Instant reaction: Seahawks finally blow a winnable game

We can’t say it hasn’t been coming.

The Seahawks made hard work of games against bad New England and Dallas teams. Against a 1-5 Minnesota they probably should’ve lost.

The problem is the defense isn’t good enough to play complementary football. And that means Russell Wilson has to be exceptional.

Tonight, he was awful after half time.

He was spooked by the Arizona defense. He looked exhausted. It was a total and utter meltdown.

He threw three horrible interceptions (and it’s now four in two games) and the Seahawks thoroughly deserved to lose this game.

It wasn’t the only issue of course. The defense blew a 10-point lead with about four minutes left in the game. The tackling was dreadful and once again there was zero pass rush. Benson Mayowa’s bonehead special teams error gifted Arizona a touchdown. The way they offense just curled up into a ball at the end of the game, especially in overtime, while Arizona exploited Seattle’s tired unit was incredible.

The ref’s also played their part too.

Yet they simply made far too many mistakes in a mess of a performance. They lost a game they had no business losing.

The story of the season was always going to be can Wilson cover up for the defense. Any kind of stutter or stall and it’s goodnight Vienna.

We said all off-season — the Seahawks will win games with Wilson. But this defense will not make up for off-days. They will be exploited. They aren’t good enough. They bye week made absolutely no difference.

The Seahawks are now 0-1 in the NFC West — while the Cardinals are 2-0 and hold a tiebreaker over Seattle.

They play San Francisco next week, who just hammered the Patriots.

As good as 5-0 was — that’s not the goal. Winning the NFC West is. Going deeper into the playoffs is and not just flopping out in the first two rounds.

Not having the same season. That’s the target. Not 5-0.

I remain unconvinced that this Seahawks team is capable of doing it. We can clearly see the defense has regressed even from a terrible 2019 and isn’t good enough. There’s too much pressure on Wilson and the offense and look how they slumped and staggered in the second half.

If Wilson cannot play to a consistently brilliant level this is what can happen.

They have become one of those teams that is completely and solely dependant on the quarterback.

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279 Comments

  1. Tony

    Expecting niners to roll us up easily. Im seeing that offense dropping 40.

    • CaptainJack

      10-6 repeat here we come.

  2. CaptainJack

    Tyler Lockett was teary eyed at the end there.

    I can’t imagine how furious he is right now.

    • Alex H

      I would be too. Career night and you somehow blow it. It was the worst game I saw from Wilson (2nd half onward) I’ve seen in quite some time.

      • CaptainJack

        Agreed on all fronts.

    • GoHawksDani

      How good was Lockett? Like crazy…everybody bows to RW but his throws were all over the place (shorter ones), Lockett pulled down almost all ton with one hand. He had to stretch for most of the throws. And the endzone throw was also on Tyler. How crazy is that catch? The ball is basically out of the endzone, and to have the body controll to catch and tap both feet…wow…And his a tiny human being (compared to most NFL players), and to throw a block as crazy as he did at the end? He just throw his whole body with full strength to the defender. He was amazing…too bad almost all the other guys sucked (not Brown, DK, KJ)

  3. Ben

    Terrible 2nd half by Wilson. Those picks were brutal.
    The hold by Moore on the DK non-TD was unnecessary. Metcalf would’ve ran him over.

    • Hawkdawg

      Or at least gotten the first down. But that last pick…Lord that was awful. A serious miscommunication at best. No receiver was close to that ball, and no receiver was looking for it.

  4. SgtPeppy

    They couldn’t solve that Cover 0. It’s dogged Russ his whole career. I think the quick screen to DK is the antidote, swing pass to the back, they just haven’t figured it out

    • Jason

      The problem isn’t Russell, it’s our coaching staff’s inability to adjust by incorporating a half-decent short passing game that can deal with man coverage and an overloaded line of scrimmage.

  5. All I see is 12s

    Rob, you’re right about so many things. Sometimes it sucks.

  6. millhouse-serbia

    This is Mayowa lose.

    Defense and offenae were bad but good ebough to win this game if there werent Mayowa brain fart.

    • CaptainJack

      Nope. This is John Schneider’s loss for blowing free agency and the draft.

    • Tony

      I get penalties. It happens. But that was an epic bonehead play at the worst time.

    • drrew76

      No. Way too many problems to put it all on Mayowa.

      Needing 10 yards on three plays to win the game and not putting it in the hands of your star was the most painful moment for me

      • pdway

        amen . . 3rd and 2, let Russ make the play. I hated that call, and I could sense it was coming too . . .

  7. Elliott Atkinson

    Rob you’ve been right about the past rush all year. Hopefully this was the wake up call all the people criticizing you for being too negative needed. It’s an absolute embarrassment. Hopefully the front office makes some kind of move soon.

  8. Burner

    C’mon Rob. We were robbed today. That PF call on Wagner was criminal, cost us the game. Give respect please instead of taking cheap shots

    • CaptainJack

      You are either joking or you only watched five minutes of the game…

      • GHouse

        It obviously had a huge impact. Defense isn’t good enough to overcome gifts. Refs were awful all game, Hawks just made too many mistakes to overcome. Benson idiotic penalty was also game changing.

    • spartacus

      Please take your cope somewhere else. Or try to take Rob’s example and use your eyes to see what is right in front of you.

  9. Nate

    If Schneider does not trade for at least one defensive player (and frankly he should look to get multiple) by the trade deadline, his tenor as a GM should be seriously called into question if not an outright firing. He completely bungled this offseason by signing no one along while fooling around with Clowney, and now the Seahawks are going to throw away a Super Bowl winning offense because the defense can’t stop a wet paper bag.

    Russ did himself no favors tonight with the 3 picks (he played like garbage the entire second half & OT if I am being honest), but you cannot expect the offense to put up 35-40 every time just to secure a win. I can see why he was pushing for AB to get signed (which again the front office whiffed on and lost him to Tampa), how can you trust this defense at all? Can’t pass rush, can’t cover, and they can’t even stop the run if the opposing team actually puts their mind to it.

    I do not care if it takes the next 5-6 years worth of draft picks to get meaningful defensive help. Get. It. Done.

    • CaptainJack

      Russ was exhausted from carrying this sorry ass team and defense on his back all season.

  10. Hawkcrazy

    This game was won until Mayowa made an incredibly bonehead play. We sure missed Carson and this game convinced me we have to resign him. I really was unimpressed with Hyde or the playcalling of Schotty getting Hyde involved. Dallas did nothing as well and on those late rushes was lost in the backfield while Russ was getting sacked. Now I know why Homer has been our 3rd down back. Hope Penny is returning soon. We really missed Jamal Adams this game.

  11. seaspunj

    my only hope is that after this game that JS/PC will trade for a pass rusher …

    it is very evident and even Chris Collingsworth mentioned Seahawks need a pass rush

    safety Blitzes are fun when it works but not sustainable. This front 4 needs a true pass rush threat ASAP

    • CaptainJack

      The need for pass rush is so obvious everyone can see it.

      Can’t believe miserable trolls come here to torment Rob for writing about the pass rush/ defensive line in general!!!

    • Nate

      Funny thing is how Vance Joseph showed how much better of a DC he is compared to Ken Norton Jr. The Cardinals lost their best pass rusher in Chandler Jones but were still able to crush us in the 4th quarter and OT with a variety of blitz and coverage packages from virtually the same look every time.

      Meanwhile I’d be surprised if KNJ had more than 5 blitz plays in his playbook, and certainly nothing anywhere close to creative as what Joseph cooked up at the end of the game.

      • pdway

        it’s so true — how many times did we rush 3 and spy Shaquem? gives murray all day, and he can still scrambel away anyway. super vanilla D all game.

      • seaspunj

        100% agree KNJ was outcoached by VJ the schemes deployed definitely caused confusion and most importantly the timing of those schemes

      • Uncle Bob

        Yours is an observation that doesn’t always get appreciated here, though I’ve shared it for some time. VJ showed a fair bit of this type of defensive play calling in the Dallas game though earlier and more often. I suspect he was more conservative last night because of his respect for Russ and his running ability. But when the chips were down toward the end of regulation and beyond he dialed up those pressure formations to good affect. Sure, Seattle has a relative player talent deficit, but Arizona isn’t playing with a bunch of blue chippers either (two players at best). It’s about getting your guys in a position to succeed, not just other worldly talent. That, and exploit/force your opponent to muff it. The naysayers will mutter about it being “Pete’s defense”, but Norton controls the implementation and timing of the prescribed formations as well as the choice of personnel, he’s not without fault. However, you could change him tomorrow, which isn’t necessarily a good idea at this point in the season, and it probably wouldn’t help more than at the margins. And it’s not going to happen anyway. Pete, and we, have to live with his choice.

  12. Chavac

    Just really weird picks by Russ. Every single one looked like someone got the route wrong. To see that 3 times in 1 game… just weird.

  13. pdway

    I guess we can bag on Mayowa, looked to me more like he was just trying to get past the guy (and he was for sure offsides) than ‘leveraging’, a dumb play, but a pretty out of nowhere call at that moment.

    This loss is on the offense. We know what the defense is – we can underscore it again and again and it won’t change the fact – but the offense is supposed to be special. I swear the maddest I was all game wasn’t the crappy RW picks, it was when we ran Carlos Hyde into the line on 3rd and 2 at the moment the game was to be iced. Have the balls to let your best player make a play. He’d been running for yards all night.

    And then, just too many mistakes – the holding on Moore being the final icing on the cake. It was a hold, and it wasn’t necesary for the 1st down.

    Agree w some notes from others, Wilson looked exhausted at the end – and it seemed like we were out of sorts once they started blitzing every down.

    Super frustrating, b/c there will be games where we are not the better team, and deserve the loss all day, this is one we should have put in the bag in regulation.

    • BobbyK

      Offense deserves blame, that’s for sure. There’s plenty of it to go around this game but you don’t see any fault with the defense giving up 37 points?

      • pdway

        of course I do – i just know they are the weak link, and my expectations are such that i’m happy when they surprise me w positive play.

        We all know this team will go as far as the offense can take us – I guess I expect more from them for sure.

      • 12th chuck

        I think the last 4 arizona drives took less than 4 minutes to score. Pathetic

    • Alex H

      The whole team look exhausted, but so was Arizona. Zona was just tougher this game. Also, ticked me off that Metcalf was largely forgotten during the game (2 catches). His biggest play wasn’t even on offense, but preventing a pick six.

      • McZ

        Test him at speed rusher, seriously

  14. BobbyK

    When they have 10+ point leads late in the third quarter or fourth quarter, the sad truth is you know they have to score more than what they already have because the defense will give those leads back.

    And when Russ isn’t brilliant – they have no chance because the rest of the team is just that bad.

    They will make the playoffs and bow out in the Wild Card or Divisional Round if they aren’t able to acquire an EDGE. It’s pretty simple.

    They may yet win the Super Bowl if they could somehow land a Dunlap. They’re not that far away. But there’s no way they’re serious Super Bowl winners with this clown show “rushing” the passer on 3rd and 10 situations.

    • pdway

      or at least keep the drive going. This game was first down away from being readily over.

      We all know the D is weak, and of course we all want it to get better, but with what we’ve got, we just need the offense to be able to come up w 2 yards there.

      • Scot04

        It’s hard to say if even one edge can do it. Dunlap is better than what we have, but it could take a couple players on DL to have the Impact we need. Based on our front office though I’ll be happy with almost any DE in trade. Hopefully ASAP so he’ll be ready for our next game.

      • AlaskaHawk

        I have to agree with Scott, this defense is about 2 edge rushers and a cornerback away from being good.

  15. GlastoHawk UK

    The game turned when Carson went out of it. Same last year, when Carson was injured our season ended.

  16. pdway

    also – Carson’s absence shouldn’t be underestimated. He’s a really good RB, and the talent drop-off from him to Hyde is the difference in a 6 yard gain and a 2-yard gain . . .it makes everything easier. Hyde is a back-up and no more – that was clear in the 2nd half.

    So frustrating, 6-0 was right there.

    • spartacus

      Same with Homer. Dallas was completely lost in pass pro.

