Seattle Seahawks: Dud and Stud of the opening six weeks
By Ed Stein
Dud of the first six weeks
Most 12s will agree that many of the issues they were concerned about after two weeks have been addressed. It’s not perfect, but the combination of increased ball control and the Seahawks injured players returning to health have made the team better.
2nd dishonorable mention – The NFL. The league has screwed up so many things over the past few years, that their mishandling of Mychal Kendricks‘ suspension for insider trading should have been expected. Drug abusers, cheaters, and domestic abusers get a path back to playing again. White collar crimes get indefinite suspensions. There is something very wrong here.
1st dishonorable mention – Penalties. Last season, Seattle led the NFL in penalties at 9.2 per game. The good news is that they have cut it down to 7.7 per game. The bad news is they are still sixth. Even the best teams can shoot themselves in the foot only so many times before it comes back to haunt them.
Dud of the first six weeks – Earl Thomas III. Many 12s stood by safety Earl Thomas when he held out for the entirety of training camp and the preseason. Not all agreed with him, but they understood that the nine-year pro was trying to secure his future.
Thomas came back to the team before the opening game saying that he was loyal to his teammates. He had one interception in Denver and then two more in week three against Dallas. Along with the good, came the bad. ET3 decided, if he didn’t feel absolutely 100%, he wasn’t going to practice. So he took it upon himself not to show up on several occasions.
Then came the incident that made Thomas our dud of the first six weeks. Following his two-interception performance against the Cowboys, it all came crashing down for ET3 in game four against Arizona. That’s when Thomas broke his leg in the fourth quarter.
Everyone knows what happened next. As Thomas was being carted off the field, his frustration boiled over and he flipped off the Seattle Seahawks Sideline on his way out. A final slap in the face to his team, coach, players, and fans. It was an unceremonious end to the Seattle portion of his career for one of the Seahawks most celebrated players.