Instant reaction: Seattle’s season ends in Dallas

The Seahawks travelled to Dallas with belief, hope and an ambition to make an entertaining season, improbably, a Championship one.

Sadly, they didn’t play anywhere near well enough to win a playoff game on the road.

The Cowboys were more physical, dominated the line of scrimmage and thoroughly deserved to win.

Their defense played with the same intensity that shut down Drew Brees and the Saints. They took away the run, made the Seahawks play to their tune and Dallas were the ones dictating the tempo of the game.

Every time the Seahawks tried to establish momentum, the Cowboys took it away:

1. Seattle kicks a field goal for a 6-3 lead before half time. Moments later, Dallas races downfield to lead 10-6.

2. Seattle scores a touchdown and converts a two-pointer for a 14-10 lead. Dallas races downfield to lead 17-14 at the start of the fourth quarter.

3. K.J. Wright intercepts a pass in the end zone. Seattle followed with two offensive penalties, went three-and-out and kicked back to Dallas. A long drive ensued, with Dak Prescott’s 16-yard run on 3rd and 14 essentially the game-winner.

Before the game if you’d said the Seahawks would win the turnover battle and make several explosive plays to Tyler Lockett — it’d sound like a winning formula.

They didn’t win because unlike most of the season — Seattle was dominated physically at the LOS. Dallas ran for 164 yards and completely shut down Seattle’s running game (73 yards). The Seahawks were made to earn everything. Even their big plays — the shots to Tyler Lockett, the fourth down to Doug Baldwin, the K.J. Wright interception — all required a supreme level of talent to get the better of an inspired Dallas team.

On the other hand, Seattle had errors and will rue missed opportunities.

They kept it close because they nearly always do. Yet the Cowboys played better and deserved to win.

It was a disappointing end to a season that still achieved two things:

1. Everyone moved on. Any ill-feeling or concern about big names departing was all but extinguished. The Seahawks needed a fresh start.

2. People can genuinely look forward to what’s next. I’m not sure that was possible the last two years. The end felt like it was coming. Then it came, at least for some popular players.

The Seahawks now embark on a post-season looking for ways to take the next step. In 2013 it meant trading for Percy Harvin and signing Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. Whether the Seahawks can be that bold remains to be seen. They’ll have limited cap space and only four draft picks.

So what is next?

For starters they have to keep the new core together. Frank Clark will either receive a contract extension or the franchise tag. Jarran Reed has earned an extension. Re-signing J.R. Sweezy and D.J. Fluker will be a priority. There are big calls to make on K.J. Wright (who played brilliantly), Justin Coleman and Mychal Kendricks (depending on his legal situation).

They’ll need to find some value in free agency. They won’t have the big dollars to spend. It’ll mean more calculated moves, akin to 12 months ago. The second and third wave of free agency will likely be their target area.

They will own the 21st overall pick if the Eagles beat the Bears tomorrow. Otherwise, they own the 22nd overall pick. It’s an exceptional draft class for defensive linemen. It’s nowhere near as strong at safety and cornerback.

They need to add more key players to the young defense. Are there veterans who can come in and compliment Clark, Reed, Bobby Wagner and Bradley McDougald? Can they find one or two more dynamic pass rushers? Can they find someone to make some plays in the secondary?

Can they acquire more speed? The league is getting quicker and more explosive every year. It’s not an amazing class for receivers in round one but there will be options from day two onwards that include fast, explosive pass-catchers. Can they get quicker in the front seven on defense or in the secondary?

Here are five potential priorities:

1. More pass rush
2. More speed
3. Keep building the culture
4. Improve the depth
5. Build on the experience of 2018

That’s how I see it. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.

We’ll start looking ahead to the draft and free agency options immediately this week.

The 2012 season showed that a fun season can lead to a Championship season. That’s the hope Seahawks fans can carry into the off-season. This roster clearly isn’t as loaded as it was in 2012 and there’s a lot more work to do than there was six years ago. It does feel, however, that the team is connected again and heading in the right direction. Even if tonight was a bitter ending to a promising season.

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253 Comments

  1. Colin

    Firable offense. Playcalling lost the game. Intentional refusal to let Wilson win it.

    Schotty can’t be here in 2019. He’s too infantile and unable to design effective plans without the run game working. If Seattle is going to employ run run pass there’s no reason to pay Wilson $35 million a year.

    • Rob Staton

      No, playcalling did not lose the game.

      People can jump down that rabbit hole if they want. Enjoy it down there.

      Seattle lost the game because Dallas played a damn site better.

      Russell Wilson just had statistically the best year of his career. They had the #1 rushing offense for yards.

      If people want to call for people to get fired after this amazing season, I can recommend Seahawks Twitter. It’s the place for you.

      Here, I prefer we talk with cool heads.

      • Colin

        20 runs for 1.5 YPC is not an identity. It’s insanity. Instead of adjusting at halftime, Seattle continued to to do what they had so unsuccessfully established in the first half, while ignoring their excellent QB. Disappointing.

        • Rob Staton

          Colin, you’re just looking at the box score.

          This was a 3-0 game. 10-6 game. A 17-14 game.

          You’re asking a team that has spent all year running the ball — in a game that was as tight as can be — to abandon the run.

          It’s just a knee-jerk reaction to a loss. People want a cause, a reason and someone to blame.

          And I keep seeing people suggest they didn’t adjust. What if they did!?! What if they ran different plays in different formations and saw different options? They scored two touchdowns compared to zero in the first half.

          Again, people are mixing up adjustments with a desire for them to give up on the run.

          All because they lost and they need something to piss and moan about.

          Just take the L.

          • Mbraund

            I love running the ball. I really love running the rock. The Hawks should have given up on running tonight and put the game in Russ’s hands earlier. Look at Carson’s numbers. This is not a box score reaction but what felt right in the game. Don’t tell a fan not to complain about that game. That hurt.

            • Rob Staton

              It was a one score game practically throughout.

              They shouldn’t have abandoned the run. They should’ve executed better on third down and done a better job matching Dallas’ physicality.

              • John C

                I think they needed to throw on 1st or 2nd down in the first 3 drives. Dallas was clearly stacking the box, and we needed to make them pay for that and get them to loosen up a bit. By predictably going run run pass, we wasted an entire quarter doing exactly what they expected. To me it’s not about establishing anything. It’s about running plays that exploit the personnel and scheme they run. When we did finally throw the Locket-option on drive 3? 4? It burned them so hard. Why don’t we lead with that? Or at least get it in on drive 1 or 2. Make them doubt their scheme early, instead of letting them exploit our obvious play calling.

                Compare how the two defenses played vs supposedly dominant run games: Dallas stacks the box, and leaves 1:1 matchups on the outside because they know we won’t pass til 3rd down. Seattle plays a soft, loose defense and Dallas gashes us. In the first half that worked out ok because we rallied up and slowed them down but the inability of the offense to get a first down caused our D to be worn down in the 2nd half. Can’t win a game in the first quarter but you can make it really hard on yourself.

                • Rob Staton

                  That’s easy to say with hindsight.

                  Seattle had the #1 most productive running offense in the league and probably wanted to give it every opportunity to get rolling.

                  • Mark Souza

                    It was easy to see in hindsight, but it was also easy to see in real time. We had a couple of back to back first downs leading up to our first field goal where at the snap, the corner backs were charging the line and our receivers were running free and Wilson hit them for big gains. They were selling out to stop the run and only had a couple safeties back who then had to try to run down our receivers to stop a touchdown. And what did we do? We went right back to running, were stopped 3 and out and had to kick a field goal.

                    We never did try to exploit that again until the end of the game. Why not keep throwing until they had to give up on the all out run blitz, and then start running again. Instead, we played right back into their hands. Bravo to the Cowboys for being so bold and executing that game plan so well. And shame on the Seahawks for not adapting and making them pay.

                    • Rob Staton

                      Maybe it’s harder to exploit that than you think? Can this OL pass protect the way you want? Maybe this team believes in its league best rushing attack enough to back it, rather than give in? Maybe they thought it was worth sticking to their philosophy in a tight, 3-4 point contest? Maybe Dallas just deserve credit? Maybe they win if they actually stop a 3rd and 14 quarterback draw?

                      Shame on the hand-wringers who only want to see this one way.

          • Coleslaw

            I dont think Its fair to just write off our opinions. You say seahawks twitter is bad, but you treat us like that every time we say something you don’t like. We have our own thoughts and opinions. You dont have to be a jerk about it. Nobody is pissing and moaning but you, about us. We have all brought up valid points and all you do is say were pissing and moaning. That’s not fair, seems like all you care about is your own opinion and you dont want anybody else’s opinion on your site. That’s not cool. Doesnt make any of your FANS feel welcomed or appreciated.

            Just calling a spade a spade, no hard feelings.

            • Rob Staton

              Why is it that any time anyone has their precious opinion challenged, you end up being labelled a jerk or face accusations of writing off opinions?

              You’re not calling a spade a spade. You’re whining.

              I have no time for that.

              Argue or defend your points. Don’t resort to name calling or complaining because someone disagrees.

              • TatupuTime

                I do not think that the offensive play calling was acceptable in the second half of this game. Pete

                It’s OK to be run first (even with a top five quarterback). It is not OK to be predictable. They were run, run, pass most of the game into the teeth of a Cowboys lineup that was teeing off on runs (I was cringing before the snack at the linebackers running downhill to stuff the run). They needed more misdirection and less predictability. They have a top-5 quarterback and a good enough defense – sometimes they need to trust Russell more before it’s too late.

                Enjoyable year – much more than last year. Looking forward to the offseason and what they can add. Hope Schotty/Wilson can work in the offseason a few new wrinkles. Get a passrusher and more speed at linebacker beside Bobby (or be convinced KJ is healthy). Fix the special teams play which has been poor two years in a row and that can’t happen in a run/defense formula like Pete has. Thanks for all the hard work on this blog – my favourite spot for Seahawks conversations even if I rarely participate.

                • Rob Staton

                  I agree. They certainly could have used more misdirection.

                  But I don’t think it’s a case of ‘trusting’ Wilson more or ‘letting him loose’. I think they stuck to a winning formula. I’m happy to concede they could and probably should’ve called some different types of runs and their situational judgement was suspect at certain times. It’s very easy, however, to sit and judge at home and say what they should’ve done. It’s a lot harder, it seems, to credit the opponent and say Dallas deserved to win and that, sometimes is enough of a review.

                  • Elmer

                    Here are a few observations from watching the game, offered without any criticism:

                    1. Dallas deserves credit for the way they defended the Hawks. Take away the run (or at least limit it). Force Wilson to beat you throwing to both of his receivers. We have just two receivers who are real threats, which points out the need for more WR talent so the passing game can be more diversified.

                    2. Punt and kickoff coverage needs work, missed tackles need to be fixed. Team speed should be a consideration this offseason.

                    3. Tyler Lockett is truly exceptional. I wonder how much stronger Dallas’ defense against the deep pass would be if they had Earl Thomas at FS.

                    4. Is Janikowski done?

          • Colin

            Appealing to authority. Brilliant argument. This year is nothing without the deadly efficiency of Russell Wilson. Talk about how “running got them there” until you’re blue in the face, they’re 6-10 without a qb who dropped dimes. The QB was excellent last night and it’s a shame they wasted a chance to win so they could feel good about sticking with their identity.

            The bottom line is run run pass only works if the running game is effective. It wasn’t and Seattle made life easy for the Dallas defense by repeatedly employing a strategy that wasn’t working. I don’t see why it’s so hard to say “they trusted it for too long “.

            • Rob Staton

              You’re just wrong Colin. Sorry, but you are.

    • FresnoHawk

      If Carroll had known and he should have known at his level of coaching that his young secondary could commit penalties he would have switched to Mckissick and the passing game sooner. I’m a diehard Carroll fan but this game was a perfect example of the difference between Carroll & Belinchek.

    • Dave B.

      Agree with Colin there is no need to keep Russell Wilson shackled in this offense. Could trade for Derrick Carr and multiple draft picks and be just about the same for as little as we throw.

      • Rob Staton

        Russell Wilson just had statistically the best year of his career and was incredible.

        He isn’t remotely shackled.

        • Michigan 12th

          I don’t understand all this talk about bad play calling. They played the game that got them there. They came up a little short n the road against a very good Cowboys defense. The Cowboys made more plays and still we were in the game until the very end. We just got outplayed tonight plain and simple. Wilson had plenty of opportunities to throw, and they did not always go so well. He did not have the protection needed to throw more passes. They had to run the ball like they did to keep the defense honest, because they had started pinning their ears back to get to Russel. The throws he did make, he made with a defender right in his face, If anything we were in that game solely because Wilson is an elite QB. I don’t think letting him throw more would have changed the outcome. Good game Cowboys. It’s that simple.

          Now we need to concentrate on this off season and get some pieces so we will as dominant on defense as the Cowboys were last night. Our guys played well, but we bent more than the Dallas D. We will be better next year.

  2. millhouse-serbia

    Great season for this new Seahawks team! Future is bright.

    This time next year we will be SB champions!

    Go Hawks!

  3. CaptainJack

    It’s not about being “pass happy” or “run happy”, it’s about identifying when each is appropriate and when balance is more appropriate, Schotty has demonstrated he doesn’t understand these concepts, today we should have let wilson win the game for us, instead we stuck with what wasn’t working. And the defense went soft when it needed to step up the most.

    Story of the game.

    • Rob Staton

      No, the story of the game was Dallas kicked our arse at the LOS. Both sides of the ball.

      Please, community of SDB, don’t fall into this trap of hammering your coach of choice. Give Dallas some freaking credit.

      • Hawkmonkey

        Have to disagree, Rob. They were getting their ass kicked at the line of scrimmage on runs only. Pass protection was good most of the game. In the Carolina game they adjusted to the run being eliminated effectively by throwing more. They didn’t do that here until they lost Janikowski and couldn’t play for the field goal anymore. Russell Wilson’s 4th quarter heroics are a symptom of a bad philosophy. He shouldn’t have to save us so often. We are capable of scoring more frequently and more creatively. This team should be able to score like the Saints and still play defense. A philosophy that needless makes every game tight when games can be won by more is stupid. Only using Russell’s fantastic talents as a last resort is stupid. Russell Wilson’s crunch-time cadence needs to be used during more of the game.

        I’m not in the fire Schotty camp. He helped temper Russell’s bad pocket tendencies and was excellent with long passes and creative play action. I’m in the unleash Russell Wilson camp. We rarely use short and intermediate passes effectively, which is much of why Russell gets sacked so often, including 51 in the regular season this year. We need more variety of pass plays than big play, improvisation and checkdown.

        • Rob Staton

          Seahawks vs Panthers — 31 passes, 28 runs

          Seahawks vs Cowboys — 27 passes, 24 runs

          In each game they threw three more times than they ran.

          It’s simply not true that they did anything massively different against the Panthers in a game that was as close as this one ended up being and they just about survived.

          People are overreacting to a playoff defeat. Which I sort of understand. The season is over and people want someone or something to complain about. But no, the entire 2018 season philosophy that got them to the playoffs doesn’t need tearing apart because they lost by two points on the road in the playoffs to a good team who were better on the night.

          • GerryG

            ^True, but it was 21 Pass 24 Run (or 23? does the 2 pt conv go into run stats?) before the too late desperation drive at the end

            • Rob Staton

              And they had to desperately throw at the end of the Carolina game too.

              No difference.

              • GerryG

                valid, I forgot about the gameflow there

                • Whit21

                  all of you are dense… they were blitzing in pass formations and getting russell to move fast.. If any of you think that Pass protection was good for “most of the game”is crazy.. like rob said earlier.. if they disguised their plays a little better… which they did in the second half they could have won..

                  But the main question marks coming into this season and a little bit throughout the season is what lost us the game….

                  1.) Offensive line penalties.. they were good for most of the game. but after a huge Redzone INT.. 2 penalties kill a huge opportunity.. like we have all seen many times in regular season games.

