Instant reaction: Battered Seahawks swept by Rams

Pete Carroll’s opening statement in his post-game press conference summed it up: “This was a day you want to forget.”

In a season containing a few ugly performances, this felt like the worst.

The Seahawks were sloppy, reckless, bruised and a bit unlucky. A key touchdown drive by the Rams to make it 23-10 was punctuated by two fortunate fumble recoveries. To be fair, Seattle didn’t really deserve any luck today. They were beaten 23-17 and it’s a flattering score.

There were just too many mistakes. A fumble returned for a Rams touchdown to make it 10-0 started it. Seattle never found any rhythm or a running game. It always felt like they were swimming upstream. When you see Richard Sherman getting torched by Kenny Britt for a score — you know it’s going to be a bad day. There were three turnovers by the offense.

St. Louis did what they always do against the Seahawks. They blitzed, they were physical, they were intense. There were multiple concussions involving players on both teams. With very little to play for other than the #6 seed — Seattle didn’t match their opponents intensity or efficiency.

The ever growing injury list didn’t help. Without Russell Okung the Seahawks had a tough day protecting Russell Wilson. It seriously impacted the quarterback in a performance reminiscent of his early season struggles. Wilson was constantly flustered — scrambling into pressure, not trusting the protection, holding the ball too long. For what felt like the first time in his career — he looked clearly injured after this battering.

It wasn’t just the absence of Okung. Aaron Donald is legitimately one of the best players in the NFL. Garry Gilliam had his worst game in a few weeks. Patrick Lewis tossed a snap over the head of Wilson for a six-yard loss early in the game. His daisy-trimmer in the fourth quarter on 3rd and two essentially ended the game — forcing a punt after a major loss. The Seahawks still had time to fight back — that ended any hopes of a dramatic late win.

Carroll has been quick to praise the O-line in recent weeks. It was a different story after the game today: “We didn’t block very well today. When we run for 60 yards, we’re in bad shape at the line of scrimmage.”

Historically it’s an impactful game. Seattle’s 25-game run of 100-yards rushing came to an end. A run of 63 games where they had a lead comes to an end. Wilson had a lead in every game he’s played in the NFL — until today. The Rams won in Seattle for the first time since October 2004.

Seattle made mistakes while Case Keenum barely put a foot wrong. Who expected that? Keenum didn’t even come close to a bad decision. When he took shots they were calculated. He managed his offense perfectly. The Seahawks didn’t really pressure him in any way.

Pete Carroll is without doubt one of the best coaches in the league — but Jeff Fisher is his arch nemesis. Nobody discombobulates the Seahawks quite like Fisher. Carroll and his staff were again out-coached by Fisher’s crew. Two poorly judged challenges highlighted a bad day at the office. Rams fans must be wondering how their team can sweep the Seahawks and win in Arizona — and be so decidedly below average the rest of the year.

The Seahawks end with a 5-3 record at Century Link Field. Previously teams have been swallowed up in a vacuum of noise and brilliant defense. This year several teams have played their best football in Seattle. Is the challenge of the Clink actually giving opponents a psychological edge? Is every trip to Seattle seen as a chance to make a statement? It might not be a bad thing that the Seahawks are going on the road in the playoffs and could be seen as the underdog.

On a day when the Steelers put their playoff hopes in major jeopardy losing to an injury-ravaged Baltimore team — there is some comfort that the Seahawks are already in the post-season. However, with a tough trip to Arizona next week there is some danger Seattle will limp into the post-season (maybe literally) after back-to-back defeats.

They won’t face Aaron Donald in the post-season. Green Bay and Carolina both lost in disappointing fashion today. You’re feeling pretty good if you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan today. The Seahawks need to get healthier and find the kind of bite they showed in Minnesota.

The margin for error evaporated after a 2-4 start and Seattle’s fate isn’t impacted too much by this loss. It might be a good thing to re-focus minds and come out swinging next week. The Seahawks had a wretched performance in week 16 of the 2013 season. They didn’t play much better the following week either. But they won the Super Bowl. They can’t afford to play like this again though — or it’ll be a short-lived playoff campaign.

150 Comments

  1. chris

    I keep hearing how great our d-line is ,but I think they are very over rated. not one sack and very few pressures and it has been that way for a few weeks now.

    • Rob Staton

      There wasn’t much pressure today but it’s hard to impact the game when you’re constantly losing the field position battle, playing from behind and facing a well organised offense. I suspect if people watched 25 other teams as regularly as the Seahawks they’d appreciate the consistency with which this D-line plays.

    • Mike B.

      Well, the Rams O-line has been one of the best this year–they’ve allowed the fewest sacks. Even the few blitzes the Seahawks ran didn’t accomplish much. Seattle decidedly lost the battle on both lines of scrimmage.

    • Robert

      Michael Bennet’s toe injury could be a big factor that diminishes his dominating play for the rest of this season. Not trying to be overly dramatic, but this is a very real possibility.

  2. chris

    also its real bad when a dome team plays a cleaner game in the rain than a team from seattle.

  3. lil'stink

    I don’t often go back and watch the all-22 after a painful game like this but I will tonight. Kelcie McCray looked good early but I lost track of him as the game wore on. I’m starting to think that Kam won’t be back next year if a halfway decent replacement is currently on our roster.

    As bad as the OL was it looked like Wilson struggled as well. Running into sacks and holding onto the ball for too long. Even without Robert Quinn odds are that their defensive line would be able to pressure our QB all game long, especially with no Okung. Not sure if more of the blame was on Wilson or Bevell, but it’s not all on the OL.

    • Rob Staton

      “I’m starting to think that Kam won’t be back next year if a halfway decent replacement is currently on our roster.”

      I wouldn’t expect this to happen.

      • Robert

        Kam is in a weird spot. He looks like an absolute idiot if he holds out again and he looks like an absolute idiot if he doesn’t hold out.

        • Rob Staton

          I sense a mutual and modest adjustment with little fanfare.

    • Rik

      It did seem like Russell reverted in this game. Where were the quick passes, the emphasis on getting the ball out of the QB’s hands in 2.5 seconds. Everything just took way too long on offense. Russell also overthrew receivers and threw some high balls that let receivers take some big hits.

      O line did suck today, too.

      • Nick

        Dude, he reverted because of the O-line getting dominated by one of the most talented D-lines in the game.

        • Rik

          Yep, I understand that our O line was totally dominated today. That means the quarterback has to commit to getting the ball out of his hands more quickly. Which didn’t happen. Dude.

          • lil'stink

            Yup. He just looked off today with his accuracy and decision making. Yes, the OL stunk, but people always seem willing to give Wilson a free pass.

            • Amar

              It’s not like he is throwing to open WRs all the time. The other team is there to cover as well. A lot of times those quick routes were taken away by the defense. In any case, there were still some quick throws that RW made that kept the chains moving.

              All in all, when you have two fumbles lost and two other fumbles on bad snaps (essentially these were turnovers as well – first bad snap made it 2nd and 16, and then 3rd and 1 that led to a TD fumble recovery for STL; second bad snap came on a KEY 3rd and 2 late in 4Q), and yet you are still in the game, you didn’t do terribly wrong.

              Don’t underestimate the loss of Luke Willson – showed up in pass blocking + hawks had to get away from their 2 “real” TE sets that they like to run quite a bit (they did use Jeanpierre as an extra TE a bit).

            • hawkdawg

              I thought Wilson did very well given very trying circumstances. And I think his offensive line teammates should return their Christmas presents from him. Embarrassingly bad performance.

              Wilson is human. A human can’t get the crap beat out of him endlessly without getting shy in the pocket and bolting to save his life and limb. There are very few QBs who could have operated better than Wilson behind a line like that.

              That is not a “free pass,” but simply reality. If we want a QB who plays like Wilson played in the last 5 games before this one, we need to protect him. When we don’t, he will fight to the end, and his stats today were very good given what he was facing, but it won’t be as pretty, or as successful in the long term.

              • Amar

                Very well said, hawkdawg – especially the last sentence.

                It just frustrates me that some people in this comments section are saying after today’s performance that RW has regressed. C’mon man!

                He played with Cooper Helfet as his ONLY TE for more than 2.5 quarters.

              • AlaskaHawk

                I agree with you hawkdawg. That is why I will continue to support getting two more offensive linemen early in the draft. They need more competition and quality backups for the line. I won’t get into a big argument about who should stay or go, to some extent the free agent market will determine that.

