Month: November 2024 (Page 3 of 3)

Instant reaction: Seahawks lose at home again, fall to the Rams in bizarre game

November 3, 2024 /

I’m going to do something a bit differently this week and just list a bunch of people/groups I want to talk about rather than offer one overall review…

John Schneider

Seattle’s GM is about to come under serious scrutiny for the first time during his tenure. People have challenged and questioned his decisions, signings, trades and draft picks in the past. Now that the buck stops with him though, he is directly responsible for the product on the field.

And at the moment, it’s a shambles.

Ire will be directed at the way he’s constructed the current offensive line and with good reason. It’s awful. Having spent years explaining the brand of football they wish to play, they’ve failed to actually build a team capable of playing it.

Connor Williams is struggling badly, to the point that every snap at the moment feels like it could be an adventure. The third round pick they drafted to play right guard this year didn’t even make the active roster today. Laken Tomlinson is playing like a lineman they signed from the bargain bin after the initial flush of free agency (because that’s what he is). Even Charles Cross, drafted in the top-10 by Schneider, isn’t as good as many people seem to think.

However, there are new issues he’ll need to answer to. He assembled an inexperienced coaching team with no prior connections or experience working together. It shows. The team is fundamentally all over the place. He had to get these appointments right and sadly, the jury’s out already.

Excitement is pouring away like a cold cup of coffee you chuck down the sink. The Seahawks have lost four straight home games. They’re on a 1-5 run, typically reserved for the bottom feeders of the NFL. When you look at the current roster, the cap situation for the future and the total lack of blue-chip players or foundational building blocks on the roster — you have to wonder where exactly is this going?

Why can’t they build an O-line? Why don’t they have any genuine stars? What is the plan at quarterback? Did he get the coaching hire wrong?

What exactly is there to be excited about, for the present or future?

For a franchise that talks a good game about competing every year — why are you bottom of the NFC West and haven’t, in reality, been a serious contender for a long time?

These are the John Schneider Seahawks — and I’m afraid these are the kind of questions that will now be asked.

Mike Macdonald

To say Macdonald was inexperienced when he took the Seattle job is an understatement. His first positional coaching role in the NFL came in 2017. He’d only been a NFL defensive coordinator for two years. In that role, he benefited from playing with a lead most weeks — as we keep saying, last season the Ravens only trailed for a remarkable 88 snaps all year thanks to a MVP year from Lamar Jackson.

He’s only ever coordinated for the Harbaugh brothers — two very hands on, vastly experienced leaders. He’s never had to handle a situation spiralling out of control. Everything is new.

Meanwhile, there’s only really Leslie Frasier on his staff who he can turn to for guidance. His offensive coordinator is even more inexperienced — this is his first year in the league. Aden Durde has never been a defensive coordinator before.

Is it any wonder things look so disjointed?

It’s not just about the defense either. It’s a mistake to judge Macdonald on one side of the ball. He’s responsible for everything. Yet it’d be easier to tolerate issues such as the offensive line wrecking games if his area of expertise — the defense — was looking great. It isn’t.

I’m starting to fear that maybe it’s all come a bit too soon for Macdonald — that he doesn’t have the experience to know how to handle things going the way they are, plus he doesn’t have the right people around him to help.

I’m quite sure that Macdonald will be able to identify the issues the Seahawks have faced on defense and will have a good idea on what he needs to fix the problems. I’m not sure, however, whether he can sufficiently build and guide a whole team. I’m not sure he has the coaching contacts to build a staff that have had success, have worked together, understand what they’re all trying to achieve and can combine all the different moving parts to play complementary football.

I think the Seahawks need more people around Macdonald who come from the Baltimore/Harbaugh tree, who understand the philosophy and scheming, have a lot more experience and know how each other operate.

The worrying thing is, while both Harbaugh brothers are still coaching in the NFL, who the heck are you going to be able to bring to Seattle? The only one I can think of is Wink Martindale. I don’t think he’s the difference between what we’re seeing at the moment and a functioning football team though.

Some will argue he just needs time and maybe they’re right? That could definitely be the case. Yet you often get a feeling quite early on whether something is going to work. At the moment, I’ve got my doubts.

Most sensible people can live with growing pains provided it feels like a means to an end. If you can see the direction of travel to future success, you can handle losing. The way the Seahawks are losing, though, doesn’t give any hope beyond ‘well they haven’t given up yet like the 2009 team when they played the Texans’. We need to see more — especially at home. It’s unforgivable to lose four straight at Lumen Field.

The offense

It’s become borderline unwatchable. The fleeting explosive moments are not enough to forget about or excuse the regular snafu’s, some of which are obscene. The offensive line is putrid. The center can’t snap. The quarterback is as streaky today as he’s always been — with the physical prowess to deliver great throws but also the ability to make maddening mistakes. The running game can’t get you a yard on two rushing attempts with the game on the line.