      • pdway

        agreed

    • 12th chuck

      I hope penny comes back soon. Dallas caused at least one sack by missing his blocking assignment

    • Ky Swift

      Losing Carson was huge. The offense definitely sputters when he isn’t out there. I would like to think he would’ve gotten that first down if we gave him the ball all three downs.

  17. Pran

    Cards figured out Hawks Offense. Schotty had no answers and some of the dumbest play calls and execution.
    Cards D is no better than Hawks D players wise yet they could take down Russ and Co.
    Vance Joseph vs Ken decided the winner tonight.

    – worst officiating
    – dumb plays on offense and defense
    – defense less said better. Everyone can take 50% pay cut
    – there is no need for a DE trade. One and done in playoffs regardless
    – Let Russ Cook gone too far. Carson’s pay doubled tonight. This offense can’t do a shit without running game

  18. RG858

    Thanks Rob for all you do and your articles are fantastic. I am convinced that this franchise can’t win a
    Another super bowl with Pete Carroll running this team. This whole franchise seems very complacent with were there which is sad and please call me out if I am wrong.! I am thinking some trade is going is going to help but I agreed with you that are options are so limited and we are wasting a year that we could win a super bowl. Thanks

  19. Jordan E

    Reeks of arrogance almost- especially by all the fans who were giving so much crap about the criticism of the pass rush and the failed AB pursuit. This Hawks team is far from finished. This is exactly why you don’t get too high with the high moments and instead focus more on like improving the team.

    Being positive all the time and unrealistic about the team does not lead to success. This team has to make a trade for pass rusher or playmaker or this team won’t go far. This offense is anemic without Carson.

    • CaptainJack

      Bingo

  20. Tony

    I hope that presser is full of hard questions that make pete and john answer for. Or make them do something. Loss could be an eye opener for the perpetually blind FO.

  21. Matt

    It’s gonna be an ugly 4 weeks – I don’t see us winning unless RW plays like he did in the first 3 weeks.

    • CaptainJack

      If we blow next week, we’re in trouble.

    • BobbyK

      They won’t go 0-4 but they don’t have a realistic chance to win the Super Bowl if the Mayowa/Collier clown show continues “rushing” from the edges. Even if they get someone like Dunlap, they’re still going to be bad rushing the passer. It just won’t be as terrible.

      • CaptainJack

        We might be just as bad. Dunlap kind of looks washed

  22. 12th chuck

    tough games coming up. Hope there isnt a hangover next week. Need a new coordinator and several players as well. would it be worth trading next years draft away for defensive players now ? flowers has to be benched. Griffin should lose his starting job and we need to tackle better. All the mistakes made cost the game, cant blame it on 1 thing, but lack of d stood out the most. WE need PASS RUSHERS!!!!

  23. Hughz

    I know we play conservative defense in crunch time, but why didn’t we dial up some blitzes? He had all day to sit back and pick us apart in the 4th and OT.

  24. Chris

    If Schneider doesn’t go and get Carlos Dunlap right now, then it’s another 10-6 season. This Defense isn’t getting any better. They turned the ball over three times and that still wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of their play.

    Rob, you highlight the importance of running back a lot. This game was a good example why. The offense slowed down massively without Carson, and Dallas could not replicate Homer’s blitz pickups.

    And as great as it was to see Lockett get huge numbers, how can you only throw the ball to Metcalf 3 times all game? Even if it’s just a screen, you have to get him involved.

    • Hughz

      To be fair, DK was locked up with Peterson.

    • John

      Dunlap won’t improve the defense and if he’s a rental they’ll be in the same exact situation next year.

      • BobbyK

        A good edge rusher won’t improve the defense? Did you really say that?

        • CaptainJack

          Let’s be real. There’s a high probability that Carlos Dunlap isn’t good anymore. Have you watched any bengals games this season?

        • John

          Dunlap will improve the defense,but only as much as Clowney did if not less.

          • CaptainJack

            Clowney is probably way better than Dunlap. The hope is Dunlap can be somewhat better than mayowa which shouldn’t be hard to do.

            • Jordan E

              This just makes me think we gotta get a WR or something. There are actual playmaking WRs available (Thielan, OBJ (if healthy), Cooks, Fuller, etc.).

              Dunlap will make us better but he is far from a premier pass rusher.

        • spartacus

          Even a bad pass rusher is an improvement at this point

      • Nate

        Does it matter if he is a 1-year rental though? There is no guarantee that we get this type of potent offense back for 2021 at all, and if we don’t then we would have just wasted a potential MVP season from Russell for nothing (although that case for MVP probably went down after his 3 picks today). In my view this is the exact time Schneider should shove his chips all-in and make a move or two.

        The Seahawks don’t need a top 10 defense to have a serious shot at a Super Bowl, they just need an average one (or at the very least not a horrendously bad one that is giving up a historic amount of yards this year). Looking towards the future (ex. trading away Clark) is how we got into this defensive mess in the first place.

    • pdway

      The Cards aren’t some dominant force – they did also just give up 572 yards to us, i’m not ready to concede that we are a worse team b/c they won a game in OT at home, when we made mistake after mistake.

      we also still play the giants, jets, eagles, washington.

      it’s a dumb loss, it’s not the end of the road.

      • John

        If Seattle can’t beat Arizona what makes you think they can beat Tampa,Greenbay,and even the Rams. I even think the Eagles could give them a run for their money.

      • CaptainJack

        This is the problem.

        We’re a playoff team but not a Super Bowl team.

  25. Pran

    We will be lucky to go 3-3 in division.

  26. James Z

    The defense’s strategy: bend, then break…

    Those 3 straight runs on the last series of downs in regulation was conservative play calling at it’s worst.

    It is highly questionable if Seattle can play .500 ball with the West. SF and LA are going to be tough, tough games and even Ari. in a few weeks is going to be tough going. Yeah, they might make the playoffs, but getting more than 1 win there is going to come down to having at least a semblance of a league average D.

    • Tim

      I can hardly agree with you more.

      I am SO sick of seeing my teams trying to close out winnable games in the last 2.5 minutes by saying ‘oh! Let’s run the ball time after time again! This is how we win! We will run down the clock’

      It’s so amazing to me. It’s almost like the NFL insists that teams do whatever they can to let the other team back into the game. Now, I DO understand that runs are good at running down the clock. But what’s better? FIRST DOWNS.

      At that point the Seahawk coaches were just asking to lose. You can’t believe how many times I’ve seen good quarterbacks send their teams down the field in the last 1-2 minutes left in the game. Sure, failure happens. But flying down the field in the last 2 minutes of a game happens so many times each week it’s not remotely funny.

      It’s so frustrating. It’s like the Prevent Defense — that wonderful zone defense that became conventional wisdom until Madden’s wonderful phrase, ‘all a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning’.

      The Seahawks coaches deserve to be second guessed this time. That last series was awful playcalling.

  27. BobbyK

    Another thing that really factored into the loss… I saw Dallas and Hyde get absolutely blown up in pass “protection” tonight. Homer isn’t great, but did he get hurt or something that I’m not aware of? Because he’s actually a good blocking RB. Could have used him to help keep Russ safe late.

    Run, run, run, punt is not how you win games late with our defense. You need to play to win, not play to not lose. Three runs to Hyde and I figured the game was over (though to my surprise they made it to OT before losing).

    • pdway

      totally agree. And I’d thought Schottenheimer had figured that out. . . and then w the game in the balance, ready to be iced, he reverted back to total conservatism. And put the game in the hands of a 2nd rate back instead of the franchise QB.

    • spartacus

      Homer has a knee contusion per Pete.

    • Tim

      Complete agreement – see my comment above.

      It’s never, ever good to force a gassed defense to defend against a desperate team led by a good quarterback in the past two minutes.

      I’ve seen that method of running to close out the game fail again and again. This is such a peeve.

  28. Matthew Still

    tough loss, mostly on RW, those were some bad INTs, but so many things went wrong, the penalties were pretty awful and some really bad calls. Hey what can ya do, sometimes RW lays a stinker, and to think his stinker is still 300+yards with 3tds and a game like that.

    we are still very much a 13-3 team. We lost a game we win 9 out of 10 days. It sucks, but I am not terribly concerned, in division on the road. Tough to swallow but RW wont be this messy down the stretch anytime soon after this one.

    • Hawkdawg

      We are NOT a 13-3 team as currently constructed, unless Russ is Superman consistently. And tonight he was not. At least in the second half and overtime.

  29. Rgsd858

    Thanks for everything you do on this website. I am convinced that this franchise can’t win another Super Bowl with Carroll and this front office running things and the media in this town are bunch of Homer’s. I now I want some trade to solve things but with his team it seems very unlikely. It seems like another season wasted. Thanks again

  30. Jason

    It drives me crazy that people are blaming Russell for this. Like Rob said, Russell has to be pretty near perfect to overcome this defense, and I’ll add that he’s also overcoming an offensive philosophy that tends towards conservatism when it gets in tight situations.

    • Hughz

      Its a team loss for sure but man RW struggled to adjust what AZ was doing. The 3 ints were bad. I’m not expert but they appear all to be his fault. You can give away the ball 3 times in a game and expect to win.

    • pdway

      He threw three picks. He gets some of the blame. Agree we got far too conservative at the end of the game. But we only scored 7 pts after halftime.

      Doesn’t mean the defense isn’t bad – they are – that’s not a surprise.

    • Alex H

      He was great in the first half. Played the worst I’ve seen him in the second half. Just looked lost. Those were not unlucky interceptions. Those were just bad throws. One should have been a pick six. As a whole, Murray outplayed Wilson in this game (he had that one awful interception where the throw sailed, but was otherwise better.)

  31. Big Mike

    This team as presently constructed as zero, zip, zilch, nada chance in hell of getting to an NFC Championship game let alone a Super Bowl. This defense is one of if not the the worst I’ve ever seen in 56 years of watching football. Yes, Russ had a shit 2nd half. Yes the refs screwed Seattle on that PF call on Bobby. Yes the loss of Carson hurt badly. But any kind of decent defense paves the way for a comfortable win tonight despite all of that.

    I will continue to watch the rest of this season as entertainment, but they’ve already beat my passion for this year out of me because I simply [i]know[i]. There will be a playoff spot. It will be a Wild Card and they will lose in the WC or Divisional round.

    Many of us here have seen this coming all along starting with Rob (but he’s certainly not alone) and it’s now playing out as we expected. So incredibly sad that Pete turned a great defense into an embarrassment.

  32. Matthew Still

    we were also missing Jamal Adams who makes a huge difference in a game like this against a Murray type, he woulda stuffed Edomonds too. Adams being out was killer!

    • CaptainJack

      Honestly Jamal Adams hasn’t made crap different to this team. They’re bad with him and they’re bad without him.

      • Alex H

        and we paid a king’s ransom for it leaving us with no draft capital

      • BruceN

        No doubt we paid too much for Adams. But he is a difference maker. He brings juice and an edge to this defense that is lacking without him. I hate to pile on but we need to have a better scheme defensively. Seeing some of the things VJ did to confuse a savvy vet like Russell and compare that to what we did (or didn’t do) to Kyle tells the story. Our pass rush is non-existent but this D cannot and should not be this bad with so many good players.

        • Alex H

          The scheme itself is fine (and has been for 25 years since the mid 90s). It just doesn’t have the right players in it (i.e. a pass rushing 3 Tech + LEO). The defensive backs are individually talented, but they were all put together within a year.

  33. Paul di Furia

    Anyone who thinks Rob has been beating the drum too much the Hawks failure to add pass rush, I submit the following stat:

    50 drop backs, O QB hits on Murray.

    • Big Mike

      Ding, ding, ding we have a winner.

    • Jordan E

      Wow. That is so bad its almost impressive… Knew they were terrible but wow. 50 dropbacks and not even 1 QB hit??

      And again the backlash from people telling Rob he was complaining too much about the pass rush??? Like wow. Dont even know what to say.

      • Big Mike

        I’ll start: they were not smart and he was right.

      • BobbyK

        Unbelievable. I know our DL is trash, but that’s historically terrible.

  34. Scott

    Spot on as usual
    Just gave away a big division game with stupid mistakes
    The defense needs fixing trade for a pass rusher know
    This team at 5-1 has been the most frustrating team of Seahawks I can ever remember watching because we all know that the way they have won is not sustainable and not super bowl caliber
    Ok I am done ranting but please get a pass rusher to help the offense

    • Hughz

      Don’t worry we have Sullivan coming off the edge soon. Pair him with snacks and we should be just fine.

