DUIs and the Appropriate Punishment

Drunk Driving and Josh Brent: What Is The Right Punishment?

Everyone knows that drunk driving takes lives, but does anybody really understand the ramifications of getting into a car under the influence of alcohol?  Does anyone really understand that a motor vehicle is, as deadly if not more deadly, than an assault rifle or handgun?  Every day of the year, adults and teens choose to get into cars drunk fully aware of the stories told about those left behind to mourn the deaths of family members and friends to drunk driving.  We've seen the photographs, some videos and we've seen people throwing away their careers and relationships because of making the grave decision to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Yet, I wonder if we really understand the gravity of driving drunk.  It doesn't have to happen to each of us before we really understand how horrible life can become after making a decision to put themselves and everyone else on the streets in jeopardy because of selfishness and narcissism that sees the blanket the country in tunnel vision that we seem to have.  We seem to have a mentality "This could possibly happen to me," and it's not just the ignorant and uneducated.  Some of the smartest people that I know have made the decision to drive after drinking far too much.  It's a sense of entitlement or disregard for others and a lack of respect for other human beings, perhaps even a lack of respect for us as individuals.  I can't seem to figure out why this continues to be an epidemic, especially considering some of the most morbid and horrifying of stories of innocent victims being killed or worse, being disabled or disfigured or both because someone was too selfish to get a ride home in a taxi or a ride with someone who is not impaired.  I really wonder if anybody really gets it and I know this will probably offend many who read this, but we seem to just wipe away the pain of others like the sweat on our brow; Insignificant and completely irrelevant to our lives because we are not directly involved.  I've posted the story of Jacqueline "Jacqui" Saburido several times, the story of a 20-year-old young lady permanently blinded and disfigured after being hit by drunk driver.  Just looking at the photographs of her are enough to make me believe the people who hear her story will make life changes and not just choosing not to drive drunk, but to understand how this remarkable woman chose not to give up and not to blame anyone.  She allows herself just five minutes a day for self-pity, but that's all.  Anyone who read about her story or were fortunate enough to see her story unfolded on programs like the Oprah Winfrey show have the awesome opportunity to realize how minute and insignificant most of our stories of hardship really are.  I have to say, I'm disappointed as people continue to pile into cars drunk off their feet, putting you, your children and all the other innocent drivers and passengers immediately at risk. Drunk driving has to be one of the most insidious displays of human selfishness that I've ever seen in my life.  We can do better, there's no doubt about it.

Today, I read a column by syndicate writer Greg Doyel on CBS sports.com that really aggravated me. This writer was attacking the Cowboys front office and fans for coming down too hard on Josh Brent, the Cowboys defensive player who drove drunk and killed his best friend and teammate, Jerry Brown.  Doyel believed that it was cruel and unusual punishment for the Cowboys to keep Brent off the sidelines for the remainder of the 2012 season.  I'm sick and tired of hearing about what people deserve and what they don't deserve.  I believe you deserve what you earn and in my opinion, Josh Brent earned himself a jail sentence and the wrath of a jury of public opinion against drunk drivers like him that put everyone else at risk just being on the same roads as him.  I believe Greg Doyel wasted his column space, his time and his effort defending a criminal, rather than advocating for the victims of drunk driving.  Josh Brent made a choice to drive drunk, and this wasn't his first infraction. Apparently, Brent is either too stupid to understand the law and the ramifications of driving drunk, or he is so arrogant and selfish that he believes the loss don't apply to him for some reason.  He had already been arrested for drunk driving, and with a DUI already on his record, he again chose to roll the dice.  He wasn't rolling the dice for himself or his car and not necessary even for his friend, remember Jerry Brown was also drunk and chose to get into the car as well.  Brent rolled the dice for everyone else on the roads and to anyone walking on the side of the road.  Frankly, the dice he rolled weren’t his to roll. 

As far as Gregg Doyel?  Anyone who would  waste their time and effort to defend a person like Josh Brent, just doesn't get how tragic and painful it really is when a drunk driver takes the lives of innocent victims… but not just faceless victims; these are people that have a network of family, friends and other loved ones left to grieve the loss of someone special and irreplaceable.  But this is just another story of another drunk getting into a car, well aware of the laws and the cost of driving drunk.  We see a predictable rise in drunk driving and drunk driving related accidents around Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's eve and day, Labor Day and Independence Day.  No one can use the excuse that they didn't know consequences and potential tragedy waiting to happen.

