3 In, 3 Out – Seahawks Review for Those Who Like Shiny Objects – Game 16

January 6, 2016 by

Game 16 – Red Dawn

by fellow 12 @ClintonBon

3 In, 3 Out is a concise, yet somewhat satisfying recap of 3 things that went well for the Seahawks and 3 things that ummmm… didn’t. The coverage will go deeper than the average bear – for instance this will be the only mention of ‘Arianisms' like…

  GAME 16 – RED DAWN

You go and save the best for last… thank you Seahawks, thank you. Everything about this regular season finale was juuuuuuust right. A Mr. T TD, Aikman and Buck continuously having to say we were the better team in all 3 phases… even the #PalmerPout was introduced. Ahhhhhhh, near perfection. OK, let’s get to an OUT so we can bask in our INs.

OUT – Seeing Red Again

What the catfish is going on wrt our challenge decisions? Pete Carroll is the man, this we know. He’s led our ‘Hawks to the playoffs in 5 of 6 years, 4 straight seasons of 10+ victories, 4 straight seasons with the fewest points given up (wow btw to that stat!), back-to-back, belly-to-belly SB appearances, and one shiiiiiiiiny ring with a blazing emerald in it.

Yet, he stinky at the challenge thingy. We all hear via talk radio and elsewhere that down on the field, coaches often aren’t privy to the same replays we see from our living room. OK, we understand this. But the last few weeks ‘Trigger Pete’ pulled the red pistol out early and often on some plays we all knew weren’t going our way.

One thing Pete ain’t is timid, nor should he be. As we head beak first into our second season, let’s just hope the next time we see red, it’s warranted.

IN – Avril, the Cardinal Killer

Michael Bennett is really, really good at football. He’s really good in postgame interviews too. He’s got this Sam Perkins-esque chill-swagger to him and due to all of that, he gets the majority of the media love wrt our oppressively good D-line.

But does anyone else seem to feel that when his equally gifted counterpart is busy destroying worlds on the field, that other teams don’t really stand a chance against us? Ask the 2013 Broncos about Cliff Avril.

#56 is one of my favorites and when he is disrupting play early, it’s just a really, really good sign for our Seahawks. On Sunday he was everywhere. Blowing up runs, tallying 1.5 sacks, and batting balls backwards.

When Avril is this good, he’s our very own Godzilla.

OUT – Hau$chkagggh

You know it’s a good day when at halftime your biggest gripe is that the score should actually be 34 – 6. Hauschka calmly belted 2, 50+ yarders in this game, yet he missed an XP and a 40 yarder in the first frame.

I guess he was simply doing his best Catanzaro impersonation. Just put ‘em through the rest of the way Hauschka, we know you will.

IN – Adam being 1000% Right wrt David Johnson

So, I cringed a bit listening to the Seahawkers Pod previewing this game because Adam went on a mini-diatribe on how David Johnson is a league-average type back that doesn’t necessarily wow. Two things went through my mind:

  1. The last time Adam called out a Cardinal, it was Michael Floyd, who proceeded to have a monster week 10 against our ‘Hawks
  2. As a ‘fantasy owner’ of David Johnson, the dude had been an outright stud, so I too was drinking from the David Johnson hype funnel

The results on Sunday:

25 yards rushing. No, that’s not on a single big gainer, that was in total.

I think David Johnson is a talented back, but this just reinforces how dang good our run defense has been all year long.

OUT – the Okafor Hit on RCW

Living in CT, I watched Tom Brady get smacked around on Sunday and it looked all too much like our game v. the Rams. Against the Cards, they laid one really good hit on Russell and for a split second we all went “oooooooooooooooooooh”.

Beyond that moment of wincing, it was fantastical smooth sailing for DJ DangeRuss as he put the needle on the record (books) and …

  • Broke the Seahawks single season record for most yards passing while being the first Seahawks QB in 40 years to breach the 4,000 yard mark
  • Broke the Seahawks single season TD passes mark, ending with an impressive 34 TD throws on the season
  • Became the only QB in the history of the game to pass for more than 4,000 yards, with 30 or more TDs, with 500 or more yards rushing

Cam will win the MVP, but Russell Carrington Wilson just put up what might be the single greatest season in the history of the NFL.

Enjoy Sheil Kapadia’s great take on the regular season that was for #3.

And if you realize this is really more an “IN” than an “OUT” … yeah, we won 36 – 6. Go ‘Hawks!!!

IN – Sherman and the LOB

This was our group. This is how we fly around the secondary, buzzing towers, finishing tackles, batting balls away juuuuust in time, and ball hawking for INTs when the moment was right.

“Big Game” Lane was Jeremy on the spot, nabbing an early pick on the Cards’ second drive. He nearly had a second INT that was neatly defended by his own teammate.

Earl got his mittens on a Stanton throw that made you wonder how the Cardinals entered this year with that guy as their backup. We know it’s not for his dance moves.

Shead’s late game, goal line pick was tasty and cemented for Seattle their aforementioned 4th consecutive lowest points allowed season total.

Then there was Sherman. The only thing missing from this performance was Erin Andrews and a hot mic. He batted, he smothered, he frustrated, he taunted only as Big Perm, Big Sherm can. My favorite such taunt was #25 reminding the Cardinals bench that though they may have taken ‘the West’ this year, that the Seahawks were still the team with the one true ring. Sherman repeatedly pointed to his ring finger and nodded over and over again as if to say, “Not until you have one of these boys.”

Let’s get Lane back from that oblique strain fast and unleash the LOB during a time when the air gets a bit crisper, the cleats clack with a click more volume, and the pads smack with a firmness only January’s ruthless chill can usher.

1, 2, 3… What’s Next!?

There’s been an awakening… Have you felt it?

That’s all I have to say about that.

Till next time ye faithful 12’s… Go ‘Hawks!!!

Have an “In” or an “Out” you want discussed? Drop us a comment or send Brandan and Adam a tweet @SeaHawkersPod.

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