Inside The Bills » Russell Wilson

Bills liked QB Wilson in last year’s draft

Chris Brown — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:44:02 +0000

The Bills spent an awful lot of time pre-draft with Seattle QB Russell Wilson. They thought of a lot of him as an NFL prospect and were not scared off by his lack of height.

In his weekly appearance on WGR Sportsradio 550, Nix said their draft philosophy doesn’t exclude players that lack ideal measurables, while also explaining why T.J. Graham was their third-round pick six picks before Seattle took Wilson.

“I firmly believe that winners come in all sizes,” said Nix. ”I think Russell Wilson was one and we knew that. We spent a lot of time with Russell and he was on our radar, but we had one, we felt like we had to have a speed receiver. They took him in the third and that was a little high for us as far as our needs.

“You’ve got Doug Flutie. I was around Doug for eight or nine years and you’ve got Russell Wilson. Those guys are exceptional and you’ve got exceptions, but they’re winners. They know how to perform when the pressure is on and I’m not a bit surprised by what he’s done.”

What accelerated QB Wilson’s learning curve

Chris Brown — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:26:42 +0000

Most that knew Russell Wilson or played with the Seattle QB before he got to the NFL considered him a winner already. However, there’s no denying what helped Wilson acclimate himself to the NFL game and perform so effectively, so quickly.

Having played in a pair of different college offenses at N.C. State and Wisconsin exposed him to a lot of different terminology. Terminology he had to master rather quickly in one short summer prior to his final collegiate season at Wisconsin.

“He’s a smart guy,” said former N.C. State teammate and Bills WR T.J. Graham. ”He’d have figured it out no matter what offense he was in. The Wisconsin offense he went in and took control of it. I heard he was there all the time, longer than coaches and worked on it and figured it out. He wasn’t going to let that opportunity slip.”

With three games left in his rookie season Wilson believes immersing himself in two different college offenses that came from pro-style origins was been extremely helpful.

“I definitely believe that,” he said via conference call this week. ”Obviously, I played in the West Coast offense at N.C. State. I played in vertical play-action at Wisconsin, both pro-style games. That’s what’s really helped me in terms of the learning curve, if that’s what your asking. And just competing at the highest level.

“Coach Carroll always talks about competing and bringing it every single day and that’s what I try to do. I try to improve on three little things every single day to help me and once those things are knocked down, just keep going with it. That’s my focus.”

Seattle QB Wilson impressed by Bills D-line

Chris Brown — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:09:00 +0000

Seattle QB Russell Wilson, who was a three-year college teammate of Bills WR T.J. Graham, couldn’t help but be impressed by Buffalo’s defensive line, which has been playing some of its best football of late.

“They’re tremendous,” said Wilson via conference call. ”They’re pretty strong up front and they make a lot of action up there. I know Mario Williams. I’ve met him several times. He’s a great player. He has so much ability and the same with the rest of the guys up front as well in terms of Dareus and Williams and all the other guys too that they bring in. I think it’s gonna be a great game. It’s gonna be a battle for sure and we’re going to have to play our best.”

Buffalo’s defensive line has been instrumental in shutting down their opponents’ run game. They’ve held each of their last four opponents to under 90 yards rushing, the first time that’s been done since the 1999 season when the Bills finished first in the league in overall defense. The Bills defensive line also has 28 of the team’s 31 sacks on the season.