The only thing that will decrease the frequency of these horrific accidents is increasing the penalties for driving impaired.  Drunk driving should be treated like conspiracy to commit murder and in cases resulting in fatalities, murder one.  It should be treated the same way as possessing an assault weapon unlawfully just for DUI without incident.  They should be long-term prison sentences and they should have to register just like a sex offender.  There are no more excuses.  There are millions of examples to show the rest of us how terrible it can be and the ripple effect has touched every one of us in some way.

Enough is enough already.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STOP THE SELFISHNESS?

Those Left Behind: Their Suffering Will Go On Until…

The fool or the fool following the fool… Which is more foolish?

I'm getting extremely aggravated, a little pissed you might say. Selfishness has become an American Hallmark, magnified by an intense feeling of entitlement and the word "Deserve" has become a microcosm of every spoiled rotten American brat exemplified by pop culture and even mainstream news, which is only a version of reality TV, and a shadow of what it used to be when the news was simply the news.

My latest fit of rage (if you will) is again directed at professional sports and in specific… The National Football League. Pro football players, whether they like it or not have become a model of the dreams that young American boys place at the top of their wish list growing up in a nation of "me first" has become the paradigm of thinking that I believe is deteriorating every aspect of the American experience and it envelops every native-born American and every immigrant that comes to America with dreams of amassing personal wealth and free opportunity without investing in the present or future of a nation that offers these free opportunities and liberty.

The frustration that I'm feeling right now is sparked by professional athletes that ignore every bit of responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with the privilege of a rare and wonderful opportunity to live out their dreams of being professional athletes and becoming incredibly wealthy bringing on the chance to make indelible marks on our communities, our society and our legacy as American difference makers or at least the chance to be one.

Somewhere along the way, being a professional athlete has resembled more a right, rite of passage, or some kind of ordained liberty by players born with a unique set of skills separating them from the huge majority of us that do not possess the talent, physical stature or instincts to play pro sports at the highest level. Pro football as well as college, high school and even Pop Warner Little league, takes a lot of work to become better than most, and for the NFL players the work in preparation for their craft takes an enormous amount of focus and discipline to be one of the best and to be worthy of wearing the jersey for one of the 32 professional football franchises in the US.

Now, for some inexplicable reason, players believe that they're entitled in some way to play football and to be compensated with an incredible amount of money combined with endless opportunity for fame, notoriety and the other special treatment that often goes with this great privilege.

Just last night, at approximately 2:45 AM on a freeway in Irving Texas, two Dallas Cowboys football players (Josh Brent [driver] and Jerry Brown [passenger] chose to get into a motor vehicle, stupid drunk and drive on the same roads as other Texas citizens speeding far beyond the limit on this particular freeway. They made a choice and the choice turned out to be foolish, tragic and self-centered; Jerry Brown was killed and now Josh Brent must live with the lonely reality that he killed his best friend. But this is not a new story, not in the least. In the United States, there is a drunken driving fatality every 52 minutes and currently 28 NFL players with arrests for Driving Under the Influence of a mind altering substance in 2012. This is an epidemic like cancer, HIV AIDS and heart disease. Only drunk drivers causing "drunken driving deaths" is an epidemic with a 100% prevention rate and there are no innocent offenders unlike other epidemics. However, people decide to roll the dice with their own lives and the lives of others every day and the results are often unthinkably tragic. The only other results stem from pure stupid luck and relying on luck is a lousy way to avoid a problem that should never have become a problem in the first place. If there were anything fortunate in this story, it would likely be that this was a single car tragedy, not involving innocent drivers on the same freeway as these two drunken fools who believe the law doesn't apply to them.

28 NFL players arrested for DUI's in 2012

Another sad truth about driving under the influence of alcohol is that not everyone is fortunate enough to die after being devastated in an auto accident. Understandably, those left behind to mourn the ridiculous and unnecessary loss of a loved one are left to carry on with the pain that seemingly has no cure and sometimes people suffer until their day comes when they leave this world. Instead of merciful death, some victims are permanently paralyzed, or badly burned, or with amputated limbs, or head injuries leaving them unrecognizable to those that love them. Those people are left behind to live the lives of tragic disabilities; physical, mental, emotional, involving economical sometimes left to suffer great pain for the remainder of their lives because someone was so selfish their needs to drive themselves home was more important than anyone else's liberty to live life with an able body or mind. These horrible accidents don't just affect those involved directly in the horror of all motor vehicles crash. These accidents are like pebbles or boulders in a pond, leaving ripples that continued to affect everyone directly and indirectly involved with those who suffer from the selfish act of driving under the influence of some kind of mind altering substance. Many times, they results leave a victim hideously disfigured and so disabled they can never take care of themselves again without the assistance of another for even the most intimate and private tasks that a person must do on a daily basis.

