Instant reaction: Seahawks succumb to Packers again

Unfortunately, Deja Vu is the term that springs to mind.

Dom Capers’ Green Bay defense had Seattle’s number.

The Seahawks offense looked like it was in the same crisis of identity we saw last year.

A lot of the focus will be on the officials. The call to deny Nazair Jones a touchdown and eject Jeremy Lane was a poor one. The non-PI on Jimmy Graham was equally galling.

Really though, the Seahawks didn’t deserve to win today. Not with that offensive performance. As a unit they collected nine points in total. That isn’t going to beat Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau.

It wasted another tremendous defensive display. Despite losing Lane, Green Bay were shut out in the first half. Seattle collected sacks and took away the token gesture run game.

The offense, in response, was impotent.

By the fourth quarter the defense was clearly exhausted and suffering with cramps. The slow, painful drive to make it 17-6 and the final game-clincher had to be endured.

So what happened on offense?

— Seattle, as was so often the case last season, simply couldn’t establish a running game

— Russell Wilson, for whatever reason, sees green and yellow Kryptonite whenever he plays Green Bay

— The offensive line still looks like an issue

A defense that was made to look silly by Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and the read-option every time the Packers met Harbaugh’s 49ers, suddenly looks like the 85 Bears when they play the Seahawks.

It’s easy to forget all the calls for Capers to be fired after those San Francisco shellacking’s. These games against Seattle have rejuvenated his career.

Without wanting to make excuses for the O-line, Green Bay’s defense seemed to be very busy reminiscent of the way Arizona attacks Seattle. There’s a lot of bodies up front, a lot of moving parts. The Seahawks, for some reason, have never been good at dealing with pressure. Screens have never worked in the Carroll era. They don’t really have a go-to response.

The result was a lot of chaos up front. However, you may have noticed Seattle also created a lot of pressure against Rodgers. Green Bay found ways to make plays regardless. Seattle could not.

With stars like Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin on offense, not to mention the flexibility they have with pass-catching backs and a mobile quarterback — they have to find ways to temper pressure.

That’s not to say the O-line doesn’t need to improve. They do. And fast.

The running game problems might be a bigger concern. This could just be a particularly difficult day against a defense that always plays Seattle hard. Green Bay seemed to take particular joy in shutting down Eddie Lacy for example.

Yet the inability to dictate anything on offense and get any rhythm in the run game was eerily similar to last season.

This time there are no excuses. The O-line is a year older. Wilson isn’t injured and immobile.

They have to do better than this. It was a major point of focus to regain that nasty edge on offense and re-establish the run. This wasn’t a good start.

Other teams like Green Bay, Atlanta, Dallas — they aren’t trying to work out their identity or re-establish anything on offense. Seattle has to reach that point too and fast.

Is the committee approach going to work? Is Lacy going to be effective? Is it time to just accept Chris Carson is the best and most complete back on the team?

Defensively there were major positives. The D-line looks as good as advertised. Sheldon Richardson made his introduction with some key plays and Earl Thomas looks ready for a career year.

If the offense had scored more points and kept the defense fresh, this could’ve been a very different afternoon.

It’s a third straight loss against the Packers at Lambeau. If the teams do meet again this season, you better hope it’s not in Green Bay.

Seattle should have better success against San Francisco in the home opener next weekend and their second home game against the hapless Colts also shouldn’t prove too tricky.

The next three road games though — Titans, Rams, Giants — will need to see a much improved offensive performance.

265 Comments

  1. Zach

    I think the biggest question I have is why it is that the offense can look so horrid for most of the game, but comes alive when at the end of a half or otherwise playing up-tempo. My guess is that it doesn’t allow the defense to do run as many games up front as they do when given 30-40 seconds between snaps, and with how bad the o-line looks, maybe playing more hurry-up/no-huddle is something to explore.

    • Ed

      Yep, been talked about a lot here. When not set with DB below average pc (and I understand the Oline stinks), Wilson is at his best when he just plays.

      The real sad part is, been the same things the blog complains about for years now. Oline, DB, TC and slow starts. I understand PC importance on no TO, but geez, it’s time to gamble a little.

    • C-Dog

      Up tempo, more spread out formations forced the defense wider out and cover more. It seemed to me Seattle struggled most trying to pass in tighter formations. The first series on offense and then the first series again in the second half were just brutal. Tre Madden as the fullback in front of Lacy in a power I? Brutal.

      • Ishmael

        Ugh, they were a mess. It looks awful even on paper, why did they think it was going to work?

        • C-Dog

          I think they were certainly hoping it would. I kinda wonder if they don’t bring back Marcel Reece, and send Madden to the PS.

          • Jujus

            This money saving plan of Madden then reece after wk 1 could be the reason we lost home field advantage…

            • MSL

              Uh no. We did not lose the game due to the FB.

  2. troy

    That was one of the most frustrating games I have ever watched. To have points taken off the board for questionable to horrendous calls really stings. But you are right, the offense was so bad, they just did not look like they could do anything. So many negative yardage runs, the run blocking was atrocious. And WIlson was running for his life, which meant the pass blocking was atrocious.

    The packers defense looked much better than I expected. Although its hard to know at this point if they are good or are offense is just that bad.

    You are right Rob, there are no excuses for the running game today. They just flat out could not get it done. Very disappointing.

  3. Sea Mode

    Well, our defense is back to it’s usual self and the rookies really flashed some potential today.

    On the flip side, the offense needs to go into hurry-up mode more often and DB needs to roll Russ out of the ever-collapsing pocket a bit more by design. Let’s use our OL athleticism and get them moving a bit.

    Also, no read option or designed QB keeper at all? At least show them once or twice early on that they are going to have to respect RW’s legs and dedicate a defender to contain him all game or pay the price.

    I’m not angry at the refs, but I hope there is some way to put this crew’s bad/missed calls on their record. Get demoted or something.

  4. Trevor

    The part that worries me most Rob is that it is impossible to have an identity on offense when your OL can neither run or pass block.

    We have never had a good pass pro OL with Russ but until last year the OL was known as a nasty run blocking unit. Now opposing DLs just pin thier ears back and kick the snot out of our OL. Guys like Ifedi, Glow and Rees look lost.

    I see zero improvement in a year and a half to expect a miracle fix now is unrealistic.

    Lets just give Carson 20-25 carries next week and see what we have. He looks legit to me.

    • Rob Staton

      Perhaps but you could equally argue it’s impossible to find ways to make plays with the way Seattle’s D-line played today and yet Green Bay found a way.

      Was it the O-line? Or was it Green Bay being creative and rushing so many from different angles ala Arizona and Seattle, rather than find ways to counteract this, simply took the punishment?

      An effective screen game, blitz-beater or going more to the spread would’ve slowed down the blitz, reduced the 8-9 man fronts and allowed Seattle some freedom. You have to find ways to dictate to an opponent. Seattle took whatever Green Bay threw at them and didn’t punch back.

      • Reggie in IOWA

        Agreed rob… we lack creativity in the play calling. Are we so stubborn that we will live and die with being able to run the ball up in between the tackles? Never once did we run a quick slant and that’s not even being creative!

      • Phil

        I try to be supportive of Bevell. And, with a good defense, it makes sense to try to try to shorten the game by running the ball and being conservative. But, I’m getting tired of seeing how poorly our offense plays when it sticks to the conservative game plan and how well it plays when it is called upon to open things up a bit. I would like to see another approach, where we open the game with the idea of scoring early and often, and then getting conservative once we have a lead. We have rarely had an opportunity to see how potent and exciting our offense could be. I think Richard Sherman’s frustrations with our offensive schemes are right on target.

  5. Trevor

    Also enough with Jimmy Graham as a blocker. Lets use him as the mismatch WR he is. We do not need a $10 mil blocking TE. We have Vannett for that.

  6. Trevor

    Earl looked great today! Love having him back.

    Where was Kam? Pretty quiet game.

    Griffen was thrown into the fire and survived against Rodgers in Lambeau. He should only get better.

    • BobbyK

      If a DB has a “quiet” game, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

    • MSL

      There weren’t many opportunities for big plays at the Kam level. The running game was shutdown and GB really didn’t get much of a medium passing game going. The TE’s were pretty quiet, and I have a feeling Kam had a part in that.

  7. Coleslaw

    Out defense looked pretty great the first half. We just need a decent offense to keep them off the field.

  8. FuzzyLOgic

    “With stars like Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin on offense, not to mention the flexibility they have with pass-catching backs and a mobile quarterback — they have to find ways to temper pressure.”

    Yep…It’s called do what the Pats do. Do what the Chiefs do. Pooper passes ALLLLL day…..With a hurry up offense, which is what R. Wilson seems to thrive at. In the heat of the moment I want to say that the refs screwed us and our O-line needs a serious revamp, but since we all know that ain’t gonna change it’s pointless. Our defense is championship quality…Holding Rodgers and company to a big fat 0 in the first half and if not for the fumble they might have gotten 10-13 point in their house by game’s end. Yes. Yes. Yes.

  9. Justin

    How does Cable still have a job?

    • Rob Staton

      It’s not just Cable.

      It’ll be a long old discussion if people want to apportion blame to one man.

      • Steele

        Blame to go all around, including Cable. Squarely. The endless work in progress remains…endlessly in progress.

      • Hawk Eye

        but can we agree that there is a coaching problem on offense?
        They have had the same problems for years and with Jimmy, Doug, and some of the other weapons, they should be able to develop a scheme to get more than 9 points. It has to be someone’s fault.

        Let’s see how the GB defense plays the rest of the year. If they revert to being below average, then you can eliminate them as the issue today. Daniels played great, but are there not 4 guys on Hawks D line as good? Why can’t the Hawks stop 1 guy? He did as much as the 4 guys from Seattle.

        • Rob Staton

          I think perhaps too many cook’s are spoiling the broth. Let’s not forget that basically Carroll, Bevell and Cable are having input into the offense. I also think they’re chasing an offense that possibly departed with Marshawn Lynch.

          • C-Dog

            +1

          • williambryan

            This is an epiphany like statement. Lynch’s impact was unique and it’s not coming back. I’ve tried to refrain from going in on Cable but there can be quite a case built against him (his best run game successes are in large part due to the indefensible QB run game that a healthy Wilson and Mike Vick brings). It’s also painful in the moments of offensive struggles that Carroll is so steadfast in his ways. I found myself longing for a creative attack like that of the chiefs or titans. Andy Reid has the west coast offense in his DNA yet has embraced so many spread option/college type schemes it gives me hope that Pete will change the same way. But alas, they stick to their guns and it’s hard to argue with the results. And even if they don’t change, as long as Wilson is healthy this offense will quietly end up as one of the top units in the league.

          • Sea Mode

            +1 million

          • MSL

            So what’s the fix? Something needs to change and/or someone needs to go. We can’t (shouldn’t) fire Pete, so fire Bevel, fire Cable, or someone grow a sack and tell Pete to get his nose out of the offense. Whatever it is, a change needs to be made. Making the change after the SB loss probably would have saved some headache along the way too.

            • Rob Staton

              No, someone doesn’t ‘need to go’. They lost a game to a fellow contender on the road. Why is it every time Seattle loses a game someone must be fired?

