Russell Wilson should (and will) be the starter

By Mike Salk

I’m sold. Are you?

After watching Russell Wilson shred what is supposed to be a competent Kansas City defense for scores on his first six possessions, I don’t need to see anything else. He has won the job, in my book.

Of course, it’s Pete Caroll’s book that needs to be printed, but at this point, how could he choose anyone else?

Wilson completed 68 percent of his passes. He threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran twice for 58 yards in Seattle’s 44-14 win. And he did all of it with a calm poise, not looking anything like the rookie he is.

Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to scores on their first six possessions in a 44-14 win over the Chiefs. (AP)

Wilson was so good, he finally found a way to get Terrell Owens in the boxscore with two catches!

Everyone watching will have a favorite play. Maybe you liked the 27-yard run where he calmly steppend inside of a would-be sacker and allowed time for his blockers to create space for him. Maybe you liked the 31-yard sneak that looked almost like a Tecmo Bowl play (you know, where you send all your receivers deep and hope your opponent doesn’t notice your quarterback running straight up the middle).

Personally, my favorite throw was an incompletion down the left sideline to Braylon Edwards where he stood in the pocket and was unaffected by an unblocked rusher. He stood tall (ha!), took the hit, and nearly completed a big play. It was everything he wasn’t supposed to be able to do.

Yes, I think there are times when his height might affect him. There are plays where I think he does things differently than a taller quarterback might. But being different doesn’t necessarily mean less effective. A taller (less mobile) quarterback might have thrown the ball to a receiver on the bootleg play where Wilson scrambled for 27 yards. But so what? Twenty-seven yards is 27 yards.

And don’t tell me it was riskier because he could have gotten hurt. He is a smart player that found his way out of bounds. A taller quarterback might have thrown the ball and taken a big hit there. Neither is right or wrong — the point is that injuries can happen anywhere on the field.

Yes, I think Russell Wilson should be your Week One starter against Arizona. But more than that.

I think he will be.

Matt Flynn missed practice this week with what was first called a “tired arm” and what later progressed into an injured elbow. The word tendonitis was thrown around.

I have no idea how severe this injury is, but I think it will keep Flynn from winning the job no matter what.

If it is serious enough to keep him off the practice field this week, then Wilson has won the job by default. You can’t win it if you can’t play, right?

And if Flynn gets right back out there this week, then don’t you have to wonder why he was unable to push himself to play when his job was on the line? You don’t have to question his toughness to ask that question — perhaps he reasoned that it was better to be safe than sorry (which it usually is in a preseason game). But while he was watching the game, Wilson was rallying the troops.

I said on Friday morning that this game had the potential to be an historic event for the Seahawks. If Wilson was lights out and won the job outright, it could be the beginning of a legacy.

He did the first part by playing nearly flawless football. Now we watch as he tries to do the second.

If he does, we are going to be very happy football fans.