Dear Seattle Seahawk Fan,

This is Part Two of a series that I am going that will make arguments in favor of key individuals in the Seattle Seahawks organization now that a losing season is upon us, and an off-season of some significant changes could be well in order.

In the first part of this series, I championed Pete Carroll, and why he should remain as the head coach of this team. if you haven’t had a chance to read it, you can by clicking here.

This one focuses in on Russell Wilson, who has been my guy for years, but I get the many beefs peeps have against him. I really do.

I know well what many are thinking with their criticisms. Russell Wilson hasn’t played that well this year and he makes $35 million annually to play professional quarterback at an elite level. I’m sure some of you are reading this write now and thinking to yourself that he hasn’t actually played well enough for about a season and a half now. I wouldn’t argue against that, either.

Many folks look at his third down stats over the years, and how spotty (at best) he’s been there. I think the fact that he doesn’t check down to the open receivers enough also probably bothers the masses just like it bothers me.

I’m sure there’s times when ya’ll just want to see him run for yardage instead of continuing to look down field while eating a sack. That last thing induces fits of supreme annoyance from me every single game, almost.

I bet many of you might also be reading all the headlines that the New York Giants might be willing to trade away their two first round picks that will be in the top ten of this years draft (and change), and you are convincing yourself more and more that Daniel Jones in Seahawk blue won’t look that bad next year as a cheap game manager. It’s a thought that crossed my mind a time or two.

Honestly, I get all this.

It’s a very tempting thought of trading Russ now, especially if the Giants become desperate enough to toss in.. oh, say.. Saquon Barkley, cornerback James Bradberry, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams just to out compete the Eagles and Saints and Broncos for RW3’s services, if there’s a bidding war. If that happens, I’d be beyond tempted to make that deal. Seattle has a lot of holes on their roster, and that haul would fill and upgrade a lot of those needs.

Here’s the thing that continues to make me push the pause button on all of this talk though. Suppose the Giants were desperate enough to make that offer? What does that say about Russell Wilson and what does that say about Daniel Jones?

I think the clearest answer to those questions is that the league views Russell Wilson, at age 33 and having an off year (probably largely due to injury), as being an elite quarterback capable of carrying a team on a championship run, if used correctly. This would all be confirmed if the Seahawks float him on the trade market after the Super Bowl, and there is a multi team bidding war that creates this type of offer as mentioned above.

So, if this then happens, wouldn’t a better idea be for Seattle to hang onto their star passer and just do whatever necessary to make him happy?

If people are making the argument that he is a poor fit for Seattle because Pete Carroll wants to be a run first team and play good defense, but then, in the same breath of a sentence, say he would work well in a Sean Payton or Andy Reid scheme somewhere else, well then, why not simply bring that scheme and coach up here to the PNW?

Why not lure Sean Payton to Seattle, or bring in Doug Peterson who is from the Andy Reid tree?

If you are so hung up on what Seattle could land with two top ten picks for Russ this Spring, why not just look more at what they could land in free agency with a more determined effort to finally spend extra on quality players instead of bargain shopping for former first round flame outs to see if there is still talent left to uncork cheaply?

Lets say Payton comes up here, and creates a scheme that he thinks will suit all of which Russ does well, and with what could be become a ton of cap space available, Payton brings into town his free agent pro bowl left tackle, Terron Armstead for the next four to five years. Additionally, maybe he even brings in center Ryan Jensen from the Bucs, and pries defensive tack Sebastian Joseph-Day away from the Rams, and edge rusher Dante Fowler comes in and pairs up with Darrell Taylor.

With a new offensive minded head coach committed to fully taking advantage all that Russ does well, and four very quick free agent signings, Seattle could finally get back to being a team that is built up in the trenches and would have in possession that one thing that most NFL clubs are annually looking for, a true franchise quarterback.

This is the place where I always circle back to whenever I play out the scenarios of whether, if push comes to shove, Jody Allen needs to choose between Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson due to whatever unresolved philosophical frictions between the two. As much as I love Pete Carroll (I do), if I have to choose between a 33 year old franchise quarterback, and a seventy year old head coach, I can see an extremely easy case to be made to choose the passer (even with his current flaws), and figure it out with him.

I look at it this way. It’s fun to fantasize about Pete Carroll working with Saquon Barkley and better built up offensive and defensive lines in Seattle with Daniel Jones playing game manager (or Jameis Winston if Seattle wants to bring him in, as well). I enjoy the powerful run game and play stout defense thing-y as much as anyone, and would enjoy seeing this team back into the playoffs playing that sort of clearly defined and dedicated way again. I think it’s good football, if you have the right pieces in place.

But if I have to watch Seattle continuing its annual early departure from the playoffs for the next four years under Pete, while Russell Wilson and the New York Giants are routinely playing in championship games, that is going to leave an incredibly poor taste in my mouth as a fan, and if Seattle doesn’t make the playoffs while Russ does, it will be considerably worse. Just saying.

This is the thought I have that stops me in my tracks of clamoring for a Russell Wilson trade just so we can all get back to better Pete Ball with a cheaper solution at quarterback. The idea that Russ will be playing in championships somewhere else, and we won’t be, and Pete will retire in a few short years, and Seattle will be left hanging.. looking for a quarterback, and a head coach, as well. Gross.

Yeah, that’s an awful thought, right there.

So, while it would be fun to see maybe a big time interior rusher in Seahawks blue, along with a Barkley type running the ball, it’s all not likely to matter much, if this team doesn’t have a legit franchise quarterback. Russell Wilson is that guy. That’s why the Chicago Bears offered three first round picks for him last Spring, and why we could see multiple teams going ever further with offers this Winter.

I see a lot of comments on Twitter about how Russ isn’t nearly as fast anymore, and once his legs go, he won’t be able to cut it. I think those are comments from folks working hard to build cases against him being in Seattle. Sure, he’s not nearly as fast as he was in 2012, but he’s still quick enough to slip by a rush (if he isn’t weirdly spinning himself into a sack), and if Tom Brady can figure a way to get quicker as he has aged (he has), I’m sure a workaholic like Russ will figure that way out for himself, as well (he most likely will).

In fact, I would place more of a bet on Russ continuing to have a long productive career than I would that his career falling apart quickly because his wheels come off. Call me naive, but I just don’t see that as a very likely thing.