  10. DC

    Takeaways,

    Couldn’t ask for more from the defense. Excellent game considering they were on the field for 61 minutes. Personally I was happy that Lane got ejected. He’s garbage.

    Carson should start effective immediately. Lacy is way too slow.

    Good special teams play.

    Our OL once again is a horror show. Can they improve? They damn well better. We make mediocre pass rushers look good, good look great and Aaron Donald like King Kong.

    Officiating? I can barely watch this stuff…

    It was a weird game.

  11. hawkdawg

    Jimmy Graham had NOT stepped out of bounds before he was mugged. That mugging included holding or pinning both arms to his sides. The dude is 6′ 7″, and he didn’t raise his hands for the ball–because they were being held. And the back judge was staring at it all as it happened.

    The Lane ejection was absurd.

    But what bugs me most, by far, was the simply horrendous performance of the O-Line. Guards were just bad–including our $8 million man–in, Brit was better than bad, but not much, and the tackles were horrible. Odihambo started the game giving up two successive pressures, and continued to be “inconsistent” (as I can guarantee Cable is going to put it) all through the rest of the game. Ifedi was not quite as bad as Odihambo, but he was still really bad, especially on pass pro. When Wilson was moving the ball through the air near the end, it was because he was throwing almost immediately on rhythm, with defensive linemen bearing down on him, having beaten blocks like a red-headed stepchild. In other words, more of the same. Just very disappointing.

    I thought Sheldon Richardson played well. His pass rush seemed to be mostly bull rush, nothing much more, but his effort was high and he was stubborn at the point of attack. Chris Carson has vision along power, cuts and effort. It is hard to know what to say about Lacy–he seemed slow as molasses, but he also seemed to have no holes at all to get through.

    It is so frustrating to see a defense like this get ground down because of an offense that seemed almost completely outclassed by what was supposed to be not much more than a fair defense.

    • Rugbylock

      If they could make the deal for a big money guy like Richardson it kind of blows the argument that they couldn’t afford Joe Thomas out of the water. This Oline has LONG way to go to just become mediocre. Right now they look like warm hammered crap. No RB could do anything behind that pile of crap… Soooo frustrating watching a stellar defense like that be wasted with such a crap Oline… If the Oline doesn’t improve quickly then you can forget a SB run…

  12. Elliottatk

    When will the coaches realize we are not built to be a run first team anymore, the Lynch era is over it’s time to move on. It is beyond frustrating with this much talent on offense the only time we can move the ball on a seemingly average Packer defense is during the 2-minute drill. For god sake just let Wilson sling the ball around.

    • Rob Staton

      I suspect you might be right.

      • mac

        +5 I want us to get a new offensive coordinator badly, we need fresh blood. I think it digs at us really deeply, we have cable managing the offensive line & run game, Pete approving plays and providing a vision, and Bevell trying to work with a style of play that was effective when our team dynamics. I believe its killing our team. Lynch is gone, we need to find ways to get the ball out faster and reduce the pressure that opposing offenses can bring in. At times I wonder if it is because of the superbowl loss and bevell not wanting to lose his job rather then bringing in new ideas, them failing and dealing with the media fallout when teams may have HC interest. I don’t know exactly how we can fix it but we have to figure something out. New England seems to have found a great recipe for offense that doesn’t turn the ball over much, keeps the qb clean and the offensive line from getting too tired.

    • C-Dog

      +1.

      • Hawk Eye

        +2
        use the quick passing game, then hit them with the run after that.
        use the pass to set up the run, start dinking and dunking like Brady and Rivers do so well
        Probably easier on the O line
        and the D cannot be on the field for 40 minutes a game

        • Sean-O

          +3
          This whole “Seattle wants to get back to a power running team like they did with Marshawn” is a fable. This current team is set up to spread things around, get the ball out fast, etc. Let you franchise QB sling it around & use his weapons. By the way, how can Prosise have zero touches through the passing game?

          Is it too early for the fire Bevell posts? lol

          • C-Dog

            +4

            Word.

    • Nathan

      Are we built to pass though?

      Can our line pass block better than they can run block?

      • Joshua Smith

        Nope. The problem is they built the line to be good run blockers at the expense of more talented pass blockers. Although utilizing the hurry up offense helps out your o-linemen so I would like to see more of that

      • Trevor

        They can’t do either which is the problem!

    • MSL

      Yes, it’s time to move on. It only worked before because of a decent run blocking line, Lynch, and a league that hadn’t figured out the read option. The need to be hitting the books studying the Pats, KC, and Falcon offenses. Spread ’em out and let Wilson work his magic. Time of possession can’t be any worse than it was yesterday with their “run first” offense or whatever they want to call that crap.

  13. Smitty1547

    Well defense is legit as we thought it would be, just got gassed because offense can not sustain a drive
    Shack looked great considering
    Lane play and Graham play were jokes, as was the OL play
    Seen a couple of plays by LB not named Wagner or Wright which is nice
    Were not good enough to beat GB and refs in GB
    When schedule came out I thought this would be are hardest game of the year, hopefully I’m right.
    So I learned very little so I guess I hope everyone is healthy and OL gained some appearance that should help, I also think are zone blocking scheme and Tom Cable are over rated.

  14. Steele

    Unfortunately this game was familiar same-old. Years have gone by, and the bad pattern persists: defense good, offense sucks for an entire half at least. D gets no help from O, get tired. Russ in hurry up with time running out has moments, but too late. Rinse, repeat. Bevell, Cable. Today, the O sucked for an entire game. O-line still not good. Running game still missing Marshawn.

    • Steele

      The D held GB scoreless for a while. That said, the D still gives up big plays that the old Quinn/Norton D did not. There were sacks, but Rodgers often had the luxury of no pressure at all.

      As for E Lacy, he has always been slow! And Carson isn’t exactly a fluid runner. If he is the best back on the roster, it is going to be a long, ugly season.

      • C-Dog

        I thought Rodgers was faced with pretty steady pressure throughput. He just pulled out more heroics. Seattle’s pass rush looks much more ferocious than it has in quite a while.

        • Pablohoney

          Yeah, I just re-watched the game and the pass rush was quite strong on most snaps. There were maybe 3-4 times when Rodgers had extended time in the pocket, but otherwise Seattle consistently had rushers in his face or chasing him down. The only reason it didn’t look more impressive is because the Seattle o-line gave up even MORE pressure.

  15. Huso Liszt

    A couple of bright spots: P-Rich looks ready to step up. I saw for the first time why they might have wanted to hang on to Darboh.

    • C-Dog

      I think Darboh is going to end up being a really good player.

  16. John_s

    I wonder where the creativity of the offense went? Remember when the Seahawks ran a regular offense but then have the pistol, the read option, the Baylor option where the WR’s are split outside the hashes, jet sweeps.

    Is it because the Oline is so bad that they can no longer run it? Is it because Russ is now making $24 million? Personnel?

    It seems like teams know what plays are coming with the Seahawks.

    • Steele

      Sadly, John_s, haven’t we been asking these exact same questions for at least two seasons now? And with no answer. Who/what is the problem? Cable or Bevell, or the personnel? How about all?

  17. Forrest

    For what it’s worth: There were a few times late in the game that Wilson was on the field looking pissed. I think he’ll go ham next week. I also expect an overall offensive improvement the next few weeks. Really slight OL adjustments might fix a lot, but also more focus on Carson and the ground game (especially early)…Lacy might be a goner before the end of the season. Either way I think they’ll survive and improve, @Giants and Atlanta are probably the only other games comparable to this @GB game to start the season. Season openers (especially on the road) are not good indicators of the season as a whole. I really liked what I saw on defense, offense was poor but flashed a lot, and ST was actually pretty good. On to the next one, go Hawks!!

    • neil

      Come on, they will more than likely lose one game to Arizona and he Giants, Dallas, Atlanta, and possibly Carolina.

      • Forrest

        I didn’t say those are the only other games they’d lose, I was just pointing out that @Giants and Atlanta are probably the only other games that are as “tough” as this @GB game. Plus, they aren’t playing Carolina this year, Arizona is in their death rattles (imo), and the Cowbabys are a glass hammer waiting to be shattered. I think they could easily go 12-4 this season with the defense alone. Historically this team only gets better. The next three games should allow the offense to comfortably find a groove. Rams and Giants are the only defenses left on the schedule that “scare” me. I think they’ll lose one of the Rams games, one of Giants or Atlanta, and maybe one of the Arizona games. 12-4/13-3 at best, 10-6 if they really stink, which I don’t think they do.

        • H

          +1

  18. JC

    Rob, the hat was thrown for Baldwin going out of bounds. They played the entire replay on FOX, Graham was never out.

    • Rob Staton

      Thanks for clearing it up

  19. Steele

    Am I the only one who is sick seeing Ty Montgomery doing so well, and for the bad guys? I have long felt that Montgomery would have been a better pick than Ty Lockett. On the other hand, Bevell would probably not have figured out how to use Montgomery.

    • Sea Mode

      I think he’s decent, but would rather have Lockett FWIW.

  20. C-Dog

    A few thoughts.

    It seemed to me that the Seattle offense got pummeled most when they were trying to run and pass out of tight formations.

    IMO, they waited too long to pick up tempo and spread things out. Was this just stubbornness?

    Rees Odhiambo had a really rough start to the game. I wonder how patient they will stay with him there.

    I thought Trey Madden and Eddie Lacy also had a really rough day

    On the plus, Chris Carson, Shaq Griffin and Naz Jones carried on their study play from the preseason. IMO, very encouraging. I’d really like to see Carson get the opportunity to start. He’s done nothing to show that he can’t handle it.

    I am in love with the addition of Sheldon Richardson. I thought he had a major impact on the game. I’d be happy to see the organization get an extension done with him.

    It was going to be a tough haul for Seattle to win this game in Green Bay. They needed to play well enough to hang with the home team, and they needed some breaks. IMO, they were robbed a pick six for sure, but the offense didn’t do near enough to help out a stellar defensive effort. On the plus side of it, it game down to a one score game. They can still make serious damage in the conference this year. As rough as towas, IMO, way to early to push the panic button just yet.

    • Logan Lynch

      Agree with everything. The thing with this game is that there were so many good things that can be taken away from it. SEA likely won’t face a team this good on the road the rest of the season (barring a playoff trip to GB…bring it on). Matt Ryan would not get the 3rd down scrambles like Rodgers. They effectively shut down the Packers offense in Lambeau which is exceedingly hard to do. You might argue with me about “shutting them down”, but that’s about as close as you’re going to get against Rodgers.

      Realistically, it all boils down to the fact that SEA was an average offensive performance away from beating GB on the road by likely more than one score. This defense looks every bit as good as 2013.

      • C-Dog

        Absolutely

  21. Sean-O

    I think most thought at the end of this game we’d be 0-1. But very disappointed in the Center & Guard play. Mike Daniels is a good player but come on….

    I wonder if Aboushi gets some reps with the 1st team this week at practice?

    • Reggie in IOWA

      I hope so because I don’t think glowing kind could block the d tackle on my 5th and 6th grade youth football team!

    • C-Dog

      He was wrecking Glowinski and Joekel on back to back plays with the same move. It kinda looked like he’d swim inside on the opposite side of where Britt was combo blocking.

