Twitter brings the world a lot of stupid things. For every poignantly sharp tweet put forth, there seems to exist dozens of hot takes that function as nothing more than the equivalent of road rage for all to read. Because of that, I’m not convinced that Twitter offers us much good, and I think it can often exacerbate things that might just be modest annoyances into issues that feel like bigger deals than they actually are.

Seahawks Twitter is a very big deal among the Twelves, especially the younger generations. Much of the demographic lives and works in the tech industry, and because of that, we have a healthy dose of young smarties that exist in this unique Twitter bubble. I am not yet active on Twitter because, well, I am incredibly lazy, but I peak on it when it comes to my Seahawks.

In the realm of Seahawks Twitter, I see some well reasoned tweets that come out from those that cover and write about the club, but I also see numerous tweets that read like they were authored by a semi-deranged Jerry Springer guest. Perfect examples of such Seahawk related tweets usually involve firing Pete Carroll and/or trading Russell Wilson (the two foundational cornerstones of this franchise that annually makes the playoffs, like, annually).

Don’t get me wrong, I get why these tweets exist. The Seahawks have not made it back to a championship game in over five seasons now, and they haven’t made it out of the wildcard round twice in three consecutive post seasons. For Seahawk fans that have become very use to winning over the past decade, that has become a clear annoyance.

For many, the feeling is that this team is underachieving based on the talent that exists on the roster. Many see an expensive quarterback that is not being leaned into enough. Some also see him as simply not talented enough to justify his salary, and the team cannot spend in ways to better fill out the roster. Many also see a head coach that, while he is a great culture builder, he is also prone to bad game management and the modern game of offensive football has passed him by.

In my view, these are sorta extreme takes. Russell Wilson is an elite quarterback who had a rough second half of the 2020 when the Seattle offense never adjusted to how defenses were playing it. Pete Carroll is a great football head coach who hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to coach the game. In fact, he called for his offense to adjust mid season, and his offensive coordinator failed to deliver. Brian Schotteheimer was shown the door immediately after their post season concluded, and Seattle put forth a search for a new offensive coach who would marry together what Pete wants with what Russell wants.

Enter former Rams pass game coordinator and Portland Oregon native, Shane Waldron. This in my view is a sure fire home run hit of a hire. Read me now, feel me later. The Seattle Seahawks hit this one out of the park, and they needed to do that. Bravo.

Pete Carroll wants to run the ball more after he saw his offense get way out of balance in 2020 with the pass to run ratio numbers. He also stressed that he wanted to figure out how to get better on third downs and quick passes. For the last four seasons, the Ram offense has been the ideal definition of balance between the run and pass, and they have been highly efficient on third downs.

In an hour long media session after the play loss to the Rams no less, Russell Wilson stated that he and Pete were on the same page about getting back to the run, but he also said that it wasn’t just about running the ball. He wanted the offense to be great on all phases and he expressed again a very strong desire to play with more up tempo. For the last four years, the Rams have also been a very good team at attacking defenses with varied tempo. This fits.

When I wrote my season ending review of this team, and offered thoughts about the future offensive coaching, one thing I mentioned was that I thought it would be wise for Seattle to poach off of the Rams staff or the 49er one because I thought that either offense would ideally fit one Russell Wilson. Just imagine, if you will, what Russell Wilson would look like in that Ram offense. That’s pretty exciting stuff.

By hiring Shane Waldron, I believe Seattle will surely bring a variation of that Ram offense up to the Pacific Northwest. Pete Carroll will his desired balanced attack. It will have its pass game built off of the run by way of play action, and Russell Wilson will likely have the tempo he desires. This move fits what the coach wants and what the quarterback does best.

No longer will the team try to make a short quarterback be a drop back pocket passer with long developing pass patterns. They will ask him to move around, and attack defenses with quicker passes, and at times, tempo.

The Rams offense is ideal for all of this. It only runs a hand full of various pass plays and run plays, but is does it out of countless looks that keep defenses guessing whether it will be run or pass. It also tests all areas of the field. It requires the quarterback to be mobile and accurate on the move, and make smart decisions with the ball. That is Russell Wilson at his best.

After the Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson exit interviews a few weeks back, there was a growing number of extreme speculations with regards to the direction of the club. Folks looked between the lines of what both figure heads were saying, and they started to openly entertain ideas of a divorce brewing. I think the hiring of Waldron can safely put a lot of that to rest now. This is a clear sign that the franchise is very determined to marry together what both figures want, and that’s the right thing to do.

The Seattle Seahawks are not going to trade Russell Wilson anytime soon, and they are not going to fire Pete Carroll. Safer bets are that both could easily retire Seahawks someday much far down the line.

I’m excited about this hire. I’m very excited about the 2021 Seattle Seahawks. I think this will be their Abbey Road season, as I see Pete and Russ getting back to where they once belong.

If you don’t get the reference, maybe you should take a Twitter break, and put on the head phones while you plug the Super Bowl winning 2013 season back in the DVD player. Sit back, eat a pizza, and try to enjoy what a winning franchise looks like.

Today is a very good day.

Go Hawks.

Icarus was an ancient dude who was gifted with a rare ability to fly with constructed wings made of feathers and wax. He and his dad busted out of an ancient Cretan prison each wearing a pair of these magical wings, but his dad warned him not to fly too close to the sun, for if he did, these wings would melt and burn. But poor Icarus got too caught up in the moment while’st in flight, felt himself rather invincible, and forgot the advice of his risk adverse father. He did, in fact, fly too close to the sun, the wings predictably melted, he fell, and he died. All he had to do was to heed the wisdom of dear old dad.

If I am to pick one mythological tale to use as a metaphor for the 2020 Seattle Seahawks, I don’t know how I could possibly not chose this one. The Seattle Seahawks were committed to letting Russell cook, it became intoxicating, and it all caught up to them, and it become their demise.

It’s taken me about a week to put this piece together. I’ve needed time to process what happened during the season, and think about all the reasons why this team’s post season run ended as abruptly as it did. To write a proper post mortem of these 2020 Seahawks, dust needed to settle a bit, and I think it has.

After a stellar first month of the season in which the Seattle offense put up historic passing numbers, NFL defensive coordinators caught up to it just before mid season, and it was rough watching what eventually unfolded as a result. Seattle inexplicably did not adjust well enough to what became a standard two deep safety look that was routinely deployed against them as a basic means to take away the deep pass. Weirdly, Seattle chose to continue dialing up deep pass patterns against it with outlet patterns that either Russell Wilson did not see, or did not feel comfortable to decisively go to. In result of that, our star quarterback regressed.

Ultimately, they ran into a buzz saw against the best defense in the league in the playoffs, and it was an embarrassing early exit on their home field. An impressive 12-4 regular season record with historic offensive numbers will not remove the sour taste out of the mouths of many Seahawk fans, coaches, and players after that loss.

As a result of all this, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer lost his job at the end, even though he was the play-caller for an offense had put up record setting franchise numbers. That’s an astonishing fun fact to digest.

So, there it is. That was the 2020 Seattle Seahawks for you, and thus, we are going to see changes to this team during in 2021. How vast the amount of changes, we can only speculate at this point, but there are only two things that I am certain about that won’t change.

Number one is that this team will not fire Pete Carroll. He just signed an extension that keeps him in Seattle through 2025, his team just went 12-4, and the rather remarkable defensive turnaround this his team achieved mid season (to possibly save their season) shows that Carroll is still a master at coaching up that side of the ball. One could argue that with no Paul Allen, Carroll now has more control over the franchise than ever. The safe bet moving forward is that this is his ship, and he will sail it his way probably until he decides to retire. The idea of firing him is pretty futile. Won’t happen.

The other thing is that this team will not do is trade Russell Wilson, at least not this year, and probably not at any point at all, no matter how much some will feel convinced that a trade is inevitable. Beating that drum might be even more futile than the fire the coach drum.

Russell Wilson had a rough stretch of games to close the season, no doubt about it, and it wasn’t all on the coaching, either. During this difficult stretch, there appears to be plenty of tape showing that Brian Schottenheimer schemed outlet receivers for him to check towards that he either didn’t see, or he was just too hesitant to go towards while being hyper protective with the ball. This suggests that Schottenheimer was not solely at fault for his struggles. This also suggests that Russell regressed as a passer in 2020.

Many of the Russell Wilson detractors will gloat some over this, and they will feel vindicated by their skepticism over him through the years. They will espouse the notions that he’s too short and age has diminished his wheels. Many will most definitely yearn for him to be traded, but that will be mostly silly talk, and there are numerous reasons why.

I will not go in depth in this piece to explain all these reasons why trading Russell is highly unlikely. As trade rumors are sure to start brewing, I will write more about it then. I will just say that, for starters, his 2021 salary makes it very cost prohibitive to move him this off-season. The second thing is that, for a mega-trade to happen, it takes two to tango, and with Russell Wilson’s no-trade clause in his contract, it actually takes three to tango.

For John Schneider to move his favorite player, he will have to find a team willing to give him what he feels is fair compensation for a quarterback who is inching into his mid thirties now with each season. If Russ were to try to force a trade, any general manager trying to low ball Seattle for him, you can bet your bottom dollar Schneider would tell them exactly what dark hole they can put their offer up inside. Furthermore, if he does find a team desperate enough to give him what he wants for an older expensive quarterback, if Russell doesn’t like the destination, he can veto it through his no-trade clause.