I would bet he has about six to eight years left of top end play, and he just needs to pair with a head coach who will hammer the details more, push him harder than Pete Carroll maybe does, and will create a scheme that will lean the furthest into his strengths. In my opinion, Russ has never had that in Seattle, and I think it makes a ton of sense to try that here with him first before shipping him off just to get a punch of draft picks.

If Andy Reid was able to alter his traditional west coast offensive that he ran for years with Alex Smith and others to a more vertical spread attack that better suits the unique talents of Patrick Mahomes, then a good offensive mind should be able to muster up something that best suits Russ. My guess is that there will be teams this off-season targeting Russell Wilson with that sort of plan in mind.

So why not simply do that here in Seattle?

It’s a very fair question to ask, and it’s one that I would think ownership is more than likely considering these days. We will see soon enough where this all goes.

Before I end this argument for RW3, I would like to quickly address this CBS Sports report from Jason La Confora that appeared this Sunday. It basically states that Russell has no intention of signing a fourth contract with the Seahawks, even with a coaching change occurring.

My sense is that the information in this article was leaked to La Confora by Seattle’s front office simply because it mentions a clear divide between those in the organization who believe the team needs a major roster rebuild and see Russ as the biggest chip in landing the picks and players to do it, and Pete Carroll, who doesn’t want to trade Russ and be a part of any rebuild at age 70. Personally, I found this report pretty revealing in terms of the many divides within the club, and it’s very obvious that there are those in this clubhouse who want that division known to the public.

If all this is true that Russ has no intention on signing another deal, I can honestly see the logic on trading him if the right deal is offered. This, in my mind, is why you can move on from a premiere passing talent with the right moves that would follow.

However, it should also be noted that while Russ’s contract ends after the 2023 season, Seattle could elect to use the franchise tag on him two years in a row until it becomes too cost prohibitive to do if for a third and final year that the tag method is an available option. That would mean that Russ could easily kept here in Seattle for four more seasons, all the way to 2025, the same year Pete’s contract ends with the club.

If I had to bet exactly where Pete’s head is in all of this, I think he’s seeing an easy path where he can keep Russ in Seattle for as long as he’s intending to coach. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that, even though Russ and Pete have philosophical differences on how the offense should run, both men remain tight with each other, and are on good terms.

So with all the smoke coming out of New York about the Giants making a serious run at Russ, if Jody Allen isn’t going to make any coaching change, it’s not totally inconceivable that Pete could dig his heels in again, and the dynamic coach/quarterback duo return back for another run year with a bit more tweaking of the offense to appeal to the plucky passer.

If that happens, maybe it will be general manager John Schneider who will be looking for his exit. That will be my Part Three piece in this series.

Go Hawks.

Dear Seattle Seahawks Fan,

Well, I think we can say it now, if you are one of the few remaining that’s been holding out any last seeds of doubt. These 2021 Seattle Seahawks are a bad football team.

Part of it is injuries. Part of it is talent and coaching. A lot of it is in the details and the lack thereof. I think a lot of it is also that their very best players aren’t playing their best ball, to be honest.

Russ isn’t playing anywhere near at his best, and it’s probably mostly due to his injured finger, but I also think it’s fair to question whether Shane Waldron’s scheme is a good match for him. If I had to put my finger on the Russ situation (pun intended), I honesty suspect he misses (and needs) Brian Schottenheimer, of all people.

Laugh about that if you will, but I think Schotty was a strong presence for Russ who managed to clean up a lot of his mechanical flaws and had him playing reasonably pretty well in his scheme, even if it was a limited one. I suspect Russ needs this sort of presence on the sidelines to be better honed in.

I think it’s very fair to say that neither Duane Brown or Bobby Wagner have played well enough either, if we are to be equally critical. For most of the year, it’s looked like Father Time has been catching up to Brown, and everyone loves to talk about how many tackles Wagner makes, but I see very few of them happening near or at or behind the line of scrimmage. The Seahawks pay both of these men a lot of dollars to be high impact players and they haven’t been nearly enough.

Nor has Jason Meyers but I hate blaming kickers for losses because that is usually one step away from blaming refs. If your offense is good enough, a kicker is a total after thought. Seattle’s offense isn’t good enough and it’s that simple.

Probably worst of all for me is how bad Jamal Adams had played up to his season ending injury. Pro Football Focus has him graded as one of the absolute worst safeties in all of football, and I personally wonder if Seattle needs to shift him to weak side linebacker to get the most out of him next year, if he is still a member of their roster.

But lets get back to this loss against Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, and the feisty Bears. Holy bear crap, Batman.

Bad team? Yeah, I think so, but I don’t know if they are any worse than Seattle right now, and maybe they are better.

Losing the way Seattle did by blowing a lead in the fourth quarter is exactly what a bad team does. This game was similar in many ways to the early season home loss against the Tennessee Titans, but many forgave the Seahawks then because the Titans were thought to be a good team (they are). Losing to a bad Chicago Bears team the same way puts the nail in the coffin for what the Seahawks have become.

They’re truly bad, and in this game against the bad offense of the Bears, their defense, who were supposed to now be the strength of this team, played terribly when it mattered most in the final minutes of play, and honestly, they kinda stunk throughout, especially on third downs.

That’s really, really, really truly bad.

It’s so bad that I’m well beyond the point of being upset as a diehard Twelve any longer. In a weird way, I’m almost glad that they dropped this game to the Nick Foles led Chicago Bears.

The reason that I’m near glad they lost this is that I think it’s okay to own the fact of how miserable the Seahawks have become now. That’s not to say that they don’t have good players, they do, but so do most bad franchises. In 1992, the Seahawks had the best defense in the league, and they had the best defensive player in the league with Cortez Kennedy, but they stunk their way to a miserable 2-14 record beacuse they had no quarterback.

Thus far, with Russell Wilson, these 2021 have only won three more games than that historically bad 1992 club. That’s really truly bad.

Changes clearly need to happen for this club to get better, and the first start of ushering change in is acknowledging that they are a stinking bad club. So, I’m all about embracing that.

They stink. If you pooped yourself like they just did, you would stink, too.

Who knows the extent to how much change will happen, or how much is needed. Despite all that has happened this year, I still believe Pete Carroll is a good coach, and Russell Wilson is a good quarterback.