  22. Reggie in IOWA

    Just goes to show that it does NOT matter how many weapons you have on offense if you can’t block! How dare we have players like Lacy and Graham on the payroll with only 1 NFL caliber linemen to block for them?!?!?

  23. Reggie in IOWA

    And please please pretty please just concede the fact that Lacy is worthless if he doesn’t get a running start up to the line of scrimmage. Carson is a monster and needs to be in there until he needs a blow. Lacy can watch from the sideline evryvgame all game long!

  24. Matt

    The D looked great and played hard.

    The O, and specifically the line, was garbage. Can’t pass block. Can’t run block. At some point, Cable needs to be held accountable. Unless people really believe “nobody” could do better.

  25. Hawk Eye

    Giants are trying to make the Dallas defense better than GB and their offense worse than Seattle.

    if my math is correct, probably 15 disappointed teams after Monday night…..

  26. BobbyK

    The thing I’m most mad about today is that I haven’t believed in an NFL draft prospect as much as TJ Watt in a long time and he’s been looking like a stud all summer (the “can’t miss” guys are generally top 5-10 guys). Then he comes out and has a couple of sacks right off the bat. And we drafted an ATV rider with character concerns, while a prospect like Watt had glowing character reports and supposedly we value people who love football.

    And Pocic can’t even start against “competition” like the turnstiles we saw today.

    I will say this: Griffin looked better and better as the game went on. He’s not good yet, but you can tell he’s going to be fine.

    Handing the ball to Lacy is like quitting on plays. It’s obvious Carson is our best option.

    However, I will say this: After watching the game today, even in a loss, I think the Hawks are going to win the Super Bowl. The defense dominated Rodgers for as long as it could. Really, one TD came on a 4-yard drive. We all know the Seahawks OL has not been an asset since the ’05 season. But they usually improve under Cable by mid-season. If they can at least get functionally okay, they are so good everywhere else that they are going to win it all if the injury bug doesn’t get them too bad.

    • Matt

      I was on the TJ Watt wagon too. Just seemed like a guy who was going to be good, no matter where he went. Seattle continues to blow high end draft capital (sans the Richardson trade).

    • C-Dog

      I would have loved to have seen TJ Watt, too, but it’s pretty clear that Seattle was on a mission to improve the interior pass rush, not add more edge rush. I don’t see how Seattle could have predicted McDowell would go out and wreck is face in an ATV accident.

      • BobbyK

        Character risks have a higher degree of something stupid happening than others. Just me.

        • C-Dog

          No, I certainly get that. But I think with Michael,and Clark they’ve shown that if someone has major athleticism, they can roll the dice on character flags.

          • BobbyK

            I just don’t see where McDowell was a better athlete than Watt either. They rolled the dice on Michael, but they already had Lynch. They had Clark/Avril, but Watt was there. I’m quite irate about it.

            • C-Dog

              I think McDowell is a better athlete at a position that they felt they needed more which is an interior pass rusher, and not an edge rusher.

              • Jujus

                Watt also has the injury history.

                • Kenny Sloth

                  OLB is easier to find than penetrating 3 tech

    • Ishmael

      What were we going to do with another EDGE guy though? McDowell offered something that was genuinely needed in the here and now. How are you going to know he’d break himself on an ATV?

      • BobbyK

        Are you saying that our EDGE rushers play 100% of snaps per game? Avril and Clark don’t take plays off? You do realize Avril played in barely 50% of snaps when the won the Super Bowl, right? Keep them fresh is what keeps them dominant.

        • Tien

          When I saw that Watt had two sacks & an int for the Steelers, I was bummed also but I also understood why the Hawks took a calculated risk on a potential knucklehead with a high upside for an area of need, interior pass rush. Yep, it would have been nice to have another impact edge rusher to give Avril & Bennett more breathers but IF McDowell hadn’t had that ATV accident, he might have had more impact on the D than a back up edge rusher. Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off for the Hawks but I don’t fault their reasoning.

          I don’t know whether the Hawks will win the SB but I agree with you about our D’s dominance over Green Bay today. Not many teams, with an offense as inept as ours, could have kept the game close and pressured Rodgers as well as we did. Special teams also played great. IF the OL would just improve to middling by the end of the season, we’ll be right there as legit contenders for the SB again in the playoffs. It was just so disappointing to see us give away such a winnable game…even with all those bad calls against us.

          • williambryan

            Loved Watt too but it doesn’t seem like a good fit in Seattles D. Would he be the Sam? I don’t think he would have the same impact in Seattle. I think Pittsburgh defense uses him perfectly. We had a super athlete in Irvin and he played his role great but it wasn’t a stat filler upper position like Pittsburghs OLB.

  27. Matt

    Well…that was an interesting game.

    Thoughts: The Seahawks continue to be an extremely frustrating franchise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team continually be it’s own worst enemy. Combine that with horrible officiating and this game was just a headache to watch.

    Positives:
    1. Defense held their own and looked dominant at times. There are still frustrating lapses on 3rd and long.
    2. Rookies showed up very well.
    3. Carson looked great and should be the lead back. I’m honestly shocked how good he is at everything (catching, running, blocking). He’s going to be a monster in this league.
    4. Shaq Griffin got a thousand paper cuts but didn’t get gashed. Against one of the best of all time, I’d say that’s a damn fine debut.
    5. Naz Jones is looking more and more like a stud. Seattle may have finally hit (and kept) it’s mid round stud DT.

    Negatives:
    1. OL is just trash. It’s barely functional.
    2. Despite the OL – RW had his moments of brilliance and WTF? To truly take the next step, he needs to overcome the pressure, like A-Rod found a way to do.
    3. Officiating was terrible. Hate to use it as an excuse, but that was an 11 point swing due to 2 atrocious calls (and non-call).

    Closing thoughts: The OL is on another level of bad. No other team seems to be this dysfunctional. We can’t blame resources, because Seattle has continued to blow it’s wad on the draft and come up with nothing (sans Britt). I don’t love saying this, but the Scouting Dept, John Schneider, and Tom Cable need a reality check here. I get OL is hard to find, but this is downright costing us (and cost) legitimate Super Bowl seasons.

    Last thought: The offense just lacks an identity in general. Despite the OL, what the hell are we? A running team? A spread team? I really don’t get it. It’s beyond frustrating to watch. This team needs to commit to an offensive style AND stick with it. I’d rather be average/consistent in one style than downright gross with 3 styles. Pick something. And go with it.

    It honestly took me awhile to calm down after this game. That was a huge loss. It doesn’t define a season, but when you can win one on the road against a team you will face in the playoffs; you have to come out on top. We are now 2 games behind the prospective #1 seed in the NFC. Lambeau in January…no thanks.

    • Matt

      Forgot to add – this was the first time that I finally fell off the Jimmy Graham wagon. He flat out doesn’t fit and he seems to lack competitiveness in those banger-situations. Just a really disappointing effort by him today.

      • Phil

        He killed a drive by dropping a very catchable ball on third down …. and I think he could have done a better job of “selling” a pass interference call on that play in the end zone. For his size, IMHO he is not really physical. Just sayin ……

      • MSL

        I’m about there with JFG too and that’s painful because he’s one of my favorites. However, I also think we should abandon this powerful run first offense non-sense and spread things out. So JFG does fit with what I think the offense should do. But it’s not worth paying $10mil a year for a bad blocking TE.

  28. Ishmael

    Mike Daniels wrecked Britt and Glowinksi. Just absolutely went to town on them. God only knows what Aaron Donald is going to do.

    There is value in continuity in the head office and coaching staff. People have looked into it on an analytic level, and it’s just a fact. It’s one of the reasons why Seattle have been so successful – like the Patriots, the Packers, and the Steelers. But at a certain point you do need some new ideas.

    Seattle’s offence can be explosive, but it seemingly needs so many things going right to make it work. But with the personnel we have, why aren’t we doing more RPO stuff? That Kansas offence would look all kinds of exciting with Wilson and Prosise. Lining up tight and then trying to bounce Fat Eddy outside on stretch plays? What’s that? Feels like players aren’t being put in a position to succeed.

    Defence was outstanding given the circumstances. Give Aaron Rodgers 36 minutes and hold him under 20 points? All the new pickups had their moments. Coleman and Griffin will improve, Richardson needs to work on his hands, but they all still flashed. Naz Jones in the third looks like a steal already. We’re going to be just fine on that side of the ball, but they need to get a grip on the offence in the worst kind of way.

    • Hawk Eye

      Rams D line, Az, Giants, Houston, Phil, Jax all have d lines that can/will cause problems for the Hawks. That is 8 out of 15 remaining games
      They better figure it out quick.
      next 3 games have weak d lines, so we may get some false hope if they do well.
      And a huge problem if they do not!

      • Ishmael

        Jacksonville was outstanding today. Super super fast. Those kids coming off the edge were flying, opened up so much room for Campbell to demolish guys inside. Myles Jack and Telvin Smith are probably the quickest pair of LBs in the league, got some big time athletes in the secondary as well.

        Good post though. Those are teams that all match up very well against us.

  29. Old but Slow

    While this game was disappointing, it was still not a likely win, and there were some very good moments and plays.

    The defense was amazing. Thomas is over the top. Griffin held his own quite well, which is a very good omen. And even after Lane was gone the backs did well. Richardson showed. Nazair Jones showed. Bennett and Avril were Bennett and Avril. Clark did some, but I did not follow him much, so ?. From a first impression, Reed played well.

    Complaining about officiating is not generally a good thing, they are human, everybody has a bad day, its hard to be objective when you are rooting for one of the teams, and so on. But, come on!

    Carson, again, was the most impressive running back, although we haven’t seen Rawls yet. Richardson showed that he can play, and Graham, Baldwin, and Lockett seemed ready.

    Ryan punted well, and accurately. Walsh was good.

    One positive is that I will never again have to hear from Packer fans about Fail Mary

    On a side note, despite Joe Buck, Shaquill Griffin has apparently said that he prefers to not be called Shaq, as his twin brother Shaquell is also a Shaq. He says he prefers Quill (Ke-il or Keel)

    Similarly, I have heard (no links) that Nazair Jones does not like Naz as a nick-name.

    Hope that’s not just rumor.

    • Phil

      Why doesn’t the league use instant replay on personal foul calls that result in an ejection? So many such calls are against a guy who is retaliating after absorbing a cheap shot. Toss both players, not just one. Cobb should have been ejected too.

  30. 1976Hawk

    Observations,

    1) Carson is our main running back. He has the goods and today showed it. That run where he should’ve been down and wound up gaining 3 yards was reminiscent of Marshawn and a little Barry Sanders (showing my age).
    2) We play better with either a 2-3 tight end set. Especially when you have Wilson/Vannett blocking.
    3) OLine- same old issues. All we can hope is they improve muy rapido!
    4) IMO Russell has an issue knowing how to throw a high ball to Jimmy in the red zone where it doesn’t require Jimmy staying in the air for eternity to get it. Even the ball he threw up to him wasn’t that great. I know he was under pressure but I have yet to see Russell throw a high ball to Jimmy.
    5) Richardson is a stud. Anyone not named Rogers or maybe Dak (more because of the Cowboys OLine) is going to have issues with our DLine.
    6) Please change the tempo in a drive. If we start scoring TD’s the defense will only play better and more free.
    7) Our defense still get stop the 3rd and 11 or 3rd and 15. This has been a pattern since 2015. How are th coaches going to solve it.
    8) Home field is a must in the playoffs if we want to go to the Super Bowl. GB has our number and Rogers is good for 10 points alone at home.

