Blake Sims trying to prove he is Super Bowl caliber

Russell Wilson was not supposed to make it in the NFL, yet is headed to his second Super Bowl in as many years. Alabama quarterback Blake Sims could follow in his wake.

For three-plus quarters on Sunday afternoon, third-year Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson looked more like what many draft analysts had projected him to become in the NFL, a bust, than he did the Super Bowl winning quarterback he became less than 12 months ago.

Of course “bust” is a relative term which must be explained before it can be applied. Scouts loved Wilson’s athleticism, accuracy, football IQ and moxie when he was coming out of Wisconsin in the 2012 draft.

They questioned his height, and many believed it would keep him from ever making any kind of impact at the NFL level. They were of course wrong, as Wilson has been brilliant in his first three seasons.

It would not be terribly unreasonable to say that Wilson has had as good a three-year start to a career as any quarterback in NFL history. In fact, Sunday he became the youngest quarterback to ever reach two Super Bowls, eclipsing the quarterback he’ll be facing in Glendale on February 1, Tom Brady.

Still through three quarters, Wilson looked average at best. In truth, he looked a bit flustered, as if he’d lost that famed moxie. See the above play-action fake bootleg which Clay Matthews sniffed out. Green Bay frustrated him primarily by erasing Marshawn Lynch’s effectiveness on early downs, which in turn forced Wilson and the Seahawks into many third-and-longs, a situation which no offense excels at with regularity.

This play is a perfect example. Green Bay was unafraid to play one-on-one man-to-man coverage against Seattle’s receivers on third down. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers knew Seattle’s wide receiver corps would not beat his secondary with any kind of consistency.

But this play illustrates another factor which we have not seen often from the composed Wilson in his first three seasons in the league. Though, Wilson makes an okay read (in truth no one was open but throwing a jump ball to Jermaine Kearse is considered a solid option on third down) he greatly under throws this pass.

The vastly underthrown pass could be explained by a few factors. One, Green Bay had been getting pressure on Wilson on many of his dropbacks. He probably started to feel that pressure and sped up his internal clock.

In other words, on this throw at least, he was probably expecting more pressure than there was, and as a result did not step into his throw the way he normally would with a clean pocket.

If you watch the pass itself close enough, you can see that Wilson does not step all the way into the throw. Instead of shifting his weight from his plant leg, he merely uses his arm to float the pass in Kearse’s direction.

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It could also be explained by a more simple, yet more frustrating explanation. He was just off in the first three-plus quarters of the game. He just did not have it. Every athlete has games where no matter how hard they try, they simply are unable to rise to the standard they have set for themselves.

Through three-plus quarters, the 2015 NFC Championship looked to be an instance of that for Wilson. In fact, the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter were not so great either. Wilson threw his fourth interception of the day–all of which were intended for Kearse–with just a hair over five minutes remaining in the contest.

The Seahawks’ season looked done. There was no conceivable way that down 19-7, Seattle could come back with Green Bay possessing the ball around midfield and only five minutes to go.

Then hell froze over, and the craziest five minutes we can remember in a playoff game, came to fruition. After the game, Wilson tweeted the famous quote from North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano at the ESPY’s, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!”

If you’re familiar with my stuff, you know that I am a strong proponent of advanced metrics, and am totally in favor of the expansion of them even into the game of football.

But advanced metrics do not seem capable of explaining the change that took place after Wilson’s fourth interception.

Russell Wilson was 6-7 for 132 yards with an OT TD pass after throwing his 4th INT. That's some resilience. #TheQB
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 18, 2015

Sometimes in sports, we just have to admit there are forces at work beyond anyone’s control. Call it destiny or fate, or divine intervention. Whatever it is, Wilson and the Seahawks pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history, in inexplicable fashion.

As noted here, Wilson, known as an outspoken and devout Christian, believed God absolutely played a role in it. Myself a Christian, I half agree with Wilson, half think that there is a sense in which he goes a bit too far in his understanding of divine providence.

But that is not the point. The point is something seemingly supernatural took place Sunday. It had to for the ‘Hawks to win a game they had no business winning.

And there had to be some force bigger than Xs and Os present to interrupt Wilson’s terrible stretch of quarterback play and allow him to start looking like the Wilson we’ve all come to know since his arrival in Seattle (and in truth at least since his Wisconsin days).

