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.

I like Justin Herbert. He’s got a feel good story to him, growing up in Eugene, Oregon, being an underdog, un-recruited, walk on player for his hometown Oregon Ducks, becoming their star quarterback, and getting drafted by a quintessential NFL underdog team in the LA Chargers.

He seems like a genuinely good dude, too. Despite having all the measurables that NFL teams drool over (size, arm strength, speed, etc.), he apparently fell a bit in the 2020 draft because of his lack of toxic masculinity. He’s kind of a quiet guy who prefers to let his abilities on the field do the talking and leading.

If I were a Chargers fan (or Ducks fan), I would likely own his jersey. I like guys like Justin Herbert, especially when you combine that personality with a God given ability to play NFL quarterback at the elite level he does.

I also really, really, really like Geno Smith, and when I mean “like,” what I specifically mean is that I practically have to pinch myself every time I glance at the advanced analytics of his elite play over the past six games to make sure I’m not in a dream. Through six games, he is second in the league behind Jared Allen in most metrics, and I am rooting hard for him to continue this trend. In fact, there is no guy in this league I will root for harder this year than Geno Smith, and that’s not just because he is the starting quarterback of my favorite team.

A Geno Smith success story in Seattle isn’t just what the Seahawks need, it’s what the entire league needs. To my core, I believe teams need to be reminded that there are short comings to giving up on young quarterbacks too early.

It wasn’t just the NY Jets that gave up on Smith, too early, either. It was pretty much the entire league, except for eventually Seattle. After the Jets moved off of him after year four, he bounced around as a backup with the Giants when Eli was nearing retirement, and the Chargers as Phillip Rivers was nearing his, as well. Neither team seemingly took effort in grooming Smith to be their heir apparent QB1 behind an aging starter.

Why is that? I don’t definitively know, but I do know that when Geno Smith was in college at West Virginia, he was a prolific passer who put up all kinds of gaudy numbers. He had ability and success that should have secured him as a top fifteen pick in his 2013 draft class, but it sounds like interviews at the draft combine scared quarterback needy teams off. Thus, he slid.

I’m not a big fan of putting race into the equation, but I can think of a pretty punky white kid from Oklahoma a few years back who seemingly wasn’t a great interview during the draft process yet Cleveland had no problem drafting tops overall in 2018. In fact, when Cleveland decided to give up on him this year, Carolina had no problem trading for him and declaring him the starter. Both quarterbacks were prolific college passers in quarterback friendly offenses, and both drew some red flags about their personalities, in their own separate ways. Why was the white guy treated so differently?

At any rate, Geno Smith eventually found his way to Seattle to serve as Russell Wilson’s backup for a couple seasons until being pretty much proclaimed the starter last Spring by Pete Carroll even though the coach said there would be an “open competition” in training camp with Drew Lock. In hindsight, I think we can all say that Carroll had a hunch about what Smith could do in this offense this year if given the opportunity to be the guy through camp. There was never any real competition between him and Lock, and it drove many fans (myself, included), and those in the local media nuts over it.

The question is, why did it drive so many of us bonkers?

The simple answer is that most of us completely wrote him off as a player. The logic inside our minds was that Lock was the player with significantly more upside, even though Denver couldn’t wait to get rid of him. Now, I think perhaps the only reason why we felt he had this upside was the fact he was only 24, as opposed to being 31 like Geno was. That was our red herring in the Seahawk quarterback debate.

This is why I will continue to root heavily for Geno Smith. I want to see him sustain the level of play that has him as a top quarterback in the league by the analytic grading team of Pro Football Focus. I want to see him to be able to play himself into a bigger extension with the Seahawks to be their longer term solution at quarterback. It would be fantastic for him and the club, and they can use that draft capital from Denver to further build up the defense.

Justin Herbert is a great story in this league, coming from somewhat humble Central Oregon origins, and being a bit of an underdog, but Geno Smith is THE UNDERDOG story of the league right now. That cannot be denied.