Not everyone dies from these acts of narcissistic evil. Make no mistake, choosing to drive drunk is an act of evil, it's not just the serial killers, terrorists and child molesters who do evil. The motive may be different, but the results are just as tragic.

I guess I'm just a little bit in a rage, and why shouldn't I be? I keep thinking that something will happen terrible that will change it all and everyone will see exactly how horrible it is to drink and then get into a car, which might as well be a "death machine" and drive. I watched an Oprah Winfrey episode a few years back that I'll never forget, and ironically, I can't even drive a car. The story was about a beautiful Hispanic woman, named Jacqueline Saburidio. She and her two friends were simply driving home after a night of good clean, sober fun in 1999. A 20-year-old drunk driver in Texas decided to drive home rather than call a cab or a friend. The drunken young man drifted over the center line and smashed head-on into Jacqueline's car killing her two friends on impact, but Jacqueline was pinned in the front seat and burned. Firefighters said that she had a wall of fire deflecting off the twisted engine hood and torching her with white-hot flames for nearly 3 minutes. This wall of flames melted her hair, skin, nose, ears, eyelids and everything else from her waist up. She lost all of her fingers leaving stumps for hands and blinding her as her eyelids burned off in the Inferno. She woke up in Galveston hospital, blinding hallucinating. She still has no ears, nose, hair, breasts and most of her mouth has been charred leaving her to look like something out of a horror film. None of this was her fault, yet she is left with the pain and the despair forever, not to mention all the people that knew her still have to come to terms with such an insidious and horrific thing. She's regained a very small amount of her eyesight and has had hundreds of surgeries to try to replace some of the skin on her body and the physical therapy just to learn how to breathe, eat, drink and care for herself. Her father had to put eyedrops in her eyes dozens of times a day because she had no eyelids to blink. He had to watch his 20-year-old daughter suffer as she still suffers today and yet Jacqueline only allows herself to feel self-pity for five minutes a day. Five minutes a day… That's it. How's sorry for himself does Josh Brent feel now that he has killed his best friend Jerry Brown? How long will Jeremy Brent's self-pity last and how many minutes per day will he allow himself to feel the pity that Jacqueline denies herself because of her unshakable character? There was nothing special about the man that crashed into these three friends, driving down the road completely unaware that there was a 20-year-old young man who decided his needs were more important than anyone else's that night.

Jacqueline Sobaridio; The result of another's selfishness and stupidity.

Yet, still… People in America drive drunk every day, thousands of them if not more. What will it take and how many people need to suffer before the punishment will truly fit the crime? A better question, is there even a humane punishment to match the crime? What does that say about us if we create a punishment that truly fits the crime of ruining other people's lives? I guess we'll see, but the NFL made a small fuss about Josh Brent and Jerry Brown driving drunk at 2:45 AM on a night they were supposed to be preparing to play a football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Brent has been released from jail on a $500,000 bond and has been invited to the funeral services tomorrow for his close friend Jerry Brown, dead at 25 years old. This year to date, there have been 19 players arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. How many drove impaired and were lucky enough to make it home without injuring themselves or others, or worse… Dying because of it or killing an innocent victim our victims, unlucky enough to be on the road with a drunken driver?

What will it take and was all the selfishness worth it and more importantly… Why can't we seem to learn from the unnecessary tragedy, loss and grieving of others?

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The Shame and the Lame: Cheating and Cover-Up

THE SHAME OF IT ALL AND THEN TO LIE:

Is it all really worth it?

Seattle defensive corner, Brandon Browner, will begin serving his four-game suspension this Sunday, while teammate Richard Sherman awaits a response from his appeal with the league; both charged with violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, somehow allegedly allowing the drug Adderall into their system.

