Sitting before the Seattle Seahawks is now a great opportunity. Entering December, they have six games remaining in their schedule, and they are in playoff contention. If you would have asked me if I would be willing to take this at the beginning of the season, my answer would be “hell f’ing yes.”

These last two games have not gone well for them, however. They have regressed on defense in a way in which they can neither stop the run, nor the pass, and they can’t seem to get a good pass rush going, either. Offensively, they haven’t been good in the trenches, and Geno Smith and their rookie runner K9 have taken some beatings. In fact, it feels like K9 has possibly hit his rookie wall.

Instead of putting forth a gloom and doom ditty on the state of the Seahawks, I will flip this positively. I think they are faced with a grand opportunity through these final six games to turn it around, and get back to playing better ball, and winning games again.

I think now is the time for Clint Hurtt to prove that he is, in fact, a worthy NFL defensive coordinator. In his attempts to bring a multiple looking defensive that is supposed to bring pressure and better disguise coverages, he should now know through these last eleven games what is working, and what isn’t. His defense had a bad stretch early, they adjusted their scheme to have a great four game run, and now they are in the midst of another bad two game stretch again. While I remain somewhat skeptical of what his vision might be for this unit, I would love nothing more than Hurtt to shatter my skepticism as a coordinator, and get his defenders back to doing what they were when they beat the Cardinals twice and good clubs in the Chargers and Giants. This is now his time to do just that.

This is also a great time for the offensive get get back on track with it’s ground game, and for offensive line coach (and run game coordinator) Andy Dickerson to get his linemen blocking better again for K9 like they were through the first nine games of the season. We have seen what this offense can do on the ground and it is very good. It is time to recommit to that style of play in order to balance out the steady production of Geno Smith and the passing attack.

Most most of all, it is now time for Geno Smith to prove that he is more than an NFL feel good story as a starting quarterback, and show the world through this final stretch of games that he is a franchise quarterback here to stay. He already has me convinced of that, but I understand his remaining doubters. While I see little reasons to criticize him greatly during this losing streak, I can concede that he could have been more clutch at the end of the game against the Raiders. I’ve also sensed through these last two games, him possibly pressing for the bigger play a bit more instead of choosing to take what is there. He can be better, and this is a great time for him to be just that.

The Los Angeles Rams present a great start for them to turn this ship around on offense, and especially on defense. They are a banged up shadow of their Super Bowl winning self. While their defense remains good, their offense is in shambles.

Now is the time that Clint Hurtt takes advantage of a lesser opponent across from his defense, and he has this unit attacking again instead of maybe playing more passively up front. He needs to allow his defensive tackles to attack the gaps like they did in October into early November. No more two gapping read and react stuff. Attack!

Offensively, get that run game going. Get K9 back on track with decisive running, and take the pressure off of Geno Smith feeling like he needs to carry this team to victory. There is no Aaron Donald on this defense right now, and while they still has great talents like Bobby Wagner (weird as f*** to even say that) and Jalen Ramsey, there is no reason why Seattle can’t get back on track, if they can clean things up better up front. Now is there time to do it against these Rams.

Will they?

Yes, they will. They will do this because they have to, and an illness going around the locker room cannot be an excuse not to do it. Time to suck it up, and seize the day. I know it, they know it, and now you know it, too.

I’m going to project a comfortable Seahawk win this Sunday. Yes, I’m a homer, and I have been doing this all season, but I am 6-5 in my predictions and the last time I checked, that’s a winning record. So, stick that in your glass pipe of doubt and smoke it.

Predicting scores is dumb. I don’t know why I do it, but I have this compulsion. Therefore, I’m going to say Seattle finds a way of beating LA in this one, 24-13.

It may not feel like an offensive juggernaut sorta day, but I think it will feel like a steadier one. Geno stays his Steady Eddy self with support a nice effort on the ground by K9 getting on track, and having us feel like he’s on his way to Offensive Rookie Of The Year again.

Defensively, is where we see Seattle really get back on track. I think they attack more at the line of scrimmage. I think we see sacks and turnovers created, and we get back to stopping the run. I think they do this because they have to do it, and because they can. We have seen them do it before.

It’s now time for them to do it again.

Go Hawks!

Football is a fun game. There can be a ton of nuances to its schemes, and strategies, but it can also be a very simple game.

Here is one simple truth about football from the dawn of leather helmets to today’s game of Microsoft tablets and helmets with ear phones; the team that is best at running the ball and stopping the run usually wins the game.

In this game against the lowly Raiders (who came into Lumen Field with a defense that hasn’t been great against the run or pass), the Seattle Seahawks could not run the ball and they could not stop the run, and they lost another winnable game because of that. I could end my review here with this simple statement, but I choose to go forth.

It is now two games in a row where Seattle has lost to a team with a worse record in the exact same, brutal sorta bone crunching way. Sure, I could blame refs for taking away a clear fumble recovery from the Seahawk defense that could have saved this game for them, but I don’t want to do that.

Seattle should have been able to establish the run in this one, and they should have been more able to stop the run. These were pretty much the words of Coach Carroll post game.

Apparently, they went into this game with a plan to take away Vegas’s top receiver, but that scheming made the defense susceptible to being gashed by the run. Wildy, Clint Hurtt made little to no adjustments to the heavier packages the Raiders put out against his lighter defensive line fronts, and Vegas was more than happy to take what was there.. just like Tamp Bay did two weeks ago in Germany.

As for why Seattle couldn’t get its run game going with Ken Walker III (K9) for a second game in a row, I think that could be a bit trickier. Maybe defenses are more determined to take him away, and have Geno Smith beat them, but to my naked eye at this game, I noticed K9 taking a lot of extra steps instead of just hitting a hole and plowing forward. It sort of looks like he’s trying to find the home run (at times) instead of settling for the potential four or five yard gain. That’s not going to cut it in this league, and maybe he is victim of his first early season success.

This is where I think having another proven veteran work horse back to mix in with him would have been ideal for Seattle, and him, as well. I am positive that Carroll’s vision of his running attack this year was to have K9 mixing in with Rashaad Penny. I think Seattle sort of views Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas more as third down backs, otherwise we would see them mixed in more.

After this rough outing for K9, which saw him run a ridiculous Russell Wilson inspired reverse course of direction for about a ten yard loss on a play, I half expect Seattle to take a look at Melvin Gordon, who has now found himself on the market. Maybe Gordon is a guy who can come in, spell K9 on downs, and impart wisdom on this young talented rookie who is seemingly trying to do too much these days, much like Adrian Peterson did for Penny last year.

This game against the Raiders was a lot of things. It was fun at many times, and it was also stressful at others. There were a number of Seattle players who made big time plays, but then oddly had screw ups, as well. Quandre Diggs picked off Derek Carr twice that gave Seattle’s offense opportunities for points, but he also whiffed on a few key tackles by not wrapping up. Geno Smith had another great statistical game, made some thrilling plays, but he also threw a costly pick, and there was a weird fumble exchange with the back late in the game. Jordyn Brooks was a monster tackler but didn’t appear great in coverage.

K9 had two spectacular touchdown runs, but danced around too much at other times for little to no gains. This was honestly one of the weirdest games I’ve seen from a Seattle running back, and it was stunning that it came from this guy, who everyone thought was the top contender fro Offensive Rookie Of The Year. He won’t be if he continues these sort of outings.