So, as one might expect it, I’m going to do the homer-y, homer-est, most homeric home-y-ass thing right now, and I am going to pick my hometown Seattle Seahawks to go down to Los Angeles and beat these Chargers this Sunday. I’m going to say Seattle wins this thing, 20-13.

It will be a bit more of a modest effort from the Seahawk offense again, but I think it will be led by another efficient outing by Geno Smith. I think he will continue to take what the defense gives, building off of what should be a solid ground game, but maybe throw for a score or two that becomes the difference in the game.

The Chargers play a similar defense to the Cardinals, they like to show pressures and make you have to guess quickly. They will makes some plays and give some up in the process. Geno got a good taste of this against the Cards, I think that helps him some in this match down in LA.

I also think that rookie runner Ken Walker III is going to have a day, both as a runner and a pass catcher. The Chargers haven’t been a great run stopping team. I look for Seattle to take advantage, here.

The biggest reason why I see Seattle winning this one, though, is the Seahawk defense. I think this is a good week to build off of their solid game against the Cardinals. The Chargers are coming off the tough MNF game against a tough Denver Bronco defense. They have a banged up offensive line coming off a short week of preparation, and they are facing a Seattle front four that is now being allowed to play more aggressively than it has been in previous weeks.

It feels like Seattle could be finding its grove by having their three techniques attack rather than react, and that should only help the linebackers and the secondary more. When you marry that with the fact that rookie corners Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant are playing better ball each passing week, I see better things happening for this defense moving forward, and I think it continues in this match.

Would I be shocked if I’m wrong and the Chargers win? Absolutely, not. Justin Herbert is an elite quarterback in this league, and he is carrying them to wins with an offense that has a banged up line and perhaps a lack of overall speed at receiver. He is finding good outlets like running back Austin Ekeler, who is their Do Everything offensive player right now.

But I feel a momentum with Seattle, and I think Herbert is still playing banged up, himself. Contrastingly, I think Geno Smith is playing healthy with a bunch of confidence and control over this offense, and the defense feels like it is now going to come together. They lost close games against Atlanta and New Orleans that perhaps they should have won because of the disarray on their defense. If the disarray is diminishing, Seattle could be a dangerous team to play the rest of the year.

I think we see that this Sunday. Seahawks are going to win. Book it.

Go Hawks.

Games played between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals have most often been a weird watch over the past decade. It’s almost become a joke of a factoid that whenever these teams play each other, the home team loses, and at times, badly loses.

Two of the strangest games that I’ve ever watched in the Pete Carroll era of were against these Cardinals. One was a late December game in 2013 where it was freezing cold and Russell Wilson couldn’t do anything against the AZ defense, and Carson Palmer eventually got the Cardinals a game winning touchdown after getting picked off all day long by Richard Sherman. The other was that weird as fuck 2017 game down in the desert that resulted in a brutal tie with Kam Chancellor getting a neck stinger that would end his career, and Sherman blowing out his achilles and thusly playing his last game as a Seahawk.

There used to be a time when I rested easily as a Seahawk fan against this matchup, but I think that dates back to the Mike Holmgren era prior to smart phones. Nowadays, when the schedule comes out, I almost feel more inclined to chalk a home came up against the Cardinals as a loss, and then I feel inclined to chalk the road game against them as a win.

So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to myself in the second half of this dreadful match against the Cardinals, I found myself saying out loud, “why are these games against these two teams always so gawd awful weird????”

Folks chuckled around me because I said it after the Cardinal special teams got punter Michael Dickson to fumble the ball in the end zone for a touchdown that made the game 12-9 in favor of Seattle, but it was something I was thinking in my mind for a while before that. Even though Seattle seemed comfortably ahead 12-3 moments before that dreaded play, I sensed weirdness about to happen which would give Arizona new life, and it did.

