Are the Seahawks getting the most out of Russell Wilson?

If the Seahawks don't plan to be aggressive on offense, was it worth paying Russell Wilson almost $22 million a season?

BY ERIC MANDEL

Oct 28, 2015, 12:55 PM Updated: 12:58 pm

Week 1 at St. Louis was the only game this season in which Russell Wilson has thrown more than 30 times. (AP)

(AP)

Russell Wilson threw the ball 24 times against in Seattle’s win over San Francisco Thursday night, but there are two passes that drew particular scrutiny.

The first was intended for Doug Baldwin in the end zone and could have put the game out of reach heading into halftime. That was intercepted as was an ill-advised deep throw to Jermaine Kearse later in the game.

Coach Pete Carroll told “Brock and Salk” that he understood Wilson’s thought process on the first interception, but the second was an attempt at doing too much.

But at 3-4, with a topsy-turvy passing offense, there’s a question that some observers have been wondering about since the offseason: If the Seahawks don’t plan to be aggressive on offense, was it worth paying Wilson almost $22 million a season?

The simple answer, as far Brock Huard is concerned, is yes.

“I don’t need him to do anything more than he’s done in the last three years,” Huard said. “Play at that level, play at that efficiency, run the ball the way you have, score touchdowns the way you have, be big in the big moments the way you have, get this team to the playoffs, get this team to the Super Bowl. And I don’t need to see you all of the sudden come out of character, be more aggressive, throw it 35 times a game in order to ‘earn’ your $20 million a year.”

Other than the overtime loss in St. Louis, Wilson has had fewer than 31 passing attempts every game. Compare that with some of the other top, and generally high-paid, signal-callers like Philip Rivers (only one game under 30 attempts, high of 65), Tom Brady (once under 30, high of 59) or Drew Brees (low of 38, high of 48), and it’s fair to wonder whether Wilson is getting enough usage.

Wilson is currently on pace for 466 attempts, which would put him slightly higher than his previous career high set last season (452).

Still, Salk agreed with Huard, saying Wilson doesn’t need to be more aggressive, but that the he needs to grow in his “mental diagnosis of what’s going on.” Beyond that, he needs to make the big plays in the big moments.

“You’ve got to lead those game-winning drives and that’s where he’s been disappointing to me this year – not the lack of aggressiveness, not anything he’s done in the first three quarters, where I agree, I want him to be exactly the same as he’s been leading up to this,” Salk said. “But you’ve got to come up big if you’re going to get paid $20 million for playing the style of game Russell plays.”

Huard said the Seahawks are not paying Wilson to carry their offense. However, it begs the question of whether they needed/can afford a $20 million quarterback to lead a defensive-centric team.

“I think the answer is they need somebody with Russell’s skill-set; maybe they could have found it for less than $20 million. It’s possible,” Salk said, mentioning Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor as the only player in the league with anything close to Wilson’s athleticism and skill-set. “But the risk factor associated with doing so is off the chart.”

Huard said the real key to validating Wilson’s contract is fixing the offensive line, as Seattle is on pace to allow 71 sacks this season.