Both of these men have defied all reason and logic with their excuses of how Adderall may have been found in their urine samples, both analyzed on the same day. Browner has decided not to appeal the results of his drug test and will begin serving his four-game suspension immediately. He will be available for the playoffs, if the Seahawks indeed earn a playoff berth. Richard Sherman has appealed the result, claiming that he somehow accidentally ingested the drug Adderall, a pill that he claimed was crushed and put into a teammates beverage that he inadvertently drank not knowing the drug was in the glass. He has not indicated who's drank it may have been. By NFL rule, Sherman's suspension will not begin until his appeal has been heard which will give him the next two games to be eligible to play for the Seahawks vs. the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday and the Buffalo Bills in Toronto, Canada the week after. However, he will likely not be eligible to play the 49ers or the Rams in Seattle for the last two games of the regular season and if the Seahawks play in the postseason, Sherman will not be available to play, either.

These players have exhibited some of the most idiotic and selfish behavior in recent memory for the Seahawks. Brandon Browner has tested positive for performance-enhancing drug abuse before, but I did not expect this from Richard Sherman. What's more ridiculous was the excuse each player offered for why Adderall was found in their urine samples. Browner suggested that the laboratory mixed up his urine with another sample and Sherman explained that he may have taken a drink from a teammates beverage in the locker room or elsewhere that had been Adderall tablet crushed and put into the drink. I thought Sherman was smarter than that and at least I would have expected these two teammates would have compared stories before they talk to the press and invented a story that would be at least slightly believable. Two players, friends on and off the field, playing the same position on the same team testing positive for the same drug and they both explained that it may have happened in completely different ways? That's just not believable and now they both look like a couple of knuckleheads. Their story is rather humorous, but what is not so funny is that they have put their team in jeopardy by their stupidity.

Sherman and Browner have been heralded as two of the best coverage corners in the NFL and part of what NFL analysts have offered to be the best four defensive backs in football. Without Browner and Sherman, it will definitely make things more difficult, Seattle defense that has not played particularly well in the last three games. Fortunately, Seattle's offensive unit has improved and is beginning to put up higher scores in recent games. Russell Wilson has continued to improve from one game to the next and the wide receiving corps is actually beginning to become a strength of the team, not so much a liability as they have been for most of the year. Sidney Rice is looking much sharper and Golden Tate is finally coming into his own. Both have been pivotal in the last few games and they will be highly counted on as Seattle hopes to posture themselves for at least a wildcard spot in the playoffs this year. At 7-5, Seattle has already equaled the number of wins from 2011 when they finished the season 7-9. With three of their final four games at home in front of the home crowd at Centurylink, their chances of finishing with a winning season are highly likely and they will need to win at least two of those to have a chance in a very difficult NFC conference.

C'mon Rog… Stop It Already!

 

 IS THIS THE FUTURE OF THE NFL?

I have just about had it with the NFL league office.  Commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the sissies in charge of games safety are taking a sport that is inherently violent by nature and trying to make it safe and sound.  It reminds me of when I was a kid and they decided to make what they called "safe and sane fireworks.  I mean, does anybody really get excited by pinwheels or snakes or even smoke bombs?  If it doesn't go up or blow up, it's just not fun anymore.  If there's no imminent danger that you can blow off a finger or two or go blind from a (mini IED) made from a Whistling Pete, it just isn't fun anymore.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't say that I'm being slightly sarcastic, but C'mon Man… Tackle football is supposed to be a rough and tough sport.  The late great football legend Vince Lombardi said, "Dancing is a contact sport, football is a collision sport."  Lombardi was right and I think he would vomit in his mouth a little bit if he saw what the league office is trying to do to professional football.  The whole object of tackle football is for the offense to try to get into the end zone, and the defense to do anything to stop them including but not limited to; smashing, bashing, slamming, crashing, grabbing, pulling, tugging and torpedoing the player with the ball in order to stop him and hopefully separating him from the football.  In the days of Lombardi, heck… You could add; scratching, biting, gouging, twisting and ripping whatever you can get your hands on to beat your opponent and separating a player from his head.

Now, one immutable thing goes along with football at the college and professional level and that is that no one ever put a gun next to a players head and forced him to play tackle football (at least not that I know of).  Every one of these men voluntarily put on a football uniform and took the chance that he might be injured in one way or another.  I can't even imagine what players like;  Bronko Nagurski, Ray Nitchke, Jack Lambert or Jack Youngblood would think about the changes that are being made in the NFL to protect the players.  It makes me sick to watch them turn this great sport into powder puff, sissy stuff that is more suited for an afterschool special than Monday night football.

