What we learned: Week 15

Before we get to the lessons that could be drawn from this past Seahawks game, I would like to talk a little about an injustice that has occurred in college football.

This has nothing to do with Notre Dame though to be honest, I can understand why Irish fans are wondering why they were left out of a 12-team playoff and Alabama is in.

The Tide have one more loss than Notre Dame does, and Alabama lost to a Florida State team that is significantly worse than anyone the Irish were beaten by.

The thing that I find most brutally unfair is what happened to Washington State. No, I know the Cougs well enough to know they don’t want sympathy from anyone let alone a smug Husky such as myself.

I also know that listening to people argue that the playoff system should be changed yet again is proof of something I’ve always believed: the sport of college football — which I am passionate about — is specifically unsuited to a national playoff format.

That hasn’t stopped the power brokers in the sport from overhauling the sport over the past two years with disastrous results to programs like Oregon State and Washington State.

Instead of droning on, I’ll just ask a question: Do you like this set-up better?

1.  Nick Emmanwori is a throbbing headache for opponents.

   Technically, a safety. Spiritually, a linebacker. Footwork, good enough to cover Justin Jefferson immaculately on this play in Week 13. Here’s what Seattle’s rookie really is: a menace. He blitzes. He covers. He is a 6-foot-3, 220-missile who came roaring off the edge in Atlanta on field-goal block last week, dove, wne with his left hand reached up to smack the ball. Then, a few minutes later in that same quarter, he performed a back body drop on Falcons running back Tyson Allgeier.

2. The Seahawks’ not-so-secret strength.

   When I first began covering the NFL in 2005, it was fashionable to refer to special teams as “hidden yardage.” This was an attempt to look beyond the splashy returns and back-breaking mistakes to see the smaller increments of field position that punting and good coverage units could provide. Well, none of that is hidden in today’s game, and so far this season, the Seahawks have excelled in large part because of excellent kick returns in a season where the new rules have prompted a spike in kickoff returns. Seattle ranks sixth in the league in average yards per kickoff return, second in punt returns and is one of only three teams in the league to have scored on both.

3. The Seahawks can wait an opponent out.

   Sunday wasn’t Seattle’s first blowout. The Seahawks have made a habit of jumping on opponents early this season. What made the 28-point victory in Atlanta noteworthy was that this time, Seattle’s scoring binge came in the second half. The game was 6-6 at halftime, then Rasheed Shahid returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Seahawks defense followed that up by forcing a turnover on each of Atlanta’s next two possessions and the rout was on.

1. Was that Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s best game?

   I’m not speaking of statistics here because Smith-Njigba finished with 92 yards receiving, his third-fewest of any game this season. However, the degree of difficulty is worth noting because of how frequently he was matched up against A.J. Terrell, a premier cornerback. Entering the game, Terrell was one of four players in the NFL who had played more than 300 snaps in coverage and not allowed a touchdown. In fact, NFL’s advanced stats listed him with 590 snaps in coverage. Well, Smith-Njigba found himself matched up with Terrell on 22 snaps Sunday. He was targeted seven times on those snaps, resulting in five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown.

2. Is Seattle’s defense going to get better?

   It should when you consider the Seahawks have been missing a pair of starters in safety Julian Love and defensive tackle Jarran Reed, both of whom returned in the victory over Atlanta. The Seahawks are deeper than they have been at any point this season when you consider the opportunities that DL Brandon Pili and S Ty Okada got while those two were out. It will be worth watching how coach Mike Macdonald packages his defensive personnel going forward.

3. Has Seattle curbed its turnover tendencies?

   The Seahawks have committed three turnovers over the past two games, though one of those was due to Tariq Woolen fumbling away a ball he’d picked off from Minnesota’s rookie quarterback. Sam Darnold lost one fumble to the Vikings and was picked off in Atlanta when he threw what was a contested pass to tight end Elijah Arroyo. That’s better, but it still feels like an adventure when Darnold holds onto the ball.