Month: October 2019 (Page 3 of 3)

Tedric Thompson’s interception was barely believable

Just enjoy it. Every single minute.

The crazy games. The crazy plays.

The extreme highs and the unbelievable lows.

You are blessed to be a Seahawks fan during this period of time. It doesn’t always go according to plan. But it’s never dull. It is never, ever dull.

When you’re sat moaning, jabbing away at your phone to voice your latest internet complaint at Pete Carroll, the play-calling, the philosophy, that player you don’t like much or anything else. Stop.

Do you realise how many other fanbase’s would love to have this?

The Carroll era has now produced 102 wins, a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl defeat and numerous winning seasons. It’s given us several legends who will be future Ring of Honour and Hall of Fame candidates. Heroes we’ll talk about for the rest of time.

It has also provided games that will live forever in the memory. Games that, when you stumble across that random highlights clip in the future, will raise a smile.

Nothing made sense tonight. The latest chapter in a highly unrealistic reality TV series. How on earth did they win? How are they 4-1 during the second year of a minor rebuild?

Just look at the latter sequences. The Seahawks take the lead when Chris Carson almost drops the easiest catch of the night. Tedric Thompson then produces one of the best interceptions you’ll see to seemingly win the game. Seattle can’t get a first down though — so they have to punt. The Rams use their get-out-of-jail-free card to get into field goal range…

…and ‘Greg the leg’ misses. Greg the freakin’ Leg.

All this after a truly fantastic display from Russell Wilson, highly impressive offensive adjustments from the Rams, two defense’s hanging on for dear life.

Speed, power, physicality. From both teams.

A perfect illustration of everything that makes football great — all tied up in four quarters. Real drama. The type that makes you feel sorry for people who don’t like sports.

Why would you ever complain about any of this?

We’re living the dream.

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Any prediction requires some wiggle room and a margin of error. In terms of the NFL, a win either way seems fair.

I thought the Seahawks would be a 10-6 team in 2019. They could easily end up 11-5 or 9-7. They have the talent at quarterback to achieve more than 10-6. They also have flaws that could prevent them from being much more.

Whether they beat the Rams or not on Thursday, I still see that as the range.

There’s also nothing wrong with that. A 10-6 record is above average. That’s where the Seahawks seem to fit at the moment. There’s a top tier of teams — Kansas City, New England and New Orleans. Then there’s a large second tier where the Seahawks call home. If they’re able to claim a playoff bye and guarantee at least one home playoff game — they’ll be a contender. The thought of having to win three road games to make a Super Bowl, for this team in it’s current guise, seems improbable.

Again though, there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re still growing. They’re one of the youngest teams in the league and they still have some holes.

It’s too soon to properly judge Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah but so far — let’s be honest — the results have been a little underwhelming. Hopefully there’s more to come.

There’s also a lack of playmaking in the secondary. The Seahawks have some solid defensive backs — led by Bradley McDougald. Yet they’re still not making a ton of plays on the back end (PBU’s, hits, interceptions).

On offense they’re still working things out in the running game and the O-line play has been up and down. Thankfully Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett and Will Dissly have started superbly.

DVOA pretty much sums it up. The Seahawks are currently ranked #7 for offense and #17 defense. Overall they’re #11 in the league. They’re ranked #8 in the NFC. That feels about right — a team very capable of making the playoffs but not quite in the upper echelon.

With cap room to spend and a haul of draft picks they’ll have an opportunity to leap forward next year — possibly into the top tier.

For now though, they’re a work in progress. It should be celebrated that during a fairly significant rebuild the Seahawks remain a playoff contender. Instead of spending every waking minute questioning Pete Carroll’s philosophy, second guessing their draft picks and over-analysing every loss — maybe people should spend more time acknowledging how hard it is to avoid peaks and troughs in the NFL.

Take the 49ers for example. Look how they melted away when things turned sour during Jim Harbaugh’s tenure. The Saints won a Super Bowl then spent years in no-man’s land — even with Drew Brees — before eventually returning to contention. The Colts flip between contender and top-10 draft pick all the time. The Jaguars should’ve made the Super Bowl the year before last. Look at them last season. The Broncos? Up and down like a fiddler’s elbow. Ditto the Ravens.

Really only the Patriots, Steelers and Seahawks have found a level of consistency over the years. The Steelers and Seahawks might not be able to match New England’s empire but neither play in the wretched AFC East. Imagine how many titles Pittsburgh and Seattle would have if they got to play six games annually against the Bills, Dolphins and Jets? It’s a yearly invitation for the Patriots to claim a playoff bye. When Seattle has a bye they tend to make the Super Bowl.