Think about the ridiculous changes that have been made in Pro football.  The horse collar tackle is now illegal.  You can't even tackle a player by the back of his jersey if it's towards his name on the Jersey.  In my opinion, the name on the Jersey is just another instructional to mean "Pull Here".  And don't even get me started on players with long hair that hangs down over there Jersey so far that you can't see the name and barely the number on the back of player jerseys.  I've watched players like Troy Polamalu and Stephen Jackson get tackled by their long braided whatever you call it (dreadlocks, cornrows, extensions) I can't keep track.  Anyway, the defensive player was actually penalized for an illegal tackle because he grabbed the player by the back of his jersey and got a fist full of hair!  I never thought I would see the day when football playing MEN would not only wear earrings, but in both ears and during football games.  It seems that wearing a long mane of hair has become cool, pretty or whatever word they're using now for ridiculous.  I just can't believe what's happening to the game and the men who play the game.  Between the dancing, hair and all the jewelry, it's getting harder to tell the difference between the NFL and the lingerie football league.

Other terrible changes to the game have occurred because of player safety; they have all but eliminated the kickoff from Pro football.  In order to promote a safer game, the kickoff at the beginning of the game, the second half and after each score has been moved from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line.  After moving the kickoff yard line to the 35, the number of touchbacks league-wide skyrocketed from 416 in 2010 to 1,120 in 2011.They have taken one of the most exciting plays in football almost completely out of the game.  The kickoff used to be one of the biggest momentum changing plays, but now it's almost as exciting as the PAT in the first quarter.

Some of the very significant changes to the game involved the quarterback.  They have all but put a pink skirt on NFL quarterbacks.  The NFL referees are now using the judgment of a kindergarten playground monitor every time a quarterback gets bumped or pushed in a hostile manner.  Quarterbacks can now run with the football and going to a hook slide to avoid being hit by an oncoming defender in the officials are expecting the defensive players to practically stop in midair to avoid hitting a quarterback as he begins his hook slide whenever he decides he's about to get smashed into smithereens and if touched, there is generally a 15 yard personal file for unnecessary roughness levied against the defender.  The words "unnecessary roughness" almost seems like an oxymoron in a game that was designed to be rough, and rough as possible, not just necessary.  Just this week Seattle Seahawks free safety, Earl Thomas, jumped in the air to knock down a pass from Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins.  As Thomas was coming down from his leap, he collided into Tannehill with his side, collided with Tannehill's shoulder pads and the side of his helmet.  Thomas leapt in the air to block the pass, not to tackle Tannehill, but still because he made contact with a quarterbacks upper body, he was penalized for unnecessary roughness and negating an interception in the end zone that could have changed the outcome of the game for Seattle.  The point?  They're just protecting the quarterback too much and giving the offense under unfair advantage and making it nearly impossible to play aggressive defense without the rest of playing "too hard".  Too hard?  I didn't think there was even such a thing as playing too hard.  I can completely understand that a player shouldn't spear and shouldn't try to hurt another player by helmet to helmet collisions, but they have allowed this safety subject to degrade the competitive nature of tackle football and it is ruining the sport in my opinion.

I keep wondering if NFL football is heading toward two hand touch or flag football in the future.  Concussions have become center stage in discussions about the violence in football, yet players seem to get faster, stronger, bigger and much more powerful from year-to-year.  The simple calculations of physics prove that with these statistics becoming more extreme, there will be more injuries, and many of those will be concussions.  The brain is a soft tissue organ that is floating in fluid and protected only by a skull made of bone.  Every time momentum travels in one direction and then stops or changes direction suddenly, bruising of the brain tissue is not only likely, it's a guaranteed.  I just don't believe there is a way to keep tackle football and make it safe.  The NFL has been promoting a campaign that they're trying to create a safer sport, but I think it's nothing more than a public relations move to protect the league from the 2000+ lawsuits filed by former NFL players who have suffered concussions during their careers and claim that the league office downplayed the dangers of concussions and not regulating the players activity after concussions have been sustained.  Being a former player myself, I can almost guarantee you that of those 2000+ players who have filed lawsuits, that over 90 percent of them would have begged and pleaded with their coaches to return to the field after being concussed are likely concussed.  Just recently, the sensational quarterback Robert Griffin III sustained a concussion and used every adjective possible to explain his confusion, lack of memory, loss of balance and lack of clarity except for using the word Concussion.  He wanted to play the next week and tried to use every bit of justification to claim that he was hit hard, but not concussed.  Griffin played the following week.  I contend that each of the players that are now suing the NFL, would have done exactly what Griffin did earlier in the season to get back on the field even though it was obvious that his brain was concussed after taking a very hard hit to the head on a running play where he approached the sidelines and was hit high in a helmet to helmet collision.  America is an extremely litigious country and NFL players, despite the large salaries that they are getting while playing, I'm not above suing a wealthy organization and deflecting blame in order to get a big payday.

