All week long, I heard the doubters doubting. I heard it on podcasts, and I read it online.

Seattle only beat San Francisco because Nick Bosa came out of the game. The Arizona Cardinals have the best running offense in the league, Kyler Murray is playing his best ball as a pro, and it is nearly impossible to stop James Connor as a runner.

A week ago, people felt like Seattle was gifted luck in their win against the dreaded San Francisco 49ers, and they were ready to see their fortune all come crashing down against Arizona. It will be interesting to see where the skeptics land this week on the team, and they have now climbed into sole first place in the division after pummeling Kyler Murray and James Connors on a rainy afternoon in Seattle.

Now look, I get it if you read the title of this piece, and you shook your head. If you did, you are not a believer yet in Mike Macdonald’s incarnation of the Seattle Seahawks. I’m hopeful that someday you will.

You might be jaded, perhaps, and maybe also spoiled by the success of the Legion Of Boom era a decade ago. You need to see this Seahawk defense have more sustained success after holding the Rams offense to 13 points, the 49ers to 17 points, and what was an explosive Cardinal offense to now 6 points. The images of what Buffalo did to Seattle last month could be still too fresh, and that early season loss to the Giants still too annoying.

I get all of this. I also think that things within our culture like toxic masculinity prevent people from seeing the positive growths of a team searching for its identity with a brand new coaching staff. Feeling cynical can make a fragile soul feel stronger than it actually is. It’s an easy emotional retreat.

The Man wants you to exist in cynicism. In fact, he needs you to be there in order to consume enough beer and processed foods to develop a chronic decease that will prevent you from reaching your fullest potential. This is the way the Man stays in control and keeps us all divided and distracted.

But I digress.

I am feeling much more positively about the Seattle Seahawks these days. What a difference a couple of interdivisional wins makes in a row over the past week.

As I see it now, I feel like I do see an identity of this team emerging. They are a scrappy bunch of versatile defenders who exist in an increasingly exotic scheme playing confidently badass defense, and they are an explosive passing team who chooses to live and die with the arm of Geno Smith.

That is who and what they are, and what they shall remain as this year, for good or bad.

Now, I will be the first to admit that it is an odd sight seeing a team led by a defensive minded coach so willing to air it out, offensively, each game, but it is what it is. Mike Macdonald wanted Ryan Grubb as his play caller, and it appears as though drop back passing it too much in Grubb’s DNA to expect major changes for the remainder of this season.

I know this team is not perfect because of it, too.

I could stand to see way more cleaner play on offense, and more judicious passing from Geno Smith, if this is indeed to be a pass heavy offense through the rest of this year (it most likely will). Judging by Macdonald’s post game comments, I feel he is also growing tired of Geno’s routine INTs, as well, especially the ones that have occurred in the red zone negating scoring opportunities.

Three games ago, Geno threw two red zone interceptions that prevented the team from earning a home victory over the Rams. Last week, he forced a bad sideline throw over the head of his receiver that gave San Francisco a great opportunity to score. Yesterday, he forced a critical red zone interception when he had green grass in front of him to run for a potential first down.

His red zone interception in this game, and his interception against the 49ers last week are as bad of picks as I have seen. For as great as he looks in many moments during each of these games, he continues to throw far too many interceptions for me to fully get behind what Ryan Grubb is envisioning as the offensive coordinator.

It is what it is, though, and until he plays a fully clean game again, I feel this is what we are going to get out of this offense this year. We will get a lot of fun plays, and also a number of hair pulling ones, as well.

In Geno’s defense, he could be helped out by Grubb, if at least there were more bootleg rollout opportunities called to mitigate the subpar pass blocking issues at guard, and Grubb could also be way more creative with designed weeps and gadget ways move the ball on the ground. At this point, though, we can only hope that Grubb will search for more ways to get more creative through these remaining six games of the year, and Geno will be more protective with the football. They might.

It is baffling to me how uncreative Grubb has become as the OC of the Seahawks after being so creative for two years as a play caller for the University of Washington. Outside of some fun abilities to get JSN involved in brilliant run after catch opportunities, and to use K9 more as a receiver, I just don’t see enough from Grubb yet with motions, jet sweeps, or even moving pockets to help Geno out against athletic pass rushes.

I almost don’t care anymore, frankly. I am head over heels in love with this defense. So screw letting Geno cook. I say let Big Cat sizzle.

The way Macdonald deployed Leonard Big Cat Williams in this game against Kyler Murray was nothing short of inspiring. In throughout this matchup, Big Cat dominated by lining up at nose tackle, three technique, and stand up defensive end outside of the left tackle. This is the type of chess playing we should expect to see from Macdonald as his defenders continue to settle into this scheme that morphs from being a 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5, 2-4-5, and what-have-you each and every series.

The biggest difference between what this defense is growing into, and what it was back in October is that now Macdonald has his guys getting it, and getting each other. They have taken the hero ball mentality out of their games, and they have replaced it with gritty, smart discipline. Together, they are truly one, and what a sight it is now becoming.

This team is playing great defense, and has for three games in a row. They played good enough to beat the Rams nearly a month ago (the offense screwed up that game), and they broke Brock Purdy last week in Santa Clara, and then just put a beating on Kyler Murray yesterday in Seattle.

The Seattle Seahawks are in first place again in the NFC West and it is because of this Mike Macdonald defense. A couple weeks ago, fans were losing their minds on twitter saying he should be fired, but I say that Seattle is damn lucky to have landed him as their new head coach even if some toxic fans can’t fully see that right now.

Will this team sustain and win out the NFC West division?

