National Football League

Russell Wilson should thrive in Seattle Seahawks' new offensive system

Updated Oct. 6, 2021 9:54 p.m. ET

By Bucky Brooks
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

I’ve been writing for FOX Sports for a little more than a week, but I want to let you in on a little secret. The NFL is a league full of "system" players, and the teams that best match their players to the system are the ones that win year after year.

I know the term "system" player is a dirty word in the football world, but old-school scouts will quickly tell you that 80-85 percent of the league consists of "system" guys attempting to make their mark.

While you probably think of Brett Favre as the ultimate freelancer, the truth is Mike Holmgren fit the offensive system perfectly around Favre's unique talents. (VINCENT LAFORET/AFP via Getty Images)

You do not have to take my word for it. I am only repeating what I have learned from Hall of Fame executives and coaches along the way.

Former Green Bay Packers general manager and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ron Wolf told me that the most important part of the scouting evaluation is determining whether a player’s talents and football character are suited for the team’s system and culture.

During previous conversations, Bill Polian, a six-time NFL Executive of the Year and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, also shared with me the importance of matching a player’s talent to the team’s scheme. He pointed out that average players can perform like all-stars in the right system, but blue-chip players can become Hall of Fame playmakers when placed in a scheme that accentuates their talents.

With quarterbacks, the system can make or break a player in the league.

Think of how many failures could have been salvaged if they were paired with a creative offensive coordinator with the capacity to build a long-term game plan around the quarterback’s talents. Moreover, we should consider how many all-star quarterbacks could have taken their game to another level with the right coach whispering in their ears.

As a young player with the Packers, I watched Mike Holmgren help Brett Favre emerge as a three-time MVP in the mid-1990s by placing him in a system that enabled him to flourish as a playmaker. The scheme was organized and structured, but it had enough flexibility to enable No. 4 to work his magic as an improvisational wizard within the pocket.

Mike Shanahan worked his magic to help John Elway capture back-to-back Super Bowl titles late in his career with the Broncos, with Elway as the focal point of an offensive system that married the running game with a complementary play-action passing attack. The synergy between the run and pass was impressive, but it was the quarterback-friendly nature of the offense that soon made it the hottest scheme in the league.

Fast-forward 20 years, and the Shanahan scheme helped transform Aaron Rodgers into a three-time MVP.

New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has brought elements of the Shanahan system to Seattle, and that should unlock things even more for Russell Wilson. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

In Seattle, Russell Wilson could become the next Pro Bowler to become an MVP in the system.

Why not?

We watched Matt Ryan snag the award after spending two years working with Mike's son, Kyle Shanahan, in Atlanta. The veteran quarterback’s numbers exploded as he guided the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance directing a dynamic offense that terrorized opponents around the league.

Although Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield and others have not been able to reach MVP status in the system, we have watched them play the best football of their careers in the scheme.

If average talents can thrive within this scheme, it is not a surprise that NFL teams are obsessed with matching blue-chip quarterbacks with the QB-friendly scheme after watching Rodgers deliver peak performance at an advanced age (37) under a Shanahan disciple running a familiar playbook.

Rodgers' success in 2020 undoubtedly prompted another disciple (Sean McVay) to ship off a former No. 1 overall pick and two-time Pro Bowler (Goff) to bring a more talented passer (Matthew Stafford) to Los Angeles to upgrade a Rams offense that wanted more pop.

In Seattle, Pete Carroll tabbed one of McVay’s former assistants (Shane Waldron) to install the scheme to help Wilson take his game to the next level.

While it is hard to imagine the seven-time Pro Bowler playing better, the idea of making the game easier for No. 3 is a sensible one for a team harboring Super Bowl aspirations.

In a Shanahan-style offense, the scheme is built upon the stretch-bootleg combination. The running game revolves around the outside zone play (an off-tackle run with the offensive line working in unison to the side of the play call), with frontline blockers taking on defenders on their assigned tracks.

The passing game complements the run with a variety of bootlegs and movement passes built off the run action.

Theoretically, the quarterback bootleg action holds the backside defensive end to prevent him from running the play down from behind. In addition, the misdirection and clever ball handling force second-level defenders to pause while trying to identify who has the ball at the line of scrimmage.

