Calls to Fire Ken Norton by Seahawks Fans after Overtime Loss to Cardinals
The Seattle Seahawks' perfect start to the season came to an end with an overtime defeat against NFC West rivals Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.
Russell Wilson threw the third interception of his night with just over a minute left in overtime, allowing the Cardinals to set up the winning field goal, which Zane Gonzalez duly converted to give Arizona a 37-34 win.
It was an unusually wayward performance from Wilson, who had last thrown multiple interceptions in a regular season game in Week 1 of the 2018 season and had been intercepted more than twice in the same game only three times in nine seasons. If Wilson was uncharacteristically shaky, Seattle's defense was again borderline non-existent.
"Wilson made some mistakes tonight," FOX Sports NFL analyst Geoff Schwartz tweeted.
"But their defense is going to cost them a chance to win the Super Bowl. It's not good."
Wilson made some mistakes tonight. But their defense is going to cost them a chance to win the Super Bowl. It’s not good.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) October 26, 2020
Plenty of Seahawks fans agreed with Schwartz and called for defensive coordinator Ken Norton to be fired.
How many more weeks of this before Ken Norton is fired? It's been 3 years and it's pretty inexcusable#SEAvsAZ #Seahawks
— Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) October 26, 2020
Fire Ken Norton, Fire the Defense immediately
— LT (@longt2879) October 26, 2020
Nobody cares fire Ken Norton and trade for a pass rusher
— Maxwell🎃 (5-1) (@SpookyMetcalf) October 26, 2020
ken norton does not deserve to have a job
— bef jelgum (@playoffTRawls) October 26, 2020
If Ken Norton Jr. has a job tomorrow I'm done. He is gonna cost the Seahawks a super bowl with the way he calls defenses.
— Fighting4milk (@fighting4milk) October 26, 2020
Need to replace Ken Norton and trade for a pass rusher.
— Ian Cheshire 🌹 (@IanCheshire206) October 26, 2020
The Seahawks arrived in Arizona having allowed the most yards during their first five games of the season than any other team in NFL history since the 1950 Baltimore Colts, as per data from Elias Sports Bureau.
The worrying trend continued as Seattle allowed a staggering 519 yards to the Cardinals and failed to sack Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray, who completed 34 of his 48 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns, adding 67 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Significantly, the Seahawks were not credited with any quarterback hits, despite Murray's 50 dropbacks during the game.
Norton was the linebackers coach for the Seahawks' storied Legion of Boom defense but has been unable to replicate the same magic since he returned to Seattle to be the defensive coordinator from the 2018 season.
The Seahawks ranked 16th in total defense and 17th against the pass in his first season as defensive coordinator, but slumped to 26th and 27th in both categories last season, allowing an average of 381.6 total yards per game and an average of 263.9 yards through the air per game respectively.
So far this season, Seattle has allowed a league-worst 479.2 yards per game through their first six games of the season and ranks bottom of the league against the pass, allowing 368.7 yards through the air per game.
Worryingly for the Seahawks, their defense is undermining their sterling offensive efforts.
After years of having their colors firmly tied to the running game mast, the Seahawks have, to borrow a familiar refrain of the early weeks of the season, "let Russ cook."
Wilson leads the league in touchdown passes and passer rating, ranks second in passing yards per game and fourth in completion. However, some Seahawks fans believe their team's shaky defense could ultimately undermine Wilson's brilliance this season.
The fact that we have to go into every game and expect the offense to play perfect football because Ken Norton is a garbage DC...
— Justin (@jtwes12) October 26, 2020
Not really, Russ played great and some mistakes. Your defense should be able to stop something. They played horribly again and Ken Norton Jr needs to be fired IMMEDIATELY
— Baconator (@TheBaconator77) October 26, 2020
Despite the loss in Arizona, the Seahawks remain top of the NFC West at 5-1, one game ahead of the Cardinals and two ahead of the Los Angeles Rams, followed by the San Francisco 49ers at 4-3.
San Francisco may be bottom of the NFC West division but is on a two-game winning streak and arrived in Seattle on Sunday afternoon with a perfect 3-0 record on the road this season.
