Russell Wilson back to work, showing improved mechanics

Russell Wilson posted a video online of him throwing this offseason that also shows that may of the mechanical issues he developed last year are gone.

Perhaps the worst thing to come out of the failed offensive line experiment of the Seattle Seahawks was the damage done to quarterback Russell Wilson. Not only did Seattle’s line get Wilson injured, but the constant pressure led to bad habits and poor throwing mechanics.

It seems that Wilson has decided to use this offseason to undo some of that damage.

The first thing I noticed in that video was how much Wilson drove onto his left leg when he threw. That was something that he simply wasn’t doing last season. The torn MCL that Wilson was dealing with in 2016 was in that left knee.

Compare the Wilson video above with this next one from Seattle’s playoff win against the Lions. This is a back-shoulder throw that normally requires a lot of zip on the throw. Instead, Wilson has to float it out there because he is unable to stride into his throw.

Here is another one of short throw to Jimmy Graham. Wilson has this weird full-body bend going on in an effort to avoid driving into that plant foot.

If you look back at his film from last season, Wilson’s accuracy problems stemmed from his footwork. He didn’t have a good base, weight transfer, or body rotation.

That resulted him having to throw more with just his shoulder. That caused him to pull his hand down in front of his body more, leading to inaccurate throws. 2016 was the first time Wilson was regularly low on many of his throws.

Next: It is a bad year to need offensive line help

Seeing Wilson focus on his mechanics this early in the process makes me happy. The Seahawks have to hope that the damage from last season can be undone. Now they just need to fix the blocking so we don’t have this issue against next year.