3 observations from Seahawks WR DK Metcalf’s Week 13 performance
By Lee Vowell
DK Metcalf clearly took the Seahawks Week 13 game personally
OK, so about the passion DK Metcalf plays with. I don’t mean that that is a bad thing because it isn’t. In fact, it’s part of what separates Metcalf from mere mortals. He has the size and speed to be brilliant and oftentimes is, but he also has the will to be truly great and this will keep him a top-end talent for years to come. And when faced with a cornerback with a reputation of being among the best in the NFL, Metcalf relishes the chance to show he is better.
Rams CB Jalen Ramsey is a fantastic player and likely a future Hall of Famer. He can limit any receiver in the league with technique and talent. He also is vocal on the field and this clearly irritated Tyler Lockett on Sunday (and Lockett rarely gets outwardly irritated). Whenever we have a Metcalf versus Ramsey matchup, it’s fun to watch because we have two great players going against each other but also aren’t afraid to voice their opinions toward each other.
On Sunday, Metcalf did something he normally doesn’t do which is to catch every one of his 8 targets. These weren’t all against Ramsey but many of them were. And the most important catch Metcalf made all day – the one that came with 36 seconds left and gave the Seahawks a 27-23 lead – came in one-on-one coverage against Ramsey.
The route was perfect. Metcalf began just off the line to the left, started forward, made a sharp turn at the goal line, and is big enough where he shielded Ramsey from getting to the pass to knock it down. Remember when Metcalf was drafted out of college and one of the reasons he fell to the second round was because teams weren’t sure he could run route trees fluidly? You can laugh at that now.