                The other thing is that there weren’t a lot of receivers for Wilson to throw to. No tight ends, no Graham, Lockett was hurt for awhile. It was pretty much the Baldwin and Kearse show. They performed well considering it was just the two of them. We need to draft a few more receivers, and at least one of them needs to be a big bodied tight end. Graham will never play the tight end position and the others aren’t up to the task.

                Lastly, I can’t wait for Marshawn Lynch to come back. Need lots of help in the running game. Of course it starts with blocking.

                • Rob Staton

                  “That is why I will continue to support getting two more offensive linemen early in the draft.”

                  But who?

  4. RealRhino2

    Rob, thank you for allowing that Russ didn’t play all that well today. You may have been right last week, when you suggested that I was expecting too much when I was critical of his play vs. the Browns, but I feel like there were the same problems, just different results because the Browns are not as good. In other words, his regression to early-season form started last week, it’s just that the stats covered it up a bit.

    The OL is clearly part of the problem, but a good QB has to handle poor protection better than Russ did today. Checkdowns, stepping up in the pocket instead of turning your back on the action, moving to the side away from pressure rather than into it, etc. The jump ball to Lockett he had a TE that was about 9-11 yards downfield and wide open, nope. Jump ball instead. At least three sacks were on Wilson. That last fumble on a run was just no-situational-awareness dumb.

    I would never say that we are average because Wilson is average, but to be very good we have to have Wilson play better, even when the OL struggles.

    • Rob Staton

      “…his regression to early-season form started last week, it’s just that the stats covered it up a bit.”

      I couldn’t disagree more with this. Wilson played a fantastic game last week. Today, with the pass protection back to its early season worst, his performance suffered. Not a big surprise. I’m not sure how anyone can look at last weeks performance against Cleveland and suggest that was anything other than another terrific display.

      • CharlieTheUnicorn

        He also was behind the sticks, due to penalties or fumbles a few times.. making his job even harder. I thought he got out of the pocket too early a few times, but after taking some big hits… I completely understand why he was running. He also lost Lockett and Willson for multiple plays, which took away some weapons to threaten the defense vertically and horizontally.

    • Michael M.

      The one thing I can agree with here is how stupid that Run/Fumble by Russell was. There was a clear path to the sideline (not sure if it was inside of 5 minutes or not for clock purposes), and a minimal upside to be gained by cutting it back into the field for a few extra yards. RW doesn’t need to be taking that hit unless there is at least a crucial first down to be gained. This has got to be a case of “trying to do too much”. The rookie version of Russell Wilson didn’t even make these kind of mistakes.

    • Amar

      Are you serious? How did Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton and Tom Brady played on Sunday?

      Yes, RW didn’t have his best game today even with 2 fumbles lost, 2 other fumbles (bad snaps) that were essentially turnovers as well, we lost by 6 points.

      What game were you watching last week vs. the Browns?? In essentially 7 true drives, hawks scored 30 points.

      RW was on a historic pace the last 4-5 games and one OK game and you jump on him? If not for the holding penalty wiping out the big gain to Kearse in the 2nd to last drive, RW would have thrown for over 300+ yards with 2 TDs and one INT that was essentially a punt on a 3rd and 19.

      And you do realize for about a quarter or so, he was playing with Kevin Smith as his WR3 and for more than 2.5 quarters his ONLY TE was Cooper “iron hands” Helfet?

      The OLine – Okung was playing quite possibly the best defensive player in the game (this year Donald has been better than JJ Watt) and quite possibly a top 1-2 defensive line in the game (Jets, STL).

      It happens. RW didn’t have his best game but I’d gladly take a “bad” game in your opinion if that means he throws for 290 yards with two TDs and not to mention he was the ONLY run threat we had in the game today.

      Jeez.

      • AlaskaHawk

        Was Okung even playing? I thought Bailey took his spot.

        • Amar

          That should be read “OLine Minus Okung” – my bad.

  5. Justin

    The past 5 weeks have given the illusion that we could continue into the future with our current offensive line. The Rams crushed that illusion today. Okung is a league average OT even when healthy and will probably command over 8M in FA, considering Carpenter got close to 5M/year and is a lesser guard. I think he’s as good as gone. I’m not a fan of Sweezy with his combination of penalties and poor pass protection and I feel his ceiling is an average guard. He could easily walk as well.

    Huge proponent of going offensive line in the first two rounds this year.

    • Rob Staton

      If anything, IMO, today’s struggles minus Okung are a big argument for retaining him at all costs. The Seahawks will not pick earlier than #21 overall. Very hard to find a good left tackle picking that late in the first.

      • nichansen01

        This game was further evidence to me that we must resign Okung.

      • Justin

        PFF shouldn’t be taken as gospel but it shows that better than half of the league’s starting tackles are performing better than Okung

        • Rob Staton

          PFF also thinks Aaron Rodgers’ five-TD performance against Kansas City earlier this season was a below average display.

          • Justin

            So you’d be in favor of giving Okung close to 10M/year?

            • Alex H

              Yes.

              There aren’t many left tackles (average or not) period. LTs cost a premium.

              • Hawkdawg

                Not I. An LT is an LT, good, bad or indifferent. In any event, he can’t cover for a bad set of guards and a bad RT. Breaking the bank for a middling to decent LT who is injury prone, and expecting that acquisition to have some sort of halo effect on the other three positions is fool’s gold.

            • Rob Staton

              I didn’t say that. He needs to establish what his market is. There’s a chance a soon-to-be 29-year-old left tackle with 23 career missed starts doesn’t get that kind of attention on the open market. If he does, he probably moves on. But if there’s a chance to keep him at a slightly smaller price ($8m per) I would expect them to do it.

              • mishima

                Agree. However, if they re-sign Okung, they better have depth on the offensive line: no reason or excuse to start Bailey at LT.

                I look at it like this: Seahawks have at least 12 million + draft capital to improve the offensive line. I don’t care if it’s Okung + Bisnowaty or Mack + Coleman or Sweezy + Ifedi. Figure it out, but do not run Nowak or Bailey out there, again.

      • Mike B.

        Forrest Lamp of Western Kentucky! Why not try to find a gem among the smaller schools? I also like Austin Blythe from Iowa at center–but those guys might not be impact players next year, so re-signing Okung makes sense.

  6. drewjov11

    Anyone else want to lobby for resigning Sweezy? He’s just not good. Bailey is clearly not good enough to start in this league, and frankly, he’s not a good backup either. Lewis played poorly because, wait for it, he faced a really good player for once. Okung wouldn’t have saved this debacle. He would have been victimized per his usual effort vs. the Rams. We can’t afford to stand pat on the line and I hope now that it’s obvious. People argues with me weeks ago and I said I’ll wait until the Rams game. Well, this was an epic fail. Two draft picks minimum and possibly a free agent. Okung can stay if he doesn’t demand top dollar but JR is not good enough for a team who fancies themselves as contenders. Cut the cord.

    • Rob Staton

      Sweezy had a rough day but look at the STL interior rush. It’s probably the best in the NFL. He’s previously played very well in recent weeks.

      • rowdy

        Most calls on him were boarder line and happen almost every play. Unfortunate calls because they go uncalled 90% of the time

        • AlaskaHawk

          I didn’t like the penalties he made- but until someone outplays him he is the Seahawks starting right guard.

    • John_s

      I’m not a Sweezy fan but he was good enough to start in 2 Super Bowls.

      Continuity is needed for the oline. Lewis has been good. Today he wasn’t and I will chalk that up to playing against Donald and Brockers.

      The only way Sweezy and or Okung are not on the team is if they price themselves out.

      We have Glowinski who will have a year under his belt who can hopefully plug in at RG.

      I like Jordan Rigsbee in the mid rounds as a guy who can play the middle. The team is going to have to find a new swing tackle. That I think needs to be a free agent pickup

    • Michael (CLT)

      Holy overreacting, Batman!

      This was a divisional game, with a team that constantly measures themselves based on playing us.

      Get a grip. New England lost to the Jets. Pitt to Baltimore. Carolina to Atlanta.

      EFFING CHILL!

      • Michael M.

        Here here… For me this was just one of those games (weeks if you look around the league) where you say, “well it’s NFL football, and stuff just isn’t going to go your way day in and day out.” There’s a reason there’s only been one undefeated team in league history.