                  2.) Cornerback coverage was weak.. mostly on Shaq Griffen.. he needs to make improvements, I think to stay the #1.. he had missed tackles and costly PI.. which was pretty BS but. Also our zone coverage on the outside isn’t were it needs to be..

                  3.)Wide Reciever.. tyler locket and DB can do certain things other wideouts cant.. but they needed a solid pass catcher and still need one.

                  4.)penalties.. the 2 PI on Dallas’ last TD drive were both garbage.. the 2nd one you see cole beasly ankle buckle and he went down to the ground because of the injury earlier in the game.

  4. Brandon Adams

    One thing I can already tell won’t get enough attention in the offseason debates.

    Here are the top receiving totals for the last five games, today included:

    372
    262
    69
    45
    32
    16

    That is something that ought to change. Although whether Pete/Wilson would take advantage of more targets is, as always, up for debate.

  5. Hughz

    Tough loss… I know Dallas played well but man I felt like we gave that one away. Biggest blunder was king not setting the edge on 3rd and short at the end of the second half. Should have been 6-3 into half. Looking forward to next year. It will be interesting to see if any trades are made before the draft to get additional picks.

    • Rob Staton

      To be honest I felt like were lucky to be alive as long as we were, rather than it feeling like it was one that got away.

    • FresnoHawk

      It was a team loss lots of mistakes by everyone. Dallas 3rd and 1 we put our passing D on the field? Where was the timeout? Coaches are gonna be sick for weeks.

  6. Volume12

    Get an OC that adjusts to what the defense is doing? Maybe put the ball in your best players hands a little more? J/k. Kinda.

    They certainly exceeded expectations. Lockett, Clark, Reed, Flowers established themselves. I enjoyed the ride. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t left feeling frustrated and disheatened.

    • Rob Staton

      The Seahawks got to the playoffs, against most people’s expectations, with this exact same style.

      We need to learn to take a loss like adults. Sometimes you just get beat.

      Let’s not be a fan base where it’s either win the Super Bowl or OH MY GOD FIRE SOMEONE!

      • Brandon

        They lost a playoff game people are going to be upset, and I’m not buying this “Dallas kicked their arse, or deserved to win because they dominated the los”. Dallas clearly geared up to take away the run and absolutely did that, but so did Carolina and just like that game Russell Wilson was really effective and efficient (8.1 y/a) The only difference between those games is they elected to beat their heads against a wall instead of turning the game over to their top 5 qb. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and being the more physical team is not the only way to win a game. The defense was really good tonight, and every bit as physical, it’s just a shame the coaching staff elected to not give these guys the best chance to win. Having said all that doesn’t mean I think anyone should get fired, I was pleasently surprised by Schottenheimer, just hope we see a little more balance offensively next year, shoot maybe even a little bit of an intermediate passing game.

        • Rob Staton

          The Carolina example is a poor one, as noted in a previous comment.

          They passed 31 times vs the Panthers against 28 runs.

          Here they passed 27 times against 24 runs. Same ratio of passes to runs.

          The difference is the luck was on their side in Carolina (missed field goal, some huge plays came off like the 4th down shot) and the Cowboys are better. Seattle played poorly against the Panthers with respect to the running game on both sides of the ball. Here, Dallas were more physical and beat them up.

  7. Seahawcrates

    Pass rush no question for me. Menacing the quarterback will do wonders for the secondary. I’d go all in on defense in the draft.

  8. Elliott

    Very poor play calling, the run game clearly wasn’t working and we made no play calling adjustments till the very end when it was too late. I’m optimistic about the future but damn why are we treating Russle like he’s a rookie, let him pass the ball! I cannot believe we just got out coached by Jason freaking Garret.

    • Rob Staton

      How do we know they didn’t make any play calling adjustments?

      Or are we arguing here that they should’ve just completely abandoned the run? Because that’s not how this team has played. Not since the 0-2 start anyway. In a one-score game you don’t often abandon the run anyway.

      They simply got their arses kicked by a better team on the day. Both LOS’s.

      Nobody is questioning why the defense coughed up the 10-6 lead, the 14-10 lead, the 3rd and 14.

      It’s all the desire to do what they’ve done all season and try and run the ball?

      Come on people.

      • GoHawksDani

        The defense kept us in this game most of the time.
        I know you want to go all in on front7 on the draft, and I agree (mostly), but c’mon. The DLs ass wasn’t kicked for most of the game. Dallas OL is solid (OK…half of them great, half of them not so much). Zeke is a top3 runner. And they kept him in check, and generated some pressure too. Yeah didn’t do these like a top5 DL, but they controlled the situation.
        But if you leave your D out that much, against the Dallas OL and Zeke, you’ll have issues.
        They were on the field for 68 plays (vs Seahawks 52)
        Hawks 3rd down efficiency? 2/13
        ToP? 34:50 for the ‘boys vs 25:10

        Passpro was also good for us. Only one sack against Dallas. And they have some talented rusher(s). Much nicer than vs the Cards last week.
        The issue was: too much TFL in the rungame, stupid mistakes, bad CB play for the Hawks.

        Russ had time to throw and Zeke was mostly kept in check for the game (OK, he had 7-9 yard runs, but he’s Elliott, he’ll have those).
        The 1 & 20, 2& 14, 3 & 22 type of downs hurt us. And the conservative playcall there. PCSchottyRuss was in it to not lose it and not in it to win it.

        And yeah, Prescott had some ridicilous runs those were issue. And Zeke had a good day afterall (especially with that big run…But if you remove that big run, it’s only 93 yard wit 3,7 ypc).

        And I’m not saying abandon the run. I just wish they’d be more creative. I hope Schotty will watch some KC-Saints-Ravens games in the offseason. I don’t want to be like the Saints or Chiefs. But their run game is much more interesting (and not talking about blocking, but scheme and personnel).

        And yes, I understand. Converting 3&20 is really hard. And sometimes getting 4-5 yards is the right play. Playing the field position is the right game. But not against this Cowboys. Not with our D, who’s playing really good, but still young and different, and lot of moving pieces. Not against Zeke, who can run down the clock against most defenses. If this team is really that afraid of turning the ball over, then just kneel down with Russ and punt. Absurd how many times this year it was 3& long (we can say 10+ but it’s more absurd with 15+) and we went for the screen or short (2-5 yard) pass or with a run. And how many times did we convert? I guess it was somewhere around 15-20 times and I guess we maybe convert like once?
        Sorry, but can’t seem the reason to do this all the time (sometimes it’s ok, but not every – or almost every – time). If someone tells me why that is good, I’ll be a happy man

        • Michigan 12th

          I am sorry, but I did not see that Russel had time to throw last night. He was constantly forced to get that ball out quick, he always had someone in his face. We were banged up on Oline and Dallas’ front seven played lights out. It’s that simple. They outplayed us, no play calling was going to change that. I’m sorry but Rob is spot on, if you loose the LOS battle you will almost always loose the game.

          • GoHawksDani

            Maybe I’m just too used to insta-sacks from the previous couple of seasons. Yeah, our OGs were banged up, but I don’t think the passpro was that bad. Run blocking? Yes, that was pretty bad. But just watched the Eagles-Bears game…wow, what a dominant DL play on both sides against the run :-O

  9. Kelly

    Well I figured this team would go 6-10 this year. I don’t mind Pete Carroll having a philosophy and Schotty sticking to it. But the game is a game of matchups. Sadly the way Dallas is built(and what worried me) is to stop the Seahawks. There were clues in the first game we played Dallas at home that running on this defense is extremely difficult to do. Back to Pete’s philosophy what I don’t like is the lack of creativity or ability to change your game plan if your bread and butter isn’t working. Dallas was not going to let Seattle run all over them. Yet 1st and 2nd down were largely running plays every drive. I would like to see us keep teams on edge. If that isn’t working try some hurry up and pick up the pace. Zone read was barely used. Possibly because how Dallas played the LOS. But when Russell did keep it on one drive in particular it was very successful. Helluva coaching job by Pete this year for this young squad and I hope he coaches us until he decides to retire. Thanks for the blog Rob and to all the discussion that is had here. I don’t comment much but I read a lot. Have a good year all and here’s to the draft.

    • Rob Staton

      As I said in an earlier post, how do we know they didn’t change their game plan?

      They made a lot of dynamic completions. They scored two touchdowns in the second half.

      In a one-score game you don’t often abandon your identity or the run game.

      They were just whipped today by a better side.

      Appreciate the kind words — please comment more!

  10. Hawk Eye

    never felt the hawks were going to win it, they were outplayed.
    offense was just not right, only 11 first downs
    Zeke was way better than Carson
    their O line outplayed our D line
    their D Line outplayed our O line
    Zak was more clutch than Russ (ouch!!)

    didn’t David Moore used to play for the Hawks? And Jaron Brown?

    Flowers is better than Griffin and other teams know it.
    Coleman did not play as well this year, might be gone.
    I think the resign KJ to a one year deal with incentives for playing time if his knee checks out
    hope they resign Sweezy and Fluker, but will not be surprised if one gets away

    hoping for pass rush and speed on D

    offense was 6th is scoring, but still to many 3 and outs. A slight improvement will be big.

    need new kicker and better coverage next year on special teams. Coverage been a problem for a few years, maybe need a new voice in the room

    better year than I expected in September, but losing to f*&kin Dallas hurts.
    at least the only big Dallas fan I know cannot text and gloat because he owes me money

    • Michael (CLT)

      Now this is an emotionally intelligent comment. Tough loss. Some growth on offense and speed on defense will do wonders.

      Finally, I’m of the same opinion between Shaquille and flowers. Flowers has all pro potential.

  11. Volume12

    PC just said they didn’t get enough carries in the 1st half. lol. And blames it on poor 3rd down passing. What in the world?

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t see what’s funny V12?

      If you go three-and-out early and often it’s hard to establish anything. Pass or run. It’s quite clear their inability to convert early really hampered any ability to set the tone on offense and get into a rhythm. Carroll’s point makes perfect sense. And they took an age to complete a third down.

      • Volume12

        I have no problem trying to establish the run. Suffocating an offense ain’t it. I love Chris Carson just about more than anyone, but he’s not Seattle’s best player. Russell Wilson is. Put the ball in his hands. Don’t move/walk backwards.

        Its funny because Seattle gets into this problem where they struggle to pick up 1st downs early and it ruins a gameplan that’s built on looking for weaknesses. Their whole 1st half premise seems to be ‘feel it out, feel it out.’ Problem is, if they aren’t converting they can’t key in on patterns and that lasts until the 3rd-4th qjarred when they finally turn to their guy to get them outta the hole they dug themselves into.

        • Kenny Sloth

          Russ has a shovel too every single. time.

          He has a big hand in the dig schematics too.

      • Austin Slater

        Warren sharp one of the most respected in the industry called it the worst playoff game play calling he’s ever seen. It felt like a game they needed to let it fly at least a little bit earlier and put the ball in Wilson’s hands more. People keep taking this to mean it’s either all pass or all run when it’s not. A slight change in variance when you were averaging 2 yards a run and 10+ per pass makes sense and a lot of brilliant minds around the league agreed.

        Regardless Dallas did play great and hats off to them. A lot to look forward to next year.

        • Rob Staton

          Good for Warren Sharp.

          It doesn’t mean he is right.

          Not that I think they did an amazing job calling the game.

          But it’s very easy to offer a hot take on Twitter.

          • erik

            “But it’s very easy to offer a hot take on Twitter.”

            LOL, why is citing data from the game dismissively called a hot take just b/c it goes against you? The “it doesn’t mean he’s right” can just as easily apply to your opinions.

            • Rob Staton

              Saying it’s the worst called game in the history of the playoffs IS a hot take.

              • Austin Slater

                It wasn’t so much the amountn of runs it was the predictablility of their approach. Way too many third and longs after two basic run plays over and over with little to no creativity in the run game or mixing in at least a couple more passes on first or second down. Also with Lockett’s efficiency it’s odd they didn’t manufacture at least a couple more targets a game for him especially in a game like this because it would of helped the run game. Sure Warren is a little reactive here but I don’t think he’s wrong with his point of being a bad game. Your average fan probably doesn’t know if we made adjustments but warren does know what he’s looking at and he didn’t see it either. I’m fine with a run centrist approach but you could of helped the run game out and you didn’t. You kept thinking it “will pop” instead of helping it pop. Again with Lockett I think most coaches would find a way to utilize such a dangerous piece a little more as well. Louis Riddick a well respected nfl mind and GM candidate was baffled by Seattle’s approach as well along with many others and it’s hard to disagree. Hell I could be wrong for sure and regardless I’m excited for next year and the direction we’re going.

                • Rob Staton

                  Lockett had a joint team-high six targets with Doug Baldwin. He ended with 120 yards. I’m not sure we can accuse them of not doing enough to manufacture touches for him.

                  Listen, I have nothing against Warren Sharp. But I think it’s very easy to see a prominent twitter person being negative and feel like his view validates a similarly negative opinion. Was it a badly called game? Maybe in the mind of someone who hasn’t watched every 2018 Seahawks game, every 2017 Seahawks game — heck every Seahawks game in the Carroll era. Personally, I feel like I understand a lot more WHY they did what they did. To an outsider who doesn’t watch every game and maybe spends more time watching the Chiefs, Rams, Saints, Chargers etc — it might have felt like a terrible plan.

                  Ditto Louis Riddick. I could easily list Jim Nagy and Brock Huard as two people who know what they’re talking about who viewed the game with a lot more perspective. And they are much more aware of what this Seahawks team is about.

                  For me, the Seahawks tried to do what they’ve done all year. Keep it close and down to the last possession. Let Wilson go win it at the end. It almost worked, even on an off-night. Onto 2019.

                  • Austin Slater

                    Fair enough but I have watched every game, understand the sport and still feel like even slightly more variance would of helped and Pete agreeing post game sort of validates that too. People are falling into one of two camps and assuming the other side wants the extreme when that’s not the case. I wanted a couple more passes mixed in on early downs in an effort to open up the running game a little when it was obvious you were getting killed at the LOS. Personally when he was asked I think Pete agreed in hindsight.

                    • Rob Staton

                      The only two camps I see are those who are able to view the loss with perspective and those who want to use hindsight to hammer the Seahawks for sticking to their core philosophy.

                      I think Pete’s answer to that question, by the way, was more along the lines of: ‘easy to say that now’.

          • Amar

            I think the bigger point that most everybody is missing is not RUNNING too much but when those runs are called. Most of them were of the RRP variety. Mixing in throws on first and/or second downs and then potentially running on third and short sometimes…
            The fourth series they mixed it in – and it worked. P on first down. P again on first down. and then RZ drive stalled again with RRP. Why not go RPP and give Russ/Baldwin or Russ/Lockett a shot at a TD. Passing mostly on 3rd downs when the Defense expects that is low %.
            Too much pressure on QB to pass JUST on 3rd or 4th downs (as they did on 6 or 7 of their drives game).
            I have no qualms about this team running so much since their OL is not suited for Pass pro. They are a much better run blocking unit. But, then why put the OL in MOSTLY 3rd down passing situtations…throw some on first downs or second downs…both first half FG drives proved that led to success.

            • Rob Staton

              Because they have spent a whole year trying to create third and manageable which is easier with run-first.

              • Austin Slater

                Like the 2nd and 18 run call? There was almost zero chance that ends up a third and manageable.

                • Rob Staton

                  Do you know what Dallas’ formation was?

                  Maybe they gave Seattle a nice run look? Would hardly be surprising on 2nd and 18.

                  They perhaps saw an opportunity to get 8 simple yards there.

                  Maybe Wilson checked into a run?

                  All things we know nothing about. And it’s why armchair play calling isn’t fun.

                  • Austin Slater

                    Actually they had 9 in the box if I’m not mistaken. Anyway I don’t fault people for being a little confused with the inability to get the ball in Wilson’s hands at least a couple more times last night. No one is saying let’s go back to weeks 1-2 but a little more creativity and variance would of helped and Pete actually admitted it when asked about it. It’s not a contrarian take or a “dumb fan” take at all, it’s valid imo.

