There are many ways one can take the Seahawks handling the Arizona Cardinals at home in a 20-10 win. Coming after a disappointing loss in Cincinnati, you can think of it as a nice bounce back game playing without their superstar receiver. You can just as easily think of it as a frustrating endeavor when Seattle coughed up the ball three times to an inferior Cardinals team, and let them hang around in this match way too long.

Different people will see this game differently.

The anti Geno Smith crowd will look at the interception he threw in the red zone (and the fumbled center exchange), and they will be filled with the See, I Told You So vigor. They will also be more than happy to point out that he threw a red zone interception in Cincinnati last week, as well. No matter how well Geno plays, they will curb compliments, and whenever he makes a mistake, they will be more than happy to point out that he is not the answer at quarterback. The anti Geno gang will look at this game as ammo for why Seattle should move on from him, even though he was pretty efficient throughout most of this day, and threw a couple sweet ass touchdown grabs.

The anti DK Metcalf contingent of the Twelves will see the breakout games Jaxon Smith Njigba and Jake Bobo had, and they will be determined that Seattle should trade the personal foul committing receiver for some high draft picks or another marquee player. They will believe that the combination of both players more than mitigates the loss of DK.

I think many Seahawk fans will look at this defense, and be pretty fired up. I mean, how could you not?

Outside of Joshua Dobbs scrambling, some other funky run designs, the Cardinals offense couldn’t get much established. The speed and talent in the Seattle defense was overwhelming, at times, and as a Seattle fan, it was a joy to behold. The only few times where I flipped out in contempt was when edge rusher Darrell Taylor gave up containment twice that led to big plays by a runner, and one of those was Dobbs for a long touchdown. Other than that, this defense is continuing to trend in a very positive way.

For me, I generally look at this game as a relief that the Seahawks got through it with a win. I wasn’t totally confident in how this day would end up. I didn’t like seeing DK Metcalf, rookie running back Zach Charbonnet, and center Evan Brown sitting out of this one. I didn’t love watching DeeJay Dallas fumble a punt return that gave Arizona great field position. I hated watching Geno Smith force a third down throw towards a double covered Jake Bobo near the goal line and having it picked off. I didn’t like seeing him fumble the snap on the next series, either.

I think the Seahawks made this win much harder than it needed to be. Dallas needed to better hang onto the ball during his return. Geno needed to throw the ball away and settle for the field goal attempt to extend the lead. Darrell Taylor needed to contain the run which is job number freaking one for any defensive end.

This team isn’t talented enough to overcome a lot of mistakes. The defense, when all the intended pieces are on the field together, has a chance at being something special this year, I think. The offense, when they get Abe Lucas back at right tackle, and have DK healthy, and Charbonnet healthy, has the chance at being top ten in the league. Right now, however, they are so banged up at so many different positions, offensively, they have to play as mistake free as possible to scratch out some of these wins.

In this game, Seattle was fortunate that Arizona sucked as badly as they did. They will face a much better Cleveland Browns team next week. Therefore, they better play a much cleaner game.

None of this is to take away from how well the defense continues to play, or how well Jake Bobo and JSN played. Shoot, you take the INT and the fumbled snap away from Geno, and I think the talk would have been about how solid his outing would have been (I still think he had a solid enough of a game, but critics are going to critic).

As Seattle campaigns further through this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a few more games like this. I don’t know if Seattle is going to win with the style points we would like to envision, but I do think that there are enough young promising talents starting to emerge that they are going to make each game very interesting.

Ken Walker as the focal point of this offense is a must. In this game, he was, and it opened up the play action. K9 ran tough, and decisive, and he forced Arizona to honor the run. He is, and should always be, the straw that stirs the drink of this offense, and as soon as Zach Charbonnet gets back, he should be the second straw.

Devon Witherspoon continues to be a holy terror as a striker of ball carriers, and receivers catches short curls. I’ve never seen a cornerback play like him. It’s like he’s a combination of Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. In this game, he had a sack called back because of a penalty, and he had an interception called back because of a bull crap roughing the passer call against Boye Mafe. Spoon still had himself quite a game.. again.

