There's two ways you can look at yesterdays game...
"we won, but goddammit that offense looked like shit!"
or...
"Goddammit that offense looked like shit and we still won!
I generally live life leaning hard into pessimism and sarcasm, but dammit if I don't fall into the second category, shockingly.
Yeah, I totally saw 9-2 coming. See? That's the sarcasm slipping out into the ether. But damn, 9-2? I liked the roster and draft additions and thought we would have the deepest backfield in the league, and then we go out and get Clowney and it was hard to contain my excitement. The biggest acquisition may be Quandry Diggs. Dude's balling, and are my eyes deceiving me or is that whole secondary coming on?
Let's set the table correctly here - Philly is banged up, Wentz looked like hot garbage, that wind didn't help at all, but... Seattle went in and took care of business to go 6-0 on the road. Eat My Shorts Century Link. Out of the blue, or the gray as it may be, comes a Seattle pass rush most recently found on an array of milk cartons across the country - and yesterday they harassed Wentz like he owed them money - without Clowney and then Reed.
Game balls:
The defense all the way around - they simply didn't let Philly take control of the game and they limited Zach Ertz, the only weapon they had left, to only 91 yards on 14 targets - a pretty pedestrian day for him, considering he was the offense. Let's get specific...
KJ Wright - 12 tackles.
Shaquim Griffin - a revelation off the edge?
Trey Flowers - seven tackles, three passes defensed and a pick
Quint0n Jefferson for going Usain Bolt with the fumble, then trying to pitch it off as he was going down. That was my favorite play of the game. "Hey, if I can't take it to the house, you do it!"
Brian Schottenheimer - continuing to call surprising games, while staying close to PC ball. The flea flicker? That ice water bomb to Lockett on third down. Feeding Penny.
Rashaad Penny. Finally, Michael K's faith and patience in his favorite first round pick pays off. Penny needs to realize he's not Carson and shed some weight, because even as a big boy, he can motherf'n fly. Love to see him leaner. His burst is a sight to behold. Michael, if you could send us your jersey size preference and home address, The Pro and I, over post game herbal tea, decided to go in on a Penny jersey for you.
WTF?
DK - dude, c'mon now. You gotta make those catches. He gets a slight reprieve because weather may have affected the ball, but he set the bar high early, so now he's expected to make the big boy catches.
That's about it for offensive highlights - RW did not have a memorable day, but he didn't have his worst outing. DK's drops were big because those were potential door-slamming plays - as was the (kinda hilarious) miss to a wide open Hollister.
So, yeah, you can take the glass is half full route, or the glass is half empty route, but the truth is the glass is about 81% full 'cause these guys are 9-2 and control their own destiny. If the Seahawks take down Minnesota on Monday night to reach 10-2, I think the chatter about Pete Carroll for COTY will heat up - in a division they were picked to finish second or third by most, this is already a spectacular season that no one saw coming. This division is a f'n meat grinder again this year - and for those of you penciling in Arizona as a gimme - you have been warned. They are playing feisty football lately and will not be an easy out - they always give Seattle fits at Clink, so Carroll and Co better have them ready. The Lambs and 9ers are going to be bloodbath battles that Seattle will not be favored in either. The division is still SF's to lose.
This team is grinding out hard wins, the roster additions are paying huge dividends, the defense appears to be hitting it's stride, but most of all, this team is known for coming together late in the season - so, if you're 9-2 and are just now coming together, well, that's pretty terrifying notion if you have to play them - or if you're my neighbors.
Go Hawks.