Finally, if Russ wants out, the truth of the matter is that he just doesn’t hold any power to force his way out. Pete Carroll and John Schneider can just tell him and his agent “your signed through 2023 and we can revisit after then.” What would Russ do? Do you think he would honestly sit out seasons when he knows his window of being in his prime is closely? Russ and his hardball agent don’t have as much power as you think.

Therefore, I think the truth of everything is that it’s going to be best for Russell, and it is going to be best for Pete to find a solid middle ground with each other. If Pete wants to establish the run more, Russ should be cool with that with a practical eye towards regaining his highly efficient form again. It would also be logical for Pete to listen to Russ and concede that more varied tempo on offense, from time to time, helps his quarterback to play more confident, and therefor better. No matter who the next offensive coordinator is, there is room for both of these figure heads to concede some towards the other. This would be best for all sides.

There, I said all that I wanted to say about it for now. Moving forward, I think it is more worth it to focus on what the realistic changes might be in 2021, and to create a wish list off of that. This is what I will focus on in the later portion of this piece.

Before that, I want to quickly revisit the season by breaking it down into the three categories that have become the standard with this blog; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. So, here we go.

The Good

DK Metcalf took an enormous step forward in his sophomore season in the league, and it feels like he is still just scratching the surface of what he can be as a receiver. It has been such a significant step forward that it feels like he is now perhaps the second best player on offense, and that is saying something when you consider that this offense has Duane Brown at left tackle, and they have Tyler Lockett at the other receiver position. I see greatness for years to come with this guy, and I’m excited about that. The smart move to to buy stock in him as a player now.

The defensive turnaround that this team made mid season was very promising. It’s obvious that the addition of Carlos Dunlap was a huge factor, but I think that a lot of credit has got to go towards Ken Norton Junior and Pete Carroll adjusting the scheme to a more aggressive “bear front” to take advantage of other talents on the roster, such as Poona Ford up front, and Jamal Adams and DJ Reed on the back end. Maybe the biggest factor in this turnaround was the shift of KJ Wright to the strong side (SAM) linebacker and his role in this scheme. This was a defensive front unlike anything Carroll has had in Seattle before, and I think that they are onto something with it. I’m excited to see how far they take it in 2021.

This might have been the best year John Schneider has had as a general manager, and it was awesome news that the team extended his contract to 2027. This year he made the right call during free agency to re-up defensive tackle Jarran Reed, and to put a firm limit on how much to spend on Jadeveon Clowney (Clowney proved injury prone again with the Titans while Reed regained his pass rush form from 2018). Schneider also hit the ball out of the park with the 2020 draft class, as Jordyn Brooks proved to be a dynamic linebacker, Damien Lewis was inspiring at right guard, and fifth round pick Alton Robinson flashed starter potential as an edge rusher. Further more, while his bold trade for Jamal Adams was inspiring, for my money, what really set this year apart from others was when he sent a 7th round pick and a backup center to the Bengals for Carlos Dunlap, and he picked DJ Reed off the waiver wire from San Francisco. Both of those moves were brilliant ones, both players feel like big factors for this team moving forward, and I think Schneider deserves to be GM of the Year for those two maneuvers alone.

Despite what it looked like against the Rams in the playoffs, I thought that this was one of the best offensive lines Seattle had rolled out with in sometime. Schneider, again, needs to be applauded here by letting right tackle Germaine Ifedi walk in free agency and then replacing him with free agent Brandon Shell. Shell and Damien Lewis look like fixtures on the right side together, and Ethan Pocic did a decent job when given the opportunity to finally play center (the position he excelled at in college). I think Seattle is one talented young left guard away from having one of the best lines in the league. You heard it here.

The kicking game was awesome this year. For all weirdos out there that love the kicking game, and kickers, and Seahawks, this was the season for you. An argument could be made the going down the final stretch of the season Jason Meyers and Michael Dickson were deserving of co-MVP honors for this club.

Lastly, circling back to John Schneider again, the trade for Jamal Adams was a home run decision, in my opinion. Adams feels like the heartbeat player for the defense for years to come, and expect this defense to continue to reshape itself around his unique skill set. I think we have already caught glimpses of that in 2020. Trading two firsts and a third round pick for him feels like a no-brainer now. That’s essentially Germaine Ifedi, Rashaad Penny, and Lano Hill for Jamal Adams. I’ll make that deal every single time over.

The Bad

The Let Russ Cook movement died a death mid season and this team’s offense never really recovered from it. Some will blame Russell for it, some Carroll, and probably most will agree to blame former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Personally, I think there’s room to spread the blame around equally to all three.

I would blame Russ and his agent for allegedly putting a gun to the head of the organization last off-season that basically forced them into a throw first mentality that perhaps this offense wasn’t entirely constructed to be. I believe it backfired on both the player and the team, equally. I also believe that if he and his agent, Mark Rodgers, intend to play the same sort of hardball with the club again this off-season, the play of Russ through the final second half of the season has lost them A LOT of leverage. They would be wise to shut it down and just see what unfolds after a 2021 season with a new offensive play-caller. That would be the smart thing to do.

I was also not a fan of Russ deciding to take advantage of the Let Russ Cook thing and trademarking that saying. I think it signaled to the team that he was more concerned with material and statistical gain than he perhaps was at the team doing whatever needed to win games. I think it was a bad look that bit him in the butt, frankly, and if I was a teammate on the fence with him a bit, that move probably pushed me off the fence further. If I were him, I would dump that trademark now.

But I also think Carroll and Schotty deserve every bit as much blame as the quarterback does. After the interceptions started coming in a loss happened in Arizona in which the team should have come out with the win, Carroll was calling for the need to run more, and I don’t believe he was wrong in that. However, what followed was maddening as it all unfolded.

They got back to the basics against San Francisco and it was a nice win for the club, but then they lost to Buffalo and Los Angeles (back to back) because they got away from running and weirdly stayed with a deep passing attack that wasn’t there for the taking. Pete, again, called for more of a running attack, and they then won a nice game against the Cardinals when they ran more and Russ had a good game passing off of it, but then they inexplicably got away from it against the Giants, and lost to Colt McCoy, of all quarterbacks.

Even during the final four games in which they won all of, they never really stayed enough with the run, and they made things more harder for Russ, as they kept with calls to hit deeper passes that were not often available. This offense struggled more than it needed to and it was for all to see.

I think Schotty obviously got canned for continually chasing a deep attack defenses were taking away, but we also have to blame Carroll for not putting his foot down enough when he should have. This is Carroll’s team, and he could see what was happening. He needed to be more firm and he wasn’t. People complain that he meddles too much with the offense. I am willing to argue that he didn’t meddle enough.

Also, if I were to put the 2020 Seattle Seahawks inside a nutshell, I would say that perhaps that nutshell showed us exactly what Russell Wilson’s ceiling is as a player. I still firmly believe that Russell Wilson is a tremendously talented quarterback (perhaps still top five), but I also firmly believe that he is probably a very scheme specific one.

I think in 2020, the Seattle Seahawks got away from a scheme and identity that best suites him as a player. I think he is ideal in a run to set up pass offense. This is what he was in college, and it is what he has excelled at in the pros.

If you put him in a Kyle Shanahan offense, I think that team probably goes to the Super Bowl. I believe that is a safe bet. I think that if you have in an offense that Andy Reid is running with Patrick Mahomes, well, I’m not so sure. As much as I love Russ as a player, I’m not convinced that’s a fit.

If Seattle really wants to get Russell Wilson cooking, I am fully convinced that they need to be more like the 49ers, or even the Rams. Russell Wilson would thrive in either offensive. My hope is that in 2021, Seattle’s offense will more closely resemble the offenses of one of those two division rival teams. That’s my big hope.

The Ugly

All fans saying that Russell Wilson is broken, and Pete Carroll can’t coach. Folks, please..

Quiet, Coyote. Let’s calm down and cool the temperature. Russ is pretty. Pete is pretty. We’re all pretty. Let’s all share some orange slices together.

My Wish List for the 2021 Seattle Seahawks

The 2021 Seattle Seahawk offense resembles something closer to the San Francisco 49er offense or the Los Angeles Ram offense (or the Cleveland Brown offensive, for that matter). Any of those would be a great fit for Russ.

Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson must have a long sit down together to figure out an offense that will make both of them happy. There needs to be a strong and well defined melding of the minds. Both figure heads will need to concede some. I think they will. There is a reason why the team had Russell give an hour long press conference very recently. I believe it is to show that there will be a united effort for the player and coach to come together, and to squash speculation that they are drifting apart. But make no mistake, it needs to happen.

Bring back KJ Wright, John Schneider. Yes, there is word leaking out that he wants to be paid handsomely. Yes, he is older at 31. However, I see nothing in KJ’s game that leads me to believe that he is slowing down, and I think he move to SAM linebacker might have been a big straw the stirred the drink for Seattle’s defense turnaround. Bring him back.

Improving the left guard position is a gigantic must. When healthy, Mike Iupati is a good left guard for the power blocking Pete seems to favor. The huge problem here is him staying healthy and he is only getting older. Presently, Seattle just has no first round pick, and they only have one day two pick in the second round. The second round is generally a sweet spot to take a quality young guard. Seattle found Damien Lewis in the early third round last Spring. I would love to see a repeat of that in 2021.