So did Boye Mafe, who continues to lead the team in sacks along with a rejuvenated Jarran Reed at nose tackle. Mafe is on pace for double digit sacks, and is showing to be a strong run defender, as well. He had another sack in this one, but he could have easily had two.

Jordyn Brooks is playing so well lately that I think he should be a high priority to get an extension. Him mixing in with Bobby Wagner is giving Seattle an intimidating linebacker tandem. It showed up big against the Cardinals. I think Brooks has fully come into his own now, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.

Dre’Mont Jones mixed with Jarran Reed and Mario Edwards is giving Seattle an impressively active interior of their defensive line. They have consistently showed up for weeks now, and did it again yesterday. Jones doesn’t have the sack totals that Reed now has, but he’s a constant disruptor as a three technique, and it showed again.

And, of course, I don’t think enough can be said for how good Jake Bobo and JSN stepped in for DK Metcalf. Both rookie receivers have their unique traits, and could blossom into special players for Seattle.

Bobo has all the makings of a quality big bodied possession receiver. You can see that now. He is subtle in his route running, and plays with a plan. He is a refined pass catcher, and his toe tap touchdown grab was as pretty of a catch against contested coverage as you will find.

JSN, however, really is starting to come across as a young Doug Baldwin. He’s shifty in his routes, and has clear run after the catch abilities. I think it’s now safe to say that the folks who were worried about his yards per catch in September can start to relax now. As we move forward down the schedule, I think we are going to see this offense feature him more and more as a weapon against cover two looks.

Having said that, no, I do not think this team should trade DK. I think had he been healthy enough to play in this game, Seattle probably would have more comfortably won this match, and it might have been a big time blow out.

If I were to trade DK, it would have to be for a cornerstone player on the defensive line like Vita Vea. I don’t see a team coughing up that type of defensive tackle for him, though, and the teams that need a receiver are playoff contenders like the Chiefs, and while they could offer up a first round pick and day two of the draft change for him, those picks would be in the bottom of the rounds. Therefore, the likelihood of decent return value wouldn’t be very good. Say what you want to about your frustrations with DK, but he is a young premiere talent in this league, and in order to make a trade make any sense, Seattle would need a premiere talent in return.

The pectoral muscle injury that Uchenna Nwosu picked up in this game is concerning, though. If Carolina came calling to offer Brian Burns in exchange for DK, I think that would be tempting. Given the fact that Seattle is pretty well rostered with young talented edge rushers in Nwosu, Mafe, Taylor, and Derick Hall, Burns coming here in the last year of his contract isn’t super appealing, and the Panthers would probably have to add a high round pick in addition. I don’t see Carolina doing that, and Seattle could just as easily keep DK and sign Frank Clark in free agency right now who has familiarity with the team and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt.

In fact, I think Frank Clark is a name to keep in mind right now. The team knows him, he has chemistry with Jarran Reed, and if Nwosu is going to miss games, I think Clark on early downs and keeping Darrell Taylor as a third down rusher makes sense. Either that, or maybe shift further back into Carroll’s old slanted 4-3 again with either Mario Edwards or Dre’Mont Jones playing the big end role with Mafe as the primary rush end.

However way they solve the potential loss of Nwosu, the truth of the matter is, even if Seattle wins kinda ugly a lot this year (or loses a number of close games), as long as the youth of this roster continues to trend upwards, that’s the real sign that Seattle is truly building itself up again. We need those young guys on rookie contracts developing into quality and high quality players.

We need more Mafe, Witherspoon, JSN, Anthony Bradford at right guard, Cam Young at DT, K9, Zach Charbonnet, Riq Woolen, and Tre Brown. We need more Bobo.

In this game, I felt lot of that. I saw it. Keep it coming.

Bring on the Cleveland Browns. It’s not going to likely be an easy game, but maybe, right now, Seattle needs a tougher opponent to get up for. I’m ready for it.

I cannot wait to see Seattle play in those classic old school uniforms, either. I’m going to have mine ironed and pressed as I sit watching in the nose bleeders. Bring. It. On.

Go Hawks.