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Practice Report 9/16: The Difficulties of Containing Wilson
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
In just his fifth year in the NFL, Seattle quarterback Russel Wilson has undoubtedly become one of its the best quarterbacks. He’s started every game since he was drafted at No. 75 overall in the third round of the 2012 draft, and Seattle has won at least 10 games in each of those seasons.
“It’s been a constant progression,” Seahakws head coach Pete Carroll said this week. “He played really well his first year and he’s played well every year. What we’ve seen, it’s just the natural progression of growing and understanding the game to the point where it becomes he’s in greater command of it.”
“I’ve had the chance to coach against a lot of quarterbacks who are in the Hall of Fame, and you see some of those marquee guys — and I think Russell is one of them,” L.A. defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said.
Willson has increased his yards passing each year as he’s grown and matured as a quarterback. And while he can undoubtedly make plays with his feet, it doesn’t mean he’s a run-first quarterback. Last year, Wilson completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 4,024 yards with 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s hovered around 100 rushing attempts per year in each of his first four years, but last year he decreased his output from 849 yards rushing and six touchdowns in 2014 to 553 yards and one touchdown.
“You can just tell that he’s just more and more comfortable each year we play,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “He’s standing in the pocket, he can make all the throws. He already knows what’s coming just by a look. You can just tell his growth in the offense.”
“I think the best quarterback extending plays is Russell Wilson,” Williams said.
Wilson’s numbers from the last seven regular-season games of the 2015 season are, in a word, bonkers. The quarterback completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,906 yards with 24 touchdowns and just one interception — thrown to Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson in Week 16.
“The second half of last season, he was just remarkably on it, so he goes in to the offseason with the thought that he wants to pick up where he left off and add to that,” Carroll said. “And that’s what he’s done, he’s been working like crazy to get that done, he had a great offseason, he came in in great shape.”
The only contest in which Wilson didn’t fare remarkably well was Seattle’s 23-17 loss to the Rams in Week 16. In that matchup, Wilson was 25-of-41 passing (61 percent) for 289 yards, with two touchdowns, an interception, and a fumble lost.
Last week, Wilson suffered an ankle injury in the Seahawks’ matchup with the Dolphins. Despite being visibly limited in his mobility, Wilson was able to engineer a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Doug Baldwin with just 31 seconds left. With that, Seattle had a 12-10 victory.
“The Dolphins really played well up there in a tough place to play, and Russell, with a sore ankle, finds a way to put together a winning drive at the end that is really impressive,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said this week.
“He did a great job finishing the game last week to get us a win, when he was kind of hobbling around and still got it done kind of in dramatic fashion,” Carroll said.
Wilson has been listed as a full participant in practice all week, so there’s little doubt he’ll be starting at quarterback when the Seahawks come to the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. And according to Fisher, L.A. is preparing for the quarterback to enter the contest with his full mobility.
“We’re preparing for a 100 percent healthy Russell. You have to do that or you sell yourself short,” Fisher said. “I thought their offensive staff, when he was injured, did a tremendous job adjusting the play-calling to allow him to find a way to win that game without using his legs. I thought they did a great job. We have to approach this, from a player standpoint and assume that he’s going to be 100 percent.”
And that means the Rams know they will have to swarm whenever they have a chance to bring Wilson down in the backfield or once Wilson decides to take off down the field. Still, the Rams’ defense sacked the QB a total of 10 times over two games last year.
“I have to make sure we plaster our guys,” Ogletree said. “He might scramble around and he’s really good on the run. We have to try to contain him and make sure our defensive line are in their rush lanes and everybody’s doing their jobs.”
“It’s really getting seven, six people surrounding him, and really getting him down. Because this guy, it really doesn’t matter — there can be three people after him and he can still get out of there,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “The big thing about it is balancing the rush around him — making it a way where he can’t get out and he’s surrounded and everybody’s getting to the ball.”
If the Rams can keep Wilson contained as they have in the past, they should be in position for a W in the home opener.