    • 1976Hawk

      7) I meant our defense still doesn’t get stops on 3rd and 11 or 3rd and 15

  31. John_s

    Watching some clips of Sheldon Richardson on twitter and he was as advertised! He was wrecking shop play after play. Watch the spin move to keep ARod in the pocket. Wow! He is the best interior lineman we’ve had since Tez. He needs to be resigned! http://twitter.com/Coleman3SD/status/907067502097784832

    OL, WR, TE, backup FS (I have no faith in Tedric too slow and not explosive) are the positions I will watch for in the draft.

  32. Isaac

    I think we saw something tonight that might turn out to be a trend. The hawks number 1 running back was Chris Carson tonight. Even on his short runs he looked like the best back we have. Hopefully he tosses in a couple great games and we can see him stay in the starting role.

    • C-Dog

      I totally agree with this. I think he’s been the best back since camp opened. He should start.

      • Sea Mode

        Him and Rawls should be FIRE! Imagine Carson getting “jacked up” (as PC likes to say) and feeding off of Rawls’ energy, while at the same time helping keep the 1-2 punch fresh.

        • C-Dog

          That could be a really cool thing, for sure.

  33. Roger Davis

    I agree with most everything being said.

    I’d like to add to the discussion Wee DangeRuss’s press conference after the game. It pi**ed me off.

    He mentioned his fumble, didn’t blame himself. He mentioned Lockett “not coming down with it” didn’t mention he overthrew him by 5 yards. One TD HE gave up, one TD HE missed, and the game ends we win 13 -10 not lose 17 – 6.

    Whatever happened to taking personal responsibility for you actions? You CAN’T fumble on your own five. You just CAN’T!

    Oh well – bring on the 49ers.

    • C-Dog

      Ah, yes. Let the Russell Wilson disdain begin.

      In defense of his comment about the deep ball to Lockett, he was being buried to the turf by a 300 lb defender when he launched that deep pass. I think it’s possible that he didn’t see the result of the play.

      • Roger Davis

        No C-Dog not “disdain.”

        Everyone makes errors, heck each offensive lineman must have made 54 each!

        I just wanted him to take personal ownership for (what I saw – still do) his two glaring errors. As you might see it his one glaring error and his lesser error.

    • MSL

      I have a hard time blaming Russ for either of those issues. Get pounded by a d-line that bad and a fumble is bound to happen. I also heard Lockett got held up on the route. It’s not usually black and white and Wilson is usually good about fessing up when he screws up.

  34. Ishmael

    Danny Kelly’s written a typically excellent piece – https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/9/10/16285734/seattle-seahawks-offensive-problems-green-bay-packers

    It’s nothing different to what any of us are saying really, but still.

    • Jujus

      Jc why do people do spacing like this?

  35. dumbquestions

    Well, I’m not going to let the officiating go. I am not one for ref-baiting, but that debacle reminded me of the 2005 Super Bowl.

    I get the moaning about the O-line — they looked lousy — but so much of the game is situational. It’s pretty rare to see officiating have such a direct effect. Look at the fallout from one play:

    1) A TD negated, based on Avril grazing Rodgers ever so slightly, when both were well out of the play.

    2) An ejection of the starting right CB for a punch he didn’t throw, in reaction to an obvious face mask that wasn’t called, forcing Seattle to play Griffin in the outside role where Rodgers could pick at him all day.

    3) A momentum shift from the Seahawks playing with a one-TD lead to 3-0 when the defense was playing brilliantly.

    The second big non-call — the mugging of Graham — should have led to a 1st and goal on the 1, and a likely TD. That’s 11 points, as Bill Simmons noted:

    https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/907017158042935296

    Apart from that, Sheldon Richardson got held twice on key series that allowed Rodgers to keep drives alive and add to the wear-down effect. The block in the back call on Lockett’s return that buried Seattle in their own zone and led to RW’s fumble was also dubious.

    The first four examples aren’t just bad calls. They’re game-changers, situation-changers that handed momentum back to the Packers. I haven’t seen Carroll that angry in some time, and he was right.

    It doesn’t change the bad play by the o-line, but it does illustrate how fragile game plans can be. Seattle should have had a 14-0 lead at the half. That would have altered the flow of the game considerably. The Packers D still would have swarmed, but the adrenaline factor would have been different. The running game might have sparked a little more.

    That said, it’s annoying to watch the offense give an entire half away before they start figuring things out. That cannot continue.

    I view the game as an aberration. I expect the Hawks to get well next week.

    • dumbquestions

      Error – the Graham mugging was in the Q3. My bad, but the take doesn’t change.

    • H

      I’d forgotten about the non block in the back that set up the fumble. I find it hard to believe we would have lost this game with good officiating.

      • FAN Person

        AGREED! This game was flat out STOLEN. Just like the refs did for the packers last year when the Jaguars DESTROYED them… only to be cheated by 16, yes SIXTEEN wrong calls helping the pack win…

        Refs admitted it…SIXTEEN wrong calls in one direction!

        This MUST be FIXED!!!

        • Smitty1547

          I agree with everything except that we would have scored a TD from the 1, probably end up in about a 35 yard FG

  36. Greg Haugsven

    It is just one game but it’s been a common problem over the years but it might just be time for a new OC. I’m not a Bevell hater but it might just be time.

    • peter

      I don’t know I was going to start the old fire Bevell Band wagon up but after some thought, I agree that there may be too many cooks in the kitchen.

      Listen I don’t like Bevell anymore than the next guy but he has made a myriad of different players look good that simply weren’t and great that might not have been. Think back to two seasons ago with Russ lighting it up in the second half of the season.

      For me, it’s time to change the identity. The Steelers have changed over the years, the Patriots most certainly have changed too much success over 15 seasons. I think Bevell has the skills to cook up an up tempo aerial attack and with Baldwin, Lockett, prich, darboh (brutal, awesome non-catch today!) perhaps they have the weapons for t

      I I had to pick I’d lay blame at Cable. after too many seasons and looking back to last year against the Cardinals at the end of the year when they looked good against our front 7 as they played a ton of back ups it’s got to be Cable for me. I really don’t care if they go cheap, go young, go whatever the line sucks. And the line has sucked for a few years now. Plus the Pocic pick for me was the final straw. Many posters talked me off the ledge about that pick looking to the future for Britt’s replacement but a few months later Britt was rewarded, rightfully so with a new contract and now the team is left with a “versatile,” lineman.

      What’s the point of a versatile linemen when the line is garbage and he still can not see the field? No one today was getting off their blocks and if Pocic now isn’t better than three seasons of mediocre play by Glowinski what was the point of Cable talking up Pocic the player. Again I have nothing against him but if your line is as bad as Seattle’s is you don’t need a back up in case a player gets injured. You need a starter. Versatile pieces are great for established lines.

      I don’t know. I’m sure Rob will talk some sense into me but right now I feel like I am watching the 17th game of last season.

      • JimQ

        Cable has a reputation as a great? OL coach? However the proof is always in the pudding. The OL performance hasn’t been even close to average ever since Cable has been here, when will PC/JS see the light and actually replace him, surely there are some other OL coaches potentially available, any of them could probably do at least as well as TC. I acknowledge that it is much easier to replace a coach in the offseason than during the season, but if the OL continues to play like yesterday, it may just be time to start looking around for alternatives for the OL coach’s position.

        In his tenure, if Cable would have had even 1 average OL, I’d see the possibility and probability that he should be retained, however TC has never had an even average OL & that’s entirely on him, IMO. Baring a TC replacement, at the very least, fresh eyes for player evaluations would likely help the OL play, so maybe they could find a good assistant OL coach somewhere, anywhere? Soon?

  37. Rik

    Britt’s comments after the game (from seahawks.com):

    “We have a really good line up front,” Britt later added. “Next week we’ll come out better. We’ll come out more prepared. It all starts with the week and the preparation we have. Going forward I think we’ll show you what we can do, but today was not our best.”

    No you don’t. You have a really crappy line and (my opinion) a crappy offensive scheme with crappy playcalling.

    • C-Dog

      Britt’s a good leader saying what a good leader would say. I think he’s right, the OL will get better.

      • Rowdy

        They cant get worse

        • Rik

          Except they always seem to get worse whenever we play the Rams …

  38. michigan12

    That was a disappointing effort by our O-line. To blame Russell for this game is a little unfair, he had 300lb men in his face all game. Could he have played better yes, but he played really well considering he was constantly harassed. It just seems to me like it’s time for Cable to go. The Patriots changed their O-line coach after they Lost to Denver in the AFC championship game because their O-line could not protect Brady and the next year not only did their O-line improve, but they won the Superbowl. It is becoming to much of a broken record to hear everyone keep saying that our O-line is the problem. Losing Fant was not the problem, yes Odhiambo played poorly, but we could scheme around that. The problem is we cant scheme for the whole line playing bad. I really think its time for Tom Cable to take his skills somewhere else. We need a new up and comer trying to prove himself, who will take his job seriously and find a way to produce results. How come always compete does not apply to the coaching staff. It should and if any player on the team consistently failed to get his job done like Tom Cable they would be cut and replaced by someone else in a heartbeat. We have never had a good O-line and he has been here the whole time. Time to face the facts, he is first person to look at if we want to get better. Fire him and send a message to the team, either produce or find another job.

    My bigger concern is if this keeps up, how long will Richard Sherman remain quiet about it?

    The refs did not help either. They cost us that game, but like another guy said, at least Fail Mary is over once and for all now.

    • Rowdy

      Russ was as big of a problem as th oline. You simply can’t hold the for as long as he did. His game planned seemed to be let the wr run the route then try to find an open guy. He did better the second half but the first half he never came close to trying to make a play

  39. Forrest

    This defense is out to crush souls. It’ll probably be the unit that WINS the games for the Hawks this year. Although the offense was pretty terrible I wouldn’t put it past them putting up 4-5 TDs next week. Better to get a bad performance out earlier than later. I saw so many flashes of great offense today (in spite of the OL); I just hope it can manifest and solidify in the next few games.

  40. Aaron

    Honest question to Rob and everyone here at SDB. Why does this offensive line look so incompetent again? It’s simple, isn’t it? Just block your guy. Proper hand placement, pass sets that don’t open up your hips, staying square and not leaning, targeting properly, finishing blocks, identifying stunts and blitzes. That’s fundamentals! Tom Cable is their coach, their teacher, their mentor. If his unit has been consistently ranked bottom third of the NFL, if not bottom five, three years running now then how does he keep his job after this season?

    The only other professions I can think of where such incompetence doesn’t get you fired is politics and weather forecasting. You can’t keep someone who consistently fields a unit that’s this bad for this long. He’s working with the same kind of talent the other o line coaches are and most of them field a competent unit out there. Why is this one so much worse than all the others, even the other bad ones?

    I know it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. But these slow starts cost us what we need to win it all. We need the number one seed. We need homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. We need to start better and look better in September and October. We’ve fielded the best multi year defense in NFL history since 2012, but because five guys are so incompetent we are wasting them. The defensive players get to accomplish lesser accolades like Pro Bowl and All Pro honors, while missing out on rings. Beyond frustrating!

