RussellMania Week II: Wilson's A Winner, But Do We Need A Name Change?

Rather than an open thread for this week's Seattle game, I decided to go with some links to cover Russell Wilson's first NFL victory. We all need something positive to latch onto this week regarding quarterback play, don't we?

However, still in its infancy, this series of posts regarding ex-Wisconsin Badgers in the NFL is already threatened by an identity crisis. How does the column title "Maximum Wattage" sound? Lame? Yeah, maybe so. Regardless, while Wilson brought all the preseason excitement, J.J. Watt is tearing the league's offensive lines apart right now, building on the fantastic rookie campaign he had in 2011.

But for now, let's check in on Wilson first:

• The rook completed 75% (15-20) of his passes for 151 yards and a touchdown -- good for a 112.7 rating in a 27-7 pasting of Dallas. That's turnover-free football, playa ...
• Field Gulls mentions something which might become a recurring theme around Seattle: Wilson gets better as the game goes on, but still struggles throwing passes too high at times.
• Managing the league's most run-heavy offense along with having a good defense has set Wilson firmly in the "game-manager" category thus far. Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times thinks it would be really cool of the team to open up the offense a bit.
• Wilson added 28 yards rushing, including a 14-yard scramble sprung by a crushing Golden Tate block.

Now for Watt. Houston is looking like an early juggernaut, with much credit going to the Watt-led defense. He registered another 1.5 sacks this week against lowly Jacksonville, plus a couple tackles for loss and two more passes defensed at the line of scrimmage.

• My favorite thing about Watt the Badger was his ability to bat down passes at the line (and his motor overall). Battle Red Blog has caught on. J.J. Swatt indeed -- with every batted pass now, he's bringing back the Mutombo finger wag!

(GIF credit to Rodamn from clutchfans.com)

• Wade Phillips is now starting to compare Watt to Howie Long. That's quite a compliment in my eyes; I've loved "Howie Time" ever since I got the NFL Crunch Course VHS tape as a youth.

Sunday Roundup

• If you watched the Sunday night game, you heard Cris Collingsworth dole out a bit of recognition to fourth-year LB DeAndre Levy out of Milwaukee Vincent HS. Levy was all over the field against San Francisco, notching 10 tackles and even a nice TFL in the second half.
• Well after the Week 1 post went live, Oakland played in the first Monday night game, which meant there was no recap of DL Matt Shaughnessy's night, when he tallied a half-sack and a couple tackles. Feeling a bit left out I'm sure, Shaughnessy took down Miami's Ryan Tannehill for a full sack this week.
• Owen Daniels and Garrett Graham combined for seven receptions and 62 yards on Sunday (six of those catches were by Daniels).
• Brad Nortman averaged 45.8 yards-per-punt in Carolina's first victory.
• Guys like Lance Kendricks and Jonathan Casillas also registered a stat lines for their respective teams.

Monday Night Football

• Atlanta Falcons: Have 2 Badger rookies. G Peter Konz played in his first game last week, but does not start for Atlanta, so you may not see him. FB Bradie Ewing is out for the season with a torn ACL.
• Denver Broncos: Wily veteran Jim Leonard returns punts and is a backup FS for the Broncos.

To see a list of all Badgers in the NFL this season, head over to UWBadgers.com.