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So, ALL of us were scared about the Cardinals.  That's "about" the Cardinals, not "of" the Cardinals.  Scared "about" them because they have the kinda back-alley defense the 49ers used to have, and because they're an excellent 46-1 with Carson Palmer healthy.  

They led the NFL in yards and in scoring offense.  Yes, Egbert, we get it; DVOA is better than yards like xFIP is better than ERA.  Thing is, at SSI we see the game as well as the stats.  Well, hang on ... John Fraley seems to see a game pretty good too.  Oh well whatever nevermind

Point is, the Cardinals have the feature receivers and the feature back behind Palmer, and ... well, who had found an answer to it all?  Nobody.  It's like saying Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz mighta had the best ERA, but they were only 3rd in xFIP this year?  No, the Cardinals were SSI's consensus Best Team in the NFL.  

We were scared "about" their situation because when you're hardcore, you're not scared "of" anybody.  You bring your own game, you can win.  Whoever it is, up to and including the Paul Browns.  

The Seahawks crushed the Cardinals like a pop can.  In their building.  I'd say it's the most impressive Seahawks win I've seen, surpassing even the 43-8 Broncos Super Bowl ... well, there was the Robber Baron 49ers game.  Prob'ly that one was better, but it was in CLink, right?

Point is.  It isn't POSSIBLE to beat the Seattle Seahawks by 30 points, now is it?  It's very possible to do that to the Cardinals, though.  The Seahawks do it every year.  In their howse.

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TOMORROW'S NEWS TODAY Dept.  Last week, the Seahawks set a personal record by never leading in the game.  SSI advised you, about that specific game, that it was just sports.  It's interesting to compare the yards from scrimmage the last two weeks:

A lot of times the points, or runs, fool you.  ... Granted, against the Rams, the Seahawks were out of synch, and against the Cardinals they were playing 110% speed.  But they were the same team at bone level.  The Rams loss wasn't "puzzling"; it was just sports.  Some nights you're hitting your three-pointers.  Nobody hits them EVERY night.  It's sports!

.....

Dr. D asked the Cardinals SB Nation site (no, he really didn't) what was the takeaway from the game.  The answer thundered like the Niagara.  "The Seahawks wanted to win and the Cardinals wanted to lose."  Check out Revenge of the Birds.  It's almost the polar opposite of Niners Nation; they're both self-comforting and self-justifying, but on opposite ends of the politeness-rudeness spectrum :- )

Dr. D found this "we didn't care" idea implausible.  So he asked the 4th-grade class (yes, he really did) what were the three takeaways from that Cardinals game?  There's a whale of a lot to be said for the 4th-grade class.  Just a show of hands, kids.  Did Dez catch the ball or not?  The kids know things the lawyers don't, such as what "Tell me the truth now" means.

The kids said there were three takeaway.  All made the cynical Dr. D smile:

• The Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going
• Russell Wilson is carrying the team on his back

All three of these things cut through the sabermetrics.  Which is, of course, the whole point of asking kids.  We adults talk ourselves into a great state of confusion, such as whether Quintin Tarentino "reflects" violence or "revels in" violence.

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RUSSELL WILSON IS ELITE.   There are only a few QB's who can, and will, personally win you a game you otherwise would have lost.  After 3.5 seasons, Wilson became that player.  He's a franchise QB and his peers are now Brees, Rodgers, Brady, and a couple of others maybe.  I'll pay money to watch HIM face off against THEM.

I got your nanobubbles right here, pal.  The "takeaway" is clear.  If Russell Wilson were doing anything other than force-feeding the Field Gulls crowd a long series of mechanical victories, then his worldview would make him a laughingstock.  Yes, it would.

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I get to go to Vegas next week. I just can't BELEEVE it

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Since Wilson is proving himself to be somewhat other than Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel, we might pause for a second and ask whether his Old School worldview gets any credit now?  Naaaahhhhh.  But oh how sweet is it, for those fans who didn't jeer this offseason.  :- )  Like James says, stick with players during their down cycles and it makes the winning more fun.

Little retro for yer, though.  Scouts have been telling us, for 100 years, that Russell Wilson's family orientation is preferable to Johnny Manziel's "I plan on enjoying my life to the fullest." *  All three sports, the coaches have taken Wilson over Manziel, forever.

*Rehab and bankruptcy aren't as much fun as they're cracked up to be.

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WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING.  Saber considers "tough" a dirty word.  Pete Carroll doesn't seem to, as much.  Once again, stand in awe as the Think Tank offers you a new paradigm every day.  Anyone who wants to enjoy the 2012-16 Seahawks through a "toughness" camera lens has Dr. D's blessing.

There is nobody, anywhere, who can make Richard Sherman back down.  There is nothing that can happen to Russell Wilson, no play, no person, that will Kaepernick him.  There is no talking Darrell Bevell out of his theories on playcalling.

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THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL.  Yes, we all know stuff happens.  Very good, LrKrBoi29.  Now shaddap and siddown.  The clarinet tone that cuts through the bass section is this:  the Seahawks have the best roster in the NFL.  

You can talk about 10 degree weather, and fumble ratio, and DVOA, and matchups.  What we forget to talk about is, who has the best players.

The defense has what, seven star players.  The offense has reached the point to where, yesterday, it would have scored on its first EIGHT drives, but for one missed field goal.  Which is better?  Thanks to Russell Wilson, it's a whale of a contest.

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Be Afraid.  Be Very Afraid,

Dr D