Cardinals

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters last week, one of its most significant individual awards, even if the flaws with the voting process are highlighted annually. Plenty of players have legitimate gripes about being left off, including Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat, who had 11 sacks and led the league with four forced fumbles. 

“I’m upset because there’s only two individual things that you can get and it’s Pro Bowl and All-Pro,” Sweat said via ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “And I got one taken away from me. I’m just flat out saying it was taken away from me — and it ain’t the first time.”

Making the issue sting more for Sweat is the fact that he was the second-leading vote getter among edge rushers in fan voting, which is supposedly supposed to count as a third of the process. Votes from players and coaches make up the other two-thirds. 

“It’s like I don’t know what else I could have done at that point,” said Sweat. “I don’t know what else I could have done. Now previous years, maybe you could have said he didn’t have the popularity, maybe he didn’t get the fan vote. This year, I was second in fan voting for NFC. It’s like, what else did they want me to do? The popularity was there. You could say losing team. It didn’t matter; I had the popularity…”

Seahawks

Seahawks OLB Derick Hall‘s one-game suspension for stepping on Rams G Kevin Dotson was upheld this past week and he’ll be sidelined in Week 17 against the Panthers. However, Hall’s team has staunchly supported him, with HC Mike Macdonald telling reporters this past week, “I just really refuse to believe there was ill intent in that play.” 

“Just because we know Derick as a player, as a person,” Macdonald added via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “Since he’s been here, he’s been nothing but an A-plus-plus teammate, A-plus-plus football player and member of our community. It’s tough, so you feel for him. But we’ve got to pick it up for him while he’s gone.”

The clip of Hall stepping on Dotson isn’t as shocking as some other notable stepping incidents seen in the NFL from time to time, but his case to the appeals officer was unsuccessful. 

“I don’t know of my teammate Derick Hall as a dirty player, and I can’t imagine that he would intentionally try to hurt a player,” Seahawks DT Leonard Williams said. “From the film, it looked like he tried to step over the guy. We all jokingly are talking about it now, that everything Derick does looks strong. He’s just walking down the hallway looking strong. So even the way he stepped over the guy looked strong, and I guess kind of aggressive, but that’s just how we know of him as a person. I don’t think that he intentionally tried to hurt a player.”

• Seahawks DL Mike Morris was fined $6,170 for a late hit on a quarterback, and CB Riq Woolen was fined $17,389 for taunting.

Seahawks

The Seahawks were down 30-14 and had a 2.7 percent chance to win the game when WR/KR Rashid Shaheed had a huge punt return that DT Leonard Williams said changed the momentum of the game.

“Shid returning that punt was incredible,” Williams said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “You just felt the momentum swing. It was amazing. I keep seeing him in the locker room and just telling him that he brought us back into that game. He’s been a big key, bringing him on this team. He’s been a big factor in helping us win some games.”

“They’ve done a fantastic job,” Williams said of Seattle’s special teams. “It’s really incredible to see a team be great in all three phases. I think that’s really rare. We can count on the defense, we can count on the offense, we can count on special teams, and there’s been a lot of times where the special teams has straight up won games for us this year.”

“Our special teams unit has just been a massive catalyst for us,” HC Mike Macdonald added after the game.

Shaheed said the team worked on the return all week in practice and executed it in the game to change the tide.

“We’ve been focused on that left return, field return, all week,” Shaheed noted. “We knew that they had kind of a weak point with their special teams, and we were able to circle the punt team and make a big play.”