I want to see Seattle commit to Poona Ford long term. He took a huge step forward as a pass rusher at defensive tackle, and it feels like he is just scratching the surface of his potential as an every down player. I don’t want to see him playing in another uniform and every down defensive tackles are too rare. Lock him in long term, Schneider. Do this.

Find Russell Wilson another dynamic target beyond DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. This could mean another wide receiver or it could be a tight end. It’s going to be a challenge to find this with a shrinking cap, and presently no first or third round pick in this year’s draft, but I would argue that perhaps it is best for Russ, as a quarterback, to have another high end outlet. Part of the issue with Russ, I think, is trusting receivers. I believe he needs that trust to be more decisive. Someone either has to emerge from this roster, or they need to go get one through either draft, free agency, or trade. I would like to see them aggressive here.

Don’t be afraid to be bold again with trades. With limited draft capital in 2021, John is going to have to work some magic again. He could do this a few ways. He could continue the pattern of trading down in the draft to collect more mid round picks that he thinks might develop into starters down the line. Another thing he could do is look at his own roster, and see what he has that could be dealt if he feels like he has quality depth behind that player. As we all know, this team has not advanced deep into the playoffs in years. There should be no sacred cows if the right deal is there. Be bold if it becomes available.

Rework the Carlos Dunlaps deal so he is here for the next two or three years. Judging from what I saw in his 2020, this cat doesn’t look like he’s slowing down as an edge rusher. He is going to have a big hit against the team’s 2021 cap, but I would consider eating that because I believe that his presence on the defensive line opens up opportunities for other to succeed. We could all see how Jarran Reed’s productive shot up once Dunlap was rushing with him. It was glaringly obvious. If I am Schneider, I am working with Dunlap’s agent to extend him to a deal that shrinks his 2021 costs down a bit, and I am adding maybe two more years on the deal. That gives the player security, and the team as they try to develop younger talent such as Alton Robinson and Darrell Taylor. It’s an easy win winner.

Be care when considering big contract extensions to Chris Carson and Shaquill Griffin. As much as we might enjoy them as players, is either worthy of a big contract? Is Griffin a true lock down corner? Can Carson, for as dynamic of a back as he can be as a runner, honestly be trusted to stay healthy enough? I would love to see both players back in 2021. I just don’t want to see big contracts given to either players that, after four years, are still question marks. I’d rather punt, and take chances on players on the roster and what they might find in the draft.

Finally, if I have one other big wish for 2021, it is that I will finally see my beloved Seattle Seahawks play a football game wearing the iconic team uniforms from the 1980’s. That look was dope, and yes I am a middle aged man who just used the word “dope” in a sentence.

My Predictions for 2021

I think Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson will come together enough for the team to select a new offensive play-caller that both will be happy with. I think there is way too much knee jerk reactions from a lot of folks looking at this situation. I don’t believe that Carroll just wants to run it as much as possible, and I don’t believe that Russell will be adverse to the team running more. I think Carroll wants more committed run but he also wants a sharper passing attack that he can lean into when needed. I like Russ wants that same flexibility. Bottom line is both want this team to win and if running more helps that, I think Russ will be cool with that. There is a reason why the team chose to make Russ available for that long press conference. I believe that reason is to show fans unity between the coach and player. I think both individuals know what is at stake with that, and there will be a mutual willingness for that. Color me not worried.

I don’t know who the next coordinator will be, but if I had to guess, I think Pep Hamilton would be a solid bet. He’s worked with Andrew Luck in the past, and he did wonders with Justin Herbert down in San Diego as the quarterback coach there most recently. He also has strong ties to John Harbaugh who I think Carroll honestly admires a lot as a coach. I think looking at Hamilton, I see an established coach who will be good for Russ, and he will know what Pete is looking for in a run to set up pass offense. I also think Pete and Russ would each get something out of Pep that they would like. Pete would get his classic pro-style offense, and Russ would get a really good quarterback coach as his play-caller. I think also, Pep is a type of coach who perhaps won’t be ambitious for a head coaching gig and that will play big with Carroll. It just feels very destined to happen. We shall see soon enough.

I think that the defense takes a big jump forward in 2021. I think Jamal Adams will have a stronger and more defined roll that will stir the whole drink, and that will make others play even better. I think Poona Ford establishes himself even more as an interior pass rusher. I also think Jordyn Brooks takes a big step forward at linebacker, and so will Alton Robinson and Darrell Taylor as edge rushers. I’m not sure if the team brings back KJ Wright or Shaquill Griffin, but I am confident that Carlos Dunlap and DJ Reed will continue to be big factors for this club. I like A LOT of the pieces on this side of the ball, and I really like a lot of the younger pieces to step forward in bigger ways.

I think Russell Wilson will have a solid bounce back year in 2021. I think there will be a stronger offensive identity, who that they can all hang their hats on, and I think Russ is going to show the world again just how efficient of a passer he is when defenses have to play him more honestly. His passing yards may very well go down, but I think he touchdown passes will remain high, and best of all, his interceptions will be down once again. This will be the big story-line for 2021.

The NFC West will be a dogfight division again, but I expect that Seattle will find another way to win it. Prognosticators annually find every reason they can to predict a Seattle collapse at the start of every season, and I expect it to be no different this year. They never learn, and it’s simple folks, the Seahawks have an hall of fame head coach, and they have one of the very best quarterbacks on the planet. They also have one of the sharpest general managers alive who consistently finds talent hidden under rocks. That’s as good of a recipe for winning as any out there. I think the 49ers will bounce back, but I am not convinced the Cardinals take the next step, and I think the Rams are going to find themselves in a pickle because they are stuck with Jared Goff as their quarterback. Seahawks will win this division, I don’t know how, but I just know they will gut out a way. Safe bet.

Once Seattle gets into the playoffs, it get murkier for me. I think they will likely get past the first round, but I’m not convinced that they play in any championship game. Too much recent history suggests that they won’t. Much like a Russell Wilson trade, I’ll believe it when I see it. I also think not getting back to any NFC championship will only further stoke the Fire Pete flames, and the Russell trade talk speculation, and I will be right back at square one, right around this time next year in 2022. I will be writing yet again how this team will not fire Pete, nor they will trade Russell.

I see all of these as very safe bets to make.

Stay well, everyone. Stay safe out there in all these crazy times.

Go Hawks!

Let’s face it. It was a weird week last week. In fact, it had gotten so weird on Wednesday that I actually found myself substantially missing 2020.

Weird isn’t even that right adjective to use for it. Disturbing is significantly more appropriate. Any person who values American democracy should be deeply disturbed right now. I value democracy, and I am, to my core, deeply disturbed, and have remained so since Wednesday afternoon last week.

So when kick off happened at 1:40 on Saturday, I found myself sort of caring less about this game. Like, I could take or leave a win. Not that I didn’t want the win, or wasn’t rooting for the win. Just, kinda.. yeah.. whatever.

The Seahawks sucked in this one. The defense played okay for spells, but couldn’t hold it together long enough. The Seahawks sucked, and the Rams simply sucked less. This, in a nutshell, was the game.

I apologize if the tone of this piece has a sore loser vibe. That’s not my intention. Had Seattle won this game, and even won handsomely, I was prepared to write in a similar fashion. What happened in this past week was a tipping point for me as an American, and I simply cannot get past it. I don’t know how, and I’m not sure that I am supposed to.

So, Seattle lost, and it was a crummy end to the season that was, for the most part, enjoyable. At least I found it enjoyable even though there is a growing trend of fans and maybe a few beat writers who appear to believe (seemingly very strongly now) that Pete Carroll can’t coach and Russell Wilson is broken as a franchise quarterback. I respectfully disagree, and I believe that the issues that plagued this offense over the past several games will become resolved during the off-season. Pete Carroll is not stupid and lost as a coach. Russell Wilson isn’t either as a quarterback.

Also, I am appreciative towards all the players and coaches that, to a degree, risked their safety to gather to play a professional sport during a massive pandemic that has now killed nearly 400,000 American lives. Their decisions to do that has given me a most welcome distraction to all that has been incredibly difficult to deal with in this past year. I am grateful for all that.

Here are my notes about the game.

The Good

I generally liked the way the defense played. I thought the pass rush was good. I thought young players like Poona Ford, LJ Collier, and Alton Robinson had some positive impacts up front. I liked how the linebackers and defensive backs were hitting and covering for stretches. It was unfortunate that they weren’t supported much by the offense and as the game wore on, the Rams had success against them and were able to push them around.

I loved the kick return the DJ Reed had to start the second half.

I loved the improvised scramble play the Russell Wilson had that led to a 51 yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf that kept Seattle in it for a while. I could have stood to have seen more scramble drills in this one, frankly.

I like that whenever Seattle plays the Rams, Jarran Reed tends to grab a couple sacks a game, as he did it again in this one.

I thought Chris Carson had some good hard runs, and wished that he had gotten more.

The Bad

What can I possibly say about the offense that hasn’t been said a hundred times all over social media, and with those the cover the team?

It was so bad that I don’t even know where to start, anyways. I will just repeat on this blog what I said to a distressed friend on Facebook.

It’s hard to win a ball game against a dominant defense when you start the game with a 1st and 25 due to back to back penalties.

It’s hard to win a game when you drop multiple passes.

It is hard to win the game when you force passes into difficult coverage.

It’s hard to win a game when you throw a pick six.