There were also guys who this team is heavily relying who didn’t really show up. Abe Lucas, who we all love at right tackle, had a rough day against Maxx Crosby who is one of the best edge rushers in the league. Lucas was sick over the weekend, and there’s a chance he wasn’t fully healthy, but if you put the pads on, you gotta be better than that. Also, Seattle’s entire edge rushing group was quiet for a second game in a row. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Darrell Taylor be quiet, I have doubts as to whether Hurtt’s scheme suits him, but seeing Uchenna Nwuso make this little of an impact as an edge rusher in back to back games is a disturbing trend.

In the end, I felt Lumen Field with a really gross feeling in my stomach. I hate it when my team’s defense cannot stop the run, and it doubly sucks when the DC is putting forth fronts in order to get his pass rush going and defense is managing neither aspect. After a great four game stretch where they were doing just that for the most part, this defense has badly regressed. I’m not sure it’s on the players either. I think it could be on coaching, and the scheme right now.

By showing more 3-4 looks to disguise coverages, Seattle is rolling with lighter defensive fronts than in past years. I think the reason Carroll always preferred more of a 4-3 philosophy is because that style is better at taking away the run.

People were all over firing Ken Norton Junior last year, but at least in his time as the DC in this town, Seattle was decent at stopping the run. With this defense yesterday, they couldn’t do anything, and Vegas managed an absurd 576 yards of total offense, which made this one of the worst defensive efforts in the history of this organization. I can’t imagine that sitting well with the Coach.

Therefore, I wouldn’t mind seeing Seattle going more back to more of Carroll’s 4-3 philosophy again. Most of the teams that they will be facing in December prefer running the ball. Most of those opponents look beatable if Seattle can shore if their run defense more, but can they in time?

I think they better, and I suspect Carroll will do what he needs to do as head coach to make sure they do. These two back to back losses have got to sting him. He has been beaten in ways in which he prefers to win with.

It’s fun to use terms like “being multiple” these days in this modern game of football. It’s a trendy thing with a lot of defenses to show a variety of looks, but football is very cyclical. These multiple style defenses largely bore out of college where offenses were spreading the ball around with multiple receiver sets. The trend found itself in the NFL over the last several years, but I see more offenses starting to shift back into traditional running attacks to counter these looks. San Francisco is doing it with great success, but so is Miami, the Jets, the Giants, Washington, Dallas, and other teams in playoff contention. There’s a pattern here.

So, screw it. Let’s just get back to running the stinking ball, and let’s make stopping the run the priority again. Know who you are, and be who you are.

Maybe what Seattle needs to do in these final six games isn’t to over think themselves with being “multiple” and just simplify the game to two basic fundamental truths; run the ball, and stop the run, and let the chips fall where they may.

Go Hawks.

The 2022 Las Vegas Raiders are an odd team. Their record says that they suck, yet they’ve lost a lot of close games, including a very narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road, but then they also got beat down badly by a bad Saints team.

They have talent on offense with Devante Adams, Josh Jacobs, and Derek Carr that they can be pretty dangerous to deal with, but they are paired with a miserable defense on the other side of the ball. Hence, their 3-7 record. They can score points, but they give up a lotta points. This is the 2022 Raiders.

Conversely, the Seahawks are sitting with a respectable 6-4 record, with a pretty good offense led by Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and rookie phenom Ken Walker III (affectionately known as K9), and a defense that isn’t as bad as the Vegas’s. Geno Smith is flirting with MVP votes, and K9 is a leading contender for NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year; that’s how good they’ve been through ten games.

Given the fact that this game is being played in Seattle, and the Seahawks are rested coming off of their bye week, Seattle should win this game on Sunday, even with the Raiders coming off of their dramatic come from behind win in Denver (thank you, Raiders for that, by the way). The Broncos and the Seahawks are two very different teams. One is a team that is in complete disarray after heavy expectations were placed on them with the Russell Wilson trade, and the other is a total surprise (in a good way) playing with house money (pun intended).

Therefore, I am going with conventional wisdom, and I am picking the Seahawks to flourish in this one against the Raiders on Sunday. I think they are primed to do it. They’ve had time to dive into this opponent, and they are motivated to make a playoff run during this final seven game stretch of dive where they will be playing five of those games on in front of the Twelves.

After getting stunned by Tampa’s ground game in Germany, I think Clint Hurtt and Pete Carroll get their defense back to playing fast and furious against the run, and I think that will likely force Carr to beat them from the pocket against a secondary that is up and coming. I’m positive that Devante Adams will get his (he’s that good), but if I’m to match these two offenses against these two defenses, I think Seattle’s defense is much more likely to have the better day. This leads me to why I feel most likely Seattle is going to win this one at home.

Geno Smith is due a monster game. He’s had a few big ones already this season, but at home and against this Vegas secondary with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, and his stable of tight ends? Yeah, I suspect Geno is going to put on a show, especially with K9 getting back to his explosive ways. The weather won’t likely favor the pass game, it looks to be wet and cold, but I don’t think that stops Seattle’s offensive attack in this one. They will be ready for it.

I see the Seahawks winning fairly comfortably, with maybe a 31-17 final score. I think their defense get turnovers that leads to points for the offense. I think the offense plays a good game of keep away from LV’s offense with K9 running and Geno playing a stellar game of quarterback efficiency, and I think this is going to be a fun game for the Twelves to watch.

As for Vegas, I believe this team is desperate for a reset. I think they missed an opportunity to have promoted their interim head coach last year into a permanent position this year. He was popular with the players, they were a fun underdog because of how the players rallied for him, and I just don’t think Josh McDaniels is the guy to lead them to where they want to go. If I’m Mark Davis, I’m going to cut my losses with McDaniels at the end of the season, and I am going to be prepared to make Sean Payton a very lucrative offer to take over the franchise in order to finally get it back to their glory days that are now decades ago.

Because here are the cold hard facts about the Silver and Black. The Seattle Seahawks, over the last decade, have been more like the feisty Raiders of old than the Raiders have been, and it can not been disputed. Their offenses have largely been explosive like those teams coached by John Madden, Tom Flores, and Art Shell, and their LOB defense was as sticky and fierce as any Raider defense was back in the seventies and early eighties. They played it almost the exact same way.

The Raiders have been a team living on reputation for years with Gen Xers and Boomers who knew who Lyle Alzado was, but their kids and grand kids have no knowledge of those years and players. They need that to change. John Madden was an iconic culture guy. McDaniels is not.

So, it’s time for Seattle to do their old AFC West rival a solid, and beat them down in order to make Davis’s decision at the end of the season an easy one. Seahawks need to mash them up like a pot of boiled potatoes this Sunday.

I think they will. It’s the right thing to do for Seattle and Vegas.

Go Hawks.

This wasn’t the game that I was anticipating for Seattle in Germany. Heading overseas, they seemed like one of the hottest teams in football. They were on an impressive four game win streak against quality opponents, and playing great ball both offensively and defensively in all of these matchups.

Conversely, the Buccaneers were a team that looked on the ropes. They had a banged up offensive line, a run game that was laughably one of the worst in the league, and an offense that wasn’t scoring a lot of points, even with The GOAT. Their defense, while still pretty good, didn’t seem too terribly intimidating, either.

