The arrival of the Seahawks defense in their 19-9 victory over the Cardinals last Sunday was as welcome as a rush of fresh marine air after long days of smokey skies and shitty air quality. Fans are invigorated, renewed and relieved! While it is too early to claim that a new defensive day is upon us, Sunday’s showing was a lot of fun:
- Seahawks run defense kept the Cardinals to just 144 yards rushing.
- Ten tackles for loss, six of which were sacks, four pass breakups and multiple QB pressures.
- A forced fumble by Coby Bryant, recovered by Tariq Woolen.
- A Tariq Woolen interception, his fourth in four games.
- The Cardinals offense was held to a mere three points. The other six were from a blocked punt debacle, resulting in a touchdown for Cardinals special teams.
That’s plenty to put our hands in the air for. We don’t know if this level of defensive play will be sustained. But like everything with this season, we enjoy whatever positives we can in the moment. I should add that Tariq Woolen was named the NCF Defensive Player of the Week!
While the defense made a big step forward, the offense seemed to shuffle back a bit. The offensive line allowed 14 QB pressures and four sacks. (This raises some concern about how the Seattle o-line will handle the Charges blitz attack this coming Sunday.) But although Geno Smith did not play at the insane level of previous weeks, he still managed the game well, took care of business and got the win. Analysts are quick to remind the fan base that this young offensive line is going to have rough days. It’s a work in progress.
The Seahawks are now 3-3 and are in a three-way tie for first place in the NCF West. Week six was a good one.
A quick word about Russell Wilson. I was thrilled to witness the Seahawks victory over the Broncos at the season opener. I’ll also confess to a measure of schadenfreude at Russell Wilson’s rocky start with the Broncos. Am I scorned fan, still tender from the breakup? Yes. Do I believe that Russell Wilson is a disingenuous dork who may or may not be more interested in his own narrative over that of his team? You bet. But do I wish for him to endure the public humiliation that he’s presently going through? No, I don’t. The harsh criticism of his playing may be warranted. But the resounding insults and mean attacks across social and mainstream media are nothing more than cruelty at this point. Some feel the degradation is justified by his $245 million dollar contract. But a well-paid man is still a human being, flawed like the rest of us. And I’m finding this increasingly difficult to watch. I feel badly for Russell. Why? Empathy.