I think it’s also entirely possible that there needs to be a break between the two, and however which way it goes is not important to me, personally. Frankly, I don’t even care if neither are back next year, if the right moves are made.

What is important to me is that team owner Jody Allen to step up and make the right call, whatever it is. If the coach needs to go, make sure it is for a better one. If the quarterback needs to go, make sure that there is a great plan on how to move forward to build this team back up again in all the areas of need for the next passer, and see that plan through.

What I think will be very difficult for many Seattle Seahawk fans next year is for the status quo to remain intact, and we have to endure another year of an unhappy quarterback using his agent to leak his unhappiness to Colin Cowherd and Mike Florio on a weekly basis while the Seahawks front office continues to bargain shop in free agency to try to fix holes on the offensive and defensive lines again, and Pete Carroll rolls back with Ken Norton Junior as his defensive mastermind again, and then bumbles his way around press conferences after losses, struggling to offer any sound answers as to why the same problems occur over and over again.

If this all happens, Jody Allen is likely to loose fans in large numbers with a market that now has the NHL to be excited about, and a baseball team that could finally see the post season in 2022. It’s not unimaginable to say that a return of the status quo could send the Seahawks firmly in third place in terms of popularity in Seattle next year, and maybe even fourth place with the WNBA Storm.

So, Jody has work to do, and I think many of us are feeling it more and more. I know I am.

I guess what I’m saying to you as a Seahawks fan is to hang in there. Ultimately, I think Jody Allen will deliver. She is most likely looking at this like many of us are, and I think, in the spirit of her brother Paul, she will act decisively in some way soon enough. I think she knows that is exactly how Paul would want her to govern, and she will be more than ready for it.

So, hang tight. We will see how it all shakes out soon enough.

It’s a bummer to watch the Seahawks lose like this, but as long as ownership isn’t complacent, it’ll be okay. The NFL is a cyclical thing and our team is on the down turn, but it doesn’t have to last long.

They just need a good plan and I think that’s a reasonable thing to ask for in the New Year. Let’s make it so.

Go Hawks.

Dear Seattle Seahawk Fan,

Weird time we’re in with Seattle officially earning a losing season for the first time in the Russell Wilson era. Strange days, indeed.

This was not the scenario I was envisioning for these Seahawks after their decisive on the road victory over the Colts when the 2021 NFL season kicked off. Far from it, actually.

But as we all know, shit happened, and perhaps nothing more shittier happened than the officiating in that game Tuesday night against the LA Rams, and if you are like me, you’re likely still angered by that shit show staring the zebras. What a turd sandwich to have to bite on and taste as a Seahawk fan.

I honestly had no expectation that Seattle was going to win that game heading in, either. Sean McVay has always had a sound answer for beating Pete Carroll’s defense, and Aaron Donald is absolutely Russell Wilson’s kryptonite, and Russ wasn’t going to have Tyler Lockett, who is clearly his security blanket these days in Shane Waldron’s offense. I saw little scenarios available for Seattle to pull off that win.

So, when they had their chances to pull off the upset in the fourth quarter, even with Russ having his usual piss poor outing against these Rams, and the flipping refs legitimately took those chances away, I got a bit testy, and I had a crap night trying to sleep. I found it so upsetting that I am allowing it to spill into this preview of the match against the Bears.

Honestly, I’m still pissed. With so much that has been built up for this season for Seattle with Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll and whether or not they can continue to co-exist beyond 2021, I personally would have loved to have seen them finish out the year on a win streak that, even if it ultimately didn’t lead to a playoff appearance, it would give the sense that maybe there exists the wee possibility that the band could stay together in 2022, and beyond.

Now it feels more certain than ever that it won’t likely happen, and who even knows what will come out of it. Seahawks Twitter right now seems increasingly favoring a Russell Wilson trade to the Giants for their two first round picks and change. I maintain, that even though he has struggled with his consistency as a passer going back to the second half of last year, if teams are willing to enter into a bidding war for his services by offering Seattle a fortunate of first round picks and players, that, in and of itself, tells me Seattle still has a huge advantage in this league of having a top end passer, and that they should hang onto him, and just make him happy. If I were to bet what is going through Jody Allen’s mind, and where she’s leaning in all of this, that’s where I would place my money, but we will all see soon enough.

So, yeah, enough of that. Bring on the Bears!

They suck. They don’t have a quarterback and their roster is old. That’s why they were desperate last year to trade for Russ and they offered Seattle three first round picks and a third and supposedly Khalil Mack and another starter of Seattle’s choice. When Seattle turned that offer down, that’s why they desperately moved up in the draft to take Justin Fields, who is a raw rookie passer that has only thrown 7 touchdowns this year to his 10 interceptions. Those are some dead on Rick Meyer passing numbers right there for you, and if you are too young to know that name, I invite you to look it up.

In fact, if you are a Twelve that favors Seattle hanging onto Pete Carroll and trading Russell Wilson to the Giants for their picks, and then drafting a quarterback to play on a cheap rookie deal, then I invite you to watch these Bears closely because that is likely what Seattle will be next year in a tough division that features the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals. Seattle has a lot of age on it’s roster, and not enough good young talent behind it. That’s a bad recipe for throwing in a rookie passer, and expecting him to succeed anytime soon, if at all.

The Bears are a bad red zone team on offense and defense. They don’t score a lot of points down there, and they have trouble stopping others from scoring. They are a bad passing team (see rookie quarterback). They run the ball okay, but they are terrible at stopping the run.

This should be a good match for Seattle to exercise the demons of the Rams game out of their bodies and have a day on a snowy Boxing Day. Expect Rashaad Penny and Deejay Dallas to have a game running the ball. Expect Russell Wilson to have a good bounce back game even with a gimpy ankle. Expect the Seattle defense to continue to play pretty good football.

I see Seattle winning this one pretty easily with a final score being something like 24-13, and the game won’t ever feel as close as the final score will indicate.

There’s a lot on the line still for Seahawk players to play for. There are a lot of veteran starters set to be free agents after the season, and they want to show on tape they deserve a big pay day. Russ wants to show the league he is still elite. Carroll wants to prove that he can still coach his ass off.

These Seattle Seahawks are going to show a lot of fight through these next three games, and it starts on Sunday. So, there we have it.