The final play of the game (below) is a perfect example of composure and craft. Wilson has long been known as an elite deep ball passer. But he almost never showed off that trait in Sunday’s game, until the concluding play which would send the Packers home and Seattle into a tizzy and an emotional party afterwards.

Not many NFL quarterbacks could locate that pass 35 yards down the field with such touch and precision. Heck, not many quarterbacks would try to throw that pass into that sort of coverage with the loft and window that Wilson does here. Wilson can because of the way he throws the football, with a perfect lofted and downward trajectory. It’s an unusual gift Wilson has been given, to be able to throw a perfect deep ball. After the game, the Seahawks had a party like no other. Defensive lineman Michael Bennett allegedly took a police officer’s bike and rode around the outer rings of the field near the stands. Wilson cried as he was being interviewed by Fox’s Erin Andrews. And then there was this fan:

Why include all this seemingly extra stuff? Well, New Orleans is home for me, and thus I love a party. It’s fun. The ‘Hawks deserve to party after that crazy comeback.

Two days later, and 2,153 miles away from Seattle, Washington in Mobile, Alabama, quarterback Blake Sims began his NFL journey as Senior Bowl practices commenced inside of Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Much could be said about Sims, and we’ll get to it momentarily. But first, let’s create the link to Wilson. Like Wilson, Sims registered under 6’0″, coming in at 5115 (5’11 1/2″). He weighed in at 223 pounds, but his hand size of just nine inches is significantly less than Wilson’s 10 1/4″.

In 2012, Wilson played in the Senior Bowl, hoping to improve his stock. Yet when the week of practices had culminated, he was the prominent player to find the list for players whose stock actually dipped from the practices, according to Russ Lande (my scouting mentor and a man whose scouting opinions I value greatly).

If a man with such an eye for talent could miss so badly on Wilson after seeing him in Mobile, there will likely be countless scouts who write off the similarly diminutive Sims after this week in Mobile.

He will probably will not impress, in an unfamiliar setting and with little of the WOW factor measurables that a Bryce Petty or Garrett Grayson possess.

His hand size will be brought up. His height will be used against him. His overall lack of experience too. And like Wilson, he will be considered undraftable as a quarterback.

I am not innocent in neglecting Wilson’s NFL prospects in the 2012 draft season. I liked him, but, as so many others were, was scared by his lack of height, even though I care far less about measurables in a quarterback than most scouting folks.

I believed Wilson was the first quarterback in a decade or so who could legitimately claim to be in the line of Drew Brees. Still, I decided to rank him as my eighth quarterback and gave him a fourth or fifth round grade.

Maybe I am overcompensating, or trying to apply a lesson from 2012 which should not be re-applied. But I see many of the same traits in Blake Sims that I saw in Wilson.

Both have NFL-caliber arms. Both show great ability to keep plays alive in the pocket and keep their eyes down field when scrambling outside of the pocket. Both have the ability to place the ball perfectly in tight coverage, whether it encompasses a back shoulder throw or a perfectly lofted throw up the sideline.

Of course there are some key differences. Wilson was a four-year starter (split between three years at NC State and one at Wisconsin), whereas Sims started only one full season. That is an obvious disadvantage for Sims.

For that reason, it would not be wise for an NFL franchise to give him the keys to the franchise from Day One the way Pete Carroll did with Wilson, despite his being a third-round pick.

And again the hand size for Wilson is amazing. Sims’ is enough to eliminate him from some teams’ draft boards most likely. And that’s okay. Sims is kind of like a fine wine, he is not for everybody, and he promises to get better with age.

Nov 29, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims (6) scores on a fourth quarter touchdown run past Auburn Tigers defensive back Jonathan Jones (3) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

Like Wilson, he has faced much difficulty in his young career. As detailed by cbssports.com’s Jon Solomon in a wonderful piece prior to the Sugar Bowl, Sims’ road to the Sugar Bowl, and now the Senior Bowl, has been topsy-turvy.

In many ways it has been the road less-traveled. Sims could have transferred away from Alabama, as many young quarterbacks do who have dreams of the NFL and are not getting a shot at their school to play.

Sims stuck in, worked harder and was rewarded with a tremendous senior season in Tuscaloosa. It helped that he was given the opportunity to play with one of college football’s best minds, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin ran essentially the exact same offense that Darrell Bevell has installed for Russell Wilson. It includes a ton of smoke screens (one step hitch routes), bootlegs and deep throws to take advantage of the quarterbacks’ athleticism and arm strength, while also allowing them to get away from the sea of long arms and girth inside the pocket.

