Russell Wilson Named Starter in Seattle

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Well, Pete has done it again.  Pete Carroll bucks conventional wisdom and goes with a mid-round rookie quarterback as his opening day starter.  Russell Wilson started the Seahawks' third preseason game and proved he can play with the "big boy."  Carroll now says he we start him in the fourth and final preseason game against the Raiders while starting the following week versus Arizona.

Interestingly, I don't believe this to be an indictment on newly signed quarterback Matt Flynn.  It looks as if Seattle was legitimately wowed by Wilson.  The easy, safe move would've been to start Flynn this year and trade him the next.  Pete Carroll doesn't do safe.  This is the guy who jettisoned veteran Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck only to bring in Tarvaris Jackson.

If Carroll is right about Wilson, Flynn will become a highly talked about trade piece once somebody's starter goes down.  Next offseason could be when Seattle gets the best chance to cash in on their investment of Flynn.

For now, the football world will be playing close attention to the performance of the 5'10" Wilson.  If he succeeds, Seattle could be talking playoffs... for a while.  If he fails, Seattle could be looking for a new coach/general manager... fairly soon.