Happy Holidays, and go Hawks!

PS: If you are still reeling over the refs in that Rams game on Tuesday, have I got the Dorks On Sports Episode for you to enjoy in the link below. We bravely go NFL deep state. Go Hawks!

Dear Seattle Seahawks Fan,

Now that the league has officially robbed the Seattle Seahawks of a winning season (thanks to one of the worst officiated games that I can ever remember seeing against the mother flipping Rams), I think it is fair to now acknowledge the very real possibility that major changes could be around the corner for this team in a short month or two. This is part one of a series that I am going to put together that will make arguments for the major power players within the organization.

Instead of focusing on all the negatives the surround Pete Carroll, John Schneider, and Russell Wilson, I want to use my law school drop out skills to make positive cases for each member of this power trio.

I personally think it is unlikely all three will be back in 2022, especially considering the news that broke a couple weeks ago that Jody Allen isn’t happy with how things have been shaking out with this team. Instead of trashing each of them, however, I want to celebrate each of them a bit for what they have brought and what they mean to this franchise.

Here is my argument for Pete Carroll.

I have heard many of the complaints about Pete. He’s old, and his offensive approach doesn’t cut it in the modern day analytic approach to offensive football. His defense hasn’t been nearly good enough for about five years now. He meddles too much in the front office dealings, and with the offensive play calling. His miss manages games galore.

Maybe the greatest argument against him is that, at age 70, can he be trusted to see through a major rebuild path if he is allowed to trade away Russell Wilson? That’s a very fair question to ask.

I think all these criticisms about him are completely fair, actually.

I wish he would lean more into his quarterback on offense, and embrace going in a tempo that best allows the quarterback to find his grooves as a plucky passer. I think a more offensive minded head coach would do this, and it feels too logical to not make it a thing.

I do think that he meddles in the front office too much, and I highly doubt that the decision to trade two first round picks and a third rounder to the Jets for Jamal Adams was John Schneider’s idea. I do think he gets in the way of his offensive coordinators.

I don’t think he has adapted his defense enough in recent years. I think the league has figured it out and he just doesn’t have the horses he used to have to have for it be reliable enough game in and game out anymore.

And finally, at age 70, I do have my doubts whether he can see forth a major rebuild that will get this team back to championship contention within a four year span without one of the best quarterbacks in the game (even if said QB isn’t playing like one enough these days).

That all said, I think there are a few things that work in the favor of Carroll that are undeniably positive for this club. I think moving away from Carroll to build better around Russ could be a careful what you ask for thing, and if they do that, they better hit it out of the park with the next head coach.

I think Pete Carroll is probably the single best culture builder in professional football, and his ability to have a roster continue to play hard under difficult circumstances is a very rare thing. This is a huge benefit for the Seahawks.

This has been a tough year for the club, no question. The off-season trade speculation with Russ, disappointing start to the season with the defense in a mess, the Russell Wilson finger injury on his throwing hand, and not playing well enough when he came back from it early. There’s a lot of icky stuff there.

One thing that has not been icky to watch is how hard this team continued to fight through it all. They fought tough in Pittsburgh with Geno Smith having to step in at quarterback in a hostile environment, and they fought very tough in Green Bay when Russ came back too early from injury and played poorly. This team held an explosive Rams offense to ten points into the fourth quarter on Tuesday night until the refs took the game over in favor of LA.

Pete Carroll has a way about him of getting guys to fight hard for him. His players will not quit on him. That’s a check that you can safely take to any bank and cash.

I honestly think that if this was a better roster, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines, Seattle would have won a bit more of these games, and might be at a 7-7 or 8-6 record right now instead of 5-9. But unfortunately, Seattle has chosen to go cheap on both lines by putting big time money into their quarterback, middle linebacker, and strong safety positions (all of which who haven’t been playing well enough to perhaps justify their salaries).

If Pete were to stay, and Russ were to demand a trade to say the New York Giants (as it seems to be the hot speculation of the day), and Seattle were to oblige him, and the Giants would send their two top ten picks along with Daniel Jones, and maybe their first round pick in 2023, Seattle could use those two early picks on blue chip players to go on their offensive and defensive lines, and play on cheap rookie contracts. They would also free up cap space to be a bit more spendy in free agency than in years past. Maybe they make a splashy move on a talented young interior pass rusher and bring in a pro bowl center, and a quality veteran corner.

I’m personally not a Daniel Jones believer, and if Seattle were to acquire him, I would want them to add to the competition by maybe bringing in a Jamies Winston or Marcus Mariota, but for all the talk that Pete Carroll’s preferred way of running the ball on offense is outdated, the playoff contending team of the 49ers, the Titans, the Ravens, the Colts, and Eagles all beg to differ with that. The proof is in the pudding that Pete Ball will always be around in some form or fashion, and teams will win playing that style.

For all the analytic advancements with the game, football will always been football. If you can run the ball well, you can control clock, and if you can stop the run, and pass rush, you can get the ball back. Pete Carroll’s mantra is that “it is all about the ball” and those other teams that I just mentioned are playing Pete Ball right now pretty well.

So maybe Jones (or Jameis) would be nothing more than a game manager for Seattle by dumping off the ball to Travis Homer on third and short for a first down, and handing off to Chris Carson on the next play, but maybe that’s all Seattle needs to be better on third downs with a built back better offensive line, and a defensive line that can consistently find pressure on the opposing quarterback.

For all the talk about what Tom Brady has meant down in Tampa, the Bucs won their Super Bowl against the Chiefs by playing Pete Carroll football in that game. They ran at will, played great defense, and Brady managed that game.

In order to play this style of ball, you need a good offensive line, a good defensive line, and a quarterback willing and capable to game manage for you. It is not beyond reason to think that these ingredients could be found with high draft capital and a bit more aggressive free agent spending.

Would it be enough to get Seattle back into a championship game?

Maybe, but they would have to hit it out of the park in the draft, and free agency.

Tennessee was a hot playoff team recently playing this way, and San Francisco made the Super Bowl doing it a couple years ago. I would venture to say neither team has greatness at their quarterback position.

I would also add this in my closing argument for Pete Carroll. If Jody Allen can convince Pete to give up his Vice President title to general manager John Schneider and therefor give Schneider true autonomy to construct this roster, I would have much greater confidence in Pete Carroll leading this team beyond the Russell Wilson era.