Then Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker III happened together on Seattle’s next series. Geno would guide the Seahawk offense with his arm along with Walker’s wonderful playmaking ability, and the offense put together a beautiful touchdown scoring drive to effectively ice this game. In that drive, Geno peppered pretty passes to Noah Fant, Dee Eskridge, DK Metcalf, Walker, and Tyler Lockett, only to hand the ball off to Walker (who has lateral moves that I haven’t seen from a Seahawk running back since the days of Curt Warner in the 1980’s). Just gorgeous offensive football.

But that drive wasn’t nearly the full story. The larger storyline was how Seattle’s much maligned defense stepped up in this game against Kyler Murray and flustered him, rattled him, and made him looked decidedly human. The defensive unit that has been the laughing stock in the league since week two of the season, sacked Murray six times, and largely stuffed the ground game outside of the odd play where Murray took off for big yardage.

Defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt adjusted his defensive line in a way in which I have been hoping for weeks to happen. Instead of playing a more passive read and reaction style, they attacked with guys who are better penetrators than two gap cloggers. The result was that three of the sacks game from defensive tackles, Poona Ford, Shelby Harris, and Quinton Jefferson, two came from edge defenders Uchenna Nwosu, and Darrell Taylor, and one came off of a safety blitz by Ryan Neal. Seattle found multiple ways of getting after Murray. When he wasn’t sacked, he hurried throws into incompletions.

Linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton played much better, and the Seahawk corners were flipping fantastic! This was the first time this season where I felt Seattle played connected together on defense.

Rookie cornerback sensation Tariq Woolen now has four interceptions in four games, and he is just scratching the surface of knowing how to play NFL corner. All he is going off of right now, and God given length, strength, size, and ability. He’s the DK Metcalf of NFL corners, and when he really starts to figure out the nuances of playing the position.. my goodness.. then we are talking about a rare talent who can take away an entire side of the field.

He’s already making quarterbacks feels uneasy. From my seats in the nose bleeders, it looked like Kyler Murray was often wanting to go elsewhere with the ball.

That elsewhere just so happened to be the “other rookie” Coby Bryant who also had a nice game again. I’m telling you, do not underestimate the effect that Tariq Woolen can have on this defense in turning it around. If he starts to make quarterbacks more uneasy, the defenders can anticipate more where the ball might be traveling. That would make them better ready to make plays on the ball. Bryant made nice plays in coverage in this game. This is a really encouraging sign.

In terms of the sensational efforts of all these rookies, perhaps lost in the spectacular play of Walker, Woolen, Bryant, and the offensive tackles, is the steadily strong effort Boye Mafe brings as an edge defender against the run and pass. I’m high on Mafe, I think he’s going to be a special player. He’s already showing a strong ability as a run defender, and he’s only going to get better as a pass rusher.

He’s doing it right, too. First thing is first as a defender. You take away the run, and once you do that, you earn the right to pass rush. This is a timeless adage in football, and Mafe is on point with it. One off-season training with Cliff Avril in his local pass rush academy is going to turn this guy into a quarterback’s nightmare, too. Just you watch.

But the player of the game?

Come on, now. How could it not be Jason Meyers for making four out of four field goals, and providing most of the points?

Sometimes this league comes down to who has the better kicker. In weird ass games, it often comes down to that, and it did sorta in this one. Quietly, Meyers has been having an excellent year, thus far.

Seahawks played this game well rounded. It wasn’t perfect, Geno didn’t rattle off spectacular numbers like he’s done the last three weeks, and he took a number of sacks, and there was that weird blocked punt thing for a Cardinal touchdown, but Seattle did well enough on all three phases of offense, defense, and special teams to beat a dangerous divisional opponent at home. They played complimentary football for maybe the first time this year, and it was fun to see it against this particular team.

It was also fun to see Geno taking what was there against this aggressive and tricky Cardinal defense. Arizona seems very focused on taking away DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and forcing Geno to go other places with the ball. In years past, I feel like Russell Wilson would have played stubborn and would have tried to get into scramble mode to free up his preferred targets, and that would have lead to sacks, interceptions, and three and outs. Geno recognized the situation, stayed patient, and chose other outlets. The result was Dee Eskridge finally making an impact as a slot receiver, and Noah Fant having a bigger game.