This felt to me like a game that Seattle should have been able to win handily, and true enough, the first series of the game, Tom Brady and the Tampa offense looked overwhelmed by Seattle’s defense. It’s a shame that the rest of the first half, and second half didn’t look the same as that initial series.

Almost inexplicably, Tampa found its absent run game, and stunned Seattle’s defense with it. They stayed with it throughout, and Brady had himself a pretty easy day hitting targets almost anywhere he wanted to go with play action. If you give Tom Brady that kind of ground game, he can beat any defense in this league, and it did. That was the difference in the game for me.

That was also a really hard watch for me, as well. Yes, it’s true that Seattle couldn’t get much going offensively in the first half, K9 was held in check, and they were was lousy with third downs, and found themselves in bad positions with penalties and taking sacks, but watching Tampa running on Seattle’s defense mostly at will was super difficult to digest.

How? Why?

Ultimately, I don’t have any definitive answers, but it was really telling for me to hear Coach Carroll say in his press conference “we need to go back to doing things (on defense) that respect the run.”

If I were to guess what Coach meant by that, I would suggest that maybe Tampa caught Seattle in defensive fronts that were favorable to run on, and since they are coached by a defensive minded HC, he had absolutely no problem dialing the run against those specific fronts where perhaps a more offensive minded coach would desire to pass. In other words, I think it’s possible, if not fully probable, that Clint Hurtt’s game plan was to stop the passing attack of Brady, and not be overly concerned with Leonard Fournette on the ground.

With Hurtt’s defense, Seattle often features a four man front in it’s nickel that some football nerds might call a 2-4-5. The two represents the two interior defensive linemen, the four is four linebackers with the outside backers at the line of scrimmage as stand up ends, and the five is the defensive backs on the back end. This front is played mostly against obvious pass situations. The idea is to get the best athletes on the field to rush and cover on the back end, but there can be a price for that.

The four rushers are often lighter athletes, the defensive tackles are lighter and the ends usually are as well. Again, the idea is to win with quickness. A 330 pound run stuffing Al Woods isn’t as ideal as a 290 pound Quinton Jefferson, and a 250 pound Darrell Taylor isn’t likely to win with leverage standing up, but with speed off the edge or on stunts.

Furthermore, when Seattle uses this package, Hurtt has his defensive tackles wide to the outside corners of the guards with no big body on the center. Sometimes the inside backers crowd those inner gaps, but not always, and if you opt to run on that front, it is much easier for the 300 pound center to take on a 240 pound middle linebacker than a mammoth nose tackle.

When I see Seattle showing this package, I am sort of amazed when offenses don’t just run on it all the time. Offenses were doing that earlier in the season when Seattle showed that a lot, but Seattle tweaked their front and went to more heavier looks of 4-3 and 5-2 Bear fronts. It helped their defensive turnaround, but then this game happened.

Seattle showed a lot of 2-4-5 in this game (I believe I found myself noticing), and Tampa took what was there on the ground. That helped them set up play action as soon as Seattle shifted back to more heavier fronts in order to stop the run.

Tampa boxed smart from the get go, and put Seattle’s defense in a corner that it never really got out of enough. It never got its pass rush going, and it got fortunate to get a couple interceptions to help bail them out (one on an incredibly stupid play by Tampa with Fournette throwing to Brady, of all things).

Eventually, when Seattle needed to stop the run late in the fourth quarter to aid a Geno Smith led comeback attempt, Tampa had Seattle’s defense so tired that they couldn’t stop the run even with their heavier fronts. I think that speficically had Pete Carroll pretty upset at the outcome.

Tampa did to his defense what Pete Carroll loves to do late in games against other teams. They ran with success at will. Seattle did this to Arizona, and the New York Giants, and the LA Chargers. That won’t sit well with him on a ten hour flight home.

People can criticize how inept the Seattle offense was during the first half of ball, and how out of sorts Geno Smith might have been in moments, and how K9 couldn’t get anything going on the ground. I think it is completely fair to suggest that Seattle could have adjusted earlier on offense, and got their passing game going faster when the run wasn’t there for them like they hoped.

In my opinion, however, this was a way more disappointing effort by a Seahawk defense that I expected to play a lot better. I anticipated that Seattle’s offense would have some hiccups against a tough Tampa defense. What I didn’t envision was seeing one of the worst running attacks have a day against Poona Ford and Al Woods.

So where does Seattle go from here?

As bad of a taste in my mouth as I got from watching this game, I feel more inclined to see a silver lining. I honestly think that losing like this right before their bye week isn’t the worst thing for these 2022 Seattle Seahawks.

I think this is a team still very capable of finding themselves in the playoffs, and maybe hanging onto their division lead in the NFC West (yes, even against those 49ers). Geno Smith proved yet again in this outing to be a quality starting quarterback, and I don’t believe that is going to change from here on out. He’s legit, and he has great weapons around him and a good scheme to play in. I’m a believer in this team still very much, offensively.

Defensively, they need to put this game behind them, and get back to a style that wants to get after the run, and force teams into one dimensional play. I think this might require Hurtt and Carroll to look at making further tweaks up front again. Specifically, I think that might require getting back to an approach that will be stronger against the run.

Moving forward, this team plays the 49ers, the Panthers, and the Jets who all prefer the ground game. I believe that Seattle has the bodies to stop the run, but they need to be used the right way, and the players gotta want to do it, too.

That’s the final thing that I wanted to say about this game. To me, it looked like Tampa ran on Seattle fronts that were favorable to run on, but what I don’t know is if when Seattle shifted more to heavier looks, Seattle defenders didn’t do enough to shift their mentality to stop the run as they needed to, and if that is what Carroll was referring to when he said “respecting the run.”

I think that winning football often comes down to who wants it more. I think Tampa really wanted to assert their run game. I suspect that they felt there was a chance that they could catch Seattle off guard with it, but once they started having success, that success bred further success on the ground. Offensive linemen would much rather be run blockers than pass blockers. It allows them to be the aggressors.

Perhaps this game was just Tampa’s day in that regard, and maybe this is the best lesson for a young Seattle team to take away from this. Winning in football is almost always hard, and in any given Sunday, a seemingly inferior opponent can rise to the occasion.

When I look at this Seahawk schedule and the remaining games, I see winnable ones, but these Seahawks can’t play like this. They are going to have to be prepared for dogfights each and every week.

I think this game in Germany serves as a good reminder of that, and is the thing they maybe needed to experience in order to come out of their bye week even more determined to prove the doubters wrong. This was their bad day at the office. We’ve all had those days.

And let’s face it, sometimes we need to be knocked down a peg in life when we start feeling cocky and overly confident. We need to be reminded to respect the process and do the hard work. Doing all the little things right matters.

Now is a great time for the players to get some rest and heel, and refocus on the little things. It’s also a great time for the coaches to self scout, and make all the tweaks they need on both sides of the ball to get back on track and finish this season out right. I think they will.

I’m ready for that, and I am excited about that.

Go Hawks.

Tom Brady has done it all as a professional quarterback.

He went from underdog 6th round pick to Super Bowl winning quarterback in short order during his long, and glory filled career. Since that time, he married a super famous and super wealthy supermodel, started a family with her, and he played in eight more Super Bowls, and won seven of them all together. What a life.