They still don’t seem to have a fluid vision, or at least they can’t execute it. They jump between being massively committed to the run and the pass within each game. I’m still not sold on this no-huddle/look to the sideline stuff. Their red zone play is abysmal.

You always feel like you’re watching about five different teams in one offense. You feel like at any minute you could be blown away by an amazing pass or be rolling your eyes at the most ridiculous nonsense imaginable.

It’s very clear they need to overhaul the offensive line aggressively but how often do we say that and nothing changes? Do they have the right people coaching the line/offense for it to even matter? Have they ever had that? Or is it simply down to the GM to be more aggressive, as he was when the time came to trade for Jamal Adams or Leonard Williams, for example?

And while they need to massively rebuild the line as a priority, they’re also staring bleakly at the definitive age old NFL problem.

When you have a hotshot young quarterback, you feel like anything is possible. Ask Washington Commanders fans. They are difficult to find and it’s a problem many teams face. Yet there’s no other position that provides hope quite like having a brilliant, young QB.

How on earth do the Seahawks find one? And how does it work alongside the timeline of fixing the O-line? Because both are really important. They can’t just keep trotting out the same bad line and streaky older quarterback every year waiting for the perfect storm to address both issues. Until they do, it’ll be impossible for Seahawks fans to regain their excitement for this team.

Curtis Allen’s week nine watch notes (vs LA Rams)

November 3, 2024 /

This is a guest post by Curtis Allen

What a strange time to be a Seahawks fan.

This week, after an absolute hammering from the Buffalo Bills, the shell-shocked team once again was forced to focus on the absolute basics of the game of football. Press conferences this week were fully devoted to getting answers for their terrible performance.

Jarran Reed was the latest defender to take the stage and talk about accountability amongst the players, following a dustup with Derick Hall after getting flagged for a needless penalty that badly hurt the team.

Geno Smith talked about managing his emotions during the game more effectively after they got the better of him in a frustrating game.

Mike Macdonald discussed scaling back the playbook and focusing on the things the team does well. He used an interesting phrase in ‘sunk costs’ which denotes an acknowledgement that the team’s problems are not superficial.

What a time to be facing a suddenly hot Rams team and their schematic mastermind Sean McVay.

And on the eve of the trade deadline and the Seahawks’ bye week to boot.

Questions about the state of this roster and its coach and general manager are getting louder by the week.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”

The water is getting pretty dang hot for the Seahawks right now. How will they respond?

As we have discussed in the past, everything I could possibly point out about how the Seahawks can succeed is overshadowed by the basics: Running the ball. Stopping the other team’s running game. Limiting turnovers. Not hurting yourself with bad penalties. Tackling well. Keeping your head about you. Playing competently without injured players. And so on.

If those things are not even at an average NFL level, attacking and defending your opponent with finer points does not matter all that much.

So – assuming they can deliver that kind of game – here are some thoughts on how the Seahawks can succeed against the Rams today:

— More Kenneth Walker please. In four games against the Rams, Walker has been asked to run the ball only 48 times. Has he been effective? Absolutely. He has gained 4.83 yards per carry in those games. The Rams defense this year is vulnerable in the run game, conceding 4.6 yards per carry and being among the league’s worst teams at making clean tackles. Only one opponent in their seven games has failed to rush for 100 yards. I’ve been harping on this issue for the last few seasons for the Seahawks when they play the Rams. If you insist on a pass/run split that leans heavily towards the pass against Los Angeles, you are playing right into their hands. Even now? With Aaron Donald gone?

— Yes, even now. The Rams are one of the NFL’s best pressure defenses, checking in with a 29.8% rate according to Pro Football Reference. They have generated 28 pressures in the last two weeks. With an offensive line still having issues eight weeks into the season, Ryan Grubb is going to have to dial up some plays to blunt this. Jet sweeps, designed quarterback roll-outs and quick slants.

— Also, this: The Rams love to blitz but in 63 blitzes so far this year, they have only generated four sacks. Their defense is primed for a couple of classic Geno Smith plays to maneuver the pocket a bit and find a receiver 15-20 yards downfield.

— Another antidote to major blitzing teams: Find your Tight End quickly. The Rams are one of the NFL’s worst teams in defending Tight Ends, with Linebacker Christian Rozeboom being a major culprit. Rozeboom is allowing a near 80% completion rate in coverage and has conceded two touchdowns already. It would appear that Noah Fant and A.J. Barner will have plenty of reps today.

