A quick reminder…
In week 15 the Denver Broncos lost by seven points at home to a division rival (San Diego).
They didn’t look very good.
It was a major upset.
At the time it looked like costing them the #1 seed in the AFC.
They won their next game 37-13 and are now in complete control of the #1 seed again.
I just thought I’d mention this.
Admittedly, the Broncos did only beat the Houston Texans — who are currently on a 13-game losing streak. But I think the point still stands.
Just listen to the song above and let’s talk football.
Another reason not to worry too much
Pete Carroll says he arrived at facility at 4:45 a.m. this morning and Russell Wilson was already here. #Seahawks
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) December 23, 2013
Running game woes
I’m surprised this hasn’t been discussed more within the media, because for me it’s right at the heart of Seattle’s offensive slump.
The running game isn’t working. Not like it’s supposed to, anyway.
It it the scheme? Is it blocking? Or could it, unfortunately, be about Marshawn Lynch?
He’s averaging 3.28 YPA in the last five games. He only has three 100-yard rushing games this year. His YPA for the season is 4.2 — down from 5.0 in 2012.
Worst of all he just doesn’t look himself.
The scheme and run blocking take some of the blame (and there were plays yesterday where he really had no chance). But is it too soon to wonder if the hard pounding Lynch has taken for the last eight years is finally catching up with him?
Lynch is such a popular figure this might be a ‘hands over the ears’ type of conversation. Nobody wants to hear that he might be on the wrong side of his career peak.
I sincerely hope this isn’t the case. But I think it’s something we should debate, whether you agree or not.
As I mentioned yesterday, he just doesn’t seem quite the same player recently. The first down after Malcolm Smith’s interception was a great example. There was a big enough hole to attack — the blocking was very good on that occasion. And Lynch hesitated, danced a little, and the chance was gone.
He ended up inches short.
A bit of good old north-south running there and I think he gets in. Touchdown.
He’s currently ranked 6th for rushing yards in the NFL — which is still very good. He’s also had a lot more rushing attempts than some of his peers.
DeMarco Murray has 87 fewer yards than Lynch, but he’s rushed 78 less times. Frank Gore trails by 143 yards in the table, but again has 36 fewer attempts.
The NFL’s leading rusher — LeSean McCoy — is one of only two players to attempt more runs (Adrian Peterson is the other). He has 316 more yards than Lynch from just nine extra attempts.
That’s not to say Beast Mode’s numbers are poor. Ryan Mathews is having what most people would consider a productive year. He’s only 59 yards behind Lynch from 17 fewer runs.
But is Lynch’s current run of games the sign of something more than a sticky patch?
It wouldn’t be a total shock — considering his career workload, physical running style and the fact he turns 28 next April.
There could be long lasting implications for the Seahawks if there is something in this. They have to be able to run in the playoffs in the short term. They also need to be able to run the ball beyond this season too.
Lynch provided this team with a true superstar — an identity long before Russell Wilson arrived on the scene. Running the ball to the point of domination is what Seattle’s been about for the last three years. Lose it, and you lose the foundation this offense has been built on.
They seemingly have been preparing for the possibility of Lynch taking a step back. Isn’t that why they drafted Robert Turbin in 2012 and Christine Michael this year? It appears the intention was to bring in some guys to take the pressure off Lynch and try and keep him fresh.
Unfortunately Turbin hasn’t warranted a bigger work load because he’s been so distinctly average. In two seasons he’s on 4.0 YPA and hasn’t scored any touchdowns. His carries are down by ten in 2013 with one game to go, and he has eleven fewer catches.
Michael on the other hand just can’t get on the field. Carroll has been suitably vague on this, merely stating he’s a young guy learning his trade. I suspect there’s more to it. It’s easy to speculate about a possible lack of maturity or work ethic, given his history at Texas A&M.
I’m guessing they wanted Michael to come in and really push Turbin for snaps and it hasn’t happened. Until the light switches on, if it ever does, he probably won’t see the field. Again, this is me just speculating. But why else is an uber-talented, extreme athlete and playmaker not even getting consideration for kick returns — let alone snaps on offense? Especially considering every time he has been given a chance, he’s flashed. Be it pre-season or regular season.
The Seahawks want to run the ball. They want to run it even when you know it’s coming. And they want Russell Wilson to play action the hell out of that football as a consequence.
