Tag: D.K. Metcalf

Watch: Eagles safety Rodney McLeod learns that tackling D.K. Metcalf is hard

Eagles safety Rodney McLeod tried to get physical with D.K. Metcalf. It went about as well as expected.

Through Week 11, Seattle receiver D.K. Metcalf had already put up 239 yards after the catch and 5.0 yards after the catch per reception, and he’s firmly established himself as one of the NFL’s most physical receivers. Against the Eagles on Monday night, it appeared that Philadelphia’s defensive game plan was to play man coverage against Seattle, which was their first bad idea.

Philadelphia’s second bad idea was to have safety Rodney McLeod, all 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds of him, face up against Metcalf early in the first quarter and try to make this a physical intimidation thing. Metcalf, who runs in the 4.3s at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds, wasn’t having it.

A helpful hint: Play more zone coverage against the Russell Wilson, and gang-tackle D.K. Metcalf whenever you can. That was not a good rep for McLeod, as he resembled Fred Sanford experiencing “The Big One” after that attempted tackle.

One person every NFL team has to be thankful for this season

Reasons for all 32 NFL teams – and their fans – to be thankful this Thanksgiving.

We have reached Thanksgiving Week, that traditional time on the NFL calendar where some teams and their fans start thinking about the playoffs, while others start dreaming of a new future delivered via the draft and free agency.

Of course, 2020 has been a year unlike any other. It has been a year that recalibrated our expectations, our beliefs, and our thoughts about what truly matters. For many, this holiday will be marked in new and different ways. Trips to grandma’s house will be done virtually, the stuffing will be passed over Zoom, and the family games of football in the backyard might be done through Madden on a new XBox or Playstation.

And sadly, for some who gather there will be an empty chair at the table, a brutal reminder of the year we have lived through together.

But this year has also taught us some lessons. Lessons about the beauty that can be found in both the new and the mundane. Lessons about what does matter. Stolen glances while teaching the kids math that neither of you ever learned. Giggles as Grammie and Grampy figure out their first Zoom meeting. Smiles as Grandpa and Grandma come outside to see a distanced birthday party and a house decorated under cover of night. Smiles as the kids log in to school each morning and a chorus of voices ring out, calling their names.

For as hard as 2020 has been, there is still beauty and goodness to be found, and things to be thankful for this holiday season. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer to look for them.

The same can be said for all 32 NFL teams. Each organization and fan base has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But for some, it takes a little longer to find it.

In that spirit, our weekly Overreactions piece is a bit different this holiday week. Here is something every team and fan base can be thankful for right now.

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ loss to Rams

The Seattle Seahawks, due to poor play on both sides of the ball, are now in third place in the NFC West after a 16-23 loss to the Rams.

The Seattle Seahawks are now sitting at third place in the NFC West after a brutal 16-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Despite the score, the game never felt truly close, as just about all of the Seahawks’ same old issues arose with a vengeance. Here are some of the most glaring good, bad, and ugly takeaways from Seattle’s second straight loss.

THE GOOD

D.J. Reed: Reed, starting at left cornerback for the first time, found himself at the top of the stat sheet with 10 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a tremendous 49-yard kick return in the third quarter. The former 49er has recorded 24 tackles, two batted passes, and an interception over the past three games. He looks to be one of Seattle’s better offseason acquisitions.

Poona Ford: Although Ford may not have topped the box score like Reed, he quietly had one of his best games as a Seahawk with two tackles for loss and one sack, in addition to generating consistent pressure on Rams QB Jared Goff. The defensive line was the best part of Seattle’s defensive performance on Sunday, with Ford acting as a major catalyst for the improvement.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ loss to Bills

The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Buffalo Bills Week 9, in one of their worst defensive performances of the year.

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”L2L1uZf2sW-1030448-7498″]

The Seattle Seahawks fell to 6-2 on Sunday after a 34-44 loss to a very good Buffalo Bills team. Despite the score, the game never really felt close, with the Seahawks finding themselves in a hole early and trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter. Here, I detail some of what went wrong for Seattle in the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 9.

THE GOOD

D.K. Metcalf: Metcalf was, once again, the star of the show for the Seahawks, hauling in seven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. His physicality and speed continue to provide Seattle with the total package week after week, making a strong case for him to be considered the team’s No. 1 receiver. He has yet to be truly neutralized this season, only being held to fewer than 90 yards against the Cardinals when Tyler Lockett had his career day.