                    I’m looking forward to seeing what day 2 looks like for receivers. Would like to see them add someone if they fit the offense. Feels like with Baldwin a year older we need to add someone to that group.

              • erik

                Aren’t there plenty of stats about how variance laden 3rd down is? And plenty of stats about how playing for 3rd downs is bad b/c only like 3rd and 1 or 2 actually suggests your previous plays were a big net positive?

                • Rob Staton

                  There’s a lot of stats, yes.

                  And lot’s of ways to make them fit an argument.

      • Sean

        It just does not make sense to me to blame poor 3rd down passing when every single 3rd down situation in the first half was a 3rd and long. Those are not ever high percentage downs.

        • Rob Staton

          “when every single 3rd down situation in the first half was a 3rd and long.”

          First series — 3rd and 2

          Second series — 3rd and 13 (after passing on first down)

          Third series — 3rd and 6

          Fourth series — 3rd and 7 — field goal

          Fifth series — 3rd and 7 — field goal

          Sixth series — 3rd and 3 converted leading to the missed field goal to end the half.

          No, every 3rd down situation was not a 3rd and long in the first half. The only really bad third down scenario they had was when they passed on first down and picked up an eight yard loss.

          • Michigan 12th

            The narrative here is mislaeding. The Seahawks did not run too much on first down, or even on second down. They actually mixed it up very good.
            1St Down– 11 Runs, 10 Pass
            2nd Down– 7 runs, 8 pass
            3rd Diwn– 2 runs, 11 pass

            Only two pass plays on the final drive on final drive, and only 1 pass play on second down in the final drive.

            This shows that the Seahawks did mix up there play calling. The Cowboys just played better in every aspect of the game except for QB play, and turnovers. They won fair and square no way around it. Blame whoever or whatever, you want, but we just got beat in this one.

            • hawkdawg

              What’s the breakdown by quarter? Because I think the point being made here is that they started throwing, at least on first and second down, too late in the game…

  12. millhouse-serbia

    I just can’t believe what I am reading at seahawks tweeter. Bunch of.crap.

    We are team that loves to run the ball. We have won 10 games and get to PO with that type of play. We didnt run the ball well.enough today, but next.season we will run it again and do it.much better than tonight. If you dont like it, well stop watching Seahawks games till 2021 ( I.hope.much longer).

    • Rob Staton

      It’s Seahawks twitter.

      And not it’s 5:22am and I’m desperately trying to stop the conversation falling down the same rabbit hole on here.

      Anyway, enough for now. Time for bed. I’m dreading reading the comments when I wake up.

    • GoHawksDani

      I don’t think anyone said here to abandon the run.
      But inside runs with Carson didn’t work in this game.

      “But running is this team’s identity” you guys say. I agree. That doesn’t mean they should keep running with Carson inside when the Dallas team is built to handle that and after 1-2 series they can see it’s not working.

      What could have they done then?

      Bring in Penny and Davis sooner. Carson is a downhill tackle-breaker inside runner mostly. That was good for 1-3 yards in this game and Carson saved a TFL or no gain with his abilities. Penny is much better bouncing outside or just as an outside runner. Davis can make better cuts than Carson. Less strong but a bit more dynamic. Or bring in McKissic and run sweeps and routes with him.

      Make more creative run plays. Endaround, jet sweep, pitch it with Russ, read option, designed QB runs, 2 RB set, and can’t remember the name, college QBs runs a ton nowadays when they run with the RB and might pitch it horizontally to him, sort of an option play. Russ did it 1-2 times this year.

      It’s cool if they wanna run. But if they run it almost the same style almost every down then it won’t work if the opponent is bigger, stronger, faster and better coached, healthier and have more experience.

      No one says here that the Hawks should abandon the run. Hell, I think sometimes they should abandon the pass and run it 100%. Sometimes they should run it 70-30. Most of the time 60-40 seems like a fine balance. But sometimes it’s better to pass 60% and run only 40. And you don’t need 2-3 quarters to figure it out. If you watch ton of films and you’re a good coach you can put together a gameplan that’ll likely work. If not, you can make smaller adjustments fast. Yeah they made some adjustments halftime. But you don’t need to wait until halftime.

      Yeah. It was a close game. But seriously… Did this felt like a close game in the first half? No… Dallas was dominating on D# and the Hawks defense played like heroes. Played like a top5 defense. But they’re not that. Not yet. Our coaches should know that. They have really strong will and a warrior soul. But every material will break if you bend it hard and long enough.
      Everyone could see that our offense did not work at all in the first half. Can we say, that “it’s OK that we cannot get a first down, because it’s a close game”, or “it’s OK to not have any success, because our defense is keeping us in the game”.
      It’s the stupidest thing. Like sitting on a turned on oven and saying “I know it’s burning on 240 C degree but it’s OK, it’s not hot yet…you say I’ll have severe burning injuries? Nahh, I’m not feeling it NOW”

      • Rob Staton

        Dani, people are accusing the Seahawks of ‘not adjusting’. Every team ‘adjusts’ at half time. Every single one.

        What people mean is — why didn’t they stop running? Why didn’t they just put it on Russell? And the counter is clear. This was a close game, where the Seahawks never truly played with more than a three or four point deficit. In that scenario, you don’t abandon your philosophy or approach. And that involved trying to run the ball on some downs. They still threw more than they ran, just as they did on the road in Carolina by the same run/pass ratio. In this game, they just didn’t have the breaks or the success on third down to launch a serious threat.

        People can spend the next eight months complaining about the 2018 Seahawks playing like the 2018 Seahawks in their final game but it’s a waste of time. It was an achievement to make the playoffs. They were beaten by the better team on the day. That’s football.

        • Gonzalo

          Rob, I agree with you 100% that the hawks got whiped in the trenches and lost the game because of it. I like the run first identity but coaches cant just simply live and die by it. Because we are a run first team doesnt mean we cant simply accept to lose every game when the other team is more physical upfront, coaches should be able to scheme contingencies for that posibility especially if you have an elite level qb.

          There was a real posibility we could lose the battle in the trenches coming in to this game with a banged up oline and their front 7 and on the road. I just dont like the idea of “feeling” out the other team for a half to see what works, why not come out and try to put the other team on their heels and have them make adjustment. I love Pete, he is an awsome motivator and developer of talent, but coaches should anticipate matchups and plan acordingly. Someone posted that Pete seems to be a good strategist of defense but on offense its more identity that strategy.

          • Rob Staton

            I don’t think they see it that way though, Gonzalo. I don’t think they believe, ‘we live and die by our identity, it’s who we are regardless’. I think they saw a 3/4 point deficit and a close game that was always going to come down to a last possession. And they probably believed, rightly so too, that if Wilson had a shot to win it — he would win it. So they saw sense in playing to the situation.

            And if that was their plan, it almost worked. If only they could’ve stopped that last Dallas scoring drive. I think, against the odds, they probably would’ve won.

            • Gonzalo

              I get what your saying, I just think some coaches like Belichek, Nagy, mcVay or Payton look at the oponent and set up the game plan acordingly (run heavy, pass heavy, alot of misdirection, etc.), I feel that our plan y to smashmouth then if it doesnt work we adjust. This in my opinion leads to alot of slow starts, close games and need for heroic comebacks.

              Petes straight up style does work more often than not, I just think the hawks end up playing so many close games that its dificult to win 12 or 13 games like that wihout a super elite roster like in 13 and 14. For example I dont think the rams roster is as good as what we had in 13 14 and they won 13 this year.

              • Rob Staton

                But we’ve seen them win 12-13 wins playing this way. In fact, Seattle has had a winning season every year since 2010 playing this style. Even despite many, many setbacks.

            • Seahawcrates

              If Wagner and McDougald, perhaps the team’s two most reliable tacklers, manage to bring Prescott down on that 3rd and 14′, it’s a field goal and I’m feeling pretty darn good about Wilson leading the team down for a score in a game they were outplayed but always in.

  13. Katal

    If the Seahawks reach a deal with Clark, could you see them franchising Earl?

    Thanks for all that you do, Rob.

    • Sea Mode

      No way you bring that guy back into the building after successfully turning the page and moving on.

      A R4 comp pick is about the best I think we can hope for at this point.

  14. drewdawg11

    That was a tough loss to swallow, but the coaches let them down a bit with the stubbornness to run against a loaded box. Russell was the best player on the field and they neutralized him much more than Dallas did. The Hawks have plenty of cap room to make some solid moves if they want. They just won’t spend crazy dollars on one guy. As for the draft, there are some players I would love to see us take a shot at. Taylor Rapp at safety could be had after a trade down, perhaps. He’s a really good football player and a sure tackler. Very versatile as well. It was an unexpectedly good season and I truly believe that the best is yet to come with this group.

    • Rob Staton

      I like Taylor Rapp but I don’t see how he takes this defense up another level. If anything they need speed in the secondary.

      • Eli

        Here’s a great article on Taylor Rapp: https://bit.ly/2GXfoMh

        He has speed. Reportedly ran a 3.95 short shuttle and 6.57 three-cone at the Husky’s combine last spring. Both of those figures would have been third best at the 2018 NFL draft combine. He has great instincts. ProFootballFocus gave him the number one coverage rating this season. He led the huskies in interceptions his freshman year. He led them in sacks this year. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake has also called him thand smartest player he’s ever worked with.

        Watch highlights of Rapp and you’ll see him playing nickel, sent on blitzes, and playing single-high. He has great closing speed and is a sound tackler fundamentally, but can also lay the wood. He’s a great athlete and and even better player. It’s been a treat getting to watch him play for us for the last three years.

        • Rob Staton

          He also ran a 4.74 at SPARQ. I would expect he’s quicker than that now — his short shuttle at SPARQ was similar to the 3.95 though (he ran a 4.09) so he’s probably, at best, a 4.6 runner.

          I really like Taylor Rapp. But to me they need a different kind of safety. Rangy, exceptionally quick and a playmaker.

          • Eli

            Saquon Barkley ran a 4.63 40 at the opening in 2014. For me the 40 is somewhat useless when we’re considering high school athletes – especially one like Rapp who comes from a high school that barely suited 30 kids per game. I would bet he hits between 4.46 and 4.52 with proper technique.

            I guess what I’m trying to say is Rapp is all of those things you want – it’s just not always apparent because game to game and play to play, he’s been asked to do so many different things. Hopefully with the college season winding down we can start to get some game cut ups.

            • Rob Staton

              1. Saquon Barkley was 6-0 and 208lbs at SPARQ. He was 233lbs at the NFL combine. He had completely changed as an athlete.

              2. Taylor Rapp was 6-0 and 199lbs at SPARQ. He’s currently listed at 6-0 and 200lbs. No difference.

              Yes, athletes are usually quicker at the combine. Mainly because they spend weeks training directly to run a great 40. Players don’t generally run a 4.74 at SPARQ and then shave 0.3 seconds off the time in the pro’s. Can he run a 4.60? Sure. A 4.46 or 4.52 is quite unlikely in my opinion. I’ve seen him live. I think he’s a good player. He’s not a rangy, dynamic free safety. He’s not a playmaker (3 picks in two seasons). He’ll be a good player in the NFL, I am sure. But let’s be real about what type of player he is.

              • Eli

                Not trying to be pedantic here, but his final tally is actually 7 picks in 3 years, as well as 6 sacks. I think we can agree stats aren’t the final tell all, especially considering UW has absolutely shut down the passing game for the last three years. I agree that he’s not gonna be a dynamic free safety , or a free safety really at all – but the actual explosive metrics indicate he’s quite athletic and the game tape (check out vs. USC when he picked off Darnold twice, vs. WSU in the 2016 apple cup) show great range and instincts. I do think he could end up quite similar to a Budda Baker/Deon Grant/Adrian Wilson type of player.

                There is also a video of him on YouTube running a 4.53 forty in 2013 – don’t have the ability to time that since I’m strictly on mobile today, but it’s something. Either way, I appreciate the discourse on this Rob, it’s a good practice of trying to balance objectivity (stats and metrics) and fandom (UW alum who’s watched every game he’s played). Personally, he’s not a fit for me on the Seahawks since it’d be pretty redundant with McDougald around. Just want to beat the drum for a great player and person.

    • GoHawksDani

      Won’t have much money in FA.
      Probably need extension with Russ and Bobby, maybe Reed, Clark, maybe Coleman, KJ, maybe Kendricks, Sweezy, Fluker.
      Counting everything I’d say 15 mil tops, but more likely 5-7 mil for getting guys from the outside

  15. millhouse-serbia

    Tweet from Jim Nagy:

    “Most will criticize Brian Schottenheimer tonight but I appreciate him sticking to the run all season. When I was with the @Seahawks we talked about being a dominant ball-control/play-action team and never stuck to the plan. Thank you for restoring this team’s identity, Schotty!”

    • Rob Staton

      A very good tweet from Jim.

  16. Jeff M.

    It takes a lot to shut down Russell Wilson in the playoffs, but Brian Schottenheimer showed he’s up to the challenge.

  17. no frickin clue

    I can’t argue with those priorities. I might add something like a 2B, more run stopping capability from the linebackers. Wagner and Wright have been unbelievable when healthy but everyone eventually breaks down. Wright only played how many regular season games this season? Six maybe?

    I do think that despite this loss, we ended the season with spirits reasonably high. Best hope for the draft is that a high-value DL talent slips through to round 2, where we grab him after having traded down twice to recoup more draft picks.

    • Rob Staton

      I think they might re-sign KJ & Kendricks for depth.

  18. Coleslaw

    Not trying to play the blame game, and I like the run heavy attack, but I wish as some point we would have been more aggressive. Wilson was 14/21 with maybe 4 downfield throws, I think all play action and was 3/4. Just feels like we never tried to attack downfield enough to actually get them to back out of the box.

    And whoever decided to dumpoff to Lockett 8 yards behind the LOS with 9 mins left down by 3 on 2nd and 22, then dump it off again on a screen on 3rd and 22 needs to be talked to. They just decided to punt after 1st down, like we didnt need any points. You have 4th quarter Russell Wilson and you give up on the drive because you lose 12 yards on 1st down? This irritated the hell out of me. Led to Dallas’ game winning drive.

    • Rob Staton

      I thought they were aggressive at times. Unfortunately, they just got way behind on a number of drives. I know everyone wants to see a deep shot on 3rd and 22 but this is how this team operates. Risk averse, don’t force turnovers, live to play another down. In those moments, Carroll wants to trust his defense to get them the ball back. It’s just their philosophy. And if the defense stops that 3rd and 14 QB run, they have the ball with a chance to win at the end. There’s some method to it.

      • GerryG

        I get the risk adverse, but man Im sick of giving up after losing yards on first down. They did that twice in this game, it’s the playoffs, you have to go for it on 2nd down and give yourself a chance on 3rd down

      • David

        Risk averse… except when they went for 4th and 5 on Dallas’ 45 yard line and they throw deep to Baldwin. The philosophy doesn’t gel. If you don’t convert that low probability play it’s essentially a turnover. So why not throw it up to Lockett 30 yards down the field on 3rd & 10+. It’s not like you are losing much if you throw a pick and probably a better chance of converting than throwing a screen pass to Nick Vannett w/ no blockers.

        • Rob Staton

          What if they had a play they really liked for 3rd and 10? What if that 4th and 10 shot wasn’t necessarily the call but was a check with me? Why are we debating the exact down and distance they make a really cool completion to Doug Baldwin?

          Look, I don’t want to just defend the team all the time. I think it’s fair to wonder if they could’ve done some things differently. I just think maybe it’s time people take a step back. It’s very easy to pick out certain plays in a game and, with hindsight, second guess their actions. And really, the fall-out of this game has just made Seahawks fans seem a bit entitled, a bit too smart by half and a bit too much like a fan base that has been spoiled over years of success with Pete Carroll.

  19. 80SLargent

    I think somewhere in that list, their run defense sucked pretty much all season, and needs to be addressed. It might even be more of a glaring weakness than the pass rush.