It’s hard to win a game when you have a short quarterback pocket pass against a gigantic athletic pass rush and tight coverage.

It’s hard to win by not establishing the run and building off of it like what the Ram offense was eventually able to do against Seattle’s defense.

Ultimately, it is hard to win a game when you do not take advantage of what your best players do best, and a perfect example of that is Russell Wilson as the threat to run and pass.

This was a hard game for Seattle to win because they had all of these things working against them. It will haunt them through the off-season.

My hope is that it will lead to a more defined offensive identity that they can rely on in 2021 because it seemed like they were playing a big portion of this season without any identity. That is the one narrative out there that I fully agree with.

The Ugly

On Wednesday, January 6th, a large ground of paranoid insurrectionists stormed the United States Capital Building. They overtook a severely undermanned police force, and they threatened the lives of a US Congress as they were working to certify the November general election. It felt like a coup attempt to overtake the US government, frankly. That isn’t hyperbole. Never in my life would I imagine that ever being a thing. Yet, here we are.

The Seahawks lost. So what?

Football is a privilege that I have been able to enjoy all of my life. Democracy is a significantly greater privilege. That is what last Wednesday proved to me.

It’s not the end of the world if your football team loses and does not play well. Losing a long standing democracy is significantly worse. Last Wednesday, our democracy was threatened in a way it had never been since the War of 1812. Make no mistake about that.

It has had a carryover effect that effected my ability to enjoy my favorite team playing a playoff game that I should otherwise enjoy, and I think it will be something that I will have a difficult tune shaking off for a while. So, I guess maybe Tom Brady, or even the Rams now should just go win the Super Bowl because I frankly won’t care. Whatever. It doesn’t matter.

What matters if for Americans to collectively look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves what they have personally done to contribute to our collective getting this this place that we are now in. It starts with each of us as individuals. It must.

This isn’t even a Republican versus Democrat thing for me right now. I am neither, and have proudly stayed a independent voter since I registered as a teen. Outside of being a diehard Seahawk fan, I fundamentally do not believe in tribalism, and what has been going in over the last several years in this nation is exactly why. Little good comes from that mentality.

No good came out of it last Wednesday. We have go to change.

Moving Forward

Hopefully, our country will start to finally come together. Hopefully, Wednesday last week was the rock bottom that we needed for that to begin to happen. Hopefully, we are not headed towards a needless second civil war.

I don’t believe we are, but for God’s sake, do we ever have a bunch of work to do. We must figure out a way to come together.

As for the Seattle Seahawks, I like them to spend the off-season sorting out their offense, and building more on defense. They have nice young pieces on both sides of the ball and they have top level talented veteran leadership.

Mainly, I like for Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson to come together during the off-season with a united vision of their offense and a fully bought-in commitment to that vision. I like for Seattle to continue building on it’s young pass rush, and having a defense that will compliment its offense. That compliment is mainly having a defense that will more reliably be able to protect leads.

I think they will be fine in 2021. That is the safe bet, but I would like to see them be better than fine. I want to see them fully realized. Just like I want to see this country of our realized.

Go Hawks, and God bless America.

Thank you for reading this blog.

And so it begins..

The 2020 Seattle Seahawks have returned to the playoffs, and this time around as the NFC West Division Champions. They will be defending the cold wet turf Lumen Field from the dreaded Los Angeles Rams, a team that certain to be fueled by the deep thirst of revenge.

Any Twelve nervous about this match up cannot be blamed for it. The Rams give any sensible mind a cause for concern, and they are largely owned this series for the last four years.

Aaron Donald simply is not human. No way. This dude is a 6-1 285 pound Orc Berserker that does things to offensive guards that no other being in a football uniform can do in terms of speed, power, and skill, and he does it was ease. He was also captured on film after the Rams defeated the Cardinals smiling into the camera with glee saying that playing Seattle again was exactly what his team wanted.

Aaron Donald wants to eat Russell Wilson, and he will be aided by a shutdown corner in Jalen Ramsey who will be determined to take away Russell’s favorite weapon in DK Metcalf. Their defense will present another menacing challenge for Seattle. Bank on it. Embrace it.

But here is the rub. Russell Wilson is not human either. He is a magical nimble forest creature who can out maneuver his foes with fleet feet and can send footballs to his receivers with arrow like precision whenever on the run, and the game is on the line. Once you think you have him had, he can start turning on that magical juice at any time, and if he gets hot, you’re in trouble, no matter how good your defense is.

This is essentially going to be the crux of this battle for Helm’s Deep. Does Aaron Donald and company feast on Russell Wilson, or does Russell Wilson have it within himself again to beat another top level defense with his arm and legs as the game progresses?

Seahawks beat the Rams by..

Not cowering to Donald and his orc army of defenders. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer must devise a plan that will use Donald’s aggression against him. Like Bruce Lee, they must be water, my friends, on offense.

When Donald is in pass rush mode, perhaps that is the time to run right at him with a large offensive line that will have all five of its starters back for the first time in quite sometime. Donald is a terror when it is third and long, but you if can get on him and drive block him, he can be pushed around. It might be wise for Seattle to run at Ramsey as well and force him to be a run defender. It is also likely that the Rams will be thinking that Seattle will attack often with short passes, especially with the game Tyler Lockett just had against the 49ers. With a healthy offensive line, and a healthy set of running backs, there could be opportunities with the ground game against the looks the Ram defenders will be giving. Staying with the run might be the wise move in this match.

But staying with the run does not mean abandoning the pass game for it. It means using the run to set up the pass a bit more, and that means getting Russell Wilson moving. This is the single biggest must for Seattle, in my opinion. Last time around a couple weeks ago, Schottenheimer had Russ pocket passing often against this club, and it was a struggle. When the game took off for Seattle was when Russell Wilson took off with his feet outside the pocket and he was able to make plays with his arm and legs there. Play action and boot legs make Wilson tougher to defend than defending him from the pocket, especially when there is an effective run game going. It forces the defense to use a spy on him, and while that might limit his ability to run for bigger gains, it leaves a hole open in the defense. In short, another way to use Ram aggression against them is to have the defenders thinking about Russell Wilson on the move. Play action, bootlegs, zone read could all factor in here.

On the flip side, if Seattle stays true to who they are on defense and continues to defend the edges against the run, and not be fooled by the motions the Ram offense loves to use, the Rams are going to have another hard time against the squad. The Rams will be healthier at running back with Cam Akers back this time around. He’s a really good back for them, and will be a factor. Another difference in this game could be with Rams starting John Wolford at quarterback over Jared Goff, if Goff is not recovered enough from his thumb injury. Wolford can tuck the ball and run, and that is a dimension that Seattle would have to be ready for.

Discipline will be the key for the Seattle defenders, as it always is against these Rams. If Seattle cannot play with Jamal Adams at safety and Jarran Reed at defensive tackle, it is up to the replacements to carry on. I really like what Seattle still has inside with Poona Ford at defensive tackle, and LJ Collier as an interior pass rusher, and I like what Ryan Neal has done in the past as a replacement to Adams. Even without Adams and Reed, Seattle could very well be fine here.

Seahawks lose to the Rams by..

Getting out of their assignments on defense and allowing McVay’s offense to take advantage. If Wolford is playing, McVay might try to use his legs as an added dimension for Seattle defenders to think about. This could test Seattle’s discipline. Seattle should be ready for this, but if they aren’t, that could be trouble.

Seattle can’t find enough ways to run the ball, the Rams figure out ways to limit Russell from making plays outside the pocket, and this all leads to a one dimensional offense that will be limited against a top level Ram defense. Ways this could happen could be penalties on run and pass plays that lead to third and longs. Seattle must play a relatively clean game against this defense. They cannot be plagued by false starts and holds. If they are, it could be an especially ugly affair, and a painfully early playoff exit.

My Prediction

Pain. This game will be another heavy weight slug fest, but the Seahawks will prevail, winning it, 23-17.

The Rams will get pressure on Russell Wilson and it will probably happen early and often for a while, but as the game wears on, Wilson will find ways to beat the Ram defenders. Conversely, I think the Rams will try to roll out with Jared Goff, but will end up with Wolford playing, and that might spark their offense a bit more, but it will likely be a little too little too late.

I think Jamal Adams will gut out and play with gimpy shoulders, and Jarran Reed will tough it out as well. There might be mixed results in this, but I feel like at least one of these two guys will make a key play or two as the game progresses.

I have a sneaking suspicion that rookie linebacker Jordyn Brooks is going to have another big game, and I think Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde will be big time factors on offense to help open things up for Wilson with their hard charging running. I also think DK Metcalf will have a bigger game in this one this time around.. just a vibe I’m feeling.

Make no mistake, though, it won’t always be pretty, but Russell Wilson and company will prevail at Helm’s Deep. The good guys win this one.

Go Hawks.

Nope, this here season ending game against the 49ers wasn’t pretty. But then again, how much can we depend as Twelves for the Seahawks to play pretty football for four quarters under the current construction of this team?

Leading into this match, I felt that this game would likely feel like a struggle at times, and I wasn’t wrong about that. The 49ers proved to be an impressive tough out for Seattle, more so that I even envisioned. They are a proud club, and they are extremely well coached on both sides of the ball.