Between 2012 and 2015, three different teams won the NFC West with the division overall sporting a record of 148-106-2. In that same period, New England finished 12-4 every year and the AFC East was a combined 134-122 (with 48 of the wins coming solely from New England). In the last 16 seasons, the Patriots have won the division every time apart from 2008 (when they lost out despite having the same 11-5 record as Miami). Alternatively the NFC West has been won by Seattle eight times, the Rams three times, Arizona three times and San Francisco twice. All four teams have reached the Super Bowl.

If the Seahawks finish 10-6 again this year and don’t win a Championship — there’d be no need for a post mortem on a wasted year. The 2020 off-season might be the most exciting in Seattle since Carroll and John Schneider arrived in 2010. They rarely have so much cap room and draft stock and they already possess a competitive roster.

While a 3-1 start is impressive and encouraging, they’ve also won three games against teams with a combined 1-10-1 record. It’d likely be worse if the winless Bengals and Steelers hadn’t played each other on Monday. It’s also worth remembering how narrow their victories were against Cincinnati (one point) and Pittsburgh (two points).

In their only serious test so far they crumbled against New Orleans. It could be that type of season. There’ll be some exhilarating moments just as we saw against Green Bay and Kansas City a year ago. There will also be some days to forget.

In 2018 they played two games against the Rams that could’ve easily gone either way. That may well be the case in the two games this season. Thursday might be a coin-flip — a shoot-out determined by who makes the key play or two in the fourth quarter.

When you look across the schedule though, it shows a series of games that could equally go either way. A trip to Cleveland to face a Browns team capable of brilliance or nonsense. A home game against the inconsistent Ravens. A trip to Atlanta to face a Falcons team who are all over the place but Seattle hasn’t ever really had an answer for Julio Jones when they’ve met previously (27 catches, 327 yards, two touchdowns in four games) and they’ve given up an average of 28 points per game in the last seven meetings between the teams. They have to go to LA, Philadelphia and Carolina. They’ve got two games against a better-than-expected 49ers team. They also get to cross swords with old nemesis Bruce Arians and Tampa Bay.

The Seahawks will win some of those games. They’ll also lose some. It’s a tough looking schedule. Six or seven wins between now and the end of the year would actually be an achievement — especially if it ends in a playoff berth.

If they can beat the Rams on Thursday it might even be enough to launch a NFC West challenge. It’s a stronger division this year with three teams capable of taking wins from each other. Head-to-head records will be vital.

If the Seahawks win on Thursday they’ll claim first blood in that regard. So even if 9-to-11 wins is the destiny regardless — this weeks game is still crucial.

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Just a few thoughts on players I’ve been watching this week…

Shaun Wade (CB, Ohio State)
Sometimes a player just jumps off the screen and wows you. Wade had that impact for me. He’s essentially Ohio State’s #3 cornerback and plays in the slot. That’s no review of his performance though. The outside spots are occupied by likely top-12 pick Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette (who could also go in the top-45).

He’s only a redshirt sophomore and with Okudah and Arnette heading to the NFL in 2020, he might prefer to stay another year for an opportunity to be the #1 corner on the team. However, based on what he’s shown already in his young career, he looks like a future high pick.

Wade’s well sized at 6-1 and 194lbs. He looks every bit the former elite 5-star recruit from 2017. It’s a shame he didn’t do the SPARQ workouts. Okudah (142.56) and J.K. Dobbins (146.76) both excelled. Indeed Ohio State have loaded their team with top SPARQ testers recently and it’s showing with the way they’re outclassing teams in terms of speed and explosive ability.

He’s exceptional in coverage even when he’s assigned difficult 1v1 tasks in space. He absolutely hammers as a hitter when he’s given an opportunity. As a freshman he had three interceptions. This year he’s added some blitz ability and he’s a sure tackler — recording a sack and two TFL’s. Wade has a fantastic combination of short-area quickness, recovery speed, ball-tracking and he can be physical.

It’s incredible to think Ohio State might have three first round cornerbacks on their roster. Everyone hope for a playoff game between Alabama and Ohio State. Imagine Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith vs Jeff Okudah, Damon Arnette and Shaun Wade — with the likely #1 overall pick throwing the passes.

Wade may or may not declare but I’m putting him in the top-20 of my next mock.