If they can’t get the run game going with Lynch, this offense is going to keep struggling. I think it’s as simple as that. For the last five weeks the pure running game hasn’t been great (not including Russell Wilson’s scrambles) and they’re 3-2. In the three wins, Wilson made it happen. Lynch had 54, 45 and 47 rushing yards respectively.
So as much as third downs and execution in the passing game was an issue yesterday — if Seattle is going to challenge for the Super Bowl this year, they need to find a way to run the ball a heck of a lot better than they have been recently.
And long term — if Michael can’t get on the field — they need to find the next Lynch. It’s at this stage I’m at liberty to remind you they passed on Eddie Lacy to trade down in the 2013 draft…
For what it’s worth, I think they’ll get the run going again when it matters. But it’ll be interesting to see how Lynch fares in 2014, presuming he remains the lead back.
What to make of Seattle’s receivers
Few teams in the league can afford to lose their top two wide outs. Percy Harvin has pretty much missed the whole season. Sidney Rice is almost the forgotten man.
That the passing game hasn’t ground to a complete halt is testament to the depth Seattle has and the guys who’ve stepped up to the plate.
Even so, there are some big decisions coming up.
Golden Tate is a free agent in the off-season. Ideally you’d keep him. But the market for receivers in free agency is unbelievable (see: Mike Wallace).
If you lose Tate, he needs to be replaced. I’m going to assume Rice gets cut due to his hefty salary and recent ACL injury. You can’t lose both of those guys and just carry on. You’d need to find a quick contributor there, probably within the first couple of rounds of the draft.
Doug Baldwin is also a restricted free agent and should be relatively safe for next season — but he too could easily be gone by 2015.
It might be time to start planning ahead.
I like Seattle’s group. Baldwin, Tate, Kearse — they’re all competitive, hungry players. But they’re all pretty similar too.
You really need one or two guys who are just a pain in the ass to cover. That means height and speed. The ability to go up and make a play, or consistently get separation.
Harvin can be a true X-Factor, but until he’s put a run of games together he’s going to remain nothing more than a cock-tease.
Yesterday we saw plenty of deep shots, and guys just not making enough plays. Passes were dropped, spilled or just went through the hands.
It was crying out for one receiver to go up and make a big play or two. A bit like Michael Floyd did at the end…
Like I said, it might be time to plan ahead. Receivers traditionally take a year or two to adjust to the pro’s. Tate is a good example of that.
The 2014 draft is a good one for receivers. There are one or two bigger wide outs who would look good in wolf grey and whatever else they’ve chosen to essentially call ‘Dark Blue’ and ‘Neon Green’.
If they can keep the band together on defense (aka re-sign Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas — while keeping Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane) that looks like the biggest priority for me. That and the offensive line — and thankfully this is a good year for offensive tackles too.
Mike Evans still looks like a great pick if they can get anywhere near him. His stock will depend on his forty time. If he can run in the 4.4/4.5 range like VJ in TB, he goes in the top-15. Anything less and he’ll fall a bit. The Seahawks don’t need the fastest big man on the planet — but it sure would be nice to have someone who can go up and dominate in jump ball situations.
Especially when, like yesterday, they’re taking lots of 1v1 shots downfield to combat the blitz.
Please, no more guard talk
I noticed last night the usual clamour for a new guard that seems to follow every defeat.
The blocking was fine for the most part. Even Paul McQuistan had a fantastic block against Calais Campbell on a Lynch toss to the left. Michael Bowie wasn’t great standing in for J.R. Sweezy, but I thought it confirmed Sweezy’s value and growing reputation.
Whatever your views on the situation, here’s the biggest reason we shouldn’t be talking about guards early in the draft next year…
This isn’t a great class for the interior offensive line.
Don’t believe me?
Read this piece via Bob McGinn — one of the best sourced beat writers in the business.
He spoke to three different league execs about the 2014 class — and I might dip into this valuable piece again later in the week.
This is the info he received on the guards:
“I don’t think there’s any great players inside. It’s not like last year.”
And finally, somebody speaks the truth about Mr. Yankey…
“Stanford junior David Yankey (6-5, 314) might not be physical enough.”
The Seahawks need better depth on the offensive line and might need to replace free agent right tackle Breno Giacomini.
But a guard in round one?
Not for me.
Programming notes
I’m going to try and get a Christmas Eve mock draft out tomorrow, to keep up with tradition. Stay tuned.