  35. Matthew Still

    So now PC has a loss after a +4pt lead at halftime and one when they give up over 350yds passing?!

  36. Malc from PO

    I’m in the emotion after the game, but I find it hard to take any positives out of that performance. Obviously the defence is not good enough, but the whole set-up is just a basket case of a team that comes down to a coin-flip at the biggest moments. No discipline or savvy. We’ve been able to beat some similar basket-case teams but can you imagine us lining up against Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, or Kansas City. It would be men against boys. SF are getting their game together and we’ll struggle against them. Very poor.

  37. BobbyK

    It’s never as rosy after a win and it’s never as dire after a loss. We’re 5-1 and we’d feel great if we were 5-1 and the loss came early. But the loss came now, but we’re still 5-1. Perspective.

    We know the defense is trash and there’s no hope thinking they can win the Super Bowl if they can’t rent a pass rusher (odds go dramatically up if they could get two). Had you told me they’d be at 5-1 at this point with Mayowa-Collier, I wouldn’t have believed it. However, this isn’t sustainable to be this worthless on defense and continue to think they can go from 5-1 to 10-2.

    And it’s not just the defense that is trash. The LBs are pretty good and the secondary is okay when Adams gets back (though seeing Flowers on the field scares me to death these days). And I really don’t think they’re horrible at DT.

    Basically, this entire season has no hope if they don’t do something about EDGE. That’s the single defining problem that will prevent realistic Super Bowl aspirations.

    • pdway

      I agree w all of that.

      And I think what it comes down to is that the defense’s weakness just reduces our margin for error. RW has to be elite for us to be the solid teams. And usually he is – and btw, he should be, he’s making elite-level money – – but when he’s not, there’s really no plan B.

      But also worth noting, it’s a road loss to a decent team, in a game that we really should have won, and as you noted, none of us were thinking we’d go 16-0, 5-1 is still a great start to this season.

      I think we still win 12 games. Every other team in the NFC has weaknesses too.

    • Hughz

      NFC west is so tough right now that losing a winnable division game will hurt just like a winnable playoff game.

    • Volume12

      Agreed w/ everything. Well said.

  38. Leonardo

    I have never been worried that Russ was going to drop back and turn it over like Favre, but for the first time in nine years I’m scared that Russ is going to make a mistake. It just seems like he’s pressing, always looking for the big play, not just taking what’s available. Maybe he knows the defense is nonexistent so he can’t afford to play the field position game, but he was manic tonight. Someone had to calm him down and slow things down a bit. It shouldn’t be so easy to rattle him, but the Cards just outfoxed him mentally with their disguises and blitzes.

    Also, it has become really clear that Carson is the second most important player on this offense, even more so than our WRs. Without him, we become insanely one-dimensional. And no matter how many bodies PC + JS try to throw at our problems, quantity is no replacement for quality.

    And on that note, I see that all of Twitter and Reddit is calling for Ken Norton’s head like it’s the magic bullet. Does 2013 simply mean that PC + JS will never be criticized for their roster decisions ever again? I’m sure Norton isn’t the best, but Bill Belichick couldn’t craft an average defense out of the detritus that they have assembled. The sad thing for me is that not only is this year wrecked, it looks like it will be several seasons before we have the opportunities from this summer again.

    • CaptainJack

      I said Carson is the second most important guy earlier in the season. I believe it more than ever. Resign him. This team is always screwed without him.

    • Big Mike

      Joe Q. Fan may put it all on Ken Norton, but I for one know better. (I’m not alone) This is on Pete Carroll. Not Norton, Not John, Pete Carroll.

    • Jason

      Yeah, Ken’s clearly the pro-Pete crowd’s scapegoat. As if Ken isn’t running the same damned defense Pete’s been running since the 80s, only this time with a horrific defensive line that Pete & John gave him. It’s really kind of embarrassing.

  39. Hoggs41

    These games all even out in the end. Shouldnt have won the game against the Vikings but should have won this one. We need next week badly against the 49ers.

  40. clbradley17

    Tyler came to play! Too bad everything else had tons of flaws – D as usual, play-calling, costly penalties, OL getting Russ creamed several times, Russ getting int. 3 times, injuries to Carson and Griffin. We were at least 10 points up at least twice after halftime, and gave it away. Only great player was Tyler – he had 200 yds. 3 TDs and don’t follow fantasy, but saw he had a score in the 50s, never seen that for a WR, QB or at all as far as I can remember. When was the last time a WR had 200 yds. in a game? Did he set Seahawks’ records for a WR? Extremely disappointed and pissed we lost the game, but trying to find a silver lining somewhere, and tonight it was Tyler.

  41. Denver Hawker

    Defense dead last in league allowing 479 yards/gm. Atlanta is next at 426…

    Sure- Russ has an off night by his standards and the refs performance was garbage, but this was a winnable game. Offense had nearly 600 yards, balanced, and scored plenty of points to win. We don’t need a top 10 D, just average.

    There is no easy fix this year. Getting Adams back isn’t enough. Dunlap isn’t a savior. Last I checked, AB doesn’t rush the passer. Any trade leaves the cupboard empty on picks next year too.

    This roster is dependent on player development and we’re seeing regression in Griffin, Flowers, Wagner, Reed, Diggs, etc. Thank God for KJ cheating Father Time.

    • CaptainJack

      Good thing we don’t have first round picks the next two years to address how terrible the defense is.

      • Denver Hawker

        So we can draft Collier, Brooks, Blair, and an IR guy again?

        I’m not convinced those picks are worth anything anyhow with the way this FO has drafted lately.

        • John

          Well that must mean someone in the Front Office needs to get fired if they consistently mismanage 1st round picks. By the way Pete Carroll is in charge of John Schneider so he should be first to the chopping block.

  42. Garrett House

    At this point the defense performance can’t be all on the players. Either Pete needs to change something or Norton has to go. Coaching or scheme is definitely playing a role, they get steamrolled constantly.

  43. Forrest

    Well, GG Cards, tough loss to a up-and-coming team, but I think a loss at this point was sort of inevitable, they couldn’t sustain that kind of luck forever, this brings them back to earth and allows Wilson to refocus.

    That being said I definitely think some sort of trade needs to be made to add something to this D-line. The defense has been a giant sore spot this season (clutch sometimes, but porous most of the time). Any sort of help would be appreciated. Hopefully a healthy Jamal Adams pumps some wind into th sails, but the D-Line needs some help ASAP, and and I don’t think any of the injured guys (Green/Taylor) will not make a big enough impact (who knows though?). If a trade happens and guys come back healthy I think there could be a bit of a turnaround from a bottom tier defense to a serviceable mid tier defense, but something has to happen first.

    I still think this offense is great, but Wilson crumbled under pressure after one good half; that’s concerning. I do however think this loss will be a bit of a wake up call, and he will come back balling against the 49ers. A good humbling now and then is good I think.

    I still think they have a great chance of going 3-1 over their next 4 games (probably losing to Rams), and then probably ending at 12-4 or 13-3…but they need to refocus offensively, and do ANYTHING to bolster that defense or else it’s a repeat of recent years. Hopefully that usual late season surge happens again and wasn’t wasted in the first 5 games.

    Super Bowl contender this year? I don’t know, but if they can get wins against the Rams and 49ers I think they could be, knock on wood. Watching games in Japan sucks btw because it’s usually 2am for game time (9:20 today), so I can’t make any kind of noise…these heart attack games are hard to contain, lul. Anyway, onto the 49ers, hopefully a win there with and an incoming D-line trade. Go Hawks!

  44. Volume12

    3 costly penalties. 13 points off of those too. Made even worse by the fact that DK had that. Came through when we needed him most. Should have back to back walk off TD’s. Beat themselves.

  45. Hughz

    Post game press conference with Pete – first question was asked about the pass rush. Pete’s response basically kyler is tough to get a sack on but we need to get better.

    • Forrest

      Hopefully that means something interesting will happen/change soon…but it also sounds like a pretty run of the mill Pete answer :’)

    • Big Mike

      Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. You’re boring Pete. Even the average fan knows. 50 dropbacks, ZERO QB hits. Your roster construction is crap. What are you gonna do about it?

    • Volume12

      He’s not lying. How do you even defend stuff anymore? From what offenses are doing, rule changes, athletes at QB & WR, from that god awful call on Wagner. Exactly how you teach it. Flag. So now coaches have to change fundamentally. Beyond frustrating.

      Not excusing the glaring need defensively btw.

      • Denver Hawker

        Pete’s not wrong. Kyler has only been sacked 3x last 3 games combined. He can make you pay if you miss or get behind him.

        But Pete has said the same thing every week! _____ is hard to take down, need to get better.

  46. Pran

    Pete isn’t getting any younger. FO is no shakes. Bad drafts, no player development. No picks next season. It may take one or two more off seasons to be the team, for what?
    Hawks need to plan for life after Pete and possibly JS.

    It pisses me that Schotty can run Pete’s offense but Ken cannot run D. This is the same situation we had with Cable and Bevell. Change worked wonders for offense.

  47. Rgsd858

    Just proves my point how bad the local media is and Pete Carroll needs to be checked

  48. Gohawks5151

    No gonna rehash the obvious.

    -I can’t say it enough, DK needs 3 bubble screens a game. It’s easy money vs the pressure.
    – Screen game has dried up. It needs to be back.
    – Where did the multiple TE sets go in the second half? The check and release option is sorely needed.
    – Carson is a big difference maker.
    -Some huge calls went against us.
    – Brooks made some nice plays.
    – D from s bad, but also has not had any chance for continuity on the back end. Now Shaq out…

  49. Rg858sd

    Just shows how out of touch you fans are. Rob was right I have seen a very ignorant and out of tough fan base which goes with where this franchise is heading very stale

    • Jordan E

      Pure arrogance from the fanbase. All of our wins have been against bad teams; the pass rush is inept; we need an extra weapon on offense (AB); and our current team is not ready for a super bowl. Were a playoff team for sure, but SB contender? Not sure…

      We NEED to make a move this week. Hoping for a good pass rusher or a legit playing WR. We need a WR who is great RAC, short-game and possession. AB WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT.

  50. JLemere

    A whole of bunch questions for the offseason

    1. Do you give Carson a contract? He might be asking for top 5 RB money which is roughly around 12.5 million. He is a nice complimentary piece in the offense, but he might be injured prone (I’ll reserve judgment until Carson’s MRI comes back). Plus you have Rashaad Penny who is on his 3rd year on his contract and will have to make a decision there soon if you want to give him a contract extension or at least exercise the 5th year option

    2. What do you offer Griffin and/or Dunbar? These guys aren’t top 10 CBs and right now it’s hard to argue that they are top 15, especially with the price being around 11 million a year and for the top 20 is around 9 million. If you let go of one of them, you might need FA to replace that position, but are there any CBs that can learn PC’s techniques?

    3. Do you ask Wagner for a pay cut? I appreciate him and all that he has done for the Seahawks, but this defense proves that Wagner needs a D-line in order to be the most effective on the field and giving him 17 million next year and 20 million the following year is not worth it.

    • Jordan E

      Great questions. In my opinion, we cut Carson and sign only Griffin or Dunbar (depending on whoever signs a fair price). Bobby wont take a pay cut but he should. He’s slowed down this season.

      We need to do what Russell originally wanted us to do this offseason. Sign SUPERSTARS. We need real game changers on this team.

      • Michigan 12th

        I don’t think adding more superstars on offense is going to help us win more games. Our offense is not a problem. More pieces may or may not make us better. You can only spread the ball so much. We need more defenders that can play, at lest adequately.

        • Jordan E

          It looked like a problem in the game tonight. The offense without Carson was ineffective. Looked like last years team where Russ was throwing it a lot but making a lot of bad decisions. And we did not even spread it around that much. DK had like 1 catch all game. All other throws were going to Lockett.

          We do need defenders but if the trade market lets say is like a 2nd is worth for Thielen or Dunlap. Then Thielen would by far be the better move in my opinion. Russ was not a magician last night. Playing like that will get him out of the MVP race. Especially on a prime time game with division rival.

