4
141
3
66.7%
Sidney Rice
7
3
78
2
42.9%
Golden Tate
15
6
219
1
40%
Doug Baldwin has been fantastic at bringing down those deep passes. That’s one of the things that separates him from your garden variety slot receiver. We’ve seen Baldwin continually pull in those tough throws at the sidelines all year. Kearse has also made some very memorable catches down the field over the course of the season as well. Even though Golden Tate’s numbers are less sterling here we all know what a deep threat he can be. Some teams don’t have a single receiver who can really get downfield, it seems like the Seahawks don’t have one who can’t.
Seattle’s offense is rolling right now. This team has put up 400+ yards in three of their last four games. A great deal of the credit goes to Marshawn Lynch, and deservedly so. Even on plays where he doesn’t touch the ball he creates opportunities for others. However, one of the overlooked things that really makes the Seahawks tick is the deep ball, and no one is doing it better than Russell Wilson and this receiver group at the moment. For a team that has often played with a mix and match offensive line and down two of their top receivers that’s pretty encouraging.