Before jumping into football, I have to give a shoutout to the Seattle Mariners for a fun season and for breaking the 21-year drought for post-season play. The brought this city a lot of excitement and joy, something we can all use more of. And god knows, they did not go quietly. Grinding it out for 18 innings takes grit. Thank you, fellas, for all of it. And here’s to next year.
And now on to football. For week six, the Seahawks take on divisional foes the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams took losses last week and both are sitting at 2-3. Cardinals are favored to win. I think it will be a slugfest. Here’s my wish list for week six:
- A win. Of course, I always want a win for the Hawks. But after watching the Mariners lose Saturday after six hours and 18 innings, Seattle sports fans could use a win this weekend.
- Again, I want to see stronger play from the defense. Kyler Murray is a mobile quarterback. I would like to see him contained. I would not like to see him running all over the place. (We don’t need a déjà vu from last week.) Also, a couple of the Cardinals top running backs, James Connor and Darrel Williams, are out with injuries. Maybe that will help.
- Fewer penalties. There is no bigger buzzkill that losing big chunks of yards (or worse, points) for penalties, especially ones that are avoidable. While it’s true they can’t control random weirdness from officials, they can still play with a little more discipline.
- I want to see the offense continue doing its thing and for Geno Smith to continue to ball out. The offense has been really fun to watch this season, and it’s starting to feel like Geno can do just about anything. There is nothing super flashy going on really- just phenomenal football- yet it still feels like some kind of magic is afoot. And I’m not ready for that to stop just yet (or ever).
Player to watch this week: Uchenna Nwosu. In week one against the Broncos, this monster outside linebacker made his presence known with seven tackles, two quarterback hits, a broken pass and a sack, earning him the honor of NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Although the linebacker group is struggling this season, Nwosu has consistently been a positive force. Nwosu feels to me like a powder keg on the verge of explosion, unleashing a torrent of pressures and sacks on some hapless quarterback. Maybe that explosion will happen on Sunday.
Side Note: The Seahawks signed veteran linebacker Bruce Irvin to the practice squad this week. He has a long history with the team, including the Super Bowl XLVIII victory. It will be interesting to see how they use him and what influence he may have on the floundering defense. I always liked Bruce and am happy about this development. Stay tuned.
