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| SONIC BOOM! |
Sorry I'm a day late and a dollar short but I had a buddy from WAZZU in town that'd I hadn't seen in years. Needless to say great times were had and the Seahawks rang in the festivities in typical Seahawks fashion. Nothing's ever easy with this team but I'm thinking John Schneider must be giddy as a schoolboy right now. The 'Hawks defense once again showed how talented and ruthless they are and the offense, despite momentum shattering penalty after momentum shattering penalty, showed signs of improvement in a huge road win at Carolina. Long story short, Seattle redefined "gutting it out" in this one.
By now you've read all the recaps and you've heard all the press conferences. John Schneider wasn't kidding about wanting to build this team to win street fights. It seems like every game has been one and the Seahawks have won more than they have lost. It's important to remember that anything goes in a street fight and it's sure felt that way with the return of the "real refs." I get the feeling that the "real refs" work with extreme confirmation bias. These guys have called a ton of Seahawks games during their careers and they definitely go extra hard on the 'Hawks when it comes to ticky-tack personal fouls and holds. Meanwhile, Steve Smith was charged with attempted murder on Richard Sherman after the game, yet no flags were ever thrown for these offenses. Kudos to "Tricky Dick" Sherm for being smart and not fighting back but everyone here knows that if it were a BrownerBomb there would be a flag, Seahawks. Some might say the Seahawks undisciplined play is to blame for creating this confirmation bias but I'm not too sure about that. This was the same garbage we saw when Holmgren was the HC and the team was one of the least penalized teams in the league year in and year out under the Walrus. It's the same reason why we can't stomach most of the hacks (Tim Ryan's pretty good, gotta say) that get stuck broadcasting our games. They're usually the 4th or 5th best crew that FOX has and they trot them out to butcher our games repeatedly. I think I've been living in denial thinking that one day this might change but Who am I kidding? It never will...
The quarterback conversation has been beaten to death already so I'm going to keep it brief on that topic and say that Russell Wilson had his ups and downs but ultimately showed great improvement in all areas. Not only did penalties subtract massive yardage from his statline, they also robbed him of really getting any consistent momentum going. Still, he overcame this and got the late touchdown pass that we've missed around here for the past year and a half. This seems to be getting overlooked but we live in a nitpicky society where we'd rather immediately find someone's faults than their positive qualities so this doesn't surprise me much at all. People will not be fully satisfied until Russell Wilson is hoisting the Lombardi above his head and even then they might wonder if he's too small in stature to lift it.
Kudos yet again to Frank Omiyale. Quietly, Frank's been one of the revelations of the season. Everybody and their momma (myself included) wanted him cut and he's done nothing but impress. While guys like Okung and Giacomini are sabotaging drives left and right with mindless penalties (some of them at least, some have also been awful officiating) Omiyale has been the definition of solid whenever needed along the 'Hawks line. His versatility has also been a huge plus, as he's done a great job in protection from both tackle spots. Hats off to him. I love Breno's nasty streak, but there comes a point in time where you've gotta clean up your act. Nothing wrong with being a classic mauling, roadgrader but do it between the whistles, please. I'd have no qualms with Omiyale getting the start over Giacomini next week vs. New England.
Speaking of the O-Line, how good has James Carpenter looked at left guard? Another guy that a lot of 'Hawks fans buried that is coming back with a vengeance. To be fair, a lot of those same doubters didn't like Carp as a Right Tackle and projected him more as a Guard, but I even liked what I saw from Carp towards the end of his season last year. The move to guard has certainly helped him out a lot, but I don't think he would've been a complete bust at RT.
Two guys that certainly can't be labeled "busts" and deserve a ton of credit for their rapid progression are BRUUUUUUUUCE!! Irvin and Bobby Wagner. Irvin was monumental against Carolina and I'm extremely happy for him for getting to end the game with a forced fumble. With him and Clem playing the way they are right now, and Jason Jones showing great versatility playing all across the line and getting pressure, the Seahawks front four pass rush is showing signs of improvement. Not to mention that Brandon Mebane is playing out of his skull right now. To me the 2 Brandon's, Mebane and Browner, have been the most impressive players so far on an outstanding defense. I love watching this D play their brand of ball! It's such a rarity in this new era of the NFL. I also loved seeing the D get off the field on 3rd downs. Yet another area where the team they showed improvement. Speaking of improvements, let's go back to Bobby Wagner for a minute. Make that two games in a row now where Wagner has shown that he's on the K.J. Wright path to progression. He just keeps on making plays and rarely appears to be out of position. Not only that but it's looking like he's got some ability to make plays in the backfield, which would be a huge plus for the Seahawks considering not many knew if he had those abilities even in college. Schneider and Carroll never cease to amaze me and make me realize that I should just sit back and enjoy the ride in front of me.
The last few guys I want to shout out are Darrell Bevell, Sidney Rice, and Zach Miller. Rice and Miller looked like the marquee free-agent acquisitions they were last season with reliable, if not spectacular play. Sidney is just a vacuum, as one dude from Carlow East calls him "Baby Fitz" and I agree. He catches everything thrown his way and really needs to be a featured part of this offense. Same goes for Miller, he looked great exploiting the middle of the field and showed the steady hands that made him a Pro Bowler in Oakland. This was one of the most encouraging things I took away from this game. That and Darrell Bevell opening things up a bit and showing some faith in Russell Wilson. The offense looked much more capable than in the past 2 games, which is nice, but the red zone playcalling still leaves a bit to be desired. Maybe this will all make sense in the end when Russell gushes about how thankful he is that the coaches helped slow the game down for him, etc. who really knows?
All I know is that I am desperately awaiting the arrival of next Sunday already! The chance to see Kam and the boys utterly annihilate Tom Brady in front of 67,000 blood thirsty fans at the CLink is something that's already got me beyond hype up for this week to fly by! Next up, I'll be profiling some of the unheralded plays that turned a possible destructive loss in to a signature win for the Seahawks, Golden Tate and the often talked about yet rarely seen (until now.. maybe) "touchdown maker" and Brandon Browner and how he embodies the Seahawks identity on defense, and how this truly is the year of the 12. Big win, enjoy it ladies and gentlemen.
And as always, I'd love to hear what you all have to say about the State of the Seahawks! To quote a very smart man named after two sporting goods brands... "GO HAWKS!"
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