Wilson evokes image of No. 23
The Seattle Seahawks’ most recent game reminded an antiquated scribe of the week before their first one.
On Sept. 6, 1976, as the expansion Seahawks were preparing to make their NFL debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Saskatchewan Roughriders met the B.C. Lions at Taylor Field.
At one point, it looked hopeless for the home side, thanks in part to four interceptions thrown by Roughriders quarterback Ron Lancaster. However, Lancaster’s one touchdown pass — an 18-yard gamewinner to Rhett Dawson with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter — trumped the earlier miscues. The Roughriders prevailed 17-14.
Fast forward to this past Sunday, when the Seahawks met the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL’s championship game.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks’ chances of advancing to the 49th Super Bowl appeared to be virtually nil after Wilson served up his fourth interception of the game.
The Seahawks did have a touchdown pass to their credit, but it was thrown by their punter — Regina-born Jon Ryan — on a fake field goal.
At one point in the game, Wilson had thrown more interceptions (three) than completions (two).
Undaunted, Wilson led the Seahawks on rapid-fire touchdown drives to turn a 19-6 deficit into a 22-19 lead.
Green Bay ended up forcing overtime, courtesy of a 48-yard field goal by Mason Crosby with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Packers’ offence would not have another opportunity to score.
Seattle won the coin toss and Wilson took it from there, driving his team 87 yards in six plays. The dagger was a 35-yard pass from Wilson to Jermaine Kearse, whose major gave the Seahawks a 28-22 victory and a trip to the Super Bowl.
With one well-timed flick of the wrist, Wilson flushed away four interceptions.
Sitting far away, this aging and incurably nostalgic observer thought: “I’ve seen that act before.” Several times, in fact. During 19 years as a CFL player, Lancaster threw more interceptions (399) than touchdown passes (333). Yet, his teams typically won far more games than they lost.
The Little General didn’t care about any numbers except those that appeared beneath the win column in the standings.
And he didn’t listen to anyone who had the temerity to suggest that he was too small to be a starting quarterback, let alone a winner.
Despite being a shade under 5-foot-10, Lancaster ended up being a giant figure in CFL history. With the game on the line, he was lethal. As long as any time appeared on the clock, the Roughriders’ No. 23 was someone to be feared by the opposition.
If Lancaster had been interested in fattening his statistics, his touchdown-pass total would have been considerably higher.
But he had a fullback named George Reed, who routinely left would-be tacklers bruised and frustrated. Lancaster was always happy to let the other half of the “Ronnie and George Show” grind out yardage, especially near the goal-line.
Comparably, Wilson doesn’t have to boast passing totals that are reminiscent of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. The Seahawks employ a punishing tailback, Marshawn Lynch, and inflicting him upon a defence is part of their identity.
The four interceptions, by contrast, were uncharacteristic. However, Wilson overcame them — just like he overcame the odds by becoming an immediate NFL starter despite standing just 5-foot-11.
Someone of that stature is not supposed to be an adept pocket passer, given the difficulty of seeing over the skyscraping defensive linemen.
Yet, there was Wilson on Sunday, standing confidently behind his offensive line and delivering a perfect pass to Kearse to propel Seattle into the Super Bowl against Brady and the New England Patriots.
The four picks? Who cares?
The smart pick? Seattle to win Super Bowl XLIX.