Bell: Russell Wilson's mind catching up to his athleticism

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY Sports

SEATTLE — It's easy to become enamored with the athleticism that Russell Wilson brings with him to work.

On one play Monday, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback somehow slipped through a crack as two defenders converged, and as he took a hit, coolly flipped a shovel pass to Marshawn Lynch.

It was the sweetest 4-yard loss of the night.

Another time, he dropped back, felt the rush and avoided the sack with an escape around right end. He sprinted out of bounds with a 15-yard gain. Uncanny.

Then it was a sneaky play fake and rollout. As three New Orleans Saints approached with bad intentions, Wilson floated a lob over their heads to find Doug Baldwin wide open in the corner for a 4-yard TD in the Seahawks' 34-7 statement victory.

And these three plays were from just one drive.

If Harry Houdini came back as a football player, he would be RW3.

"Remember that early snap?" Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon reminded me Tuesday.

It happened early. Wilson, who stands 5-11 but has the hand size of maybe someone 6-5, was startled by the center's premature start to the play. Wilson snatched the football and got on with his rollout as if nothing happened.

"Awareness plays like that make him special," Moon told USA TODAY Sports. "For a lot of quarterbacks, that would have been disastrous."

Yet for all of the moves Wilson makes with his sweet feet, an even better example of his growth in his second season came at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter as the Seahawks looked to answer the Saints' lone touchdown.

On third-and-3 at the Seattle 23-yard line, Wilson recognized zero coverage, which would leave the middle of the field open ("green grass," as he put it) and his receivers with man-to-man matchups. He switched the play at the line, then connected with Baldwin for a 52-yard gain on a deep seam route that set up a field goal.

"A perfect job," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "He saw it coming, and he checked off to it. Then he changes the route and the protection and then makes the great throw. ...

"That's a real, real illustration of his maturity, and where he's come."

Fittingly, when I asked Wilson to shed light on how the game has slowed down for him in Year 2, he talked about his preparation during the week. For anyone who has followed his progression, that's not surprising. When he transferred to Wisconsin from North Carolina State, he learned the entire playbook in less than a month.

"There's a purpose to my training," he said, while also giving props to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and position coach Carl Smith. "There's also a purpose to my film study. I believe that's really prepared me, and I've taken a huge leadership role in that fashion."

The stuff you hear about Wilson's relentless prep work is Peytonesque. Arrives at the headquarters at 5:30a.m. Gets so excited when he sees something on film, he will instantly text coaches and teammates.

"There's still a lot more learning to do," he says. "I'm on that constant quest for knowledge."

Moon knows how the trust factor progressed. He remembers how Wilson was a bit frustrated that the Seahawks weren't using the whole playbook during the first half of his rookie year.

"They thought they couldn't," Moon said. "They wouldn't give it all to him the first seven games last year. Quietly, he was thinking he wanted more responsibility."

Now they know. And then some. Wilson now typically comes to the line of scrimmage with three play-call options. Moon says the packages don't compare to Peyton Manning's, but it is significant enough for a young quarterback.

So, if it's seeing a run-blitz and switching from a power run to Lynch to a read-option that he keeps for a big run, or downfield heave to Baldwin, Wilson is equipped — mentally and physically — to make defenses pay.

And think: Wilson, a third-round pick selected 75th overall, is the new poster child for the notion that the draft is indeed an inexact science.

Now he is arguably the best young quarterback in the NFL — with the debate including Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and, maybe ultimately again, a healthy Robert Griffin III.

Of course, if you put that topic to a vote in Seattle, there is no debate.

Amid the thunderous noise Monday at CenturyLink Field, were the RW3 chants.

"He could run for governor right now," Moon said.

"And he'd win by a landslide."