    • Volume12

      He doesn’t develop these guys well. At all. He called Luke Joeckel one of the best OG’s in the game. Against who? Bubble roster guys?

      Pre-season stats are fluky. They typically don’t roll over well.

      • Trevor

        +1

    • Trevor

      I have been saying the same thing for 2 years. Seattle is where OL draft picks come to regress.

      • FAN Person

        Bevell and Cable should have been replaced this off season. Pete Carroll is plain STUBBORN!

        He says Bevell is excellent and “WE” don’t know what we are talking about!

        He is flat out WRONG! DB got us one ring, then cost us the second!

        Just move on and give Russell some fresh blood to work with… DB’s play calling is like a child throwing darts!

        • Ishmael

          Can you chill? Smashing out ‘WRONG’ in all caps doesn’t actually make you right.

          • FAN Person

            Chill?

            Are you my parent or something?

            This site is so we can Express ourselves… as fans of Seattle!

            ..so I’ll say it again, Pete and Cable and Bevell are WRONG in their STUBBORN ness to grow up and change!!

            Running team ‘balance’? ZERO

            • Ishmael

              If only.

              You’re not actually talking about the game, you’re not providing any analysis, you’re not discussion any possible solutions, you’re just shrieking that everyone needs to be fired and that the team needs to CHANGE !!

              Anyway, don’t want to turn this into a whole thing so I’m shutting up.

        • Aaron

          I think most of the blame falls on Cable again this season. Bevell is the offensive coordinator but when the offensive line can’t competently pass or run block for the vast majority of plays then the play calling has to change. The playbook and game plan shrink and shrivel into nothing resembling what Bevell wanted to do or Pete wanted to see. The offensive line is not Bevell’s unit, it’s Cable’s. Tom Cable is the one consistently failing this team for three years running now.

          As for how to actually be constructive and move forward past this all too familiar road clunker, I’m pretty loss for words. There isn’t an easy answer. It’s either trade for a bona fide o line talent or hope these guys develop chemistry and competence over a season. The former is something this team never does so I have no hope for that, and the latter is something I banked on in 2016 after it happened in 2015, but it never happened. Again I’ll say it’s a travesty to waste such an all time great defense because we are so blasted incompetent up front on the offensive line.

          • trevor

            Agree completely Aaron!

            There are not many plays you can call as an OC when the OL can’t pass or run block.

  41. 12th chuck

    I think outside of 2 major blown calls, I think the biggest disappointment was a lack of screen passes in 1st half. green bay had a few in the 2nd half and it seemed to slow us down in the pass rush some. why did we not see c.j more for a screen pass or two.We had a real chance to steal a game but couldn’t quit do it. Lack of 3 n out on our d as well.Its going to be a long week

    • Logan Lynch

      In all honesty, SEA has generally been terrible with screen passes in the PC era. RB screens, WR screens, it doesn’t matter. They seem to be the least effective plays along with short passes across the middle. Which unfortunately are the 2 types of plays that combat early pressure.

  42. 6x2 stack monster

    It’s hard to win in GB when….
    You get defensive turnover for TD called back by bad officiating.
    Russell fumbles and gives Packers 7 yard field.
    Russell misses wide open Tyler Lockett for would be TD
    If Locket runs his man up the hash, Jimmy catches back shoulder TD right before half.
    Jimmy G. drops a ball that’s right in his hands on third down to kill a drive.

    I’m actually encouraged. The defense looks great. No major injuries. Let’s get right with the 49ers next week.

    • Sea Mode

      This. Exactly this.

      People freak out every time we lose. Fire Bevell! Trade Graham! Fire Cable! Blah, blah, blah…

      We had a zillion chances to win what was probably the toughest road game of the year for us, and a bunch of shtuff went against us. If even one of those things listed above bounces our way, we steal a W.

      We’ll be fine.

  43. Joshua Smith

    Officials screwed us. I don’t know if they deserved to win or not, but we will never know if they would have had the game been officiated properly

    • FAN Person

      And the fact that there is a SOLUTION to horrible refs, like they do in college, just have 2 people at every game reviewing EVERY PLAY and CALL!!! PERIOD!

      Just like college! It WORKS!! …and if anyone mentions “too much time”, forget that!!

      We need honest contests, or I’m eventually going to stop watching a rigged product!

      I watched 5 other games, and ZERO had crap calls like Seattle got thrown at them…

      Plus, green bay gets ‘freebies’ ALL THE TIME! The Jaguars DESTROYED them in game one last year only to have the refs CHEAT them out of a win, and yes admit later, that they made 16— SIXTEEN!!! Calls WRONG favoring the ‘packers’… aaron rodgers is an nfl ‘pretty face’ that gets freebies… that simple…

      • Sea Mode

        Man, you even use caps in your username.

  44. Joshua Smith

    Defensive line played like beasts. Great effort by the defense as a whole. Sheldon Richardson trade is already paying dividends. A lot to be proud about today considering

    • Kenny Sloth

      I was bellowing Death Roooow all game long

    • Aaron

      Richardson was an absolute force out there. Splitting double teams, walking back Jahri Evans multiple times, quick counters, and even walking back a double team…A DOUBLE TEAM!!! They are gonna feast this year! Death Row baby!!! Hope it’s not all wasted because five guys can’t play competent o line though. This defense can win a super bowl, but this o line is putrid once again.

    • Logan Lynch

      Not to mention most of them were battling cramps from being out there all game long. Or other injuries (Clark’s helmet to Reed’s nether region anyone?)

  45. Donovan

    I’d like to see them give more consideration to Procise as lead back. He was phenomenal last yr before getting hurt. Great versatility and gives you an array of options on play calling.

  46. Kenny Sloth

    Tom Cable is a genius.

    Bevell needs to run more.

    Didn’t seem to run it hardly at all til it was too late.

    • C-Dog

      They definitely started out with the intent to spin it. There was some horrific series of run plays, though. Everything felt out of sinc until they went up tempo, but as Danny Kelly mentioned in his Ringer piece, up tempo is counter to what Carroll wants his offense to do.

      • DC

        Ultimately I imagine Carroll wants his offense to score points. It might be time to embrace flexibility and creative game planning on a week to week basis.

        As Chuck Knox used to say; “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Well… it’s broke.

        • C-Dog

          Chuck Knox in the late 80’s, also adjusted from Ground Chuck to Air Knox when Curt Warner was spent and he knew he had to open up the offense with Largent, Skansi, John L and company to have any shot to win the West, which they did.

          One of his other favorite sayings was “sometimes you just have to pay the hand you’re dealt.”

          • DC

            Yep. Make those adjustments.

            • C-Dog

              +1,000,000

              • Volume12

                Mike McCarthy was a disciple or rather follower of Alex Gibbs as well. He taught him too. Thing is, McCarthy has evolved it into a gap scheme. Your still angle blocking, but more man in man.

                If you have a stout NT in a 3-4 defense you can beat a ZBS. All your doing now is shooting gaps.

                Your not blowing guys off the LOS in a ZBS. Your blocking or occupying an area. It’s incredinbly easy to install and teach. There’s only 2 runs. Wide zone or inside zone/tight.

                Here’s the tricky part. It takes an extremely patient and disciplined person to run this and you need nasty, tough, junkyard dogs to do it with. Its a team blocking system. That’s why Seattle likes/needs WRs that can block dowmfield. Your trying to shoot your RB into the secondary basically because the zone should get teams salivating to blitz.

                What’s the problem? Seattle has stopped with the bootlegs and roll outs. Your left with a free rusher or a ‘chaser’ as Gibbs called them on wide zones. And this is killing Seattle. Remember RW’s rookie and second year all the what I call ‘smoke and mirror’ offense? Taht was bootlegs and rollouts.

                • Volume12

                  You can’t run Alex Gibbs’ scheme with a traditional passing attack.

                  Its why John Elway was king of the bootleg. That was all by design.

                  • C-Dog

                    Really nice points, Volume. The few times Russell and the offense were having success yesterday were with play action roll outs and a moving pocket.

                • bv eburg

                  Right on Vol.
                  The lack of RW on the move just slays me. If your line is so weak and can’t create a pocket you have two choices for the passing game. Either quick hit’s or get him outside the pocket. This makes the defense cover the whole field and not just crush the pocket.
                  PC and DB need to go back to RW’s first couple years and see what made him great in the passing game. The old Marshawn isn’t coming back but the old RW can.

                • Kenny Sloth

                  Pathetic to see Bevell go to the read option in the late third to open a little space.

                  Too bad you didn’t start the game with it.

                  Momentum shifts were crazy in this game until it was clear Seattle was allergic to the end zone

                  • C-Dog

                    +1

          • Phil

            I remember Ground Chuck opening one game with an 80 yd. TD pass to Daryll Turner. He realized that his team’s play calling, particularly deep in their territory after kickoffs, was becoming way too predictable.

    • Rik

      Tom Cable is a genius??? I think I need an explanation lol.

      • FAN Person

        Tom Cable, just like Darrell Bevell, should BOTH have been replaced this last Off season!

        The defense all ready sees DB as a liability, costing us one super bowl…

        …and the lack of ANY consistency on offense is NOT the OLines total fault…

        When the other team is wrecking your front 5, run SCREENS, BOOT LEGS, etc…

        It is like Pete and DB are BLIND!!!

        • bv eburg

          “it’s like Pete and DB are blind!!!!”

          Or
          To stubborn to change

          • FAN Person

            Exactly bv!!

        • Kenny Sloth

          Darell Bevell draws up a helluva play. He calls a great game too.

          Tom Cable is God-tier coaching, imo, objectively. He doesn’t play. On the field, sacks are almost always on Justin Britt and Russell Wilson imo. Obviously a block can be straight up destroyed like Joeckle last night, but hes not really a TC OL yet. But they control the slides and communicate blitzes.

          Russell is good against the blitz, but I don’t think it’s always because he is good at making the hot read.

          Our whole team ain’t runnin it enough because no-one demands touches. Carson is close but you don’t put it all on a rookie when you don’t have to. We need to bring back the read option. Russ don’t wanna run, but he was clearly the most effective runner yesterday.

          • MSL

            Their primary genius is in how long they’ve stayed employed by the team while being so bad at their jobs.

  47. DC

    Anyone seen much tape on Notre Dame OG Quenton Nelson? Hefty dude but moves pretty well. Looks like a classic Carroll LG. I watched tape from 2016 vs USC. Interesting. Gets beat pretty bad a few times but looked stout most of the game.

    • Volume12

      Top 20 pick. Best guard in the draft. If ya liked Zach Martin, you’ll love Nelson.

      Outstanding body control.

      • Sea Mode

        Is any guard going to be a R1, let alone top 20, pick anytime soon?

        (I get that you are highlighting he is good, but we gotta be realistic, otherwise we’ll end up with 100 R1 prospects again… 😉 )

        • Kenny Sloth

          If the OL class is trash, yeah?

          Josh Garnett’s self went at 28?

          I hate the way some teams draft, but boy is the league predictable.

      • D-OZ

        Seattle’s biggest need right there, period!!!!