To me, a round 1 pick should provide an immediate starter or impact player. I’ve been against the talk of having any round 1 picks for the OLine, we already have a pro-bowl caliber LT and C, and these are two positions I would even consider a Rd1 pick.
That being said, I agree that WR should be one of those positions that’s near or top of the list, Mike Evans or (and I know it’s a reach at this point) Brandon Coleman should have serious considerations. Rice is the only tall receiver we have, but he’s not a jump ball type receiver. He doesn’t have the frame to “box out” DB’s like VJ, Megatron, and hell, even Fitzgerald can. Coleman and Evans look like they could fill out with a year or two of NFL type diets and weight training, (especially Coleman, if he puts on 15lbs of muscle, look out).
Quite honestly, I think Rice won’t be on the field at all for 2014, ACL injuries takes a year, but Rice’s recent injury past would suggest he takes longer to heal than most players. I don’t see him playing til 2015.
A tall possession receiver who can dominate the red line and excel in the red zone should be a priority, even if they re-sign Tate. That’s how I see it.
I’d rather attack this WR class and re-sign the defensive players than have to replace Michael Bennett. The more DL prospects I watch for 2014, the more underwhelmed I’m becoming. It’s not a great group.
This seems like a constant every year – genuine pass rushers are rare, while WR can be drafted all over. Guys like Bennett are more valuable than a WR. I’m fine with this tact too; resign Bennett, draft a WR (with or without resigning Tate).
Two FAs this year that jump out would be Eric Decker and Kenny Britt. Britt has great upside and could be had on the cheap but I would love to see Erick Decker.
If knowing what you know now regarding Josh Gordon, how many GM’s would reconsider their 2nd Rd draft picks for him? I would assume everyone. And I’m sure half would throw 1st’s at him.
I see a lot of resemblance of Gordon to Coleman, and having a tall stocky receiver like these two, can propel this offense into perennial top5 offenses year in and out.
Crazy that we traded down to take Christine Michael, but due to whatever reason he doesn’t get to play!?!? If this is due to his “off the field issues”, then PC/JS WASTED that draft pick and made a huge mistake. If we don’t trade down in the second, we could have taken Eddie Lacy, who is an inch taller and 15 pounds heavier, as Rob pointed out…
This also shows now what a bad pick our 4th rounder Chris Harper was! These gamble/big up side picks seem to be biting us in the ass this year. If that pick was for another more accomplished WR, instead of a QB turned WR that we let go, we might have depth at WR more so right NOW…
In this last game one thing puzzles me beyond belief… WHERE WAS THE TIGHT END USAGE!!?????
We have 2 catching TE’s, and they both had only 1 reception each. Miller for a 11 yard TD, and Willson for 3 yards… The matchup from what I have learnt when you blitz a lot is to throw quick crossing routes to your tight ends!!! WHY didn’t they go there- time and again!
I think Bevell & PC’s “vision” can lead to stubbornness…do what WORKS! Our only TD was to a TE! So go there again and again until they stop you! I saw this the last 2 weeks, they refuse to be flexible and adapt away to what IS working for what they WANT to be working. That is a prescription for failure…
As far as the draft goes, WR please! I think trading up for Mike Evans or getting Brandon Coleman would be great! I believe TE Anthony McCoy will be back, but if a great TE falls to us, maybe grab them to have excellent TE depth. RW can’t do it all by himself, and when the stubborn play calling of run, run, run doesn’t work, they need the creative versatility to make the game a Win….
Now we absolutely need to kill the Rams and get momentum going! If we play flat and barely win, we have 2 weeks to brood and worry over it! …and if we lose and SF wins, dude! All that hard work for nothing! We WANT home field advantage, albeit this home loss may clarify that as Baldwin says, ‘we aren’t invincible here…”
Go Hawks!
Yeah, I agree with you about PC philosophy maybe hurting us, specifically his belief in “explosive” plays. It seems like our coaches think we need to have RW bomb it down field for these plays to occur – but what about using scheme/letting your players make a play to get those YAC or whatever….I can’t stop thinking about how the Eagles get explosive plays by getting their players the ball QUICKLY with a blocker or two ands a little room to wiggle …..