    • Rob Staton

      Yes, the run defense needs improvement next season.

  20. Sadness

    Just going to say it, but I think you jinx’ed seattle

    • Rob Staton

      Jinxed them by saying I thought Dallas would win?

  21. GerryG

    Pretty clear to me JR and DJ did not have their push in the run game, not to take away from Dallas DL. They held up ok in pass pro. Would have liked (as many will write) to see a few more creative quick pass plays, screens, roll outs. The big plays were there and made, but they needed to get some yards on early downs

    Penalties were killers, whether they were good calls or not.

    I think they need to draft two LB (which mean more picks) like they did at safety two years ago. The bulk of the pass rush improvement needs to come from within: Martin and Green taking big steps forward, and a return of Naz Jones. I can’t see them staying in rd 1 with four picks unless their guy falls, so any DL help isn’t going to get more than 20 snaps per game and a few sacks.

    • Rob Staton

      Hopefully Martin and Green can take the next step. But they need more. It can’t just come from within. They need to add. This is the draft for it. It’s a D-line draft.

      • FresnoHawk

        Cowboys have excellent tackles huge tackles trying beat them is useless that’s why we need DT pass rush like Clemson DT Wilkins to pair with DT Reed we should keep Shamar Stephens we need his size. Wilkins, Reed, Stephens, Ford, Jones beef up interior D Line and interior OL.

      • GerryG

        Totally agree, they need more, and will get it. But back to my point, the guy they draft will be a role player, Im guessing they pick first in the early second, that’s not a year 1 starter that gets us 8 sacks NEXT year.

        • Rob Staton

          Well let’s wait and see on that.

          • GerryG

            True, definitely a lot of speculation in my thoughts

  22. FresnoHawk

    Special teams, kicking, rookie secondary mistakes saw it all year long. We got beat, our DE’s are real good but not good enough yet to win the battle against Dallas’s tackles and pressuring Dak. Our OLine got beat and our guards weren’t strong enough today, very disappointing. Watching Griffen get run over by Zeke and Coleman getting burned strengthens my speculation that Griffen should be playing slot his speed and athletic ability is needed in the middle of the field. Playoffs show you what kind of team and players you have. Offensive line did not play good enough I expect the Seahawks to beef up the OLine thru trades, FA, and draft. The good news is we’re picking lows 20’s so all 4 picks are good picks.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t expect to see trades and FA dollars spent on the OL. Unless you mean extending Sweezy & Fluker and retaining George Fant.

    • GoHawksDani

      Griffin is beat a lot over the top. He has better games, but right now he seems mediocre. Flowers seemed much better than him especially if you remove the rookie mistakes things. I like Coleman. He get beat sometimes, but he makes great plays and play the ball and the QB most times. Griffin is just playing the receiver. He’s lucky he didn’t get flagged more.
      I don’t think PCJS will go OL-shopping. But I think they might want a bit more interior depth (depending on how they see Pocic and Roos. I didn’t see Roos a lot and I see Pocic as dead weight currently)

  23. KD

    I can’t even be mad or too upset about this loss because we were never supposed to be here to begin with. Just being in the playoff felt like a miracle. So now that the season is over, what did we learn from this season?

    1.) Seahawks went from one of the worst rushing teams in the league to the #1 rushing team in the league. Full credit to Pete Carroll and his staff for recognizing the problem and doing a miraculous job to fix that problem. Resign Fluker and Sweezy ASAP.

    2.) After the Bears game, I, like many, fans were despondent and thought “As long as this team is going to suck, let’s suck really badly and get that top 10 pick.” This team is not bad, but all the holes that were pointed out on defense still remain. The pass rush is lacking, and we knew how good Frank Clark is, but Jarren Reed has shown himself to be one of the best DTs in the NFL. He had an incredible season, as did Clark. This is the future of the Seahawks defense. This team needs to shift from an elite DB corps to an elite front 7 corps, and they have the players and capital to do it.

    3.) The Earl Thomas drama has long passed. We got spoiled with his HOF level of play, and I don’t think we should place too much expectation on getting that level of play in the future. the future of this team is on the front 7, and we already have 3 elite players there.

    4.) Having an elite punter feels like a meme, but combine an elite punter who can pin opponents back with a ferocious pass rush, and you have a recipe for success on defense. A great punter is not a meme. Moving up to draft Dickson is one of the best moves that this team has ever made.

    5.) Free agency and the draft will be defining moments for this team. We already know that the draft target will be a front 7 player. it’s inevitable.

    Yes, I am disappointed in this loss, but this entire season has renewed my faith in the Seahawks staff and Pete Carroll in particular. Carroll is one of the best coaches in the NFL, and he deserves all the credit in the world for bringing this team as far as he did.

    This season started out with a dud, and ended in a position that no one ever thought possible. This is a good team. It just needs a new more pieces to put it over the top, starting with the pass rush.

    This is going to be a very exciting offseason, and I can’t wait to see how this team is going to reload and open fire on the NFL next year. But for now, his watch has ended…..

    • Sea Mode

      +1 well said

    • RWIII

      KD pretty much nailed it. I would like to this. I think for the most part the defense played pretty well. But you can’t give up a 44 yard run to Ezekiel Elliot right before half time. Also you can’t let Dakota Prescott beat you on a 3rd and 14 late in the the 4th quarter.

      Second point. You can’t win. In the Super Bowl 4 years ago against New England everyone got bent out of shape because they went away from identity. They threw the football on the one yard line. Now everyone is getting bent out of shape because they stayed with their identity. Like I said you can’t win.

      Third point. You have to give a ton of credit to Kris Richard. Richard KNEW the Seahawks inside and out. He knew the player’s strengths/weaknesses.

      • brett

        It’s called hindsight and everyone’s an expert once it’s applied.

        As far as the run game is concerned, it really only takes one to pop to make a huge difference in the game (see Dallas at end of first half). The one thing I am looking forward to next year is more Penny. He looked dangerous in the game tonight but I don’t think the staff is ready to just hand a game over to him yet – next year should be a different story. He’s a game breaker.

        • JimQ

          I don’t have any problem with the emphasis on the run game. However, I don’t see any wisdom in rushing off tackle – up the middle against a stacked box of defenders on most every series. Miss direction, pitches to the outside, screens, jet sweeps, etc. etc. should be a part of the running game plan rather than always running into the teeth of the defense. Penny could very well be the answer to that problem next year. Get the kid (and/or) Carson outside, into the open field and watch them go while also doing the occasional inside pounding against stacked boxes. if only they could get both on the field at the same time perhaps with one in the FB role?

          IMO-Something must be changed a little in the running game to make it even more effective. I hate to see run, run, blitz the QB on the obvious passing play to get the ball back to the opponent type of series that we just saw. The Seahawks can & will get much better simply because they have exorcized the me-first players from yesteryears. Now, they just need to adjust their run game a little, add a few good pieces and get better at executing plays like they are drawn up by the coaches.

          In any event, this has been a successful season for the Seahawks, above the expectations of many & has proved that the Seahawks are not an easy team to play. It’s only up from here. Thanks Rob for your level headed approach to the current teams situation & all your work, I really appreciate it.

    • GoHawksDani

      1, Hell yeah! But do not forget Solari! Worst OL in the NFL to a decent one. Ifedi was the worst RT with a ton of penalties, now he’s pretty good. Getting Fluker (he was Solari’s guy) was a good step.

      2, It’s so bad that you can only get high pick if you suck or selling everything in a trade 🙁 I take the Ws, but it would be awesome to see what can this staff do with someone like Wilkins or Bosa 😀

      3, Interesting idea, but yeah, probably that’s the way. I think for us to be completely dominant in the front, we need a Van der Esch or Darius Leonard type OLB next to Bobby. A great, almost Clark-like DE (maybe it could be Green? Or a new guy?). And a DT who can control the LoS and rush the passer (like Reed). And Martin can occasionally rush also from LB. Our depth is great, now we just need some game wrecker guys.

      4, Totally agreed. And punters have a long lifeshell. If we want, we can have Tricky Dicky for 10-15 years easy (or at least I guess, not sure how many years do punters usually play)

      5, Yep. I would love another Lockett and a kicker to be drafted, but tbh I would be completely fine with them going over the top and pick front7 with all of their picks (4 or 5 tickets if they trade down)

    • Michael (CLTJ

      Excellent post. Captured the moment and upcoming opportunities beautifully. Thank you.

  24. DC

    I really enjoyed the season. We got beat tonight but fought like we always do. Not going to lament the game too much. We need more talent.

    • Rob Staton

      The perfect review.

      That’s all it is. Just need more talent. We all knew that going into 2018.

  25. Zxvo3

    Despite tonight’s loss I’m still optimistic for the future. After all this was not supposed to be our year. Going 10-6 was a big accomplishment for the team. This team definitely shows a lot of promise.

    Looking forward to the draft and I’m really starting to love D’Andre Walker for us. Great player who can bring speed and toughness while also being able to pass rush and defend the run. Also want some depth at corner so maybe Jamal Peters can be a viable option. We could use another wide receiver since David Moore has been quiet the last couple of weeks so I like Terry McLaurin who has been underrated so far.

    • Sea Mode

      McLaurin could be a great value in the mid rounds.

  26. David

    Rob,

    Love the site, and read every post.

    I just don’t understand why you always defended Bevell and refuse to criticize Schotty. Can you explain? Coaches are just as fair game for criticism as the players, right?

    • Rob Staton

      I have criticised both. Bevell plenty of times. Schotty very much so in the first four weeks of this season.

      But there are two things people forget time and time again:

      1. This is Pete’s offense. Always has been always will be. Schotty is doing what Pete wants.

      2. If a team loses or has a bad game, it’s never because of one person. I don’t do scapegoating. Never will.

      • Gohawks5151

        This is Pete’s team yes. Maybe he will trust Schotty more next year. It seems like he gave Norton more rope this year to be creative. He has known him a whole lot longer than Schotty. While I think they need to cut Russ loose more the thing I really want is for them to make the game easier for him and the offense. You don’t need to be Mcvay to get some easy throws.

        • Rob Staton

          Russell just had statistically the best season of his career, they have a top-10 offensive DVOA and they got their running game back.

          I don’t want them to change anything. I just want them to keep adding talent.

          • GerryG

            All season, even when things were working well, I was concerned this offense only did two things, deep play action and run game. Moving into year 2 they need to add a few things to the quiver, more intermediate stuff, and more quick pass plays that get the ball into the hands of CC, Penny, JD, MD. We have playmakers at RB, and I think it would be great to get more involved in the pass/screen game.

            Im not talking about a change in identity, just a few plays that stress other parts of the field, to keep people off balance. It was a new system, so hopefully it can grow a little more.

          • Gohawks5151

            I think most of us are taking about adding wrinkles to the offense rather than changing any core ideals. In particular for me finding easier throws is a quick and effective way of helping out Russ when the deep play action stuff is stalling. Isolate Doug on one side of the field, expansion of screen game etc. Hopefully Schotty earned some trust to get more creative.

            • Rob Staton

              I think what most people are doing is looking for stuff to complain about because the Seahawks lost.

  27. Ian

    I’d love to see us also invest in a long-term quality kicker. It’s been an underrated part of our struggles winning games.

    Last year with Walsh cost us wins. This year with SJ was fine (good not great) but he had issues with extra points and was always going to be a short term plug. Game also would have looked very different if he had made that field goal at the end of the first half.

    I wish we had the equivalent of a Stephen Gostkowski or Dan Bailey. Someone just automatic. The equivalent of Dickson but at the kicker position. I’d prioritize and invest dollars or draft picks in it, it’s been a running theme in our losses for 2 years.

  28. Pran

    Zeke’s big runs all came on the outside towards Griffin’s. He is fully exploited in both run and pass today.

    Our RZ offense is not good today until 4th. Strong RZ defense did not live up to the standard.

    Little more creativity in place of stubbornness could have won an ugly game like we do. They should have mixed up the RBs from the first half it self.

    • brett

      Without really knowing what assignments are, it looked to me like King had outside contain on the big run at the end of the half, not Griffin.

      Fair to say we have a new whipping boy though. Just remember he’s only in his 2nd year and 1st year starting in the left side. I’m willing to give him more time to grow.

  29. Pran

    2019 wish list
    All pro kicker
    New ST coach

    • Rob Staton

      You’ll get a new kicker. You won’t get a new ST coach.

      • Pran

        Special special meeting before the game of the season did not work. Pete May have noted it hopefully.

  30. Gohawks5151

    What a exciting and terrifying off-season ahead. Must add pass rush. Pick 21-22 seems like a good position to trade back and still make a pick in the first round with a chance at Zuniga, Walker or Simmons. Still hoping Calais is a cap casualty that we can hop on. We have to keep KJ in my mind while grabbing someone like Khalil Hodge in the mid rounds.

    The things I’m unsure of are improving the offense and the defensive backfield. Both lack speed and playmakers. On offense they need to add speed but would that have helped tonight? How many 3 runs and out did we have? Speed doesn’t change the scheme on it’s own. Do we need 3 receivers if our base formation has 2 tight ends and only throw 20 times a game? For all the improvement up front we still couldn’t handle the pass rush the past 3 games against one above average defense and 2 teams that might get Bosa. Agree that we should resign both Guards but they are the same dudes that got eaten up and had a crucial penalty today. There are really no easy improvements to make the offense more effective and as is don’t look like a unit that can make a deep playoff run.

    In the defensive back field they need some playmakers too. It’s wrong but the shadow of expectations for a Seattle DB is large. The good news is there is still room for growth as they are young. Shaq needs to make some strides next year. It’s almost like he is at the same stage as Flowers this year. Both look like future good corners but lack the playmaker gene thus far. That has to be a pick six by Shaq on a gimmie from Dak. Thompson looked ok today but Dallas run offense played to his strengths rather than his weaknesses. No one made him pay in the seam. I agree the pass rush is the way they seem to building this version of the LOB but a good pass rush can still be schemed around like the Rams. You have to be able to make plays on the back end in this league.

    Not all gloom and doom. What an exciting season. I didn’t expect them to win 10 games or make the playoffs. The rebuild is ahead of schedule and they need to keep up the momentum. Uggh… I can’t wait for next year already.

  31. Eburgz

    Losing sucks but losing to the cowboys really sucks. People want to fire shotty because he didn’t abandon the run? We just needed to run the ball better, not abandon our identity. Admittedly I was screaming for us to pass later in the game because it was clear the big uglys up front weren’t getting it done today. I’d prefer we dump some of our lame fans than shotty.

    I would be ok if brian schneider stayed in Dallas though. Idk if he’s the problem but something has to change on special teams. Dickson outkicked his coverage at times but teams have been consistently bad in like all areas, especially covering kicks. Time for a new kicker too, gimme glasses guy from Georgia to pair with Dickson. If only he was coming out this year.

    Super fun season to watch. Hope the next one is even better. What a stinker of a game, props to Dallas…I guess.

    • McZ

      Kicker? Two words… Justin Yoon!

  32. KD

    As a side note I also learned tonight that hummus is massively underrated. I always loved hummus, but i never appreciated how delicious it actually is. It’s not better than guacamole, but deserves to be recognized as a top tier dip.

    • Rob Staton

      Hummus should be renamed ‘bland paste’.

      • BV Eburg

        “Hummus should be renamed ‘bland paste’.”
        Completely disagree. Hummus is plain if the cook decides to make plain hummus. I make a Mexican hummus loaded with taco/chili/peppers on chips and salsa days. An italian hummus loaded with pesto on bread dipping days is delicious. And for a desert hummus pumpkin is added to go with sweet crackers.

        Last nights Seahawks offense is what I would call “bland paste” Sure it’s traditional and time tested but when used over and over it becomes predictable. A good chef never let’s that happen.

        Eat more Hummus!

        • Rob Staton

          I remain unconvinced at the hummus appeal.

          It gets a fifth round grade from me.

          Although I do like the sound of a Mexican hummus. Could push it into day two if it tests well.