        Obviously the ‘Hawks didn’t play well, but there were also two horrendous snaps, some weird fumbles that didn’t bounce our way (fumble recoveries have been fairly conclusively proven to be a matter of luck, while data shows that forcing them is a repeatable skill), and multiple starters missing all/part of the game. All of this against a division team who is playing in ‘their Superbowl’ while the ‘Hawks may be experiencing that mental ‘sigh of relief’ after clinching a playoff spot the week before (despite how hard Pete may try to prevent it… It’s just human nature)

        Shit happens. Wouldn’t be shocked to see the ‘Hawks go get a win in AZ next week. This is NFL football.

        • hawkdawg

          It would surprise the hell out of me, if Arizona has home field throughout the playoffs to play for, and anything like the team that played for the Hawks today shows up down there next Sunday.

      • drewjov11

        It’s absolutely NOT an overreaction when I have been saying it for over a year. You chill. I’m sick of seeing sub-par being accepted for the sake of continuity. He’s an average player and he’s going to want a raise. If you suck at your job, or even if you slightly regress, you don’t get a raise and more job security. Your condescending tone doesn’t change the fact that the guy is not a good player. He’s a get by kind of guy. Why should we accept that? The human turnstile isn’t good enough to waste precious cap space when we could probably draft a guy to do what he does at a league minimum level. Growing pains always arise with young players, but his growing pains have lasted 4 years now. Josh Garnett would be an upgrade by mid season, maybe even by the end of the preseason. Don’t think I’m ok with Britt either but he’s on his rookie deal and isn’t going to cost us 3-5 million per season to be just ok.

  7. CA

    I made a sentiment about this a few posts ago, and I’ll repeat it again. This offense needs more weapons on the outside still. With Graham and Richardson out, and with Baldwin ALMOST out this week, there’s not much left outside of our rookie Lockett and a streaky Kearse(not to mention Okung, Rawls and Lynch were out today). Need to find a high round WR, no later than round 3. The offense needs more playmakers still. Kearse and Smith can be upgraded(note the word choice. I don’t think Kearse needs to be CUT. But he’s upgradable, there is a difference. He’s earned a roster spot considering the price but more competition at the position is a must.

    OL in rounds 1 and or 2. Our OL got outplayed today(without Okung) but needs depth and talent still. I’m not worried, with a playoff spot clinch little changed. Still a week left. Need to go 1-0. I don’t mind seeing Sherman and this offense get beat around a little bit. Nothing like a little late season fuel to spark a postseason run. Everyone is more or less healthy which was the BIGGEST thing coming in to this game. From what I saw Russell and Luke and Lockett got banged up a little but best of luck to Luke Wilson getting back. Go 1-0. Go Hawks.

    • Nick

      I concur. We need to draft a WR in the first three rounds.

      • red

        Kearse does alot for this team makes plays on special teams never gets hurt and is a solid WR3 there is a lot of value in that. If Irvin or Okung sign elsewhere i would resign Kearse for about 4mil a year. Lets be honest Graham will back next year we throw the ball 30 times a game the high draft pick will be targeted maybe 3 times a game with the risk of turning into a diva. We are a run first team always will with Pete diminishing the value of WR.

  8. CharlieTheUnicorn

    Biggest take away…… Packers got their asses kicked in Cardinals land. Cardinals look like the most complete team right now, playing with a purpose. Dare I say, I would rather face the Packers in the playoffs, than the Redskins.

    Seattle came out flat and the play calling early didn’t help them get going. They did better in the second half, but without the TE Willson, they had very little threat in the middle of the field. He was also missed in the blocking up front.

    OL got handled, which was not a huge surprise….. but the way they lost some match-ups was very disappointing. The rushing attack was inconsistent.. and when they had a few huge runs, a holding call/penalty brought them back. I thought Micheal still looked decent, but had very little room to run.

    • John_s

      He had that nice run that was called back on the clipping call

      • AlaskaHawk

        Too many plays called back because of penalties – one big play with Wilson over the line when he passed. Some bad breaks and of course the fumbles didn’t bounce Seahawks way.

    • DavidinBellingham

      I would rather play Green Bay or Minnesota than the Redskins, just to avoid Fed Ex Field. I would almost rather miss the playoffs than play at Fed Ex Field.

  9. Demitrov

    Rob, how much of the poor RB production do you think was due to the OLine today. Clearly they had trouble but I thought CMike and BBrown looked really poor and just couldnt hit any hole with violence or quickness.

    • Rob Staton

      I think it was probably 60% on the O-line and 40% on the brilliance of the Rams D-line. The running backs didn’t have a chance today.

      • rowdy

        Agreed, no RB would preformed well in this game

  10. Forrest

    I really don’t want to be that guy, but weather was a factor (especially on the turnovers), not that the Hawks would have been in a position to win, but I saw a lot of slippery ball nonsense. ST actually looked like the best aspect of the team today. The Offense looked lost and sloppy, and the Defense was unmotivated at best. However, even with all those negatives I think that the team needed this loss to come back to earth and refocus for the postseason. Really the most poorly executed game I’ve seen in the PC era.

    The O-Line really killed a few drives, and while Lewis had several really bad snaps I’m not gonna throw him completely under the bus cause really the whole line looked bad. The running game needs to reestablish itself in time for the playoffs or else the Hawks lose out the gate. Wilson looked OK (not too bad), and the WRs/TEs looked pretty good…no run game is gonna be doom for this team though.

    The Defense just looked like they didn’t care…the whole unit from top to bottom did not show up. Needs fixing immediately.

    Honestly I wouldn’t mind seeing the Hawk’s play GB or Minnesota, neither really scare me right now, and Washington has a field of death. Rehab, reassess, move forward. Cardinals next…hoping for a win, but not expecting one. Go Hawks!!

    • CC

      I’m right there with you on GB or MN – would much rather play them right now.

      • Forrest

        GB definitely cause they look sunk, but Minnesota could surprise…Washington is just too unpredictable, and their field is one of the worst to play on…

    • troy

      “I really don’t want to be that guy, but weather was a factor (especially on the turnovers), not that the Hawks would have been in a position to win, but I saw a lot of slippery ball nonsense.”

      Seriously? So riddle me this batman, how was it that the “weather factor” was only problematic for the Hawks but not the Rams? The weather wasn’t the issue, both teams played on the same field, in the same conditions. The Rams were the superior team today.

      • Forrest

        They fumbled it a couple of times as well, they just did a better job of securing the ball. Weather was an issue all around, the ball was fumbled 8(?) times, and I saw a few near fumbles, strange looking snaps, sluggish throws, and bad drops on all sides. The Rams probably practiced for it knowing that it would rain, and the Hawks probably minimized that aspect during practice to focus on gameplan. Like I said I don’t think it would have changed to much (killed two/three Seahawk drives and almost killed a Rams scoring drive), but it has to be looked at as a possible factor in the poor gameplay…why so confrontational Batman?

      • Alaska Norm

        It was a factor for both teams… Luck played into it in that they recovered their fumbles, Seattle did not. Just bad bounces in a few cases.

  11. rowdy

    I might not the full rule but why did stl get the forward progress on both fumbles they recovered? Not just this game but most games I’ve watched this year have been one sided officiated. I think Carolina and Arizona are the only teams that don’t get screwed by bad or questionable calls. People talk about bad officiating for the Hawks again lot but it’s a league wide problem.

    • Michael M.

      I’m pretty sure that’s how fumbles work rowdy. As long as you grab it, you get it wherever the recovery happens, forward, backward, whatever. I think you may be thinking about a forward fumble that goes out of bounds, which by rule is placed back at the spot of the fumble.

      Someone please correct me if I’m wrong here.

      • rowdy

        The second one was ruled out of bounce and the seahawks fumble was brought back to the spot of the fumble. That’s why I’m so confused

  12. CC

    I was at the game today – nice … not the game I wanted to see. The crowd was ready, but obviously the team wasn’t ready to play.

    STL loves bull rushing against our line and we make them look so good – I just don’t understand why we can’t figure out a way to use their aggressiveness against them. We used to be able to do this with SF, but our offense was predictable and poorly executed. The defense were Gurley’d and Keenum’d.

    I’d say the refs made some bad calls, but hard to tell being at the game. But it was a mistake by Pete to challenge the catch in the 3rd quarter – and then be left without a challenge for the fumble.