Tom Brady also has made millions upon millions of dollars as a high salaried athlete and a recipient of countless endorsements. What he has done for himself as a person, and what he has accomplished on the field won’t likely be matched by another quarterback anytime soon, and most likely not in my lifetime. Therefor, it is not a stretch to call him the greatest of all time (aka the GOAT).

He could have walked away from the game last Winter, at age 44, having just lost in the divisional round to the what would become the Super Bowl winning champs in the LA Rams, and not a single soul alive would have blamed him for it, and most would have admired how he hung tough against a dominant Rams pass rush. In fact, he did just that. He walked away from the game.

.. But then after a few weeks of being at home with his gorgeous wife and kids, he decided that he needed to come back to it.. to prove he could win one more ring (as if seven wasn’t nearly enough).

Fast forward a few months later, and supermodel wife Gisele has apparently finally gained enough self respect, and has filed for divorce. As if that wasn’t enough misfortune, now he’s apparently losing his shirt off of some shady crypto currency investing. Also, his offensive line sucks and therefor, so does his offense, and his team has a losing record.

It is more than fitting that he is now facing a surprisingly strong Seattle Seahawks team led by the even more surprisingly good quarterback play out of Geno Smith in Germany. I sense the Football Fates at play, here.

There is no universe out there where Tom Brady deserves to beat Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday. Anyone who has studied Greek mythology understands that you do not tempt the motherf’ing Fates. When you do, it needs to end badly, as it did with Icarus and many others who were guided by impulse over reason.

Tom Brady very much deserves the fate of getting beaten badly by the Seahawks in Munich, and I think this is a game that is shaping up for just that. His offensive line is bad, and he lacks explosive playmakers around him. This is a bad matchup for him going against the resurgent Seattle defense that is quick and strong up front, and has playmaking speed in the backfield.

It is proper for Seattle’s defense to break Brady in this one, and bury him deeply into the German turf to which this game will be played on. Seattle doesn’t have to worry about any threat of running quarterback for the first time in many weeks. They just need to be sound, and play their game against him. The current trends suggest that they will.

Now, what Seattle really needs to do in this one is continue to be patient and efficient with the ball on offense, and not get rattled by an aggressive defense that can get after a quarterback. Fortunately for the Seahawk offense, it has faced similar defenses in the last month with the Giants and playing the Cardinals twice. In all those outings, Geno Smith came out looking pretty darn effective. There is no reason to think that he can’t be just that again in this one.

The Buccaneer defense is an interesting one. They are top five in the league for sacks, and they are also good at taking the ball away, but they can also give up yards on the ground and through the air, and they haven’t been great in the red zone. Geno just needs to continue being smart with the ball, and he needs to be aided by a dynamic ground game led by Ken Walker aka K9.

Ultimately, I think Geno will be. He’s playing too consistently good right now, and K9 feels like a player ready to take the NFL by storm as a runner. That’s a winning combo to pair with a Seattle defense that is also playing hot right now.

Therefor, I think the Seahawks win this one, and I think comfortably in the end, 24-13. This is what the Universe and all its Football Fates want, and therefore, I believe it will be.

It might not be the prettiest win for Seattle, but I think it is destined to be another ugly loss for the Bucs. Tom Brady might be feeling his magic coming back with that come from behind win against the struggling Rams last Sunday, but I think that’s just the Fates toying with him like a kitty playing with a mouse before biting the motherf’er’s cute little head off.

Tom Brady is going to feel pain in this one. I don’t know how many sacks Seattle will actually get on him, but he will likely feel Uchenna Nwosu, and Bruce Irving, Poona Ford, and Shelby Harris, and company. He will also see that speed and playmaking ability in Seattle’s secondary, as well. These Seattle no name defenders are ready to take down the GOAT like a sacrificial lamb at the Alter of Athena.

After all, Tom Brady has deeply offended the Virgin Warrior Goddess, gravely. There is no way for him to dodge that, either.

She will be with the Seahawks on their sidelines, whispering into the ears of Geno Smith and telling him she is with him on this day. She will flash her blinding breasts into Brady’s face just before Poona breaks free out of his stunt, launching himself into the GOAT’s ribcage. Tarig Woolen will dart out of nowhere to steal a pass for, and Athena will meet him in the end zone with the radiance of the sun.

.. Because this is what Tom Brady deserves. He does not get to enjoy victory on this day. Instead, he needs to receive the sobering reality that he chose pursuing yet another Super Bowl ring over his wife and family, and he just lost to Geno Smith on foreign soil for all of the World to see as part of the price.

This motherfucker deserves to lose and lose badly, and therefore, I believe he will.

Go Hawks.

As I have mentioned a few times before, games between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals can often be weird. These team know each other well, and each team kinda knows what it can do to beat the other team, if all goes according to plan, but that does not prevent the football deities from sending their gremlins down to stir up shit for both teams in the process.

Often times, each of these teams find ways to win on the other’s home turf, and that, in and of itself, is a wacky NFL oddity. Not this year, though, which leads me to this other odd fact about this rivalry.

What is really super duper odd in this weird ass rivalry is that, since 2010, every four years, the Seahawks sweep the Cardinals. Yup. They have done this in 2010, 2014, 2018, and now in 2022. Spooky, really, and also maybe Vegas betters should have paid closer attention to this.

At any rate, it’s joyful to muse over this victory for my Seattle Seahawks. My biggest takeaway from this outing is really just how polar opposite both of these programs are right now, and how it played out in this rematch.

Going into the season, there was a fair amount of hype around Kyler Murray and the Cardinals finally being able to take the NFC West, like this was maybe their year, or some such thing. I was skeptical, but I sensed others were not.

Contrastingly, most thought that the Seattle Seahawks would suck donkey turds. Many thought that Pete Carroll was crazy for promoting Geno Smith to QB1, and he should have traded for Baker Mayfield, or just went with Drew Lock. Most thought Seattle’s real plan was tanking for a quarterback in next year’s draft. I was a bit skeptical of that, as well.

I felt that anyone who believes that Pete Carroll would purposefully tank for an unproven quarterback coming out of college doesn’t really know anything about Pete Carroll and his culture. While I didn’t anticipate Geno Smith playing this well (among tops in the league), I didn’t necessarily believe he would play that poorly, either. At worst, I felt that if Carroll believed in him, there must be something to him others weren’t seeing.

Therein lays the biggest difference between these two programs. Seattle is exceeding low expectations while Arizona is falling on its face with the expectations placed upon them. Where Seattle players feel up lifted by the belief their head coach has bestowed in them, Arizona watches Kyler Murray fight with his head coach and teammates, and lose games in the process.

Arizona arguably has more overall talent on their roster than Seattle does, but because of their dysfunction, they can’t produce winning football right now. Seattle, on the other hand, is playing extremely well together, and the young talent on their roster is learning how to become great in this league on the fly, each and every week, and because of that, they are winning games.

Seattle is developing and building while Arizona is imploding. It’s that simple.

Geno Smith is better at quarterbacking than Kyler Murray is right now, and therefor, is a better quarterback. Sure, he doesn’t have the dynamic skills that Murray has, but he is better in terms of nuances vital for success at the position. So, it shouldn’t really be that shocking that Geno out performed Kyler again in this one.

