Salk: Important answers about Seahawks are coming with Russell Wilson out
Oct 14, 2021, 12:41 PM | Updated: 12:49 pm
Seahawks QB Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron talk during the fourth quarter of their loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on Oct. 7. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
No Seahawks fan wanted to see what would happen if star quarterback Russell Wilson couldn’t play. But with that now being reality for roughly somewhere between four to eight weeks, it does provide an interesting opportunity.
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“I’m excited to learn more,” 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk said on his show Thursday morning.
Learn more… about what exactly? How about whether or not the Seahawks are on the right track?
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has spoke this week about being excited for Geno Smith to get a chance to show what he can do leading Seattle’s offense after spending all of 2019 and 2020 as the backup to Wilson, who suffered an injury to his middle finger in the Seahawks’ Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that required surgery to correct. Salk’s excitement is different, however.
“I’m happy for him, but I don’t have a lot invested in Geno Smith,” Salk said. “I’ve got a lot invested in the Seahawks and their offense, and in Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, (offensive coordinator) Shane Waldron, and I want to find out what the heck is going on with all those people.
“Putting Geno Smith in as a starter actually helps me learn a lot more about the Seahawks.”
After nine-plus seasons with Wilson as the only person to start at QB for Seattle, this stretch where somebody else has to take the snaps should provide answers to questions followers of the Seahawks have all had, especially over the past few seasons.
“I want to find out what this means. I want to find out if there’s real talent there, if there are issues with the scheme, if Russell is holding them back, if Russell is holding them together,” Salk said. “All of those things are on the table here over the next few weeks as Geno Smith is inserted into that starting role and we find out what things look like without Russell Wilson.
“For years we believed that would be a disaster. Will it? Is Russell just covering for everybody or are there real issues with the way Russell runs this offense? We don’t know that yet. … We haven’t actually had a controlled experiment to find out. That will change Sunday in Pittsburgh.”
Listen to Salk’s full thoughts in the second half of the first segment of Thursday’s Mike Salk Show in the podcast below or at this link. And as for that Seahawks game Sunday in Pittsburgh, listen to the radio broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM beginning with the pregame show at 2 p.m. and kickoff at 5:20 p.m.
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