I agree that #1 priority should be a big receiver with good hands. We have not drafted high for a receiver since Tate, whereas other teams continue to build there receiver Corp through the draft, or cardinals and 49ers. As far as most valuable #1 receiver, it was never Rice or Harvin. Baldwin or Tate have filled that role. However we will be able to sign both back because neither one is a true #1 receiver.
We need a running back to spell Lynch. Based on field time we have two clear misses with Turbin and Michaels. I am very disappointed that Michaels hasnt seen the field, he is the quickest back we have. The puzzling part is that running backs are cheap. Why don’t we have anyone to fill that role? Surely an UDFA was available, or someone cut from another team.
Lastly the offensive line. It has been obvious since mid season that they can’t handle a good defense. We are in a very tough division where all the teams defenses are very good. We can continue to be average offensively or keep drafting toward excellence.
I’m just hoping the defense will continue to be excellent and the offense will do enough to win.
There is no “s” on the end of Christine Michael
I don’t think Michael is a miss. He has looked very intriguing the times we’ve seen him run. The question is what he is doing that makes Carroll not want to use him?
The fact that he isn’t [laying automatically makes him a miss. To put it another way, our first and second round picks have not played significant time this season. The whole reason someone is rated highly is because they can step in immediately. Most especially at running back where numerous players contribute during their rookie season.
Rob, I appreciate you putting this up and look forward to tomorrow’s mock! All our concerns are valid and it’s alarming, the reality of failure.
Percy Harvin= cock-tease is hilarious! That may be the best all time description ever.
Based on the facts you pointed out about Lynch’s recent lack of production, it’s pathetic that Michael has not stepped up and been the player we all know he is capable of being. Remember how excited he was after visiting the Hawks last year prior to the draft? What happened? It’s heart breaking knowing how much he could help us right now, but isn’t…
And I feel that ‘if’ Christine Michael is being “judged out of playing” by something, then PC needs to wake up! It isn’t about all the off field parts, but if the guy helps the team WIN. Just look at Lynch, he basically always gets wednesdays off, and remember the video where PC is trying to tell Lynch some technical game stuff, and Lynch just blows him off and says ‘I’ll just read it’… If Lynch gets the ‘pass’, then let C Michael play and see what happens!
Christine Michael could be top-five RB good if he wants to be. The problem is, I get the impression he doesn’t want it anywhere near badly enough. Not even enough to overtake Turbin on the depth chart. And that’s a massive shame.
No guard talk? Really? I can see not wanting to go guard in this draft, but its silly to ignore the primary reason for our struggling running game. I don’t know if I disagree about lynch slowing down, I do agree with your assessment with that play he danced instead of crashing towards the end zone.
I would like go see Bowie at left guard w/ Sweezy at right. I don’t know why McQuistan is struggling since moving back to LG. Carpenter is just frustrating… Both in the run game and in pass protection.
Plead don’t dismiss the guard talk unless you have watched every snap these guys are playing and can point out someone else missing blocks. What’s sad is that Unger has been off too in the running game. You cannot run w/ a ZBS scheme when one of your inside guys misses a block every play, which is what happened yesterday.
You see, this is the issue I have. In order for me to have a positive opinion on the guards, I have to have watched and dissected every snap. For people to say they’re playing badly, they only need to remember that one missed block where that thing happened.
My position has been quite consistent. When you don’t notice the O-liners, it’s because they’re doing their jobs. All players make mistakes. They all do. But for whatever reason, when one of our guards gets beat by Calais Campbell – one of the best in the biz – this is a horrible thing.
The run blocking by Carpenter and Sweezy, from what I’ve seen and judged this year (watched most games twice) has been to a very high standard. Especially considering how long they had to deal without either starting tackle. I do believe the scheme and Lynch are the main reasons why it’s dipped the last 4-5 weeks.
I just don’t get the reaction of some last night, demanding guards be drafted early like that was the biggest issue. It wasn’t. And Pete Carroll was quick to point out in two separate interviews today that the blocking was good against a very good Cardinals line.
I do believe that part of Carroll’s impression comes from very good blocking and picking up blitzes early in the game. Later in the game they were able to rush 4 and get to Wilson very fast.
I think draft strategy obviously has more to do with filling needs on the roster. I watched every running play from last night and I can tell you that the ones that resulted in negative yards to small gains were the result of inside o-line missed assignments or in some cases guys like Campbell getting off blocks.
