All hail Russell Wilson, the Seahawks new offensive coordinator

When the Seahawks needed to score and Russell Wilson’s headset went out, he didn’t waste a time out. He just found a new way to be Mr. Unlimited.

At this point, I’m pretty sure that Russell Wilson can do anything he puts his mind to. Help start a cool social media platform and sell it to Nike? Check. Pilot helicopters over Seattle? Roger, wilco. Hit a home run for the New York Yankees? Yes, it was during spring training, but sure, why not? Now you can add offensive coordinator to the resume of Mr. Unlimited.

I’m sure you know that the multi-talented Russell Wilson played another exceptional game in the Seahawks 32-28 win over the Browns. He threw for two scores, ran for another, and generally made life just not worth living for the opposing defensive coordinator. What you probably didn’t know was that on was perhaps Seattle’s most critical drive, DangeRuss was the man calling the plays.

The Hawks fell behind 20-6 at the start of the second quarter, but no one panicked, least of all Wilson. They just kept chipping away and pulled to within two points by the half. Seattle couldn’t move the ball on their first drive of the second half, but they quickly put the ball back in their quarterback’s hands. That was courtesy of a Nick Chubb fumble, not only forced by Ziggy Ansah but recovered by him. So there they were, down 20-18 at their own 42-yard line. They had plenty of time and good field position. The one thing the Seahawks didn’t have was a working headset in Russell Wilson’s helmet.

Allow me a short aside here. Some readers may not realize the NFL has had radio communication between the coaching staff and the quarterbacks since 1994. This makes it simple for the coach calling the play to give it to the quarterback who has to execute it. It takes a lot of hand signals to communicate the complex plays teams run. Still, I miss the days when quarterbacks like Jim Kelly and Dan Marino called their own plays. Mr. Wilson brought those days back for this drive.

Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson does it all for the Seahawks

So there’s Russell Wilson, trailing by two points on the road. There’s plenty of time left, but one commodity he doesn’t want to waste is a time-out. That is one of the most precious resources a team can have. Wilson doesn’t want to waste one just to get a working helmet. After all, who needs plays sent in from the coaches? Apparently not Mr. Unlimited.

Wilson began the drive by calling his own number for a gain of three yards. He called on the now starting tight end Luke Willson for an 11-yard gain that took the ball into Cleveland territory. He then showed his immense football IQ by handing off to the reborn Chris Carson, who followed a block by Jamarco Jones to slash for 25 yards, all the way to the Browns 19-yard line. Wilson went back to the pass, this time finding David Moore for an 11-yard gain. The Seahawks now had first-and-goal at the Cleveland 8-yard line.

The Seahawks next play was a short pass to Malik Turner. Browns corner T.J. Carrie was flagged for pass interference which gave Seattle a fresh set of downs at the Cleveland three. Again, Wilson turned to Carson. This time the Browns were ready and stuffed him for a three-yard loss. Now it was second and six to go. Luke Willson’s number was called again, but the pass falls incomplete. Third down, six yards to go for the lead. Jason Myers rebounded from his first-quarter miss with two field goals. Seattle could take the lead even if this play didn’t pan out.

But it would be a one-point lead. That’s too tenuous on the road with so much time left in the game. Wilson dropped back, waited, found more time, then fired a dart over the middle to the Seahawks once and future red zone king, Jaron Brown. It was Brown’s second touchdown catch of the day. Like the first, it was a thing of beauty. Here, enjoy Steve Raible’s call.

Wilson called three runs and four passes, not including the penalty on Cleveland. He called on three different receivers, keeping the Browns defense guessing. To no one’s surprise, he was calm and cool under pressure, waiting for Brown to get just enough separation on the touchdown pass. Russell Wilson engineered and executed that drive to perfection. Schotty, if I were you, I’d update my resume.