With intricate crossing routes at various depths attached to action, the hesitation created by the deceptive actions leads to big plays down the field on easy throws. These deep-over/post combinations were staples during my time as a player in the 1990s, and they remain effective in today’s game.

The new generation of play designers has upped the ante by featuring more pre-snap shifts and motions to mask the receivers’ alignments while adding more eye candy to freeze second-level defenders.

McVay took the pre-snap shift and motion "shell game" to another level when he took over the Rams, and others have added more sauce to their respective offenses by featuring more complex motions and shifts.

Waldron put sprinkles on the Seahawks’ offensive cupcakes by adding a dizzying array of pre-snap motions and shifts to the playbook.

The Hawks will use an assortment of traditional motions, fly weeps and blur motions to capture the eyes of defenders while running to and away from the action. With Wilson timing the snap with receivers whizzing past him as he turns his back to the defense, Seattle's offense looks like a clever street performer playing sleight of hand games in front of crowds.

The eye candy is certainly a welcome sight to the 12s, who have been begging for Carroll to move away from a pedestrian offense that has always skewed toward an approach of "three yards and a cloud of dust."

Although the "run, run, throw" game plans played a key role in the Seahawks' Super Bowl seasons, with Marshawn Lynch occupying the offense’s leading role, the "Let Russ Cook" movement wants to see Wilson throw the ball all over the yard, based on his emergence as one of the top quarterbacks in football.

While I understand that desire, the Seahawks play better when the offense is balanced and No. 3 is not throwing 35-plus times per game.

Last season, the Seahawks' offense blitzed the league in the first half of the season, with Wilson throwing at will. After averaging 34.3 points per game in the first eight games, the offense mustered only 22.8 points in the team’s final eight regular-season games and its playoff loss to McVay's Rams.

In addition, Wilson struggled against eventual playoff teams, with eight touchdowns and nine giveaways in five games against the Rams, Bills and Washington Football Team.

Part of the success opponents enjoyed in slowing down Wilson and Seattle could be attributed to the increased utilization of two-deep coverage. Defenses routinely parked a pair of safeties 15 yards from the line of scrimmage to eliminate the deep ball and dared Wilson to move the ball down the field on an assortment of dink-and-dunk passes.

For all of his strengths as a player, Wilson is not a quick-rhythm passer from the pocket. He is at his best taking shots down the field on scripted deep balls or impromptu scramble throws that take advantage of napping defenders in the back end. If he is unable to play a "bombs away" style from the pocket, he holds on to the ball and takes bad sacks despite decent pass protection.

In Waldron’s scheme, Wilson and the Seahawks should enjoy more success due to a commitment to the stretch-bootleg concept and the complementary pre-snap motion and shift packages. The positioning of Wilson under center while executing these concepts will enhance the play-action passing game due to the downhill run action and hidden ball tactics.

This subtle adjustment combined with a more effective off-tackle running game should force opponents out of Cover 2, enabling Wilson to see more one-on-one coverage from single-high safety looks.

With less clutter at the line of scrimmage and easier throws available on the outside, Wilson should continue to torch opponents with an efficient game that enables him to utilize all of the Seahawks’ weapons on the perimeter, particularly D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The duo combined for 183 receptions, 2,357 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in 2020, with each pass-catcher notching a 1,000-yard season.

Seattle's new-look offense hit the ground running with an impressive performance in Week 1 against a Colts defense that is expected to rank among the league’s elite.

Wilson connected on 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns, with 160 of those yards going to Metcalf (four catches, 60 yards and a score) and Lockett (four catches, 100 yards and two scores).

It was the kind of performance that makes defensive coaches take notice due to the efficiency and balance of the overall unit. The spectacular debut revealed the budding chemistry between quarterback and playcaller.

"I think the chemistry between Shane and I was great," Wilson said after the win in Indy. "It was terrific tonight. It's been great all offseason, we spent a lot of time really working on the game and working what we want to do, and we have a great mixture of all the great things we've done in the past … [Waldron has] a great understanding of the game. He's so knowledgeable. I told you guys earlier in the week, he's like a wizard, and I have a lot of control, too, at the same time, so we're all working together. It's a beautiful thing."

It is only one game, but the Seahawks’ new system suits their best player, and that could help No. 3 become a more dangerous player in 2021.

Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and regularly appears on "Speak For Yourself." He also breaks down the game for NFL Network and is a cohost of the "Moving the Sticks" podcast.