My greatest concern with Pete is that he has too much of an impulse to meddle with the draft, free agency, and trades. As I stated above, I don’t think it was Schneider who was willing to deal all that draft capital on Jamal Adams. I also suspect that if Schneider had it his way in the 2018 draft, he wouldn’t have taken a running back in round one who didn’t play ball in a major college conference. I also seriously doubt Schneider had a high enough draft grade on LJ Collier to take in in round one in 2019.

All of my intuitions say that Carroll’s VP status needs to change if he is to stay on board. But if he is being paid the same, is it that rally too much for Jody Allen to request that he gives it up?

I don’t think it is, and I think freeing him of that status frees him up to better coach up this team through 2025.

If the power structure changes from Pete to John, I could better handle this team trading Russell Wilson for a boat load of picks. John Schneider has a really good eye for quarterbacks, and if it takes a few years of Daniel Jones or someone else at quarterback before the next franchise passer arrives, I could handle it if this team is playing pretty good Pete Ball.

This is my argument for Pete, anyways.

There is a lot that can be said about him, and I agree with much of the criticism that surrounds him, but I also think that, at the end of the day, he’s a good coach, and I think he should be acknowledged as such, even with all the critics.

And he is a superb culture builder. That can never be questioned, and it matters in professional team sports were egos can constantly go awry. Trust me on that one.

Go Hawks.

Dear National Football League,

Please pull down your pants, and undies, stick out your thumbs, sit on them, and spin. You suck, and I want you to sit with your thumbs up your ass pipes for the rest of the league year.

Look, there are things that the Seattle Seahawks did in this game to make it harder for them to win by chasing deep passes on third and manageable, not being able to properly cover the middle of the field, and calling a gutless run play on third and six with the game on the line, but make no mistake about it, you had your officials gift this win to the Los Angeles Rams, and it was obvious to all the eyes that watched.

There was a roughing the passer play on Greg Gaines that was a blatant no call. There was that stupid pass interference call against Bless Austin where he didn’t interfere, and when there was an actual PI happening on Deejay Dallas, your refs didn’t make that very obvious call when the game was on the line for Seattle.

I have one question for you.

What the actual fuck?

If you are going to stick your hands down our pants in your attempt to get the Rams into that Super Bowl in Los Angeles in a month and a half, at least give us free red zone passes for the rest of the year, or buy us some drinks first. That would be the more kindly thing to do.

And look, it’s not like I am a Seahawks fan who was expecting them to make a miracle run to save their season and finish 9-8. In fact, I wasn’t even expecting them to win this game.

What I do expect is that when I watch my team play, I don’t see such brazen lopsided officiating happening against them. I expect to see a fairly called game. It’s what any reasonable fan should expect.

Why this didn’t happen in this game, we cannot one hundred percent know the answer to, but we can easily guess what it could be. Mine is that you want to see the Rams in the Super Bowl.

You have been hyping up that team ever since the Matthew Stafford trade. The Super Bowl is in LA. Having a loss against the lowly Seahawks who might be staring at a rebuild next year would hurt their chances. Thus we, as Seahawk fans, had to sit through and watch your greedy little agenda unfold.

You suck.

I hope this little darling of a team that you have in La La Land loses badly in the playoffs because of all this. I hope Stafford throws three picks to a seventh seeded team, and they get bounced early.

I didn’t even care that much if my Seahawks had won this game. I think they need to go into next off-season doing a major retooling around Russell Wilson, and that is my sole priority for this club. They could win out, and I would feel the same.

But I just want you to know how much you suck right now as a league. You can’t handle Covid right, your brand sucks with the lack of consistent officiating, and your commissioner is going everything in his power to protect that horrible human being who owns the Washington Football Team with a congressional investigation breathing down is corrupt little neck.

Your are what your image says you are. You are fucking terrible.

So, fix it. Please.

Go Hawks.

Dear Seattle Seahawks Fan,

I really hope that our Seahawks are able to beat these dreaded Los Angeles Rams this weekend. I need this. I’m going to guess you might need it, too.

This has been kind of a sucky year for our team. It started in the off-season with Russell Wilson grumbling about the team’s failure to sufficiently put together a decent offense line for him over the years, which that led to a weird list of teams he would be willing to waive his no trade clause for. It followed by the team inexplicably not finding him a better center either through free agency or the draft. Then the defense started the season on a historically bad pace again, Russ got injured, Chris Carson got injured (again), and Jamal Adams played well under expectations before he got injured and done for the season.

The result of all this, of course, is the Seahawks sitting at 5-8 with only the faintest of hopes of post season play if they win out, and enough teams in front of them lose enough games. Not an ideal spot to be in when it was said that Seattle and Russ were going to put any notion of trade talk on the back burner to see how the season would go for him and the team with Shane Waldron as the new offensive coach.

Thus anytime we fire up an internet search for our team, we have to sift through all the trade speculation articles that are coming out more and more and more now. Not a lot of fun for the likes of me.

So, gosh darn it all, wouldn’t it be fun if we could just sit down in front of the tube, and witness our Seahawks beating the Rams on the road this Sunday?

Can we just have this gift?

It feels like Mother Nature is practically gifting it to us with Covid running rampant in all the LA strip clubs where now over 20 members of the Rams roster have contracted the virus. The Rams could be without such prominent players as Jalen Ramsey, Odell Beckham Junior, Von Miller, defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, running back Darrell Henderson, tackle Rob Havenstein, and safety Jordan Fuller. That’s a lot of A-list talent that might not suit up for them.

Given this status down there, can these Seahawks get the W this Sunday? Is it possible?

I really want to say that they can. I want to say that they can gut and scrap and claw themselves to a victory that puts them at 6-8 and on a three game win streak in December. I’m dying to type it out. I’m beyond tempted to do it. I think it’s possible that they could, but it’s not likely going to be easy in any way.

Not going to lie, with Seattle suddenly having Covid now impact their own roster with Tyler Lockett and Alex Collins on the list, that’s not going to make things any easier for Seattle’s offense in this one. This is a bummer.