While his stat line wasn’t spectacular, this game for me provider further evidence that Geno Smith should be more strongly considered as a longer term solution at quarterback for this team. It’s clear that he understands this offense well, and can execute it at a high enough level. He can make all the throws needed, and is pretty accurate, and protective with the football.

And the fans in the stands absolutely love this guy. In my section, there were Geno chants throughout this game. Sure, he’s going to continue to have some doubters and detractors, but as time moves on, I feel like those numbers are going to shrink.

Pete Carroll was immediately in high praise over Geno after this game. He knew how well his quarterback played. I felt it again, as well.

Bravo. Now, beat the Chargers next week.

Go Hawks!

The Seattle Seahawks have the best DVOA offense in the NFL right now. Through five games, they also have the highest rated quarterback in the league by Pro Football Focus. Their defense, however, is miserable; second to last, in fact.

The Arizona Cardinals lack the offensive explosion that they had last year at this time. Their quarterback, while still dangerous, has been more up and down. They also have a defense that hasn’t been very good. Without Chandler Jones, they have had a hard time generating a pass rush, and their corners haven’t been covering well enough.

Seahawk fan is probably looking the Seahawk defense right now, seeing the match up with Kyler Murray, and is thinking “oh no.”

Cardinal fan is probably looking at the Cardinals coming to Seattle with a defense that doesn’t pass rush very well, and is looking at the Geno Smith feel good story and is thinking “f’ing hell..”

It’s time, folks. It’s time for one of these teams to show that they are worthy of competing for this NFC West division. We can all see how good San Francisco is with that defense and ground game. Between the Rams, Cardinals, and Seahawks, which 2-3 team right now wants to hang with them?

I am going to do the homer-est homer-y homeric thing that a homer could ever homey with, and say that this is the time my Seattle Seahawks kick it in the ass, and finally play some better defense. They have to do it.

The Vegas odds makers currently have Arizona favored in this game by 2.5 points. These are the same disrespecting dill weeds who had the Detroit Lions beating Seattle by double digits two weeks ago. It’s time for the Seahawk defenders to situate themselves in a manner to which they rub these odds makers noses in it like a bad puppy who went number two on a Persian carpet.

I’m saying the Seahawks win this thing at home 31-27 over the Cardinals. I think we see some better play out of the Seattle defense in this one, and I think Geno and the offense stays the course enough, even with the bummer loss of Rashaad Penny for the year.

Why am I so optimistic about this Seahawk defense that hasn’t stopped the run well or the pass?

That’s a good question.

It’s a vibe!

That’s correct. I’m going entirely off a blindly hopeful hunch that is supported be zilch zip nada no analytic data, or on field eye test whatsoever.

As bad as this defense was last week against the Saints, I got a sense that things were turning a wee bit. The rookie corners looked a bit sharper. Jordyn Brooks was laying more forceful hits. Ryan Neal looked better at safety.

I think with a bit more tweaking with the defense, and fitting it better to the talent on this roster, Clint Hurtt is going to get this thing turned around. Is it a 3-4 or a 4-3, or a 5-2? I don’t frankly care as long as it gets better this week, which I think it does.

I think in this one, Seattle is going to show the Twelves a better tackling effort. I just feel it in my homer bones. They’re going to get after it better. They are going to get off their blocks and they are going to tackle better in space. Kyler Murray will get his, but it won’t be enough. Not in this one.

Why you ask?

Because Geno Smith is going to Geno F’ing Smith once and again, and continue his war path showing the league that it gave up on him way too early as a starter. Bet on that one, Vegas.

I also think DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and the wonderful trio of Seahawk tight ends are going to have a day. I think DeeJay Dallas and Ken Walker III are going to have one, too.

