One of the few negatives from Seattle’s convincing win over the Arizona Cardinals last Thursday night was a pair of fumbles from quarterback Russell Wilson on sacks.
A fumble backed up to their goal line allowed the Cardinals a quick touchdown to get back in the game after the Seahawks opened up an early 14-0 lead. Another fumble in the fourth quarter allowed the Cardinals a field goal as well. It was ten points off turnovers the Seahawks usually don’t allow to happen.
Pete Carroll constantly stresses the importance of turnovers to his players - both the need to create them on defense and protect the ball on offense. However, Carroll understands that with the ability of Wilson to create plays out of nothing, he has to be willing to accept some level of risk from his quarterback.
“Absolutely that comes with it. Absolutely, I understand that and if we were going to go conservative, he would take a knee back there if he felt some pressure. He’s not doing that,” Carroll said.
“He’s a fantastic competitor, he gets it, he knows what we’re after and what we want and so that means that there is some risk involved and I think that he’s as much of a risk taker out there than anybody playing the game. But I think that he can manage that risk really well.”
Seattle’s offense has still struggled to truly hit its groove this season with several injuries along the offensive line causing protection issues. Wilson’s scrambling ability has allowed Seattle to mitigate some of those protection issues as he’s been able to extend plays, escape the pocket and make plays on the run.
Wilson has been sacked 20 times already this season and fumbled eight times, losing five. As a rookie, Wilson was sacked just 33 times all year and fumbled just six times.
Ultimately, Carroll believes the number of plays Wilson can make by extending plays will outweigh any negatives that come along with it.
“I understand that this is a little bit of an issue that kind of comes with the territory of utilizing his great talent and also expecting that we’re going to make some plays there,” Carroll said.