There were a few egregious plays with carpenter though. One was a missed backside cut block, another was a missed 2nd level assignment where carp ran right by Dansby who blew up the play in the backfield
Put yourself in the shoes of opposing D coordinators. Where are you going to put your focus? Is Baldwin, kearse and Tate keeping you awake at night? More than Marshawn? No way. You focus on Lynch and hope to win against the WRs most snaps.
I suspect this is how PC/JS saw it too, and it’s why they made the harvin trade- that WR group is solid but if you’re picking poison, you make russel use them beat you and key on lynch and russell’s running.
The Oline play on Sunday isn’t why they lost. I don’t think much of carp, sweezy,mcQ, or Breno. Right now they’re just run of the mill players who will have some decent games and some stinkers. But the offense, and the running game , is struggling because they’re facing a stacked deck in terms of strategy.
The trouble is that every team in our division has a superbowl capable defense. We can’t just get by with an average offense. Our offense plays okay. Running backs need a hole or be speedy enough to get outside. Neither is occuring. We have to find a way to step it up.
Sort of disagree. They were shitting down our run game with 7 in the box. Same thing San Fran tries to do. Forces us to beat them deep. This is why Carroll pointed to the missed shots down the field. In the games like the saints where we were firing on all cylinders we were winning 1on1’s and getting behind the defense.
We also were not so greedy on 3rd downs in the saints game. We kept taking shots instead of taking what they were giving us against the cards.
Actually it’s a big part of why they lost. The ability to stop us w/ 7 in the box, and get pressure w/ 4 while dropping 6 in coverage w/ Russell spy shaded to the right where he likes to roll out.
When our run game is clicking or we are forcing them to use 8 in the box it makes our receivers look much better then what they are
Kyle, what did Carroll say in an interview that gives you the impression comes from very good blocking and picking up blitzes early in the game?
Because that’s the only example of good blocking in the game.
So, you are are transferring what you think onto Carroll. You do realize that his opinion may be totally different than yours about the blocking throughout the game.
I don’t know why people think blocking is some kind of mystery. If do you have clearly never looked at the all-22 film. Pretty much anybody can pull it up and see who won the 1on1’s on the line of scrimmage. If you watch enough you start to really see the patterns and assignments especially with the ZBS.
In terms of pass protection you expect if they rush 4 Wilson gets 3 seconds to throw.
So yeah it’s a pretty logical conclusion based on how good the blocking was early on that when carrol said it was good that’s what he was referring too.
Why can Pete Carroll and john Scneider see that Richard Sherman could play in the NFL where his college coach could not? Why is national analyst Tim Hasselbach stating that the Seahawks WR’s are not good enough? Why can two people look at the same exact thing and come up with two different answers?
It just is not as black and white as you say.
Those examples have nothing to do with the comments I made. What you can say is that our o-line is getting beat by good players. You can’t say they aren’t getting beat in obvious situations where they are.
Even the good players argument doesn’t account for the missed assignments, not finishing blocks, etc
I didn’t find the pass protection to be that bad. The playcalling by the 2nd half had become so predictable AZ just started teeing off, and the receivers weren’t winning many of their matchups. All things considered, it was just a bad day. If Paul McQuistan didn’t see anymore snaps this year, it wouldn’t offend me. He’s just a guy at this point of his career. A Chris Gray, if you will.
Christine Michael doesn’t want to work at it? Then he shouldn’t get carries. You can’t corrupt your mantra of “Always Compete” for a flashy 2nd round pick. The other guys in the locker WILL notice this, and that’s how you begin to have problems.
Holmgren didn’t just unleash Alexander his rookie year, either, mind you. He made him earn those snaps, and when he had some fumbling issues that 1st year, he rode the pine. ALOT. Let’s calm down on the ‘Michael must be a bust’, talk.
I do think Seattle could stand to have an offensive-centric draft. Tate isn’t as much of a priority as I thought at one time, and I wouldn’t extend money to him if I thought it meant losing Michael Bennett.
Yes it’s not fair to put it all on blocking. They picked up some blitzes in amazing fashion! WR’s just did not win the 1on1’s. We really just couldn’t win on offense. Lynch missing cuts, lineman missing blocks, receivers losing the 1on1’s and Wilson just missing throws.