  48. All I see is 12s

    Wanted to offer my perspective here. I keep thinking about that 2013 road opener against the Panthers. It gets forgotten how awful our offense was in that game. We won only by an extremely clutch Jeremy kearse touchdown catch. Also because DeAngelo Williams cost them a game in the red zone by fumbling . Cam Newton was not playing at a level that he is now . Had he been so the Seahawks likely would’ve lost. We were going to be able to steal one from Aaron Rodgers. It wasn’t going to happen. That said, I don’t think we need to be worried. yes the offense of line needs be better. it is very frustrating that the offense of line seemed unprepared and it may be time the Seahawks start holding high ranking people within their staff accountable .
    That said, we were still close and the schedule is favorable. I still say we will be 4-1 at the bye

    • Volume12

      It was going to happen though. This defensive front is going to eat offenses alive. It’s called ‘eating the dead.’

      I’ve watched Aaron Rodgers since his Cal days. Never seen him as flustered as he was in the 1st half. What they did those 2 quarters is getting overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

      Seattle won’t need to put more than 14-17 points on the board with this front 4. Can they even do that though?

      • All I see is 12s

        Yeah, it’s easy to overlook when all of hawk nation is fuming over this o line that they have had years to fix. But let’s face it Rogers couldn’t do anything to this d. The only success came after the d was exhausted from being on the field too long. I’m sure we will improve,but this was a tough lesson.
        I still think this offense can be explosive.

        • Volume12

          I think they can too, but this O-line is worrisome. Yes its week 1 and it’s easy to overreact. We all do it in some shape or form, but the same problems as last year? That’s a**.

          There really isn’t a quick fix either. They’ve struck gold at least once at every position but the O-line which really sucks. Britt, but that’s noit enough will the stock they’ve pumped into it. I guess TE too but that’s besides the point. As I mentioned above, he’s healthy now, they gotta get RW moving on some bootlegs and roll outs. Of course that doesn’t solve the issue, but it should be enough until they can.

          • Volume12

            They got options though unlike last year. Abosuhi and Pocic for example.

            • Sea Mode

              These are the options I want to see. At least get Glow out of there..

              • Kenny Sloth

                Can he flip back to LG??

    • Rob Staton

      That Carolina game was a battle but we still put up +300 yards passing and Wilson had a great game. The offense wasn’t bad by any stretch.

  49. C-Dog

    Mock Draft post Green Bay dreadful: Embrace the Spread Offense Pete Carroll Edition.

    29: R1P29
    OT GERON CHRISTIAN
    LOUISVILLE

    Fant is shelved away from an opportunity to develop with another season playing LT. Odhiambo had a very rough going today being abused by Nick Perry, and Jimmy Graham was being utilized as an extra blocker to help him out. How long does Pete wait to go with Matt Tobin if Odhiambo keeps having outings like that? Russell got rattled early and only looked comfortable when they went quick tempo. IMO, LT has got to be priority number one.

    R2 SHELDON RICHARDSON. I think Seattle works out a deal to keep this guy around.

    93: R3P29
    RB RONALD JONES II
    USC

    Not a great start for Eddie Lacy as a Seahawk. Thomas Rawls hasn’t shown the ability to stay healthy. Ditto Prosise. They might have something in Chris Carson. Ronald Jones II comps a bit to Jamaal Charles. John Schneider was a Jamaal Charles fan.

    131: R4P29
    CB DEE DELANEY
    MIAMI

    Seattle might look for an outside corner again with Richard Sherman in a contract year.

    162: R5P24
    WR DAESEAN HAMILTON
    PENN STATE

    Paul Richardson is in a contract year. Tyler Lockett will be in 2018. Seattle might look WR day two or three.

    229: R7P7
    DL B.J. HILL
    NORTH CAROLINA STATE

    BJ Hill las the look of a Seattle DT.

    231: R7P9
    LB KEISHAWN BIERRIA
    WASHINGTON

    Bierria adds depth at LB

    • Joshua Smith

      Interesting. I really hope that they do embrace the spread offense and go to the no huddle more often than once a game. Unfortunately they built their O-line to run the ball at the expense of pass protection, not that it has payed off in that department. It’s relatively easy to find interior O-linemen who can pass block consistently. We just need a couple of average pass blocking tackles. I hope that they can turn it around and silence us all whenever they start rushing the ball for 110 plus yards a game

      • C-Dog

        I thought the OL got better as they adjusted to more of an open offense that included roll outs and a moving pocket. I just thought that it took to long to reach into that bag. I’m not advocating a complete abandonment of power I and become the Patriots, just to allow for that to be more of elements of it when it seems clear that they have the parts for it in place.

  50. Ukhawk

    You have just got to give GB credit. Their interior D might be better than ours, their OL & passing attack could be what we aspire to, Rogers was phenomenally poised & out Russelled Russ in many cases.

    Yes they were expected to lose tie one. And it’s never pretty. But now it’s gut check time.

    Big positives:
    Sheldon as good as advertised
    Shaq Griffen played lights out for a rookie
    No major injuries
    Carson should start
    AOB?

    • Ukhawk

      Earl & Russ back

    • Volume12

      Love Shaq. He came through in a big way for them today.

      That’s not easy too get thrown out there against Jordy Nelson like that. Of course Jordy is gonna get his he’s one of the best.

      CB is the hardest position to transition to from college to the pros. I like what they’re doing with him. He’s gonna have some lapses and breakdowns, there ain’t a rookie corner that won’t, its how he responds to those that are key. And he showed veteran confidence today.

      • Ukhawk

        Very excited by Griffen, I thought he played superb. He could turn out to be the best player in that class.

        For now, I am more comfortable with him than any other prospect starting opposite Sherm since BB. If he can learn on the job as a rookie starter, his growth will be exponential; not many draftees can do that at CB

        • Sea Mode

          Love the support the other members of the LOB are showing him. Giving him encouragement after every play, good or bad.

  51. Volume12

    Is Cha the only one who agrees with me that the NFL is butt? What an awful day of football across the league. Its getting bad.

    • Trevor

      Agreed there was some awful football today. Maybe because teams cant really practice anymore.

  52. Volume12

    Why does Seattle seem to insist on the philosophy of ‘RW is good enough to overcome shaky O-line play.’

    He is. The running game ain’t.

    No running game is and for a team that was built on the run game and a smoke and mirrors offense this ain’t working. Seattle was never a great offensive team, but this is bad. You can add all the flashy TEs, big body WRs, and a plethora of different backs but that don’t fix your issues up front.

    When you have an offense that might be worse than the Redskins its troubling. And when you have an offense that had the same amount of games without scoring a TD last year as the NY Jets did? Downright scary.

    TOP- GB 33 minutes Seattle 20!? That’s an extra quarter this defense is on the field for. And by the end of the season? It’ll be 2 extra games when it all adds up.

    Don’t waste this defense Seattle. There’s 25-27 other GMs around the league that would kill for this defense.

    • C-Dog

      They definitely need to figure out a better solution at LT. They will mop up on the 49ers next week and we will all start feeling comfortable again. My hope is that this game was the Poop fest that they needed to get out of their system to settle in offensively.

  53. Kenny Sloth

    Jimmy Graham deserves so much criticism for his play today

    • nichansen01

      I really hope we don’t resign him.

      • FAN Person

        Nope. Darrell Bevell needs to be FIRED!

        Using a “Ferrari to toe your boat” is utter MADNESS!!!

        Using Jimmy as a Blocker is a WASTE of Talent and TIME!!!

        UTTER WASTE! He wiffed twice causing sacks, and this whole – “Jimmy is our screen pass guy” is completely ABSURD!!

        Why can’t DB and Pete develop a RB screen game LIKE EVERY OTHER NFL TEAM!!!!!

        Disgusting to watch Seattle continue to be totally incompetent on how to use their Offensive weapons…

        Jimmy isn’t the problem, the thick skulled stubborn ness of Pete’s BS offensive with incompetent DB is!

    • C-Dog

      Those second half drops were brutal to watch when they were in desperation mode. Not what you pay top dollar to see a top end pass catching tight end do.

    • Jujus

      Really though, can we trade jimmy now and sign Gary Barnidge?

  54. nichansen01

    I’m so tired of the positive takes. This team has been flat out terrible on offense ever since Lynch “retired”. I wouldn’t even be mad, if the defense wasn’t so good. It’s a crying shame that with a defense this elite the offense is still a total shit show. Time to admit the following:

    Jimmy Graham is bad
    Eddie Lacy is bad
    Darrell Bevell is bad
    Tom Cable is bad
    Rees Odhiambo is bad
    Luke Joeckel is bad
    Mark Glowinski is bad
    Germaine Ifedi is bad and a waste of a first round pick

    Russell Wilson needs a hurry up, no huddle to thrive. Sigh these coaches are incompentent.

    Can I say it?

    Pete Carroll and John Schneider aren’t the gods we think they are, if this is the best offensive performance we can give them week one.

    “It’s Green Bay tho”

    I don’t care. Last year we barely scored 10 points against MIAMI. AT HOME.
    God can we just admit we suck.

    I’m getting sick of all the optimism from hawks fans. We suck. We aren’t “the best team in the NFL even tho we lost” what even? Good teams win, bad teams lose. Simple as that.

    • Volume12

      You cant run a no huddle or hurry up the whole game. Your left with short possessions, why guys that run the up tempo stuff from college fail, you can’t sub, it drives down offensive players stamina, and it limits your play calling.

      • FAN Person

        Agreed!

        Bevell is a complete WASTE of a coordinator!

        Every year, same result… Great D, PATHETIC Offensive… theplay calling to start this game was the worst I’ve ever SEEN… ZERO boot legs, ZERO roll outs, ZERO QB runs, ZERO CREATIVITY!!

        STOP throwing the ball 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage when we need 7-8 yards!!!

        Russell needs a NEW coordinator with ACTUAL PLAYS!

        Using Jimmy Graham, a Ferrari, to TOW a BOAT, is ridiculous!!

      • C-Dog

        I think you can go to it sooner though when it’s clear the defense has your number with what you’re trying to accomplish conventionally. That’s where I take issue with the coaching yesterday.

    • Joshua Smith

      The failures of the offense actually correlates more strongly with Max Unger departing than Lynch retiring. Lynch couldn’t get anything done behind Drew Nowark in 2015. Still, the absence of Lynch hurts.

    • Logan Lynch

      Wow, you’re right. I really wish we had the Rams team and Jared Goff. Did you see how well they played yesterday? Going to bring a Superbowl to LA for sure! If good teams win, the Rams and Jaguars must be the best in the NFL and the Pats are bad!

      In all seriousness, there are always 2 sides to every game. There were encouraging signs yesterday (the defense) and very disappointing signs (the offense). It’s right to have concern for the offense, but it’s premature to write the season off. Maybe it’s just your coping mechanism and if so, more power to you.

      • Jujus

        in the defense of LA, the Colts are trash with most of their good D players hurt.

  55. Mancunian Dave

    I thought Rob’s comment was spot on about the Hawk’s offense. They are trying to play the kind of offence that they would like to, but not one that matches the players they currently have. They can’t play smashmouth offence with the backs they are on the roster. They need to change it up. Other thoughts:

    I could understand the no-call against JG in the end zone. That ball wasn’t catchable. But both the calls that came during Jones’ pick 6 were awful. That should have been a face-mask against Adams that negated any perceived “push in the back” against Avril? Surely?

