Good afternoon, 12s.
Here's a look at what's "out there" for today - Wednesday, Dec. 9 - about your Seattle Seahawks:
Seahawks Offense Showing Improvement
It's no secret that the Seahawks offense has been performing better the past few weeks than it did at the beginning of the year, but ESPN.com's Mike Sando takes a look at where that improvement ranks relative to the rest of the League (Insider).
Sando compiled the five offenses and defenses that have shown the most statistical improvement from the first six games to the last six games, and the Seattle offense comes in at No. 2 behind the Kansas City Chiefs. Sando used expected points added (EPA) per game as his metric of choice and calculated how many spots each unit moved up or down from its first six games to its last six games. The Seahawks offense ranked 23rd in games one through six, but has jumped 21 spots to rank 2nd in games seven through 12. That plus-21 change boosted Seattle from a bottom 10 offensive unit to a top 10 offensive unit and was the second-largest gain of any offense in the NFL.
Here's what Sando had to say about the Seahawks' offensive resurgence:
There was a good chance this would happen, but logic said Marshawn Lynch and Jimmy Graham would be part of the Seahawks' usual late-season offensive resurgence. Quarterback Russell Wilson has been the driving force, in part because his offensive line is giving him a chance now that the team finally moved Patrick Lewis into the lineup at center. Wilson's abilities as a pocket passer, appreciated by some but not all, have been on display lately. He has completed 59 of 69 passes (85.5 percent) from the pocket over the past three games, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions on those throws.
Taking it a step further, fellow ESPN.com NFL Insider Matt Bowen breaks down the many dimensions of Russell Wilson, whose recent play has the Seahawks "rolling into the playoff push." Here's what Bowen concludes about the Seahawks quarterback:
Yes, Wilson is showing major improvements when throwing the ball from inside of the pocket and he is dicing up defenses when they send pressure. Add that to the multiple dimensions he brings to the position and the Seahawks are set up to make a serious push here over the last month of the season. But we have to remember that Wilson is still developing and going through the steep learning curve that comes with playing quarterback in this league. He is far from a finished product. The recent run is great. Now let's see him continue that development even more.
Brock Huard's Chalk Talk
https://youtu.be/SfESSq0rfDM
Former University of Washington and Seahawks quarterback turned football analyst Brock Huard shares his latest 'Chalk Talk' segment at 710Sports.com breaking down Russell Wilson's 53-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin from this past weekend's win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Tweet Of The Day
Today's "Tweet of the Day" comes from Sando, who shares what Wilson's numbers look like over the past three games on throws to wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett.
More From Around The Web
Here at Seahawks.com, digital media reporter John Boyle doles out honors for the third quarter of the 2015 regular season and answers 12s' Twitter questions in his weekly Seahawks Q&A.
Here's a look at how the Seahawks' NFC West rivals fared in Week 13.
Peter King at TheMMQB.com puts the Seahawks at No. 5 in his latest 'Fine Fifteen,' adding the comment, "Visions of the 2013 postseason dancing in my head when I saw the rout of the Vikings at Minnesota. No matter how many times the league tries to stick a fork in the Seahawks, they keep coming back strong."
Tom Pelissero at USA Today tries to identify the secret to Seattle's strong finishes to seasons under coach Pete Carroll.
Sheil Kapadia at ESPN.com answers five questions about the Seahawks' playoff scenarios.
Gregg Bell at the Tacoma News Tribune says Pete Carroll's faith in assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tom Cable is paying off.
Dave Boling at the Tacoma News Tribune highlights the play of Seahawks rookies Frank Clark, Tyler Lockett, and Thomas Rawls.
Danny O'Neil at 710Sports.com shares highlights from his latest 'Hawk Talk' chat with fans.
Neil Paine at FiveThirtyEight.com wonders if the Seahawks have what it takes to get back to the Super Bowl.
And a pair of Seahawks appear in this NFL.com article touting players who need more Pro Bowl votes. You can cast a ballot for your favorite Seattle players at Seahawks.com/ProBowl.
D*id I miss anything you think is worthy of inclusion? Let me know on Twitter *
Team photographer Rod Mar went with the Seahawks on their business trip to Minnesota and had this perspective of the team's exciting 38-7 win over the Vikings in Week 13.