          • Sea Mode

            Lol. Comment of the day! 🙂

      • JS

        You’ve clearly never had good homemade hummous then…

        • Rob Staton

          That is true in fairness. I’ve only ever tasted shop bought.

          I’ll take the guac 😉

          • BV Eburg

            While my post showed the versatility of hummus in the right hands it was meant more as a metaphor for this offense. Bland paste is this offense. Yes you can live on bland paste (hummus has been a staple for thousands of years). But why live on bland paste in todays society when there are so many options to make it “not bland paste”?

            This offense at its core it will always be bland paste. I’m okay with that but why not spruce it up with some modern acruetements? Would love to see some of the analytics but what percentage of our plays are run between the TE’s or deep passes? 80%+? That is not balance, that is predictability. As a D coordinator you love when the other team is predictable no matter what the sport. Outside speed and over the middle are two areas this team doesn’t exploit.
            That’s why a couple articles ago I mentioned drafting Brown. But quite frankly even with Brown I don’t know that PC/BS are capable of utilizing that type of talent. Tyreek Hill could be on this team and he would be neutered.

            This era reminds me of the recent Green Bay era. Aaron Rodgers won 1 Super Bowl and bailed Mike McCarthy out for years. Russell Wilson has bailed Pete Carroll out for years but in the end they only have 1 Super Bowl.
            In some ways it’s worse though because I do believe we have drafted better than Green Bay and most certainly our defense has been better yet the bottom line is we have won 1 Super Bowl.

            Like you said above, “make no mistake about it, this offense is Pete Carrolls.”
            I agree 100% with that and over the course of the Pete Carroll era and the “bland paste” offense we have exactly 1 Super Bowl.

            • Rob Staton

              1. I don’t think it’s right at all to say Wilson has ‘bailed out’ Carroll for years.

              2. I don’t see any similarity to the Green Bay situation.

              3. I think they’re moving in the right direction.

              • BV Eburg

                1. Agree to disagree
                2. 1 Super Bowl win in Green Bay with Rodgers/McCarthy is exactly what we have with Wilson/Carroll. That is a definite similarity when the only prize is a Super Bowl victory. Couldn’t be more similar.
                3. Time will tell. I hope you’re right and I’m wrong. But color me skeptical if we don’t evolve on offense or recreate the SB defense.

                • Rob Staton

                  There are many, many differences between the Seahawks and the McCarthy Packers. For starters, the big issue in Green Bay was the unwillingness of the GM to spend in FA or be aggressive in the draft to properly support Rodgers. The Seahawks are the total opposite. They’re the most aggressive team in the league for deals. Rodgers was the best player in the league by far and had a rank bad roster to work with. PCJS have built a Championship roster to support their QB and are now trying to build another. No complacency.

                  • BV Eburg

                    Yes to all your points.
                    I mentioned earlier it’s worse because I thought we both drafted better and played better defense. Couple that with all the other good points you just made. And despite all those things we did better and Green Bay did worse we both have ONE Super Bowl victory.
                    So how did we do so many things better than Green Bay but come up with the same result?
                    To me, Pete needs to get 100 miles away from this offense. If he wants to stick with Shotty then cool. But put Shotty in the film room for the next 6 months studying Reids, Shanahans and McVays offenses and how they use the whole field.

                    • Rob Staton

                      No, no no.

                      We have our identity. We’ve just fixed the offense.

                      It’s not as simple as just copying McVay and Shanahan etc. If it was, everyone would have an elite offense.

                      You have to have the personnel, the pieces, the history with those schemes.

                      Pete fixed this offense by taking back control. We’re fine. Just keep adding talent. Hawks fans, come on.

              • BV Eburg

                Wish I could edit last reply to 3 things you mentioned.
                I would also like to add you do a great job with this site and community. Appreciate all you do and is one of the sites I swing by everyday.

                • Rob Staton

                  Thank you, it’s appreciated. I love this place.

    • Michael (CLT)

      I’m all for hummus. That said, if your hummus is better than guacamole, you are making the guacamole wrong or using unrippened avacados. That is most unfortunate! 😀

  33. 12th chuck

    we might want to add a corner in the mix of positions needed. Shaq did not seem to step up. I hope he can take the next step next year, hope we haven’t seen his ceiling. It was a good game, Dallas simply has more talent right now, and it sucks we are limited in draft picks. Lets face it, very few of us expected a 10 win season from this bunch, and nice to see the younger guys play well this year. This will be a tough division next year if the 49ers have a good draft.

  34. Ehurd1021

    Great season. To say this Seahawks team overachieved would be an understatement considering the generational talent we had to replace this past off-season, combined with how young are current roster is. Pete and John did an amazing job building a competent coaching staff as well – which I am more than excited to see progress moving into the future.

    Teams don’t win 10-games in a “rebuilding year” in the NFL. This season in my mind is nothing more than a building block moving into the future. The Seahawks accomplished two essential things this off-season:

    1. Re-establish a team and an offensive identity – which consisted of having a physicality both offensively and defensively.

    2. Establish a young core with players who we can build around moving into the future.

    Now to the game…

    You don’t abandon the offensive identity – which assisted in you winning 10-games this season with the number one rush offense in the NFL – simply because you meet a formidable opponent. The Cowboys have a very good defensive line and overall team. And while the Seahawks didn’t help themselves with costly penalties, the Cowboys were a solid opponent who simply played more physical, won the line of scrimmage, and were able to control the Seahawks all game.

    1. The Seahawks have to improve the pass-rush and run defense this off-season. Run defense simply wasn’t good enough this season in general and it cost the Seahawks this game. Therefore, the defensive line has to be addressed first and foremost.

    2. The Seahawks have to bring back and resign the key pieces of this O-line. Fluke, Britt, and Sweezy are key moving forward with maintaining our identity and protecting Wilson.

    3. More competition within the secondary is a must. I love the season Tre and Shaq both had but I would like to see the FO bring in more competition to push both of those players including Tedric at the FS position.

    4. Re-signing Clark, Reed, and Wright are a MUST. Coleman would be okay at a decent price but I don’t think he’s a NEED by any means.

    • Trevor

      Nice post and agree with almost everything. I do hope they bring back Coleman however as stater quality slot corners are valuable in today’s NFL.

    • millhouse-serbia

      Great post. I agree on everything.

  35. Lefty

    Great season. To say this Seahawks team overachieved would be an understatement considering the generational talent we had to replace this past off-season, combined with how young are current roster is. Pete and John did an amazing job building a competent coaching staff as well – which I am more than excited to see progress moving into the future.

    Teams don’t win 10-games in a “rebuilding year” in the NFL. This season in my mind is nothing more than a building block moving into the future. The Seahawks accomplished two essential things this off-season:

    1. Re-establish a team and an offensive identity – which consisted of having a physicality both offensively and defensively.

    2. Establish a young core with players who we can build around moving into the future.

    Now to the game…

    You don’t abandon the offensive identity – which assisted in you winning 10-games this season with the number one rush offense in the NFL – simply because you meet a formidable opponent. The Cowboys have a very good defensive line and overall team. And while the Seahawks didn’t help themselves with costly penalties, the Cowboys were a solid opponent who simply played more physical, won the line of scrimmage, and were able to control the Seahawks all game.

    1. The Seahawks have to improve the pass-rush and run defense this off-season. Run defense simply wasn’t good enough this season in general and it cost the Seahawks this game. Therefore, the defensive line has to be addressed first and foremost.

  36. Martin

    Enjoyable season – and a great blog, thanks Rob. I guess it’s always a bitter pill when the season ends and we aren’t the champs. I’m no expert… but I sometimes wonder is it the type of runs and passes we call rather than simply calling runs or passes that matters? We seem to sometimes disregard the fact that a run between centre and guard is a very different play to a sweep. Playcalling isn’t just a matter of do we run or pass.

    • Trevor

      Really fun season as a Hawks fan with lots of ups and some downs. What I loved most is all the drama was in the field not off it. Lots of hope for the future and the team regained its identity and culture which is huge going forward.

      Dallas did a great job of taking away what we do best run the ball and as Rob mentioned were just more physical in the trenches. I don’t think Sweezy or Fluker were close to being 100% and Carson looked a little tired that did not help. Still this team battled and was right there at the end with their chances.

      Remember this team had basically all new position coaches and this is the off season we should see the most improvement normally when that happens.

      Thanks Rob for another fun season of commentary and now the real fun begins here on the blog can’t wait. Wish ist was starting Feb 4th but still going to be fun.

  37. C-Dog

    This was a fun season of Seahawks football. I had more fun following this team than I have had since 2013. They were drama free, they played together, they over-achieved with some raw and marginal talent, and they developed some pretty darn good ball players by the end of the year.

    How many years have people been banging the table on this board for Seattle to get a pass rushing defensive tackle? Well, with Jarran Reed, now they got one and he is a pretty badass run stopper as well.

    How many people thought fifth round pick safety Tre Flowers was going to convert to a quality starting cornerback year one as a rookie?

    How many people thought UDFA Poona Ford would factor as a playmaker at nose tackle throughout the final stretch of the season with the playoffs on the line?

    How many people thought the O line was going to be the strength of the team?

    How many people thought Seattle would have the number one rushing offense in the league?

    This season was a huge positive from where we were last year at this time completely unsure of the team’s identity. We know it now. They are a physical run first team that need a few more pieces on the defense to round things out.

    I’m not even all the disappointed in this loss. Would I have liked to have seen them open the offense up a bit more? Sure, I would have. Third downs were a big issue in this game, though, and Rob was right, the Dallas offense had an answer for every positive the Seattle offense managed. Dak matched Russ, and their lines played better than ours. Good for Dallas.

    I’m genuinely excited for this team moving forward. I’m excited they extended Carroll through 2021 and the team can continue refining itself under this identity. Here’s what I would love to see.

    1. Lock up Frank Clark. That dude is Jacob Green special as a player, and anyone old enough to know that name knows how special that is. He’s better than Avril and Bennett. He reminds me of Jacob Green and Redskins great Dexter Manley.

    2. Extend Jarran Reed. He’s a special complete player at DT, and a player to build around. It all starts inside. Make him happy, and add pieces around him.

    3. Sign DJ Fluker and JR Sweezy. Both players want to be here. Keep the continuity of the offensive line in tact for once and final for a while.

    4. Work out extension plans for Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. Some talk has been that Wilson expects to be franchised. So maybe Bobby is the guy to start working on first along with Reed.

    5. If having to choose between Justin Coleman, KJ Wright, and Mychal Kendricks, I vote for extending KJ. I think depending on the knee, he can be retained on a opt out deal for the team if injuries become more the norm. When healthy, he’s invaluable on the field next to Bobby. The two are perfect together, and for as special as Bobby is, KJ is really unique.

    6. Target value in free agency. They are going to do this anyways, but find value at a few spots. Maybe bring in another big fella to be a space eater next to Reed is what they need to limit the yards per carry that went up this year. Danny Shelton is set to be a free agent. I think they can look at receiver and tight end as well. They can always look at a bargain veteran pass rusher.

    7. Target pass rush in the draft. I’m actually pretty high on the upside of Poona Ford. I also think Rasheem Green is a player with a ton of potential. He was really young coming out of USC, and I think he has the talent to break out next year. I also think Jacob Martin has interesting LEO potential, and haven’t given up on Naz Jones. But good god, if this is a strong draft for defensive line and pass rush, grab one. Would love to see a long term bookend for Clark, if possible. You can not have enough pass rush.

    8. Along with pass rush, I want better depth at LB, and I think Seattle’s supposed interest in Mississippi State’s Jamal Peters is really, really interesting, especially after watching Akeem King give up that broken containment against Zeke Elliott.

    • Sea Mode

      Well said, and I agree pretty much across the board.

      I guess I rate Coleman higher than many. Don’t feel like going back to the Marcus Burley days of getting torched in the slot.

      Either way, I don’t think any of those three are going to end up too expensive to keep around.

      • SheHawk

        Agree with all this and with Trevor above. Sweezey + Fluker weren’t 100 percent – that was a large part of LOS issues. Also communication was messed up as we had several missed block assignments.

        I am incredibly proud of our team and how they fought all game and all season. Lots of banged up guys out there gave it there best. Hellof a season. I LOVE this team

  38. Jeremy

    All in all I feel the season went pretty well and it beat my expectations by 1 win. I hate to play the blame game but I think Pete and John will evaluate everything and everybody and make some decisions. I do believe it is time to bring in someone different for special teams coordinator. My priorities for the off season would be:

    1. Edge Rusher and DL depth
    2. Overall team depth
    3. Special Teams fix (New Kicker?)
    4. Resign/Extend as many of the new young core as possible

    V/r
    Jeremy

  39. Trevor

    Awesome post CDog and you sum up my feelings about the season as well perfectly! Thanks again for all our recaps in the PC weekly pressers.

  40. Trevor

    Tyler Locket was amazing today! He was a steal with his extension this year.

    Really hope the Hawks target his CFB clone UMass Wr Andy Isabella who might even be faster. People will say we need a bigger WR but we have Brown and Moore plus Russ likes to throw to guys who get seperation and I have not seen a prospect in a long time get as much seperation as Isabella. Check out his tape against Georgia this year who have elite secondary talent he torched those guys.

    • Sea Mode

      Love Isabella, but will keep repeating until someone explains to me otherwise: I don’t see how he gets past R2 with his production and skillset as long as he runs in the 4.3s like he easily should at the Combine.

      I think he’s perfect for our offense, especially if Doug really is considering moving on sometime in the near future. Separation and quicks, but also a huge deep threat. Having another deep threat option opposite Lockett could be huge for our offense.

      Basically, I don’t want to get my hopes up for him much if we can be pretty sure he won’t be there for us, especially in a thin WR class, unless we make him our first pick after a trade down, which I don’t think is likely given our need and the strength of the class at DL. I’m open to thoughts though.

      • Trevor

        I agree he is a 2nd round talent but the reason is simple NFL size stereotypes. Most will view him as a slot guy.

        Think about it Russ and Locket lasted till 3rd round because of size and they national acclaimed guys who played at Power 5 programs Wisconsin and K St.

        Poona Ford was Defenive player of the year in his conference and did not even get drafted because of his height.

        You could be right and when he blows up the combine a team will fall in love but I have my fingers crossed he falls to the Hawks somehow. Every year I have a day #2 dream pick. Last year it was Nathan Shepard and year before it was David Onemayta so I have not had much luck picking them but Frank Clark was on the list in 2015.

        • Sea Mode

          Well, if Tyler Lockett has turned out this special, maybe they would be willing to move up to get Isabella as well. They love, love, love WRs with huge college production.

          Just for fun, I went ahead and checked some numbers:

          – Over the last 5 drafts (2014-2018) there have been 15 WRs who ran sub 4.40 in the 40yd dash.
          – Half of them (7) were R1 picks.
          – Two of them were R2 picks.
          – Only ONE of those who had at least one college season with over 1,000 receiving yards was drafted after R2: that was John Brown at R3P91.

          Isabella had 1000 yds his Jr. year and 1700 his Sr. year! So yeah, in conclusion, I would put it at a 1/15 chance he makes it past R2. 🙂

          • Trevor

            Those are really interesting stats thanks for that! Makes me believe he could rise into the 2nd if he runs as expected which would suck.

  41. GoHawksDani

    Sad thing is that defense play over the expectations a lot, but the offense underperform a ton of times.

    You mentioned Reed to extend, I think that would be a mistake. He’s an absolute baller, but not sure he’s a 10+ sack DT by default. We would need to give him a top5 DT contract after this year I guess, so I’d try to wait and see how next season shapes up. If he’s on track for another great year, give him a big contract after 6-8 games. But if this season was just a cool anomaly for him, then you can give him a little less (he’ll probably get a top10-12 DT contract then also, unless he plays really bad)

    But you forgot Russ and Wagner. I was against signing Russ to a 30+ mil contract extension. I can see some faults he probably will never be able to fix. But his mentality is great. And can deliver the most beautiful touch passes ever. And accurate, smart, HUMBLE. So yeah… give that man some 33m APY 5 year contract extension (I’d try to lower his next year CAP hit if that’s possible). And we need Bobby. He’ll get a huge contract.

