Where Russell Wilson ranks among young QBs

By Brady Henderson

Russell Wilson and the Seahawks may not have escaped with a 16-12 road win over the Panthers in Week 5 of last season had Cam Newton not missed an open receiver in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

Russell Wilson

Brian Baldinger of The NFL Network brought up that play and the way Newton handled himself afterward when he joined “Brock and Danny” Wednesday for a debate about whether Newton or Wilson is the better quarterback.

“Cam Newton didn’t handle losses well. That loss to Seattle last year at Carolina where he has a chance to win it in the final play of the game, he bounces the ball in the dirt and then he goes and sulks in front of the cameras after the end of the game, you go, ‘Well, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself, Cam. You’ve got a wide open receiver in the end zone. You could have won the game …’ That’s on Cam Newton,” Baldinger said.

“At the end of the day, he’s got to learn and he’s got to know that the whole world is watching him and how he handles those losses and those moments, and he didn’t do a great job of that last year.”

Baldinger conceded that Wilson is ahead of Newton in terms of leadership and composure, but he nevertheless gave Newton a slight edge over his Seahawks counterpart.

“I was as wowed by what Russell Wilson did last year as anybody, but I also was equally as wowed by what Cam Newton did his rookie year, what he did the last eight games last year,” Baldinger said. “And he doesn’t have the team around him that Russell Wilson has and he doesn’t have a stadium that features this 12th Man where you were undefeated a year ago and he doesn’t have a running back like Marshawn Lynch to hand the ball off to.

“So for a variety of reasons I said Cam Newton, but I don’t know if there is a right answer to the question.”

In the video below, Danny O’Neil shares his thoughts on how Wilson compares to Newton and other young quarterbacks in the NFL.

You can listen to Wednesday’s show here.