Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson met with reporters Thursday leading up to the team's Week 2 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Here are three quick takeaways from his press conference:
1. "We Can All Be Better."
Wilson was asked Thursday about how he felt his protection from the offensive line was Week 1 and noted that the Seahawks as a whole could've played better. Seahawks assistant head and offensive line coach Tom Cable said this week he felt the line was too inconsistent, but Wilson added that there were also some throws he missed in the game and other opportunities they missed out on offensively.
"Well, I think we can all be better," Wilson said. "It's not just those guys. I'm the biggest critic of myself, I think there's a couple of throws in there that I could hit and find a way to make those throws. I think winners find a way to win, and so for me personally, that's how I am as a competitor, no matter what the circumstances are, you have to still find a way to win. They (Green Bay) had a very good defense, I think our offensive line had a great preseason all offseason, all preseason, so we have the guys. We have full confidence in them, and sometimes, you don't do everything perfect. We just need to be a little bit better, and that's kind of our mentality."
2. Re-gaining The Run Game.
The Seahawks only handed the ball off to running backs 15 times against the Packers, which isn't enough for them to establish a real edge and balance on offense against an opponent. Coming off a season where they struggled to consistently run the ball because of injuries, Wilson believes in order for Seattle to get back to that style this season they need to stay focused and execute.
"I think we had a tremendous preseason," Wilson said when asked bout regaining the mentality of running the ball. "When you think about the effort that everybody put into it, the high-powered offense that we had, the high-powered defense that we've played with, the special teams, it's not some mystical thing. It's just fitting up on your blocks better, just making sure that we're making the right cuts, just making sure that I'm making the right reads, or whatever it may be. It's little things that add up, and they add up in a positive way, or they add up in a negative way. We believe that we're going to make it into a positive, and so we believe that we're right where we need to be. Unfortunately, we're 0-1, we'd like to be 1-0, but the reality is that we have all of the right people. We have all of the right people that can win and capitalize on what we're trying to do. We just need to stay poised, we need to stay really focused on the execution part of it all, and from there, I think we'll do our job."
3. His Relationship With Seahawks Owner Paul Allen.
Leading up to the Seahawks' home opener, the team is celebrating Paul Allen's 20 years of owning the franchise through various digital, broadcast and game entertainment elements at CenturyLink Field. Wilson recalled the day he was drafted on Thursday when asked about his relationship with Allen and how he has impacted the team's culture.
"I remember John [Schneider], Paul, coach (Pete) Carroll, being able to receive that call and just the emotion and excitement and everything else, I'll never forget that. I'll also never forget the excitement when we won the NFC Championship going to our first Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl and the energy that he had and everything. Also, what's great about Paul, too, is that after games, he's in the locker room just congratulating guys and everything. I think the thing that Paul does best too is that, obviously, he does things all over the world for the community and everything else, but in terms of our football team, he really allows coach, John Schneider, and the coaches and players to be passionate about what we're doing. That's why our culture is about winning; Paul and everything that he has done in his life has been about winning, in a different way, but it's been about winning. I think that's the culture that Paul Allen and coach Carroll and John Schneider bring to the table for us as players."
The best photos from the Seahawks' Thursday practice at Virginia Mason Athletic Center in preparation for Sunday's Game against the San Fransisco 49ers.