Ashtyn Davis (S, California)
I’ve been searching for safety’s this year. It’s a weak crop. LSU’s Grant Delpit could go in the top-five. Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons could be a high pick too (although some teams might move him to linebacker). After that there’s a real dearth of alternatives.

The Seahawks could use a playmaker in the secondary. We know they don’t spend big on cornerbacks so the likelihood of a big addition (free agent or high pick) is unlikely there. They’ve invested plenty of picks at safety without any real long term solutions emerging. Hopefully Marquise Blair can grow into a starter. Bradley McDougald remains their best tone-setter, leader and playmaker in the secondary.

Adding a ball-hawk with range and proven production would be a boost this off-season.

Their best bet honestly might be a trade. The more I search in this draft class the harder it is to find options. Players could still emerge. The team might have their eye on someone. I recently had a look to see if Ashtyn Davis was an option but I came away unconvinced.

There’s no doubt he has flashes of quality. He had a couple of really athletic interceptions against Colorado last season. He had four picks in total in 2018 but is yet to get his first in 2019. There are also some decent hits when you look through his highlights videos. Certainly if you watch the best-bits you’d come away excited. However, on tape I thought he looked passive for the most part. He’s quick rather than rangy and there’s little evidence that he’ll be a big tester at the combine. There wasn’t a great deal to get excited about.

This isn’t to say he shouldn’t be applauded. He’s gone from being a walk-on to a starter at California and that deserves major credit. You need a bit more than just that to become a quality, playmaking NFL safety though. There just aren’t that many in the league. Try and name ten great safety’s currently playing in the NFL. It isn’t easy. I’m not sure Davis is much more than a late-round flier in the next draft, despite a lot of positive publicity recently.

DeVonta Smith (WR, Alabama)
Everyone talks about Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs at Alabama but it’s time people started talking about Smith. Especially Seahawks fans. Watching him you can just imagine Seattle’s front office loving his competitiveness, quickness and catching technique.

Every time I’ve watched Alabama this season he’s stood out. He’s practically unstoppable on slants. He’s an excellent hands-catcher. He has a burst of acceleration to separate and when he has the ball in his hands he can round corners and explode away from potential tacklers.

On Saturday I noted that he set a school record with 274 receiving yards. He broke Amari Cooper’s record from 2014. He also scored five touchdowns — another school record. With the five scores he also showed off his range of abilities. Smith took a slant 74-yards for a score. He had TD’s on a crossing route with some YAC and a pass into the flat. His fourth touchdown was a deep post. His final score was a great sideline grab running towards the end zone.

This was a message to the NFL — ‘I can do it all‘.

At SPARQ he ran a 4.13 short shuttle and jumped a 35-inch vertical. I’m not sure he won’t work his way into the first round discussion. At the very least it’s time to start talking about him in the top-50. He’s a very talented receiver. And as I mentioned earlier — don’t be surprised if he ends up on Seattle’s radar. With a first round pick and two second round picks, it makes sense that at least one of those selections goes on a receiver or tight end (Hunter Bryant anyone?).

Lamar Jackson (CB, Nebraska)
I had initially planned to write a glowing review for Jackson. He currently leads the nation with ten passes defended. He has an interception, three TFL’s, a sack and a forced fumble. He’s 6-3 and 215lbs. He’s a former four-star recruit and he jumped a 36-inch vertical at SPARQ.

When you look at him it’s hard not to be impressed. There are certainly plays on tape where he flashes some playmaking quality and he uses his size and length very well. However, just before I was ready to write that this was the guy we need to focus on for Seattle in the later rounds — I watched a couple of BIG-10 contests in detail. There were some turn-off moments too.

For starters — it’s great being 6-3 and 215lbs in some ways but at that size it’s inevitable there’s going to be some stiffness. In coverage at times he’s just not quick enough to stick and everything might have to be played in front. Teams will target him with faster receivers knowing he either offers a huge cushion or he might get beat over the top.

Secondly, there were a few moments where he got mixed up in coverage and appeared indecisive. There were also a couple of missed tackles. I was hoping at that size to see a few Brandon Browner-style hits to compensate for the extra size and the stiffness. It never really came.

Clearly he’s playing the ball well and making plays. I would urge all Seahawks fans to check him out if you can watch Nebraska. Yet to warrant serious consideration for Seattle he’s going to need to run at least in the 4.5’s and test reasonably well in the short shuttle. I fear he’s more of a 4.6 type if not slower. He has the numbers — physically and in terms of production. He’ll need the speed to match.

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