Seahawks quarterback observations from training camp

While Russell Wilson looked tremendous in training camp the Seattle Seahawks, the other quarterbacks on the roster failed to impress.

Having spend today at the VMAC covering training camp for the Seattle Seahawks, I have an absolute ton of notes that I need to get written up and published. Most of them are positive, but there are some concerns, especially at quarterback.

If you’re wondering about the Russell Wilson hype you’ve been hearing, and if it is real or just a lazy summer storyline, let me set the record straight. Wilson looked AMAZING out there today. He’s getting the ball out super quick, and showing great touch and accuracy.

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There was such a stark difference between Wilson and his backups. Wilson’s passes had far more zip, and his ball placement was much better. That’s partially an issue with Boykin and Heaps, but I’ll get into more on that in a bit.

A big part of Wilson getting the ball out quickly was simply his mastery of the offense. He’s routinely letting the ball fly before his receiver comes out out of his break.

Here’s my favorite example from today: When the QBs were working with the WRs (and no defense yet), Baldwin ran a deep corner route on the right side. By the time Doug turned to look for the ball, Wilson’s pass was already about to drill Baldwin in the numbers. Doug ended up catching the ball partly out of self defense.

As good as Wilson looked today, the other QBs on the field today were quite the opposite. Both Travone Boykin and Jake Heaps struggled throughout practice.

To say that Heaps is “just a camp arm” is probably being too generous. Heaps’ passing today made Tim Tebow look accurate. Throwing against air (in the same drill as the Wilson-to-Baldwin pass described above) Heaps wasn’t even able to complete 25 percent of his passes.

Heaps completed just two of nine passes in a drill in which there were no defenders. One of those completions was way behind his intended target, and was only complete because Kasen Williams made an amazing catch.

Boykin was better than Heaps (it would have been tough not to be), but his ball placement left a lot to be desired. He consistently threw the ball at the receiver’s back hip, making for a bunch of tough catches.

Boykin’s passes were also routinely late. He had a tendency today to wait until a player was completely out of their break before even starting his throwing motion. That led to a few incompletions in 7 on 7s, and a pick-6 by Tharold Simon in team drills.

It was just one day. Players have bad days in camp, especially ones that are still learning the playbook and getting used to the team’s receivers. Take the above notes on Boykin and Heaps with a grain of salt.

Next: Is Richardson ready for a breakout season?

We have to hope that this was just a bad day. If it wasn’t, than the Seahawks don’t currently have a backup quarterback on the roster.

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