    Maybe this is what the team needed to realize that they have to get it together – no easy games, but this game was a reminder of our flaws. And to everyone who though Michael could take carries from Marshawn, I do not see any reason for that to happen.

    I know I’m in the minority, but right now, I’d rather go to GB or MN as the 6th seed – instead of WA – because WA is playing much better than GB and MN. I’d also rather play CAR instead of AZ if we somehow can make it through.

    On to AZ…

    • Miles

      I was at the game as well. Got to say, Seahawks fans are not into it as well as they should be. They are not loud enough unless it is 3rd down or if we have all the momentum. In 2013, it seemed like the fans were loud every single play. No more. Fans also were leaving the game early in the fourth quarter. I mean, they were filing out like worker ants. Our fans have let us down this year. It’s not the reason we lost, but our fans have been miserably unreliable.

      It was the same way in the Carolina game but way worse. Giving up on the Seahawks when winning is still possible is hilarious to me. Have we learned nothing from last year? This team always has a chance. Don’t tell that to a casual football fan I suppose.

      • CC

        My friend won tickets through her work, and I can only say that the people around me stood the whole game and we were loud. I saw fans leaving early after the RW fumble down at the far end – yes there still was a chance, but some fans must have been done. It is hard for some of these newer fans who jumped on in 2011 who don’t understand there are ebbs and flows. This team still can get to the SB, but they will need to play really well and catch a few breaks – and we haven’t had many breaks this year.

        Since I’m not a season ticket holder, I can’t comment on other games, but I think some ticket holders are selling their tickets to others who may not have the passion that others have.

        • Miles

          It’s really hard to maintain a strong reputation as a fan base when fans respond that way. We are the 12th man in name only now. As long as fans are selling their tickets to bandwagoners and people who don’t love football, we will have lost quite a bit of home field edge.

  13. sdcoug

    “Carroll and his staff were again out-coached by Fisher’s crew”

    This.

    Every time we play the Rams (and Cards for that matter), we seem thoroughly surprised on offense. As if we don’t realize they will be coming at us, especially on 3rd downs. We spend 5 weeks dominating with a quick pass attack, the one thing to help neutralize a ferocious D-line, yet it is no where to be found until after halftime. Instead of slants to open the run, we ran into a brick wall and called 3rd and longs we had no hope of blocking for.

    On D, did we even try to blitz once? If we did, not sure we did it enough. A Case Keenum should never be as comfortable as he was today.

    This team has a horrible habit of reading its press clippings. We typically respond to getting smacked in the mouth; this may be a good thing

  14. Steele

    This game put an end to any illusions that this team is “back”, or good enough to win a SB. This was regression of the worst kind.

    A team is only as good as how it plays against its worst adversary, the one built to beat them. The Rams are the Seahawks’ Kryptonite. Business is not over until they figure out how to overcome exactly what the Rams exposed today.

    The halo effect is gone. We cannot daydream that this o-line is the o-line of the future. Okung’s absence was an issue, but I doubt his presence would have saved them much. The others were not good either.

    The need for more outside WR weapons is not new news. But this offense and RW struggle to incorporate new WRs, no matter how talented.

    I have been unimpressed with the defense throughout the season. This might be the biggest disappointment, and it does not seem to be the subject of enough discussion. Everyone treats the D like it is still great, and it isn’t. The interior has not been dominating. The interior pass rush is poor. The LOB is nowhere near what it once was. Sherman got toasted by Kenny Britt, but Richard has given up plays a lot this year.

    • vrtkolman

      I agree completely about the defense. Outside of a few games the defensive line has been a non factor. Giving up two touchdowns to Keenum and the Rams pathetic O line is pretty disappointing. This team needs a disruptive DT in the worst way.

    • Rob Staton

      “The halo effect is gone. We cannot daydream that this o-line is the o-line of the future.”

      I wouldn’t write the O-line off after one tough match-up without Okung. They played poorly today — but there’s been a lot of promise for several weeks now.

    • Michael M.

      “A team is only as good as how it plays against its worst adversary, the one built to beat them”

      Couldn’t disagree more. Unless that happens to be a team they face in the playoffs, why the hell does it matter? The Seahawks got beat by the Rams today, yet Seattle is still three wins away from a third straight Superbowl appearance while the Rams are booking their off-season vacations. It’s about playing well enough over the entire season, against a bunch of different teams and making it to the postseason. Pete Caroll wrote a book called “Win Forever” not “Struggle to get to 8-8, so long as you win that one rivalry game”

      “Business is not over until they figure out how to overcome exactly what the Rams exposed today.”

      Also must disagree. Maybe the Rams did ‘expose’ something today – that an average (or below) pass blocking line has a hard time against dominant D-lines made up of 75% top 15 picks (100% when Quinn is healthy). Most teams in the league are not able to capitalize on this the way the Rams do because unlike the Rams, other teams occasionally allocate premium resources to other parts of their football team.

      “This game put an end to any illusions that this team is “back”, or good enough to win a SB”

      This makes you 0 for 3… This team is absolutely good enough to win a Superbowl, and by many measures are still one of the top two or three teams in the league. Even if you don’t agree with that, saying that they’re, “not good enough to win a SB’ either means you’re overreacting to a single game (which I fully understand is a part of fandom for many people) or you just started watching NFL football this season. Go thumb through the history of Superbowl champions and you’ll find a list riddled with teams who were not necessarily the ‘best’ team in the league that year.

      • Steele

        When a team has deficiencies, they have not “arrived’ until these problems are resolved. If they do not, there is blueprint by which teams can beat them. Sure, they could get away with it, but is that a standard of excellence? If such a team wins a Super Bowl, is it a deserving champion, or just a lucky one? The goal, of course, is to be dominating and deserving of the crown.

        I am not overreacting to one game. In fact, have people overreacted positively to the past few games, against teams that matched up easier with the Hawks? The problems have been there all season, waxing and waning: o-line, interior d-line, secondary, Russell’s consistency.

        The Hawks had a point to prove today. Instead, they regressed and lost momentum. You can pin a lot of blame on Okung, but did the rest of the team step up? No. This was a disappointment across the board.

        • Miles

          I think Michael nailed it. There are no teams that are impossible to beat. Of course there is a blueprint to beat Seattle. But Seattle has fewer blueprints to be beaten than other teams. It’s amazing that the Rams have (seemingly) geared their team with strengths to beat the Seahawks. That’s an unprecedented type of strategy. It just speaks to how hard the Seahawks are to beat, that a team designates it as practically their season’s goal.

          The Rams beat us and that does not mean nothing. But it also doesn’t take away the dominating performance we had in Minnesota. Nor the record setting performances of Russell Wilson and the winning streak that’s turned this season around. It does not take away from their ability to get to the Superbowl. The Seahawks are the team they say they are. They have every chance to do what they need to do this year. If you want to throw the bucket of water on the fire already, fine, do that if it’s going to make the possibility of losing easier to stomach. But even with the loss, the Seahawks are still clearly a Superbowl caliber team. They need to get healthy, but they are that team. Have you forgotten 2013 when they got beat by Arizona at home right before the playoffs? Then what happened? The past doesn’t write our future, but you can’t write a good story without thinking about how good stories have been written.

  15. AlaskaHawk

    Kind of a deflating game, but ultimately meaningless. We are still in the playoffs.

    Just rewatching and see Rams punter smack a guy in the back . Yes some of the officiating was bad. Unfortunately the Seahawks didn’t do much either.

    Offensively I’m in favor of another wide receiver and two offensive linemen early in the draft. They need reinforcements.

  16. line_hawk

    It’s sad but our defense has lost the fire. Watching the game, it was clear that only one defense had the energy to swarm to the ball and tackle hard. Unfortunately, it was the other teams defense.

    I don’t expect this defense to stop any decent QB(Palmer, Rodgers, Newton) from scoring 30 points. Which means we only win in the playoff games in a shootout on the road. Given the in consistency & injuries on the offense, it looks doable but unlikely. I have lowered my expectations.

    • line_hawk

      May be we can sign William Hayes? 🙂

    • Rob Staton

      The defense struggled to make the big plays today (one of the fumble recoveries would’ve changed that). But they did limit the Rams to a mediocre sum of 208 yards and limited explosive plays. That’s usually a recipe for a win. The big problem was the offense turning the ball over and struggling to win the field position battle.