THE BAD

Russell Wilson: For the most part, Wilson has been stunning this year, with the unfortunate exception of each of the Seahawks’ losses. Wilson played poorly against the Cardinals in Week 7 and had a less-than-ideal outing against the Bills, turning the ball over no fewer than four times with two picks and two fumbles. He also had six passes broken up and took five sacks for a total loss of 28 yards. It is clear that stopping the Seahawks comes down almost entirely to stopping Russell Wilson by bringing constant pressure. Yes, the defense did him no favors, but one person cannot be responsible for four turnovers and expect to win.

THE UGLY

The defense: Despite the solid performance from the men up front, the overall defensive performance from the Seahawks was positively putrid. Although they sacked Bills QB Josh Allen seven times, the men up front were unable to generate consistent pressure, allowing Allen to carve up the Seattle secondary like soft cheese by completing passes to eight different players. After the game, coach Pete Carroll expressed surprise that the Bills had made no effort to establish the run, which indicates that Seattle’s gameplan essentially ignored the fact that their pass defense ranks last in the league and would naturally be subject to attack. The “surprise” factor and subsequent lack of adjustment resulted in the greatest amount of points allowed by the Seahawks (44) in the Pete Carroll era.

A special mention should be made of CB Quinton Dunbar, who looked less than prepared after having taken limited reps in practice over the past week due to a knee injury. The Bills noticed that he was looking a bit slow, throwing his way for several key completions to their receivers. Eventually, Dunbar was benched for Linden Stephens, who was one of just two backups available at the position.

The offensive line: After a solid outing last week, Seattle’s offensive line took a huge step back against Buffalo, allowing five sacks and 11 recorded QB hits. The run game was essentially stifled as well – the Seahawks only attempted 17 rushes for 57 total yards and a touchdown, split among four ball carriers. The unit will need to tighten up next week against the Los Angeles Rams, where they will face the ever-hungry Aaron Donald.

[lawrence-related id=68828]

Steve Kerr has high praise for D.K. Metcalf’s touchdown-saving tackle in Seahawks vs. Cardinals

Steve Kerr had high praise for D.K. Metcalf’s incredible touchdown-saving tackle in the Seahawks vs. Cardinals Sunday Night Football tilt.

On Sunday night, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf made a play that had the sports world buzzing.

While the second-year pass catcher is known for his ability to take the top off defenses with his blend of electric speed and size, Metcalf’s standout play came while making a tackle.

In the second quarter of the Seahawks Sunday Night Football matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, MVP front runner Russell Wilson threw a rare errant pass that was intercepted by Budda Baker. As the Pro Bowl safety made his break in the opposite direction with a clear path to the endzone, Metcalf showed off his 4.3 speed.

With an impressive effort, Metcalf was able to run down Baker after sprinting nearly the length of the field. The Ole Miss product’s tackle at the two-yard line saved what looked like a no doubt pick-six touchdown for the Cardinals.

Following the chase-down tackle, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors had high praise for Metcalf. On Twitter, Steve Kerr called Metcalf’s tackle “one of the most incredible things” he’s ever seen in sports.

Via @SteveKerr on Twitter:

Along with Kerr, Golden State forward Draymond Green had a shoutout for the Seattle Seahawks pass catchers on Twitter.

[lawrence-related id=32044]

Next week, Metcalf and the Seahawks will host Golden State’s Bay Area neighbor, the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle and the Niners will suit up against Wilson’s Seahawks in a critical division matchup on Sunday in Seattle at 1:25 P.M. PST.

[lawrence-related id=32039,31739,29193,25446]

[vertical-gallery id=30785]

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ loss to Cardinals

The Seahawks suffered their first loss of the season, falling 37-34 to the Arizona Cardinals in an overtime thriller on Sunday night.

The Seattle Seahawks are no longer undefeated, dropping to 5-1 after a 34-37 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals on “Sunday Night Football.” In true Seahawks fashion, the matchup was anything but boring, with highlights and horrors galore for both of the NFC West’s top teams. Here is just some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from yesterday’s primetime matchup.