    The rookies all looked like they can really contribute. Jones looked comfortable amongst that star-studded defensive line. Griffin played really well, against probably the best QB/WR group chemistry in the league. I liked the way he covers, doesn’t panic, seems aware of where the ball was whenever they tried to go deep. He’ll get some interceptions in the future. Carson did well in a tough situation. Had the only good planned run, and that run to turn a big loss into a 3 yard gain shows he is not fazed at this level.

    The defence was outstanding throughout the game. Interesting to hear ET’s comments after the game re being on the field for too long: “Its been like this for 8 years”. The frustration of this defensive unit is only going to increase if the offence keeps being as poor as this. Not good for team morale.

    Jimmy Graham – he got the targets he wanted and he didn’t deliver. Russell Wilson – not great, looked edgy in the red zone, some poor passes thrown there. Of course behind that offensive line…maybe understandable.

    How long are they going to give this o-line to play as poorly as that? Are they going to reach for some more veteran help from the street? The big worry was the guard play. GB were just piling past Joekel and Glowinski. Maybe Aboushi starts next time out?

    • pmoney

      For a guy of Graham’s size and athleticism I think that ball was 100% catchable.

      • Mancunian Dave

        It can certainly be debated. Although with the form Graham was in yesterday, he would probably have dropped it if he could have reached it…

        • JimQ

          Why not offer Jimmy Graham on the trade market for ANY 2 competent OL, Swoops could replace JG and that would probably be a bonus to the deal also.

      • AlaskaHawk

        Graham had a bad day. He will do better. I believe in him. It’s the offensive line that I’m having a hard time believing in.

    • Old but Slow

      Even if the ball was uncatchable, he was being held, and defensive holding can be called even if the ball is not thrown to that receiver.

  56. H

    I agree with everything being said; the disastrous OL play, that certainly needs to improve if this is to be a championship season, as well as the play calling which seemed to find something that worked at the end of the first half only to go right back to what doesn’t work after the break? Also was extremely disappointing in Jimmy today, was expecting a big season out of him and he just didn’t make the plays today.
    However I am far from ready to throw in the towel.
    Firstly of this was, on paper, the toughest match up on a schedule and we only lost by a score. Furthermore, this OL and Offensive unit in general has always got off to a slow a start to a season and has always played especially bad in Lambeau field, yet it has always improved as the year went on. Carson looked good (please just start him next week, I took him in the last round of my fantasy league for a reason) PRich picked up where he left off, making miraculous plays downfield. What’s more this D is absolutely incredible, like genuinely amazing. Front 4 feasted, Quil performed above and beyond expectations, and ET3 is back with vengeance. They gave up just 2 TDs against the best QB not named Brady of all time, one was the O’s fault for turning the ball over and the other was a free play shot into the endzone.
    They were so good, if it wasn’t for some just unbelievable calls by the zebras, they probably would have won us this game, even with the way our O played.
    Whilst I do believe the O will improve as the year goes there is always this to console those of you who don’t believe: the Broncos D won them a Championship a couple years back when they had a pretty pathetic Offence as well.

  57. EP

    You can see why there have been murmurings of a rift between offense and defence. Seattles D gives up 17 points, a field goal, a short run gifted to the packers after a turnover and a TD on a free play, and all the offence can reply with is 3 field goals. Our D always gives us a chance but, we don’t need to put up 30/40 points to win a game, we don’t need a terrifying offence, just enough each game and we should be fine.

  58. vrtkolman

    I agree with some other’s opinions on here about the offense. It seems like an up-tempo, spread offense would work a lot better than whatever they are doing now. Watching Green Bay manhandle our exhausted defense on the final drive where they ran the clock out was a dagger to the heart.

    I think we can make two improvements to the offensive line right now. Aboushi for Glo and Tobin for Rees would be two upgrades.

  59. Poko

    great D. great ST. OL …no comment.
    Griffin was beaten,but he showed his potential.I think he becomes a good player.
    He may be last piece of our D#.

    • vrtkolman

      Agree, he did everything he had to. He gave up shorter passes but made the tackles, didn’t give up anything over the top, and even had a few pass breakups.

  60. DC

    If we were going to make a move on the OL, what are the options to tweak it? Start Pocic at C and move Britt to RG? Or move Britt to LG and bump Joeckel to LT?

    Is it too early to start the annual trade Jimmy Graham for a competent OL talk? 🤡

    • Mancunian Dave

      I wouldn’t move Britt anywhere, that’s the one part of the line that is working. I think Aboushi should be given a try at RG. Above suggestions about looking again at the make up of he left side of the line seem to be in order. Whether that is giving Tobin a look at LT, or swapping Joeckel and Rees around?

      However as that was the first real game that line-up has played together in the NFL, perhaps they should be given the next game at home to see if they can improve.

    • peter

      I think Pocic has skills at left tackle.

  61. Rad man

    The 8 million dollar salary for joekel continues to bewilder. When you consider that same salary went to pro bowler Warford,and other former high draft pick reclamation projects got 1.5M, and veteran randoms got 1-3M

    He got completely owned yesterday. I’m sure Cable is a great coach and has a great eye for talent, though. Because that’s what I hear all the time from people who purport to know.

    Lacy looked pathetic, too. There’s about 12M down the toilet. Hey, that’s about what Joe Thomas makes….

    Graham looked great, though…oh, never mind.

  62. Logan Lynch

    Not going to pile on much with what I said before (great defense, “offensive” offense, good showing by rooks).

    One nugget – SEA gave up 17 points (10-13 if you take away the gimme touchdown after Russ’ fumble) to the QB with the best career passer rating. On the road. When he had the ball for nearly 40 mins and ran 74 plays. Let that marinate. This D is absolutely going to suffocate most of the QBs they face this year. And they look wicked…ready to be the heels of the NFL again (wrestling term just for you Vol). Let’s just hope the offense has a bit of a pulse.

    Side note, living in WI is terrible on days like today. Can we please win one in Lambeau sometime soon? Packers fans are as insufferable as Pats and Cowboys fans.

    • pmoney

      Honestly I think Packers are worse than NE. At least most of the Pats fans I know have embraced being the heels of the NFL and have a good time with it. GB is infuriating because of their smug embrace of faux purity and Americana. Can’t imagine being surrounded by that 24/7, stay strong.

    • Volume12

      Oh man. I cant wait to watch some RAW and some SmackDown these next couple nights to wash this bad taste outta my mouth.

      SmackDown has a mini PPV tommorow night and this KO/Shane McMahon storyline is getting good.

      • Logan Lynch

        That’s one of the best parts about wrestling. Even if the matches or storylines don’t turn out the way I’d like them to, I don’t feel the crushing emotional torment that I do with a Seahawks loss.

        And if I want some comedy I can watch the Southpaw vids on youtube…I find those way more entertaining than I probably should.

        • Volume12

          Those are great bruh. I love those myself. One of these days they need to give us a Southpaw PPV.

          ‘Showdown at the Swamp’ or ‘Lethal Leap Year.’

          How about RAW tonight? BRAUN vs Cena!? Here for it. WWE is looking Monday Night football in the eye this year and saying, ‘F*** you! It’s on.’

          • Volume12

            Gotta ask ya. U like Jinder?

            I love him honestly. Its refreshing to actually have a heel that ur not supposed to like. Character wise or in the ring. And the Singh bro’s as his heaters are great.

            • Logan Lynch

              I’m a bit torn only because I think they’re pushing the anti USA narrative a little harder than it needs to be. Jinder can be unlikeable without the need to use the whole anti American schtick. That being said, you’re right in that it’s refreshing to have heels who don’t try to be the “cool bad guy”. I would put Miz in this category too. Neither of them really care about being liked, which is really what a heel should be.

              I’m really on the Braun wagon now. I was a bit skeptical at first, but he really seems to be the next big thing. Not sure if he’s ready for a title yet, but I think he’s the logical choice to unseat Lesnar.

  63. Cysco

    It sure seems like the coaching staff is trying to create an identity and play philosophy on offensive that they simply don’t have the personnel to do. (insert square peg round hole analogy here) They want to be a smash mouth, powerful run first offense that take their time getting to the line and then overpowers the opposing defense. They don’t have the people to be that team.

    I don’t think it was a surprise that when they had to go up tempo at the end of the first half they had some success. They have the QB and athletes at the skill positions to do that.

    I really think the team needs to start going no huddle/up tempo/spread. I also think they need to do more planned QB runs. I know they want to protect Rus, but they need to do something to keep the opposing defense off guard a bit.

    • Steele

      Cysco, you’re right, and we’ve been saying these things for years now. The question is why they haven’t implemented the personnel to do what they want, to be that team. And why the coaches have not done better, short term (even in-game) as well as long term.

    • AlaskaHawk

      Maybe it doesn’t matter what personnel you have when there are more defensive linemen than offensive linemen. Both Arizona and Green Bay have been loading the box, they can stop the rush or blitz from that position. This has been going on for years and has been very effective against the Seahawks offense.

      Seems like the Seahawks need a coach who can design some quick passes.

  64. Zorn Is King

    D-line is almost perfect after only a week of practic My with Richardson. Add some beef st the point of attack? Mesh in practice? Wow. Week 6 on should be so much fun.

    Passing attack has nowhere to go but up. Add CJ on 3rd, and split out Graham? By week six…new offensive strategy in place.

    Chris Carson looked phenomenal. Get him used to starting, building a rhythm to counter the passing attack? Week six…

    Those are pieces independent of what’s happening with the o-line..which will/can only get better too.

    Avoid injuries to our stars, and we have a historic season on our hands.

    Week Six…;)

  65. Ishmael

    One thing I would like to see more of is the RPO stuff that the Chiefs run.

    We’ve got the players to do it in Wilson, Prosise, Baldwin, Lockett, and Graham. Given Carson’s early showing I’d put him in the mix as well. I’d be interested in hearing what the thinking behind playing those tight sets was. Giving guys as much space as possible to get open into? Backing the offence to be quicker than the defence?

    Yesterday was just brutal. It looked like a Jeff Fisher-era Rams offense.

    • vrtkolman

      Unfortunately I thought of Jeff Fisher as well. It’s amazing how often our offense plays directly into the hands of the defense. This must be one the easiest offense to gameplan against in the NFL, with maybe the best dual threat QB in history.

      • Ishmael

        What I find infuriating is how easy it looks at times? Two minute drill? Bam, 90 yards in a flash. Get off to a good start, pile up 40 points. No worries.

        Face any sort of pressure at all? Crumble in a heap. It really does feel like they’re not taking advantage of personnel, don’t put guys in a position to succeed, which is bizarre given that’s exactly what they do on the other side of the ball.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Oh my god for real. Imagine Jimmy as the shovel, Prosise the lateral and Doug providing the vertical stretch

      • Ishmael

        Right? Like, what am I missing here? It seems to be the perfect fit, other than that it doesn’t quite mesh with Carroll’s platonic ideal of an offense.

        • Kenny Sloth

          It’s like they decided they wanted to start playing ‘an attractive brand of soccer’

          The short pass doesn’t set up play action wtf?

          What happened to Pete’s winning trio

          Turnover battle- Time of Possession- Explosive Plays

        • Phil

          I really think the Seahawks have two distinct offenses: one for use when they are inside their own 40- yd. line, and one for the rest of the field. I cringe when we lose the toss and have to receive, unless we have a good return from Lockett like we did yesterday. If our LT hadn’t blown our first possession, I think we had a great chance to put some early points on the board.