      • line_hawk

        I am feeling that the defense looks good on paper because they pad their stats by beating up on bad quarterbacks. The last good QB they faced, Big Ben lit them up as did most decent QBs in the first half. This strategy of sitting in the zones is ineffective when 1) they can’t generate pressure & 2) the lob doesn’t hit hard after the catch. It almost seems like they are happy giving a hundred 5 yard completions. It’s a great strategy while it worked but it has been exposed without a good d-line.

        I think they need to move money away from the lob by cutting Kam & improving the front seven. Otherwise, they need to blitz more to create pressure. The LOB is surely not playing like a 30M unit. And Sherman needs to become more dominant. Can’t believe what one year & 14M can do to a shutdown corner.

        I get what you say, that they only conceded 208 yards today. But none of the turnovers gave the Rams good field position. And If you look at TOP, the Rams still had the ball for 28 min, while gaining only 208 yards. Death by 100 cuts.

        Also, I read on Football Outsiders that Hawks stats on offense & defense this year are a carbon copy of their 2012 season. This season is really going down that path.

        • Rob Staton

          “I think they need to move money away from the lob by cutting Kam & improving the front seven.”

          If there was a ‘shaking head’ emoji available on WordPress, I would be using it here.

          Come on people. Don’t resort to stuff like this.

          • line_hawk

            Since PC/JS came here, there are two positional groups that we talk about every year: 1) The Interior defensive line and 2) Wide receivers

            And year after year, nothing changes from a personnel/performance standpoint. For long stretches, our pash rush and passing game disappears. And we keep banking our hope on Jason Jones, Clinton Mcdonald, Jordan Hill, and company. Its time to dip into FA again and find some more Bennett/Avril.

        • pmoney

          While getting burnt by Britt was no doubt pretty embarrassing for Sherman yesterday, to say “Can’t believe what one year & 14M can do to a shutdown corner” about the guy who not long ago held Antonio Brown to 6 catches and 51 yards on 12 targets is preposterous. His INT numbers aren’t there this year but he is still playing well. There are issues with the LOB but they aren’t named Sherman.

          • line_hawk

            Agreed, Sherman is not a liability and has had a couple good games (PIT). But for a guy who is paid to be the best in the league, being top 10 is way below his pay grade. He has given up multiple touchdowns this year and just seems a bit too slow than the last couple of years.

  17. Adog

    First of all …is it some kind of joke that Greg Williams is still allowed to coach in the nfl? Clearly his defense were playing a kill the head and the body will follow defense. 3 concussions…this guy is hurting people.i don’t know how many times I saw one of their defenders leading with their head. It basic form tackling…keep your head up and lead with the shoulder. I’ve had a brain injury before and it’s a very difficult situation. We can have good physical football without concussions. I like a defense that plays through the whistle..but it’s hard to fathom why the Rams linebackers and secondary were leading with their helmet?

    • nichansen01

      Watching the Rams gives me vibes of bountygate.

    • Dumbquestions

      Agree wholeheartedly. Williams coaches headhunting. Apart from the shoddy performance by the Hawks and the odd challenges by Carroll (entirely their fault), Williams needs to hear it from the league. The extra hits after the play stopped, the phantom call foul on Irvin’s shot at Keenum coupled with the non-call when Rams did it to Russell, the targeting of players’ heads. Williams did it with the Saints, does it now with the Rams. I don’t like to call this sort of thing out as a rule – football is football – but it’s a problem.

      • SunPathPaul

        Fisher and ‘greg williams’ feel dirty to me. I know Rob might defend Fisher, but my gut tells me he likes to “push it/cheat” like Billi-cheat does…but especially in the “knock guys out” category…

  18. neil

    I now do not hold much hope for the playoffs now. When your whole offense revolves around the running game and you lose it, well this is the result. Teams will no longer have to stack the box and can blitz more with no fear of the draw play or a break away run. Even if Lynch returnes he will not be in good playing condition. 60 yards of rushing is not going to make the Hawks winners in the playoffs. I was really dismayed the defense could not pressure Kassem very much. The kid is a lot better qb than people think. I expect the Rams to make a real run at winning the west next year.

    • Rob Staton

      That gets said about the Rams every year and it never happens. As for the offense — let’s not overreact after one tough day. If they can get the pass pro and run blocking back they can move the ball — they showed that in the previous five games.

      • CharlieTheUnicorn

        I would rather have this game now, then 2 weeks from now. Plenty of time to get healthy and work out any problems on the team before the playoffs.

      • sdcoug

        the last 5 weeks we used the short passing game to open the run. Seems like we insisted on the opposite today

        • Rik

          This is what I don’t understand. Why give up the quick passing game when (a) it’s been incredibly successful and (b) when it is effective against a disruptive defensive line? We looked like we learned nothing from the last 5 or 6 games.

          • AlaskaHawk

            It’s all about coaching.

          • SunPathPaul

            I agree. Russell Wilson looked NOTHING like the last 5 weeks. He was HYPER reactive. I know that the Rams D line was fierce, but if he sits still and just throws quick like he was, we win.

            But no. He kept doing week 1-5 RW. Chicken with his head cut off——THROW THE DAM BALL!!!

            When he TRUST and RELEASES – Success.
            Otherwise— failure.
            Get out of your head Russ and let it go…

            • hawkdawg

              Easier said then done, when your line can’t give you time to go through your reads without getting your head taken off. You run to save the play. If the first read is covered, and by the time you look toward your second read you are on your ass, the next time, or the time after that, or the time after that, you start running to save the play. It is inevitable.

            • Rob Staton

              “if he sits still and just throws quick like he was, we win.”

              Easier said than done with Aaron Donald blowing up the interior.

            • AlaskaHawk

              Easier said then done when only two receivers are productive. Defense just needs to double cover them and there is no one to pass to.

        • Rob Staton

          I’d disagree there. I think in the last five weeks they’ve had perfect balance — ran the ball effectively, short passing game functioned too. The Rams essentially took away the run leading to a situation where you either abandon it completely and encourage mass pressure or you stick with it to try and establish it. They stuck with it and never got it going.

          • sdcoug

            balance because often times one successful aspect directly effects the other. Balance because the quick throws have been very effective and keeps a Dline, to some degree, from doing much damage. I get what you’re saying, but the last 5 weeks we did not run stubbornly into a wall hoping to set up a 3rd and long. There were very few calls designed to get the ball out quick until the second half. Slants? Maybe the only effective passes we had yesterday but I only saw maybe two to Baldwin. Why? Slipped Fred out of the backfield a few times for decent gains. But not till mid- second half. Why? Again, we always look like we’ve never faced that D before and don’t use quick plays to combat it. And why is maintaining balance important during a specific drive? If it’s there, take it and force them to call off the dogs so to speak.

      • cha

        “That gets said about the Rams every year and it never happens.”

        If I was a Rams fan, I’d be happy they finally beat the Hawks on their turf, but furious at my team for once again putting together this quality of a performance late in the season with nothing on the line. I’d be asking how my team can do this against an excellent Seahawks offense but give up over 500 yards to Tampa Bay. TAMPA BAY!

        This might be worse in some ways than a 2-14 team with no hope. To know you have that kind of potential but can never put it together and eternally end up with 6-8 wins.

    • Michael M.

      I agree that running the ball is important. So does Pete Carroll. Good thing the Redskins average a full yard less per carry than the ‘Hawks…

  19. nichansen01

    The Rams dont play you to beat you, the play you to injure you and kill your spirits. This team exists not to fulfill its own hopes and aspirations but to crush the aspirations of others. The ultimate and somewhat sinister spoil sport. The way the linebackers, corner and safeties lead with their head while tackling is disturbing. The concussions of both sides are highly disturbing.

    Case Keenum excepts his role as a game manager with a great running back and plays to his strengths. He doesn’t make mistakes. He’s cold. He’s calculating. And he’s ruthless. But it’s not really Keenum or Gurley that run the Rams offense, it’s Barnes. Barnes is a force of nature and the great stabilizer, allowing the Rams offense to function smoothly and mistake free in a blustery, stormy and hostile environment.

    The Rams concentrated the rage and frustration from 10 straight road losses in Seattle to come out and kick our sorry butts up and down the field all day.

    The Rams crushed us, and they might have crushed our spirit, crushed our confidence. If Arizona beats us, I will give the Rams credit for Zona’s victory. They effectively snuffed out the blazing soul of the Seahawks in the sordid winter rains.