    • Gary

      Maybe if we got rid of PC, we could finally stop worrying about whether our CBs can learn his “technique”. How’s that technique been working for us lately? PC is so far past his best-before date. I dream of the day this team is being coached by a young, progressive 30-something like McVay, Shanahan, McDermott, Kingsbury …

      • JLemere

        Well unless SEA gets new ownership or Jody Allen grows a pair, the power will remain with PC and his cover 3 defense.

        • Big Mike

          Correct. We’re going to see this same old song and dance for another several years. By the time a change is made, Russell’s prime will be exhausted.

  51. Michigan 12th

    I just don’t know if this team can be fixed. We will have a lot of players to sign next year, and will not have enough money to sign everyone, especially because they will sign another 11 O-lineman again. That Adams trade is going to hamper us for a while, and I fear we are now going to be like the Steelers for the last four years. Wilson will win us games, but we will not go far. I fear we have settled to mediocrity.

    Our secondary is plain horrible.

    Dline sucks.

    Linebackers are fine, but Wright, who is playing the best this year will probably be gone next year.

    This defense has holes everywhere and with a roster full of free agents, what choice do the Seahawks have but to keep signing low to mid grade players to fill holes? All we can hope for is that they figure out how to play better, because there is no solution for the foreseeable future. Especially after they sign Adams.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t think it can be fixed mid-season either.

      This is what they are this year. And as I’ve felt for a while, this is going to be problematic in the NFC West games and playoff games.

      For what they spent (money & picks) this year it’s a disgrace that the defense looks this bad.

      • Michigan 12th

        Unfortunately I agree and have agreed with all your articles outlining this. I fear the golden years of being a fane may be coming to an end quicker than we wanted them to.

  52. Rob Staton

    Podcast should be on my YouTube channel in 30 mins.

    I’m off to bed, will put on the blog later.

  53. Rgsd858

    These are the games why Russell Wilson doesn’t have a MVP vote. When he throws interceptions they are terrible and rookie mistakes it’s pathetic

  54. cha

    Grading my watch points

    Home away from home.
    Grade: D

    Something strange always happens in Arizona, despite what the Seahawks’ record is. They started out owning the place, and then fell apart in the second half. They both simultaneously should have won (RW’s brillance, DK’s insane run down, the missed FG by Arizona, strange penalty call on BW) and fully deserved to lose (RW’s INTs, Mayowa’s penalty, overall defense). Huge chance to take control of the division wasted.

    Aggressively attack the Arizona pass defense.
    First Half: A-
    Second Half: F
    Overall Grade: D+

    This offense came out sparkling. RW was doing whatever he wanted from the first play of the game. Arizona chose to defer and that was a big mistake. The Seahawks came out attacking just as I thought they would.

    Then the second half happened. It as if all their aggression was spent in the first half. They stopped taking shots downfield and started relying on short outlet passes to Hyde and Dallas. With Carson out they had no aggression in the run game. And yet – to ice the game they called on Carlos Hyde 4 straight times rather than put the ball in your QB’s hands. Unacceptable. Shame on you Schottenheimer. You should know better.

    Defense: Can you provide controlled aggression?
    Grade: D

    You had two weeks to put a plan together, and this is what you come up with? 519 yards conceded?

    That was a disgrace. Missed tackles (BW how do you make $18m and are considered the best MLB in football and can’t make that sack on Kyler?), poor coverage on TDs (Griffen, you let Kirk sail past you and it didn’t occur to you he’d be free in the EZ? Dunbar, you might want to turn your head around when you get near the goal line and track the ball), and porous rush defense (Chase Edmonds looked like the second coming of Marshall Faulk out there).

    DK Metcalf is now the best tackler on the team.

    The stand after the Baker INT, KJ blowing up 2 TEs and the 2 turnovers keep you from getting an F.

    Contain Kyler.
    Grade: F

    360 yards passing. 67 yards rushing. He had all day to throw. Open lanes to run into. And it’s quite possible the first guy to touch him didn’t bring him even once.

    CBs: Keep DeAndre Hopkins from dominating the game.
    Grade: D

    12 targets, 10 catches, 103 yards and a TD. Getting stripped by Poona could have been a huge turning point if Seattle scores on the ensuing drive.

    Jason Myers: Be ready. For the love of God, please be ready.
    Grade: A

    2 for 2 on FGs, 4 for 4 on PAT’s. Never got a chance to be a hero in OT sadly. But I asked you to be ready and you were. Can’t ask much more than that.

    • CaptainJack

      I honestly don’t see how any grade can be above an F in such a nasty loss

  55. CaptainJack

    If Julien Edelman can get a stab at cornerback… why can’t DK get some work as a defensive end or outside linebacker?

  56. DougM

    Do the Seahawks make the playoffs with this scenario? No

    NFC West
    Rams 12-4
    49ers 11-5
    Hawks 10-6

    NFC North
    Packers 13-3
    Bears 11-5

    NFC South
    Bucs 13-3
    Saints 11-5

    • Simon McInnes

      Do you really see the Rams and 49ers winning that many? Watched almost all of their games after the finish and they are decent but not that great.

  57. Scot04

    Rob,
    Great post game write up and podcast by you and Robbie.
    Crazy game… after the missed fieldgoal and 1 minute left I figured the worst was a tie.
    I don’t see one Pass Rusher being enough. I think the bounty for Adams really hurt, but at the same don’t see how they can justify not doing more.
    If the Seahawks could actually get a Q, Williams for a 2nd to give a bit of interior pass rush, plus run defense as 3 down D-lineman & add a Quality DE. Do you feel that might do enough. I don’t think Jets will trade Williams for our 2nd, but i believe he plus a DE combined with the return of Adams might be.
    Thoughts?

  58. GoHawksDani

    Some of my takes:

    GOOD
    1, Defense started out amazingly (no irony): They stuffed runs, tackled well, forced some hard first downs or 3&outs. It wasn’t a top D performance but really encouraging.

    2, Lockett is a tiny god. Amazing catches, great blocks, did it all. Nice for him to have a game like this. I hope everyone will start to appreciate him more

    3, DK is fast. A+ speed and effort and could’ve been the game-winning moment

    4, playcall at the start was really good. Shorter throws mixed with longer ones, including the TEs, shooting a bomb, mix in some good runs by Chris

    5, Diggs had an INT (not as good as Budda’s, but still an INT), Poona forced a fumble and KJ recovered it.

    6, Shaquem was useful…he won’t be a fix starter but he can contribute. It was nice to see that he’s not only a feel-good story

    7, Dunbar is pretty good. Not #1 CB but he could be a great #2CB for the next couple of years

    8, Moore had 1-2 nice catch

    9, Brooks looks pretty fast and had a couple OK plays

    10, RW had some nice throws (and not so nice throws but later about those)

    BAD
    1, DK lacked catches and while he was covered by Peterson, he should/could use his physical gifts to beat guys like Patrick

    2, Ken Norton…Cards doesn’t have much better defense but they changed things halftime and RW was completely lost. I don’t think we should blitz as much as we did, but we could blitz a bit more and hide it sometimes, and run all kinds of stuff on the defense. Norton is a guy who is as good as he gets. We need a guy that can elevate a defense because this D will never be LoB

    3, BWagz…he was blocked out of play a couple of times bad…he showed almost nothing. He costs too much. Not saying do anything with him, but a paycut would be nice…and he needs to step up

    4, While Brooks got a nod in the good section too he is a rookie, and he made some mistakes (didn’t cost us much, but he didn’t always took the best angles)

    5, Playcall in the second half. I get it that they wanted to drain the clock. Defense was running on fumes, Murray played well. But they should’ve been more creative. Short easy completion passes, true screens, jet sweeps, etc. Cards are a young and fast team. Outside swing passes do not work. Putting in a rookie to block for RW does not work. Also too many forced long throws in 3rd/4th quarter.

    UGLY
    1, DL…’nuff said

    2, cut Flowers…right now…opponent’s needing 15-20 yards for a FG to win the game and he gives 10 yard cushion??? How bad he is? Unbelievable

    3, RW INTs cost us points and maybe the game. Yeah this game shouldn’t even come close or go overtime. That is not on Russ. But if you wanna be the greatest, the MVP, the new GOAT then you don’t give away the ball in the endzone. Not float to Carson, not half-throw away so Peterson can grab it and don’t throw a bad INT when you try to orchestrate a game winning drive. All in all Russ was OK in this game. But OK is not enough from him. He needs to be great so the team can win, and needs to be great to achieve MVP, HoF, GOAT statuses.

    4, Tackling…This game could’ve been like 35-17 to Cards if they start blitz sooner and use Chase Edmonds more and more designed QB runs. They couldn’t put Edmonds to the ground. It was awful to see. And they couldn’t tackle well against any moving target. If the receiver just got the ball stationery they did a solid job but if the receiver run with the ball…so many missed tackles

    5, Stupid refs missing calls, or making bad calls. This game shouldn’t be decided by the refs. Hawks could’ve win by 10-13 points if they get themselves together. But! If the refs doesn’t make some bad calls or miss some faults they might’ve won this game (they wouldn’t deserve it, but still)

    6, Stupid mistakes. Drive killing fals start by Shell, that stupid-stupid-stupid play by Mayowa. Bobby’s play was a bad call, but still…you do not need to destroy the guy if you’re not sure he catched the ball. Without Moore’s holding I’m not sure DK gets the first down…but if you’re Moore you should trust him. This team cannot win if at least 2 of these happen: RW/offense just playing OK, they lose the TO differential, they make too many mistakes, defense not only bends but also breaks. In this game I feel all of these were true

  59. GoHawksDani

    As for the future:
    1, We need Carson or at least a similar physically dominant runner
    2, We don’t need Griffin, BUT we need at least one really good CB who can match up with #1 WRs
    3, We need a really good TE who can be not just an occasional safety blanket but a featured guy on the offense
    4, While Moore is good, we need a “Doug Baldwin”…a guy who can get open and get 4-8 yards almost always
    5, We need at least 1 good DE, but 2 would be preferable. Probably a good DT too (although they played OK)
    6, We need to think about the future and get a SAM and MIKE (if Brooks will be WILL). Not right now, but from 2-3 years from now Bobby should be gone, as does KJ (although he plays well now, but he’s getting older)
    7, We’ll need a future LT if Brown can’t play anymore. He makes difference on the OL.

    Probably not all next year, but these seem definitely immediately needs:
    CB, DE, trusty receiver (can be WR or TE), maybe LT (depending on how many years Brown will play. If 1-2 we probably need a new guy next year)

    • Jordan E

      How long do you think our championship window is? Should we go all out this year and next year? Replacing Bobby, Duane & KJ wont be easy.

      • GoHawksDani

        I have no idea…if we go all in it might mean awful years after that.
        My biggest fear is replacing Brown as you won’t get a franchise LT late 1st and you rarely able to trade for one and good LTs doesn’t really hit open market…so you can probably get a high upside but rough player late 1st and teach him for 1-2 years before starting him. But we won’t have 1st round picks for the next two years.

        • Jordan E

          Oh man. To be honest, this makes me think we got to go all out this year, next year and maybe year after. Once Russ contract ends at that point we need to consider doing a complete rebuild. We leveraged our future for Jamal Adams. We need to maximize on the window while its still there.

      • Big Mike

        There is no “championship window” right now and there will not be a “championship window” as long as you have a defense that is likely to be the worst IN NFL HISTORY.

        • Jordan E

          We must make a move then because we cannot waste Russell’s peak. Either trade even more for a quality defender or just admit defeat on the defense and go all out on the offense. We must make a move though while Russ is in his prime and Bobby, KJ & Duane still playing well (enough).

  60. SeattleLifer

    Been enjoying your blog for a while Rob, appreciate the straightforward reality centered content you provide all served up with great depth and detail. Thank you.

    Tonite’s game: So many ways we lost. Mistakes, play calling, being out coached, poor (and imo one-sided) officiating, lack of talent on the defense, and injuries to key players (Carson,Griffin, Homer). This team needs a break on the injury front because we lack quality depth in most all areas.