Both offenses though are based on west coast offense premises and a solid commitment to the running game. Kiffin’s offense also took advantage of Sims’ running ability, highlighting the zone read concept, as seen below, in much the same way that Bevell’s does in Seattle with Wilson.

But it’s not just the quarterback run game which Kiffin and Sims emulated. It was also the deep passing game. Sims’ 2014 tape is filled with deep throws, especially up the seam and on deep post patterns. The throw here, is quite similar to the one Wilson made on Sunday to send Seattle to Super Bowl XLIX.

Because of throws like this one, it’s almost impossible to watch Sims and not think of Wilson.

Sims was not a Heisman finalist, nor did he make any All-America teams. But in one season, he had some legendary games and moments. The circumstances against Auburn in the Iron Bowl–a game Alabama had to have to make the inaugural College Football Playoff–were reminiscent of a situation another quarterback who Sims may one day draw comparisons to, Drew Brees, faced at Purdue.

Brees faced Ohio State at home in his senior year, with a Rose Bowl bid on the line. At seemingly the worst moment, Brees threw his third interception of the game, which would result in the Buckeyes taking the lead and dashing the hopes for Purdue to make its first Rose Bowl in over 30 years.

Yet the very next snap that Brees took resulted in a touchdown pass. It was at that moment that I knew Brees would make it in the pros.

Maybe it’s a small quarterback thing, perhaps a short man complex, but these three guys, at least, seem to have that edge that when they make a mistake, they’re going to come back from it.

For Sims, he had just thrown his third interception of the game against Auburn, and despite all the success he’d had the entire season, the backup Jacob Coker had begun to warm up on the sideline.

The result of Sims’ third pick was a 12-point Alabama deficit. Yet sure enough, on the next drive, Sims hit superstar wide receiver Amari Cooper on a deep post for a touchdown and then followed it up by playing nearly flawless football from that point on.

After the third interception he would account for four Crimson Tide touchdowns and lead his team to yet another SEC West title.

Sound a little like Brees and Wilson?

There is no guarantee that I’m correct in my assertion that Blake Sims is the next in line of short quarterbacks who surprise everyone to become great NFL quarterbacks.

I have certainly been wrong on quarterbacks before.

And I am questioning myself once again, as I did with Wilson in 2012. Sims’ end of 2014-15 was not spectacular. He entered the Iron Bowl contest with just four interceptions. By the end of the season, which ended with the loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, his interception total ballooned to 10.

For his one season as a starter at Alabama, his interception rate ended at 39.1 (one every 39.1 attempts), which is solid but nowhere near as good as many of the quarterbacks in this class.

Then again, he played in a pro-style offense which better prepared him for life as an NFL quarterback.

And it was his first season as a starter. If he gets quality coaching at the next level, he figures to have a chance to develop.

Like just about any quarterback, Sims would fit wonderfully in Chip Kelly’s Eagles system. But if you really want to rewrite the Russell Wilson-Seahawks script verbatim, two possible franchises fit the bill perfectly: the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets.

Both are teams, like Seattle was pre-2012, with on-the-rise defenses and the personnel for a solid power running game. Oh yeah, and no discernible difference maker at the quarterback position.

A few other teams potentially fit into this category as well: the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears, depending how they feel long-term about Jay Cutler.

We’ve seen that Sims exhibits many of the qualities of great quarterbacks to overcome his own mistakes and rebound. They say it is an important trait for an NFL cornerback, but I say it is equally, if not more, important for a signal-caller of the offense.

It’s the very trait Russell Wilson displayed on Sunday to lead his team to its second Super Bowl appearance in as many seasons. And it’s a trait Sims has a chance to exhibit in Mobile this week at the Senior Bowl, even if scouts overlook him for other more tangible reasons.

Take any of the most successful quarterbacks in the league: Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Wilson, Romo. What do those five have in common? They were all doubted coming into the league and came into it with a chip on their shoulder.

Sims has proven at the college level he can overcome the doubts of others. It’s another thing to do it at the NFL level, but he is going to give it his very best shot.

Next: Who are the best college football players who never won the Heisman?

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In search of the next Russell Wilson, insert Alabama QB Blake Sims

By Will Osgood | Jan 21, 2015