That is actually encouraging when you consider how close we were to making a play
Damn Falcons…
Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin and Brandon Coleman could all potentially go in the Top 50. Alshon Jeffery’s rise this year is showing the BIG WR-need and SEA needing one is a must. Jeffrey showed (like Rob mentioned above) that WR typically need 1-2 yrs to fit in. If we grabbed one of these guys, watch out!
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Now you and Harvin have something in common.
“Don’t worry ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”
I have not noticed Lynch shying away from contact, backing down from anybody, going down more easily, etc. Nor does he look slower, exactly.
But I have noticed him make more reading errors while at the line or in the hole. I’ve also noticed him dancing in the hole, hesitating to pick his route, more than I remember. His cuts are less likely to be right recently, and his dancing robs him of the momentum he needs to be the full Beast he is.
Not sure I’m ready to call this part of a decline, but obviously time will tell.
All the defensive coaches from the other teams have figured out how to shut down the Seahawk run, and contain RW in the pocket. When RW made the big splash as starting quarterback with the read option, he took the pressure off the mediocre OL. Part of the problem also lays with the play calls, the ability to change plays on the fly. But with each game on the schedule, the opposing defense coaches started dialing in the defensive schemes to shut down the Seahawks. If the Seahawks can’t get this problem fixed right away, we can waive good-by to the dream of wining the SB in Feb 2014. JMHO
I disagree. Teams with good front 7’s have been able to rely on shutting down our run game w/ only 7. Which makes everything else more difficult. If we had blocked better up front and broken a few more runs I can guarantee the cards adjust.
You cannot play man coverage if your front 7 isn’t stopping the run. You cannot bail deep early, you cannot focus your attention 100% on the receiver if you need to worry about your run fit.
There is a difference between this and teams using 8 in the box. Those teams are forced into 1on1’s on most receivers which opens up the passing game. When we have been shut down offensively its been the ability to stop us with 7 and to get pressure with 4 dropping 6 w/ a Russell spy shaded to the right where he likes to roll out
I was robbed of a peaceful Christmas with that last score by S.F. against Atlanta. I’ll be quite honest I don’t know why Christian Micharl isn’t on field playing other than maybe their keeping him as an unknown factor and Harvin injury could be same thing too. We seen them for a few plays but really we didn’t need to rush them because we didn’t need them at the time. Maybe Seattle opens the bag and out comes a fresh new running back and receiver with a different style of plays and no tape to see. We was winning without them so why show the hand till the very last game when we really need it now. Just a thought.
We need to stop messing around and just go out and get that gifted tall powerful receiver that we been looking for in the 1st round and a bruiser of a running back in the 2nd. In the 4th to 7th find them gems in the ruff.
I should apologize for not linking to your piece here at Field Gulls. I wrote a piece there yesterday broaching the topic of Lynch. I had not seen yours until this morning. I’ll link to your piece in the comments.
http://www.fieldgulls.com/seahawks-notes/2013/12/24/5239670/arizona-17-seattle-10-two-post-game-thoughts
Your article is on the money sir! Im amazed how many missed cut blocks there are in these games. Penetration and backside defenders basically ends a ZBS effectiveness. I wonder how much of lynch running style has been an adjustment to challenging run blocking pretty much all year. We have broken a few big runs in games that has lifted his avg. but last year we were better at getting 4,5,6,7 yards consistently instead this year we are getting -2,-1,0,1,2 followed by 15+. Not nearly as effective at forcing defenses to adjust
Give Doug Baldwin 3rd round tender knowing full well some team will bite on that. Use 3rd rounder received to trade up into mid 1st round and take Mike Evans. Receiving corp = Percy Harvin, Golden Tate, Jermaine Kearse, Mike Evans. Could do a lot worse than that.
Not a bad idea. The key to making that work is locking up Tate before tendering Baldwin…
http://seattletimes.com/html/seahawks/2022511047_seahawkssidebar23xml.html
More analysis of the o-line bad play affect on the offense
Rob…you mentioned on .Net that the Hawks could be the 2012 Houston Texans. Were you just being facetious?
The only reason I ask is, I’m terrified we could be in for a big downfall next year. Our offense/QB has pretty much been exposed and I’m definitely buying into the regression of Marshawn. The Harvin situation looks like it could be a catastrophe not only because of wasted draft picks, but also because of the stress he places on the Cap. Please talk me off the ledge and say I’m just being the usual chicken little Seahawk fan.
P.S. Have a good holidays. We appreciate your great work.