Lockett, in particular, has been Russell Wilson’s main security blanket in his resurgent play as of late. I’ve personally gotten the vibe while watching the last couple games the Russ has gotten back to where he once belonged by leaning into his mild melding magic with Lockett. I don’t think he has that chemistry with DK Metcalf nearly as much, and I suspect with Lockett out, the Rams are going to shift extra attention towards taking DK out of the picture and force Russ into beating them by throwing to Dee Eskridge and others who the mind melding thingy probably isn’t there yet.

And alas, these are the mother flipping Rams we are talking about, here. Even with all the Covid spreading about their roster, they still have two very big things that work in their favor to secure victory over Seattle this Sunday. Head coach Sean McVay has a comfortable blue print to beating Pete Carroll’s defense, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald makes his living by living well inside the head of Russell Wilson.

Without a consistent pass rush from Seattle, I see it being a very hard time slowing down Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, and with a gimpy offensive line, I see Donald getting to Russ enough to make his chore of playing catch up in the points column a daunting one. I also see that even though Covid is trying to maybe help Seattle out in this one, the Rams have one of the deepest rosters in the league, and they have one of the very best offensive minded head coaches in the game.

So, I have to put my gut over my heart in this one. My heart really needs to see Seattle sneak out the win this Sunday, but my gut says that they are going to come out short. I think they narrowly lose, though, and I’m going to project a 30-27 loss with possibly Matthew Stafford leading a drive that puts LA on top in the final seconds.

I see a bitter sweet finish, and that feels fitting. There will be some moral victories to take away from this one, but it won’t take the sting out of being 5-9, and firmly out of the playoff picture.

When that happens, you can bet your bottom dollar that all the speculation talk over the futures of Russ and Pete are going to ramp up bigly. The Los Angeles Rams will be all to happy to usher that in for them. They will be on a mission to bury Seattle, possibly end an era, and solidify themselves into the playoffs once again.

Poo.

Go Hawks.

Dear Seahawks Fan,

Do you feel weird about these 2021 Seattle Seahawks?

I know I do!

I think this game is a microcosm of all the weirdness I see with this team. They struggle on defense against a truly bad offense out the gates, then play better, then poop themselves for a bit on offense when Russell starts chasing deep passes too much again, then they pick themselves up to look good again by getting back to the short pass game, and the win decisively with a handful of explosive plays.. against probably the worst professional football team on the planet.

Offensively, I can never understand what the plan is, and I saw it again with this one. The short passing game starts to click, and they start taking deep shot after deep shot down field. Rashaad Penny looked great running, and they try to work in a gimpy Alex Collins who maybe shouldn’t have played.

They play passive in zone coverage and then tighten up.

Al Woods plays like a beast in the interior of the defensive line and then gets another stupid penalty on a field goal kick that gave Houston new life (How many times has he done this in a Seahawk uniform? I feel like it’s lots). Why, Al? Why?

On the plus side, Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett remains probably the prettiest thing in all of football, which, of course, makes the idea of trading away Russell Wilson probably one of the stupidest things (I don’t think that’s gonna happen, by the by, but that’s a topic for another time).

I was quite pleased to see that the offensive line didn’t surrender one sack on Wilson, but then again, this was against Houston. They will have Aaron Donald to contend with next week. Color me unconvinced they will have a repeated performance against that monster.

If I am to give some game balls out, Rashaad Penny most definitely gets it on offense, and defensive end Darrell Taylor probably gets it on defense for being the steady disruptive force that he was. Without the efforts of these two, Russell might have had been forced to win a shootout against rookie quarterback Davis Mills that little of us were expecting.

Speaking of Mills, I thought that dude looked pretty good. I can’t tell if it is his growth as a passer, or the state of the Seattle defense without Jamal Adams, but he largely looked like a poised vet who was unfortunately stuck on a horrendous team. Should Seattle do the ridiculous and be in need of a quarterback next Spring, I’d honestly put in a call to down there to see what it would take to pry him out. I kinda think he might turn out to be a decent one in a Derek Carr like way.

That’s why this game, and it’s final score, was so damn weird. It wasn’t the beat down that the score suggested, but yet, maybe it sorta was. Mills made it more competitive than one would have thought it should have been, and it took a long explosive touchdown run by Penny late in the game against the worst run defense in the league to pad the final points and stats.

And if you are like me, you aren’t looking at this win, and likely to be filled with hope that Seattle is somehow going to manage to become spoiler to a playoff hopeful Rams team down in LA next Sunday. I think that’s okay. I don’t think Seattle is a very good team this year.

My goals for this team is to get into the off-season as quickly as possible and fix all that needs fixing without doing the extreme act of trading away their franchise quarterback who, despite struggles coming back from a gruesome finger injury, is still the foundational player on this team. What moves are likely to happen is probably anyone’s guess, but if I were Jody Allen, I would pretty much demand that the offensive line becomes the biggest priority, followed by the defensive line, running back, and maybe corner (although DJ Reed and Sidney Jones have been play fairly well lately). I would probably look to shake some things up with the coaching staff, as well, and maybe the front office, or at least reset the power structure of how it all runs.

That’s my hope, and in this win, I see Darrell Taylor, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and a few others as nice pieces to hang onto and build around in that process. But make no mistake, to fix what I see ails this team, it’s a big extensive list of tasks to do in one off-season.

I suppose if only we could have just held onto the lead against Tennessee, and managed to pull off a win against the Saints, we would be 7-6 right now, and feeling like the playoffs are still possible, and maybe that list doesn’t feel so daunting. Those two losses sting mightily more so now than this win against a pitiful team feels good.

5-8 is just a tough thing to get excited about these days. A win against the Rams would get the juices of excitement flowing more, but suddenly, the Chicago Bears don’t feel like an easy out, and there’s still the Cardinals to contend with at the season’s end.

Dreaming of a 9-8 finish feels a stretch, to put it mildly. So, I’m not holding out for that.

I’m in with this team for the long run, and what I see right now is a team that needs a reset. Even if we did miraculously squeak out 9-8, that wouldn’t change my perspective.

I’m going to enjoy these remaining games because this is my team, and I love them. Win or lose, I’m good. I just want Santa Claus to bring them a better plan for fixing their offensive and defensive lines, and maybe a better coaching approach that will help them play each game with better consistency.

I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to want these things, either.

So, come on, Santa! Do a dedicated Twelve a solid for Christmas!

Go Hawks.