    Side thought – so much for the preseason talk of our secondary being a top nfl unit/team strength(which I believe some though was going to make the pass rush better…), between the terrible cb’s a regressing Diggs and an mia Adams it’s been nothing short of an embarrassment. The lack attention JS/PC have given to the cb position in particular has been shocking. Outside of a fortunate pickup of Dunbar we’ve spent very little real draft capitol there for years including not taking a single one last draft.

  61. Big Mike

    The Seahawks have become the Packers of 5 years ago.
    Jamal Adams for two firsts and a 3rd was the act of a desperate man, not a savvy veteran “Head of football operations”. On top of that, he ain’t fixin’ this D when he comes back.
    The Hawks will NOT trade for anyone of any substance before the deadline. Biggest reason: they have nothing to trade (see act of desperation above).
    The Hawks will finish with the NFL’s all-time worst defense a mere 7 years after having one the all-time greatest.

    Please remember, this is Pete Carroll’s team. ALL decisions are ultimately his.

    • Big Mike

      Edit: The Seahawks have become the Packers of 5 years ago with a far worse defense.

  62. Dave Stacey

    Excellent work again Rob.

    Another thing I’ve long found baffling with Pete is the poor use of timeouts.
    The offense clearly didn’t know what to do and looked all over the place at the line of scrimmage during our doomed last drive with the Cards showing heavy blitz. why not take a timeout and regroup ?

    And he didn’t even use it to ice the kicker – inexplicable

    You’ve been right to highlight the awful business in the off season and having a defense and pass rush as bad as ours is inexcusable

  63. Simon McInnes

    Just reading Football Outsiders’ ‘Audibles At The Line’ for the Steelers at the Titans, and on 49 pass attempts the Titans got 0 sacks and only three quarterback hits. I think we would all agree that Murray is a little bit more elusive than Roethlisberger, so whilst we rightly bemoan the Seahawks pass rush, other teams are in a similar boat and finding a scheme to limit the damage (Colts too).

    • Big Mike

      Yawn
      Seahawks on pace to EASILY be the worst defense of all-time. The Titans are not. That’s over 100 years of NFL football. That’s 7 years after Seattle had on of the greatest defenses in the history of the NFL. That’s abysmal performance by Pete Carroll.

  64. GerryG

    Travis Homer’s pass pro this season has been fantastic and instrumental in the aggressive offense success. I remember seeing on Russ’ 5td game earlier this year, almost every big play he made a critical block that allowed the play to happen. I think a big piece of the teams second half woes was not having him. The playcalling needs to be better too, you have to adapt. Second time this season (Dallas the first) where a team made some adjustments at half and shut down the offense.

    Losing Carson was big, but that is par for the course. I cant believe anyone can see him not be available yet again, and then say “this shows why we have to resign him”. To me, it’s exactly the opposite. This why you need to find a new RB.

    Pete and Ken…good lord. I know the DL is not good enough, but that doesn’t excuse the wide open coverage gaffes. The defense is soooo bad. So many mistakes. The D should be better than this. Why are you playing off coverage when a FG beats you?

    The leverage call seems kinda strange to me. It only happened because he was so far offside. Seems to me when jump offside, make contact, 1) the play is dead at that point and 2) the leverage is a result of those guys still being set. Doesnt excuse the stupid bone headed play.

    More on the Refs, how do you overturn the call of the field on that last Lock TD? Leave it a TD, and let the auto booth review do its job. That’s just dumb. Thankfully the team had not blown all 3 timeouts.

  65. Blake34

    I completely agree with the article. I would say RW needed to know he was capable of throwing 3 interceptions & for reasons like that I find this loss to be a good loss. Other observations 1st the good I thought our WR’s & field goal kicker had a great game. Now the bad Shaquem Griffith blew it allowing the TD, Diggs is not that good, & Dunbar did the best he could but showed us & himself he’s not a shutdown CB but he’s a good CB. If Seattle wants to win next year they better call NE next year & trade for the CB, if RW wants to win he’s needs to rework his contract so Seattle can get cap space next year. Seattle’s run game has had good stretches of domination but it has not been clutch this year, it’s my opinion it’s due to coaching. Our RB’s missed a few blocks and our run defense needs some work. It’s a long year & a wild season there is no dominant team right now, Seattle does have coaching issues this year So Pete better focus on football & stop thinking About non football stuff & blaming other people & entities, because it will blow up in his face & this team has enough issues as it is.

  66. Henry Taylor

    I honestly feel like this is one of the most devastating losses in the PC era. I know its been coming with the way the defence has been playing, but to blow a lead like that in the 4th quarter… It took a comedy of errors for them to lose that game, they had to get so much wrong to even have to face overtime, and then you get TWO chances for your MVP calibre QB to win the game for you and you still can’t get it done. Unbelievable.

    That screen pass to DK on what would have been the game winner, where was that the rest of the game? If they’re gonna blitz us relentlessly force a corner to tackle DK 1on1 or give up a huge play. Also, that pass pro whiff by Dallas was one of the worst I’ve ever seen, he moves out of his way!

    This defence needs Adams back out there, not only is he our only chance of generating a pass rush in a crucial spot, they absolutely need the juice he brings. Plus if you’re going to tank your next 2 drafts for a player he needs to actually be out there.

    5-1 isn’t the end of the world, and we did at least prove that we can beat an NFC west team (we just elected not to this time). 3-2 was the goal during this stretch and that remains the case (one of those wins does need to be the Cardinals game now though). See if there’s anything that can be done about the pass rush, get Adams back to full health, sort out the frickin mental errors and go beat the 9ers – please!

    • Rob Staton

      “I honestly feel like this is one of the most devastating losses in the PC era.”

      Agreed.

      I’ve found it difficult to take today. Just moped around.

      • CaptainJack

        This loss confirmed our fears. And the schedule is brutal the next four weeks.

  67. KennyBadger

    DKs hustle tackle made me proud to be a Seahawks fan.

    Seattle’s d made me proud I have other things to do besides watch football.

    • Trevor

      Was already a fan but that play showed me he has the attitude and passion t be a superstar. Loved it!

  68. Trevor

    Watching Washington / Dallas game yesterday was almost more frustrating than the Hawks loss.

    Leading up to the 2019 draft almost all of us here on he blog loved Terry Mclaurin and Montez Sweat for the Hawks as they seemed like perfect fits in almost every way. Most of us mocked them to the Hawks but felt they might go to early in Rd #1 for Sweat and #2 for Mclaurin. These were two guys universally loved on the blog.

    Then draft day comes after trading Frank Clark and somehow because of a misdiagnosed medical condition Sweat is in the board. So do we draft the most freakish athlete in the entire draft. Nope we trade back and Sweat goes with the next pick to he Redskins who clearly had no problem with the medical. We end up with freaking L.J. Collier.

    Then in Rd #2 we take Blair which seemed like a reach with both D.K. and Mclaurin on the board. Finally at re end of the round we trade up and nab D.K. which we all felt was a steal. As crazy as it seemed Mclaurin was somehow still on the board.

    Then in Rd # 3 despite still needing a WR we don’t make move for Mclaurin instead draft Barton and settle on Gary Jennings in Rd #4.

    So the Hawks draft L.J. Collier, Blair, D.K., Barton and Jennings.

    This is not revisionist history. These were obvious talents identified by Rob and the blog that he Hawks could have easily without any trading around. WR and DE to replace Clark were the clear needs and strength of the draft. If the had just taken the 3 blog favorites on Days 1-2
    – Sweat
    -D.K.
    -Mclaurin

    This teams roster and future would look much different. Just one reason why the Hawks scouting and draft process needs a major overhaul. Don’t even get me started on this year.

    • Henry Taylor

      Yesterday has at least made me think Brooks will be our best first pick in a while (low bar clearly) it just doesn’t matter with how badly they’ve mismanaged the construction of the rest of the defence.

      It’s almost more frustrating that they made a bold selection to potentially pluck a good player out, and have it not matter because of how badly they bungled the easier job they had to do. Use some of their $60m to get a couple worthwhile pass rushers in a deep FA for the position.

      • Blake34

        You assume Bobby Wagner’s play is not deteriorating fast & the Seahawks don’t see it. It’s possible the Seahawks have needed restructuring on the DL, Secondary, & LB core. I do recall Baltimore’s Jackson running through ALL our LB’s last year. If the entire Hawk defense needs restructuring everybody is wasting their time arguing because it doesn’t matter where you start & it’s completely unrealistic to expect ALL draft picks to be winners. Last night proved RW isn’t Tom Brady yet!!! This year we have a chance at the Super Bowl that’s better than no chance & it’s because ALL teams have glaring issues, at least next year Seattle has so many opportunities & possibilities with a nice core group of players to build on and a bountiful FA market & coaching market if they want to find some new coaches & coordinators.

        • Jordan E

          Not to make this point again, but this is exactly why I am so upset with the front office inability to acquire AB.

          Russell is better than Mahomes and Tom Brady in my opinion. The key difference is that Russ has severely less weapons and arguably worse weapons (PFF rankings for DK + Lockett arent even that good). Mahomes has Kelce+Hill+Bell+CEH+Watkins… TB12 has Godwin+Evans+Gronk+AB+Fournette.. they have so many playmakers at their disposal. If one of them gets shut down (DK for most of last night) they have other options to go too. Lockett was the only productive receiver there yesterday and without Carson- teams can play more coverage and limit the deep play…

          We need another weapon! I really hope we go after a Fuller, Cooks and Thielen for Russell’s sake. If were gonna put the entire season on his shoulders we got to at least give the man the best opportunity to do so. TB12 for instance has made a bunch of bone headed throws this year. He has so many weapons though so he gets around it.

    • Easy Answers Hard Choices

      Not just 2019 and this year. This kind of drafting nonsense has been occurring the past five years or so.

  69. Blake34

    Seahawks are a work in progress! They have been showing you that by adding a FS, SS, & CB in the last 12 months. Dunbar & Adams are great additions, no way they pay Diggs 5 million or Griffith next year, my fear is they will pay Griffith 1 or 2 million. But if they find a FS or if they have 1 not named Diggs all they need to do is add Sherman or Gilmore or both. As far as DE they should resign Mayowa as our #4 DE but not #1,#2, or #3 DE at 1 million or less, next year might also be a year to get the DE mid season to target cap $ to 2022. I believe we should fix the secondary first and I understand that some may disagree with me but let’s agree we got to start somewhere.

    • Rob Staton

      Work in progress?

      They’ve had three off-seasons now since the reset. They spent $50m, three first round picks, a second and three third rounders this year.

      And they’ve squandered it.

      • Blake34

        Nah I don’t see it that way. I don’t think they squandered anything they’re a work in progress Adams is part of that journey. I don’t view 1 year Cap Space squandered in my mind Cap Space is squandered when you sign a player to a 4 year deal & he doesn’t work out costing $$ in guaranteed $$$. Forcing a SuperBowl in 1 season is also a bad idea in my mind too. Bobby Wagner made mistakes last night & RW made mistakes last night in a Big Time game which showed us how good we are. We should consider trading Bobby next year if we can’t find other ways of getting a better defense reason being paying Bobby & not stopping anyone is pointless we should Keep adding young players till they prove they’re good enough. Draft picks are like throwing darts at a dart board blind folded doesn’t matter which round you draft them in. If our defense sucks it’s better to get rid of the old guys for draft picks & start tossing at the draft board. I like Adams because we can get him for $15 million thus eliminating 1 position headache.

        • CaptainJack

          The Adams trade so far has been a complete disaster. If this is a “journey” it’s a “journey” to squandering Wilson’s prime with a god awful defense.

        • Scot04

          How can u say a team that spends close to 60m on Free-agency and end up making their Pass Rush worse not squandered. They wasted a great opportunity with near 60m & picks to improve their stated #1 priority which was Pass Rush and instead got worse. The Adams trade made 0 sense and will hamstring them at the trade deadline and going forward. I don’t see a work in progress at all. This Defense regressed after 60M and alot of assets put into Defense.

