SEATTLE — The Seahawks entered this week on top of the NFC West - alone in first place.
Head coach Pete Carroll allowed himself to revel in it after Sunday's win over the Charges, if only for a split second, saying, "Who'd a thunk it?"
And then he cracked the slightest of smiles.
Who'd a thunk it?
Who'd a thunk 32-year-old Geno Smith would be the key to a one of the highest scoring offenses in the league.
Who'd a thunk the oldest guy on the team, 35-year-old Al Woods, would anchor a defense that has flipped the script the last two weeks. A script that once read like a Halloween slasher movie complete with defensive bodies strewn about in multiple states is now starting to read like a holiday classic. A down-on-its-luck defense has its spirits boosted by the jolly old Woods; Only he comes bearing gifts of knowledge, confidence and trust.
Woods and Smith each had slow starts to their NFL careers.
Smith was drafted in the second round by the Jets in 2013. His career fell into a downward spiral due to injuries, including one from a punch thrown by a teammate that knocked him out of action for 10 weeks with a broken jaw.
No one dared throw a punch at the 6 foot, 3 inch 330-pound Woods, but he too had to pick himself up off the canvas after the Saints drafted him in the fourth round in 2010, cutting him before the season even started. Woods bounced around to several teams in his first two years, including a stint with the Seahawks in 2011 that lasted all of two games.
Fast-forward to present day, where these two almost forgotten NFL soldiers have revived their careers. The Seahawks' two oldest starters are leading by example with their work ethic and character, two huge traits that too often have become afterthoughts in today’s society.
Pete Carroll said this about Geno following Sunday's win over the Chargers.
"He's different than he was," Carroll said. "You can put a label on somebody for what he was, and then you miss the whole chance to understand this guy."
Pete went on to describe Geno as a man “living in an elevation of poise."
An elevation of poise. Much like this Seahawks team. Much like their head coach.
Through the first five games this season, Carroll got bombarded with questions that almost always started with the words, “what’s wrong with?”
Now, it’s more about what’s right and what’s left, as in 10 games on the schedule.
To a man, each player said pump the brakes. We’ve played seven games.
That didn’t stop the NFL from releasing a playoff bracket this week that lists the Seahawks as the third seed in the NFC.
Though it is somewhat laughable, you can’t blame Pete if somewhere privately he’s cracking the slightest of smiles.