Geno Smith has also been helped out by having a true blue chip franchise running back in Ken Walker III (aka K9). Geno Smith also isn’t hurt either by Shane Waldron’s perfectly balanced play calling, and having superb tight ends to throw to like Noah Fant. It’s probably nice that Geno Smith still has DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the outside, too.

But it is not like Kyler Murray doesn’t have great weapons because he does, plain and simple. DeAndre Hopkins is supposed to be the best receiver in the league, and this Rondale Moore kid looks pretty snazzy, too, and the last time I checked, Zach Ertz is still a pretty damn good tight end.

I wonder how much those guys would enjoy playing for a quarterback like Geno Smith?

I don’t mean this to be a smart ass question, either. After watching the sideline shit show of Murray chewing out Hopkins, and then shots of Hopkins looking emotionally detached the rest of the game, I actually think it is a fair question to ask.

Do these Cardinal guys love playing together? I have mighty doubts.

I predicted that Seattle would win this game precisely because of antics just mentioned. Call me old fashioned, but dysfunction does not deserve victory. It just doesn’t, and because Seattle has been playing so connected, and together, and for each other, I felt that they would handily win this one. While the game was a lot closer than the final score indicated, it also really wasn’t, was it?

Seattle gifted Arizona six points off of a pick six that I am sure Geno Smith won’t throw into the flat again, but up until that point, Seattle seemed like they were in firm enough control on both sides of the ball. True enough, though, in their next offensive series, Geno guided the Seahawks offense to an impressive touchdown score to retake the lead. Seattle never looked back afterwards.

In that drive, Geno was as gutsy and determined of a quarterback as you will ever see. Nothing phased him, and Arizona brought all kinds of pressure. After that drive, Seattle put together more scoring drives. They kicked the door down on Arizona’s attacking defense, and Kyler Murray just couldn’t do enough in the end, even with an impressive drive of his own to make it a closer score in the final minutes.

True to form, after Arizona scored, Geno led yet another touchdown scoring drive throwing a gorgeous catch and run ball to Noah Fant, and then handing the ball off to K9, down after down, as K9 crushed the souls of would be Cardinal tacklers. In those moments, with K9 run, after K9 run, I could sense legendary Seahawk coach Chuck Knox peering down from the heavenly skies with a shit eating grin as wide as Brian Mone’s buttocks.

This is winning football. This is what winning culture looks like.

In a match sure to inspire weird events, Seattle stayed focused, and they outplayed a desperate opponent who were searching for momentum in a must win game for them. Do not underestimate how much a victory likes this means for the upstart 2022 Seattle Seahawks.

This was such a complete victory over the dumbstruck Cardinals that I am having a difficult time deciding who my game ball goes towards. Part of me thinks it should be Geno Smith’s for overcoming what could have been a very costly pick six. Part of me also thinks it needs to be K9’s after that stellar closing drive to ice the game, and part of me wants to give it to Noah Fant who had himself a break out game at tight end.

But if I am to be absolutely honest, if I am to hand out any balls, I would give it to all the dudes on this impressive, and very underrated Seahawk defense. This defense played balls out. They kept Hopkins quiet, they stuffed the run, and made Murray have to work extra hard for his big plays.

For as good as Seattle’s offense has been this season (they’ve been really good), this defense feels like they are playing just as inspired. In this one, they made an offense that was getting their star players back look very ordinary. This has been the forth week in a row where the Seahawk defense has done this to a good offense.

I cannot praise enough what Clint Hurtt have done with turning around this unit. They play fast, they play hard, they can cover, and hit, and tackle, and they force you into mistakes. Best of all, through this stretch, it also feels very sustainable, every bit as much as Geno Smith and the offense does.

Watch out, these 2022 Seahawks feel dangerous. I haven’t sensed dangerous from this team in a number of seasons now, not like this, anyhow.

And I am one hundred percent behind this. This is what winning culture eventually becomes. It’s dangerous for other teams to face.

Seattle travels abroad to Munich to take on another bit of a dysfunctional mess next Sunday, and they have a huge following in Germany, oddly. Needless to say, I like their chances. As Coach Carroll would say, this is another great opportunity to play championship football.

So, go get Tom Brady and the Bucs. Bury them. Do it.

Go Hawks.

Outside of possibly the Philadelphia Eagles, there might not be a hotter team in the NFL right now than the Seattle Seahawks. Stop rubbing your eyes, and do not turn away from your screen. This is not hyperbole.

Through the last three weeks, these Seahawks have beaten teams who have been perceived to be more talented than they are, and they have been beating them decisively. They have been beating them with defense, with offense, and with special teams.

They have been winning with stellar quarterback play, they have been winning with exciting rookies, they have been winning in the trenches, and they are winning our hearts, our minds, and our imaginations as Twelves. Above all, through these last three weeks, they have been winning together as a team playing for each other. In my opinion, that’s the best way to win.

Don’t look now, but there is a very 2022 Seattle Mariner vibe about these 2022 Seahawks. In fact, it is so strong that in the final minutes of the game last Sunday, a ref announced a penalty over the mic, he called the Seahawks the Seattle Mariners.

Conversely, there is a kinda Celebrity Rehab vibe about the Arizona Cardinals right now. Kyler Murray seems to have such a video game addiction that he will bite the head off of anyone who tells him that he can’t just rely on his physical talents. His head coach Kliff Kingsbury has the vibe of someone more interested in seeing how many Paradise Valley trophy wives he can fit into his jacuzzi than he is about making smart decisions as a play-caller. This team has all kinds of talent, but they don’t have the feel of a unit that is playing together particularly well.

To their credit, their defense actually plays a pretty respectable game, and they seem to be coached well enough there, but collectively, as an entire team, they seem to lack joy. In fact, their quarterback has been more inclined to cuss out his coach when he throws an interception than to just give a “my bad” to his teammates who are trying to play their asses off for him.

As I look at this Arizona team right now, I don’t think they’re a bunch that deserves to win, frankly. This isn’t just my biased view as a Seahawk fan, either. There is a greater reasoning at play here.

Dysfunction doesn’t deserve victory. In fact, it might be better for them to just suck the whole rest of the season so that proper changes happen for them. They need to feel their bottom because the organizations that they compete with in the NFC West are all better run. They are coached better, and more importantly, their cultures function better than what is going on in Arizona.

So when I look at the Seattle Seahawks, and I see a quarterback in Geno Smith who is consistently playing really good ball with bright talent around him, and I see a defense that has been playing impressive ball lately, and I look at this mess with the Cardinals, I’m seeing Seattle traveling down there, and winning another game in convincing fashion. I don’t think these Cardinals are going to lay down for them in any way, but I think Seattle comfortably wins this game in the end.

On top of the dysfunction of Kliff and Kyler, Arizona has a banged up offensive line again in this one. Seattle took advantage of it last time, and I don’t expect anything to change in their second match.

One of the most underrated aspects to Seattle’s turnaround on defense is just how well their defensive tackles have been playing. They are an underrated unit in this league. When you look at the fact that Arizona doesn’t possess much of a ground game outside of Kyler scrambling, eventually these interior defensive linemen (along with the dynamic play of the edge rushers led by Uchenna Nwosu) are going to be able to pin their ears back.

Furthermore, the memo is out on how to stop a small scrambling quarterback in this league, and every Seahawk fan should know this because of their own former short quarterback. That memo becomes much easier of a task if the small QB doesn’t have a run game supporting him, and it reads as follows.

