3 IN, 3 OUT – Game 9: The Russian’s Cut!

November 17, 2016 by

3i_3o_seahawks_pats

By fellow 12 Clinton Bonner

Two worlds collide. Rival nations. It's a primitive clash, venting years of frustrations.

Bravely we hope against all hope.

There is so much at stake. Seems our freedom's up against the ropes.

Does the crowd understand?

Is it East versus West or man against man?

Can any nation stand alone???

Darrrrrrrrn right we just went full Rocky IV on your a$$.

Two teams, blow for blow, getting back off the mat, internal bleeding, external screaming and in the end… their best v. our best, and this time… their best didn’t do.

This time they had the beast rolled up in a Blount. This time they had the only Bennett causing havoc on the field.

But this time we had the best quarterback in the game.

As ridiculous as Russell was, you won’t see him in the 3 INs and certainly not in the 3 OUTs that follow. You know we gotta ‘Dig Deep’ on #3i3o … and after a W like this, there ain’t no way we start with an OUT.

So let’s dive IN shall we?

IN – Tyler the Tone Setter

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Stat lines are for PFF. Sure they’re valuable but if we just paid attention to stat lines then we’d never talk about Tyler Lockett’s performance in a game chock full of other big ticket items.

3 Receptions, 72 yards doesn’t scream IN!!! But here’s exactly why it is:

Down 7 – 0 and facing a 2nd and 10 from our own 40 yard line, Lockett gets separation down the sideline and Russell drops a dime in his bread basket, giving Tyler a shot to make a lovely over the shoulder snag for a gain of 36 yards.

This play was huge. It set the tone early that A) Russell was on his game B) We could stretch the field.

Like vapor rub to nostrils, this opened things up. Though this drive would only result in 3, it set the stage for our offense for the entirety of the match.

And while we’ll all recall the RCW to Elite Doug Baldwin TD to cap off an improbable :59 second drive to put our ‘Hawks up just before halftime… most will forget that Lockett landed a 24 yard reception during that drive that moved the ball from the ‘Hawks 46 to the Pats 30.

Tyler’s 3 for 72 might look pedestrian to an outsider, but we know better.

OUT – 3 Isn’t 7

Whether we won or lost this tilt, I already had my title(s) pegged … When we won, I knew it was all about that Rocky IV feeling of opening the Russian… If we had lost, the entire article would have revolved around the simple notion that 3 isn’t 7.

Hau$chka did his thing, and besides the missed PAT after Elite Doug Baldwin’s first TD catch of the night, he was money all night long.

Of the 4 FGs, 3 were from 23, 27, and 31 yards respectively. And yes, on one of those FGs it was evident that CJ Prosise actually crossed the plane and it should’ve been 6 there for our ‘Hawks… Que lastima!

We won the game. This was a fantastic win. But our ‘short’ redzone offense still needs improving. LeGarrette Blount and the Pats pounded us within the 5 yard line and we need to add that element of physicality to our O.

With Rawls returning from that fibula injury, I think we’re all hoping he can be a big part of how we pull it off.

Winning is better than losing and 7 is better than 3… Let’s see our ‘Hawks round out this offense in the coming weeks by ensuring we don’t settle for short FGs.

IN – You Don’t Invade Area 29

Remember that moment in Rocky IV when the I-talian Stallion lands that first big haymaker v. Ivan Drago?

The announcers bellow… “He’s cut! The Russian’s cut and it’s a bad cut!” … This was our exact feeling the moment Kam deflected the near-perfect spiral away from a slanting Gronk and Earl Thomas showed the entire global audience why you don’t invade ‘Area 29’.

That was it. That was the moment everyone realized that this Patriots team wasn’t some machine, they were just men. They could be hurt, they could be flustered, and ultimately … they could be beaten.

And that is exactly what our ‘Hawks did… we chopped down the giant, body blow by body blow and we put up the year’s biggest W.

So get your striped briefs, crank some James Brown and watch this over and over and over… and over and over and over again:

OUT – Kearsed

Jermaine might be the most clutch Seahawk of all time. In fact, even placing the caveat of ‘might be’ in that statement is near blasphemous to us 12s.

With that, he’s not having a great season thus far in 2016 and the first few series of Sunday Night’s game showed us why.

On 2 series early on, Chop Chop forgot to catch catch 2 big balls. We talked just above about having to settle for 3 and us 12s love us some Jermaine – we always will! – he was a big reason why.

