Ok so this week is finals week for me. It will be my second to last finals week ever (thank sweet baby Jeebus/Buddha/Allah/whoever you worship. I quite frankly don't give a damn). I been pretty busy catching up on reading – 'cause we all know college students do not read until the very end.
In one of the many, and I mean MANY, study breaks I tabbed onto one of the websites I frequent: NFL.com. As I skimmed over the headlines and what not, one in particular caught my eye. It was an article about Seahawk's head coach Pete Carroll saying that the team's third-round draft pick, quarterback Russell Wilson is in the hunt for the starting job.
Wilson, out of Wisconsin, was known to be a pretty damn good at the college level. The guy was known as an accurate passer and had great intangibles (i.e. smart, hardworking). He also is very athlete with abilities to make plays outside of the pocket, whether with his arm or on the run. Apparently, these things were true and the rookie made a big impression on Carroll, big enough to garner an opportunity to compete for the starting QB job.
The biggest knock on the kid was that he is sub six-feet tall at 5'11. That brought up questions about whether he could throw effectively from the pocket, would he be allowed on roller coasters, you know, that sort of stuff.
But the important thing here is how this affects the Rams. The Seahawk's already have three signal callers vying for the starting job – Tavaris Jackson and newly acquired Matt Flynn being the other two players. With the three in a battle, and the three getting snaps with the wide receivers, chemistry can be an issue (and we know how important mixing chemicals is!).
Another thing that can come out of this is the other two passers losing confident, swag, swerve. Having your head coach say that a rookie QB is in the mix for the starting gig can hurt a veterans ego. This too can lead to sub par performances. Bad for Seattle. Good for the Rams.
Now, what if Wilson does win the starting role? The obvious implication here is that he would be one of the shortest QB's in the league. The Rams D-Line alone would give the little fella issues. Defensive tackle Kendall Langford is listed at 6'6, rookie Michael Brockers is also 6'6. Ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn are listed at 6'3 and 6'4, respectively.