Five Best Quarterbacks in Seahawks History
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks have been fortunate in their consistency at quarterback over the years
54 players have thrown a pass in Seahawks history. This list includes players like Marshawn Lynch, Jon Ryan, Steve Largent (who threw seven in his career, completing two), among others. Receivers Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin each threw one pass and have perfect QBRs (quarterback rating) of 158.3. Both of their passes ended up as touchdowns.
22 different quarterbacks have started a game for Seattle. These include Steve Myer, Gale Gilbert and Jon Kitna. 710 ESPN Seattle‘s Brock Huard started four games, though Seattle lost them all. Huard was not bad, however: He threw four touchdowns against two interceptions and had a QBR of 80.1.
Four quarterbacks have started 80 or more games. That total of 22 in 41 years is really good and shows Seattle has not had to stress about the quarterback position most of the time since the team’s inception in 1976. (On the flipflop, the Cleveland Browns have had 22 quarterbacks start games since 2003. Seriously.)
Here are the five best quarterbacks in Seattle’s history.
5. Warren Moon
Moon was only in Seattle for a couple of years and he was not on great teams. He was also aged for a quarterback. Still, a team that really had no business coming close to the playoffs in 1999 should have made it. A blown call in the final game of the season versus the New York Jets ended Seattle’s season and Moon’s time as quarterback of the Seahawks. Moon was 11-13 as a starter with a QBR of 81.3.
Now 12s know Moon as Steve Raible’s sidekick during radio calls of Seahawks games. Moon is pretty good at that too.
4. Jim Zorn
Zorn was a rookie quarterback in 1976 on a team in its inaugural season. Zorn was terrible. He could not help it. The whole team was. By season three, Zorn was good enough to lead his team to a 9-7 record, exceeding expectations for the franchise. Zorn was excellent at moving around the pocket (again, he had no real choice) and often made plays on the move (sound familiar to another Seahawks quarterback?).
Zorn started 100 games with Seattle and won 40 of them. Seattle never made the playoffs when Zorn was the full-time quarterback.
3. Dave Krieg
Krieg was the quarterback who first took the Seahawks to the playoffs. After replacing Zorn in 1983, Krieg led Seattle to two playoff wins. Krieg went to several Pro Bowls in his Seattle career and the team was mostly successful. Though never the most consistent quarterback – Krieg ranged from terrific to terrible – he made the team better than a replacement would have.
Why Krieg over Zorn? By the time he left Seattle, Krieg held the Seahawks record for touchdown passes, which he still holds, at 195. His QBR (82.3) is second only to Russell Wilson for any quarterback with more than 14 career starts. Krieg’s Seahawks career record is 70-49. His teams simply won games. He was a huge part of that.
2. Matt Hasselbeck
Hasselbeck led Seattle to its first Super Bowl appearance during the 2005 season. He holds the Seattle record for most passing yards in a career. Under Hasselbeck, Seattle won four straight NFC West titles. He was never the centerpiece of the offense but allowed his talent to augment the talent of those around him. Hasselbeck was extremely well coached by Mike Holmgren and went from backup in Green Bay to star in Seattle.
That said, Hasselbeck was a leader. His teams respected and trusted him. Three different Seahawks teams won 10 or more games when he was the quarterback. The reason he is not number one on this list is he never won The Game.
1. Russell Wilson
Here’s the list: Wilson has never missed the playoffs, even though he started as rookie; he won a Super Bowl in which he played well; he has to do most of his quarterbacking while playing against a bad offensive line. Wilson is a winner. He is 56-23-1 during his time in Seattle. He is athletic enough to create successes from plays that should be losses, like this
He is the Seahawks all-time leader in playoff wins, QBR and completion percentage. No team he has played on has won fewer than 10 games. Sure, he plays on teams with a great defense. But give him the line that Hasselbeck had, for instance, with Walter Jones, etc. Not only would Wilson have to do less scrambling, he would most likely do more passing.
Plus, did I already say Russell Wilson has won a Super Bowl?