Seahawks win this one. Book it. Take it to the bank and cash it in, and buy yourself that moose hunting trip to Alberta. Seahawks win.

Go Hawks.

Let me be clear on this thing. I believe that the Seattle Seahawks should have won this game over the Saints, as bad as the defense played once again.

I believe that the Saints caught two huge second half breaks from the refs that turned the game in their favor. One was on a DK Metcalf fumble when it looked like he didn’t have possession of the ball after an attempted catch, and the other was phantom hold call on Charles Cross that negated a beautiful touchdown pass to Metcalf later in the fourth quarter.

Of the two, the BS holding call on Cross seemed most egregious, as it took points off the board. After the game, Carroll mentioned that defenders are throwing their hands up in the air more these days in order to “sell” a hold to a ref, and that appeared to be the case here.

That said, I also want to be clear about how much I hate using bad officiating as an excuse for why my team lost. The Seahawk defenders could have done a lot better defending Taysom Hill in the wild cat offense NOLA used, and don’t even get me started on what it was exactly that Michael Dickson did on that crazy attempt to run the ball instead of punt. Not stopping an obvious wild cat play, and not using the best punter in the game to punt is a good recipe to lose any game.

Instead of making this a total bitch piece about refs, a horrible Seahawk run defense, and a maybe even worse special teams play, I want to bounce back and forth with some true positives that came out of this game for the Seahawks along with some negatives. Maybe this will be a helpful exercise to gain a proper perspective on state of this team.

The best thing that I can say about this game is that I now believe that Geno Smith looks to be more than just a capable starting quarterback. I think he’s playing like a really good one.

After he won Offensive Player Of The Week honors last week, I heard skeptics such as Hugh Millen on KJR FM say “yeah but he played the lousy Lions.. let’s see what he does against the Saints defense.” Well, okay then. On the road, Geno Smith went a solid 16 for 25 in pass attempts for 268 yard, 3 TDs and 0 INTs against the 9th best defense in the NFL, but that doesn’t even tell the full story.

He should have had another 300 yard game again and 5 touchdowns. He had an easy touchdown grab dropped in the end zone by DK Metcalf, and had that gorgeous touchdown to Metcalf in the fourth quarter taken away by that bullshit call on Cross.

I’m saying this now, having watched him through five games. I think Geno Smith is playing like a guy who deserves to be the starting quarterback in Seattle now, and in the future. In fact, if he sustains this pace through the season, I think it would be foolish for the Seahawks not to lock him into a multi year deal and build around him. It’s obvious he works in this Shane Waldron offense, and I feel it’s likely that the quarterback and play caller are only going to get more comfortable with each other as this season unfolds. The Geno Smith redemption story is becoming one of the best storylines in the league right now, and I am personally happy that it is happening here in Seattle.

Sadly, though, it was horrific to learn that Rashaad Penny injured his tibia and will likely be out for the season. As much as it has been fun rooting for Geno to succeed, it’s been a continual joy watching Penny continue to shine, and build off of his solid play from late last year. I hope he recovers quickly, and continues being a part of this team.

In that, I absolutely think it’s fantastic that Seattle has Ken Walker III on this team, and that big time run he had in place of Penny showed me everything I needed to see as to why Seattle spent a high second round pick on him. This dude is a special, special talent with the ball in his hands. He is now the man moving forward, and for me, that is exciting. Seattle will have to add depth behind him now, but if this guy stays healthy enough, it’s going to make this offense all the more dynamic. He’s a true home run hitter at running back. I’m looking forward to it.

It was hard to watch this defense through much of the game. They held a pretty middling Saints offense to 17 points in the first half, and I suppose that’s okay given how the Seattle offense was performing, but they literally had no answer for Taysom Hill as a running quarterback in the wild cat. It was almost like the Saints should have just stayed in that offense the whole time, and that’s not an indictment on Andy Dalton as the Saints’ quarterback, it’s just a slamming one on Seattle’s run defense right now.