I dunno, but I will say that there is nothing about the Rams that impresses me right now, the 49ers feel like they are falling off of a cliff, and the Cardinals just got their asses kicked in Seattle. A few weeks ago, I was thinking of benching a bunch of starters, playing youngsters, and aiming to get into the offseason as quickly as possible to attack free agency and the draft again. After beating the 49ers and Cardinals, I am seeing reinvigorating new life in this team this year. I am excited to see how it shakes out, good or bad, or somewhere in between.

Of the six games remaining on the schedule for Seattle, with games against the Jets, Cardinals, Packers, Vikings, Bears, and Rams, they may just need to find three more wins to sow up this division. For example beating Cardinals again, and the Rams along with finding one more win might be enough to do it. With the way this defense is coming along, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they muster out four wins in these remaining games.

I am not saying this should be the expectation of this team now, but I do feel like we can dare to dream a bit more these days. If Seattle keeps making these gains on defense (I think they can), and if they can just simply play a bit cleaner on offense, I like their chances of winning this division as much as any other team that play in it right now.

The biggest question is will they cleanup it up, offensively. This feels like this is where the success of this team will hinge on through these remaining six games.

Can Macdonald impress upon Geno Smith the high importance of being protective with the football, living to fight for another down instead of forcing a throw that maybe isn’t really there?

These six remaining games are as big for Geno Smith as anyone on this team. Ryan Grubb has chosen to lean into him, and with how electric JSN has become and DK Metcalf is capable of being, there is little reason to expect Grubb to pull back now. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Geno Smith to truly show this team and fanbase he is worthy of spearheading this attack by not just making big time throws, but also being really smart how to protect the ball at critical times.

It is not an easy thing to balance, but great quarterbacks find ways of doing exactly that, and if Geno wants to be paid as great quarterbacks are, he must be better about protecting the football. We are now eleven games into the season, and we cannot use the state of the offensive line as a constant excuse as to why Geno Smith has had the amount of interceptions as he has had this season through these games. With six games left, the onus is on him to be smart with the football each and every game here on out.

Oddly, I have some degree of optimism brewing that he will be better moving forward. The stakes are real again now. This is where he needs to show his fourth quarter magic through all quarters.

I am also willing to run counter to what I have felt about this offense lately. Weirdly, as much as I have been frustrated in Ryan Grubb’s scheme, I am honestly seeing a potential light at the end of the tunnel with it, as well.

Having Olu Oluwatimi now at center feels, well, kinda centering. The shotgun efficiency feels significantly better, and the way Grubb is getting JSN and K9 involved in screen passes is a really interesting watch.

No, this offense is not running the ball with the physicality that I would like to see, but, at this point in the season, I see the merits of leaning into what its strengths are. JSN and K9 are upper echelon playmakers with the ball in their hands in space. Grubb is trying to get them into those situations, and you can see why.

I would also add that Seattle is currently playing without its starting tight end in Noah Fant who is also pretty special catching the ball in space. Rookie tight end AJ Barner is doing fine with what he can do, but Fant with the ball in his hands in space is kind next level if you think back to some of his more explosive plays when he has had those opportunities. I have optimism of this offense clicking more when he gets back.

Until then, they just need to clean it up. Limit the false starts like JSN had in this one early on. Protect the ball better (Geno). Find more creative ways to run the ball (Grubb). This all feels doable.

But this defense, my God.

My God, do I ever love how it is now gelling.

Tyrice Knight and Earnest Jones are fun to watch at linebacker. Fun. To. Watch.

Big Cat Williams, Jarran Reed, and Byron Murphy are making me giddy with their defensive tackle play. Devon Witherspoon, Coby F’ing Bryant, and Julian Love are making me truly enjoy this secondary, and Boye Mafe and Derick Hall make me love these edges.

There is talent and depth at all layers of this defense now, and you can feel them building confidence inside this scheme. For three games in a row, they have notched it up more.

They are making me really excited. Like, I am glued in just to watch this defense play, and I have not felt that way about a Seattle defense in well over six or seven years now.

Two weeks ago, knee jerk reactors were ready to fire Macdonald, and fire John Schneider. No trust that Macdonald would be able to turn it around, and people were bemoaning what Schneider did in the offseason. Most of us were almost ready to put a fork into them, and call them all cooked, even the most glass half full sorts such as myself.

Well, two years ago, it took Macdonald half a season to get the Baltimore Raven defense turned around within his new scheme, and now it is looking like same is happening here in Seattle. I appreciate that casual fans set expectations high for their team, and get frustrated when they go through a bumpy patch, but realistically speaking, we should have all probably assumed that this first year under Macdonald would be patchy, and it still might. That said, I feel like we have gone through three games now where this trend on defense feels very sustainable.

That is what has me so damn excited. More than any other aspect of football, teams that win with top notch defenses get me significantly more excited than any sorta offensive juggernaut teams.

Football, at its purest core, is not a contact sport. It is a game built on violence. That is what all the protective armor is about. It is about being in proper positions, holding your ground, trusting your brothers to do theirs, and beating the ass of the dude in front of you. Great defenses do this, and I feel like a great one is brewing in Seattle, finally again.

The offense might require another full offseason to catch up, and that is okay for me. Use the draft and free agency to further address the offensive line. Make trades, if you need to do it. This all feels doable, and I feel much better as a Seahawk fan this morning feeling like one side of the ball is taken care of as opposed to what I felt last month seeing both sides of the ball needing tons of work.

I trust Mike Macdonald as a defensive guru now. I am fully bought into that. I am more comfortable waiting on the offense to get there.

At the end of the day, I would much rather feel like the team I root for has a defense that fans from other teams simply do not what to see their team face. I feel like we are inching towards that again in Seattle, and that is a very exciting thought, indeed.

So let’s have Big Cat cook, and whatever else happens will happen.

Go Hawks.