All of the jokes and sarcastic comments that I have made in this post are only that it is ridiculous to suggest that it's possible to make tackle football safe.  The players are becoming supreme athletes, perfectly designed for speed and size.  I'm not a mathematician, not even close, but I know that there is a formula in physics that includes [mass times velocity and collision] and the outcome is rarely a peaceful one.  Former head coach John Gruden was asked about the game and the safety that the league is focusing on.  He was asked his opinion on the changes to the game and whether or not it was appropriate to require football players to focus on that attempt to make the game safer.  He said, "Football is a violent sport and it's not for everyone".  I agree with that statement. Each player is taking a risk that a violent sport like football could cause a serious injury, perhaps even life-threatening.  It's a voluntary activity and each player but chooses to play is accepting the risk while also being offered an awful lot of money to take that risk.  It's a free decision that must be weighed carefully and then a decision must be made and you must live with that decision. As a quadriplegic, ventilator dependent myself, I regret that I broke my neck playing baseball, but I don't regret playing sports… I just regret playing it recklessly and sacrificing my body for something that wasn't all that important.  If I played again, I would play much safer, but there are certain sports that can never be made safe unless you completely revolutionized the game and I believe the NFL is doing just that.  If they continue to change in the NFL rulebook the way that they are, the game will be unrecognizable to me and to a lot of people that watch it for the very reasons that they're trying to change the game.  It's a hard hitting, rough and tough game of gladiator type athletes attempting to win a game largely predicated on attrition and will.  If the game changing enough, I think the fans will begin to fade away, but that will remain to be seen.

"NFL football, tackle football… It's not for everyone… Each athlete must make a decision and injuries will always be part of the risk." -Brad Hobbs

SEAHAWKS COMING HOME TO THE C'LINK

Russell Wilson-Golden Tate-Sidney Rice (left to right)

SEAHAWKS' WILSON-TATE SHINE IN ROAD VICTORY BESTING CHICAGO' CUTLER & MARSHALL IN OT

The Seahawks return to Seattle after a road trip of "bad news, good news".  After the very disappointing defeat to the Dolphins in South Beach Florida, the Seahawks traveled to Chicago to play the Bears at Soldier Field.  While most NFL prognosticators chose Seattle to defeat the Dolphins, they in turn chose Chicago to dominate at home sending the Seahawks back to Seattle with their tail feathers between their legs.  Neither of those things happened as the Seahawks faltered to Miami and left Chicago victorious with an overtime victory and some very solid performances by quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receivers Golden Tate and Sidney Rice.  The Seahawks prevailed on the road which could very well be the confidence booster that their rookie quarterback needs as the team fights to make the playoffs and also to an entire offense that has largely depended on near-perfect play by its defense.  In Seattle's five road losses, they have never lost by more than a touchdown and their average deficit per loss is just over four points.  Each game, the Seahawks have been in a position to win, but just couldn't execute at the end of games on the road and therefore continue to struggle away from Centurylink Field and the rabid fans that make it virtually impossible to be Seattle on its home turf.  Beating the Bears was huge for the Seahawks, proving to everyone including themselves that they can beat a quality team like Chicago on the road.  Now, Seattle has been very favorable schedule playing the remainder of their games in Seattle, except for one road game in Buffalo.  Sin Francisco has slowed down and Arizona has lost consecutive games putting Seattle ahead of everyone in the NFC West except for the 49ers.  All three of the Seahawks division rivals will visit Seattle in the waning remainder of the regular season.  Losing to St. Louis, Arizona and San Francisco already on the road has put them in a must win situation now that they will play all three of those teams at home and hoping to erase the advantage that those teams have already defeating the Seahawks this year in their own stadiums.

