Mike Pettine is a swell enough guy for a journalist.
I've listened to several of the Browns coach's weekly interviews on satellite radio throughout the season, and he's a rarity — a coach who's not too guarded. He's not afraid to shy away from coachspeak and actually give some information worth disseminating. On Wednesday, though, I think he might have inadvertently provided his team's next opponent with bulletin board material when he served up his opinion on Russell Wilson.
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"Would you put him there with the guys that can transcend their supporting cast? The Bradys, whether it's Aaron Rodgers, Brees, Roethlisberger, the ones that you would consider the two, three, four elite guys? No. But he's certainly played himself into that next tier," Pettine told ESPN .
Now, that's far from a hot take. All of those guys are future Hall of Famers. Most fans, be they novices or extremely knowledgeable, would probably agree with that assessment.
However, like many things in life, you have to consider the source, and timing is everything.
Pettine is the coach of a team with a list of starting quarterbacks that reads like the roll on the first day of class in freshman English at a major university. This year, Pettine's second at the helm, the Browns have started Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown and Austin Davis. The three have been serviceable; the Browns rank 11th in the league in passing heading into Week 15. That said, Pettine would package all three of his signal-callers in a trade for someone who could play as well as Wilson did as a rookie. In 2012, he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the Seahawks to the divisional round of the playoffs and being selected as a Pro Bowl alternate. Since then, all he has done is take his team to back-to-back Super Bowls.
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And, I'm sorry, but, saying Wilson doesn't transcend the talent that surrounds him might be a flat-out slight.
Tom Brady has the greatest tight end ever to play the game (Yeah, I said it), Rob Gronkowski, lining up on his side. Aaron Rodgers' supporting cast has failed him often this season, but going into 2015 we were all marveling at the collection of weapons that was at his disposal. If it weren't for the Jaguars' Allens, Robinson and Hurns, one could argue Roethlisberger is blessed with the league's best receiver tandem (Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant).
I'll give Pettine the Brees comparison. He's out there making miracles every Sunday to keep the Saints, with that horrid defense, in games.
The Seahawks have struggled mightily for much of the season, but Wilson is playing the best ball of his career, and he's playing better than anyone at any position right now.
The Seahawks are averaging a tad better than 35 points a contest during their current four-game winning steak, and Wilson has thrown 16 touchdown passes and nary an interception. The loss of tight end Jimmy Graham, who went down in Week 12 against the Steelers with a season-ending injury, has allowed the Seahawks (8-5) to open things up, providing tons of opportunities for receivers Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett.
But let's be honest, let's be real here. Hardly anyone saw this offensive onslaught coming. Seattle's success has as much to do with Wilson's intelligence and accuracy from the pocket as it does with those guys' ability to get open.
Of course, Wilson took the high road when he was informed of what Pettine said. The coach should've done that in the first place.
While there may not have been a whole lot wrong with Pettine's comments, they might give a fiery guy such as Wilson that much more motivation to flame-broil the Browns' depleted secondary come Sunday afternoon.
Don't believe me? Just watch.