In fact, had it not been for an endless list of injuries to key starters, they very much could have been the class of the NFC West yet again in 2020. But that is football, and injuries are very much a part of the game. It’s been impressive to see that team fight its way through a difficult season. A tip of the hat must go towards Kyle Shanahan and his ability to coach a team up. He’s really good, and they reflect that.

That said, it felt like the Seattle Seahawks were often fighting themselves a bit in this one, offensively. In fact, for three quarters this game felt eerily similar to the game they played against the Giants over a month ago and lost. Seattle seemed to be stubborn with pocket passing in the third quarter when the 49ers were bring a lot of pressure and they weren’t doing anything to counter, and they weren’t staying with the run to offset the pass rush.

It was only when the 49ers went up 16-6 at the start of the fourth quarter that Seattle started to move Russell Wilson outside the pocket that they were able to get out of their rut. Once that happened, this game started feeling like we were finally about to see some quality football with the offense. It should have started much sooner, in my opinion.

With this game won, I firmly believe that, if Seattle is going to do any damage in the playoffs, two things need to happen with the offense. Brian Schottenheimer needs to stay committed to mixing in the run with the pass is the first thing. The second thing is that they must get Russell Wilson factoring into the pass game more from outside the pocket where he is most dangerous. If they do this, Seattle can do damage against any club they face.

Here are my notes about this season finale against San Francisco.

The Good

The Seahawk defense continued to carry the team and the played well enough for this club to win. Yes, there were plays and yards given up as the game went on, but they also made plays, and they made plays when it mattered most without key defenders in Jamal Adams and Jarran Reed at the end. The rise of this defense continues to be the bright spot on this club.

Russell Wilson had a horrid third quarter trying to pocket pass against an aggressive 49er front that was sending the house. I don’t think this was all on Russ. He wasn’t helped by any attempt of a run game. Once they adjusted in the fourth quarter, and got him moving, he turned into an unstoppable force. Because of that, he is the player of the game for me. When they needed it most, he gashed the 49ers with his legs and his arm. That fourth quarter performance was vintage Russell Wilson.

Other impressive individual efforts were the hard running from Chris Carson (and Alex Collins at the end), the continuous brilliant play of KJ Wright at SAM linebacker, and the marvelous game from Tyler Lockett who was catching everything.

On the defensive line, I thought it was a good collective effort from the group bringing pressure and Benson Mayowa, in particular, gave an inspired effort. Also loved the play of Poona Ford and Rasheem Green.

Rookie linebacker Jordyn Brooks is really good.

The Bad

Brian Schottenheimer getting away from the run in the third quarter did not help this offense against that aggressive 49er front. Having Russell Wilson pocket pass against that was hard to watch. If Seattle would have lost, this probably would have been a big talking point all week. Fortunately, he adjusted. Maybe is was a rope a dope thing. I dunno. Go Hawks.

Jarran Reed and Jamal Adams getting injured heading into the playoffs is not ideal. Hopefully, Adams will play in the wildcard round.

The Ugly

All the 49er players jacked up and in the face of Seattle players whenever there where big hits, and plays. The 49ers hate Seattle with an intense passion. You can feel it bounce off the television. In a way, it’s impressive, but as a Seahawk fan it’s also gross. Like, really gross. Yuck.

Seriously. I did a lot of flipping off of 49er defenders and a few offensive players in this one. Go suck on a gas piper, losers! Enjoy being owned by Seattle once again, ya butt wipers!

I never said I was mature.

Moving Forward

Bring on the Rams. I’m stoked. I don’t care if the Rams have given Seattle fits over the years. Bring them on.

It was a big cherry on the top of this season to end it by sweeping the 49ers. A playoff victory over the Rams would be a prime rib sandwich.

I love a juicy prime rib sandwich. I’m ready for that.

Go Hawks!

“Tell us, Curtis. What is best in life?”

“To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their fans.”

If you are a fan of the 1982 cinematic masterpiece, Conan The Barbarian, you understand my slight alteration of that iconic bit of dialogue. Young Conan overcame horrific hardships to be shaped into a well made revenge filled killing machine.

To a much lesser extent, so has the 2020 Seattle Seahawk defense. They went for a league wide laughing stock to a unit that now even the brightest offensive minds in the NFL are likely, at the very least, a wee bit nervous to face. They will come into this game with a mantra similar to Conan’s.

On the flip side, the San Francisco 49ers are a good football team. They are extremely well coached on both sides of the ball, and it is remarkable how well they continued playing despite an incredibly long list of injuries they endured.

They are also a very proud team, and they want nothing more than to upset the playoff bound and NFC West divisional winner Seattle Seahawks. It’s a cliche to say this, in this instance, the cliche fits: this is their Super Bowl. They will show up to play in this one. Bank on it.

This season ending game will be extremely personal for them. The Seattle Seahawks have largely dominated this club for well over a decade. That is a fact that does not sit well with a fan-base that enjoyed five Super Bowl wins through the eighties and nineties. Therefore, the 49ers hate no team in football more than they do the Seattle Seahawks.

Beating the Seahawks would be the one cherry on the top of a very frustrating season for San Francisco. It would build positive momentum for them heading into their 2021 off-season, and in a deeper sense, it would also send a message that had they been healthier, they would have likely remained the top dog in the hyper competitive NFC West division.

Therefore, the 2020 Seattle Seahawks must destroy them on the battlefield down in Arizona this weekend. The Seahawks must show them and the world who the real top dog is as they head into the playoffs. This is what a championship level team would do.

Ideally, this would be a brutal take down of a wounded opponent that would shake the psyche of Kyle Shanahan a bit (who was hired as the head coach specifically to take down the Seahawks), and the psyche of the players that play for him, and the fans that root for this team. This is the opportunity for Seattle for further bury themselves deeply under their skins for seasons to come.

If given the opportunity, the 49ers would gladly do the same to Seattle. They would relish that moment, and so would their fans.

Therefore, Seattle has one job to do in this, and that is to show no mercy.

Seahawks win this game by..

Staying true to the balanced approach that they have adjusted to offensively over the past month. No, it isn’t as pretty as the Let Russ Cook offense that was humming in September, but truthfully, it is harder to defend against for four quarters, especially if you have a quality defense (which San Fran still has). Properly mixing enough run with pass forces defenses to play Seattle more honestly. More specifically, it allows Russell to do what he has done best throughout his entire career dating way back to his college days, and that is to play efficiently with the ball with both his arm and his legs. This is the best way to allow Russell to cook, and when he hums with it, it is really difficult to defend.

Showing no mercy on defense. The 49er offense is severely wounded. They will be down to their third string quarterback. They will be without their starting left tackle. They will be without their top receivers and they will be down to their third string running back. All-World Tight End George Kittle and multi-purpose fullback Kyle Juszczyk are their only legitimate offensive threats going into this game, and Jamal Adams was likely brought into Seattle to help provide an answer to defending against them, and to an extent, so was first round pick Jordyn Brooks at WILL linebacker. KJ Wright moving to SAM ‘backer likely provides a solution to those equations.

Seattle must take away San Francisco’s best weapons, and force them to beat this defense with backups. They did a fairly good job of this the first time around when Adams was not playing in that game, and neither was newly acquired pass rusher, Carlos Dunlap. There is a lot of reason to believe that they will do it again in this one, and if they do, that could make for an especially ugly outing for the San Fran offense.

Seahawks lose this game by..

Not taking this opponent seriously enough, and making just enough mistakes to keep the 49ers hanging around just like they did against the Giants a month ago. If Seattle loses this one, it will most likely be more about Seattle beating themselves with mistakes, and then a well coached San Francisco team taking advantage of that.

Russell needs to remain careful with the ball and not force the ball into bad coverage. He almost threw a critical pick against the Rams during the first offensive series last Sunday, and he was lucky the Ram DB wasn’t able to snag it, as it might have ended up a pick six. He needs to be better with the ball in this one.

Receivers and runners also cannot be putting the ball on the ground, and the offense can’t get snake bit by false starts and such. This is still a really good San Fran defense they will be playing against. They need to be mindful of that. If not, it could become a frustrating game.

They also need to play with the same level of discipline on defense as they did against the Rams. Shanahan is still a very crafty play-caller with his run game, and he loves to get defenses in a position of over committing, and then taking advantage of that. Seattle needs to not bite. If they do, this could be trouble, especially if Russ and crew aren’t playing at their best.

My Prediction

Seahawks will crush their enemy, see them driven before them, and they will hear the lamentation of their fans on Twitter and social media. Seahawks win this one, 30-16.

I see about three touchdowns and three field goals scored by Seattle (I think it is possible that one of those TDs might end up being scored by the defense, just a vibe I got). It will have the look and feel of a very balanced ball control attack that won’t feel like a blow out, but it will feel like an efficient take down of a lesser opponent.

With a hot kicker, Pete Carroll will feel less compelled to go for it on fourth downs in the red zone. It will have a conservative feel. With a defense staying hot, he will settle for the field goals.

I also think the defense might walk out of this one a bit annoyed that they didn’t hold this opponent down more. It feels like a game where we could see the defensive play-calls lighten up enough in the remaining minutes of the game to give San Francisco the opportunity for a late score that pads stats a bit. The final score will not be indicative of just how well this defense will have played.

San Francisco is really well coached club, and that will likely show up in this one. They will give this one a fight, and it might not be pretty in the beginning. So, be ready for that.

