The Seattle Seahawks are 5-2 but the easiest stretch of their 2023 season is done. Seattle faces a very good 6-2 Baltimore Ravens team in Week 9. Both teams are in first place and neither team faces a must-win situation, but clearly, we hope that Seattle doesn't lose.
The teams mirror each other in a lot of ways. They both have good defenses, even if Seattle's is newly good while the Ravens are a bit more of a veteran group. Still, good is good, right?
Both teams also are capable of running the ball effectively well. In fact, the game could come down to which team runs the ball the best. It wouldn't be surprising to see rookie Zach Charbonnet get the most carries of his career in Week 9 as he can grind out first downs and that might be what Seattle needs to steal the game. Here is some news for your Saturday.
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll can move up a list
Pete Carroll has 166 regular season victories and 11 playoff wins. That is a total of (checking my math) 177 wins. If Seattle beats the Baltimore Ravens (or whenever Seattle wins their next game under Carroll, but let's hope it is Sunday), the victory will move Carroll into a tie for 13th all-time for wins by an NFL head coach.
Is Pete Carroll a Hall of Fame-caliber coach? Yes. But will he ever make it into the Hall of Fame? Maybe not. The way the Pro Football Hall of Fame makes it very difficult for coaches or non-players to get into the Hall as only one sneaks through every once in a while instead something like five players at a time.
As far as Pete Carroll compared to other Seahawks head coaches, though, he is easily the most successful. Carroll has 143 victories, including the playoffs, and a regular season win percentage of .615. Next closest in those groups is Mike Holmgren (90 wins) and Chuck Knox (.559 winning percentage). While it's easy to get used to a level of success, we should still appreciate Pete Carroll for all the wins he's helped bring Seattle.
Bobby Wagner talks about Leonard Williams addition
As most 12s know by now (I assume), Seattle made a trade for defensive tackle Leonard Williams this week. Williams is 6'5" and 300 pounds and has had a fairly successful career so far, though he has made only one Pro Bowl. In the past, he's shown he can rack up sack totals as he had 11.5 in 2020 and 6.5 in 2021. Williams' role has changed a bit over the last couple of years with the Giants and his pass rush numbers have diminished.
Still, Williams is only 29 years old and young enough to play at a high level for a few more years. He's a good fit on the Seahawks defensive line as well, especially playing next to Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones. Williams' presence should help Reed and Jones see more one-on-one blocking so a defensive line that is already playing better than expected should be even better.
Bobby Wagner, what message does the Seahawks’ trade for DL Leonard Williams send to the locker room?
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) November 1, 2023
“We want to win. We will do whatever we can to win.” pic.twitter.com/mZZsnHgKM8
Bobby Wagner seems to love the move of adding Williams, however. In a press conference this week, Wagner was asked what he thought of the move and Wagner finished his answer by saying, "We want to win. We will do whatever we can to win." Being a player on a team that is making in-season moves in hopes of improving has to be a nice feeling.
The only negative would be if Seattle's roster looks better than it really is because the Seahawks haven't had an extremely tough schedule yet. Seattle has faced three backups quarterbacks and three teams that currently have two wins or less. Let's hope the Seahawks are indeed really good, but will likely learn a lot more of the 2023 team over the next seven games than we did in the first seven.
National media makes its picks about Seahawks vs. Ravens
Well, if you get angry when the national media picks your Seattle Seahawks to lose this might not be the week you want to look at who pundits are choosing. Depending on which betting site you choose to look at, most have the Ravens nearly a touchdown favorite. And Baltimore is at home with a slightly better record (because they've played an extra game) against a better overall schedule so far.
For our 12th Man Rising pick, I have Seahawks QB Geno Smith not playing well, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson running well, and yet Seattle still finding a way to win due to a defensive touchdown. Though someone on 12th Man Rising Facebook said my article was full of negativity, I have Seattle winning 23-21 (I assume that person loves Smith, dislikes Jackson, and wants Seattle to lose?).
The writers at the Seattle Times are even mostly going heavily toward Baltimore winning. The excellent Bob Condotta has the Ravens winning 24-16, Larry Stone has Baltimore winning 21-17, and Matt Calkins picks the Ravens 23-20, but Adam Jude says Seattle wins 24-23. What about the national media?
Ali Bhanpuri (NFL.com): Ravens 22 Seattle 20
Tom Blair (NFL.com): Ravens 25 Seattle 21
Brooke Cersosimo (NFL.com): Ravens 24 Seattle 20
Mike Florio (NBC Sports): Ravens 28 Seattle 20
Chris Simms (NBC Sports): Ravens 27 Seattle 17
Eric Moody (ESPN): Ravens 31 Seattle 24
Seth Walder (ESPN): Ravens 20 Seattle 16