Russell Wilson was magnificent in Chicago this week throwing very accurately and frustrating the Bears defense avoiding their blitzing and pass rushing schemes, running for first downs or finding open receivers downfield throwing on the run instead.  Wilson is avoiding the common rookie mistakes and is improving marvelously in each consecutive game this year.  His mistakes are reducing and his accuracy and passing proficiency is increasing exponentially. Wilson has thrown 19 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions, with a 63.4 pass completion percentage and 2,344 yards.  Through 12 games he carries a 95.2 quarterback rating and in the last four games has thrown for nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. He is continuing to impress and his confidence is growing just as his teammates confidence in him as a quarterback and leader is growing quickly.

Along with the improved play of Wilson, the wide receiver sets are beginning to be effective and receivers are making plays and catching passes.  Both Sidney Rice and Golden Tate have thrown touchdown passes and they're also beginning to create separation between themselves and defenders giving Wilson places to distribute the ball.  Doug Baldwin is beginning to emerge as his health improves and the timing with his quarterback is also beginning to show more and more each game.  The offensive line continues to be a problem, both with blocking coverage on passing plays as well as extremely untimely procedure penalties costing the Seahawks big plays and opportunities to keep the defense off the field for longer spells of rest.  Also, running back Marshawn Lynch is finding it harder to find blocking lanes, not allowing him to utilize his shiftiness in the defensive secondaries which is his forte.  Fortunate for Seattle, Lynch is usually able to create his own carries for positive yardage based purely on tough running and his tenacity for breaking tackles and gaming yardage after the point of impact.  His continued health is imperative if Seattle hopes to continue utilizing the running game to set up passing opportunities for their rookie quarterback.  Robert Turbin is a capable running back and hard runner, but he doesn't have the same ability to create yardage where there is none.  However, Turbin and Leon Washington are great change of pace runners to be used sporadically.

As Seattle prepares to play the Arizona Cardinals at the C'Link, it is important for Seattle to dominate the line of scrimmage and protect their quarterback better than they did in week one when they traveled to Glendale to play the Cardinals.  Arizona attacked Seattle's offense constantly with aggressive blitzing and a dominating bull rush pushing Seattle's offensive line off-balance and giving Wilson very little time to throw the football or for Lynch to establish any kind of running rhythm.  Also, the Cardinals have a stellar defensive secondary and it will be very important for Sidney Rice, Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin to give Wilson places to throw the football.  Also, when these receivers are not running routes or if they are not primary targets, they must block to take Arizona's talented corners out of the play, particularly on run support.  Patrick Peterson is very talented and it's important that he be forced to play honest.  That will require an effective play action scheme by Wilson and Lynch and also the tightends must be impeccable in their pass blocking and their block and release assignments.

X factor players this week vs. the Arizona Cardinals:

Doug Baldwin: Baldwin must get open immediately out of his breaks from the slot, giving Wilson quick targets and if he is not targeted, he must block to keep DB's busy.
Zach Miller: Miller must block the defensive and on Seattle's weak side.  Arizona has been very active defensive line and they will be coming at Russell Wilson just as they did 12 weeks ago. However, Wilson is no first game rookie any longer.
Michael Robinson: I think Robinson could be key in this game, not only as a blocker for Lynch, but also a dump off receiver if and when Wilson feels a lot of pressure up the middle.
Bruce Irvin: Irvin has been quieted over the last couple of games and it's time for him to emerge as a true threat on the edge.  Arizona doesn't have a dominant offensive line and they are vulnerable to fast edge rushers, and that's exactly what Irvin was drafted for.
James Carpenter:  Carpenter has been dinged up this year, and has faltered several times allowing bigger defensive tackles to beat him at the POA.  It's time for him to utilize his great size and deceptive speed to keep the heat off Russell Wilson and to open holes for Lynch to run through.  Arizona has a very good defensive football team in Seattle must utilize their strengths to compensate for what Arizona has done with their coaching and personnel changes.
Byron Maxwell/Walter Thurmond: Maxwell and Thurmond might be the most important players on the field this Sunday.  Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner still await a ruling by the NFL on their suspensions for using substances banned by the league (believed to be Adderall).  Both will likely receive four-game suspensions, but it is unknown when those suspensions will be levied.  Without Sherman and Browner, Seattle's defense will have huge holes, and huge shoes to fill.  Marcus Trufant has a hamstring injury and Juron Johnson is inexperienced and doesn't have the size to play the big receivers like perennial All-Pro Larry Fitzgerald.