If you rewind to the weeks leading up to training camp, or even throughout parts of training camp when Russell Wilson was slowly working his way back into practice, there were several teammates who offered high praise of his leadership. He had gathered several people in San Diego for some pre-camp work, and guys like Calvin Austin III told the media that Wilson was down to earth and making a big effort with everybody to praise them after each throwing session or day of practice.
The offense is one of the youngest in the league, especially before Wilson came to town, so veteran leadership was sorely missing from the group. Just remember back to last year when offensive leadership was the primary talking point for two or three weeks in December when the Pittsburgh Steelers were on their three-game losing streak.
It was easy to forget about some of that once Justin Fields led the team to 4-2, but I think we are all getting reintroduced to the value of experience and proven leadership at quarterback.
Austin appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, and said it’s “very special” catching passes from Wilson.
“Me and my dad was talking the other day about how we remember watching the Super Bowl, him battling Tom Brady and everything. He had a moment where he had to pause and be like, ‘You know you catching touchdowns from Russell Wilson?’” Austin said. “Just how Russ is every single day, his intensity. And one of the best things I think he does is empowers his teammates. He always is encouraging and talking to us. And so that’s one thing that I think that he does very well for us.”
If you are a young player in the league, and you are receiving texts and direct messages from a future Hall of Famer to encourage you daily, I would imagine that has to feel pretty good. Confidence plays such a large role in professional sports. If confidence is shaken, it usually manifests itself on the field. The flipside is also true.
On top of expressing confidence in everybody, Wilson is backing it up with his on-field decisions. He is spreading the ball around and keeping everybody involved. All five of the Steelers’ top pass catchers have experienced a lift in their targets per game as well as their yards per game since Wilson took over at quarterback. The only exception is Pat Freiermuth, who has slightly lower targets per game but still a small increase in yards.
Encouraging everybody off the field and then backing it up with trust in them on the field helps keep everybody engaged and playing hard for the offense. Notice how we haven’t seen or heard anything about George Pickens half-heartedly running his routes over the last couple weeks. The offense is locked in, and some of that has to do with the quarterback leading the whole operation.