I don’t know what the fix is with this Seahawk defense against the run. Personally, I think they have good players. Al Woods, Shelby Harris, and Poona Ford are all decent interior run defenders. Jordan Brooks is a good run stopping linebacker. Quandre Diggs is a capable tackler at safety. Tariq Woolen is an exciting talent at corner.

I’m not going to pretend to know more about NFL football than Clint Hurtt and Pete Carroll. These two guys could rattle off concepts in seconds that would have my head spinning. What I wonder, however, is if Seattle has the right personnel to run a 3-4 to a high level. Specifically, whether they are deep enough at linebacker, and if they have the right type of defensive linemen.

It’s hard for me to watch replays and not wonder if Cody Barton is overwhelmed and over thinking as an inside linebacker in this style of defense. It’s also hard for me to watch Poona Ford get pushed back.

I also wonder, with Jamal Adams out for the season, and maybe him being one of the big reasons why this team chose to play more 3-4 this year, if they should set aside that look for a return back to Carroll’s tradition 4-3 under. People can criticize Ken Norton Junior all they want, but at least his defenses over the past four years could stop the run. This defense, under Hurtt, thus far, cannot, and that is a demoralizing watch as a fan.

At least if they shifted back to more 4-3, they would run with a four down linemen front that featured Quinton Jefferson at 5 tech, Al Woods at Nose, Shelby Harris at 3 tech, and either Darrell Taylor or Boye Mafe at Leo end. Uchenna Nwosu can continue his solid play at SAM linebacker. This front could at least ease things up for Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton to play freer and more fast.

If I were Pete Carroll on the long flight home from the Big Easy, these would be the thoughts in my mind. I kinda think that if you really want to run a 3-4, you gotta have really great linebackers and capable two gapping defensive linemen.

Right now, it feels like Seattle is suspect at linebacker, and the defensive linemen they have are better fits in a 4-3. I’ve heard KJ Wright kinda intimate this on his 710 Seattle Sports show in recent weeks. He feels like Poona Ford and Quinton Jefferson aren’t being used in ways to do what they do best in getting upfield.

Of course, I have no idea if Carroll would make this switch. I think it could be a pretty big awkward ask for Clint Hurtt to give up on a scheme he believes in after five games, but then again, I think it would be a hard ask for Carroll to sit back and watch this defense continuing to give up this sort of ridiculous yardage on the ground in the hopes of things eventually clicking.

Something feels like it needs to give. Either they adjust the scheme to better fit the talent, or they start looking outside to bring in talent that better fits the scheme. Staying the course doesn’t feel like it will work, not after watching what Hill did to this defense in the wild cat and then watching what Alvin Kamara did on other run plays.

On the plus side, I thought the rookie corners continued to show up. Tariq Woolen now has three interceptions in the last three games and is playing like someone who could now win RDOY. Coby Bryant also created another forced fumble, and played tougher in coverage. As bad as the run defense was, I sense that these two guys are going to get better and better as the season continues.

Also, as bad as this loss felt for my Seahawk fans such as myself, the Rams and Cardinals also lost, and Seattle is in a three was tie for second place in the NFC West. The also share the same record as the Patriots and Bengals, for what that is worth.

This season is not lost. If they can just fix up the defense enough to have these guys playing better ball, they have the offense that will put up the points needed to win games. 32 points on the road to the Saints should have been enough to win for Seattle.

I think Seattle should have won this won, but they didn’t. Now let’s fix the reasons why.

Go Hawks.

Through four games, the Seattle Seahawks have a top five offense in the league, but one of the worst defenses. The games that they have played the last two weeks are projecting right now what a lot of their season might be playing out like.

Assuming that this week’s NFC Offensive Player Of The Week Geno Smith stays healthy and continues the pace that he has right now, they will be in a lot of games because of their offense, but their defense will keep other teams in these games, as well. If they want to be in playoff contention in December, they will need this defense to get better, and the sooner the better.

