Hawk Talk Quarter Season Awards
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I welcome you to this most prestigious and historic event. The first ever Hawk Talk Quarter Season Awards ceremony.
During tonight’s proceedings we will look to celebrate the highs and lows, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first four games of the 2018 season. So without further ado, let’s begin our ceremony.
The Ray Charles Award for NFL Officiating
Here we recognize those officials who, on a Sunday, always get the calls right. No matter how wrong they are.
And the winner is: The officials at Mile High Stadium in Week 1 for thinking that this (see below) is enough evidence to overturn an on field call.
Honorable Mention: Any referee that has thrown a flag for the new “bodyweight” roughing the passer penalties, absolute nonsense.
The Making the Most of it Award: Sponsored by Superbowl XLIX Star Chris Matthews
Not everyone can play every snap. This award recognizes the players who make the most of their time on the field. No matter how little of it they get.
And the winner is: Rookie WR David Moore, who, on the same play, this past week in Arizona, recorded his first NFL Catch, Fumble, Fumble Recovery, and First Down.
The “WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE!!!” Award
Here we celebrate the multi skilled players who turn up in the most unexpected of areas.
And the winner is: Russell Wilson, for being an absolute lunatic and throwing an epic lead block on Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea paving the way for Mike Davis’ first touchdown run.
The Zeke Elliott Award for Crimes Against NFL Fashion
And the winner is: Sebastian Janikowski for looking like an overzealous fan who’s got too drunk and invaded the pitch in full gear.
The “Karma’s a Bitch” Award
And the winner is: Richard Sherman, for 1) Joining the Niners and 2) Throwing Seattle under the bus following his release, and now most likely coming to realization that he’s playing for a bottom feeding franchise, with no recognizable starting QB and head coach who can’t manage a game clock to save his life. To top it all off he has vindicated the decision to cut him by getting injured again.
The Workhorse Award
Honourable mention: Earl Thomas for not attending any offseason practices AND taking Wednesdays off during the season.
And the winner is: Every sports media outlet who seemingly work 24/7 to find new potential rumours about seemingly nonexistent trade talks about him.
The Brett Favre “Go Long” Award
And the winner is: Brian Schottenheimer, for turning our offense into a checkdown machine, with one completed pass over 10 yards in the air this past week against the Cardinals.
THE ACTUAL AWARDS
Enough sarcasm, here are the actual awards, based around actual football performance.
Offensive Player of the Year
And the winner is: Chris Carson – Carson was the most dependable back on the roster through 3 weeks before getting hurt. With the reliance on the run game against Arizona this past week, I’d have bet he’d have had another great day.
Honourable Mention: Mike Davis – For stepping up in relief of Carson and pounding his way to 100 yards rushing
Defensive Player of the Year
And the winner is: Earl Thomas III. We’ll miss you buddy, whether you’re flipping the bird or not. Through 3 ½ weeks, Thomas once again proved he was still capable of playing at an All-Pro level, with 3 interceptions in our first 3 games.
Honourable Mention: Brad McDougald. Brad has performed really well in filling in some remarkably large shoes left by Kam Chancellor, grabbing 2 picks of his own against Denver and helping out nicely against the run. His workload will only increase now that Earl Thomas is done for the season.
Rookie of the Year
And the winner is: Who else? Will Dissly. The absolute unit from Washington had found himself a great niche in the team, helping out in the passing game as well as being a reliable blocker assisting the run. Come back strong next year big guy!!!
Disappointment of the Year
And the winner is: Rashaad Penny. I hate writing negative things about rookies, especially so early into a guy’s career. But Penny hasn’t lived up to his lofty draft position, or his stunning tape from San Diego State. Where other high round rookie running backs like Saquon Barkley, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb are making waves for their respected teams, Penny’s fanfare is somewhat muted. Let’s hope that as the team leans more heavily on our backfield, Penny’s performance trends upwards.
Unsung Hero:
Jarran Reed: Reed is making a nuisance of himself in the middle of our defensive line, and opposing linemen feel it. Reed has rushed the passer incredibly well from the DT position, accumulating 3 sacks already this season, doubling his career total. And while all the focus is on the drama in our secondary, the Alabama product continues to chug along doing the grunt work up front.
Most Surprising Statistic
The Seahawks O- Line was graded as 3rd best in the league this past week. I KNOW!! I’m as surprised as you. My guess is these statistics are no doubt skewed by the reliance on quick rhythm throws and a balance shift towards running the football, but still. I’ve given all of those guys a lot of grief in the past and if they can keep trending upward, I can’t really complain.
To end, I’m going to make a quick assessment on where we are, and where I see us going forward.
We’re 2-2. Which is a fair reflection on our performances. We were screwed out of a win in Denver, but scraped by against Arizona despite not playing well. The Bears game wasn’t easy to watch, but equally, we demolished Dallas the following week.
Losing ETIII will no doubt leave a big hole in our defense but if the “next man up” mentality that our coaching staff preach rings true, we could be looking at an effective unit moving forward. Offensively, we’re not going to beat a lot of teams throwing checkdowns to the flats and quick slants. If Brian Schottenheimer can sprinkle in a bit of what Russell does best, i.e. designed bootlegs, RPOs, deep passes off play action, I think we can get to a point where we were a few years ago. With a beautifully balanced, yet underrated offense capable of running and passing the ball.
The NFC is a total crap shoot for the wildcard spots, with only the Rams, and to some extent the Bears, looking like shoo-ins for the playoffs. I don’t see us being able to overhaul a two game deficit to sneak past Los Angeles for the divisional crown, so the likelihood is we’ll be right in that scrap for a wildcard berth. If we can get two wins from games vs Green Bay, vs Minnesota and @Carolina after our bye week, I have us going 10-6 with an outside shot at the playoffs.