THE GOOD

The receivers: Tyler Lockett thrilled both Seahawks fans and fantasy owners everywhere with his tremendous career night, catching 15 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. DK Metcalf may not have lit up the stat sheet, but he prevented Cardinals safety Budda Baker from scoring a 98-yard pick-six early in the second quarter, sprinting at a recorded 22.64 mph to finally tackle the speedy DB at the Seahawks’ 8-yard line. David Moore did what he does best as the Seahawks’ WR3, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to create crucial first downs for the offense. Even without signing Antonio Brown, this unit should be set for quite some time.

Pass protection: While hardly elite, the Seahawks’ offensive line has played above expectations in 2020, and Sunday night was one of their better outings of the season. They did not surrender a single sack until overtime (in which they relinquished two), and Wilson often had plenty of time to make plays with his arm or his legs. A couple of false start penalties from RT Brandon Shell and a tripping call against RG Damien Lewis kept the unit’s overall performance from being truly great, but they were impressive in comparison to many of Seattle’s previous (recent) front fives.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Week 7 win over Seahawks is the team’s best in last 4 years

The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s game of the year on Sunday Night Football

The Arizona Cardinals (5-2) are heading into their bye week after a historic victory over their division rival Seattle Seahawks(5-1).

The win meant so much for the Cardinals, their fanbase and for their national recognition from the rest of the NFL.

In back to back weeks, the Cards showed the world they belong on primetime television. Sunday night’s victory over the Seahawks means so much to this organization for a few particular reasons:

  • The Cardinals had not beaten Russell Wilson and the Seahawks at home since his first career start in 2012.
  • Including the playoffs, Russell Wilson’s Seahawks were 59-0 when having a lead of four or more at halftime. They are now 59-1.
  • The Seahawks were also 30-0 when leading by 10+ points at the half since 2012.
  • The Cardinals are now a game back in the loss column from taking back first place in the NFC West.
  • Kyler Murray, the Cardinals’ future face of the franchise, was sensational on the biggest stage.
  • Isaiah Simmons, the No. 8 overall pick in the draft this year, made the play of the night after weeks of bashing from the national media.
  • The Cardinals played on the road six days ago. Seattle had two weeks to prepare for Sunday night.

The win was far from perfect, and the Cardinals would tell you just that. But in the end, they wanted it more than the Seahawks and executed. Vance Joseph made excellent adjustments in the second half, switching back to the attack 3-4 defense that worked so well in Dallas last week.

Man, what a night for Kyler Murray. Outside of a poor overthrow that ended up in the hands of Quandre Diggs, he was unstoppable. DeAndre Hopkins remained as advertised and the Cardinals fans finally got to see a premier game from the great Larry Fitzgerald.

Christian Kirk and Chase Edmonds really stepped up on Sunday. Kirk has five touchdown receptions on the year, which is two more than he had in all of 2019. Edmonds was electric all night and was never tackled by the first defender to reach him.

Shoutout to Kenyan Drake, and prayers to him that his injury isn’t serious. He was in visible pain on the sideline after giving his all on a 4th and 1 to keep Arizona alive. Without that play from Drake, the Cardinals lose the game. Rest up, Kenyan.

Sunday’s victory over the Seattle Seahawks is the franchise’s best win in four years. Since 2016, there has not been a win that held the same caliber of the feelings going around tonight. Try to think of a better one. You won’t.

The Cardinals will come out of their much-needed bye week against the Miami Dolphins, and will be receiving some reinforcements in Markus Golden, Maxx Williams and Jalen Thompson. (And perhaps someone else given the number of talented players in this year’s trade deadline).

Enjoy this one Cardinals fans.

[vertical-gallery id=445225]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:


Previous shows:


and


 

Draymond Green reacts to D.K. Metcalf’s incredible chase down tackle during Seahawks vs. Cardinals

Following D.K. Metcalf’s chase down tackle against Budda Baker to save a touchdown for the Seahawks, Draymond Green chimed in on Twitter.

Following an exciting slate of NFL action, the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals squared off for week seven’s primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football.

During the divisional battle, MVP front runner Russell Wilson was able to push the Seahawks to an early 13-7 lead. However, the All-Pro quarterback made a rare mistake in the second quarter. With Seattle in the red zone, Wilson threw into the hands of Arizona’s Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker.