Dear Seahawk Fan,

Don’t worry about your Seahawks losing this weekend to the Houston Texans. They are as bad of a team as it gets in the realms of professional sports.

They are a terrible offensive team, and they cannot stop the run on defense if it was my preschooler was lining up at running back against their defensive tackles. They are a miserable team, owned by an idiot who couldn’t see the value of positive culture, even if he was soaking in a jacuzzi full of yogurt with Ted Lasso.

I feel bad for their players and fans.

But even though Seattle will travel down there and comfortably handle this sad team, prepare to be underwhelmed by the Seahawks getting this win. Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the moments, but this will not be the beat down that you are craving.

Pete Carroll will see how bad their run defense is, and how bad their offense is at scoring, and he will instruct Shane Waldron to dial back the passing in favor of a conservative ground game to drain clock and score enough points to walk away comfortably with 5-8 record, and a slim playoffs chance remaining. I think this is the most certain thing to expect from the Seahawks in this one.

So all that fancy quick tempo and variety of pass plays that you saw Russell Wilson do against a tough 49er defense last Sunday probably isn’t going to happen. If this is true, it will be a shame, in my view, because I think there would be a lot to be gained for this offense to further work out the kinks of their hurry up, and show the fans how exciting it can be, and also gain further momentum with it as they travel to Los Angeles next week for a do or die rematch against the Rams.

If the Seahawks were coached by an offensive mind like Mike Holmgren was, I think this is the mode that they would travel with to face this inferior opponent. He would see the value of allowing his star quarterback to gain as much confidence as possible by throwing four or five touchdowns.

But Pete Carroll will see it much differently. Having his future with this team in a wee bit of doubt with team owner Jody Allen apparently not thrilled about how this season has gone, and having lost his star safety Jamal Adams to season ending shoulder injury, all signs point to Pete going the safe route in this one, and I get it.

He should have left guard Damien Lewis back and that will work to further fix a run game that now features geriatric Adrian Peterson and injury prone Rashaad Penny. He will probably feel more the urge to allow Penny to have a big “get right” game over Russell Wilson padding his passing stats and finding further rhythm with his receivers.

Not that Russ won’t have a good outing. I’m sure there’s going to be some pretty deep shots to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf that will happen off of his play action passing. He might even throw for two scores or more in that process, but I think the end result of this game is going to leave you wanting more, especially if you had him starting on your fantasy team based on this match.

I’m going to say at the final whistle blow this game ends in a 24-13 victory. It will feel like a decent enough win, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the score is 21-6 midway through the third quarter before Carroll dials it back on offense to drain out, but I think this final score won’t be reflect how easily Seattle handled this team.

I think it will also have a lot of us going “meh” afterwards, and maybe a little extra annoyed that Seattle couldn’t preserve the win against Tennessee at home early in the season, couldn’t find a way to beat a struggling Saints team (or that team in Washington), and have a record of 8-5 instead of 5-8 with a very slim chance at scrapping it out for the final playoff spot in the NFC.

This is how I am likely to feel, and I won’t fault you if you feel the same. I’m here for you in that.

Go Hawks.

Dear San Francisco 49er Fan,

I’m sorry that you spent hundreds of dollars on airfare, hotel accommodations, and tickets to watch your team play my Seahawks in Seattle on a crisp cold day in December. I’m sure you thought this was going to be the season your team was finally going to stick it to the struggling Seahawks at home with a good ol’ fashioned beat down in front of all those blue and green screaming Twelves that always get under your skin.

Judging by the amount of red jerseys I saw in the stands, you came together in the masses. Much respect to all these Faithful fans making the trek with you.

I don’t blame y’all for making the trip up here to the Emerald City, either. My Seatttle Seahawks have sucked wet butt this year. It’s a statement of fact.

They got no offensive line, no running backs, they got very little pass rush mixed with leaky coverage, and they have had to deal with their banged up star quarterback coming back from major injury while trying to understand this new offense, and he’s been an abject mess.

If your shoes were on my feet, I would have dropped two grand to travel up and see this match live and in person, as well.

In fact, I predicted a blow out in favor of your beloved 49ers. I felt, for certain, that was going to happen, and I wanted to prepare my readers for it. I felt duty bound.

And, by golly, for the first quarter and a half, it looked like your team was going to pull off this royal ass whooping. I’ve seen a lot of bad football in my time, I cannot remember ever seeing a 2nd and 42 play happen. Yikes.

But then your quarterback realized that he isn’t nearly as good as my quarterback, and he threw some stupid interceptions because Seattle’s suspect defense always seems to get inside his head.

And, of course, then my quarterback, Russell Carrington Wilson, decided that he might as well return to the pro bowl standard as he has been for years, and he found ways to play efficiently (with a few stellar throws mixed around) where good old Jimmy G couldn’t see to do that nearly enough.

What’s really weird to me about the whole Russ playing pretty darn good is that he had to go against your defense, which is much better than Seattle’s. I mean, for a while, I was worried he might die on the field, especially when left tackle Duane Brown forgot how to block your third string edge rusher.

Speaking of which, I didn’t really love seeing your guys putting extra mustard on their hits on my Russ, but I was happy that the refs agreed, and threw flags that kept my team in it.

And Good Lord in Heaven, Seattle tight end Gerald Everett was practically handing you the stinking game several times, like he owed you money, or something. I felt terrible for him because he had been playing so darn well lately in losing efforts, I’ve been thinking that maybe he’s been Seattle’s best player on offense, but I almost feel worse for you. He gave you gift after gift with his bad ball handling, and your team couldn’t seize the moments enough.

Gosh, it must really suck knowing that this banged up and tattered 4-8 Seahawk team basically had their way with your playoff hopeful team yet again. I mean, this final score could have been 40-23 if not for Everett’s off game at the goal line.

Now that I think about it, I’m not sure you’re making the playoffs now. That must agitate.

And goodness gracious me, speaking of agitation, having now lost 16 of the last 20 games to Seattle since Russell Wilson came into the league must really be annoying (17 of 21 if we include the NFC Championship game, sorry to bring that one up). I mean, I would completely hate that, if I were you, and now that I think about it, Seattle owning the all time record between these two clubs 30-17 must be kind of annoying, as well.