    I think after re-signing our own FA, RFA, ERFA players, we’ll have 7-9m. I think if we cut Kam, we can save additional 8m. I would also cut/trade Jaron Brown to save almost 3m. And that’s all. Removing the draft, and IR money, and we’ll have something like 10-12m. If we taking some aside for Reed’s contract (not sure how this works with contracts, if he gets a new extension mid-season, will he get some extra money this year or not), we’d only have a couple mils.

    We could use OG depth too. Fluker and Sweezy are not young (ok, they’re not that old, but still) and has some injury history. Simmons seems solid, but Pocic seems like a bust. Not sure about Roos, but we could have some FA options to sign for 4-5m (guys with similar size to Fluker).

    We need a good WR. Other than Baldwin and Lockett, we don’t have anybody. You can say Brown or Moore. But Russ simply doesn’t seem to feel good when throwing the classic jump-ball to these bigger guys. He likes scramblers, little fighter guys. WRs that create separation by great route running and quickness. I’d be fine if they’d pick a Lockett-Baldwin type WR with the 3rd round pick (and would be good if they’d pick up 1-2 UDFA guys too). I’d love a “little guy” who blocks better than his size.

    We’re set at RB and OT, QB. I think we’re fine with TEs. Dickson plays good, Vannett is alrighty and Dissly seemed good addition. Unless we’ll rely heavier on the TE game or want to run more 2TE-3 TE sets (by 3 TE I mean #74 with two real TE :D), I’d be content with these guys.

    P great, ST team … mehh… but the problems are mostly with the blocking while returning (which might be a coaching issue) and the blocking for the punts (which is a size issue I guess on the line). Not huge issues, so I’d try to fix these, but wouldn’t put too much money in it. We’ll probably need to find a new kicker. Janikowski is OK. But he had some head-scratching misses (XP and FG too). And he’s old, and has some injury bugs. Not sure about kicker options from the draft. If there is a really good kicker out there, I’d be fine drafting him with the 4th round pick (or if he’s really really really good even with the 3rd round pick)

    Defensively we need to give new contract to Bobby and Clark. I’d give Clark something like a 13-14m APY. If he takes it good, if not then franchise him. I’d wait with Reed’s contract.
    And KJ is a hard one. He’s good. Really good. But has some injuries lately, will start to get old soon and well… he is not really a flashy OLB. Hard to write this after his pick, but he’s just doing his job most of the time. Doing it really well, but doesn’t create many turnovers or pressures (OK that’s because the scheme). He’s a damn good player, but not a game wrecker. I’d be happier if we could re-sign Kendricks (especially if it’s for the cheap) instead handing out KJ a bigger contract. And I’d draft an LB and might be trying to get another elsewhere (UDFA or FA). But if they re-sign KJ, I won’t be mad. Dude is a solid player with great attitude.

    As for needs… tbh I don’t think Shaq is a good corner. Even Flowers seemed better at times. Griffin seems slow and always has his back against the ball. Committed a couple of penalties this year, and yeah…he’s got 2 picks. But those came from the same game. He might be still young, but I’d appreciate a bigger jump from year one to two. I’d keep Coleman, he’s good/great mostly. I’d probably wait until the 2020 draft with maybe fixing the Griffin situation, because we only have a couple of picks and I think we need a higher pick to get a better player than him (currently he’s playing up to his draft round, like a 3rd rounder. It sucks, because he’s not a bust, but under PCJS we got to used to get guys who highly overperform their round) – I know…Sherm was not a first rounder, but these Russ-Sherm-Balwin-Carson miracles can’t happen everytime.

    McDougald is awesome. Good communicator, good player (OK, has some ugly plays too, but mostly he’s playing really really well). But I’m not sold on T2. Nothing awful, and yeah…it’s not fair. But he’s nowhere near Earl. He’s just doing his job and not creating magic. I think the Hawks could use another magician, but it won’t happen next year.

    DL is not that awful. I get the feeling that you think that it’s the biggest need and it is broken (apart from Reed and Clark). Yeah, it’s not always pretty, but there are “noname” (for other team’s fans, we know them) guys making some plays all over the roster. Jefferson made some nice plays. Jordan made a couple. Ford seems like a really good addition, so does Jacob Martin. Shamar did some things good, Jackson also. We have depth, and the overall line performance is not bad. I’m not saying it’s great! We lack some dominance… And we’ll get 1-2 linemen from the draft. But I think not because the biggest need, but because it’s an important need and also the strength of the draft.
    I think the middle is more stable of the line, so I’d draft DE if the board fells right.

    Coaching/FO: PC is good. JS is good. Norton seems like a solid/good DC (well they should probably share that statement with PC). Solari is the second coming, and the reason why our rushing attack is so good. Really few people talks about him. He (and PCJS) got a couple of important guys, and rebuilt most of the interior line. There are some great blocking going on, and good schemes. Really happy about him. Schotty…well…I’ll need a new paragraph for him.
    You can say “go to twitter with this nonsense”, but c’mon. He’s not awful, but he’s not a coordinator. He’s not a playcaller. He has almost zero feel for the game, and cannot really change things up. He might be able to sketch up a solid gameplan, but that’s all. These 3 & 10+ and let’s dump it for a 2-5 yard gain thingies are just sad excuses for a thing we call playcalling.
    If we cannot run, we’re doomed 95% of the time. I wouldn’t fire him, because not easy to get a great OC, and wouldn’t want to mess up the offense with another change, and it was his first year. BUT we shouldn’t think even for a second that he’s a good OC. Why would we? Because we have the highest rushing yards/game? Yeah, well we run a ton…a ton. So that is not a plus, it is a must if we run this much. Because we have Carson over 1K yards, and others also have 3-4-5-600 yards? Thanks Solari, the OL, and the RBs. Because Russ? Russ did these kind of magical numbers with Bevell also. Even when the rushing game wasn’t even there. So I’m not asking for a quick execution, but Schotty hopefully will be under microscope next year. If he’s improving (even if not everything is fixed, but the direction is good) then OK, I’m fine with him. But if he’ll be inapt to scheme for the opponent, make some in-game changes and playcall for the situation then he might need to go.

    So… already huge comment, but as a recap what would I do:
    draft:
    1, trade back to early second and hopefully get a 3rd round pick for it.

    2. round: Most likely OLB or DE
    3. round: WR
    3. round: OLB or DE
    4. round: Kicker (if there is no good K, then OG/CB/DT)
    5. round: Any position that has value and mentioned in the previous rounds (DE/DT/OG/K/CB/WR)

    Get some FA value with smart moves. I’d get some 26-30 years old 6’2-6’5 and 325-340 lbs OG for backup (or battle it out with Sweezy and Fluker) – 4-5m. Get 1-2 vet DT for rotation/depth (we always get these). If there is no suitable kicker in the draft then try to get a good one in FA.

    Re-sign our core guys (maybe except Reed to see if this season is the new norm for him or just an anomaly). Really think through KJ. I’m fine either way, but I’d prefer a young stud playmaker, game wrecker.

    Good season, sad ending. This D# played great mostly. We have some intresting new pieces (Ford, Martin, Green?, Flowers, Kendricks?), and some guys who even stepped up a notch (McDougald, Reed, Clark). With a good offseason this can easily be a top 6-7 defense next year.
    Offense was all over the place. Sometimes played amazing, sometimes it was awful. Great rushing attack, kudos to Carson, amazing season. Davis is really good and goes under the radar, we should keep him. Penny was really-really bad at first, but came to life later. Still has some question marks (can he run inside without big holes?), but in space he’s an exciting runner. Lockett is a golden god. ‘Nuff said. Russ is Russ. Playing great, amazing throws, but there are a couple of games where his evil twin is playing instead of him and he just sucks. Hopefully he can eliminate those. Baldwin was a non-factor for most of the season. When he was a factor he made incredible catches and broke some DBs ankles. Rest of the guys contributed but didn’t really flashed. I hope Dissly will come back stronger than ever and will be a good addition. I hope Jamarco Jones can be a good backup for a couple of years, or maybe push Ifedi to the bench (not hating on Ifedi, he played good this year, but competition is always good). Happy that Simmons seem like a good backup for OG.
    And big balls Tricky Dicky is awesome. Had 2 blocked punts, but these were mostly on the protection. Had a couple of bad punts, but all in all, he’s really good (and that 4th down run was cool too :D)

    Ton of young guys, a lot of talent. Need them to get a bit more experience in the system. A couple key addition, and this team will dominate

    • SheHawk

      Overall good comment but you sort of lost me at beginning saying not to extend J. Reed 😨 he is >> Sheldon Richardson and is exactly what we’ve needed for several years.

      • GoHawksDani

        I want Reed to retire hopefully after a very long and successful career as a Hawk…Just not sure about a contract right now. If you go based on 2018:
        Reed’s numbers:
        Snaps: 776
        Sacks: 10.5
        Tackles: 50
        Solo: 34
        (FF and INT are 0)

        Kawann Short (made 17 mil in 2018. Next 3 years: 17, 18, 18.5 mil)
        His stats:
        Snaps: 584
        Sacks: 3
        Tackles: 42
        Solo: 29
        FF: 1
        (INT 0)

        Bit of a down year for him, but only 2015 was better than Reed’s current year

        Malik Jackson made 15 mil, and will make around 15 mil in the next couple of years.
        Stats:
        Snaps: 627
        Sacks: 3.5
        Tackles: 32
        Solo: 25
        (0 FF and INT)

        Geno Atkins will also make around 15 mil until 2022 every year
        Stats:
        Snaps: 794
        Sacks: 10
        Tackles: 45
        Solo: 24
        (0 FF and INT)

        These are 3 of the highest paid DTs in the league. Reed had better numbers than all of them last year.
        So if you wanna pay him based on the last year, it’ll be at least 16 mil APY 4-5 years, but potentially could be as high as 18-20 mil.

        But if we check Reed’s previous 2 years, the average is this: 550 snaps, 2 sacks, 40 tackles, 18 solo, 1 FF
        These more like 6-7 mil numbers.

        If he’s willing to take 10-11 mil APY for 5 years (like 5 mil (~4 more mil for him next year), 9 mil, 13 mil, 14 mil, 14 mil – GTDs: 4, 5, 6, 4, 2), then give the man the freakin’ money. But if he wants 18 APY, 5 years, 12 mil next year, 40+ percent GTD that is a no right now. If he’ll produce next year along the line: full season, 6+ sack, 45+ tackles, 25+ solo, 1 FF or INT then I’m down for a mega contract for him.
        But yeah… I’m definitely a fan too 🙂

  42. Sea Mode

    Great run this year by a team on the rise. I’m nothing but proud of what they’ve accomplished and excited for the future. Best of all, as many have mentioned, they are having fun together and fun to watch.

    People just want to vent and find anyone to blame. It happens after every loss, so I guess I’m not surprised. Forget the refs, forget Schotty, forget whoever. Biggest play of the game was Dak on 3rd and 14. He made a huge play out of nothing when it counted most, and won the game for them right there. If they take a FG instead, and Russ marches down and scores like he did, we’re up. So kudos to Dak for that.

    I mean, it’s almost hard to choose my highlight of the season (though I will at the end of the list):

    – Wilson had his best numbers ever (#3 in passer rating and #3 in TD passes despite averaging 141 less attempts than the other 4 QBs in the top 5).
    – Carson is a 1150yd runner (5th in NFL) and 2 other RBs also over 400yds rushing (plus RW with 376).
    – Wagner was his usual all-world self and stepped up as the vocal leader of the defense along with..
    – Frank Clark, who had more sacks than Khalil Mack and…
    – Jarran Reed, the third DT with 10+ sacks in franchise history.
    – We found a starting caliber CB in R5 (did you know his first name is Trequille…? Shaquill and Trequille…)
    – Three picks later, we got an all-pro punter weapon in R5 whose punt yds average ranked #2 in the NFL (only 0.4yds behind #1)

    …and my absolute favorite, Seahawk of the Year for me…

    – TYLER FRIGGIN’ LOCKETT! Holy crap what a season! What a player! (57/71, 965 YD, 10 TD, 0 INT for a perfect passer rating when targeted of 158.3) And those numbers don’t even do justice to the magnitude of some of those catches in the most critical moments.

    Here’s to a great off-season for the Hawks and Hawks’ fans on SDB!

    • GoHawksDani

      Don’t forget how many DPI calls opponents get because of Lockett. I was a skeptic with the size of his contract before the season, but I think this FO simply robbed him 😀 He have a higher ceiling than Baldwin. Imagine Doug injury-free, Lockett doing his thing, and maybe a rookie similar to them?
      Carson doing another 1K+ season, Davis will be a great backup and complementary, and hopefully they’ll set Penny free and scheme things for him. He has some issues, and needs more experience, but he has some unique talent. He has an Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, David Johnson type “aura”.
      Clark and Reed combining 23,5 sacks. If we could get a DT who can get 4 sacks and a DE who can get 7 (maybe Green?), our core DL could get 35 sacks. This season the whole team got around 30. Martin and Ford might step up and the younger guys get more experienced. I think if we draft well a 50 sack season is not out of the question next year. Kudos to Flowers, I didn’t trust him as a starter, but he played really well

    • SheHawk

      YES Tyler Lockette crushed it this year!! 💪

      After game the camera caught him on bench, head down looking soooo sad and my heart broke. 😨. He took that game and team and carried the offense all game. His will and determination was as amazing as his play on field

      I say -.Hold your head high NOE the 12s love you and you guys will be back.

  43. Trevor

    I think there are 8 DT in this draft who could come in and have a major impact on our front 7 day #1 helping take the unit to the next level.

    Q Williams
    Rashan Gary
    Ed Oliver
    Raekwon Davis
    Christian Wilkins
    Dexter Lawrence
    Jeffery Simmons
    Derrick Brown

    Rob do you think any of these guys could be on the board at 22? Personally Wilkins just seems like the perfect fit both on and off the field.

    Also would you prefer one of these 6 guys if they are on the board or a trade back in he early 2nd to get more draft capital and take a guy like Tillery from ND?

    • Rob Staton

      The only one of that group who might last is Simmons and that’s because of the High School incident.

  44. McZ

    Pathetic OL play, leading to a slow start and breaking our run game early. Once again. If anything, this game was another healthy dose of realism. Solari made them play above their level for much of the season, but this came to an end vs SF, Arizona and now Dallas. It was destined to break when it counts thd most.

    Braden Smith (whom I namely would have drafted over Rashaad Penny and gained another late rounder over) would have changed the whole mechanics of this line, and we continue to fail finding those special players, because for years, under Cable, we always drafted flexibility over positional competence.

    This offense has no convincing plan B to win. The team is dependent to dominate at the LoS, and if this is taken away, falls to pieces. Identity is fine, but run-run-pass-out on numerous drives is just stupid. It could be, that we are looking at the hard limits of Schotty as a OC, or PCs offensive philosophy as a whole.

    The defense kept this team in the game. No improvement to run defense will stop Elliott making big plays. Still, we need to get another piece for our front seven, or better two. I’m pretty much in the Simmons boat, as I think he will add run stopping ability. Zuniga or Zach Allen would also add special parts PC can work with. We can do nothing wrong here.

    Special teams showed improvement, but are still not there. I’m not convinced, we are looking at a coaching prpböem here, but it will still be hard to j6stify Brian Schneider. We need another kicker. To write this after dropping a much younger low cost Pro Bowl kicker 5 months ago feels just insane. This draft has plenty to offer in this regard, too.

    This game was winnable, because honestly Dallas is a crap team on a roll. This hurts. But, the Hawks team gave us more this season we could ever hope for. And our problems are fixable, so off to 2019. Go Hawks!

    • Rob Staton

      I liked Braden Smith too. But I’m sorry, the O-line played very well this season. Smith playing at right tackle or right guard wasn’t the difference between 10-6 and a wildcard playoff loss and anything more than that.

