Every weekday morning, we'll round up local and national Seattle Seahawks-related links.
Vincent Verhei of Football Outsiders has the numbers Russell Wilson put up on third down Sunday:
Wilson and the Seahawks have usually been at their best on deep passes, but they also had a lot of success on shorter routes against Cleveland. Wilson threw five passes to receivers at or behind the line of scrimmage against the Browns, completing all of them for 34 total yards and four first downs, including a touchdown. Wilson was also nearly perfect on third downs, going 7-of-9 for 74 yards and a score, with every completion going for a first down. A 10th third-down throw resulted in a DPI for 16 yards and another first down.
Hugh Millen of The Seattle Times breaks down Doug Baldwin's 6-yard TD against the Cleveland Browns:
When Bademosi then hastily aligned over Tyler Lockett while Gipson aligned over Brown, Wilson knew this was man-to-man, the desired coverage for Seattle’s play, as cornerbacks cover wide receivers and safeties cover halfbacks. Brown then went in motion right-to-left faking a toss run wide left. From Baldwin’s position in the slot just outside the left tackle, he was in position to “crack” -- block inward on the defensive end. The combination of eye candy in the person of Brown, coupled with the crack alignment by Baldwin, was enough to momentarily freeze Gaines, aligned over Baldwin, to the potential of the running play. When Baldwin then ran behind the line of scrimmage toward the right flat, Gaines, who had Baldwin man to man, couldn’t catch up. This was yet another example of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell creating a walk-in touchdown by scheme.
Peter King of The MMQB has the Seahawks fourth in his power rankings:
Is it just me (and Mike Florio), or has Russell Wilson been a lot better since Marshawn Lynch went on hiatus and, later, Jimmy Graham was lost for the year? Asking for a friend.
Elliot Harrison of NFL.com also has the Seahawks fourth:
The Russell Wilson show rolls on. Maybe he won't receive any MVP votes, but if there were such an award for the second half of the season alone, here's your guy. Now, if there were an award for "Most Ridiculous Stat Posted by a Player Nobody Thought was That Good," your guy would be Doug Baldwin, who has scored 10 touchdowns over the past four games on just -- here's the kicker -- 21 catches. He only has one 100-yard game during this incredible stretch. So much for the Seahawks' wide receivers being the weak link.