It will be fascinating to see if this offense can sustain itself, and if the defense can catch up. If Geno Smith carries forth this level of passing efficiency, and this defense can just get to become a middling one, Seattle could become a very dangerous team to play in December, and that would be fun.

In terms of the New Orleans Saints, it appears like the opposite might be happening for them. They have a top ten defense, but their offense feels closer to third tier right now. Also, their special teams has been a struggle.

Special teams between Seattle and New Orleans might prove a big determining factor this Sunday. While the Seahawks have had a couple special teams mishaps (oddly, each involving a Tyler Lockett punt return), they appear to be perhaps the better unit.

If I were to predict a likely scenario for how Dennis Allen will want to attack Seattle’s struggling defense, I would say the he will want to get Alvin Kamara going early and often against Seattle’s linebackers, and then take shots down field against the rawness of the corners that Pete Carroll has been riding with. Until Cody Barton and Jordyn Brooks become a better tackling tandem, and Tariq Woolen, Michael Jackson, and Coby Bryant prove that they can play cleaner against receivers down field, I would expect any offense featuring a quality running back and receiver to test these areas of the Seattle defense. The Saints have both in Kamara and rookie receiver Chris Olave who is averaging 16 yards per catch right now.

In fact, as it stands, I kinda see another shootout in this one. I don’t think it matters whether Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton is starting at quarterback for the Saints, both are capable enough quarterbacks to test this Seattle defense, but I also see Seattle’s offense continuing to hum with Geno, as well.

I suspect that the entire Seattle offensive unit will play with confidence against this tougher Saints defense after pulling off that big shoot out win in that hostile and loud environment in Detroit, and I think the coaches know that they need to keep this offense wide open in order to win. Having played New Orleans last year in Seattle, Geno is likely more aware of the challenges they brought with their coverages, and might well have a better sense of what will work against that particular brand of man coverage. DK Metcalf could have another big day. So could the running backs.

Both teams have a lot to play for in this one. Therefore, I expect both clubs to lay a lot on the line.

The Saints are desperate to avoid a 1-4 start to their season in a division that features Tom Brady, but the Seahawks on in a four way tie for first place in the NFC West, and a win against on the road against the Saints puts them in a nice spot next week with hosting the Arizona Cardinals. Beating the Saints with a chance to top the Cardinals in order to climb ahead in their division feels pretty incentivizing.

So, I’m going to be a homer again this week, and say that my Seahawks seize the day in the Big Easy, and pull off a 31-27 win in another hostile environment situation on the road.

I think we are going to see better play out of the Seattle defense this week. Coach Carroll has already indicated some personnel changes likely happening with going back to the steadiness of Ryan Neal at safety, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a change up at a couple other spots this week, as well. I get the sense that Seattle is still sorting through its personnel to get the best eleven guys not he field together. I suspect that they have figured out that Neal is a better safety than Josh Jones is right now, and they might be losing patience with the youth movement at corner some.

I also thought the run defense actually played better in Detroit until they hemorrhaged that busted run to Jamaal Williams in the third quarter. Also, Detroit is a better offensive team than New Orleans. So with all of that, I am sensing a better overall outing for the Seahawk defenders this weekend, but if all of this reasoning appears to be wishful feebleness to you as a reader, I totally understand.

In terms of the Seattle offense, I think this is a week that they get the run game going more again with the quick passing attack filled with man beating concepts. The Saints appear to be good against the pass, but have struggled more the the run. I see Geno softening up their defense in order to set up explosive run plays by Rashaad Penny, and Ken Walker III. Also, I suspect the Seattle will have looked at how Justin Jefferson of the Vikings exposed the Saint defenders downfield in London, and will look to do their own exploiting as the game progresses with DK and Tyler Lockett.

In the end, I think we see pretty balanced attacks from both offenses, but something is going to happen (perhaps on the special teams) that will provide a path to victory for Seattle.

At least, this is what I think will happen.

Also, it’s my birthday weekend, and therefore, the Seahawks have to win.

Go Hawks!