But I hope you had fun in Seattle. It’s beautiful up here! I hope you enjoyed Pike Place Market, ate some salmon, and bought some nice Native art. I hope the garlic fries in the stands didn’t give you too much gas after witnessing yet another demoralizing loss to my Seahawks.

Like I say, I really thought your team was going to big time beat up on mine. They seemed poised for it, even without Deebo and Fred Warner. I mean, my team’s offensive line couldn’t block an obnoxious tweeter on the Twitter. How in the world was I to expect then to block Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead?

Off topic for a second. Is Kyle Shanahan a good coach?

I think he is, but whenever I watch Seahawk vs 49er games, I can never truly tell. He seems to have a genuine problem beating Pete Carroll who continues to throw away time outs like they were chicken feed on a farm.

Well, it all is what it is. My team owns yours.

It’s not the end of the world, though. There are worse things, like mayonnaise, and TikTok dancing, and not getting herd control over a virus during a pandemic.

Just know, every year of your life, my team is likely to sweep yours, and make peace with it. Trust me, it’s the healthiest path moving forward.

I should know. I have made peace with the fact that my Seahawks can never seem to beat those rotten stinking gawd awful LA Rams whenever it fudging matters. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but we can do this together.

Peace and love,

Curtis

PS; you have to admit it, though, that fake punt that Travis Homer housed seventy five yards for a touchdown was a pretty sweet trick play to throw at you in the first possession of the game. What a gutsy play call! It makes me think that Seattle’s offense purposefully sucked in that opening series just to set up that play!

Maybe Pete Carroll hasn’t lost it as a coach as some seem overly eager to suggest these days. Hmmmmmm.. interesting.

Go Hawks!

Dear Seattle Seahawk Fan,

You have read the San Fransisco 49er injury reports and I know what you’re thinking. With Deebo Samuel and Fred Warner out with injuries for this Sunday’s donnybrook, you are thinking this gives your struggling Seahawks a chance to sweep this club, and finally start getting things right for Russell Wilson and the offense.

There’s an old saying that dates back to the Trojan War. Beware of any Greeks offering gifts.

Brace yourself for what is about to be unleashed upon your eyes this Sunday. The resurgent and blood thirsting San Francisco 49ers are coming into Seattle to make sacrificial lambs out of the busted up Seattle Seahawks, and the outcome isn’t likely to be pretty.

You might likely rolling your eyes at what you assume to be hyperbole that you are reading. I get it, I feel like I’ve been a Cassandra about these Seahawks for much of this season, but the truths as I see them to be with this team do not lie, and therefor, neither do I.

This Seattle team is a hot garbage mess right now, and are in position to get their butts kicked by a superior San Francisco club that hates them with the same bloody fervor that the ancient Greek soldiers hated each and every being that lived behind the fabled Walls of Troy. If you are unaware of that Bronze Age bit of history, things didn’t go particularly well for the folks of Troy once the Greeks got inside the city, and opened up the gates.

To quickly recount, as legend would have it, virtually every male Trojan, from infant to geezer, was slaughtered, and thrown off the walls. Their wailing wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters were beaten, savaged, and forced into slavery.

It’s not too extreme in my mind, that these 49ers are coming into town with similar intentions of inflicting brutal pain and humiliation on Russell Wilson and company right in front of six thousand home town fans. For years, these Seahawks have been the kryptonite that has been around their necks, bleeding into their skin.

They have one emotional connection to Seattle. They hate them a trillion times more than I hate mayonnaise, and mayo makes me vomit.

Now is their opportunity to send Pete Carroll, who hasn’t been able to solve the puzzles of what has been plaguing his team, into retirement. It’s also the time to destroy any remaining will of Russell Wilson wanting to remain in Seattle.

They know the opportunity that is starring right in front of them. They are one good beat down performance away from ending a profound era of football in Seattle, and forcing this struggling team into a massive rebuild. This is what is likely at stake for them.

So, I’m predicting that these hot blooded 49ers will decisively win this game, 35-13, and the final score won’t reflect the accuracy of how humiliating this beat down will be. I wish I could see it differently, but I can’t.

I think this idea of an improved Seattle’s defense is absolutely fool’s gold. I think they are playing a style of defense that is fully committed to a bend don’t break approach that can hold a marginal offense down in the box score points, and that can seem fine to the eyes of many, but I see them differently.

They aren’t a good pass rush squad, and against a good offense, like San Francisco has, they are apt to keep that type of offense in third and short situations for easy conversions, just like what happened against career backup quarterback Colt McCoy when he led the Cardinals into town a couple weeks back.

When I look at this style of defense for the Seahawks and the absolute mess of an offense that they have right now, I just want to look away and pretend that the awfulness isn’t there. There is no way for Seattle to play connected football between what the offense and defense are in their present states.

A bend but don’t break defense only works for you if your own offense can sustain drives and score points. Seattle’s offense can’t do this right now, and given how bad they are up front with the offensive line, and how scary good San Francisco is up front with their defensive line, this has the makings of a blood bath to happen.

How desperate is the situation for Seattle’s offense right now?

Well, they just signed 80 year old Adrian Peterson in a desperate attempt for Pete Carroll to get back to what he knows best by getting back to the run game. And while I admire Carroll’s conviction of circling back to what he knows best on offense, I feel compelled to say “good luck with that” and just watch the Beatles doc Get Back on Disney+ this Sunday afternoon instead of this forty mile a hour car collision into a concrete wall of a game that is all but certain to happen.

But alas, I will watch this disaster, instead. I have been with this club as a fan, through all the good times and bad, from the early 1980’s on. I will be that Trojan Princess Cassandra watching from the safety of my television set, shouting each and every miserable play, “I told y’all so!”

I’m just writing this to you as a fan to let you know that it’s okay not to get your hopes up that Seattle is somehow going to stick it to the 49ers once again in this one. You can choose to watch, like I will, but I hear that Beatles doc is very good, and I’m genuinely excited to watch it. I won’t blame you if you decide to do it instead of dial into this game. There is no judging here at 12th Life whenever someone doesn’t want to smell the rotten milk container sitting in the fridge.

At least we got the Texans next week.

Go Hawks

PS; I should note that it is entirely possible I’m completely wrong on all of this, and the Seahawks manage to win this game, and sweep San Francisco because, you know, Seattle absolutely owns this bitch ass team.

Go Hawks!