And yes, having this much time off work is making me insane with my over-thinking.
I said I hoped we’re not last years Texans. A team that started fast and showed so much promise… Then evaporated. This team, in fairness, is built on much stronger foundations.
Rob, we’ve all watched the games this year. In some cases some of us have watched them more then once, but the problem doesn’t appear to be Lynch. That’s not to rule out he’s not 100%.
We all thought once the starting O-tackles returned all would be wonderful again. But the issue of assignment and blocking has been a issue all year. Whoever or however the assignments are being called they are not consistently giving the play the best chance to succeed if we do indeed have the players to run the plays. I’m not one to know if that’s the centers fault or the Qb’s and Max Unger is a nice technician but anyone who thinks he’s blocking anyone close to the level of the Cards Campbell one on one isn’t thinking things out. Our guards are a solid bunch but they are far from dominant in both physicality or mentally, it would be nice to have one of the two seeing as we are a run first team.
The issue I have with this loss as I have had with the other close games esp at home is the lack of adjustment shown on offence. Now I’m not saying that the negative performances aren’t being helped out by poorly timed penalties or a case of the dropsies and other mental mistakes of the like. That being said we seem to have a rather smart and able QB that can make a play(s).
The plays have not been called to counter anything or adjust, seemingly like Bevell was keeping the cards close to the chest possibly choosing to not show plays or a game plan and waiting till the playoffs. I don’t believe that is how Pete runs the team and this is purely speculation and just my observation. This is the same frustrating thing that has plagued us going back to the Titans game. The opponents solid D-line play negating virtually the whole game plan and a lack of control of the offense to counter a solid pass-rush. That D-line has been helped out more then its should by our receivers not getting separation. But once again there are plays that can be called that can correct that issue also, not 100% of the time but enough to keep the opposition off balance. When you cant run the ball that makes it harder that’s understandable but there are always plays to counter what is being done to you esp if you know what your weaknesses are.
Whatever the reason for the dry play of late I see a lack of consistency (or urgency) still showing on offense. We don’t have the (consistant)playmakers to be a dominant passing team, or the O-linemen to be a dominant running team to make up for the lack of consistency and constant penalties that kill us at bad times throughout the year.
I hope to see better performance from the team and staff this last week of the regular season.
All’n all we have the team to do what everyone here on Rob’s great blog dream of. I’ll rest on that and enjoy my Christmas.
Merry Christmas fellow Hawks fans, to Rob the guy who gives us all a place to vent, celebrate, and get sometimes too carried away with the Draft, and the Rob Staton family.
After what I’ve just seen from Scott Crichton, I wouldn’t mind taking him
I think Pete is making a huge mistake with Michael. I love this staff as much as anyone but any staff can make a mistake. He would immediately help the offense and we really can’t afford to not use him. You can site pass protection or anything else but that is an excuse. Maybe its valid for a guy who isn’t the lead back but to not give him a handful of carries while Turbin continues to be the most pedestrain back in the league is ridiculous. I’m tired of watching him fall down at the slightest contact. We NEED Michael. the time is now.
The WR’s were horrible this past weekend. Multiple drops and atleast 3 on third downs to extend drives. Kearse dropping what would of been a 45+ yarder was a back breaker. Baldwin can get pissed all he wants….the criticism is warranted. I love Baldwin, Tate etc. but there isn’t a single one defenses game plan for. Harvin needs to play and/or someone needs to step up.
I still think we win the Super Bowl. 🙂
Also how do we know its Michael’s fault at all? How do we know he just doesn’t want it bad enough? I think it could just as easily be arrogance or flat out bad judgement from the coaching staff. It happens to every staff at some point. Look at Sherman….he only got a chance when injuries allowed it. They originally made a mistake not starting him obviously, although hindsight is always easy. My point is we don’t know why he isn’t playing but I have a feeling its on the staff being loyal to Turbin for whatever reason. Its flat out stupidity to not play MIchael and I will say it again I LOVE this staff…just think they are wrong on this.
I don’t know whether the staff is right or wrong not to play Michael, there is no way to evaluate when they won’t play him. Why won’t they at least try him and give him significant playing time? He is the fastest back we have. It shouldn’t be up to fan speculation. He should have been playing by mid season at the latest and splitting time with the other RBs. At this point it is too late in the season to be playing untried rookies. The whole situation is a mess.