— Kyren Williams is not a top-tier NFL runner and he can have hot and cold games, as evidenced by his 3.8 yards per carry average this season. However, he is in the top five for rushing first downs and has eight touchdown runs. He knows how to get yards when it matters. The Seahawks defense presents a prime chance for Williams to take a step forward and have a great game. Ernest Jones and the interior defenders like Byron Murphy and Jonathan Hankins will need to have a good day in order to make the Rams one-dimensional.

— That dimension is a really good one in Matt Stafford. He appears to get Puka Nakua and Cooper Kupp back at just the right time. Without them, the Rams had employed a very effective blend of screen passes and downfield shots to Demarcus Robinson and old friend Colby Parkinson. Expect the Rams to liberally target the Cornerback opposite Riq Woolen and Tyrell Dodson in coverage. He will also test Woolen on occasion.

— Stafford has been susceptible to throwing poor interceptions this year, from a mix of pass rush pressure and the gunslinger mentality he has wielded all of his professional life. The Seahawks must capitalize if he makes poor throws like that today. Last week, a beautiful effort by Josh Jobe was wasted by a critical Red Zone flub by the offense. It killed them last week and it will do the same if the Seahawks cannot take advantage.

— Pressuring Stafford from the interior may be a challenge

— It may need to come from Boye Mafe and Derick Hall on the edges. That said, McVay loves to attack the edges in the running game. Those two will have to ‘earn the right’ to rush Stafford by setting the edge with regularity and not allowing runners to get to the second level.

Jim Nagy discusses Garrett Nussmeier & Cam Ward

November 1, 2024 /

It’s been a busy week on the blog so I just wanted to write a few quick things today before we get into another weekend of college football.

I’d highly recommend checking out Jim Nagy’s appearance on Todd McShay’s new show (see above). This is the best kind of intel — from a personnel expert with genuine connections, speaking to teams, as we prepare for Senior Bowl invites to be handed out.

A couple of things stood out to me.

Firstly, Jim’s description of Garrett Nussmeier. He says if he declares he will be a first round pick and that he has the highest upside of all the quarterbacks eligible for 2025. He refers to his gunslinger nature stating:

“I like it. Maybe it’s because my first job in the league was around Brett Favre. I feel like you can rein that in. It’s hard to coach ‘balls’ into a player. And you’ve got to have some balls to play at the next level. Those windows are going to be smaller, you have to trust your arm to a degree, you’ve got to let it rip — and he’s got that.”

This caught my ear. The one thing I think John Schneider really wants his quarterback to be is a fearless gunslinger. I think he’s attracted to players who flirt with risk to make things happen. He too was around Favre. He’s coveted Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen — who were both massive risk takers in college. The players he’s gone after — Charlie Whitehurst, Drew Lock, Sam Howell — they’re all in that bracket too. Russell Wilson had 30 interceptions in college.

Nussmeier isn’t the kind of athlete Wilson, Allen and Lock were. Mahomes was more elusive and creative and just did things at Texas Tech you can’t teach. I still think Jim’s analysis is relevant and something to stash away for later.

I’ve talked a fair bit about whether he might return to LSU next year. Jim touched on that subject too, suggesting he thinks it’s a possibility. It’s pretty clear on tape he could benefit from more game experience and nothing about his college career so far has been rushed. If I had to guess, I don’t think he turns pro.

If he does though, keep an eye on him. I do think Schneider will be attracted to his mental make-up as the son of a prominent NFL coach, his qualities commanding a huddle, the gunslinger approach to the game and the fact he’s making so many attractive NFL-level throws on tape. Whether he likes him enough to believe he’s a future NFL star is a different question — especially when the Seahawks have major problems on the offensive line to address too.

One of the other things we’ve talked a lot about this year is the inflated hype on Cam Ward. There are an increasing number of mocks putting him in the top-five, while suggesting he’s among the top ranked players in the draft. It’s stuff like this that becomes very frustrating with ‘draft media’. You want to just praise the way he’s elevated his stock from a late round pick to potential day two pick. Instead, you constantly have to push back on the unrealistic hype and it sounds like you’re being negative about him all the time — because you’re trying to offer needed perspective. I’ve made this point numerous times during the college season.

Jim’s view on the situation isn’t just validating for the way we’ve approached this subject, it’s also worth paying attention to as you take in all these mock drafts doing the rounds:

As I said, check out the full piece in Todd McShay’s new show above, it’s worth a watch.

A final quick reminder of what’s been on the blog this week so if you missed any of this, check it out — there’s a lot of worthy content:

— Our article mapping out how the Seahawks might be able to fix their offensive line in the off-season (click here)

— College football scouting notes for week nine, including why Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer impressed against Maryland (click here)

— Please check out my latest show with Puck Sports discussing the O-line woes and the fixes available. I think we touched on some big points (click here)

— I’d also recommend my hour with Jeff Simmons from Monday discussing the Seahawks — it’s a great breakdown and debate on where the team is at (click here)

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