Junior Beast Mode

With an extraordinary performance, Russell Wilson willed the team to victory last week in Chicago.

Highlight footage showed only the touchdowns, but for me, the signature play of the game was one of Wilson's run option reads late in the fourth quarter, where he faked a handoff to Lynch but kept the ball and sprinted left. Pro Bowl Bears cornerback Charles Tillman read the play well and closed quickly to try to tackle the rookie quarterback near the line of scrimmage. "Peanut" Tillman is a big corner, nearly as tall as Richard Sherman, and much larger than Wilson. Nevertheless, as the defender approached, the little man juked, shot out a stiff arm that threw Tillman to the ground, and ran on for several more yards. (It was reminiscent of Wilson's stiff arm against Clemson in 2010. If you search for "Russell Wilson stiff arm," you can see YouTube footage of both plays.)

That improbable road win over a formidable opponent kept hope alive for this season. Seattle seized pole position in the race for the #2 NFC wild card slot. Maybe we can keep winning and hold that lead.

This seems possible, though not easy. Undefeated at home, the Seahawks conclude the season by hosting our three division rivals. That home stand is interrupted by a trip to Toronto to face the Buffalo Bills next week.


If the Seahawks can win out, and if San Francisco loses in New England, then Seattle would win the NFC West and host at least one home game in the postseason.

On the other hand, this team could melt down and miss the playoffs entirely.


There are no easy wins in the NFL. Even the tattered Cardinals--wobbling into town scorched and battered by an 8-game losing streak--pose a potential threat. They have nothing to lose and much to prove.

Arizona's defense ranks among the best in the NFL. This is an excellent opportunity for our O-Line to begin to reclaim its identity as a unit that can establish the run even against a tough, physical defensive front.

The Cardinals offense--although generally anemic this year--remains dangerous as long as Larry Fitzgerald lines up at wide receiver.

Seattle couldn't stop Brandon Marshall last week, even with our top two corners in the game. Now Brandon Browner is suspended for the rest of the regular season.

Since Fitz > Marshall, then we need to hope that...

Richard Sherman +Walter Thurmond + the 12th Man > Sherman + Browner

Since nickel corner Marcus Trufant remains out with a hamstring injury, I expect Arizona to deploy multiple receiver sets to challenge the depth in our secondary. John Skelton returns under center for the Cardinals, and has had good games before.


Our pass rush knocked Skelton out of the season opener, but Seattle has failed to pressure opposing quarterbacks effectively in recent weeks.

For that matter, our defense hasn't really scared anyone lately. They have an identity to reclaim, too.

This must be a statement game, a message to future visitors regarding what they can expect from the team and the 12th Man in December (and January?).

However, if the Seahawks intend to qualify for the playoffs and achieve something in the postseason, then they need to stop shooting themselves in the foot.

Remember when Seattle perennially ranked among the least penalized teams in the NFL? Those days are long gone.

The Seahawks rank third in the league in offensive presnap penalties, with 30. (St. Louis has 31; Dallas has 34.)

Only six teams average more than 2 presnap penalties per game. Seattle is the only one of those six teams with a winning record.

These senseless, needless infractions reflect one thing and one thing only: sloppy coaching.
False starts because players can't remember the snap count. Illegal motion because undisciplined athletes make mental errors. Delay of game penalties because our rookie quarterback loses track of time and can't get the ball snapped before the play clock expires.


These presnap penalties cost yards and kill drives. They take us out of close games and make games that shouldn't be close much closer than they need to be.

Seattle has the talent to achieve great things this year. If our coaches could teach the offense to get out of its own way, imagine how many more points we could score and how many more games we could win.