    Russel Wilson was hurt… And the legacy of the Seahawks was as well. It’s up to these guys to dig deep and keep pushing through, even with the injures, across the scorching sands of Arizona and into the post season.

    • Steele

      And isn’t this description of the Rams almost the definition of a good, tough football team? The kind of team that the Seahawks are supposed to be? The intimidators, the guys who beat you up?

      • hawkdawg

        Yup. We didn’t just lose, we got our asses kicked. Big difference. It’s not a matter of stat comparison. It’s a matter of attitude.

  20. CharlieTheUnicorn

    I think the game pointed out to glaring things to me…

    1) Seattle needs depth at TE. Once Willson went out, they had a tough time blocking or catching the ball out of the TE slot
    2) Seattle needs 1 more impactful WR, this was painfully apparent when Lockett was out with an injury for a portion of the game.

    … imo TE/WR are the 2 biggest needs in the draft, then sprinkle in the other positions as necessary.

    • red

      Need more depth and interior pass rush Jordan Hill always out. Also could use more depth at OT and C. Willson going to FA year in 2017 and Graham coming off injury to bad off year for TE in draft could look to FA for third TE Hoomanawanui or Fleener.

  21. Dumbquestions

    The game was bad, but I have more hope for the playoffs than some posters here.

    As Rob said, no Aaron Donald in the playoffs. The Rams are the worst matchup for this team, because strong D-lines pose the most problem for Seattle – but the Rams aren’t in the tournament. Who is?

    5. Washington
    4. Minnesota
    3. Green Bay
    2. Arizona
    1. Carolina

    The last two teams are the issue – admittedly a big issue, of course. But I think the Packers (H) beat Minnesota next week. If so, Hawks are looking at WA or GB, period. I’d prefer WA, but either game is winnable, especially if Lynch returns.

    Of the elites, Carolina has a better line than AZ, but I can’t decide who I’d rather see Seattle face. I tend to fear Arizona a bit more, just because it’s hard to play a team three times, and I think Carolina might be faltering just a little.

    • Michael (CLT)

      Only Arizona can beat Seattle when they are clicking

    • Michael M.

      Carolina doesn’t scare me. They are good, but not great. Their record is largely a product of a ridiculously easy schedule. I was actually bummed that they dropped that game today, because I was really looking forward to bouncing their over-hyped asses out of the playoffs while they were still threatening history.

    • vrtkolman

      Arizona and Carolina have the front sevens to dominate this offensive line. Arizona already did to the tune of a 19-0 lead. Even Minnesota’s defense will be completely different than the one we saw with Joseph, Barr, and Smith. It’s going to very hard in the postseason to run the ball. Wilson will have to have the 4 game stretch of his life to win the Superbowl this year.

  22. franks

    Is the jury still out on this offense? Today they were obviously horrible. Start the game three and out, Rams get the ball on the fifty and the defense did alright, held them on third down and they got a long-ish FG. Defense gets offense the ball, offense give Rams 7 more. Nothing happens until the end of the half, when the offense gets in the redzone and doesn’t score a td.

    Here’s the model this year: we move the ball and score against weak defenses. The o line moves these bad defenses off the ball like a leaf blower, Bevel looks like Gandalf and everyone talks about how unappreciated he is as we pile on the TD’s. But when the leaf bower starts to sputter, everyone gets flustered. Forget about playcalling this offense needs leadership.

    I’m concerned about our viability in the postseason this year, and I think the past 5 games have been fool’s gold. We won’t be throwing it on the Browns in the SB if we get there, we’ll be playing a good defense like the one we played today. Hopefully we’ll make better adjustments than we did today or in the first half of the year.

    Jermaine Kearse brings it every week.

    • Rob Staton

      I prefer to look at it this way — when the Seahawks protect Wilson the offense excels. When they play like they did against the Rams — it impacts every aspect of the offense.

      • franks

        That’s a good way to look at it, but can this line protect Wilson and open running lanes against good defenses playing well? My thinking is No, not in a straight forward way, when they more or less know what plays we will run. In games like yesterday’s, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we don’t account for the talent disparity in the trenches. Planning around weak links in the chain is what a good coordinator can consistently do.

        The defense doesn’t get enough credit for our wins i.m.o., and yesterday they got some blame for a loss that wasn’t on them.

        Rams first FG came after a 3 and out that went for negative yards, driving from the 50 and our D did well to hold them to a FG.

        Next Rams TD is the fumble run back.

        Next Rams TD comes after a 3 and out for negative yards, a one play drive from the TWENTY EIGHT YARD LLINE.

        The next and final Rams touchdown comes after a three and out from good field position.

        This offense doesn’t just fail to score, it actually gives up points. Too much burden on the defense which is still very much a SB level D.

  23. Michael (CLT)

    Earth to Seattle fans. This stuff happens.

    Seattle are in the dance. Learn from this and rest the starters, please.

    Does losing to the Rams really surprise people?

    St. Louis is built solely to beat Seattle.

    • Steele

      The point is, it should not be allowed to happen.

      Any more than the Patriots should be able to successfully game plan them every time they meet up.

      You are only as good as your worst outing. That is what needs to be worked on, now and in the offseason.

    • John_s

      Problem is that Carolina and AZ have better defenses than StL plus the have offenses that can put points up.

      • Michael(CLT)

        Carolina and Arizona boast better back seven, but the cannot sniff the Rams front.

    • sdcoug

      Point it, how,many times have we played the Rams, and what have we learned from it? Apparently not much cause we still don’t know how to combat that D

      • Michael(CLT)

        Rams are built to beat power teams like San Fran and Seattle.

        Get a decent lead on the Rams, and it os over.

  24. Ed

    It was good to lose another game. Get the mind right, Hawks aren’t invincible. Go to GB/MI/WA. All very winnable games. Would almost rather stay at 6.

    As for draft, remains the same:

    OL
    DT
    S/LB
    WR
    RB

    • Steele

      Right now, GB is the easiest matchup, but it would be in Lambeau, in the cold.

    • Trevor

      Agree with your list of needs Ed.

  25. DC

    “It’s always weird with the Rams.”

  26. nichansen01

    What are your thoughts on a draft for the Seahawks looking like this?
    1. Miles Killebrew – Lb – Southern Utah – Bruce Irvin Replacement
    2. Vernon Butler – DT – Louisana Tech – Mebane/ Rubin Replacement
    3. CJ Procise – RB – Notre Dame – Rawls back up / Fred Jackson Replacement
    3C. Mike Thomas – WR – Southern Miss – Wide receiver #3 (Kearse replacement)

    This would be a small school heavy draft for sure… But I do think all four of these players could contribute in 2016.

    • Miles

      Did you just find out about Thomas after watching the UW bowl game, or did you know about him before? What do you like about him? Just curious.

      • nichansen01

        Found out about Thomas watching the Huskies. He has been productive all season. Big, fast, adjusts his body well and looks like he has great hands. Senior. Can’t imagine him not rising up many peoples draft boards.

  27. MikeB'hamster

    If it is true that games are won in the trenches, then proof of that was demonstrated today by the dominating play of the Ram’s Offensive Center, Barnes, and by their Defensive Tackle, Aaron Donald. The savage and relentless play of those two, in those two fundamentally critical positions, proved to be an embarrassing counterpoint to the ineffectual play of Patrick Lewis, and Mebane/Rubin. Going forward, the Hawks demonstrably require significant upgrades in the dead center of both the “O” and “D” lines. Rob accurately points out that the Hawks are unlikely to be in a position to draft top young talent at either or both positions, nor for the sorely needed OT position. Looking at Mack, or similar, now seems a priority for next season, in order to shore up the OLine, as does finding a DT, by way of presumably, free agency.
    The Rams reminded us of something today…games are won in the trenches.

  28. Rad man

    This O line looks great against anemic D lines.

  29. Trevor

    Well that was not exactly the Xmaas gift hawks fans were waiting for. We basically got coal in our stockings.

    All joking aside we saw today across the NFL a ton of upsets and weird games. We have to remember these players are people too with families, obligations etc.

    It is clear that disruption in players normal weekly schedules impacted alot of teams and ours in particular. I have never seen a Seahawks team under Pete Carrol make that many mistakes and look so unprepared. This is a vetran team now and to face a division opponent and look so unprepared physically and mentally is disappointing but lets keep it in perspective.