You contain him with your edge rushers, and you get good inside push from your tackles. Poona Ford, Shelby Harris, and Quinton Jefferson are good at getting inside push. Trust me, Seattle probably wants Kyler contained to a pocket, and passing, even with DeAndre Hopkins back as receiver.

Offensively for Seattle, I am putting my trust in Geno Smith to continue making good decisions and doing everything he needs to do to secure victory. Geno didn’t have his best game a few weeks back against these Cardinal defenders, and he was the first to say that in his post game presser, but he didn’t play terrible, either. He game managed well enough, and I think traveling down there to face them again, he will have a much better sense about what that defense does, which is very feast and famine with the blitz.

Will Geno better recognize weaknesses when they blitz? I would not bet against that. Geno Smith seems to be very good at football right now, and I think a lot of that has been in his recognition of what a defense is doing.

I also suspect that we are going to see yet another impressive day from rookie running back Ken Walker III (affectionately now known as K9). There will be things he does in this game that will continue to wow because that is what this dude does. I sense we could see his impact play more out as a receiver in this one.

I think the Seahawks win this one 33-17. Am I nuts to say this? Sure, I absolutely could be, but we will see.

I think Seattle’s defense is legit and can sustain itself this Sunday. They did a good job against Kyler last time, and I am sure that Arizona will have made adjustments on how they want to attack it, but I also sense that Seattle will likely be ready for it.

Offensively, I can see the Seahawks controlling clock more than the Cardinals, and while that might not lead to touchdowns on every scoring drive, it can lead to a lot of field goals, and time drained off the clock. Thus, I can envision Pete Carroll winning this one the way in which he truly loves to win at football; seeing his offense sustaining long drives, controlling clock, getting points on the board, and forcing the other team’s offense into a one dimensional style in which it will become harder for them to play against his defense.

I think the Seahawks stay hot in this one.

Go Hawks!

The 2022 Seattle Seahawks are a group of Supermen, but not everyone knows it. Definitely not many folks East of the Delaware River know this, but I’m not even sure all general Seattle sports fans know this yet, either (probably due to post Mariner glow), but they will.

These Seattle Seahawks should not be doing what they have been doing for the last three weeks, beating quality opponents. The Arizona Cardinals should be better than them. So should the LA Chargers, and now the New York Giants who are all probably more than a bit stunned at what just happened to them at Lumen Field getting stomped 27-13 in a game they perhaps they viewed as winnable.

All three of those teams have young quarterbacks who were high first round picks. They all have name players on their defensive lines. Seattle has a 32 year old former second round pick who hasn’t regularly been a starter at quarterback since 2014, and a defensive line full of defensive tackles who where either undrafted, or taken very late in their draft classes. In fact, the only first round picks on the Seahawk defense are linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bruce Irvin (who was drafted before Tesla cars hit the market), and defensive lineman LJ Collier who’s been labeled as a bit of a bust.

The Seattle Seahawks are not supposed to be a very good offensive team this year, yet Geno Smith continues to show, game after game, that he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Through eight games now, it cannot be denied or brushed off. What he is doing feels very sustainable, and quite possibly for a long time. In fact, I suspect that the Seattle brass are having serious discussions of extending him now.

The Seattle Seahawks are also not supposed to be a very good defense right now because they moved on from Bobby Wagner, and do not possess a game wrecking presence on their defensive line, or experienced household name corners. That said, every time I have watched them play for the last three weeks, their defensive front seven has wrecked the offenses of the Cardinals, Chargers, and now the Giants, who supposedly had an unstoppable ground game and this was going to be the “real test” for the Seattle D.

Well, I would say that holding Saquon Barkley to 53 yards on 20 carries is pretty damn good test taking for Clint Hurtt’s defensive front that has gone from passive mode for the first month of the season, to full blown attack mode through most of October. Credit Hurtt for adjusting his scheme to suit the fellas up front because they are absolutely playing their asses off right now, and those inexperienced corners? Yeah, turns out all three of them are pretty damn good, too.

But I totally get why the national media and maybe even the local media has continued to cast some doubts on these Seahawks. They had a rough September, defensively, and many people weren’t quite ready to buy into Geno Smith yet then, but they are absolutely dip sticks if they aren’t bought into him now, and they are probably dip sticks if they aren’t now buying Hurtt’s multi front attacking defense, as well.

Is this team a serious playoff contender now at 5-3 in the season and still very much in control of the NFC West?

I frankly do not see why not. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them make a trade (or two) before the trade deadline this Tuesday if they feel like there’s talent out there they can bring in to further cement their playoff chances.

After trading Russell Wilson earlier in the year, Pete Carroll has said that they don’t view this year as a rebuilding year. If that is the case and they are sitting atop the NFC West right now, why not go for it, and add a bit more pieces?

On many levels, beating the impressively resilient upstart New York Giants was the thing that needed to happen. People needed to see that this team in Seattle is for real, that Geno Smith is actually pretty damn good, and Seattle’s no-name defense can ball the F out against one of the biggest stars in football in Saquon Barkley.

All week, when I turned on the ESPN, listened to sports radio, read some shit online, I caught an endless barrage of East Coast bias with this game and the Giants. Stories were all about how good of a coach Brian Daboll is, and what he has done with Daniel Jones, and how Barkley is the great come back story, and this team is full of resilience. I don’t mean to be a dick about it, but, um, were any of these people seeing what has been going down in Seattle with Pete Carroll’s club?

Of course not, because it is Seattle, and even Colin Cowherd, who is from this area, loves to dismiss anything that is happening up here. It is what it is. Seattle isn’t a huge market, and it isn’t an East Coast market, and the team doesn’t have Russell Wilson anymore. At the beginning of the telecast of this game, the play by play dude was all about the glory of the 6-1 Giants coming into Seattle with no mention of the 4-3 Seahawks being atop their division.

So the Seattle Seahawks had to do what they had to do, and that was suck the souls out of all those biased East Coasters by beating down their darling Cinderella team affectionately called The G-Men. This is what Seattle sports teams have to do, and Pete Carroll feeds off of that opportunity. In fact, he bathes in it.

New York was the town he got fired in the first time he was a head coach, and Boston was the second town he got fired in a few years later. Don’t think for a second that he doesn’t love beating teams from those markets.

And do not think for a second that Geno Smith didn’t enjoy beating these Giants either after they brought him in to half heartedly see if he could be the heir apparent to Eli Manning, and then dumped him after one failed start. Do not think for a second that Geno wouldn’t mind beating the Jets in a little more than a month from now, either.

Seattle is the land for second chances and opportunities to get a fair shake for a gig. Pete Carroll is a magical forrest elf who grants second chances to players who he believes in, and isn’t worried about what anyone’s draft stock was. Geno Smith, Al Woods, Poona Ford, Will Dissly, Michael Jackson, Tariq Woolen, and the list of key contributors and impact players goes on, and on. Even during the infamous LOB years, that defense and team had few first round picks on it, and some of the bigger names were undrafted talents.

So why is it that this team and this coach continues to be doubted today?

Carroll has consistently produced winners the moment he arrived in Seattle. Yes, there’s been a couple down years in 2011 and 2021, but that’s really it, and at 5-3, the narrative that Carroll only won because of Russell Wilson is total hogwash, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you find that sort of talk spewing from your mouth.. still.