But also be ready for Russell Wilson and company to “stay the course” and do enough to walk away with a quality win, and a 12-4 record heading towards the playoffs. That’s the safe bet.

It would extra special should both Green Bay and New Orleans both lose their games, as well. As we know, that would gift Seattle the top overall NFC seeding, and a first round bye week.

But first thing is first. Crush your enemy, and then let the chips fall where they may.

Go Hawks!

You said that the Seattle Seahawks had the worst defensive line in the league, and you can suck it.

You said that Ken Norton Junior couldn’t coach a defense, and you can suck it.

You said that Pete Carroll should be fired, and you can suck it.

You said that John Schneider can’t draft, and you can suck it.

You said that defensive linemen LJ Collier was a bust, and you can suck it.

You said that Jacob Hollister wasn’t worth a $3 million restricted tender, and you can suck it.

You said that the team over spent to retain DT Jarran Reed, and you can suck it.

You said that the team should not have traded two first round picks and a third for Jamal Adams, and you can suck it.

You said that the team shouldn’t have drafted Jordyn Brooks in the first round, and you can suck it.

You said that Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright were too old and too slow, and you can suck it.

You said that Russell Wilson was broken because he was no longer cooking like he was in September, and you can suck it.

If you doubted the construction of this team, if you doubted Pete Carroll’s ability to coach up talent and figure out his defense with Ken Norton Junior, and if you doubted Russell Wilson’s ability to still be able figure out ways to beat a top defense, you officially now can suck it like you owe back rent. You can.

The Seahawks have soundly beat the Rams, and they won the NFC West by beating a worthy opponent that was battling them for that divisional title. Seattle’s defense dominated a potent offense filled with play-makers, and their own offense outlasted and outperformed a dominating Rams defense. That is championship level football. Make no mistake.

And you can stop doubting Pete Carroll, John Schneider, and Russell Wilson now. All these three gentlemen ever do is win. Period. That is Seattle’s new power trio now that Nirvana has long been no more.

Here are my notes about the game.

The Good

Fortunately, team owner Jody Allen extended Pete Carroll’s contract through to 2025, and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon because all this dude does as a head coach is win. No, he isn’t perfect with time outs and such, but make no mistake, this dude knows how to motivate, build culture, and coach up talent. For example, many of my favorite Seahawks these days are players that weren’t high round picks (or even drafted at all), and they are excelling at a high level right now. That, my friends, is all Pete Carroll recognizing talent and uncorking it. That is a head coach having conviction to acknowledge that Poona Ford is a more athletic play-making nose tackle than former all-pro Damon Snacks Harrison is, that Jacob Hollister is perhaps now a better pass catching option than the bigger tight end names on this roster, and even though DJ Reed is shorter than what he might like at outside corner, he is simply perhaps now the best coverage player he has in the secondary and needs to stay on the field. Pete knows football pretty darn well, folks. I’m glad we got him here in Seattle.

Fortunately, it also appears that Ken Norton Junior can coach up a defense after all. I can suck it hard because I doubted him big time this year, but according to Carroll, it was Norton that led a critical defensive team accountability meeting mid season that helped the defense turn the corner. It was also Norton that looked at the talent Seattle had on its defensive line, and shifted it to a Bear front (away for Carroll’s more traditional 4-3 under). For folks unfamiliar to what that is, a Bear front is essentially using three defensive tackles and a rush end and a stretched out SAM linebacker. This shift has allowed LJ Collier to play more of a defensive tackle type role with Jarran Reed and Poona Ford, and it puts Seattle’s best edge rusher, Carlos Dunlap, in a wide position to rush and contain. It cannot be overstated how big of an impact it has been on this defense that Norton made this shift. Norton deserves major props for this, and I will gladly suck it now. I was entirely wrong about him.

Fortunately for us, John Schneider seems to have a pretty good eye for talent and knows how to draft and acquire it. LJ Collier now looks like someone who can legitimately play as a strong side end and pass rushing defensive tackle in this league. Folks be dumping on Schneider for drafting pass rusher Darrell Taylor in round two because he has remained injured from college, but they don’t seem to be paying Schneider a ton of credit for finding Alton Robinson in round five who now looks better as a pass rusher as a rookie than perhaps Frank Clark did his rookie season. Why is that? Is it because they have a narrative stuck in their head that Schneider doesn’t know how to draft because Germaine Ifedi didn’t end up being a great right tackle for the club? If so, I’d let that go, folks. Schneider has found Robinson in round five, KJ Wright in round five, Poona Ford as an un-drafted rookie free agent, and he claimed DJ Reed off waivers from division rival San Fransisco. Oh, yeah, he also had to convince Pete Carroll that drafting Russell Wilson in round three back in 2012 was a good idea. I think Schneider has done fairly well.

It’s also fortunate for us that John Schneider and Pete Carroll prioritized signing defensive tackle Jarran Reed over flashier edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney last off-season, even though $11 million might be a bit over-spendy for a DT. Clowney has continued to prove to be injury prone, and didn’t even acquire a single sack for Tennessee before being lost for the season in November. On the other had, Jarran Reed has proven to remain a quality interior pass rusher with 6.5 sacks on the season so far with one game left to go. Suddenly now that deal looks a bit more like a bargain. Good job yet again, John Schneider.

And speaking of good job John Schneider, good job having the conviction of placing an expensive second round tender on Jacob Hollister last off-season even though you signed Greg Olsen and had Will Dissly. I know you had those bigger tight end names on the roster, but it is obvious by now that Russell Wilson simply trusts Hollister during critical portions of games to be his primary pass catching tight end. In fact, during the touchdown play that sealed this victory in the fourth quarter, it was a design rub route to Hollister. Maybe it is time to admit that Jacob Hollister is a bigger factor for this offense many give credit. Is it because he is an un-drafted player from Wyoming who grew up in Bend, Oregon? Does that just sound weird? Is that why some of us blow him off? Hmm. Maybe we should stop doing that.

Gosh, now that I think about it, really, really good job John Schneider having the conviction to draft Jordyn Brooks in the first round last Spring even though you already have KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner already on the roster, and you needed to add a pass rusher. Drafting Darryl Taylor there, instead, and passing over Brooks would have looked silly in hind sight. Brooks looks like an explosive stud, and his fourth and goal run stop might have been the defensive play of the game if not for that impressive chase down of the ball carrier from Jamal Adams just moments before that play. In fact, I would even say that the move to have Brooks start at WILL backer thus moving KJ to SAM might be the single most underrated facet of this impressive defensive turnaround in 2020.

And golly, speaking of Jamal Adams, thank you, John Schneider for trading what will most likely be two late first round picks and a third to the Jets for Jamal Adams. That’s basically Rashaad Penny, Germaine Ifedi, and Lano Hill for an all-pro safety who plays multiple positions on this revamped aggressive defense. He was everywhere on the field against these Rams and you could feel Jared Goff’s discomfort because of that in this one. I would one hundred percent made that deal again. Bravo.

(Now, that I really, really, really think about it. I think we are just pretty darn lucky to have John Schneider as a GM paired with Pete Carroll. We’re like, CRAZY lucky when I think about it now. For realsies. )

Finally, it must not go unsaid just how fortunate we are as Seattle Seahawk fans to have Russell Wilson in Seattle. Yeah, he hasn’t cooked nearly as much through the last month as many would probably like, but he remains the best player on this team, and I honestly believe, without a doubt, he was the difference in this here game against the Rams. The stat line won’t show it, but Russell had a great game against a highly impressive Rams defense. He stood gutsy in the pocket against Aaron Donald who is, by far and away, not only the best interior pass rusher, but the defensive player in the entire game of football. Russ took that abuse, and as the game went on, he found ways to win it with his arm and legs. It’s debatable whether Russell Wilson is currently the best quarterback in the game these days, but there is no debate who the best quarterback was in this game, and who the best quarterback is in the NFC West. Russell Wilson was the player of the game for me in this one. Best player by far. Go Hawks.

The Ugly

Jared Goff pulling on his broken thumb on national television for all to see. OUCHY MOMMA!

Moving Forward

I would like to say that Seattle will be playing a meaningless Covid era football game against San Francisco next Sunday down in Arizona, but because Seattle is still in contention for the top NFC seeding in the playoffs, that game is very much going to matter. I have mixed feelings about that to be honest.

Generally, I want them to go down to Arizona and smoke the 49ers, but how much is playing on the road during the playoffs a disadvantage during Covid when there isn’t any fans in the stands? Really, you’re playing for the top seed just to get a bye week for rest. While that is a huge benefit, I can’t help to think that Seattle already squandered that a bit away a few weeks ago with they played down to the Giants and lost, sorta.

Part of me wants to see them rest key starters against the 49ers, and not risk injury to vital players such as Duane Brown, Jamal Adams, Carlos Dunlap, Chris Carson, DK Metcalf, and of course Russell Wilson. That’s probably me being overly protective about all the nice shiny parts this team has, and that is ultimately probably the wrong headed approach.

Pete Carroll would probably be the first to say that, and he would never want his team to shy away from a challenge of winning another game. His culture is not one based on fear even if his preferences on offense can get a bit conservative from time to time.

Therefore, I expect Seattle to go down into the desert to further stretch out their wins and possibly grab the top seed. They will need to beat the 49ers who will be gearing to play spoiler, and they will need both the Saints and the Green Bay to lose their games. We will need to be fans of the Bears and Panthers next week.