          • Blake34

            Adams trade makes perfect sense & should (Doesn’t mean it will) get them the #1 or #2 seed. Football is a team sport & dominant teams are good at all positions, there is no dominant team this year. Your complaining that we could have been a dominant team this year, I get it, but I didn’t see any players available that would have made the difference you may disagree ok that’s fine, when playoffs roll around point them out. RW still threw 3 interceptions last night all 3 were complete brain farts & Bobby couldn’t stop Chase Edmonds. What’s the point if RW is going to throw 3 interceptions don’t forget he wasn’t exactly sharp against the Vikings, RW is not as good as peak Tom Brady or Peyton Manning yet, I hope he gets there & I’m happy he’s getting better. Also had we given out big contracts we would be screwed in 2021 vs having a chance at a boat load of decent DE’s, Gilmore, Sherman, prayer WR Mike Thomas, ET, etc… It’s a fact 2021 is a great year to build your team in Free Agency that includes signing players to long term deals. 2020 could end up being the worst year in NFL history to sign big contracts.

  70. Jordan E

    Rob, how long do you say our championship window is open? Is it this year and next year? Duane Brown and Bobby are slowing down. They will not be easy to replace.

    • ScottS

      Obviously I’m not Rob, but I would suggest that with this defense, the championship window is not open.

      • Jordan E

        Damn. Really hope that is not the case. But yeah :/

        The defense is historically bad. Team may be more super bowl pretenders then contenders.

    • Rob Staton

      I’m not sure they’re in a Championship window really.

      I think they’re stuck in the reset after blowing this off-season.

  71. BruceN

    Some of the stats from the game:

    33 first downs
    572 yards of offense
    200 yards of rushing
    39 min time of possession
    Only -1 in TOs

    And we lost the game. The optimist that I am makes me think after this performance they will realize this D needs to be fixed. The 5-0 mirage with so many close wins postponed the inevitable. Either go and get some pass rush or change the DC or the scheme. Both would be nice. Sadly, we’re not firing KNJ but may be we can hire an assistant DC coach. May be someone that knows this defense already?

  72. SteveLargent80

    I just can’t get over this stat. Kyler Murray dropped back 50 times, and they didn’t get a SINGLE QB hit on him! If that doesn’t convince John Schneider to trade for a pass rusher, we may as well kiss our playoff hopes goodbye

    • Kingdome1976

      Agreed. We need somebody that can get after the QB or we are done.

      • BobbyK

        It’s so pathetic that they actually need two guys for EDGE. Mayowa and Collier are back-up “quality” players. That’s it. They’re depth. That gives you an idea how horrific our actual depth is rushing from the edges.

        Reed played almost 90% of the snaps last night and Ford played way too much, too. They can’t go on like this.

    • SeaTown

      JS helped put this D together. I don’t think he’s going to solve the problem at this point.

  73. CaptainJack

    Biggest question: why did they decide to make Carlos Hyde the focal point on the offense in the fourth quarter + overtime? DK is the most physically dominant player on the team why didn’t you involve him? Did they learn nothing from the late Minnesota Drive? Throw to DK! Eventually something will click.

    • Jordan E

      They need the threat of the run to open up the deep passing game in my opinion. Hyde doesnt have to be good but he has to at least he capable of getting first downs and forcing safety to play in the box.

      If that doesnt work then we need a dangerous short game / rac receiver. I love DK and Tyler but its worth noting that PFF has both ranked in the 30s.

      Back to your point, they definitely need to do more of the WR screens for sure. If DK is getting shut down, the team needs to figure out a way to adapt and get him more involved.

  74. Frank

    It’s not the lose that bugs me, the Cardinals have spent years now constructing a rooster to challenge the Hawks and the pieces the Hawks have gotten specific to the Cards and NFC west are unfortunately injured Blair, Adams, and for this game Griffen and Carson. It’s not the picks, Wilson has always had a game or two a year like this and the three pick performances was things just averaging out after having gone over a season without one of these types of games. Wilson doesn’t do well in the short timing passing game, and the rooster and game plan have been adjusted for years to hid that deficiency, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on a new wrinkle in the game plan fixing that. He’s good enough, and the scheme is good enough. Asking him to be perfect isn’t reasonable, but that defensive has to start doing its job. Personal and professional pride would have in my opinion propped up this defense beyond how it has preformed and it just hasn’t. Maybe we are spoiled, even at the beginning of OT I had very little doubt the Hawks would rise to the occasion as they have all year, but something was different this time. You can call it swagger, or clutch factor but with the chips on the table the Hawks looked defeated at the beginning of OT. The defensive line, not just the edges aren’t contributing nearly enough and while we don’t know what we have yet in Snacks or Taylor, not being able to get the team all together on the field at once is maddening in trying to assess what specific spots should be targeted before the trade deadline. As much as I didn’t want to overpay Clowney, and liked them adding two edge rushers in the draft and some veterans they could win the job from in the offseason from a rooster building for the future perspective, this was the game that Clowney would have impacted enough to have turned a L into a W. Playing the long game as far as next year and the year after and onward, it still may have been the correct choice but highly disappointed in the performance of the defense. Oddly enough I see this as an opportunity for PC to really establish himself as a defensive mastermind I’ve always thought he was, but not seeing it yet. I can’t see Belichick not being able to at least salvage an average defense out of the same rooster. Really proud of the team that everyone has stepped up an owned this loss, I don’t care for blaming any one individual when the collective effort from coaching to every player simple wasn’t enough to get it done.

    • BC_Hawk

      Nicely worded Frank, I totally agree! I was disappointing to see that some of the key pieces we have assembled to combat the likes of Kyler were injured or got injured in this game. The one piece that was drafted to combat the NFC West, Brooks, looked great out there on first look. Unfortunately this just got further eroded with the injuries to Carson/Homer in Blitz PU and the Tre Flowers factor once Griff went down. Griff stays in on D and we get some blitz pick up, we squeeze out a win; not great, but continue on the mediocre 2020 path. At the end of the day, this is once again on the lack of any depth on DL/DE. It has always been the issue, and will continue to be, unless we make trades this week and get real talent; not just ok plugs. IF they actually do that, maybe we can salvage the season. As you stated, I too notice the lack of swagger this team has shown, and it was definitely on exhibit last night. They know that they have to stack 40+ pts to win, which is crazy. WE change that to holding opponents to <25 pts, and we win at will. Time to act is now; if there is no major DL changes by the deadline, I will merely admire a beautiful statistical season by Russ, and make plans to snowmobile ALOT come January.

  75. Ryan Purcell

    Oof. Really missed Homer on a few of those drives and never thought I would say that. Goes to show you not to underestimate the little things. Tough loss for sure and let’s hope for Dunlap at this point. And let’s hope Snacks has got something left in the tank! Outplayed, outcoached and out-hearted. I can’t believe they tried to ice the game with three straight running plays – again.

  76. Cortez Kennedy

    And let’s be honest, we probably won’t get meaningful defensive line help because we traded so much for Adams. We could have resigned Clowney, traded for Yannick and then still gotten Adams at some point for far less than what we payed for him by just being patient with the Jets. The time to fix this was in the off-season. Now all we can do is hope John can dig up some magic while waiting for our top pass-rusher and resource investment to get healthy.

    • Jordan E

      Really really hoping for a Adam Thielen 🤞. He’d be a real difference maker. JJ Watt is too unrealistic. Kerrigan would also be a great addition.

      Not sold on Dunlap or Mercilus to fix this defense dumpster fire.

      • Jordan E

        Cooks and Fuller would also be real nice! Russell needs more playmakers. Sadly, the pass rush may be unfixable this point of the season. Trading too much for a Dunlap would be more harmful then helpful.

    • Big Mike

      Pete has full control. John works for him.

    • Jordan E

      Last name to put here but Julian Edelman would be a perfect fit and even better than Thielen due to his cap hit and what we need on this team. Edelman is like a doug baldwin.

  77. cha

    PC show – (cha ed – PC sounds like he’s been drinking out of a paper bag all night)

    [q] Close calls but this one didn’t come out? “Turn it over it’s really hard to win. Top 5 NFL teams in TO ratio, winners. Made mistakes. Gave them the opportunity to win. They outlasted us. Tough night, great FB players doing great things.”

    [q] RW’s 3 INTs looking at film? “Laid ball in corner of EZ in flat on a play we had thrown all week long. Just couldn’t imagine anyone getting in the way of it. Baker did. One half throwing away to DK, I didn’t ask RW if he was trying to the ball OOB, unfortunate. Last one, RW saw something he wanted to try and make something happen, went awry. Big mistakes, trying to make something happen and it doesn’t. Difficult, unlikely things happen. RW hasn’t thrown balls like that in his career. Not worrying about him catching and INT bug.”

    [q] Lockett’s game, plan for it? “Waited to see match up, gave us a chance. Thought Tyler would have a good shot. More than plan. Tyler playing out of this world. Remarkable. Really good week of practice, coming off bye looked great. Not surprised he was at his best.”

    [q] Can we gush about Tyler some more? “Amazingly gifted athlete. Great speed, elite. Natural feel for the game, ability to process opps and situations. Rarely makes errors. So many things so well. Savvy athlete. RW also like that. Complement one another. Wins all basketball contests. Drafted him, best route runner, no idea how explosive he was. Leg injury, concerned, had to work his way back just to get on the field. Heavy hit.”

    [q] Let’s gush about DK Metcalf running Baker down? “Great effort, guys giving everything. DK shot out of a cannon. Impressive on field. Moment of inspiration. Could cash in on it and we did. Win would’ve been better though.”

    [q] RW’s conviction in throws? Confused? “I don’t agree. 3 INTs yes. One he was fooled. Last one tried to force an issue, isn’t something that happens in practice. Threw for 380 and ran all over the field. Throws to Tyler. Great plays. Not worried about it either. Arizona changed, aggressive throwing stuff at RW. Missed a couple blocks on blitz protections. Needed Homer in there. Hard on Dallas. Things happened. They did a nice job, give them credit.”

    [q] Long term injury Carson? “No, later in the day. Just got here. Don’t know until MRIs for Chris or Homer.”

    [q] Want to gush about Carlos Hyde? “Showed what he’s had coming in. Natural RB. Big dude 230lb. Couple toss plays on edge. Almost perfectly run and blocked. Duane Brown block. DK block to start.”

    10 minutes in and not a single question about the defense…..

    • cha

      [q] Gush about Duane Brown? “Experienced player, look after his process during week. Routine we do, rest day. Big Thursday, little work on Friday. Respect his age and experience. Hardest most disciplined workers we’ve been around. Phenomenal conditioned LT. Hardest working guy in weight room.”

      [q] Kyler Murray how’d you do against? “Geez, not very well. Last week he struggled. Got to keep him from running at will. 30 or 40 yard runs he can at will. Try to control him all night, keep him in pocket, make him throw the ball. Had a great night. Made all the catches, all the plays. Giving him the underneath game, wear him out (???) . Late drive to get a FG. Game plan fine, didn’t feel like we needed to do anything at that point, but they kept pecking away, he was on point throwing the fB.”

      [q] Going forward improve Defense? “Need 3rd down stops. Few last night, but not enough. Such a big difference, get off the field. Keep finding ourselves as we bring this thing together, not at full strength. Long season. Fundamentals solid. Jamal get back. Back to full strength. Keep hanging in there until we find it. Boost from Darrell Taylor when he comes back. Fight to stay healthy. Challenge to get back to the best we have to offer.”

      [q] Shaquem performance? Need to look at plan again, need him at open spaces to run the QB down. He didn’t have many tackles, felt like it was happening though. In position, spying the QB. Fastest guy we have on defense. Didn’t play poorly. Solid. Like to have seen him smack the QB a couple times.”

      [q] Taylor injury status? “Don’t call it this week. Both working and doing stuff. Normal FB movements not there yet. On the ground and running.”

      [q] Adams? “Gotta wait and see. Saw him before we left. Working hard, doing cool stuff. He’s a violent FB player, gotta make sure he can get back.”

      [q] 4th and 6 Dickson punt, Cards drove on D, team changed your outlook? “Used to go all the time back in the day, developed a conscience in the NFL. Looking for opps to give RW a chance. Dickson did exactly what we wanted to do, defense supposed to keep them back up. So many things turned. Bobby penalty. Playing field position.”

      [q] Vibe of team? “Frustrated, exactly how we should have won the game. Play better than the other guys. Jumped offsite on FG. Benson gets penalty. Unfortunate sequence. We know how this thing could’ve happened. Gonna be more games like this. Thrilled when we win, but this may happened again.”

      [q] Mayowa? “Falling into the LOS, never done that. We never do that. Oh geez, he’s jumping.”