As Baker broke in the opposite direction, the Seahawks’ 6-foot-4, 240 lb wide receiver began to sprint to chase down the Cardinals’ safety turned ball carrier. In an incredible effort, D.K. Metcalf showed off his blazing speed to catch Baker on the two-yard line.

Via @NFL on Twitter:

 

According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Metcalf traveled 114 yards. During his sprint to catch Baker, the 22-year-old wide receiver reached a max speed of 22.64 MPH.

Via @NextGenStats on Twitter:

Metcalf’s touchdown-saving tackle got the attention of the Golden State Warriors former Defensive Player of the Year. On Twitter, Draymond Green had a shoutout for the Seahawks pass catcher.

Via @Money23Green on Twitter:

Despite Baker’s interception setting up the Cardinals on the two-yard line, Kyler Murray’s offense failed to score, keeping the game at 13-7.

However, back and forth scores from both the Seahawks and Cardinals, the Sunday Night Football game was pushed into overtime with the game tied at 34.

Following another interception from Wilson in overtime, the Cardinals were able to complete their wild comeback, 37-34, with a field goal on the game’s final play from Zane Gonzalez.

While the Cardinals will head on a bye week, the Seahawks will play host to the Golden State Warriors San Francisco neighbor in week 8. The San Francisco 49ers and Seahawks are slated to kick off next Sunday at 1:25 P.M. PST.

[lawrence-related id=31739,29193,32039,25446]

[vertical-gallery id=30708]

D.K. Metcalf hit a ridiculous speed while running 90 yards to chase down a defender after INT

D.K. Metcalf’s speed on this play was insane.

There’s not giving up on a play and then there’s what Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf did Sunday night after Russell Wilson threw an interception.

And what he did was incredible.

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker appeared to be on his way to the end zone with a pick six until Metcalf turned on the jets and chased him down with a nice 90-yard sprint. The video of the wide receiver gaining ground on Baker before making the tackle is pretty ridiculous.

You know what else is ridiculous? The speed Metcalf hit while chasing Baker down. Just a cool 22.64 MPH. No biggie.

You have to see this:

Check out these stats on that play:

The Cardinals ended up turning the ball over on downs four plays later.

That’s why you don’t quit on a play.

N’Keal Harry won’t compare himself to D.K. Metcalf, other prominent WRs from his class

The second-year receiver remains humble in his process.

[jwplayer mBxpxGO4-ThvAeFxT]

Drafting a game-changing wide receiver in 2019 was a high possibility for most teams.

If an NFL organization wanted a transcendent receiver, they likely had multiple chances to reel one in. D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, Darius Slayton, Diontae Johnson, Parris Campbell, Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin and N’Keal Harry were just some names that list. The New England Patriots selected a wide receiver in the first round under Bill Belichick for the first time in his 20 years with the team.

Harry was nabbed with the No. 32 overall pick and his rookie season was disappointing in comparison to his expectations. He was on the injured reserve list most of the season — recording 12 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns in five games.

Fast-forwarding to this season, he’s been on the field all four games and has 18 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown. He spoke to reporters about his progression and didn’t feed into conversation making comparisons.

“No, I can’t compare my situation to anybody else,” Harry said, transcribed by NESN’s Zack Cox. “Just like D.K. can’t compare his situation to A.J. and A.J. can’t really compare his situation to D.K. We’re all in different positions so … When I sit there, I’m extremely happy for those guys. I was training with them pre-draft, so I know how much work they put in and I have a lot of respect for the way they grind.

“I’ve never been the type to just sit there and say, ‘Why hasn’t that happened for me?’ I know I’m in a different situation, and I’m just going to just, every day, go out there and work on ways to improve and stay patient and trust God’s timing. That’s my philosophy.”

Harry’s philosophy leads to peace of mind and contentment with his own growth, which is on par for someone under Belichick’s command. He’s the second-best receiver on the team behind Julian Edelman, but the statistics don’t matter much.

“My mindset is doing whatever coach needs me to do,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m not too worried about personal stats and stuff like that. I’m worried about getting a win. I hate losing. I hate losing more than I love winning, so that’s my No. 1 goal, to win the game and do whatever I can to help us win the game.”

The Patriots are 2-2 after losing two tough games and they have the Denver Broncos coming in Week 6.

[vertical-gallery id=96266]