11/26/2024
"At no time in the last few years did it feel as much like the LOB era as it did when the Cardinals faced 4th & 1 midway through the third quarter from Seattle’s 40. It was a fairly obvious go-for-it situation, especially when you have a squirrelly quarterback like Murray, a bone-breaking running back in James Conner, and two excellent receiving options in Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison. But they were only in that position because Byron Murphy and Jarran Reed stuffed Conner on 3rd & short, setting the stage for their masterpiece.
On the 4th down play, Murray took the snap and saw Devon Witherspoon crashing down on him from his right. Murray pulled the ball down and waggled to his throw side, getting around the blitz and into the flat. Initially it looked like Kyler would be able to sprint for a first down but Witherspoon displayed an outlandish full-speed change of direction, racing down the line of scrimmage to meet him. Sensing this, Murray cocked his arm to throw but Seattle’s coverage filled his lane. He pumped once before lobbing one downfield as Witherspoon chased him out of bounds. It was too late.
There was nothing but hounds of hell waiting for Kyler’s pass and the demon who snagged it was none other than Coby Bryant, whose third-year breakout continues with his move to safety. Bryant picked the ball off and began weaving back up the field. There was only one Cardinal with a chance to stop him but he got sealed off, somehow, by Witherspoon. From there, it was just a matter of watching Bryant fly down the field before paying homage to Marshawn Lynch with an airborne testicular display at the goal line.
Even a day later, I still don’t quite understand how Devon did everything he did on that play, which is how I felt about Earl Thomas almost weekly during the glory days. We tend to talk about great coordinators in terms of their scheme but what has always stood out to me about Macdonald’s defenses is his weaponization of his best players— and Devon Witherspoon is a nuclear warhead."
The latest Cigar Thoughts are up after a massive win to put the Seahawks back in 1st place.
The Seattle Seahawks played their best defensive game of the season, beating the Arizona Cardinals 16-6 to reclaim 1st place in the NFC West.