      [q] Holding on Moore? “Fantastic play, great block by Tyler, show how he contributes. Classic Seahawk moment. That close. David, put your hands on the guy, 1 of the 3 officials saw it and that’s how that goes some times.”

      [q] PF on Bobby Wagner? What do you saw to your guys? “Always be really smart, understanding what is called and what is not. Stay in line with officiating. Bang bang thing, used his shoulder. Easily not been called, but that’s the way the ref saw it and that’s how that goes. Play with that factor all the time, humans don’t’ always see the same.”

      [q] Screen defenses? “Guys worked hard to see them. KJ like a bowling ball getting through the guys. In the middle of stuff most of the time.”

      • cha

        [q] Adjust to blitz? Offense? “Deal with blitz more consistently. Backups have to as well. Everyone responsible, not just starters. Have thought we’ll make you pay when you blitz. Changed the play at times, RW fixed the play to take adv. Make progress, keep going.”

        • GerryG

          Thanks Cha!

          I almost always tune but forgot today. Reading the Cliff notes is more tolerable, since I dont have to listen to D&G

      • Big Mike

        “Keep finding ourselves as we bring this thing together, not at full strength. Long season. Fundamentals solid. Jamal get back. Back to full strength. Keep hanging in there until we find it. Boost from Darrell Taylor”

        Fundamentals solid? Seriously Pete?
        “Boost from Darrell Taylor”? Pete you literally said the following a minute later: ” Normal FB movements not there yet.” That sadly sounds to me like desperate hope that a rookie that can’t even move laterally will somehow come in and give the team a boost? Sad. Very, very sad.

        • cha

          I honestly don’t know what’s going on with this talk about Taylor. Placeholder to placate fans (and himself maybe?) or a signal that there’s no pass rusher trades they can make and Taylor is their only hope for an internal “improvement” ?

          • Big Mike

            Likely it’s both. As I posted above, there will be no trade for an EDGE cuz they have nothing to trade after the desperation move to get Jamal Adams. What a joke.

        • Ben

          Glad someone said this. I too read those comments about Taylor being a boost but a minute later says he can’t make any FB moves. WTF?? If, big if, he plays in 2020 how effective will he actually be since he hasn’t played in nearly a year (rhetorical question – I already know the answer)?? And PC is banking on him being a “boost”? I’ll be content (not happy since we’ve never seen him) if he plays next year.

      • Big Mike

        Today we’re in wait and see mode on Adams returning. Yesterday he was really really close. So another week we watch him sit for the price of two firsts and a third?

        • CaptainJack

          This is why you never trade two firsts away for a strong safety, a position it’s so easy to get injured at. What a ridiculous and stupid trade.

    • Rob Staton

      Not listened to this and won’t be bothering. Thanks for the write-up.

      Ask proper questions or don’t bother.

  78. Denver Hawker

    Seahawks have a reckoning coming with no easy fix.

    According to OTC, the Hawks have $30MM in cap space (assumed $180MM total cap) and 34 players under contract and 5 draft slots.

    Additional cap could be found by cutting Diggs ($5.5MM savings) and Finney ($3.5MM- $1MM dead). For argument sake, let’s go with $39MM in total available cap and 37 players under contract. They’ll need to sign 16 more players to fill a 53-man. While a couple draft trade backs and several vet minimum renewals can get the job done, it’s the list of UFA starters to replace/re-sign that most problematic:

    – KJ Wright
    – Chris Carson
    – Shaquille Griffin
    – Quinton Dunbar
    – Quandre Diggs (assuming he’s cut)
    – Ethan Pocic
    – Bruce Irvin/Benson Mayowa
    – Greg Olsen
    – David Moore

    And all this is just for 2021. They’ll need to soon be thinking about long-term replacements for Duane Brown, Bobby Wagner, re-signing Jamal Adams, and Tyler Lockett.

    They can be a Super Bowl contender this year with an average defense. Trading an R2 will be required, but leaves the cupboard empty to finding long-term replacements.

    There just aren’t enough picks/cap room to fix the coming long-term challenges and they’ll need to figure out a way to live with them or craft new schemes. In no particular order:

    1. Improve the pass rush
    2. Retain Chris Carson
    3. Rebuild the secondary
    4. Left tackle

    I think the entire FA market next year will have a rude wake-up call and suspect there will be plenty of 1-year deals handed out, some at below market prices, but that doesn’t solve the long-term issues that the team is ill-equipped to manage during Russ’ prime years.

    • pdway

      Few notes on the above –

      Irvin and Olsen won’t be back; certainly not at that money. Six games in, have to say that Olsen looks like probably the worst spent $$ of the off-season, nothing wrong w the guy, but he’s not materially better than Dissly/Hollister, and $7M is high for him.

      I think it’s time to talk more seriously about re-structuring Bobby – he’s a heart and soul guy, and still super solid, but he’s being paid superstar LB money, and I don’t think he is that player right now.

      I’m not as down on Diggs as you are – let’s see how he does w Adams back for a few games. Dunbar/Griffen are both solid in my book (they’re not #1’s, but I think they are good enough) – it’s a massive drop-off when Tre Flowers is on the field, he plays so soft in coverage, teams know and target him – he’s the easiest completion on the team.

      Given the lack of draft capital, we’ll have to add to the D-line via free agency, so hard choices will have to be made, but that’s every team every year, and I don’t see us as in a worse position than most.

      • Volume12

        Agreed. Carson, 1 of the corners, and Pocic. Maybe KJ. I suspect he’s playing this way because he knows he might be done after this season. Those are the 3-4 to keep. And I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Carson. I wouldn’t. They might not want to pay a RB though.

      • Ben

        They could potentially cut Diggs next year and move Flowers back to FS. He played that position at Okie State. He’s already giving 10 yard cushions so going back to safety shouldnt be that much of a drastic change for him. LOL.

    • Big Mike

      Spot on post. The longer range future is actually pretty bleak imo. It’s the culmination of poor drafting, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and desperately trading entirely too much for Adams.

    • Frank

      I really like the idea of the Williams trade for that reason, if your going to lose a pick at least it comes with a few years left on the deal, and you could justify the Adams trade even more looking at them as a single trade. Of that group I see only Dunbar and maybe KJ as must keep players, Carson is a stud but can’t stay healthy and will understand if they move on. Hopefully they come up with a contract that takes into account projected availability.

    • Simo

      If the 2021 cap truly does drop to around $180m or so, most teams in the league are going to have very difficult personnel decisions to make, including the Seahawks. At the same time many of the pending free agents likely can’t expect top money, so there may be some deals to be had.

      I think they find a way to bring back Carson for sure, he’s proved how valuable he is to the team. Not sure what a contract looks like, but probably less than he could get in a normal year/situation.

      I also think they bring back one of the starting CB’s, just not sure they can afford both. If KJ is willing to come back on a very team friendly short-term deal, then they should do it. I also think we may see both Bruce and Mayowa back on team friendly deals, with hopes they will be depth players and not starters. Diggs isn’t going anywhere or being cut, he’s not even that expensive.

      I do think they take a hard look at Bobby’s contract, just to tough to pay huge money to aging linebackers. Not sure what the answer is, unless he’s willing to redo his deal?

      Olsen is definitely gone, as he was probably only playing one more year no matter what. And so what, not like the TE’s have been that involved anyway.

      There will be lots of holes, but clearly DL will remain the top priority until they improve the talent there.

      • Denver Hawker

        Yes, there will be plenty of vet cap casualties with that low of a cap, no doubt. I also want them to find a way to bring back Carson.

        Here’s some revised math: draft picks, injuries, etc: $6MM- might be a tad on the low side. Say they keep Diggs then. That leaves $27.5MM to sign 15 players.

        Bringing back Carson, Wright, one of Dunbar/Giffin, Bruce and Mayowa will be impossible. If they don’t sign elsewhere for more than Hawks can afford, I suspect vets would rather sit out a year and wait for the cap to go up before risking injury on a cheap, team-friendly deal. However, bringing them all back doesn’t IMPROVE the team unfortunately.

        Restructuring Bobby is a possibility. They could also do some gymnastics with a resigned Jamal Adams.

        Top players will still get top money in 2021 despite the cap.

        I’ve also heard a case for the league borrowing against future cap increases. Problem for Seattle though, is it just raises the prices for the free agent market. It’s relative. It doesn’t change the fact that they’ll have to fill a roster mostly with cheap players just to retain their better players, let alone improve the team.

        • Simo

          I hear you DH, never said it was going to be easy, but something has to give as most of the teams in the league face similar (or worse) situations.

          Veterans like KJ, Bruce, Mayowa, etc, probably will face the choice to play for veteran minimum (or close to it) or like you said, not play at all. Nobody is giving them big, or even moderately big, money next year.

          Likewise, I doubt Griffin, Dunbar, and Carson get fair market value either since no other team is going to pay them top money.

          If the cap does drop significantly, then they will probably be forced to renegotiate Russ and Bobby’s deals just to have enough funds to fill out a competent team. Remember though that most of the league is in worse shape than the Hawks in 2021.

    • pran

      Russ and Bobby need to restructure contracts given salary cap reduction and need to prop up other areas. few players taking up disproportionate amount of resources never does good.

    • Blake34

      What’s SF going to do tag Trent Williams? What’s Sherman going to do resign with SF? Fixing the pass rush will be easy next year the ? is can they fix it enough to stop QB Murray? Murray is going to be a headache for years to come, it’s a fact the kid is a stud! Bobby Wagner can’t stop Murray or Chase Adams, Wagner needs Blair or Adams or both to stop Murray & Adams. We already know Wagner, KJ & our secondary Minus Blair & Adams can’t stop the Rams offense.

  79. Big Mike

    Question #2 about RW’s 3 INTs: here’s the actual answer NOT in Pete speak………..Russ really started pressing and taking chances because as usual the defense was failing miserably and he knows he has no margin of error and felt the game slipping away. The last one he felt like he HAD to try to make something happen because he knew if AZ got the ball back they were going to run through our defense like a hot knife through butter and win the game.

    • Big Mike

      From cha’s post about Pete’s show this morning.

    • pdway

      That’s letting him completely off the hook for some bad throws – not fitting the ball into tight windows trying to make a play, just bad throws. They were super uncharacteristic of him though – so I don’t think there’s reason to worry it will become a pattern.

      • Denver Hawker

        I don’t disagree on Olsen and Irvin. I’m not down on Diggs, but cap room has to come from somewhere and almost every other biggish contract has meaningful dead money. Broader point is they are starters who will need to be replaced and we do t have the money to afford better options.

        • Denver Hawker

          Reply fail above.

    • Gohawks5151

      Russ throws the same redzone interception every year. Its always a lazy, sailing ball. On a condensed field you got to put the ball on a guy. On the second pick he could have ran for the first on the roll out, but again if you are going to throw put it on the guy. DK is huge and he air mails it to Peterson who is 5 yards away from DK. The 3rd pick was an atrocious panic pick but also a classic Russ pick scenario. He never saw the underneath coverage just like last year in the last Niner game. Play calling did him no favors and its not like he was bad all game but these were painfully bad plays.

    • Volume12

      Throw 50 times, bad things are gonna happen just the way it is

    • Blake34

      RW had the ball when the clock was running down in the overtime, throwing that interception was horrific! RW did not prepare for the Cardinals as if he had a bad game against the Vikings. RW should have recognized he didn’t play good against the Vikings. The most important thing is that they recognize they are not as good as they think they are.

  80. Scot04

    I was thinking about Robs question from a few days ago.
    Would we trade Adams for a 1st in 2021 and a 2nd in 2022?

    A Definite Yes for me, but would try for a 1st and 2nd in 2021.

    Unfortunately i don’t see any teams that would be willing to do either of those trades. I still can’t believe we used the assets we did, especially with our need to do fix the Pass Rush still unresolved.

  81. millhouse-serbia

    Huuuge mistake by Lewis.

    https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1320737132017819649?s=19

    • Volume12

      * my post below was in response to this

  82. Volume12

    Football is a game of angles. BWagz shoots a different gap, goalline stop against NE. Lewis goes the other way, ballgame.

    Look how wide open DK is at the top of the screen on that last pick.

