Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals for NFC West
Oops, hey Bro, you dropped something!
Happy Blue Friday 12ers.
Last Sunday the Seattle Seahawks dismantled the New York Giants. Although the 49er win kept Seattle from clinching the NFC West, the game was a huge defensive success. It seemed that all game, one effort after the other dominoed right into Dan Quinn’s hands. The Seahawks applied early pressure on Eli Manning and got in his head. They were applying fairly steady pressure all game, and that eventually made him start reacting to pressure, even when there wasn’t a mad rush headed his way. Eli wasn’t very accurate throughout the game, but he really missed the mark on five particular plays. We all know which ones I’m Tawking about, or at least Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell and Earl Thomas do. Seattle shut down the Giants offense all game, and never broke when the Giants did manage a few measly yards here and there. The defensive line held fast, and sometimes were a little too fast out of the gate, but I’ll Tawk about that a little further down. It was a refreshing game to watch from a defensive mind set. Once Seattle demonstrated the ability to stop the Giants running game, the Giants took to the air, and regretted it almost immediately. The outcome defensively was was we all expected, and in reality, much better.
The offense marched the ball right down the field several times, but seemed to struggle getting the ball into the end zone. Yes, they did score two touchdowns, but it should have been four or five. I am a little concerned about the offensive line (still). Russell, once again, was under far too much duress. Seattle’s offense seems to do ok for the most part in run blocking, but are still struggling to maintain a pass block, and it is forcing Wilson to break out of the pocket. Yes, Russell is magic outside the pocket, I get it. The point I am trying to make is that if Russell could stay in the pocket more often, it would be even more magical on the occasion that he did have to scamper around looking for a receiver. I am however happy to say that the offense is taking far more shots down field than in the past few years, and it is paying dividends. Tater dropped a few catches that should have been big gains, and that was unusual. Just imagine if he had caught those, what would the outcome have been? But, you can’t catch em all, I suppose. That’s garbage, yes you can, and I expect a big time game from Tater this week against the Cardinals. Marshawn Lynch had his biggest receiving day of his career, and that was cool, huh? Who knew he was a great receiver? Ok, you got me again, we all knew that.
The special teams unit for Seattle really is special. Did you catch the statistic about how many punt return yards Seattle had allowed prior to the game? Fifteen punt return yards all season before the Giants game. That stands all by itself, and is ridiculous. So is the notion that punters are defenseless players throughout the course of the punt return. The Tawking Heads at the NFL rules and competition committee need to pull their heads from their fourth point of contact on that one. That is all.
The inconsistency of penalty calls from the referees from week to week is starting to really irk me. One week the referees let the players play, the next week they call a pass interference every time Sherman takes a step. What is really irritating about it is that the times when the referees are calling every single little bump is when Seattle is playing a team with a cry-baby for a coach. Think about it and let me know when it sinks in. I hate whiny little sissy coaches that run to the referees and tell them to watch a certain player specifically, because they “are holding my precious little receivers.” Yes HarBaby, I am Tawking to you. If you don’t like it, post a comment and I will give you my address and we can Tawk it out like men, over meat and beer, which you will buy, because you are rich, and I’m not.
I don’t always like wine, but when I do, I whine about everything.
The 12th man flew an awesome banner over Candlestick park a few weeks ago, and now there is Tawk that the 40-whiner fans are trying to buy a billboard in Seattle Tawking about how many Super Bowls they have won. This calls for an in-depth analysis of the mind set of the 49er fan base. Instead of trying to figure it out myself, I will quote an anonymous wise man who once stated, “How many 49er fans does it take to change a light bulb? None, they just stand around and Tawk about how good the old one was.” ‘Nuff said. I wish I could take credit for that, but it was another, wiser than I, who gave us those historic words of wisdom.
The Cardinals pose a challenge for the Seahawks. In case no one noticed the Cardinals are still in the hunt for a wild card playoff spot. They have no choice but to try and beat the Hawks in the C-link. The Cardinals coming to Seattle are not the same team Seattle beat earlier this year, nor are the Seahawks. This game has the potential to be close. The 12thman will play a huge part in keeping the cardinals off kilter, and accumulating false starts. The Hawks have never lost a home game with Russell Wilson under center, and Sunday should not change that. If Seattle can establish QB pressure early, and keep Palmer from settling into a groove, the Legion of Boom should have no issues maintaining coverage on the receivers. I really feel that the defensive line is going to be the pivotal role in this game. They will need to get to Palmer, not just with pressure, but knock him down a few times early on. They will need to stop the creative run packages that the Cards like to present, and stay in their lanes. The LoB will need to ensure that Mr. Fitzgerald does not get behind them. If Seattle starts getting turnovers early on, forget about it. Palmer can’t shake it off as well as other quarterbacks.
This week can be huge. Did you hear me, I said, “HUGE!” If Seattle wins, they win the NFC West, first round bye, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Tell me that isn’t huge. You can’t, because you are not a liar.
I am looking forward to seeing C-link in full effect on Sunday, and can’t wait to hear the 12thman loud and proud in Seattle. Until then, 12thman now, 12thman forever, Go Hawks!