      • McZ

        They had good games, and they had bad ones. Yesterday was the day it really mattered, and they weren’t up to task. Yesterday was the day BSmith shut down Watt and made distinctive run blocks we weren’t capable to make. Stepping up when it matters is a quality.

        But this discussion will only make us mad.

        Btw, just saw that Rodney Gunter becomes available in FA.

        • Rob Staton

          Braden Smith is a good player.

          He is not the difference between Seattle’s season being superior than it otherwise was.

    • brett

      Makes me wonder how healthy Sweezy (especially) and Fluker really were. Sweezy didn’t seem to get any push and while you have to give Dallas some credit that ankle had to be limiting him because he looked much different all year vs what he showed last night.

  45. Nathan M

    On the subject of adding speed on defence, are their any DBs, maybe later round guys, that you or other commenters think could do that for us in the draft or anyone you’d look to target in free agency? Excited about what we could do on the front 7 but interested to see if anything happens with the DB position group! Loved the coverage all season as always, one of my favourite places to come to for Seahawks analysis, thank you!

    • Rob Staton

      Thanks Nathan. I’m struggling to find DB’s in this draft class to get excited about. The combine should help shed some light. But at the moment, it’s not looking good.

  46. Trevor

    Chris Ballard completely turned around the Colts both short and long term with one draft.

    Nelson was a no brainer at #6 and will be a perennial All Pro.

    But the he added Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, Kenko Turay, N Hynes and Tykwan Lewis all who look like legit building blocks with Leonard being a star.

    He must be on the blog as all those guys were blog favorites 🙂

    With only 4 picks going into this draft JS needs to nail every pick this year.

    • H

      Ballard absolutely should be GM of the year. Nailed the draft and turned around what was an embarrassing situation with McDaniels into a genius hiring of a guy that somehow went under the radar despite orchestrating a Superbowl winning offence with Nick Foles. I’ll be rooting for the Colts from here on out, they’ve been one of my favourite teams.

    • Tecmo Bowl

      Ballard got a haul for trading down 3 spots. Nailed the draft. Colts also have NYJ pick #34 in the upcoming draft.

  47. Trevor

    My free agency wish list

    1) Sign Frank Clark long term and extend Jarran Reed! No franchise tag for Clark get the deals done. These guys are beasts and bring the edge to that defense.

    2) Sign Sweezy, Fluker and Fant. Keep the OL together and give them a full season together under Solarinandnthey could even be better next year particularly in pass pro. Then hope Jones and Simmons come back from injury healthy to give them lots of depth.

    3) Sign KJ , Kendricks and Coleman on defense they are key components IMO as we continue to add youth through the draft to compete.

    4) Target one veteran pass rusher Ziggy Anzah on a reasonable deal because of injury history is my dream signing but if not a veteran situational rusher on a one year deal to hedge against the development of Martin and Green.

    5) Sign veteran run stuffer in wave two or three of free agency like JS always seems to do.

    6) Start work on extensions for the offensive and defensive leaders Wilson and Wagner.

    • Rob Staton

      I think this is a very realistic and sensible list aside from Ansah. I just don’t think he fits. A player who seems to be constantly banged up, has always flattered to deceive. Couple of good years out of six in his career.

      • Trevor

        Agree about Anzah in general and think a vet situational rusher will be the route they take. I guess I always think about he game last year where he basically destroyed the Hawks OL and I always envisioned him as Cliff Avril 2.0. Like I mentioned he is the dream pick but I agree not realistic given cap situation and injury issues.

        • Rob Staton

          I’ve also felt like he drifts in and out of games/seasons. I’d much rather explore what it’d take to get a year of Terrell Suggs. Relentless.

          • Trevor

            Suggs would be awesome as he brings an attitude as well but it would almost be sad to see him leave the Ravens he should play there till there till he retires IMO. He is their Kam Chancellor.

  48. H

    Its been funny scrolling through the comments this morning and seeing the gradual coming down off a ledge in reaction tone. I went to bed immediately after the game (because it was 5am) and feel a lot less angry and upset now. I think the evolution comments here reflect my own mindset quite nicely. Reminds me that taking a beat before offering your thoughts is normally a good policy.

    As for my thoughts on the game, Seattle wasn’t up to snuff today in a lot of areas. Shaq Griffen was abused all day and the run d was inconsistent (against one of the best back in the league however) but the D mostly did their part. Big credit to Dak Prescott, he takes a lot of heat for his mediocre play but he was heroic tonight.
    The offence had their gameplan and identity ripped from under them, it’s hard to win in those circumstances, especially on the road in the playoffs. Schotty’s had some great games this year and some poor games this year (and yeah this was one of his poorer games imo, but against a very good defence mind) but lets not forget he also took our run game from worst to first all while helping Russ have his best statistical year of his career. All in his first year as OC, I have high hopes for his future now that he has a year of familiarity with the team. So no he should not be fired.
    One adjustment I would have loved to see them make would have been more Penny, the Cowboys had clearly identified Carson as a major threat and were particularly keyed in on the run whenever he was on the field. With Penny however there seemed to be some more space available, plus with his extra gear of speed and elusiveness he had the ability to capitalise on their over aggressiveness (as we saw on his big run) I would have liked to see Seattle make use of their first round pick some more. Tough to take one of your best players out the game in the playoffs but when you’ve got multiple backs with different skill sets you have that luxury.

    With all that said Seattle was in a position to win this game following the KJ pick, even whilst being the inferior team throughout. But everything from that point went Dallas’ way. 4 crucial penalties (2 from Offence 2 from Defence, one of them being harsh imo but by no means a terrible call) and that Dak scramble on third down, which was the main thing running through my head as I went to bed. How many times have we seen games like this fall Seattle’s way in the 4th quarter? Yoday was not one of those days. Such is life.

    This season has been a fun as hell ride, we were playing with house money from this point on. Sad to see it end, happy that it happened.

    As for the offseason here’s what Id like to see: Clark, KJ, Fluker and Sweezy resigned as priorities, Coleman as well but only if he’s affordable. Reed, Bobby and Russ should all extended as i dont want any of that certainty carrying into next year, and god forbid another holdout. And yeah i do believe Russel should be paid whatever it take, regardless of the number of pass attempts he gets.
    I actually think the D line has a really nice group now, 2 guys with 10+ sacks and a bunch of promising young players) however i think that still has to be the direction this team takes with their first pick. This draft is practically begging you to draft a D lineman and one more guy could be what we need to have this group become really special. If I could wish for one it would be Zach Allen of Boston College, the perfect 5 technique for this team. Huge frame and ability to play the run and the pass, a three down player in the NFL from day one. I think he’ll be one of the steals of the draft if he somehow lasts into the 20s as i keep seeing in mocks.
    One area in FA i’d like to have a look at is at Safety to take advantage of this bone dry safety market and see if we can find ourselves another McDougald on the cheap. Delano and Tedric can stay in the running but another year of competition at that spot is what I’d like to see. Corner, Receiver and linebacker depth should also be acquired wherever the best fit can be had.

    Oh and guys, I fricken’ love this place. I don’t actually know any Seahawks fans in real life (the only NFL fans i know are Patriots and Dolphins fans so not even in the NFC). This is my link to the fan base. This is where i get to vocalise my own thoughts and see what others are doing. The hot takes are kept to a minimum and the discussion is respectful and intelligent. You all made this fun season what it was for me. So to Rob and everyone else, thank you.

    • Trevor

      Great post! Agree about Penney. Carson seemed a little off and the Cowboys had game planned for him. Would liked to have seen more of Penney and his different style running.

    • Michael (CLT)

      Great read. Thanks.

    • Sea Mode

      Was going to say the exact same thing about Penny. And it’s funny because PC usually says he likes having multiple backs so he can ride the hot hand, but it didn’t happen last night.

      As you say, can’t really blame him though after the season Carson put up.

  49. Rob Staton

    Seen a lot of people point to the Carolina and Kansas City games as an example for ‘why didn’t they do that here?’.

    Quick points…

    vs the Chiefs — they ran 14 more times than they passed and ran for 210 rushing yards.

    vs the Panthers — started the second half with three running plays. Then had a 54-yard deep shot on 3rd and 12. Followed up by two more runs then the throw to Lockett for a TD. So the ‘adjustment’ people point to in Carolina was nothing of the sort. They came out running and just managed to hit their third downs. They only ‘turned Wilson loose’ when they trailed by seven points with less than seven minutes to go — a scenario that never occurred in Dallas because they were always 3-4 points behind only.

    • GerryG

      There is middle ground to the argument too. In the second half, removing 2 or 3 early down runs for a safe shorter quick pass quite possibly nets an extra first down or two, and barely changes the run/pass ratio.

      At no point did I during the game or after the game want them to abandon the run.

      I also am not of the opinion it is all Schotty’s fault, or on the fire Schotty train.

      • Rob Staton

        I think the point I’m merely making here is — some people (mostly on Twitter) are arguing ‘why didn’t the Seahawks do what they did in Carolina?’.

        And really, what they did in Carolina was actually very similar to what they did in Dallas. They still stubbornly tried to run. They still tried to hit their explosive mostly in 3rd and mildly long. They just executed better and had some luck.

        But this has been a year where the Seahawks have tried to take games down to the last possession because they believe Wilson will win the day. And against Dallas — despite everything — that plan probably works if they just get a darn stop on the final Cowboys scoring drive.

        It’s also worth remembering New Orleans scored 10 points against this Dallas team in a three-point loss.

        • GerryG

          Yeah they needed that last stop, and couldn’t make it.

          It’s tough to count on your D to make that stop at the end when you lost time of possession unfortunately. I’m a huge TOP guy, mostly for a fresh D that can win the game for you at the end. Too many 3 and outs today, regardless of the cause, they make a few more first downs and even up TOP I feel much better about the D making the stop they needed at end.

          • Rob Staton

            Maybe so. I think the 3rd and 14 run from Dak was still massively avoidable. Would’ve given Russell 2 mins to win the game. And was a simple stop.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Good points.

      I honestly hope Pete reconsiders his splits.

      5050 run pass splits do not a balanced offense make. We ran more than anybody in the league. Almost arbitrarily at times it seemed. That isnt balance imo.

  50. GerryG

    A question for anyone. This is following up on something I posted above, but might get more responses as a fresh post.

    I said much of the pass rush improvement needs to come from within due to our lack of draft capital and picking in the 20s. This is not to say we shouldn’t draft DL since it is the strength of the draft.

    The question is: what players on D do you see as having the biggest chance of major improvements? For instance can Jacob Martin become a via LEO or is he just an Obrien Schoefield? We played a ton of first or second year players this season: Ford, Green, Martin, Flowers, Thompson, Hill, Quill Griffin (missing anyone?)

  51. Trevor

    My initial Hawks dream mock for the 2019 draft.

    Rd #1 Dexter Lawrence (DT /Clemson)- Hawks instantly fix run defense with Boddy Wagner’s new favourite player to keep him clean. Lawerence falls because of drug test and fact some
    View him as a 2 down player. Hawks get an absolute steal here with an elite top 10 talent IMO.

    Rd#3 Andy Isabella (WR / UMass) Hawks take one of my favourite WR prospect since Tyler Locket and they add another weapon in the passing game with home run hitting potential to compilment
    Their ground and pound attack.

    Rd#4 Jamal Peters (CB / Miss St) Pete drafts another of his prototype CB. Peters is long and athletic also great against the run and will provide elite CB depth for Hawks with Akeem King.

    Rd #5 Darnell Savage (FS/Maryland) Hawks get some depth at FS and competition for TT. Savage combine will be important but has good ball skills and is ultra aggressive. Looked good against Ohio St and Michigan in the games I watched.

    • Sea Mode

      Dang it, we gonna have the exact same mock just about… lol 👍

      (I think you should re-post this in the new thread, btw)

  52. millhouse-serbia

    When ever i see c-dog, sea mode or.Trevor, wrote something, I just can say ” that is all.what I think and agree 100%”. Thank. you guys for making this blog great.

    And.thank.You Rob for this awesome place.

  53. millhouse-serbia

    And for you guys who think that PC is washed, that he doesnt know how to use RW ect…just enjoy…enjoy in one of 2,3 best HC, one of the best GM and one.of the best QB’s. You have the privilege to watc.them live, to watch them at some normal time for living, and in last 9 years you watched them 7 times in PO…

    Until today I was at vacation with my wife and 2 year old kid… I didnt sleep at all.last night and this morning I drove 4 hours to.get.back.home…because I.know that every time whem PC’s team is on the field they will give 100% and more…

    Go Hawks!

    • Kenny Sloth

      💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

      GOOOO HAAAAAAAWKS

    • Trevor

      Agree completely! Hope you had a nice trip with your family.

  54. millhouse-serbia

    @petecarroll

    Better days are ahead of us…

    Thank you #12s for your love and all you did to make this season so special. #GoHawks

  55. Trevor

    The Hawks clearly found a lead RB in Carson this year and like Davis as their 3rd down guy. So Penney despite show some awesome flashess seems like he odd man out barring injury.

    There were teams calling JS to trade for him last year. I really like Penney but does it make any sense to trade him if you can recoup that 2nd round pick? Or is he too valuable a depth / rotational guy given Carson’s durability issues. That would leave us with Carson, Davis, Mckissic and a udfa rookie likely at RB.

    I tend to think keeping Penney is the best plan but was curious what people thought if the intention is for Carson to be the lead RB going forward.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t see Penny as an odd-man out. I see a player with plenty of talent who could develop into a fantastic part of a fierce running game.

      • Trevor

        As I said above I like Penny a lot I just wondering barring injury how there will be enough carries for everyone. Perhaps they do not plan to resign Davis who I also really like.

        • Rob Staton

          They run more than any other team in the league. There will be plenty of carries. Even if they keep Davis.

          Not something worth worrying about.

      • Austin Slater

        Penny has a bright future. I wanted to see more of him last night against a fast linebacking group.

    • brett

      I see Penny as a clear 1a to 1b with Carson next year. He’s the only back we have with clear home run ability and will just continue improve. Hes only going to get better. I see this as kind of his freshman, get your feet wet, kind of year and next year he breaks out. It’s an easy (maybe lazy) comp to make but he looks a lot like Alexander to me. From his first to 2nd year Shaun went from 313 and 2tds to 1318 and 14tds. Not sure Penny will make that big of jump as Carson will still be a threat (where year 2 Shaun was the lead back) but he has the potential to do it.

  56. Kenny Sloth

    “Fire Brian Schneider”

    Maaan some these Seahawk fans are ruthless! They just love coaching turnover or something. Must feel like progress.

    “I can tell that that’s just bad coaching. A group of special teamers flying around not knowing what they’re doing”

    Oh can you tell that. These pros don’t know what theyre doing? That coach cant coach?

    “Our ST DVOA…..”

    Yeah. He didnt play. He coached them up and got them prepared. If yoy want better ST coverage. Draft some speed amd ferocity. If you want a healthy young cheap kicker get two udfa and let them duke it out.

    What you don’t do is fire your coach on the back of a 24th ranked ST DVOA back in 2014

    • Rob Staton

      The thing about the ST DVOA is — it was actually top-15 until the Niners game and the Cards game. Two unusually bad ST days cost them a strong season.

      • Kenny Sloth

        *gasp* our 41 y/o kicker is having trouble staying healthy and being physical.

        How could this be?!?

        Im sure Janikowski hasnt helped that number as much as he could have done.

        I hate to talk about adding a Kicker but its a genuine concern for me now. You can’t be getting hurt like that kicking the ball and have zero interest in tackling and be a seahawk, Rob.

        • Rob Staton

          I suspect Janikowski was a one-year solution. They’ll be on the look out again this off-season.