Can all this happen? Certainly.

Will it? I dunno.

The 49ers will be revved for revenge and they will be in full spoiler mode with George Kittle back. This might prove to be a tougher out for Seattle than some might think, and the general overall football fan in me is kind of excited about that. I want to see how Kittle matches with Jamal Adams and Jordyn Brooks, two players that I’m pretty convinced Seattle brought in to combat Kittle’s otherworldly play-making abilities at tight end.

If Seattle continues with it’s A-game, and it determined to sweep this bitter divisional opponent, I think they handle the Niners pretty well when the final whistle blows and that would be a truly great finish to this season. Even if one or both of the Saints and Packers win and Seattle doesn’t earn the top seed, it will feel like a special season for this club with back to back NFC West victories over the Rams and 49ers. Sign me up for that right now.

So, screw the fears of injury. Go out and beat these 49ers. Sweep them. Mop them up. Nothing feels better than beating the 49ers yet again. Go get this done, Seahawks.

Just do it.

Go Hawks.

Make no mistake about it. This game is likely not going to be a match for the squeamish. If you like your Russell Wilson cooking up 300 plus yards and 4 touchdowns with deep moon balls to DK Metcalf, you might want to look away, at times, during this one.

If you are like me, however, and you like your football to be the equivalent of a hard fought medieval battle with armor clanking loudly in the muck and mire, and with bones crunching from dulled out broadswords, well then, this is likely going to be the game for you. There will be blood in this one.

Don’t expect pretty. Don’t expect Madden numbers. These are two bitter divisional foes who will be battling for all the marbles in the NFC West. The Rams are coming into Seattle angry about being punked by the New York Jets, and the Seattle Seahawks will be smelling blood in the water like a swarm of hungry tiger sharks starving for revenge and the opportunity to clinch the division.

This game is what football was meant for. Anger. Aggression. Pain.

Beautiful.

Seahawks win this game by..

Not cowering to Aaron Donald and the fierce pack of Ram defenders. Seahawks go right at them with the power run, and the quick passes, play action, and tempo. Seahawks make these Rams earn the right to rush the passer much like they did against the Washington defenders. The first time around, they didn’t was Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, and Rashaad Penny. This time they will, and they will likely have Greg Olsen back. This could look like a strategy of playing it safe, but I would test this defense with smash mouth. Seattle has a massive offensive line, and they have a host of power runners. If they stay with the run and quick game, opportunities for DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett down field could become much more of the thing as the game progresses this time around than last time.

Going after Jared Goff. Screw it. Normally, I’m not in favor of being blitz happy, but in this one, I say be aggressive and go after the struggling Rams quarterback who has been able to pick your defense apart in the past. Go after him, but be smart about it. The Rams will be without their best running back. There is a decent chance the Sean McVay will be forced to lean into his quarterback more he normally has wanted to this season. Time to mess with Goff. Send Jamal. Send Bobby. Send KJ. Send Ugo Amadi. Send Brooks. Just be varied, and give opportunities to rush with only four. Be aggressive. Be smart.

Seahawks lose this game by..

Turning the ball over, staying in third and long too often, and too many penalties to overcome. Simply, they play stupid football during what is likely the most important game of the season. This offense needs to be crisp. They need to find ways to take whatever this defense will give however they can. They can’t have Russell Wilson playing hesitant all game. There will be moments where he will be flustered even in a good outing, but this Ram defense is one that you do not want to find yourself in third and long often.

Lack of discipline on defense for Seattle could also be a killer. There is no excuse for this to happen. Seattle’s defense has been coming around at the right time over the past month, and some younger cream has started to rise to the top in DJ Reed, LJ Collier, Poona Ford, and Jordyn Brooks. Seattle needs these younger players to continue to step up playing with KJ Wright, Bobby Wagner, and Jamal Adams. McVay loves to scheme mismatches to exploit against defenses and he has done well scheming against Pete Carroll’s. Seattle must balance aggression with discipline. If they do that just enough, Seattle is more than capable of beating the Rams. If they don’t, this could become another nail biter or worse.

My Prediction.

Pain. Both clubs will be hard charging in this one. I see extra hot sauce on hits and tackles. I see turnovers. I see busted plays. I see broken fingers.

I see the Seattle Seahawks enacting revenge against the Los Angeles Rams, and winning this one 30-24.

This is a homer pick. I know, but I have picked the Seahawks in every game this year, and have been right ten times out of fourteen. So, laugh all you want, but who is the real dummy, really?

Seahawks clinch the division in this one. I’m more than ready to watch that happen. I can’t wait.

Go Hawks

Fans of the Seattle Seahawks are becoming increasingly fickle over recent years. Winning no longer appears to be enough. Sad.

You know, chasing highs is a classic sign of addiction, and addiction needs to not be about sex, or drugs, or the bottle. For some, it’s simply about football, and in that, Seahawk football.

Many of these Seahawk high chasers seem to be expressing a deep dissatisfaction in the Seattle coaching staff, and much of that dissatisfaction seems to be directed towards the head coach. That’s a clear sign that maybe you need to make that phone call.

Never mind that this head coach has brought his team to the playoffs nine out of eleven seasons since taking over the franchise in 2010. Presently, that is not enough for many. Style points are now needed. If the $35 Million a year quarterback is not allowed to cook in every game like Patrick Mahomes is, then Pete Carroll is outdated. If a vastly improving defense gives up a long drive in the middle of the second half of the game, suddenly the defensive guru of a head coach is out to pasture.

You could feel this sentiment spill into Pete Carroll’s press conference when asked about his offense by a couple of the younger beat reporters. The questions were fairly loaded, essentially asking “were you happy with how your offense played?” and “how do you feel about your offense only managing 39 yards in the fourth quarter?”

To no surprise, Carroll defended his offense’s effort stating that against this particular club, this was exactly how they wanted to play against them. He wanted Russell Wilson to get the ball out quickly and not take sacks, and he wanted them to establish the run. Seattle’s offense did exactly that and managed 20 points against a defense that hasn’t given up a lot of points in over a month of football. It was enough to win, and Carroll was, in my opinion, understandably a bit chippy about the questioning, especially in a season when “Let Russ Cook” has been the constant chatter.

When I looked at this Washington Football Team as I put together my modest preview, I came to the conclusion that Seattle should win this game, and I predicted a final score of 23-16. Seattle won this match 20-15, and I can pat myself on the back because I wasn’t far off in my prediction. The final outcome of this game felt right to me.

WTF is a decent football team. They have a really good defense, like REALLY GOOD. They also have enough play-makers on offense that if you turn the ball over, they can strike at any time. I honestly believe that they are one franchise quarterback away from probably being a fairly dominant club, like if they can manage to pry Matt Ryan out of Atlanta next off-season, watch out.

So forgive me if I defend the style points or the lack thereof in this Seattle win over this club. I agree with the strategy of the coach. Seattle did what it needed to do to beat this club. They took what the defense was willing to concede, and they dinked and dunked, and ran to an important road victory. I honestly think that had they used this offensive approach against the Giants a couple weeks ago instead of arrogantly trying to air it out down field against unfavorable coverage, this team would handsomely be sitting at 11-3 right now and in even more command of the NFC West division than sitting at 10-4 and in narrow command.

Style points is fool’s gold in the NFL. I get that fans want Russ to cook, but I don’t believe that this roster is fully constructed to have a cooking Russ right now, and I will be more than happy to expand upon that in future pieces on this blog. For right now, however, I just want Seattle to win, and if that is without ideal style points against the occasional match-up, so be it.

Here are my notes about this game.

The Good

Pardon me for saying this, Carroll haters, but I dug the offensive game plan, and most of the execution. Seattle decided to test the linebackers and coverage with quick passes, and they decided to run straight at a highly aggressive defensive line that boasts five first round picks in its rotation. The result of the outcome is essentially that Seattle bullied the bully in this match, and they did it with a patched up offensive line. That was impressive, in my view. Up until the fourth quarter when Russell threw a pass that was tipped for an interception, Seattle’s offense largely controlled tempo and this game. No, it wasn’t always pretty. It featured check downs, and quick dump offs for small gains, but it mixed in well with a run game that controlled clock and lead to enough scoring drives to win. Bravo.

The defense continued to make positive strides and it made enough plays to seal this victory. Yes, there was that long ninety plus yard drive that it conceded in the second half. Yes, there were a couple times that they got burned by dialing up the blitz, but with that back to back to back sack effort in that final drive that stopped Washington, I will more than forgive all that. Watching rookie Alton Robinson bend past the right tackle for an explosive strip sack to then watch LJ Collier (who for the most part is an interior rusher) bend past the left tackle for a powerful sack, and then to watch Carlos Dunlap absolutely destroy the right tackle for another yet explosive sack was absolutely Madden-esque. Oh, what joy.

In terms of individual efforts, I thought KJ Wright had as dominant of a game as one could have at SAM ‘backer, and I thought DJ Reed was the star of the defense at right outside corner. I loved seeing the continued impactful effort of Poona Ford at defensive tackle, and the constant hustle of Jamal Adams at safety. I thought Chris Carson, and Carlos Hyde, and the entire offensive line were the stars on the offensive side, and I think Russ had another solid efficient game at quarterback. Jason Meyers and Michael Dickson were beasts in the kicking games.

Finally, the LA Rams lost to the Jets. Wow.