Pete Carroll constructs and maintains a winning culture, and in this game, it came through. Tyler Lockett was having a rough game at the office. He was responsible for a fumble that gave New York an easy opportunity to score a touchdown, and he dropped an easy touchdown pass from Geno, but Geno stayed with him.

On a magical fourth quarter drive when the score was tied 13-13, Geno Smith crisply went five for five passing, traveling down the field 75 yards, and he threw a dime to Lockett on a similar type of route he earlier ran and dropped that pass on. Previously, Geno (and Coach Carroll) had consulted Lockett when his head was down on the bench after that dropped would be touchdown grab. Geno made sure to go back his way when he got another chance.

Now ask yourself this. Would Tom Brady and Bill Belichick do this? How about Aaron Rodgers?

Culture matters.

After the game, Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, and DK Metcalf took to the podium together. I’ve never seen players do that for one and other after a game. I suspect that DK and Tyler where there for Geno because they know that he was there for them in this game where both star receivers dropped passes.

They believe in each other, and they believe in this team this year. They are ready to win together and crush the souls of disbelievers and ignorers.

This team has energy, and momentum. It’s fun to watch, and don’t kid yourself into thinking that this is a cute little story. They want to devour, and destroy, and laugh, and giggle, and yell whenever they need to along the way down their path to glory.

The trade deadline is Tuesday. Do they make a move?

I’m thinking it’s now more likely, but I can’t conclusively decide which area of their team they would decide needs a boost. I can see adding another pass rusher, but I can also see adding a back behind Ken Walker III to sustain the explosive elements of their ground game whenever he needs a breather. Some think maybe a certain middle linebacker who plays in Chicago would be a natural fit for this club.

All I know is this: The 2022 Seattle Seahawks don’t feel like a rebuilding team anymore to me. They feel like a team that can contend, and should contend. I wouldn’t put anything against what this organization might do at the trade deadline, or what this team might be in December if they can stay healthy enough.

As always, we will see, but I like how it’s trending. In fact, I love it. You are free to joy back with this bandwagon party anytime you want.

Go Hawks.

The New York Football Giants are a feel good story team featuring Daniel Jones, a young quarterback that the football world had seemingly given up on. Some with a solid East Coast bias might call them “the story” of the NFL season, thus far. Heading into this season, it was believed by many (including myself) that this team would be playing for a top pick in next Spring’s draft to select a quarterback from Alabama, or a quarterback from Ohio State.

Now sitting at 6-1 and contending for a divisional title in a surprisingly tough NFC East, these Giants seem to a be a lot of people’s favs. It’s refreshing watching a new head coach being able to turnaround a struggling program, and getting the most out of a player who seemed destined for the life of a career backup after this season. On top of that, they are gritty group of G-Men, and don’t mind taking it into the fourth quarter to find a way to come from behind to pull off a win.

Rookie head coach Brian Daboll has to be a top contender for Coach Of The Year honors right now, and the fact that he has turned around Daniel Jones after turning around Josh Allen in Buffalo as a coordinator, I don’t think it is hyperbolic to suggest that he’s one of the brightest minds in football right now. He seems to be that good. Bravo to the Giants for making this hire.

Conversely, here in Seattle, the Seahawks are having a similar feel good story of their own. After trading away Russell Wilson last Winter, it was widely assumed that the Seahawks were going to tank this season for a top quarterback in next year’s draft, much like the assumption with the Giants. Judging off of their actions, it was an easy assumption to make.

They didn’t trade for another veteran passer like Matt Ryan, or Baker Mayfield. They didn’t sign Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota in free agency. They didn’t even bother to draft Liberty quarterback Malik Willis like many thought they would. Instead, they brought back backup Geno Smith to compete for the starting position along with Denver miscast Drew Lock, and most assumed that Lock was going to become the starter.

Now, seven games into the NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks are sitting at 4-3, and in first place of a competitive NFC West Division. That, in and of itself, feels remarkable, but it is how they have gotten there that is truly the story to be told. Through seven games, 32 year old Geno Smith (who hasn’t be a regular starter since 2014) is the second best passer in the league right now as graded by most analytic grades. He sits just behind Buffalo’s Josh Allen who many regard as the best quarterback in the league right now, to give that context.

With all due respect to the Giants, and Daniel Jones, and their talented head coach, the Seattle Seahawks, and Geno Smith, and Pete Carroll are every bit as much as a feel good story right now. In many ways, I think they are even more of a feel good story but admittedly, I have a West Coast bias (because it’s the best coast).

The entire league had long given up on Geno Smith as a starter even though he was a prolific college passer and a two year starter for the Jets seemingly ions ago. It also seemed like many fans and media sorts had given up on Carroll, labeling him as washed up coach who needed to find a retirement home. Pete Carroll has to be strongly considered as the Coach Of The Year right now along with Daboll, and if someone is going to make an argument for a Comeback Player Of The Year candidate who is not Geno Smith, that person would be making the wrong argument.

In my humble opinion, there is not a better story in all of sports than the Geno Smith one right now. I don’t think this is just my biased opinion speaking either. Many in the national news and media are now finally talking about it.

Can he sustain it? Judging through these first seven games, I wouldn’t bet against him. He looks poised, confident, and in control, and he’s in the right situation to sustain it. He’s got the right coach who believes in him, he’s got talent on the offense that surrounds him, a defense that is improving, and he’s got the team and fans of the Pacific Northwest behind him.

So, as I look at these feel good Giants heading into Lumen Field this Sunday with their impressive record, and gutsy wins against some quality opponents, I am prepared to do the most homer-y homiest homeric homerville thing ever as a lowly blogger who covers the Seattle Seahawks. I think the Seahawks cover the spread that favors them in this one, and they win this game.

If you look at highlights of the Giants, you will notice Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones running bonkers for explosive gains, and if you still have lingering doubts about the Seahawk defense, you’re probably nervous, if you are a Seahawks fan. I totally understand it.

If you look at the roster and who New York has on their defensive line, that probably doesn’t have you feeling any easier. There’s multiple first round picks on that DL. They are all players who were big names in college, and are big names in the league.

But I am here to remind you that the Seattle defense, for two weeks in a row, have faced back to back athletic scrambling quarterbacks who are probably better passers than Daniel Jones is, and they have faired pretty well against them. I would also add the Charger running back Austin Ekeler is a back who some might argue is every bit as dangerous as Barkley is, and Seattle’s defense did a pretty good job against him last Sunday.

I think the difference in this game is going to be that Daboll isn’t going to be arrogant like the Charger coach was with trying to beat the Seattle defense with the pass. He will stay very committed to running Barkley and Jones, and the key for Seattle is to attack the gaps and tackle well. Judging their play off of these last two games, I think they will. I believe Seattle’s defense is turning the corner into becoming a good unit.

Offensively, I would further add that Seattle has faced some pretty good defensive fronts over the past three weeks that have every bit as much talent as New Yorks. The Saints, the Cardinals, and the Chargers all have stables of defensive linemen that, on paper, are pretty impressive. In that, one of the most underrated stories to the Seahawk season, thus far, is how well their offensive line has been playing with two rookie tackles starting against quality defensive lines. They have been really good against good opponents, and this might be the biggest reason of optimism for Seahawk fans.