      • SheHawk

        My biggest question of the Special team coach was the choice to cut the young pro bowl kicker. On coverage we have a Ferrari at punter seems like they need to adjust to his abilities ( good problem to have). BUT still is on the coach to have made those adjustments in season and get better not worse over time

        • Rob Staton

          This is just hindsight though. When they cut Jason Myers they weren’t cutting ‘a pro bowl kicker’. They cut a guy nobody knew anything about.

          Good for him that he made a pro bowl with the Jets. He still missed three field goals and three extra points. Six missed kicks. SeaBass had eight missed kicks. A two kick difference between the two.

        • FresnoHawk

          He’s a free agent! Myers can still be a Hawk if he’s smart he’ll choose Hawks over Jets. In fact all the Free Agent kickers should choose the Hawks

  57. Blackjack

    Can’t help but think both guards were playing hurt yesterday.

    • Rob Staton

      It was definitely a factor.

  58. Bankhawk

    Random thoughts after a sweet season and a bitter pill…
    -re-sign both Clark and J. Reed
    -Am hopeful for Dissilys return/ hope Jamarco Jones and Simmons get back and prove to be viable depth (Pocic will have to out-compete Hunt for a spot?)
    -score a trade down to net a later 1st and the best day 2 pick on offer/use to get a high value D-line player and a D-line or OLB
    -score high value bargains in second tier F/A and a real haul in UDFAs-bolster team speed on sp. Teams so our all world punter isn’t out-kicking the coverage

    As always, thanks to Rob for being there at every turn through a truly entertaining season. Cool heads lads, and face to the future!

  59. neil

    Run run pass, run run pass run run pass to predictable for the rush game. There is no creativity in the passing game. The Hawks passing game relies to much on receivers just using speed or juke moves to get open. Where is the deception? What ever happened to the Tight End blocks, falls down purposely, then gets up and runs into end zone wide open? Used it with John Carlson and Zak Miller. The Colts have a good play. The Slot Receiver lines up on the right side, the ball is faked to the running back who crashes into the right side of line, at the snap the Slot Receiver instantly moves to chip block the defensive end, seeing this, is defender instantly moves with him and diagnosis a running play, Slot Receiver than pivots and runs into vacated area. Creativity! That is what it takes to have a good passing game in the NFL today. It is what is lacking with the Hawks. You have to feel sorry for Lockett, he played his heart out. The offensive player of the game for the Hawks.

    • Rob Staton

      No creativity in the passing game?

      You missed the amazing deep shots to Lockett all year then? And the record breaking season by Russell Wilson?

      • neil

        Yes relying on speed only. Thy need to get more people open and involved.

  60. Mac

    Like many people have listed, I would love a physically imposing wr to complement Lockett’s speed and Baldwin’s route running. The problem is I don’t see one in this draft. We have always valued superior route running on offense to size.

    We need pass rush and speed at linebacker to compete. Look at what the bears did to the rams. The rams love hb tosses and pitches, when the DL didn’t get home, the lb core destroyed them. If we can get speed and pass rush we can control how our opponents must attack us. I wouldn’t mind getting a DT to stuff the run but we have to solve the pass rush. We must make stops on 3rd down and sacks on 2nd.

  61. Frank

    Read through most of the comments, and a little disappointed that’s it’s not as nuanced of approach to understanding the game as is the usual here. I agree it would have been nice to have mixed up the play calls in the first three series a tiny bit more, although that didn’t cost us the game, and set up some wide open shots deep in the fourth series and beyond. Russ statistical success was a direct result of them loading up to stop the run at all cost. My question are more directed towards what do we need to do person wise to take this next step. The Cowboys are one of several teams trying to copy cat the Seahawks right now and have had a few years building there rooster to resemble the PC-JS Seahawks blue print. They just seem more talented. How did they remove Wagner from having an impact in the game so well, how does a line that can stand up too Suh and Donald get dominated bye the Cowboys, is Flowers the true number 1 corner, would having our other Te healthy have been enough to run the ball effectively or do we need to consider our Oline a major priority again this off season? We where missing our 4-5 of our top safety’s this year, both our knock you on your ass Te, guards where barely healthy enough to play, Simmons our best back up guard out for the season, Pioic seems to be a square peg in a round hole. How do you go about drafting to fill needs? Personally, I’d resign Reed and Clark long term, franchise Thomas, swap CB sides, get someone that can lead block as a fullback, and add more talent and depth early in the draft on the trenches. Find a kicker, sorry Seabass you’ve been a stud for along time but that time has passed, maybe some kid from a third world country playing volleyball with his feet, I trust JC can dig something up :).

    • Rob Staton

      I think the ship has sailed with Earl.

      I do wonder if the broken leg (broken for a second time) is something Seattle has a big concern about. They have his medical details. He let it heal naturally, possibly not the teams’ preference. It broke again. Maybe they anticipated that? Maybe that played into their thinking not to extend him? Because they knew he would be a big future injury risk? And if that’s the case — they can’t afford to guarantee a huge franchise tag to a player they might feel won’t be consistently available.

  62. Tecmo Bowl

    All these knee jerk reactions-fire Schotty, fire ST coach- are why fans around the country despise Seahawks fans.

    Going into the season the ceiling appeared to be 10 wins, with the playoffs being a 50/50 proposition at best. I wasnt convinced we were a playoff team until the Carolina win. This season exceeded my expectations.

    Feel like 2018 was the best work we’ve seen from PC. Remember where we were at this time last year. Things were bleak-a looming roster tear down, limited cap space and draft capital, whats up with Earl. In just one years time the plan going forward looks pretty clear and promising.

    The move from Cable to Solari laid the way to a revelation up front. Wilson had the fewest rushing yards in his career and the Hawks led the league in rushing. Solari’s role in making that happen cannot be understated.

    • Rob Staton

      Seahawks fans are increasingly knee-jerk and entitled. Unfortunately.

      • GerryG

        I’m guessing other fans are too. No evidence to support it.

        I blame and hate social media, it’s led to worse sports fans (and other areas of society I won’t get into here). I do appreciate Twitter for quick updates on things, and like the gifs and film analysis links, but the comments and discussions are putrid.

        I had to unfollow some good analysis (Ben Baldwin) dude his insufferable anti run drum beating

        • Rob Staton

          Yeah I blocked Baldwin to avoid having the anti-run stuff crop up on my timeline. Unfollowed Field Gulls. Just tried to get away from it. It’s harder than you’d think.

        • Volume12

          Nothing’s worse than dude trying to prove his point with flow charts and pie graphs and sh” “. Geek.

    • Volume12

      Pete deserves all the credit. He took back his team. We always look back on who who Seattle should’ve drafted, but something I haven’t seen brought up is, what happens if Seattle doesn’t go 0-2 to start this season? Was that a blessing in disguise?

      Did not like the play calling last night, don’t like the lack of diversity because eventually your gonna run into a team that’s bigger and badder, but I’m frustrated to see this team cost themselves late late in games with more undisciplined football after they almost did the exact same last week at home against Arizona.

  63. Volume12

    Did the Chargers just get inside the 10 yard line and run 3 plays w/o the ball in Rivers hands?

  64. Volume12

    If Flacco comes in I’m turning this s**t off.

  65. nomadicSeahawker

    I have been reading this blog daily (at least I check it daily) for the past 5 years. I love sports in general (Go UCLA and Go Mariners) but really only have enough time and energy to obsess over one team. That team has and always will be the Seahawks. However before finding this website I ran into a wall. I loved the team, loved the season but the national and local media surrounding them was/are abhorrent. One of my favorite quotes is “You can ignore reality but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” This has held true in every facet of life (work, relationships, draft pick red flags) except it seems in sports media and politics. How many times last season did we have to put up with pundits saying that we’d draft a CB in round 1 (even though Pete Carroll has never done that) or completely ignoring that Carroll had explicitly stated his desire to fix the run game (As an aside, not enough can be said for his ability to recognize a need and in single off-season turn it into a league leading strength!)? And then there is this community. Rob’s insight and accuracy are undoubtedly impressive and are a primary reason my family thinks I know a lot about football. His ability to see past the emotions of a tough loss and state the objective reality of the moment have brought me back from the brink more times than I can count (an exaggeration to be sure but isn’t that what sports are for? Caring so passionately about something you cannot control, that ultimately does not have any real-world significance?). However, above everything else, what I enjoy most is that I can trust that Rob grows his knowledge each year and learns from his limited mistakes. I cannot overstate how rare that is and how refreshing it is to find it. I have on occasion, when I can longer stand waiting for a new article to drop, looked at Seahawks twitter. As you are all aware, it is a horror show of passionate ignorance and pseudo-intellectual condescension. The ability of some to actively avoid learning, growing, or understanding would be impressive, if it weren’t so sad. Stay away at all costs.

    This has been an overly long-winded way of saying thank you Rob. You hear it all the time (as you should) but I felt compelled to say it now because I noticed two things this year. First, this Seahawks season has been one of the most fun I have experienced in recent memory. The team had a strong personality but a personality that felt fun, unlike last year. A young team sprinkled with savvy vets. A bright future. Second, and most importantly, with as fun as it was, I noticed understandable frustration creep in on the part of Rob and other regular posters. A frustration I believe derived from the reactionary twitter mob that calls Penny a bust because he wasn’t Bo Jackson in his first game or wants to fire Schotty when he follows through with the plan established by Carroll that incidentally got us to the playoffs. Those voices can be loud and repetitive. They do not try to understand. They just vomit nonsense. And disappear. Insult. And disappear. It has to be exhausting. It is why this is my first time posting online since I went through a regrettable phase in college ten years ago. A phase where I thought a political debates on facebook could be productive. Just know that they are in the minority (I hope). So once again, thank you for a great year, and I cannot wait for your commentary leading up to the draft.

    Finally, what are your thoughts on the ceiling of Poona Ford? He was one of my favorite plays coming out of Texas and have been impressed with him of late. Also, does Dion Jordon have a future with the team?

    • Rob Staton

      Firstly, thank you for taking the time to write that. It really means a lot. I started this blog 10 years ago as a means to practise for a future journalism career. It’s ended up becoming a huge part of my life. And I’ve loved every second. Talking Seahawks and draft with like minded folk, running through the journey of this fantastic Pete Carroll era. Trying to figure things out, trying to learn more about the game and the draft process. It has been incredible fun. But more than anything I’m so proud of the fact we have a community of people who come here and make this place a vibrant spot for sensible discussion. Twitter is a place for people to rant and rave, write 220 characters and not take any time to think or craft the points of view they want to make. It’s reactionary, it’s emotional. It’s bad. I can’t tell you the number of times I write something down, re-read it, delete it, start again, re-read it, delete it, start again (and so on) when putting together a blog post. You can’t do that on Twitter. You press send and it’s out there.

      Here, we generally move beyond that. And I love that about this place. There has been more frustration this year. That was a good observation. It feels like some Seahawks fans have decided to stop enjoying the journey and adopt a position of ‘I know better than Pete Carroll’. The philosophy is wrong, the approach is wrong. A lot of people have lost the essence of what it means to follow a team. To simply enjoy the ride. Now everyone on Twitter sees themselves as an analyst of sorts, or a commentator. None of us are experts. But we act like it.

      I hate to say it but increasingly it feels like Seahawks fans have become a spoilt, entitled bunch. At least that’s how I see ‘Seahawks Twitter’ (cringe).

      I’ve never wanted Carroll to win another Super Bowl more. To prove the naysayers wrong.

      I think Poona Ford had an excellent rookie year. A good start. Dion Jordan may have a future depending on cost. If it’s possible, you might as well bring him back into camp.

      • Simon McInnes

        In full agreement with the end of Rob’s post. All through this season even established sites like Fieldgulls have been guilty of getting hysterical on the back of every loss and blaming the people and aspects of the team that they praise when the team wins

  66. Recon UK

    Long time lurker, second time poster.

    I watched the game and I was of course disappointed. It was a winnable match up, we certainly had a better chance Vs Dallas than Chicago. Seeing Sweezy in there gave me some hope. But my biggest take away was an obvious one, this is a team which is still a major work in progress. Griffin had a rough game , we never seemed to get any push in the running game and the Dak run in for a touchdown on 3rd and long in the red zone was the backbreaker. Forcing a field goal still would have given us hope. But the defence was tired by that point.

    When we lost the kicker (I don’t want to make a hash of spelling his name here) I thought Seattle improved honestly. The 2 point conversations, going for it on 4th down, while it was a disappointing injury. I thought the team reacted and executed well in those moments. Perhaps without the safety net of a field goal we had to be a little more aggressive.

    I was very frustrated watching the game and anyone coming on here or any other platform probably felt the same. A good nights sleep does wonders for your perspective, I think that does much to explain the reaction. It’s been a week of dreams and this is a sobering reality. This is a great community, everyone is pleasant here and I appreciate seeing diverse and well argued opinions. I always come to read Rob’s write ups first after a game, because he has a unique and always calm perspective on the game. So whatever differences of opinion I hope we can put them behind us in the cold light of day, after any playoff loss clearly there will always be high emotions.

    This is a young team, we have new heroes to cheer for and hopefully much more to come. A few years ago, the feeling was it was all coming to an end. Now we are young and growing. This is maybe a year or two too soon, but hopefully yesterday’s performance will be a big learning moment for this team. In dealing with the crowd, the pressure and the adversity of the playoffs.

    Seattle have really hit in the last few drafts, so I hope when the picks are announced whoever they may be we keep the faith. The front office clearly has a plan in mind and just as importantly the will to see that plan through. It’s an exciting time to be a Seahawks fan. A new core is emerging, the glories and failures of the last generation are finally settling into the background. It’s a bitter end to a great season. I wouldn’t want any coordinator fired but I do hope lessons are learned. Pete Carroll has done an excellent job and this game doesn’t wipe all that away.

    Lots to be thankful for, lots to improve on. But I have great confidence this team and organisation, no matter the ups and downs, will keep growing next season. The future is bright!

    • Rob Staton

      Thank you for lurking, for reading — and for posting on this occasion!

  67. Ely

    Totally disagree with you on this one rob. I think Schottenheimer is absolutely at fault here. It’s not about the mentality either, I applaud him for bringing back the run first mentality. It’s the predictability I have a huge problem with. Running on first and second down every damn time and passing on 3rd until the fourth Quarter. It was painfully predictable. And it really has been all season. I don’t remember seeing them open a drive with a pass. It’s the opposite of Bevel. Always rolling out a play action pass first drive of the game to get wilson sacked for -10 yards. Be heavy on the run all he wants but mix it up a little!

    • hawkdawg

      On this, I agree with Rob. Whatever “it” is, it’s on Pete. Schottenheimer does what Pete tells him to do. Period.

      I happen to think, apparently unlike Rob, that Pete should have told his OC to run more play action, earlier. Play action protection was actually pretty good, as long as there was no blitz–the best thing the OL did on a day they otherwise got their asses handed to them on a platter. That could well have translated to more first downs, even forgetting about points, and better TOP.

      We could have won that game, despite the pretty obvious reality that Dallas was the better team yesterday. Whether that is a source of consolation or frustration to anyone is a matter of personal choice, I guess. In most people, the frustration comes first.

      • Robertlasvegas

        Thank you Rob for your latest article . I really hope the Seahawks can bring back Kendricks because he is really good football player I remember his Last game I believe it was against Philly to play with that injury and take interviews after the game without flinch pretty manly.i think we all agree that we could use some more depth at defense secondary..one of my favorite Pete Carroll quite was on moving the chains it was maybe 6 years ago and he told Pat Kirwin that he could find big guys and fast guys but it’s really hard to find big fast guys he was referring to defense lineman hopefully in this draft we can find some big fast guys to rush the passer

  68. ivotuk

    This is the Dallas defense that held New Orleans to 10 Points. Truth is, we did throw the ball early, with horrible results. Lost yardage and penalties.

    Part of the reason we struggled was Sweezy playing with a broken bone in his foot, and Fluker fighting a hamstring injury. That, and going up against a great defensive line.

    It’s easy to look at it in hindsight, but truth is, when Dallas scores 20 or more points, they are 10 – 0.

    The defense suffered a lot of attrition this year and just couldn’t keep up.

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