    To me the biggest disappointment in the game was not the result but injuries and dings to very important players like Willson, Locket, Russ etc. I think those could have a far bigger impact on our playoff future than the result of this game.

  30. Trevor

    I said last week I would reserve judgement on our OL and the need to go OL early in the draft till after they played the Rams and Cards. Today was not good no matter how you slice it.

    Here are my thoughts on the OL plan this off season no matter how the rest of the year plays out.

    1)Okung has to be resigned. A left Tackle is a premium postion in the NFL and he cannot be replaced at the end of Rd #1 in the draft or via free agency. Say what you want about OKung but the line is better by leaps and bounds with him.

    2) Patrick Lewis is a nice story but better backup than starter. Alex Mack will be on the market and wants to play for a winner. He should be the #1 offseason free agent target for PC/JS to sure up the middle of our OL. He would immediately make the middle of our line and both Guards better.

    3)Sweezy can stay but only for 2 mil or less. If not let Glowinski replace him. I like his nastiness but he is just an average player no matter how you slice it and Glowinski was obviously drafted to replace him.

    4)If Shon Coleman or Ifedi are there when we pick they have to be our first pick.

    5)A guy like Bistonoway or Dahl should also be taken with one of our 3rd round picks so they can play guard or swing tackle to replace Alvin Bailey.

    These 5 moves would give us a top tier OL which should be these teams #1 priority this offseason. The NFC west has some of the best DLs in the NFL and Russ has shown what he can do with protection. Lets give him a quality OL to keep him healthy and keep this team at Championship level the next 3-4 years.

    • MikeB'hamster

      This comment is spot on as an immediate priority. OC, targeting Alex Mack if affordable, would provide the foundation upon which to build a great OL. Retain Patrick Lewis as backup for depth.Try to keep Okung, but using the first pick, draft the most talented OT available. That being said, address the next big issue, DT, whether by draft, trade, or free agency. Consider the devastation and disruption wrought by Aaron Donald. An outstanding DT is the key missing piece of the puzzle for the Hawks defense. “Games are won or lost in the trenches”.

  31. Trevor

    I think alot of fans are disappointed with our defense this year and I am a little but I think when we see them get picked apart but top end QBs like Big Ben and Palmer that is just how the NFL is now with pass interference rules and protection of players safety.

    It is very hard to play defense in the NFL and the offense has a huge advantage.
    -QBs are protected
    -Wrs are protected and do not fear short routes over the middle anymore
    -DBs are at a huge disadvantage with the new PI rules.

    Our defense is still a top 3 unit. I know it may not seem that way but they are. Look at Denver whom everyone was gushing about. Pitt ripped them apart.

    For the draft in todays NFL I think the focus needs to be in 3-4 areas
    1)Interior pass rushing DT
    2)True cover corners who can cover the slot as well. (we may need to start looking earlier than the 5th rd for these type of guys)
    3)Hybrid safety/ LB who can cover the RBs and TEs in todays short passing game but are also physical enough to play the run. For example Miles Kilebrew or Sua Cravens)
    4)Elite Speed Rushers on the outside

    The problem is these talents are very rare and every draft offers only a couple of true talents in each area.
    this is why if you can get one of them you have to take a chance even if there are concerns. My 5 favorite defensive prospects for the end of Rd#1 and Rd#2 are listed below. All have some issues in either being tweeners, character concerns, injuries or small school but all have unique talents and could be stars as well so IMO worth the risk.

    1)Sua Cravens- Playmaker who IMO would be our version of Deion Buchanon but better.
    2)Miles Kilebrew- Trully unique physical talent who I think the Hawks could mould into a star within 2 years.

    3)Eric Striker-Incredible character, leadership and production. He is a tweener but I love him as a potential Hawk and our next great leader of men.

    4)Noah Spence- Best defensive athlet in the draft and will blow away Senior bowl and combine. He has huge character concerns but if we can take Frank Clark then Spence should also be in play if he checks out during interviews. He is the only true LEO prospect in this draft who could replace Irvin physically.

    5)Corey Fuller or Cam Sutton out of Tennesse- If injury concerns drops either to the end of Rd 1 or #2 then I would love to find a true cover corner opposite Sherm

    6)Robert Nkemdiche- Freaks like him who could potentially be incredible interior pass rushers are just never available at the end of Rd #1 or later unless there are issues. He will be off many teams boards. ut if they interview him and feel he could survive in our locker room I would be Ok with taking him as the ultimate boon or bust pick. He could flame out and never do anything. If so this team has thrived without first rounders anyways. But if he is engaged he could be the interior pro bowl level disruption this team needs. If he is here and they feel he can be motivated then he has to be the pick no matter the risk I think.

    6)

    • Ed

      Like the first 5. Don’t like Fuller at all.

  32. Frank frog

    Styles make fights, and the Jeff Fisher Rams are a tough one for us. It wasn’t so much building a team to beat us as doing very well in the top of the draft a few years in a row and those players fittings a scheme perfectly to take advantage of our weeknesses. JS and PC counter this draft capital advantage by grabbing high upside athletes later on and have them fight for a spot. We need to see what those athletic lineman we drafted this year can become. I don’t think Gilliam and Okung fit on a line together, both finesse pass blockers with great feet, but not over powering run blockers. Okung is better but, on the wrong end of his career peak. I think because of the financial implications Okung is either taking a home town discount or search out that final contact of his career. Gilliam is more suited skill wise as a LT than a right and I have a good idea the team wants a brute run blocker at Rt given the draft picks spent on it. We spent too much capital on Sweezy’s replacement to expect him to be resigned. I expect to sign Mack, move Gilliam to Lt, promote a Rg to starter draft a Rt with our first pick in the draft after numerous trades down. The media and fans will flip out, our line will suck for half a season and then became really good but considerable more athletic than before to deal with the Rams, and other loaded defensive fronts. A pass rusher or rb will be the second pick and Wr and Db will make up the rest of the draft. Kam lacks speed but makes up for it with brains and power, his productivity is going to be really compromised one he losses even a half step and should probably be thinking about grooming the next big DB in the next couple years. He is getting ready to drop in production and I don’t see him talking a home town discount. One more ring and there are a few guys that can get the big money elsewhere to retire, Marshawn, Okung, Kam can all make alot of money if they can put together a great run to finish the year. These guys on the wrong side of greatness have to either take what there worth on a good team or go cripple a bad team with a crazy contact that pays them for what they where at their best, but goodbye winning. They aren’t worth as much to another team without being so perfectly schemed to hide there deficiency’s anyway so I expect a soft market for Marshawn and Kam especially. Okungs health makes him a total wild card, no idea what or if he has a Starting tackle market at all elsewhere.

  33. Willyeye

    I felt like the Rams D was playing to injure, not just to intimidate…probably because Gregg “Bountygate” Williams is their DC. I’ve never seen 6 concusions in one game until now. And unfortunately, the refs ignored all the dirty/late hits. Russell got hit with 2 illegal hits on a slide early in the game. This had NOTHING ot do with the O-Line. QB’s are supposed to be “safe” when sliding. The refs didn’t consider throwing a flag for even a second…the Hawks getting the fewest penalties called on opposing teams has gone on for 2 seasons now, and quite frankly, it’s a miracle that there weren’t any serious injuries to the Hawks players yesterday. I believe teams know they can get away with this stuff against the Hawks. Wilson’s had like 10 hits on slides that I can remember this year, and not one was called. The Rams don’t just play tough. They don’t use their shoulders to tackle…every hit is a spear using their helmets. They are the dirtiest team in the NFL. They injured 3 QB’s this season, and almost injured Bridgewater & Russell with illegal hits.

    I’ve also come to the conclusion that Wilson is a horrible QB in really wet conditions. The Packers in the NFCCG…Russell was horrible. The Saints in the disvisional round 2 years ago…Russell had a tough day.

    I think that the Rams trying to kill Russell and actually hurting him (and the fact that Russell knew the refs wouldn’t protect him), the wet conditions, and the horrible pass protection from the Okung-less O-Line, all turned Russell into a scared, vulnerable kid. It’s sad that on what was probably the most important play in the game for him, he made the wrong decision and got hit hard/fumbled when he should have gotten out-of-bounds.

    • franks

      You’re right that he blew it, but you’re saying he was scared?? If he was scared, wouldn’t he go out of bounds?