In fact, maybe the biggest reason why I am optimistic and am predicting a Seahawk victory this Sunday is the battle in the trenches. The Seahawks offensive line appears significantly more healthy right now than the offensive line the Giants have. The Giants will be without their mammoth right tackle Evan Neal, and their starting left guard Ben Bredeson in this one, and since adjusting their scheme up front to a more attacking style, the Seahawk defensive line as been playing remarkably well the last two weeks against the battered lines of the Chargers and Cardinals.

Against the Giants defense, I’m not overly nervous. They appear top ten in points allowed, but they haven’t generated many sacks or interceptions. Teams have been able to run on them, averaging over 5 yards per carry (despite the big names on their defensive line), and they haven’t faced a top DVOA offense like Seattle has.

The weather conditions in Seattle is looking windy and rainy on Sunday. Normally, when we had Russell Wilson here in Seattle, I would be nervous about these conditions, but the way in which Geno has been able to zip the ball out accurately, and the way Shane Waldron has been able to call on offense that balances the pass with the run in wonderfully creative ways lately, I think these conditions might likely favor the Seahawks for a change, especially if they start leaning more into their run game with jet sweeps and the magic of Ken Walker III.

Seahawks win a wild one, 27-23, at home, and extend their lead in the division.

In their six wins, the Giants haven’t been an especially high scoring offense (largely due to injuries at receiver), and a banged up offensive line could be an issue for them here, but I see them being very determined to lean heavily into Barkley as a runner and pass catcher. This will be a big test for the Seahawk defense hoping to continue rewriting the narrative around them. Their linebackers and safeties will need to be on point. Play fierce and play fast, and wrap up instead of going for the big hit.

On the flip side, Seattle could be without DK Metcalf, and they are playing a defense that, despite giving up yards, has been good in the red zone. They will need to find their explosives on the perimeters as the game wears on, much like they did against the Chargers. In what could be a windy and wet game, this is going to possibly come down to field goals, and which offense generates more explosive plays. Seattle’s offense has been a league leader in explosive plays, and kicker Jason Meyers has had a hot foot this year.

Thus, in the Fight Of The NFL Feel Goods, I see the Seattle Seahawks prevailing at home. It may not always be pretty, but I think this is going to be a fun one. I can’t wait.

Go Hawks!

Forget what you thought you knew about these 2022 Seattle Seahawks. You were likely dead wrong.

Geno Smith is a WAY BETTER starting quarterback than you ever imagined he would be.

He is also supported by an offensive line that is better than you thought it could be, too.

And that 41st pick of the 2022 NFL Draft that you believed was a foolishly wasted away on a running back simply because you bought into the toxic nature of some data dork who spews tweets about how much running games suck in this modern age of football? Yeah, turns out that this Ken Walker III kid is pretty damn incredible with the football in his hands. You were dead wrong about burning that pick on a back, too. STOP LISTENING TO ANGRY NERDS!

Most of all, though, you were dead wrong about Pete Carroll being some dinosaur who couldn’t coach anymore, and lost his mojo about coaching up a defense. For two weeks in a row, the Seattle Seahawks beat two quality opponents who are KNOWN FOR THEIR OFFENSES by playing good defense.

Face it, you know nothing about football like you think you know, and that’s okay. Once you embrace this singular truth about yourself, you can begin to let go, and just.. enjoy.

These 2022 Seattle Seahawks are fun. Enjoy the fun, if you are a fan of them.

It’s fun watching Darrell Taylor regaining confidence as a pass rusher while gathering strip sacks two weeks in a row.

It’s fun watching rookie corner Tariq Woolen mature more week to week in front of our eyes while continuing to make plays in the secondary.

It’s fun witnessing Geno Smith’s continued steady, gutsy, and efficient play at quarterback.

It’s fun watching Colby Parkinson’s flowing locks as he rambles down the sideline on a big catch and run play.

It’s fun watching Ken Walker III showing us all why it is still worth drafting a running back within in the top 50 picks of the NFL draft.

It is fun watching Pete Carroll coaching up his young underdog team, and having a blast on the sidelines.

This was a fun game to watch. Was it the prettiest, or cleanest game? No, but it was gutsy, and fierce, and dynamic. I will take this against a quality opponent on the road anytime.

Seattle’s defense didn’t flinch against wonder kid quarterback Justin Herbert. They harassed him, picked him off, and made throws hard to complete. Most impressively, though, they did this by largely taking away his best weapon in running back Austin Ekeler.

For two games now, the Seahawk defense feels like they have turned the corner from being horrible, to becoming dangerous. By changing up how they attack the gaps up front, they are playing faster, more decisive, and more together.

There will be another big test for them next Sunday against the NY Giants, but I wouldn’t bet against this squad playing the G-Men tough in that one, too. I know confidence when I see it. These Seattle defenders are playing confidently now.

I also know grittiness whenever I see it, and you know who’s a really gritty player for these Seattle Seahawks right now?

Geno F’ing Smith. In this game, Geno Smith had one of the grittiest moments I’ve seen in a quarterback in a long while.

Well into the second half of this game, he had the Seattle offense driving and on a third a reasonable situation, it appeared like a Charger defender jumped offsides, but a ref blew the play dead when it should have been a free play for the offense. For some weird, mindless, almost demonically possessed reason, the ref called a bogus false start on Seattle center Austin Blythe, and Geno lost his shit. The replay clearly showed that Blythe didn’t move his body, and when Geno pleaded the case, the ref decided to get into a yelling match with him, and Carroll had to calm Geno down. Then on third and long, Geno threw a laser dart to Tyler Lockett against tight coverage for a first down right in the face of that gawd awful official who must have fart pooped himself in the aftermath.

That’s gritty football right there. That was as fun for me to watch as Ken Walker’s long 74 yard touchdown run that slammed the door in the face of any chance the Chargers had to mount a fourth quarter comeback.

A 32 year old former backup quarterback who fans and pundits scoffed at all preseason long, and a running back who was taken in the second round of this latest draft are both two HUGE reasons why Seattle is 4-3 right now, and in first place in the NFC West. This is indisputable, and yet, it is also really fun.

So, unless you are a negative nilly fan of this team who just hates to be proved wrong, enjoy these games, and these wins when they happen.

If this team isn’t perfect, that’s okay. They are playing six rookies in significant roles this year. They have changed to a new defensive scheme that has taken time settle in with the talent on the roster.

This team has talent, though. They’re getting surprisingly good play at quarterback, and that should be celebrated. They have playmaking talent on offense, and some fascinating young talent on defense.

Are they a real playoff contending team this year? Maybe!

This NFC is wide open right now. The Rams aren’t what they were last year. Green Bay, the Bucs, and the 49ers are currently struggling. There are games on Seattle’s schedule that suddenly feel more winnable.

All, I know is that I am going to have a lot of fun watching these Seahawks this year. I like this squad. These are fun guys to root for.

With the whole dark cloud that hung over this team the past couple years that created division with fans and local media, I am relieved to feel like it has passed beyond the rear view mirror. The coach and the quarterback of this team are in lock step with each other, and the philosophy is secure.

And if you were one of those types who needed to rip on Pete Carroll and John Schneider, and needed to trash Geno Smith, and had to have a shit fit over the drafting of Ken Walker III in round two, I hope you can let some of that go now. It’s okay to be wrong, and it’s good to let go.

Go Hawks.