Wilson among elite rookie QBs

RENTON, Wash. — Remember back in August when the debate was whether or not Russell Wilson should be the Seahawks’ starting quarterback? Or when, four games into the season, there were serious questions about whether or not Wilson should keep his job?

Now, the biggest debate surrounding Wilson is whether he belongs in the same conversation as the top two picks in April’s draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

Actually, Wilson is in the conversation. He has been for a couple of days after the impressive comeback victories those three led their teams to over the weekend. Luck led the surprising Colts to another win by throwing the game-winning touchdown on the final play of the game; RGIII, as he is known to most of the football world, kept Washington in the playoff hunt with his fourth-quarter touchdown drive against the Giants; and Wilson, in his most impressive showing to date, led the Seahawks on a 97-yard drive in the final minutes in Chicago before leading an 80-yard drive in overtime for a victory.

And now, three quarters of the way through the season, it’s hard to look at the numbers, and at what the Seahawks have accomplished as a team, and not put Wilson in the same class as Griffin and Luck. Wilson is firmly a part of what used to be a two-man battle for offensive rookie of the year honors.

Wilson attempted a season-high 37 passes in Chicago, and the more he succeeds, the more he puts up numbers while taking care of the ball, the more chances Wilson will get to prove what he can do as Seattle chases a playoff berth.

“There’s nothing to hold us back in terms of what we can do and ask the quarterback to do with the system and all of that now,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He can really handle the package, and we’re trying to benefit from that.”

And not only has Wilson been impressive compared to other rookies, he is also, as crazy at it sounds, having one of the best seasons by a quarterback in Seahawks history. As it stands now, Wilson’s quarterback rating of 95.2 has been bettered only once in team history – Matt Hasselbeck’s 2005 season that saw him post a rating of 98.2.

Not bad for a too-short quarterback who was drafted in the third round, five picks after the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted a punter.