    • CaptainJack

      In this case, it’s a game of knowing what play you’re running….

      • Volume12

        Fair point.

      • Big Mike

        If after 6 games your guys don’t know what play you’re running, what does that say about your coaching?

        • Blake34

          Especially against the Cardinals the whole thing is sour!

  83. Volume12

    Is Pittsburgh the only good team that doesn’t need a pass rusher? Baltimore probably doesn’t after the Ngakoue trade. TB I guess. Seattle does. Tennessee does. Arizona does. Buffalo does. Rams have Donald, but nothing on the outside. KC could use another 1. 9ers.

    • Big Mike

      And none of those teams traded two 1sts and a 3rd for S that’s played less than half their team’s snaps so therefore actually have draft capital to offer.
      Hello worst defense in the history of the NFL.

  84. AlaskaHawk

    One thing I don’t get. We play Arizona twice a year, but the team is never ready for that 6-8 man defensive front they used in the second half. Some other teams are imitating the Cardinals as it is a known Seahawks killer.

    • Blake34

      Bizarre!! You’re so right!!

  85. Happy Hawk

    Not sure the answer will come in the 2021 Free Agency:
    Edge:
    J Clowney Ten 28 yo, Y Ngakoue Balt 26, S Barrett Tb 28, B Dupree Pitt 28, J Houston Ind 32, M Ingram Lac 32, L Floyd Lar 28, M Judon Balt 29

    CB:
    S Griffen Sea 26, R Sherman Sf 33, C Awuzie Dall 26, B Poole Jets 28, D King Lac 26, P Peterson Ariz 31

    OT:
    R Stanley Balt 27, D Bakhitiara GB 29, T Moton Car 27, T Williams, SF 33, A Villanueva Pitt 32, Okung Car 32

    Interesting to note though that the RB and WR FA is loaded:
    RB: A Jones GB 26, C Carson Sea 26, K Drake Ariz 27, J Conner Pitt 26 to name a few
    WR: C Godwin TB 25, A Robinson Chi 28, K Golladay Det 27, JuJu S-S Pitt 27, W Fuller Hst 27, C Davis Ten 26

    • TheOtherJordan

      I’ve heard about Clowney. Do you think the Seahawks would make signing him an off-season priority?

  86. Pran

    Best defensive player on the field was DK!

    • Big Mike

      🙂

  87. Trevor

    Not sure if it is the Covid crap or what but today is the most down I have ever felt after a Seahawks loss except for perhaps the Super Bowl.

    I think what upsets me most it that this loss was almost identical to all our wins it you take away one of the Russ picks. Seems like another wasted year of Russ in his prime and I don’t see how you fix this defense now or even in the off season with the way they squandered a plethora of resources this off season.

    An over reaction I am sure but still really sucks.

    • Denver Hawker

      Feel ya here Trevor. Feel the same way today. Common thread on crappy losses recently is when Russ has a bad pick (or two or three). We’re accustomed to his greatness every week. Can gel like the sky is falling when your MVP doesn’t get it done.

    • AlaskaHawk

      Hang in there Trevor. Decent offense with crappy defense makes this a slightly above average team. Lets see if they can make the playoffs.

      • Big Mike

        And get bounced in the WC or Divisional round

    • Cortez Kennedy

      It just perfectly puts into perspective how good Wilson has been. As good as he is, he’s still human (for the most part). How many times did we go up by 10 points last night? We scored a beautiful touchdown right before halftime and Murray and co. had no trouble getting in field goal position with less than a minute still on the clock. At some point we need to get a few stops. Hard to do when you’re barely getting one hand on the quarterback all game.

      It sucks, but there will be more heartbreakers like last night. The circle is only 2/3rds complete.

  88. TheOtherJordan

    Did Pete seriously say that about Taylor? The Seahawks are counting on a rookie who can’t run laterally to save them?! Our worst fears have been confirmed. There is no plan.

    • Chase

      I think they were confirmed long before pete talked about taylor.

  89. Darnell

    Any thoughts about Aldon Smith as a potential target?

    The Cowboys’ season is done for all intents and purposes, and they could get a draft pick now for him and still pursue re-signing him in the offseason, just as they would have otherwise. Essentially a 3 month loan to Seattle, without counting him out of their long-term plans if they like him.

    • Cortez Kennedy

      Just like with every defensive line related move, the time for action was months ago when we had money and picks. We wasted our cap space on…whatever and then traded valuable picks for one guy out of desperation. Make decisions like a bad team and you get stuck in bad situations.

      • Darnell

        That’s a loser mentality though (not calling you a loser, just to make that clear).

        It is in the past and sunk cost at this point and there’s nothing you can do about it now. ,

        You have to keep trying. Can’t just go into the fetal position.

  90. McZ

    While I agree it was a devastating loss, this team is still master of its own destiny. A good problem to have, so say some Cowboys fans.

    That said, it felt like RW showed serious signs of fatigue. The last week could have been a real eye opener about what to expect from the franchise in terms of seriously improving the roster.

    Cowherd is right in his rant. Russ needs not only to cook, he needs to carry the whole restaurant. And then, he calls for some waiters, and the boss says no.

    IMO, 2021 could be the year when RW will possibly leave this franchise for good. Who could argue with him?

    • Simo

      But why would Russ be so fatigued after just coming off of a bye week? My understanding is that he wants to be the Man, wants to cook, so he can’t be fatigued after only six games, can he? If this is true, then what even play the next 10 games?

      I agree with your positive approach though, that they are still master of their own destiny! It won’t be easy, but they can still win the NFC west!

      • McZ

        Fatigue is a bastard, it comes, when you cannot afford it, and you cannot wish it away.

        RW elevates a Bengals level team to a perennial playoff candidate. He takes this franchise on his back and marches. And it’s at least since 2017.

        And the franchise is accepting that by paying him a lot of money.

        I think, this situation is unresolvable with the personnel at hand. It is what is a classic deadlock situation. PC has all the power and plays dogmatic Pete ball, and drafts to dogmatic Pete standards. And RW will continue his near, but just not MVP play, to make the impression, that this dogmatic approach is actually working. This keeps the franchise in limbo. An acceptable, winning record limbo, but a limbo streak of success that defers NfL nature. We skipped two complete rebuild cycles, and we have no ownership to actually move on.

        So, what happens, if RW finally wants out of his contract?

  91. SteveLargent80

    Chris Carson week-to-week. The hits just keep on coming

  92. Big Mike

    The guy that put the totally cheap shot hit on Andy Dalton will not be suspended. meanwhile my guess is Dalton misses at least one week as he had to be helped off the field. Roger Goodell is a pussy, pure and simple. This guy should be suspended just as the guy that purposely twisted Carson’s knee in the Dallas game should have been.
    https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cowboys-andy-dalton-late-hit-jon-bostic-reportedly-not-suspended-hefty-fine-134248854.html

  93. DC

    Really curious as to why Alton Robinson barely got on the field.

    • Robbie

      I was thinking the same thing. Generating NO pass rush and he only got 7 snaps. That’s unacceptable, give the young guys a chance if you’re not going to go trade for someone.

      • Rob Staton

        Someone needs to ask PC about this.

    • Blake34

      There might be 2 DE’s in the league who can contain Murray. The kid is a DE killer period. Run the ball & control the clock is your only chance if you don’t have a stud SS. Kyler Murray laughs at D Lineman they’re a joke to him. The kid is going to bring us nothing but misery without Blair & Adams. Kyler Murray is a better player than Lamar Jackson in every way and RW better work harder or Murray will pass RW up.

  94. James Cr.

    That is why you just can’t give Carson a big contract. Love the guy but he just can’t stay healthy.

    • Blake34

      It’s going to hurt bad & they have too many holes, it doesn’t make sense to keep him. RW has to extend his contract & give the team a discount & they have to extend Lockett with a moderate back load. If we do those things being committed to Adams it makes sense to make a trade with NE for Gilmore after signing Dunbar, then use a 3rd thru 5th on a CB in the draft. If RW isn’t going to help out it seems like it forces Seattle to trade Bobby Wagner. Brady in his Peak gave NE a discount by doing that they set the market for a dynasty, it is what it is, do it or lose.

    • BobbyK

      Carson is good but nobody will give him a big time contract. For as powerful and good as he is – he’s too fragile in terms of durability. In 8 seasons playing college and now pro football he’s never played a full year. You don’t overpay for a guy history show/proves you won’t have for a full season.

      I never thought I’d say this but Homer is their second best back and it’s not because of his running ability. That guy can stonewall defenders for Russ. That’s important. Hyde and Dallas only try to get Russ killed.

  95. 12th chuck

    jamal adams and cody barton to dallas for aldon smith and a 1st and 2nd. who is up for that?

    • Robbie

      That would be hard not to pass up! Especially with how high Dallas will most likely be picking.

    • Darnell

      Why in the world would you trade Jamal? He just turned 25 and is one of the 15 best defensive players in football, and can impact the game at all three levels.

      The list of defensive players who can make impact plays at all the levels of the field is very very short.

      • 12th chuck

        we need pass rush, dallas d needs secondary help. we did not need Jamal in the first place and the price is too high. a trade like this would probably never happen, but his contract is do as well. The money spent to retain him could go for a long term pass rusher in f/a

  96. James Z

    “All in all, I think we just need to keep finding ourselves as we bring this thing back together. I don’t feel like we’ve been at full strength,” Carroll said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of us. I think it’s going to come here in time and we’re going to have a chance to see us. It’s a long season.”

    This from his morning show on 950.

    Is he this delusional about the talent he has and the schemes he runs with said talent. It’s going to be a ‘log season’ alright if he does.

    • James Z

      ‘log’ should be long, of course… where’s spillchick when you really need it.

    • Blake34

      Pete can say that because there is no dominant team this year so yah I agree with him but Pete has a screw loose this year everyone can see something is not right & everyone is fighting about what it is. The field goal kicker made all the field goals at least we’re not suffering from that misery so far.

    • Rob Staton

      I think he’s just saying words to get through an interview.

      • Blake34

        He’s a mess and it will get worse before it gets better. It is what it is, everybody should know it’s him not us that’s causing the arguments.

  97. BobbyK

    Had Moore not got the holding penalty in overtime the Seahawks would be 6-0 and a bunch of fans would be whining because we’re being too hard on the defense.

    Think about it. It’s true.

    This is a historically bad defense. The only thing that gives me hope is the 2006 Colts. Their defense sucked and couldn’t stop the run. Then they started playing well in the playoffs when Bob Sanders came back.

    Unless Jamal Adams becomes Bob Sanders (he didn’t play like that to start the year) or this team is able to trade for two (yes, I said two) improved edge rushers – lets get ready for our mid-January off-season priority list with no first or third round pick. Except we won’t have to wonder where it all went wrong because we’ve known this DL is where it went wrong since 2019.

    • Blake34

      True but I’m glad he made that mistake early in the season & now we know we have that play which can get us out of a tuff spot in the future. Also we know KJ will destroy that play if an offense try’s it against us. RW didn’t play good enough & our WR’s didn’t have enough good routes to win the game plus the run game couldn’t close out the game all those things we can fix I hope. As for the defense when they get a stop on a drive we should celebrate it’s bonus and when Adams comes back I believe his presence will give 4 hopefully 5 stops a game if you combine that with the way special teams is playing Seattle has a good shot at the Super Bowl this year.

  98. BobbyK

    If this team is willing to trade a 1, 3, 1 for Adams but won’t sacrifice a singular mid/late pick for a Dunlap, Kerrigan, McKinley or someone who would improve the shit show at EDGE… there have to be some serious mental issues inside the walls of the VMAC. I know they realize the problem and Pete won’t ever publicly rip anyone (why he’s such a great culture guy) but a difference between haggling for a 5th or 6th round pick at the expense of missing out on an EGE who can help would be a colossal mistake and would make no sense for a team who traded the house for a strong safety.

    • Blake34

      No matter what they could have done or will do Pete has some personal Demons he’s dealing with no doubt! It’s obvious! Everybody’s afraid it’s going to cost us a SuperBowl, this is what you call a slow death. The important thing is that Pete learns from it & fixes it.

  99. Jordan E

    YO! HAWKS DID SOMETHING! CARLOS DUNLAP INC TO SEATTLE!!

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