SEATTLE — Just to be clear: The "D" in DK Metcalf's name is not short for Defiant.
It would be understandable if you thought that after his Wednesday news conference, though.
If you were expecting contrition for prompting yet another emotionally-charged penalty last Sunday, a propensity that has become super-glued to his reputation, you got the opposite. In fact, based on Metcalf's responses, the only thing fans should expect is for the flags to keep coming.
Some background, for those who need catching up.
DK led all NFL receivers in penalties in 2021 with seven, three of which were for 15 yards (one offsetting). Last year, he led all receivers in penalties with eight, three of which were for 15 yards. And though he has said in the past that he needs to get better at harnessing his emotions — that he doesn't want to hurt the team — he leads all receivers in penalties this year with five, four of which have been for 15 yards (one offsetting).
Yes, Metcalf is on pace for 17 flags this season, and so far, 80% have been the most costly kind. He said the unnecessary roughness penalty he incurred in Cincinnati on Sunday was the result of him continuing to block Cam Taylor-Britt after not hearing the whistle, but if that was a "block," then Muhammad Ali is the greatest blocker of all time.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said that there's a board he put up during Monday's meeting that listed the most heavily penalized players in descending order, and Metcalf's name is right at the top.
DK's response?
"It's just a board to me. I'm not going to change the way I play. I mean, if you look at the penalties, there's a taunting, an unnecessary roughness, face mask, holding, and I think it was one more in there. So I'm doing pretty good if I look at it and judge myself."
Um ... I'm not exactly sure what Metcalf was trying to get across there. Perhaps it was a middle-finger approach to the line of questioning. Or maybe he feels that, in isolation, none of the penalties was egregious. I'm pretty sure I know how most Seahawks fans heard that, though: I've committed a major penalty every game and I'm totally cool with it.
Here's another query from a media member:
Do you feel like any of the personal foul penalties have been a case of you getting caught up in the moment too much?
Answered Metcalf, who is likely to be fined for the fifth time in five games: "Have you had a bad day at work sometimes?"
Of course.
"OK, so that's just all I'll nail it down to. Nobody's perfect. I'm my own person. I'm a competitive person. I'm not going to shy away because he put a penalty board screen on me. I'm just going to continue to be me."
Here's one more.
You've said before that you don't want to hurt the team and want to be able to channel your emotions. Do you feel like you've made progress there?
"I'm just going to leave that up to everybody else," said Metcalf, whose 3-2 Seahawks host the 1-5 Cardinals on Sunday. "I don't feel like I was a problem or I need to make progress in a certain area. Football is a violent sport and it's my one opportunity to be violent on game days; I'm just going to continue to do that."
For what it's worth, if you go back and look through each of Metcalf's penalties over the past three years, none seemed to have had an impact on the outcome. But this is a little like saying that someone who drives 100 mph down the freeway every night has never caused an accident.
Eventually, one of these penalties is going to have an unmistakable effect on the result. And even if Metcalf is concerned internally, he isn't expressing it publicly.
Wednesday, future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner said that he regularly reminds Metcalf that the officials are watching him more vigilantly than other players. Maybe. But if you go through each penalty DK has committed this season, it's hard to think that there's anyone else in the league who would have been spared a flag.
Bottom line: No. 14 has a problem and isn't getting better. Doesn't sound like it will anytime soon, either.
Metcalf's most famous moment came against this Sunday's opponent, when he caught up with safety Budda Baker on a would-be pick-six. Seems only a matter of time before his penalties catch up to him.
