Seahawks vs Ravens

Today the Seahawks finished up 35 – 6 over the Baltimore Ravens.

Thomas Rawls was tackled badly and had his leg rolled under him for an ankle injury. They kept him out of the Ravens game and we're all waiting to see when he'll be back. Hopefully next week. He walked off the field and wasn't limping. They probably wanted to be absolutely certain about him precisely because we don't want to lose him. Better to be cautious and keep him out for one game-- and a game that isn't going to be the toughest of the year-- than have the season go wrong.

It's sad that Graham is out but that was not the worst thing that could have happened. Luke Willson is talented enough to play the position without problems and Helfet makes a good stand in. However, if Rawls was really hurt that would be a very bad thing for the Seahawks season. It is wise for them to be cautious with him especially since Marshawn Lynch had to have abdominal surgery and probably won't be back soon.

They are also cautious with Russell Wilson. If the Hawks are up by thirty near the end of the fourth, they'll take him out and put Tavarez Jackson in. Wilson remains watchful and serious on the sideline, of course, unless Richard Sherman comes over and makes him laugh. Which he does. You can see Sherm's eyes crinkle up as he's trying... and trying again... and then Wilson starts to laugh.

Baldwin and Kearse were amazing and Luke Willson was also competent.

Sherm got a pick. One of the Ravens grabbed his dreadlocks and used them to throw him down. Naturally that was a penalty. You can't do that. Afterward he was joking about it with his teammates and rubbed a young assistant's shaved head, and I agree with the local announcer that it looked like was saying "If I had hair like yours, that would have been a pick-six!"

Wilson was handing out touchdown passes like they were candy. After yet another to Baldwin (turning the Sherman pick into a touchdown), Baldwin and Wilson talked on the sidelines and appeared to have a moment: Baldwin was smiling but tearing up and scrubbing his face with the side of his hand. 

One of our OsQ correspondents raised questions about whether or not Wilson's athleticism would end up hurting him the way it did RG3 and and often does other mobile quarterbacks. I am encouraged by what I saw today. The Baltimore defense was very enthusiastic about shutting down the running game today... and so Wilson only ran the ball once, when he saw a big, safe gap because the defensive end had gotten distracted by something else. In other words he did not put himself in danger just because he's used to running the ball. That would have been so easy to do, to feel pressured because Rawls was gone, to take unrealistic responsibility and take risks. But he didn't. He was patient and made excellent use of his receivers instead.  

The Good News: 

The Seahawks made a decision to play for each other and have followed through to great effect. 

The Bad News:

Various injuries including Kam Chancellor's tailbone injury. OsQ is waiting to see who will return and when.

The Question:

Will the Seahawks continue to show this excellent combination of enthusiasm, versatility and in-game wisdom?