The Bad

Me seeking out the tweets from the couple reporters that were drilling Coach Carroll about the offense, and reading the comments that followed.

I am not active on Twitter, and at times whenever I snoop, I am reminded why. Twitter has become the road rage outlet on the internet, and I really shouldn’t read the comments.

Look, I get it that Carroll is not everyone’s flavor as a head coach. He is questionable at times with using timeouts, and he isn’t as inherently aggressive in some situations on offense as some want him to be. No, he isn’t Andy Reid, but let’s be real, the dude can coach, and he can coach up talent.

I saw mentioned on Seahawk Twitter an assertion that Seattle should be doing more with the talent that it has on the roster, but honestly, I question that level of talent. I don’t see great talent on the defensive line. I see the potential of talent starting to develop in Poona Ford, LJ Collier, and Alton Robinson. I don’t see an offensive line loaded with talent. I see a great left tackle and a young guard who looks like he might develop into an eventual pro bowler. I don’t see great depth at receiver behind DK and Tyler. I don’t see much in the way of anything dynamic at tight end. I see some good running backs.

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see all this great underused talent. On the contrary, I think Carroll is getting the most out of most of the players that he has, and I think were are seeing some talent emerge like DJ Reed and a few others.

I also think he is using Russ the best way to use him against really good defenses right now, and that is to put him in situations where Russ can be most efficient with the ball. The league has gotten the MO with his deep ball, and Seattle is finally adjusting to that. Bravo.

So my bad for seeking out comments on the Twitter handles of Seahawk beat reporters who might not be fans of the way Carroll is coaching this team. Maybe I need to adjust my game as a fan, and just ignore the noise a bit more.

I sure there was a contingent of fans that wanted Carroll gone after they won the Super Bowl against the Broncos because they didn’t like the way the offensive line pass blocked. Haters gonna hate.

The Ugly

That stupid targeting call against KJ Wright late in the fourth quarter. It was clear on replay that KJ was pulling up on the receiver and trying to avoid a helmet blow on a bang bang play. What exactly was he suppose to do? Let the receiver catch and run and allow Washington a game winning drive?

I get that player safety is critically important, but the league is sucking the fun out of playing defense, and for those of us that enjoy good defense, it is increasingly becomes a soul sucking experience to watch it unfold.

I have a suggestion for the league. Instead of constantly punishing the defenders on these levels of bang bang plays, how about throwing a flag on the quarterback to throwing a ball that would lead to this sort of collision? Maybe, just maybe that is a way to certify more player safety that is more evened out between offense and defense.

Oh, my bad. I forgot that the league is addicted to scoring and they want basketball with cleats and helmets instead of this thing called tackle football. Mea culpa. Mea culpa.

Moving Forward

Thanks to the NY Jets, the Seahawks can now clinch the NFC West with a win against the LA Rams next Sunday. That game is going to be HUGE, and it will be a special victory for Seattle should they take care of business.

The Rams are the team that gets under the skin of Seattle like no other team in football. A win against them, style points or no style points, will have layers of satisfaction for this here Twelve.

If Seattle stays with this current formula of mixing run with quick passes, I really like Seattle’s chances against them next week. I like it a lot.

An interesting thing to keep in mind is that Seattle will finally be getting Josh Gordon back in that match. In my opinion, that is likely going to be a huge benefit to Russell Wilson moving forward should Seattle need to win any shootouts.

One of the things that I’ve been sensing from Russell and the Seattle offense is that there hasn’t been much behind Tyler Lockett and DK in the passing game. Giving Russell a third option the defenses have to think about might be the thing that will satisfy the Let Russ Cook crowd a bit more.

We shall see.

Go Hawks.

The Washington Football Team has reached two major milestones in 2020. Firstly, they finally changed their gawd awful name, and secondly, they managed to hire a pretty darn good football coach to run things right, finally. The latter move is what should concern Seahawk fans most right now.

A Ron Rivera coached team should be something that most Seahawk fans will quickly recognize, as the Seahawks have played his former team, the Carolina Panthers, on a regular basis throughout the last decade. His mark as a head coach is also fairly similar to the one who coaches in Seattle. His teams generally play with an aggressive 4-3 scheme that features top end talent throughout the defensive line, and they play with a ball control offense that likes to mix power run with explosive passing.

If you like your American football to resemble a car accident, this will likely be the game for you. Both coaches want to play this game similarly. They like to hammer with the ball, and they want to hammer the quarterback. As the game progresses, they look for the explosive plays to break the dam open. Many of the matches between Pete Carroll’s team and Ron Rivera’s team have felt like grueling heavy weight matches throughout the years. I would expect this one to be no different.

This game will be a good test for both clubs as they battle for their respective divisions. The Washington Football Team has a top end defense, and an offense that has been finding it’s way through the savvy veteran quarterback play of Alex Smith (a remarkable story-line, coming back from a life threatening leg injury a few years ago). Contrasting to that, the Seahawks maintain one of the best offenses in the league, and they have an improving defense now that Jamal Adams has settled in with his mates.

This game might come down to which is greater, Seattle’s offense or Washington’s defense. It equally could come down to which is more improved, Seattle’s defense or Washington’s offense. It should be a great lab test in finding the results. It’s just likely to be a bit of a bloody mess throughout that process. So get ready for that.

Seahawks win this one by..

Not cowering on offense and playing too safe against a Washington defense that features five former first round picks on the defensive line. It’s understandable that Carroll will want his offense to play it a bit safe in this one, especially considering that their right tackle has been nursing a lower leg injury and depth behind him as been hobbled as well. Personally, I think that is a trap that they don’t want to retreat into. The teams that have played well against this defense maintaining a degree of aggression during their matches. The Cardinals, Rams, Browns, Ravens, and even the Lions all found success on the ground and through the air. The common denominator for each of these teams is having a quarterback capable of dynamic play. This is a game for Seattle to continue mixing it up offensively with Russell Wilson like they did against the Jets, Cardinals, Patriots, and 49ers. In those games, Seattle took whatever the defenses were giving with quick passes, run, and deep shots. They also varied tempo and used plenty of pre-snap motion. They didn’t allow aggressive defenses to dictate. They dictated to them.

Continuing the aggressive surge on defense. Alex Smith is a remarkable story. His comeback from a life threatening leg injury is a Disney movie in the making. It makes it easy to root for him, and his team. That said, Seattle has got to get after him and his sore calf, if he should play in this one. Ken Norton Junior needs to find balance between how to pressure Smith, and be varied with how he uses Jamal Adams as a pass rusher and cover safety. It appears that Seattle can find a pass rush with four now, especially when playing with Carlos Dunlap. It also appears like Norton Junior has settled on how to best use the talent his has on the defensive line. Snacks Harrison is really, really good against the run. LJ Collier is better as a pass rushing defensive tackle than an edge rusher. Poona Ford is just really good. If Seattle continues this positive trend with it’s defensive line rotation, it’s going to continue allowing the linebackers to make plays, and the DBs to play better. It all starts up front, and they need to be on it.

Seahawks lose this one by..

Playing in a manner, offensively, that doesn’t allow them to play with any rhythm or variation. False starts, fumbled snaps, unnecessary sacks by hanging onto the ball too long, holding calls, and forcing throws into unfavorable coverage have all plagued Seattle offensively in each of their four losses to the season. It’s kept them from staying on schedule and finding rhythm. Sometimes, you have to know when to throw the ball away instead of forcing a throw that isn’t really there. You should take whatever a defense is willing to concede, always. Seattle’s offense has too much talent for a defense to defend everything. It is up to Seattle to find what to exploit against Washington’s defense, and if they don’t, this could be a brutally long day for them.

Blowing assignments, and playing with poor fundamentals on defense. When this defense was playing at a historically bad pace earlier in the year, this was the formula for them. They were often confused in coverage, they were missing tackles in space, and their pass rushers weren’t able to win often one on one against their blocks. A lot has changed since then, but it is up to this defense to avoid regression against a Washington offense that statistically isn’t very good. Pass rush needs to effect the quarterback, linebackers need to tackle, and DBs need to cover. Simple as that.

Prediction

Seahawks will tough out a hard fought victory in this one, winning 23-16.

It will be a final score that will resemble many of the outcomes in matches that a Pete Carroll coached team played a Ron Rivera coached team. This game will also have a very similar feel to many of those games.

There will be times that Russell Wilson will be harassed into sacks and negative plays, and bad looking throws. Their will be moments where Chris Carson carrying up the middle will look like a heinous head on car collision. Seattle will endure this moments like a heavy weight does against a solid blow. It will be part of the process for setting up a worthy opponent for the haymaker coming later.

The important thing is for Russell and company to play smart and do the thing needed to stay more on schedule than not. I would be more nervous about this game if Seattle had somehow managed to sneak win against the New York Giants a couple weeks ago by still playing down to them. That result could lull them into thinking that if mistakes happen in this one, they will still find a way to pull it out of their buttocks somehow.

I’m embracing the belief that the embarrassing loss to the Giants is a blessing in disguise for the Seattle Seahawks. I’m going to wager that they will no longer take a lessor opponent lightly in this remaining portion of their schedule.

Even with a really good defense, Washington, on paper, is the lessor team. If Seattle plays with enough focus on both sides of the ball, they should win this one. I think they will.

It still might not be pretty, though. Don’t expect many style points.

Go Hawks.