Getty (From left) Denver Broncos general manager George Paton, quarterback Russell Wilson and head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
That didn’t take long. After just a few practices, Russell Wilson’s positive influence is spreading to the other side of the ball for the Denver Broncos.
NFL Network reporter James Palmer tweeted this video on May 10 describing how Wilson’s attention to detail during practice has been helping Denver’s defensive backs.
Russell Wilson, the outside of the box thinker, is making the #broncos secondary better during practice. And they’re already very good. My report on @nflnetwork on NFL NOW
“We know how much work he’s putting in with his wide receivers, tight ends and even his running backs at his place in San Diego,” Palmer said in the video, “but now that they’ve been on the field kind of against each other a little bit, safety Justin Simmons said, ‘One of the biggest things that we love as two guys playing safety — me and Kareem Jackson — is how Russell Wilson handles his cadence, how he handles his snap count because we’re trying to disguise things, we’re trying to time things up. And he is so good at that hard count. He is so good at finding different ways to maybe throw us off or show a tell early. Or maybe we’re late if he comes to the line of scrimmage and really jumps at us quickly with snapping the football.’
“All of those things — different things in these practices — are helping a secondary that loves to hide things in this defense, and Russell Wilson is playing a part in that.”
Developing Chemistry, Thinking Outside the Box
In the first part of his quote, Palmer referred to Wilson‘s hosting several Broncos in late March and early April at his home in California. Receivers Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, K.J. Hamler and Kendall Hinton, tight ends Albert Okwuegbunam and Andrew Beck, quarterbacks Brett Rypien and Josh Johnson, and center Lloyd Cushenberry are all seen in this video posted March 30 on Wilson’s YouTube page.
And this clip of Wilson and Denver receiver Jerry Jeudy working out in San Diego was posted on Wilson’s Twitter account on March 29.
Wilson to Jeudy.
Rain or Shine.
Morning or Night.
“Talking to people in the building the coaches really love how he’s an outside the box thinker,” Palmer also said during his May 10 appearance on “NFL Now.” “He’s a guy that maybe looks at things from another angle as well with all the work he does at his house. He’s always looking at the receivers or the tight ends or the running backs going, ‘You now what, he does this really well. What if we did this with him?’ Playing off other’s guys strengths.
“So, they’re seeing some of the positives that come with Russell Wilson with the way he approaches the position and the game in practice, and that’s impacting other positions right now.”
Paton: Wilson Effect Leads to Winning Games
The influence Wilson has on his teammates and the extra work he puts in are part of the reason Denver GM George Paton referred to Wilson as a winner in a May 8 interview with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“I just think you look at the teams that have won,” Florio quoted Paton as saying. “And what’s the common trait? Typically, it’s a quarterback. And then you look at Russ’ record. Over the first 10 years he’s won more games than any quarterback, I believe, in history. That’s a pretty good record of winning. … He’s a winner. The proof is in the pudding. Look at his record. He wins games.”
On January 9 against the Arizona Cardinals, Wilson broke the record for most wins (regular season and playoffs) by a quarterback in his first 10 years in the NFL. His 113th win pushed Wilson one ahead of another quarterback who built his reputation on another team before joining the Broncos – Peyton Manning.
Manning had 112 regular-season and playoff wins in his first 10 years, but he does still hold the record for most regular-season wins (105) only in his first 10 NFL seasons. Wilson is second on that list with 104 wins.
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New Denver Teammates Already Feeling the Russell Wilson Effect