Some of his stats on the year are surprising on both sides – for instance:

  • Kearse is on pace for 46 receptions, which would be only 3 short of his all-time high he achieved last season – Not bad!
  • He is avg. 2.2 yards less per catch this year than last year – Not so good
  • He hasn’t found paydirt yet this year – Que lastima!

Hey #15 did bounce back later in the half and contributed and we know before the year is out that Jermaine will haul in a TD or two that helps this team win a few games.

With all that Lockett was one of our INs, Baldwin caught 3 TDs, and P-Rich had 2 big receptions totaling 52 yards. So Chop Chop, let’s see you make the most out of this 2nd half – we’re gonna need you to make it to Planet Houston for SBLI!

IN – Don’t Shead on Me!

Hey, I’m not a dumb-dumb. Obviously Kam Chancellor and Russell Wilson and Elite Doug Baldwin all deserve INs this week. But the die is cast on those storylines and all I have to add is that it’s the 2nd half of the year and this is when we play our best football !!!

With that a stand out to me was DeShawn Shead. It wasn’t the pick, that was kinda easy. Rather, it was #35 getting tested over and over throughout the game. Did Edelman sneak passed Shead a time or two? – You betcha. Did Rob make a riGronkulous over the shoulder snatch putting the Pats in prime position to tie this game up? Yes.

Hey, Brady gonna Brady, but even when Shead got beat, he was right there and only perfect throws could beat him. If you can, go rewatch the first half. After the Pats sliced through our defense with that opening drive, go watch the next few series and tell me what you see.

In a defensive backfield with Sherman, Kam, and Earl … Shead can get lost in the shuffle as a guy that just ‘does his job’. Us 12s understand that DeShawn does his job well.

OUT – No Need For Chuck Woolery

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!

It made no sense then, it makes less sense now and the last thing we needed was Coach Petey channeling his inner Mike Tomlin and getting cute with the Emperor Belichik.

And don’t you dare throw a ‘You play to win the game’ my way in this moment!

I was screaming at the TV, pontificating on Twitter, and bellowing on Facebook that this was dumb.

You can’t build a house on sand and you can’t win a game on dumb.

The next time someone asks if you’re a god… you say yes.

In other words. You kick the XP, you go up 8, and you win the game.

With all of the above in the books here’s the reality.

These were the 2 toughest kids on the block and this time around, we landed a few more punches than they did. Just as Rocky and Apollo earned each other’s respect, the Pats respect the ‘Hawks, and our ‘Hawks respect the Pats.

The only real question is if we’ll get to see these 2 square-off one more time this year down in Planet Houston.

From the Flock!

Boy oh boy did we have the most amount of flockage this week on #3i3o on Twitter – I love it!!! If you want to get in the article, it’s pretty friggin’ simple … tag a tweet #3i3o before, during, or after the ‘Hawks game and I’ll do my best to include your nugget in our weekly parade of passion.

Here’s several from this week that rocked the casbah:

First, much love for Ross Bell as our 12s across the pond needed a jolt before the bolt. Dedication right here people as it was 1:30 AM their time at kickoff!!!

Precisely put for Prosise by our friend Ella … and clearly we agree on that Chuck Woolery!

Much like Hau$chka nailed his attempts … Hector Marc did the same here. Thx man, saw all your tweets and they were appreciated!

And let's bounce back to Ross Bell for just a moment – because he's right!!!

And… we go and save the best for last. Keith Ketover, Mr. Flocktimus Prime himself dropped this dime on us … and well it was so perfect it was the title of the latest Sea Hawkers Podcast!

Thanks to all who contributed, it makes it all that much more fun and focused on our love for our ‘Hawks!!!

1,2,3… What’s Next!?

Phil-a-del-phi-a

We can’t look past this scrappy bunch. I’ve ended up watching a decent amount of Eagles games this year and they do some really interesting things on offense. Expect to see a good amount of motion and mis-direction quick hitter plays where they clear out a LB with a bubble screen or RB swing pass decoy, only to expose the middle of the field for a quick strike.

Wentz is quite capable and though he’s slowed since his outrageous start, this team can move the ball on us. A big key – which is to our advantage – will be making these screaming eagles settle for field goals.

Defensively they are not a bad unit by any stretch but lesser teams put up points against the Eagles without too much issue.

The Eagles are wildly consistent having scored at least 20 points in every game of the year so far… so to me this is simple, keep them below 20 and we win.

Mamma Cleo Predicts:

Seattle 26 – Eagles 17

Remember 12s, see something??? Say something on Twitter. Send @seahawkerspod a tweet during the game, tag it #3i3o, and it just might show up in next week’s 3 IN, 3 OUT… and that’s nice!!!

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