EXTRA POINTS
— The Rams have five players on their injury report for this week’s game. Two players are questionable, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner (foot) and defensive tackle Michael Brockers (thigh).
Wide receiver Pharoh Cooper (shoulder) was a limited participant in practice on Friday and has been listed as doubtful.
Cornerback E.J. Gaines (thigh) and wide receiver Nelson Spruce (knee) did not practice all week and have been declared out.
— After Friday’s practice, Fisher announced quarterback Jared Goff will serve as the backup to Case Keenum on Sunday against the Seahawks.
“He’s going to be two and he’s ready to play,” Fisher said. “He’s gotten some reps throughout the week, so good for him. It will be exciting for him, knowing he’s a snap away from going in the game. He was here until the wee hours last night preparing — as he should.”
“They told me earlier in the week,” Goff said. “And I kind of have just been preparing the way I’ve been preparing the last two weeks.
“Obviously, I’m going to support Case,” Goff later added. “But anything can happen and I’ll be ready if my number is called.”
For more on Goff being named the Rams’ backup quarterback, check out our full story here.
— One of the elements Williams would like the defense to improve upon this week is picking off passes when players have the opportunity to do so.
“The other thing we could’ve done a better job with was we got our hands on three balls where it legitimately hit us in the hands,” Williams said. “And those three interceptions right there — and two of those three times that we dropped the ball, we could’ve put points on the board. We could have scored with those throws because there was nobody between us and the goal line. Our guys understand that and they’ll come back, they’ll bounce back very well.”
— Finally, offensive coordinator Rob Boras said his unit has to be resilient in coming back and attacking the Seahawks’ defense this weekend.
“Didn’t play up to our standard. Didn’t coach to our standard. Didn’t see it coming,” Boras said. “I think across the board, players would say that we thought we had a great week of preparation. And then, obviously, just didn’t live up to our standard — playing-wise [and] coaching.
I talked last week about being resilient, and we’re not going to let that define us,” Boras continued. “And, obviously, we have to see if we’re as resilient as we think we are moving forward.”
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
In just his fifth year in the NFL, Seattle quarterback Russel Wilson has undoubtedly become one of its the best quarterbacks. He’s started every game since he was drafted at No. 75 overall in the third round of the 2012 draft, and Seattle has won at least 10 games in each of those seasons.
“It’s been a constant progression,” Seahakws head coach Pete Carroll said this week. “He played really well his first year and he’s played well every year. What we’ve seen, it’s just the natural progression of growing and understanding the game to the point where it becomes he’s in greater command of it.”
“I’ve had the chance to coach against a lot of quarterbacks who are in the Hall of Fame, and you see some of those marquee guys — and I think Russell is one of them,” L.A. defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said.
Willson has increased his yards passing each year as he’s grown and matured as a quarterback. And while he can undoubtedly make plays with his feet, it doesn’t mean he’s a run-first quarterback. Last year, Wilson completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 4,024 yards with 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s hovered around 100 rushing attempts per year in each of his first four years, but last year he decreased his output from 849 yards rushing and six touchdowns in 2014 to 553 yards and one touchdown.
“You can just tell that he’s just more and more comfortable each year we play,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “He’s standing in the pocket, he can make all the throws. He already knows what’s coming just by a look. You can just tell his growth in the offense.”
“I think the best quarterback extending plays is Russell Wilson,” Williams said.
Wilson’s numbers from the last seven regular-season games of the 2015 season are, in a word, bonkers. The quarterback completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,906 yards with 24 touchdowns and just one interception — thrown to Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson in Week 16.
“The second half of last season, he was just remarkably on it, so he goes in to the offseason with the thought that he wants to pick up where he left off and add to that,” Carroll said. “And that’s what he’s done, he’s been working like crazy to get that done, he had a great offseason, he came in in great shape.”
The only contest in which Wilson didn’t fare remarkably well was Seattle’s 23-17 loss to the Rams in Week 16. In that matchup, Wilson was 25-of-41 passing (61 percent) for 289 yards, with two touchdowns, an interception, and a fumble lost.
