At first glance, there is little resemblance between Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, the two starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl XLIX.
At 6 feet 4 inches, Brady is 5 inches taller than Wilson. At 37, Brady is also 11 years older than Wilson. But there is also a difference in style, with Brady a prototype pocket passer and Wilson a threat to throw on rollouts and even scramble for additional yards as a nimble runner.
For all these reasons, no one is likely to confuse Brady and Wilson in Sunday’s NFL championship game.
But for all the differences, there are similarities, too. Certainly in terms of their careers, with the regular-season statistics for Brady’s first three years as a starter (his second, third and fourth NFL seasons) very closely matching Wilson’s numbers in his first three seasons.
Brady, who played at Michigan before becoming a sixth-round draft pick in 2000, has a modest edge in passing attempts, completions and yards, while Wilson, who attended Wisconsin before being drafted in the third round in 2012, has a slight edge in completion percentage and touchdowns, and has thrown fewer interceptions.
The records of the two teams are also very close for those same three seasons. Brady led his team to a combined 34-14 regular-season mark and two Super Bowl titles between 2001-03. The Seahawks under Wilson are 36-12 with one Super Bowl championship and another still up for grabs.
“They have the commonality of being two guys that are great winners,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “Tom has had a long time to prove that. Russell is at the early stages of proving that to the world, but I think he’s got a chance to be similar.”
Indeed, others say, what unites Brady and Wilson goes beyond raw numbers. The two quarterbacks are alike in their inner drive and in a steadfast determination to help their teams win.
“Both guys are leaders, and the other similarity they both have is their heart, which you cannot coach,” said Lawyer Milloy, a former All-Pro safety who was Brady’s teammate for the latter’s first two NFL seasons.
“(Brady and Wilson) both have a passion, a desire and a will to prove something,” added Milloy, a former University of Washington player from Tacoma who is retired from football and is back in the Puget Sound area where he has a chance to watch Wilson play every week.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell agrees. Asked for similarities between Brady and Wilson, Bevell said “the first thing that comes to my mind is they’re both winners. Tom Brady has won in this league for a long, long time, and Russell is only in his third year and he’s been winning pretty well in his own right.
“I think both of them are ultimate competitors. They almost will their teams to victories in many different ways,” Bevell said.
Carl Smith, Seattle’s quarterbacks coach, obviously has spent a lot of time with Wilson over the past three years. Likewise, Smith came close to coaching Brady, having been with Carroll when Carroll was New England’s head coach. Carroll and Smith left the Patriots a few months before Brady was drafted in 2000.
When it comes to common traits for Brady and Wilson, Smith said, “the first thing that comes to mind is that they’re both in the Super Bowl, and that’s a big one. They’ve both been very successful and they’ve both won since they started playing. They were both instant winners in the NFL.
“They obviously have different styles and they run different offenses,” Smith said, “but they’re both really good in their offenses. And they both have the drive to be great.”
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