Wilson can’t get caught up in Monday night madness

By Brady Henderson

ESPN’s Trent Dilfer, a self-described “huge Russell Wilson fan,” used the words “terrible” and “brutal” to describe the rookie quarterback’s first start.

“When you watch the game tapes he takes the wrong steps on his drops multiple times, his eyes are looking the wrong direction, he had his No. 1 (receiving option) open five, six, seven times in the game and can’t see him or chooses not to throw to him, he decides to break contain in the pocket when there’s nobody forcing him to,” Dilfer told “Brock and Salk” on Monday while previewing Seattle’s nationally-televised matchup with the Packers.

Wilson’s numbers in the opener didn’t seem that bad considering the constant pressure he was under from Arizona’s blitzing defense. He completed 18 of 34 passes for 153 yards and threw a touchdown and an interception on what was essentially a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half.

But Dilfer, a former NFL quarterback who spent four of his 14 seasons with the Seahawks, saw some common rookie mistakes.

“Just stuff that – I don’t want to use the word ‘panic’ but it was overwhelming, and I know it because I’ve been there and I’ve done it,” Dilfer said. “His brain was moving too fast and he wasn’t the guy that he was in college – the poised, comfortable guy running the show.”

Dilfer saw a much different quarterback in the Seahawks’ Week 2 win over Dallas.

“What was so impressive last week was the things he was terrible at Week 1 he was really clean at Week 2,” Dilfer said. “He showed incredible poise, he went through his progressions. … He showed huge gains, which I was really impressed with.”

In the video below, Brock Huard explains what he thinks Wilson must do when the Seahawks host the Packers on Monday night.

You can listen to Monday’s podcast here.