Last week, Wilson suffered an ankle injury in the Seahawks’ matchup with the Dolphins. Despite being visibly limited in his mobility, Wilson was able to engineer a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Doug Baldwin with just 31 seconds left. With that, Seattle had a 12-10 victory.
“The Dolphins really played well up there in a tough place to play, and Russell, with a sore ankle, finds a way to put together a winning drive at the end that is really impressive,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said this week.
“He did a great job finishing the game last week to get us a win, when he was kind of hobbling around and still got it done kind of in dramatic fashion,” Carroll said.
Wilson has been listed as a full participant in practice all week, so there’s little doubt he’ll be starting at quarterback when the Seahawks come to the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. And according to Fisher, L.A. is preparing for the quarterback to enter the contest with his full mobility.
“We’re preparing for a 100 percent healthy Russell. You have to do that or you sell yourself short,” Fisher said. “I thought their offensive staff, when he was injured, did a tremendous job adjusting the play-calling to allow him to find a way to win that game without using his legs. I thought they did a great job. We have to approach this, from a player standpoint and assume that he’s going to be 100 percent.”
And that means the Rams know they will have to swarm whenever they have a chance to bring Wilson down in the backfield or once Wilson decides to take off down the field. Still, the Rams’ defense sacked the QB a total of 10 times over two games last year.
“I have to make sure we plaster our guys,” Ogletree said. “He might scramble around and he’s really good on the run. We have to try to contain him and make sure our defensive line are in their rush lanes and everybody’s doing their jobs.”
“It’s really getting seven, six people surrounding him, and really getting him down. Because this guy, it really doesn’t matter — there can be three people after him and he can still get out of there,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “The big thing about it is balancing the rush around him — making it a way where he can’t get out and he’s surrounded and everybody’s getting to the ball.”
If the Rams can keep Wilson contained as they have in the past, they should be in position for a W in the home opener.
EXTRA POINTS
— The Rams have five players on their injury report for this week’s game. Two players are questionable, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner (foot) and defensive tackle Michael Brockers (thigh).
Wide receiver Pharoh Cooper (shoulder) was a limited participant in practice on Friday and has been listed as doubtful.
Cornerback E.J. Gaines (thigh) and wide receiver Nelson Spruce (knee) did not practice all week and have been declared out.
— After Friday’s practice, Fisher announced quarterback Jared Goff will serve as the backup to Case Keenum on Sunday against the Seahawks.
“He’s going to be two and he’s ready to play,” Fisher said. “He’s gotten some reps throughout the week, so good for him. It will be exciting for him, knowing he’s a snap away from going in the game. He was here until the wee hours last night preparing — as he should.”
“They told me earlier in the week,” Goff said. “And I kind of have just been preparing the way I’ve been preparing the last two weeks.
“Obviously, I’m going to support Case,” Goff later added. “But anything can happen and I’ll be ready if my number is called.”
For more on Goff being named the Rams’ backup quarterback, check out our full story here.
— One of the elements Williams would like the defense to improve upon this week is picking off passes when players have the opportunity to do so.
“The other thing we could’ve done a better job with was we got our hands on three balls where it legitimately hit us in the hands,” Williams said. “And those three interceptions right there — and two of those three times that we dropped the ball, we could’ve put points on the board. We could have scored with those throws because there was nobody between us and the goal line. Our guys understand that and they’ll come back, they’ll bounce back very well.”
— Finally, offensive coordinator Rob Boras said his unit has to be resilient in coming back and attacking the Seahawks’ defense this weekend.
“Didn’t play up to our standard. Didn’t coach to our standard. Didn’t see it coming,” Boras said. “I think across the board, players would say that we thought we had a great week of preparation. And then, obviously, just didn’t live up to our standard — playing-wise [and] coaching.
I talked last week about being resilient, and we’re not going to let that define us,” Boras continued. “And, obviously, we have to see if we’re as resilient as we think we are moving forward.”