      Russell needs someone to school him on the finer points of quarterbacking, and call plays that put him in a position to succeed. Every game this year against a quality defense, every call is dead in the water. It’s gotta be hard to hold your composure, when you know the play you’re about to run probably won’t work.

      But Russell was pretty good in the Superbowl against the Broncos that year, and it was rainy wasn’t it? I think he struggles against good teams, because the coaches keep putting him out there with a bad hand and bevel’s idea of bluffing is doing exactly what they’d expect you to do.

      Russell doesn’t have a scared bone in his body.

  34. Ty the Guy

    The Rams roster is packed with talent. The defensive line is one of the best/deepest in the NFL. Gurley/Mason/Cunningham is a top heavy three-headed monster. The offensive line made our d-line look mediocre. And when you realize that Quinn, Olgetree, etc. were on the injured list it just gets scarier.

    And then you take a look at Arizona. Carson Palmer is playing the best football of his career and looks to have a few seasons left in the tank. That WR corp is amazing, as is their entire defense.

    San Fran is the weak spot of the division, but is not without talent.

    What happens this offseason could make or break the Hawks. I think with the amount of cap eaten up by our core players, the margin for error is slim. We have to find more diamonds in the late rounds. And we CAN NOT miss on the early rounds. I am starting to form a theory that because our core guys are all late-rounders, UDFAs, and from the Island of Mis-Fit toys, they don’t mesh well with players who are supposed to be studs coming in. Examples: Harvin, Graham, Williams (of course Cary was just getting plain beat.) Because of this, I feel that oline is the only position that won’t matter to our guys in the first round. I may be wrong, but for some reason I just get that feeling.

    • vrtkolman

      It’s very possible we go 2-4 in the division this year with both wins against the lowly 49ers. The other teams are catching up, or in Arizona’s case have already passed us up. They are hungrier and are frankly much more physical than we have been. However things ebb and flow in the NFL. We have lost a lot of players the past few years. It will be Arizona and St. Louis’ turns for cap casualties soon enough.

      We have a great front office, coach, and program here. We can’t keep punting away 1st round picks though. The talent and depth issues have presented themselves the past 2 seasons.

  35. Mylegacy

    Rob, to me – the only take away of consequence from that game – was that the OLine regressed. Badly.

    With Okung out, nothing resembling blocking from the TE spot, and with the interior guys playing against Donald – perhaps the best interior DLine guy in the league – we were not up to the challenge.

    Not really too surprising. Hopefully, Okung’s return to the field, combined with Bailey’s return to the bench, along with Lewis’ extra 100 snaps “in the rain” to regain his edge, and not having to face Aaron Donald again until next year will be just the tonic needed for Cable to get the OLine back on track.

    I remain optimistic. With the 25 game and 63 game monkey’s no longer on our back we can just concentrate on beating the snot out of our next few opponents.

    Rob, I’ve got a good feelin’ ’bout the rest of this season…a good feelin’…

    • cha

      “With the 25 game and 63 game monkey’s no longer on our back we can just concentrate on beating the snot out of our next few opponents. ”

      I’d be dumbfounded if stat-watching caused any kind of distraction for this team.

    • franks

      Okung’s not gonna be blocking Donald or Brockers, or Hayes bulldozing over tight ends on the strong side. Perhaps we need better calls from center. Lewis might need more experience, or he might not be good enough.

      I wish I shared your optimism, legacy.

    • AlaskaHawk

      I’m surprised no one is calling out Sweezy, he was beat a number of times, and had two holding calls that negated large gains. Lewis isn’t that bad, he just got flustered and had a few bad snaps. Really I can’t give a gold star to any of the offensive line, but what do you expect when facing a historically great defensive line with five first round picks?

      • franks

        Alaska I’d expect them to know this beforehand and plan accordingly. Not come into the game thinking we’re gonna blow these guys off the ball, get stuffed and start throwing screens every other play. There’s no sophistication to this offense, there’s never any balance when we play someone good, it’s always just do one thing, over and over, then do another thing, over and over. Yesterday we got stuffed, then we threw some screens.

        You’re right about Sweeezy. But I remember Lewis snapping more than 2 bad snaps, and a lot of tight ends blocking DE’s by themselves, and Lewis seems more universal to what was happening all over the offensive line not just one spot.

        • Tien

          The OL played horribly yesterday and there’s no way any of us can defend their performance. I didn’t have much issue with the play calling because frankly, with how terrible the run blocking and pass pro was yesterday, I’m not sure calling different plays would have changed much. There may have a been a drive or two where we tried two running plays in a row but I didn’t get the sense that they were stubbornly running the ball on every drive just to establish the run. I thought that they did try to get the running game going, even against this tough D-Line because our OL’s recent success and the fact that you have to try running the ball occasionally to keep defenses honest, which made sense to me. Unfortunately, the OL played one of its worst performances, not only in terms of the poor run blocking and pass pro but also in costly penalties. If the OL had played better, Russ wouldn’t be running for his life back there (yes, at times running into sacks/pressure) and making poor throws.

          It all starts with the OL. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the OL played in recent weeks and was hopeful, it would continue against teams with good defenses. I thought the last two games against the Rams & Cardinals would tell us a lot about our OL/offense. Yesterday had to be characterized as a fail but 1) It was against probably the best DL in the league 2) It was also one of the worst games played by our OL and hopefully, just a bad game by them. We don’t need the OL to dominate but if they can’t play competently so that we have a semblance of a running game and can give Russell two or three seconds to throw the ball then our run in the playoffs won’t be a long one.

          To someone’s point from above, I truly believe that if we are to win the SB this year, the offense will need to outscore the other teams in shootouts. Our D still has good stats and will finish as one of the top defenses in the league again this year but I haven’t felt that they could shut down an offense and just get a stop when they needed to. And I don’t know if I’m just noticing it more this year but I can’t believe Earl still only tackles with his shoulder, with no attempt at all of wrapping up. On a key third down play yesterday, the RB, Cunningham(?), caught the ball behind the sticks, Earl takes a shot at him but doesn’t take him down because he didn’t wrap up and Cunningham then drags Wagner another couple of yards for the first down. Plays like this happen all the time this year. The defense’s philosophy is to let the receivers catch the ball in front of them and then limit the YAC but this year, we aren’t tackling well.

          Honestly, it didn’t even bother me that much that we lost yesterday (we’re still in the playoffs) but the fact that we played so terribly and got our butts kicked was the more disappointing thing. IMO, AZ with their tough D and explosive offense is the best team in the league so I don’t expect to win there next week but if we can get back on track to playing well then I’ll be happy and will like our chances in the playoffs. Go Hawks!!

          • AlaskaHawk

            Lets be honest here. The Seahawks haven’t really tried to make an elite offensive line since they picked Okung and Carpenter. They haven’t made a high round draft pick since. So it isn’t as if you can expect the mid to late round guys to become an elite group.

            What really hurts was the deliberate giving away of 3 first round draft picks, and the failure of the majority of second round draft picks to become starters. The only first round players on this team are Earl Thomas, Irvin and Okung. They were all chosen over 4 years ago. Since that era we have only had one second rounder Wagner become a starter.

            So if you miss on most of your first and second round draft picks (in the last 4 years), it is no wonder that the team sucks when faced with an elite defense composed of first rounders.

  36. red

    Arizona WR Cayleb Jones entering draft also OT Hawkins from LSU.

    • Miles

      Note on this is that WR Trey Griffey (Jr’s son) will probably have a very prominent role in Arizona’s offense next year. He will be a fun player to keep track of because of his ties to a Seattle legend and sort of dreaming for the possibility that he could resurrect the Griffey name with the Seahawks.

  37. Adam B

    The one silver lining to this game was that we won’t be facing Aaron Donald–Or any interior D-lineman within spitting distance of him, in the playoffs.

    Sure Clay Matthews and Rajai Davis can be disruptive at times, but the best remaining Defensive Line in the NFC playoffs is almost certainly the one cheering on Russell Wilson from the side-lines, and the only real threats are only an issue if the Seahawks make it to a game where they somehow end up playing an AFC team like the Bengals, Texans or Broncos… And then I think we’d take our chances.

    • Adam B

      How do I forget about a little team called the Cardinals, and a man named Calais? Especially this week.
      Oh well, still not the same caliber as Aaron Donald…

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