Seahawks will pack lunch pail for Cardinals

As the Seattle Seahawks rallied in the season’s second half, it has been popular to suggest that this team has a new identity.

If it indeed wears a new face, it carries a combative snarl, a few bruises and some blood – probably not its own.

More important than the fact that tough teams are fun to watch is the reality that tough guys don’t take games off. They don’t quit work early. They can’t afford to.

These days they call the behavior “swag,” apparently because they’re too tough to waste another syllable to say “swagger.”

And when they face a team with a similar image and aspirations, the game is rarely for the meek.

So, when the Seahawks face the Arizona Cardinals this afternoon in Glendale, Ariz., no playoff berths will be at stake, and the best either can finish is 8-8 and second in their division.

But don’t think it’s meaningless or irrelevant. In fact, it could be a swag-filled afternoon.

You want to tell secondary guys like Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner, Richard Sherman or newly minted Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas that it’s not important how they defend Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald?

Fitzgerald has abused Seahawks secondaries for years with his size and superlative athleticism. But Chancellor, Browner and Sherman are all at least 6-foot-3. And Thomas refuses to realize he’s 5-10.

The challenge that Fitzgerald presents is one of the reasons this towering secondary was convened in the first place.

On the offensive line, meanwhile, the guys who have been injury fill-ins get another 60 minutes on film to make their case for positions next season.

Running back Marshawn Lynch? He might not stop pumping his legs and running into things until late February.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson played about half the season with a torn pectoral muscle. He’s feeling better now, but his case to be the team’s leader heading into next season has been less than convincing – especially after a late fumble in last week’s loss to San Francisco.

That loss could be further fuel for the entire team today.

Consider this snapshot of rookie receiver Doug Baldwin following that game: After nearly all of the Seahawks solemnly met their media obligations, had showered, dressed and left the locker room, Baldwin was still at his cubicle, head in hands, in full uniform.

That’s no feeling to take into the offseason.

If anything, the Cardinals are on a better second-half upswing than the Seahawks, going 6-1 after a 1-7 start.

“It’s a division game against two teams that have a lot of things to be excited about for next year,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “So if you can’t get up for that type of game, then you shouldn’t be playing. Hopefully it will be a good matchup and we’ll come out on top.”

Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said the strong finish was the dividend paid for staying focused on improvement during the 2-6 start.

“We went through that tough phase where we lost some games, but we were focused on creating a standard,” Bradley said. “Play at a high level, every game, trying to improve what we did from the week before. We talked that the wins would come if we just keep pushing, keep going for that standard.”

And the standard doesn’t change with the postseason out of the picture.

“Our whole thing is competition,” said tight end Zach Miller. “We’ve still got a game ahead of us and we’re going to do whatever we can to win it. We play hard because that’s our core belief, that’s the attitude of our football team.”

Bradley promised that his defense would “play hard and fast on Sunday” because “it’s the mindset they developed throughout the year.”

You can practically see it on their faces.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@thenewstribune.com