  66. pran

    Golden opportunity wasted. D holds Rodgers to 10 points on home turf yet you cant come away with a win. Shame on Russell, Bevell, Cable and Finally Pete!

    • pran

      SeaHawks O scored 2 points nett after giving away 7 points. I wish our D save their energy instead of going all out and O lay egg on their face. Fool them once Fool them twice..

      • pran

        Our D always plays their money worth game in game out, same cannot be said about our Offense particularly RW, Graham, Luke, Britt, Lacy. Doug being the only exception. there is no way Graham gets resigned might end up getting traded mid season if this continues.

  67. FresnoBrad

    I’m so pissed I’m mad at everyone! Right now I want to clean house! Tobin or someone else better step up at LT! The only good news is next year we can go after Free Agents because our free agents won’t generate much in compensation draft picks. The only thing that separates the Seahawks from everyone else is the culture of winning. Bennett needs to focus on football, if he doesn’t we should trade him, Sherman too. Fire Cable, Bevell, & trade Sherman & Bennett for a new OL. Do you guys realize our offense sucks so much that if we hired Lane Kiffen as offensive coordinator our offense would improve a thousand fold.

    • Ishmael

      Yeah, if only Bennett wasn’t so busy being the victim of police brutality the Seahawks definitely would have won. Most ridiculous take I’ve seen so far.

    • Volume12

      Is this bait or u serious?

      • Logan Lynch

        Pretty sure it’s bait, because if he was serious he would want to trade Earl, Kam, Russ, and Doug too. Heck, maybe sell the whole franchise and start anew.

    • Ed

      Don’t he means the getting held, think he means all the off the field talking MB does. I also don’t think he is saying that cost the team a win.

      I think he is saying the same things everyone else is saying.

      1. Same problems year after year. OL and DB.
      2. Both MB and RS have been somewhat distractions on and off the field. Ego gets in the way. Is MB trying the break the record for all time offsides. I understand you take the good with the bad, but Avril just gives the good. Wagner just gives the good. Thomas just gives the good. Would I trade RS and MB for stud OL, I just may. Will it happen, nope. I have wanted DB and TC gone for 3 years now. Say what you want and I know Rob always points to them being behind the eight ball, but nothing seems to work with either. The only time the offense really gets clicking is final drive of the 1st half when RW can wing it.

      It would be one thing if the problems with the team change (like most other teams), but the problems with Hawks have been the same for years now. What’s old saying defining insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

  68. Kenny Sloth

    Imagine having to scheme an OL around both Russell Wilson and Mike Vick in your career.

    Quarterbacks that love to run right into pressure. One of them left handed. Jesus.

    Tom Cable has been vital to the implementation of the modern mobile quarterback and he continues to forge his legacy as a master coach that turns trash into treasure literally worth millions more than what he received.

    His lines are physical, undeniably bright, and versatile as any units.

    A well executed Tom Cable-taught cut block is a thing of beauty.

    I cringe to hear these one dimensional arguments of how he should be fired because of things he can’t control.

    He’s one of the best teachers of the game alive. He doesn’t play on the field.

    • pmoney

      They did not look physical, bright, or versatile yesterday. They looked weak, inexperienced, and outclassed.

      • Kenny Sloth

        Nick Perry shredded Odhiambo

        Mike Daniels had the game of his life.

        Ifedi and Britt looked just fine. How many times did we hear Clay Matthews name called?

        Glowinski and Joeckle got outclassed.

        Odhiambo can’t play like that ever again.

        • nichansen01

          Funny of DTs always have “the game of their lives” against the Seahawks

    • nichansen01

      Nah, Tom cable sucks. He has for years. He needs to go.

    • nichansen01

      Things he has no control over? We have two first round picks, and second, a third and a fourth starting on the Oline. That should be plenty to work with, but year after year he turns highly drafted players into crap. It’s not an investments problem as we have speculated here in the past. I think the blame needs to go on cable.

      If you don’t blame cable, you’re ok with scoring 0 touchdowns per game.

      Packers help us to 9.
      Last year, they held us to 10.
      Dolphins held us to 10.
      Buccaneers, BUCCANEERS, held us to 3.
      Rams held us to 3.
      Cardinals held us to 6.

      Time to admit, we aren’t a good offense. Who does the blame for that go onto? Who?

  69. Hawk Eye

    Rule #1. Never Panic.
    That said, after a few years of oline problems and offensive problems, they do need to figure out the actual problem.
    I think the round hole, square peg theory makes sense. You can’t make the players fit the scheme, you have to make the scheme fit your best players. And they do not seem to have the personnel to run smash mouth football. So adjust.

    Put Jimmy out wide where he wants to be, use Luke or Vannett as a real TE, let the D figure out how to cover him. Make the D have to compromise somewhere, then find the flaw and exploit it.
    roll out Russell, run some more option plays, figure out how to run a screen, stop with the bubble screens that rarely work, put the D on its heel a bit so the o line has a chance to push forward.

    I the the o line is young enough to improve, but maybe I am just drinking the koolaid

    if they struggle against SF, it will be a long year…

    • Hawk Eye

      Typo

      I think the o line is young enough to improve….

  70. nichansen01

    How to right the ship:

    Fire Tom cable
    Fire Darrell bevel
    Trade Jimmy Graham for a draft pick
    Start pocic at left guard, start Aboushi at right guard and start Tobin at left tackle.
    Run a more up Tempo offense
    Cut Eddie Lacy, name cris Carson the starter

    • Steele

      Agree. Frankly, Bevell should have been replaced after the SB loss. Cable, too. He should have been given a limited deadline instead of many years of experimentation. Pete is loyal to his guys, chooses continuity and familiarity over even minor changes.

      Jimmy Graham, as much as he’s been a good teammate, has not delivered on his promise. Period. Trading him now, they won’t get too much.

      Lacy was a bad signing. Can’t perform without an established stud OL and a better OC. Yes, cut him now. Carson has flashed, but I see issues with him. Bow legged, high runner, not fluid or shifty. But unfortunately, he’s all they’ve got.

  71. Steele

    Watching Beast Mode play well and with enthusiasm for the Raiders made me sick. Miss him. Carson does not erase that feeling.

    Lynch must certainly have realized that being in Oak would be more fun than working behind Cable’s current OL.

    • nichansen01

      Same here. He did the Seahawks dirty. I don’t think he liked playing here.

      Also, how many miserable offensive preformances will it take before we put some of the blame on Carroll? Seahawks fans treat him like some sort of untouchable god.

      • trevor

        I blame Pete 100% for not getting rid of Cable last year let alone this year. Our OL has been in the bottom 1/3 in the league every year he has been the OL coach. Even when we won the SB and had the highest paid OL in the league they graded out in the bottom 1/3.

        How does he have a job and why the reputation. What other position coach in the league has 5-6 straight years where his position group is in the bottom 1/3 of the league and still have a job.

        Cable is to OL coaching what Jeff Fischer is to HC.

      • Fairlawn

        I think this really is an important point.

        The fact on the ground is that the offense has been hamstrung year after year by the same glaring weakness, and if anything that weakness gets weaker and weaker. There have been innumerable debates here and every other Seahawks site how to apportion blame for this and what to do about it, but everyone even loosely interested in the NFL sees the problem.

        I do not have the football chops to have a knowledgeable prescription, but as a managerial question, this is on Pete Carroll, full stop. Pete knows this problem too. What’s he done to fix it?

        One *possible* answer — may or may not be the best one — is to change the coaching. Another possible answer is to improve the personnel. A third possible answer is to change the game-planning so that these weaknesses are mitigated or concealed.

        Pete hasn’t chosen any of those paths — or if he has, it’s been to get better players, and they have failed to execute that plan. It’s extremely frustrating to a fan, and I think we’ve heard hints that it’s frustrating to some players, that we repeat the same cycle and nobody’s accountable. It’s not sufficient to take NO action and simply say that it’s not Tom Cable’s fault because he doesn’t line up on Sundays and it’s not John Schneider’s fault because he doesn’t coach ’em up and it’s not the players’ fault because they’re forever growing into the scheme, and accept retaining a cancerous unit year after year. The sales team isn’t bringing in enough to keep the lights on. Find a fix or file for bankruptcy.

        Keeping or firing any of the coaches, or any of the players for that matter, is not wholly a question of their personal virtue or degree of culpability but also a question of providing a basis for an improved situation going forward. I have no real idea the internal dynamics on the team but it almost feels as if the controversial coaches in question are un-fireable because Pete’s own prestige is bound up in them; to cut Cable loose and change course would be an admission that we’d pissed away two or three years of the Legion’s prime; to fire Bevell would be to re-open the SB49 wound. But doing these things might also have a purgative effect, give us fresh blood with a fresh perspective, shake some folks who need to be less comfortable.

        The bottom line is, one Super Bowl is more than a lot of us ever figured this team would ever deliver us — thanks, Pete! — and would also be a terrible underachievement for the core of players they’ve assembled. Pete’s the guy entrusted to find a path forward for an organism that’s bigger than he alone, even at the risk to his own ego or comfort. The view from the outside is that he has not risen to this challenge yet, and that it might turn out to be the protagonist’s fatal flaw.

        • nichansen01

          Wow. This is really well put. I agree with every word.

    • Jujus

      made me sick too, I wanted to watch that game but his quitting on his team and his primadonna act makes me hate him.

  72. Volume12

    Trading Jimmy now is the definition of a panic move. That the message u guys want to send to the rest of the league?

    If it comes down to a tough decision between him or Sheldon aka the HawkNess monster (his twitter handle and an amazing one at that) in the off-season that’s one thing and understandable.

    • Volume12

      * Panicking in week 1?

      • Jujus

        Always compete. I think Gary Barnidge sitting at home would have given more effort yesterday then Jimmy did. Jimmy played like he didnt want to be there.

        So yea I would trade him immediatly for playing like trash and send a message.

        • pmoney

          I’m not sure “always compete” means “get rid one of the best in the NFL at his position because of a single game crappy performance in week 1.”

          • AlaskaHawk

            He just had a bad game. Jeez. Wait till he strings a bad season together before you call a veteran out. We all know he is capable of contributing. Which is more than I can say about half the offensive line.

  73. Volume12

    What is with the NFL media lately?

    BR’s Matt Miller is out here talking about Ohio St’s DEs and their fat a**es, thick hips and thighs. Then last night Chris Collinsworth called QB Dak Prescott ‘thick, but in the good way.’ LOL. What!?

    Are they low key trying to tell us something?

    • Ishmael

      Haha come on man, sport and the language about it is massively homoerotic. Always has been.

      Although speaking of thick, what did you think about Fat Eddy? I’m thinking he might have to be a game-by-game decision. Against explosive defensive lines, I don’t think he’s got the burst to get upfield quickly enough, there’s just no point playing him. But against some of the weaker teams, if they can get him rolling, I could see him doing some massive damage.

    • Jujus

      Genetics dictate muscle bellies and strengths for players, its infact how you should talk about players.

      Rg3 was injury prone because he had knee valgus, most people with the keen body eye saw it.

    • nichansen01

      Haha yeah it’s funny

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